Fangirl to Friend – How I Fell Backwards Into the Indie Author Sisterhood Without Getting Arrested

Once upon a time, I was THAT reader.

The one who posted too much, said inappropriate things, anthropomorphized my BBF to a disturbing degree (I will still cut any misguided floozy who tries to flirt with Parker Black) and wrote fan fiction like I had a right to. By the grace of God and the fact that Cristin Harber most likely was either afraid and/or felt sorry for me, I found a tribe in her reader group.

As a further testament to Ms. Harber’s infinite graciousness and patience, I also found a spot to let my imagination and potty mouth be free. Thanks to Mark Zuckerberg and a nameless, faceless person who most certainly DID NOT find me either witty or interesting, I also found out about Facebook jail.

And the rest is history.

Because instead of stewing and plotting the demise of the tasteless stoolie who got me put behind cyber bars, I decided to write a series of free-range posts that introduced characters that, to this day, some believe are real.

Fast forward two years and countless f-bombs later. I’m minding my own business and Ms. Harber decides to turn my world upside down by asking me to write a book.

Boom.

Suddenly my name is in the company of people like Gennita Low. Suddenly, Gennita Low is actually TALKING TO ME!

Then Zoe York is liking my FB posts and Freya Barker is laughing at my idiocy. Sharon Kay is discussing her title struggles with me. I’m having chats with Laura Kaye and Ruby Dixon and Anna Zaires.

Whose life is this??!!??

Now, listen. I’m old enough to know that the playground in any school can be a tough place. There are people who don’t want you on their teeter-totter. There are people who think you don’t belong in that school, and people who don’t want another person in line to swing.

I get it.

But these are minor annoyances and quickly forgotten. Because the support and encouragement that this community gives as a whole is no joke. It has restored my faith in a slice of humanity and given me so much to be grateful for. It has given me incredible colleagues and life-long friends. It has given me a chance to have a life that I would never have dreamed of.

So if I ever get a person in my reader group who uses profanity just a little too much and posts five soliloquys to everyone else’s one liners, I’m going to get to know that person.

I may need to call the police. I am fairly certain that Cristin keeps them on speed dial.

But I also may have just discovered the next Nora Roberts. I just hope that if I do, I can be half as patient and encouraging as Cristin Harber. (Not that I am anywhere near the class of Nora Roberts, but you get the idea.) Because the greatest thing about this indie author sisterhood is that it IS a sisterhood, with the occasional brother thrown in to make things interesting. It is truly a community where lifting each other up is the norm and not the exception.

Now it is several years later.

I still ramble inane stuff constantly on social media. But I also have published two books and two more are on the near horizon. Yep, I fell ass backwards into all of it and I wouldn’t change a thing.

So if you want to read some really moist, juicy stuff, give my books a try. The first of my current series is titled Journey To Faithful. It is the first of a trilogy called The Faithful Trilogy that is all about losing, finding and keeping love – with some dogs and killers and hot, sexy men thrown in. The second book of the series, Home To Faithful, releases in late April 2018.

Check out my website for buy links, info and any of the other social media places listed below. I’m easy to find!

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