The Author Moment

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:27 PM

Small confession here: I don't tell a lot of people at home that I'm a writer. Aside from a few friends and coworkers, I don't think many people know about it. I try to avoid talking about it. I get kind of embarrassed when I try to explain what my book's about. Why this is, I don't know, but I'd guess it has something to do with being a rather private person, and hoping to avoid people looking at me like I'm a little more nuts than they already do.

To get even more personal, I had a really fun afternoon this past summer getting together with some girls I went to high school with. My old girl scout troop. Yeah, I was nerdy enough to be a scout all the way through school :) I had some wonderful friends in the troop and it was a great experience. Anyhow, we had a little reunion, and when it was my turn to say what I'd been up to for the past 10 years, I gave my little spiel and casually threw in that my book was coming out this May. Everyone stared at me, and finally one of the more vocal girls in the group went something along the lines of "Well, way to make us all feel great!" Yeah, I felt like a real dork. So I have kind of kept my mouth shut in my close circles.

Anyhow, the point of this post, is to note that I really think I've been ridiculously stupid. Hello! I've worked my a$$ off to become a published author. I've had my share of tears, frustration, and deleting every last writing file off my hard-drive (oh yeah, I've done it!). And maybe because I've spent the last month in a new country, meeting new people, I've been proud to tell them that I'm an AUTHOR. My book is going to be published. I am stoked about this beyond all belief.

And it's felt pretty damn good :)

So, has anyone else experienced the Author Moment? The moment when you tell someone else that "hell yeah, I write books!" and really felt that awesome sense of pride in what you've accomplished? Because, really, I'm feeling it, and it's pretty dang nice.

(Oh, and just as a little note, I'm going to be running a contest here soon, with some super exciting NEWS that may or may not having to do with a lovely cover--stay tuned!)