Thank You for an Amazing Launch Week

Last week was amazing, and it’s all because of you and people like you. Grave Consequences launched on the 14^th of July and it made it to the top 100 on Amazon. I can tell you I had not expected that.

One of the things we’re told is to not follow the ups and downs of your rankings. They change with just about every tick of the clock. But, you can imagine my surprise when I looked and saw it at number 97, and then within minutes, or so it seemed, it crept up to number 83. After that, I made myself stop looking. I know it will fluctuate wildly. That’s to be expected.

But I want to thank all of you for coming alongside me on this writing journey. It’s been one full of twists and turns and unexpected surprises, to say the least. To have even been told back in 2014 that I should continue to write was my first surprise. I guess I should back up and say, that I was attending a writers conference in the first place was surprise number one. The other would be number two.

Then winning awards for my work followed that and being asked to be in Michelle Medlock Adams’s Love and Care for the One and Only You, Expanded Edition, was a total surprise. Add to that, being asked to submit work for Yvonne Lehman’s Moments books and to be in her writing group, The Blue Ridge Writers, almost left me speechless. Seriously, I thought she was kidding.

But here we are, all those things and six years later, many conferences beneath my belt, taught by the most amazing writers/teachers out there, and I may say I’m a published author. At this point, it still seems surreal. Like someone else’s life.

Why God chose me for this path, I honestly cannot say. I never thought of myself as a writer. Not a serious one, anyway. I thought I’d be that mom who went out of her way to help her kids with their school projects. No, I wasn’t that mom, the one who did all the work and the kids got the credit. I simply explained things and pointed out what was good and what wasn’t, asked many questions about how they thought they could improve. Today, they are all excellent writers and all are very creative.

I guess when it comes down to it, God thought I had something to say. Something someone needs to hear told in a way that only I can do. Another surprise. That God would use me in such a way.

I’m sure if my parents were still living, they’d be very surprised. They always saw me as the daughter who sang. For most of my life, that is how I saw myself, too. But then God placed story within my heart. I can’t explain it in any other way.

I want to thank everyone who was with me on this journey. All those people I met at conferences who encouraged me. Those who taught me. My critique groups. Mentors who’ve become friends. My family for believing in me and for encouraging me along the way. My launch team. To Edie Melson for taking a greenhorn to social media and teaching me what to do. To Eva Marie Everson for teaching and guiding me, for believing in me. To Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and Firefly Southern Fiction for taking a chance on me. From the bottom of my heart, thanks to each one of you.

Thank You for an Amazing Launch Week @DDuPreeWilliams #writing #faith Share on X