Sometimes striving for what we want has unintended consequences. As an author, I love to read, which is a solitary endeavor. I also write, obviously, which is also very secluding. I'm okay with that. My husband loves to pitch ideas, complain about certain story lines, and give his two cents in general. We work it out.
Now, I am not a shy person in the real sense. Talking to others is not terrifying or even unpleasant most of the time. I just tend to people watch rather than participate in large group conversations. No biggie. I'm gathering character quirks and body language fodder for my writing. So in general, I keep to myself.
When my first books were published, the circus of promotion and interviews just hit like a rhino to the gut. And I struggled to figure out who Raquel, the author, was in relation to me the mom and wife and friend.
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| Dollar Store Hamlet |
But its growing on me, this reaching out, this connecting with people who I know nothing about except for the fact that, like me, you like to read. You get excited by and lost in stories just like me. You carry the loss of a favorite character or the buzz of an exciting near miss with you all day even hours after putting your book down...Just like me.
The connections I've made and interactions I've enjoyed surprised me at first. I enjoyed repartee over music with a Swedish keyboardist, been taught how to really SEE a pictures meaning by a photographer just one town over. And live tweeted a viewing of the movie 2001 with a couple who'd never seen it either. None of us 'got it' but it was fun nonetheless.
So what was once an intimidating endeavor for an introvert writer has become a pleasure that I look forward to everyday. And I just wanted to say that all of you are so encouraging and I am so grateful.
