Trying New Things

I have to admit that I’ve been dreading writing this blog post. I am what people not-so-affectionately call a technosaur. I don’t understand blogging or social media or any of the other internet things most people seem so at ease with. My children are perpetually disappointed in my level of coolness.

New ventures are always scary for me. It wasn’t so long ago that the thought of writing a book had me quaking in my boots. But, look at me now. My fourth book, Pandora, was just published a few days ago, along with a boxed set of my first three yesterday. I guess you could say that I conquered that particular fear.

 

Not all firsts are scary, though. I signed my very first autograph on a cruise ship over the Thanksgiving holiday. Not because someone recognized me from the back cover of one of my books, but because she overheard me answer the question "What do you do?" with "I'm a writer." She said her daughter was an avid reader and would kill her if she didn't get the autograph of a published author. Of course, I warned her just how "not famous" I am, but it didn't matter. She wanted my autograph, and I was thrilled.

 

I've been lucky, too. There are a couple of seriously tech-savvy women in the WorldWiseWriters group that hold my head above water every time I start to drown. And I taught a creative writing class at a local high school a few months back (yep, another first) which gave me unfettered access to a roomful of social media wizards. Honestly, I think they taught me just as much as I taught them.

As for my progress with the thoroughly intimidating internet, I’ve come a long way. I have a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a YouTube channel. Now, I must confess, I probably do everything wrong on all of those, but at least I’m trying. I get points for that, right?

 

Maybe one day I’ll be fluent in this stuff. Maybe the lessons I’ve tried to learn from people way smarter than me will finally sink in. Maybe one day I’ll wake up to a million likes/followers/subscribers. Maybe.

For now, though, I’ll just be happy to be on this crazy journey. It’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever done, probably because of all of the “firsts” I’ve had to deal with.

 

At least now I can check one more “first” off my list. My very first blog post. I hope I didn’t embarrass my children too much.