Words of Wisdom
Finding your passion.
Don’t dream. Do it.
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
—Mark Twain
True words from a master. Yet I can’t limit my personal milestones to Mark Twain’s total of two. There are other moments I value as highly; the days I met and married my husband; the days each one of our beautiful boys was born.
Still, if I were to consider Mark Twain and his words, I’d say the day I discovered writing was the day I found my passion.
Make your life exciting. Find out what gives you joy and makes your heart dance, and do it.
My writing journey began five years ago, and for the first two of those years, I wrote what I thought I could rather than what I should. I didn’t follow my passion.
From a young age I devoured any books that melded romance with crime and/or suspense. But when it came to writing, I didn’t believe in my ability enough to follow that path. So instead of the double genre, I went for the single – romance.
I won’t say those years were wasted. Any time spent acquiring skills that lead toward your ultimate goal are never a waste. But they weren’t spent doing what I loved above all else. Something was lacking. My subconscious knew. In every book I wrote, suspense tried desperately to wheedle its way in. I resisted. For two years I resisted. But after a handful of rejections and unsuccessful competition entries, I stopped, re-evaluated and thought what the hell?
I wasn’t succeeding at what I thought was ‘the easy option’ for me. Not that writing a great romance is easy. Hell, no! It’s damned difficult. But I’d always considered the melding of two genres doubly difficult.
Still, by giving romantic suspense a go, what did I have to lose? Other than time, that is?
I gave it more than ‘a go’ – I threw every bit of my heart and soul into my writing. Sat at my computer every spare moment I had. Entered every competition I could. And something happened. Something magnificent.
Lethal in Love was born.
Achievement comes from within. If you don’t feel it, it won’t make any difference what anyone else thinks
—Michelle Somers Lethal in Love, episode 2
Suddenly I believed in something more than I doubted it. I believed in my story. I believed I had something valuable to say. And with that belief came success.
Just under a year ago, I pitched Lethal in Love to Lex Hirst at Random House. Lex saw what I saw in my story. Something special. An opportunity to launch a new digital romantic suspense serial line.
My dream had come true. My story would be published for readers to devour and enjoy.
Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.
—Hebbel
Only when I discovered my passion did I discover what it meant to succeed.
Soap-box time. Yes, there is a purpose to this blog.
Find your passion. And no matter what that passion, throw everything you have at it until the universe can’t ignore you. Instil belief in your heart, and don’t let anything, or anyone, tell you it can’t be done. It can, if only you believe.
You are the designer of your destiny. Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.
—Henry Ford
I am blessed with three beautiful boys. If there is one thing that this journey has taught me, it is that life is its very own lesson.
I hope that by watching their mummy succeed, they will learn that nothing is beyond their reach.
And I hope that after reading this, you realise nothing is beyond yours, either.
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
—Walt Disney
Keep chasing those dreams until your belief is so great you can’t help but catch them.
And don’t forget to enjoy the journey.
I’d like to leave you with one more quote. My favourite. A sum of how I wish my journey to unfold.
I think the whole world is dying to hear someone say, ‘I love you.’ I think that if I can leave the legacy of love and passion in the world, then I think I’ve done my job in a world that’s getting colder and colder by the day.
—Lionel Richie