Just a quick post tonight or should I say early morning. I’ve been up researching and studying for my next book that I’m going to write. As I was taking notes, I began to think back to summer of 2013, and that’s when I met Ernie Dempsey. I met him for lunch and drilled him on how does someone become a published author. I’ll be honest with you, I was clueless!! At that time, I had already written a couple of Jasmine books; one was written back in 2010 (saved on a word document).
At that time, he had a few published already. I had so many questions, and he was meeting me on his lunch break. He took time out of his schedule to help me. That was the first of a number of meetings with him, and I’ll never forget it. The crazy thing about that first meeting is I took notes on my I-phone, and later when I got home I noticed I had for some reason deleted those notes.I guess I was having a ginger moment and was still getting used to my new I-phone. I remember messaging him later and said “could we meet up again, I accidentally deleted my notes.” Of course, he said yes and thankfully I had a notebook and pin with me on that next one.
He gave me HOPE that my dream of being a published author could be accomplish and then in later meetings taught me about how to get started on a website. I know ultimately I sat down and wrote my books, but he guided and mentored me during the process. Let me tell you, it was like going back to school, but so worth it. I could say so much more, but I will do so at a later date. Then later in September, I met Jo Linsdell, my illustrator, and then the publishing/illustrating process began. By December, I was a published author. My dream came true! Of course, I had the support of family and friends, but in the beginning of this crazy and fun journey, I met Ernie who definitely set me on the right path to see my dream become a reality. He started off as my mentor, but now I’m thankful I can call him a friend as well.
Thank you Ernie !
If you want to read more about Ernie, here’s his webiste: ernestdempsey.net He has awesome blog posts about life and always very encouraging.
The first picture that I shared on my author page on Facebook. |
My friend Betsy gave this notebook with my favorite quote on it on Monday. She knows me so well.. The perfect gift for me because I’m always writing something, and I love notebooks. |