My Debut Author Journey

Sixteen years ago I was sitting in my usual spot on the living room couch when an idea for a romance story burst into my mind. Back then it was about a forbidden love. The main characters were established, but the storyline was chaotic—it lacked major somethin’, somethin’. I didn’t care, I wrote anyway. I ate, drank, and slept the images, backstories, dialogue, and unique essences of Ellie Capri Tanner and Ezekiel Larson. I wrote on scraps of paper, sticky notes, and dry erase boards. I eventually used the Notes feature on my cell whenever a thought came to mind.

Ezekiel is the handsome, A-list movie star who has it all. Ellie is an ordinary struggling wife and mother who longs for intimacy and attention from her husband. She and Ezekiel dwell in different worlds with the possibility of meeting standing at zero percent. The dangling question swirling in my brain—how will they ever meet? Oh, I forgot to mention the age gap. Thirteen years! She is older at nearly 42 trips around the sun. He has barely celebrated his 29th birthday.

Soon the story morphed into something much more than I had originally conceived. Suspense crept in and I went with it, adding a new character, Alana, who would cause mayhem and sew discord. Still, the story was blah, typical, just another romance in a sea of other romance novels.

I abandoned it, at least on paper, and focused my energy on a new project, a fantasy novel, with new characters, realms, magic, and Abigail, the MFC who had a knack for speaking to the dearly departed and a golden aura that attracted entities from around the universe. I had the beginning and ending mapped out, but damn, figuring out the middle was like trudging through knee-deep mud. I wrote anyway and built unique traits and special abilities for the other characters. I watched Abigail grow and learn and even fall in love. Okay, stick with me here. After months, probably more like years, I finally found my footing with the middle part and successfully completed the novel. It was a first draft and not ready for prime time, so I circled back to the story that had a hold on me stronger than titanium—Threads of Red, though that was not yet the title. I loved this story and its characters.

I read my old work in progress and read it again. I added and deleted and wrote furiously. I had the unmitigated gall to send queries and in some cases a synopsis. Womp, womp—they went into the slush-pile abyss.

I flipped back to the other novel, the one with Abigail, and polished away. Still, a power not of my making pulled me back to Threads of Red.

A few more years flew by until—abracadabra, like magic I stumbled upon an ancient myth—the missing element. Yay! I had the making of a fated romance in my midst. The fog cleared and the sun elbowed its way in. I was back in the writing saddle. The Red String of Fate myth became the cornerstone of my debut novel, Threads of Red. I combed the internet for information about this mythical string, but to my surprise there wasn’t much written about it. No worries. This meant I could shift to a retelling and play with the story as I saw fit. I hammered the keyboard with everything I had. Plots and subplots emerged, new character dynamics infiltrated the story, and that elusive red string brought the narrative to a new level.

With the fear of more rejection looming, I took a deep breath, reworked my query letter, narrowed down agents and publishers, and emailed more queries. This time I received a few responses with positive feedback, but no requests to read more. Ugh!

I couldn’t be the only one struggling with this book thing. Aspiring authors like me needed a mentor armed with information, support, and inspiration, that mentor was me. I stepped up and in 2021 my blog and social media pages were born. Since then, I’ve researched hundreds of writing related topics, written hundreds of articles, interviewed tons of authors, created thousands of memes, and branched out into making reels. My blog now spans over 37 countries on 5 continents with my Facebook and Instagram pages garnering nearly 10,000 followers. I learned so much about the writing process, the publishing industry—impostor syndrome, concrete rules, book must-haves, tips and tricks, submission options, self-editing tools, and writing platforms—then I took my own advice.

Fast-forward to 2025. I signed with Atmosphere Press and met the most amazing developmental editor. With her capable and experienced hands, she guided Threads of Red into a new and better novel. The revision process was stressful because I work at Newsday and had to juggle that along with the rewrites and managing my social media pages and blog. It was all worth it and I was happy to have deadlines and drama if that meant the book would be driven to new heights.

Red threads appear throughout the book, drawing the characters together in a whirlwind romance—spicy and satisfying—and tying them again in this life. Supernatural elements, revealing tarot cards, past lives that date back to the Celtic era, and intuitive visions all play a role in this debut novel.

But, wait just a minute, where is that suspense I promised? Oh, yeah, enter Alana, the crazy stalker who wants Ezekiel for her very own and wishes to replace Ellie. Alana disrupts their lives almost as much as the paparazzi and Hollywood lifestyle. Dysfunctional Alana’s focus becomes dangerous and deadly.

The lines of red connecting the characters are sometimes crooked, sometimes tangled, and sometimes knotted, but the red thread that bonds Ellie and Ezekiel is the most powerful one in Fate’s loom. It may stretch and warp, but it will never break. Readers will follow the lives of Ellie, Ezekiel, and Alana and wait on tenterhooks for their red threads to intersect. Ellie will grow and flourish, Ezekiel will protect as if he were still the knight he once was, and Alana will implode.

Read Threads of Red to find out what happens. Check back soon for story snippets, sneak peeks, character reveals, synopsis reveal, character dialogue, book and character playlists, how I navigated the promotional phase, book launch info, and links to purchase.

Sixteen years in the making and my dream is finally coming to fruition. Threads of Red will release in a few months. In the meantime I’m revisiting that other fantasy novel and working on book launch and promotional stuff. It's my hope that whoever is reading this never gives up on their dream of becoming a published author. If I can do it, you can too.