From Here to There

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to meet one of my writing heroines, Maggie Stiefvater. Because she is so fabulous she is on an amazing book tour and had some stops in my city (she will soon be in London, continuing said book tour, ack! so jealous!!)

The reason I admire Maggie is not just for her beautiful prose and thrilling plots - she's also a startlingly impressive human being.

Take her post on the difficulties of becoming an author. When I signed with my agent and then got my book deal I felt as though I was walking on stars. I still feel that way. If I am so lucky as to be able to write books for the rest of my life I don't think that feeling will ever go away. But the star-filled life is also very hard. As Maggie points out there is doubt, there is rejection (lots of rejection), there is the sense that you might be crazy and that you may be the only person who understands why the dream of starwalks defines your very existence. It can be a lonely, lonely road.
But the choice to walk it belongs to you alone, and the reasons for which the path matters also belong to you alone. If you believe, that is enough. Listen to Maggie; after all, she's been on the New York Times bestseller list for several weeks now and still going strong. And...she just got a movie deal - ahem.