No? Ha! Watch me.

By Suzie Carr
@girl_novelist

When you love what you are doing, nothing in this universe will ever stop you from doing it. 
I dreamed of being a novelist since I was a senior in high school. Back then, I’d sit under the maple tree in my backyard on warm, sunny days and free write. I’d write in the car on road trips. I’d write in the waiting room of my dentist, doctor, or hairdresser. I’d write anywhere a pen and notepad was allowed.

Find what you love and do it.
I had to become a novelist. I couldn’t live any other life. This hunger has thrived in me for years. It’s seen me through the writing of a couple of novels that sat on my computer waiting to be read by someone other than me.

You are the determining factor in your destiny. No one else has that power.
With all major publishers in the lgbt genre closefisted from receiving unsolicited manuscripts from an unagented writer, my future as a novelist seemed pretty bleak by most standards. But, I refused to give up hope.

I kept writing anyway, refusing to allow a handful of people to get in my way and tell me no. I wouldn’t allow anyone to control my destiny like that. I loved creating fictional worlds too much to have ever allowed that to happen. I could feel this love, like a tickle deep down in my core. That was what I held onto.

Believing in your dreams pays off.
I didn’t know how I would ever get my books out there for readers to read, but I just knew it would happen. Just as the earth rotates, the tide pushes in and rushes back out, the sun rises and the sun sets, I too, knew, without a doubt, I would end up a novelist. I would work hard, learn my trade, learn from other’s succeeding in my trade, and never stop learning and refining.

Fast forward a few years into my hard work to the fall of 2010. I sat in the front row of an investment class. I listened to a successful investor educate us on the importance of resolve and the will to succeed. Then, he said something that made me feel like he was talking directly to me. He said one of his dreams was to write a book about investing. He did. He then bypassed all traditional publishers and opted for self-publishing. His words that still echo in my mind are, “Everyone should experience the process of writing a book. It’s truly cathartic.”

I went home that night with a beating heart that wouldn’t quit. I logged onto Amazon and discovered the path that would lead me to my destiny as a novelist.

It’s your life, your passion, your destiny.
I’m so glad I didn’t listen to the handful of people who thought they could dictate my future. No way will I ever give anyone that kind of power over my life, over my passion, over my destiny. I’m a novelist not out of luck, but out of hard work, out of a hunger to learn and refine, and most importantly, out of the love of it all.

Have faith in what you love.
Never let anyone tell you no. You have the power to say yes to anything that tickles your core, anything that gets your heart pumping, anything that you desire.

Wishing you much success,
Suzie Carr

I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to the NOH8 Campaign (www.noh8campaign.com).