CONGRATULATIONS! WE PUBLISHED OUR FIRST BOOK------THE WORK HAS JUST BEGUN

     After months of writing, and re-writing, yesterday was a big day. We self-published our first book, and it was very exciting. The feeling of accomplishment can never be undervalued, nor should the accomplishment be taken for granted. It comes with several hours of commitment, determination, and perseverance.
    However, if all that we wanted to say was that we published a book, and that we are published authors, than bravo, congratulations, we have succeeded. Yet, that was not our goal, no our goal is far loftier, which only leads to greater challenges. We have climbed out of the basement, but now the next challenge is self-promotion, and finding other platforms of distribution, while moving forward and working on improving our craft.
    All of those people who have reached some level of fame, in their quest to be the best, have one thing in common. They practice their craft with total abandonment.
The following is attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who said:
“A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place.” 
 While writing our first book, My DIARY My LOVE we simultaneously wrote a second book. We promised ourselves that we would continue to practice our craft, and continue to improve with each story.
     Nikkole Hall, my writing partner, who also is a very talented, award-winning, singer, has shown me that desire is only a small part of the process. She is correct, it helps to have desire, but it was secondary. I was determined to not only write the first novel, but to write a second one at the same time, because I knew that we could.
    With that accomplishment, comes more work, perseverance, steadfast determination, and more practice. We must hone our skills if we want to succeed in reaching our goals.