October 22, 2008

Guest Chica ~ Tracy Garrett

Filed under: Behind the Book — Dennie ~ @ 5:33 am

Sitting on Water

Recently I coaxed our 7 month old puppy, Wrigs, into the lake for the first time. True to his parentage, he took right to the water, walking around in the rocky shallows, snapping at the waves, his tail wagging like fury the entire time. Then he did the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while: he tried to sit on the water.

With the sun out, the reflection on the surface made it look solid—at least to Wrigs. He lowered himself slowly toward the water, obviously waiting for the shiny surface to hold him up. The look on his face when he just kept sinking was priceless.

I think we’ve all tried to “sit on water”, to rest ourselves on something that looks solid and trustworthy, only to have it give way beneath us. Be it good reviews, solid sales numbers, a multiple book contract—just when everything seems to be lining up right, we go to sit on the surface of our success and –splash– we’re treading water all over again. The publisher says “no thanks” to your latest proposal. Or life gets in the way and the deadline train goes rolling past without slowing down to let you on.

What is there to do but give up or drag yourself out of the mud and try again? Quitting isn’t an option. You have to write. So you shake the water out of your keyboard and try again. Or you submit to another publisher. Or… You get the idea.

But this time, don’t try to sit on the water.

Touched by Love ~ coming November 4, 2008 from Zebra Historical Romance

www.tracygarrett.com

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6 Responses to “Guest Chica ~ Tracy Garrett”

on 22 Oct 2008 at 6:44 am Dennie ~

this is so timely… I have been in a major slump–er ah, stuck in the mud
on 22 Oct 2008 at 10:46 am Nerd Snark

Dennie, I think everyone is in a major slump right.

And I love the analogy. Success is so subjective, but it really does help to have a foundation (not based on your perceived success) to hold you up.
on 22 Oct 2008 at 4:54 pm Tracy Garrett

Good evening, Chicas. Dennie, glad it struck a chord - we’re all in this together.

Hi Nerd Snark! You’re right, we all hit that slump at some point.
on 22 Oct 2008 at 8:10 pm Tanya

But this time, don’t try to sit on the water.

Sage advice. I’ll definitely try and remember it.

Thanks for the inspiring post. BTW, your cover is HOTTTT! Love them cowboys.
on 22 Oct 2008 at 8:52 pm Vanessa Jaye

I think we’ve all tried to “sit on water”, to rest ourselves on something that looks solid and trustworthy, only to have it give way beneath us.

Oh yes! lol. Great post, Tracy. And congrats on your release!
on 23 Oct 2008 at 8:29 am Tracy Garrett

Hi Tanya - yea, the cover gods have been VERY good to me. I received my author copies yesterda and he’s even better “in person”.

Morning, Vanessa. And thanks. I’m really excited to finally have Touched by Love on the shelves.