I know that as a writer, I’m not supposed to obsess about publishing. I’m supposed to put my head down and keep writing, and never to get discouraged when the rejection letters come.

But over the last year, I’ve had so much positive feedback on my work, that it’s hard not to feel like the world has forgotten one lonely young memoirist… blogging her way through the world.

Last year, after going to City Book Club, a book club where we’d invited an author to come, I  got home late and I called my husband on skype.  He was in China at the time, it was his noon, and he seemed especially entertained by me – here it was practically the middle of the night for me, i was slightly intoxicated, and bursting to tell my news: “Babe, I’m going to be a real writer!”

Although i had always considered graduate work, it’s not until i completed my first manuscript and attended a writing workshop or two that i started to get my feet wet in the world of writing. But something in that Book Club meeting had gone right that night, and i knew i was destined to get better at the craft. If i like it, and if my readers liked it, well then, i would evolve, grow, and challenge myself in new and interesting ways.  I dropped the idea of doing my Masters in Education, and i started following a new path: a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing!

The idea lingered over the summer, but it wasn’t until I started polishing my portfolio at length that i started thinking about which schools i would apply to, organizing references and engaging with Admissions Offices all across the country.

And I’m happy to report that I will be attending my longest residency ever – the first of five – at 2 weeks each! No six year olds, no phone calls, no meetings that can’t wait, no students rescheduling midterms or missing deadlines …  JUST ME, AND WRITING, and a PROMISE. A promise to myself that i will learn more, practice dedication and continue to live the life of an aspiring author, setting aside time each day to work to refine my skills.  Vermont College of Fine Arts, here i come.

Thanks to all the people who have helped me get to where i am today; in the midst of the endless query, but sometimes breaking out the “Well, I’m a writer…” at parties when people ask me what i do. I couldn’t have done it without my constant supports~ you, my readers.

Don’t worry, I’ll report back. 🙂