A catchy phrase that defines the business world is that "people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." The reasoning behind why a company, or person, does what they do defines the product that they create. I am a huge believer in this idea. If you're reading this, and also adhere to this belief, then you'll understand where my stories come from and why they exist. 

 

Let me paint it simply. I write because I can't stand not to write.

 

I've had stories spinning around in my head since I was a child. My first "published" work was created when I was four. I wrote and illustrated some kind of silly story on 8x11 sheets of copy paper. My grandparents took the sheets to an office supply store and had them laminated and spiral bound. I was hooked.

 

People ask where most of my ideas come from, and truthfully, I don't know. I don't go looking for them. They just kind of find me, and when they do I can't leave them alone. Before smartphones, I would carry around plain, moleskin notebooks and jot down ideas as they'd strike me. This, of course, made me really cool in high school. But sometimes it's like that, right? An idea hits me, and I spend the next several months, or even years, playing with it until it becomes something. Or doesn't.

 

And that's just how it goes. It probably sounds kind of complicated, and maybe like a bit of a gamble. Let me complicate it further. So, I get an idea, and I write it down. The idea becomes an array of sticky notes and scribbles on white boards while I test them out. Then, I actually write the book. And then, I rewrite it, and rewrite it, and rewrite it, as many times as it takes.

 

All of this is just the process of creating the book, but what I've learned over the years is that this is the easy part. Writing the book is simple. Getting people to care that you wrote the book, now that's hard. As a writer, I can't just be a creator, I have to be a businesswoman. I have to promote, market, sell, and scale. There's interviews, meetings, advertisements, and data. It can be all-consuming and incredibly overwhelming, all in hopes that someone picks the book up off a shelf or adds it to their Amazon cart.

 

So, why do I do it? What could possibly be worth all of that time and effort? It's not the money, it's because I genuinely love it. I can't picture myself doing anything else that I would adore more. Creating stories and characters that take readers into a new world is a gift. And here's the thing. I would do it even if no one ever cared. I would do it even if I never made any money at all. I would write no matter what because I can't stand not to. Every story I create is made with real love, real passion, real enthusiasm, and real heart. I hope you get a sense of this love and heart as you dive in to my work. 

 

- HJH