2023 has probably been the turning point for me as a writer. After the continuous inner struggle I’d been going through during the previous two years right after I’d published my first book, I feel that this year, I have finally surrendered. I am a writer, and writing is front and centre in my life.
I can already see a smirk on some people’s faces. Inner struggle? A writer? Who does she think she is? Well, with an open heart and a free conscience, I can confess that I have gone through all the stages, appropriate for every wannabe. And I think I have earned my redemption.
Yes, I did try to pretend that all of it isn’t serious. I did feel awkward when after telling people that I’ve written a book – and then two, three, four – everything they seemed to be interested in was how much I earn from it. I felt utterly discouraged when I heard catchphrases spoken in a tone of indifference and condescending contempt: “A true talent will always find a way.” What if I never achieve anything financially, I wanted to ask – but never did, smiling and nodding in reply to the well-meant (I hope) wisdom. Does it mean that my journey – with its ups and downs, with moments of the most intense inspiration and the feeling of ultimate fulfilment – was in vain?
Well, now that the year 2023 has almost come to its close, I don’t want to make a wish. Instead, I want to send my deepest gratitude to the Universe for having arrived at the destination. The destination which is a transit point, but the most significant one in the whole journey. Without having reached it, I couldn’t have moved forward.
2023 was rich in writing-related events.
In April, I published my fifth book. “The Accidental Cop” is so unlike my four previously published novels that even my husband – who is my rock, my driving force, my guiding star, in one word, my everything – was wary about how the story would be accepted by the readers. I was afraid too, but, knowing how much I needed to write this book, how strong was the pull to put it down on paper, give it a form and share it with the world, I had faith that Roberts would find his way into people’s hearts.
The feedback I keep receiving is such that makes my heart swell with joy.
“Through the intensity of his circumstances, crushed and with nothing left to hope for, he still hopes. We long for his triumph, and we rejoice in the little acts of goodness that prove that hope is not a wasted emotion.” These words from a review of “The Accidental Cop” made up for every flicker of insecurity, for every worry that I had about this book.
In 2023, its release year, “The Accidental Cop” has won two literary awards:
– a Finalist award in the Pacific Book Awards 2023 contest / Best Thriller category
– an Honourable Mention award in the 2023 Royal Dragonfly Book Award contest / Fiction Novel category
Moreover, two more of my books have received their first literary awards.
“Tangle of Choices”, book two of the Neglected Merge trilogy, has won an Honourable Mention award in the 2023 Royal Dragonfly Book Award contest in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.
“Finding Your Way”, a coming-of-age story set in Latvia in 2008, has won an Honourable Mention award in the 2023 Royal Dragonfly Book Award contest in the Culture Diversity category.
Although these are important cornerstones in my writing journey, as the most significant event for me as a writer I consider the meeting with a wonderful person, a talented writer, a person with an outstanding entrepreneurship spark – Steven Decker.
Steven Decker is an Amazon bestselling author of two metaphysical science fiction book series: Time Chain and Another Kind. He also has published a beautifully inspiring story “Walking Into Dreams” that remains my favourite of his highly imaginative and action-packed novels.
Steven and I met through the Writing Community on X/Twitter. Since the day I joined this platform and accidentally stumbled upon the community of writers there, by adding the first hashtag that popped up when I started typing writ-, it remains the place where I feel most understood and supported as a writer.
We started to communicate and discovered that we share the same hunger for talking about writing and book marketing we can’t fully satiate by talking with people from real life. So, when Steven announced that he was going on a trip to Europe, with one of the destinations being Oslo, Norway, I knew right away that this was a sign the Universe was giving me. We had to meet! You see, Oslo is the city that I’ve visited regularly in the last decade. The tickets were bought, the hotel booked, and the waiting time rushed by at lightning speed since both Steven and I were busy with our – endless – bookish activities.
We spent a wonderful day in Oslo in June. The weather was not northerly but treated us with the utmost summer kindness. I am happy that Steven has met all my family. My son was so impressed by the way my husband and I chatted with Steven that his determination to learn English has even strengthened. Moreover, after that trip, he downloaded a Duolingo app and since then, has been learning Norwegian.
For me, meeting a person who has succeeded as an independently published author was what I needed at that particular stage of my own writing path. I felt stuck. By that time, I’d tried so many book marketing methods, every one of which had failed, that I was disoriented regarding what to test next. Steven gave me a sense of direction. And it is even more valuable than a magic wand. I think that believing in overnight success can be more harmful than experiencing failures and disappointments on the long road leading to it. So, I am thankful to Steven for helping me set up a new plan and start acting upon it.
Meeting Steven also made me realise that I do have a wish I’d like to make while the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s night. Still, I’d like to think about it as a resolution, not a wish.
I want to meet at least some of the authors who have been inspiring me and supporting me during the last three years of my author journey. I will do my best to make it happen!
Happy New Year to everyone. Let 2024 bring you everything you dream about and more.
Don’t you dare give up. I intend to repeat it over and over again, hoping to feed the great egregore of creativity. The world needs more happiness, more kindness, and more people who fulfil their talent and destiny.
Eve's Book Diary 
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