My Little Light

 Q: What single moment of being a published writer has been the most memorable?

 

-from Susan

 

Never having made the New York Times bestseller list or won awards like a lot of my brilliant writer friends, my angle of vision and my sparkling memories are less dramatic. But they’re thrilling to me and still make me happy all these years later. While it’s hard to pin down a single event, I think everything surrounding the launch of my first mystery, Murder in the Abstract, is still the best. A book! A hard cover book! Invitations to do multiple book events around the Bay Area!  Booksellers treating me with the attention and respect they have for any new author! Friends and friends of friends and total strangers showing up to fill the bookstore spaces and then – gasp – actually buying the book! And – gasp again – asking me to sign the book! 

For years, I had gone to MWA meetings, taken coaching and classes, hooked up with Sisters in Crime, even attended my first Bouchercon, awestruck at the sense of community published authors had. And now, I was part of the clan.

I hosted a big party at an art gallery in San Francisco on the formal launch day in 2010 and everyone came, not just family and friends, but people I’d worked with in my prior career and artist friends of Tim’s. I put out books and the young friend I hired to handle sales if there were any had to run and get another whole box from the trunk of my car. (Maybe it was the drinks from the open bar?) What stood out was the warmth and support from all these people. 

 

In the intervening years, I’ve published six more books, have had lovely launch events, become a regular panelist and moderator at conventions and even a faculty member at a serious writing conference. I even got a nice review in the New York Times once, although I don’t think it made a difference in sales. But, for me, there’s nothing like that first time and the realization that I had done what I dreamed of for a long time.  

 Abstract was eventually published in many formats, was a book club selection in Harlequin, and had an audio production too. As a debut, even without a large advance and major mainstream attention, it was a debut to relish!