Secret Cravings 4th Anniversary Blog Hop: Good Things Happening Here!

Welcome to Living the Dream, the blog where I celebrate events in my life, promote fellow authors, and take stock of my own career as a romance writer. Deciding to try my hand at being a professional author after retiring from teaching is something I’ll never regret. Has it all been sunshine and roses? Of course not. Writing a book takes time and patience. It takes dedication and being willing to put yourself and your ideas out there where anyone can tear them to shreds,  but I love what I do, and with each book I write, I claim a teeny, tiny piece of immortality. As an author, I like to celebrate book birthdays–the dates my books are released for the first time. In 2013, I celebrated 6, but 4 books were taken off the market when an unscrupulous publisher closed her doors. Thanks to SCP, Coming Home, Book One of the Taking a Chance on Love series was re-released in October of 2014, becoming one of the 9 books I released last year. Among them were Grand Slam and Echoes of the Past, both published by SCP. To date, all 12 books are out there, alive and well. Nine of them bear my name, 3 are coauthored with Misty Cail under the name, Misty Matthews. What an incredible accomplishment! You can drop by my website to check them all out. In 2015, I hope to celebrate just as many wonderful releases, both as Susanne Matthews and Misty Matthews.

Celebrating anniversaries is a popular way to mark significant events in people’s lives. On December 24, 2014, my parents celebrated 65 years of marriage. That’s quite an accomplishment. Mom and Dad continue to live in the family home, and although both are in their late eighties, they take care of themselves pretty much on their own. They’ve both survived cancer–breast for her, prostate for him. They’ve both had at least one heart attack, and she has a pacemaker. He may need to get one soon. He has had his hip replaced three times, and they both need canes to get around outside now, but their relationship has withstood all these hardships. Theirs is a love that endures, the kind we all hope is out there. They’ve taught me about commitment and compromise. Because of their example, my husband and I celebrated 43 years together last September, my sister and her husband, 40. Those stats defy the odds today.

Mom and Dad are also my greatest fans, having read all of my books, and eagerly awaiting more. Since Dad can’t drive at the moment, I’ve been playing chauffeur, and I have to admit to feeling warm all over when he introduces me to his Royal Canadian Legion buddies as his daughter, the author. I don’t care how old you get, you never tire of knowing you’ve made your parents proud of you.

On February 13, I’ll celebrate the anniversary of signing my very first contract. Fire Angel was released on April 23, 2013 Shakespeare’s birthday, a significant date in the life of an English teacher and an author, and an anniversary I’ll honor for years to come. It was the sale of that book that started everything. It gave me the courage to write the next book, and then the one after that.

SCP continues to promote and support my efforts as a writer. Beth, Sandy, Jean, Tamara, and all the other authors, editors, publishers are on my side, pushing me to be the best I can be. I’m proud to be one of their authors and look forward to working with them in the future. Happy 4th Anniversary, SCP. May there be many more. Now, please visit the SCP blog site for more great anniversary posts. http://secretcravingspublishing.blogspot.ca/