I am a new author...

Most of you have never heard of me...or maybe you have since you found your way to my blog.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Kristine Raymond and I am a newly published author. Very new. As in, three months new. I self-published my first novel on November 6th. I am getting ready to publish my third novel on February 15th. A lot of people told me that I was moving too fast. In some ways, they were right. But it was important to me to release on the schedule that I had created for myself. And I did it! (Well, on the 15th, I will have done it!)

It has never been my lifelong dream to become an author. I never really gave it much thought. I tossed the idea around once or twice, way before self-publishing came on the scene. And I always thought that it was too much trouble to find a publisher and find an editor. I never wanted it badly enough to do those things. My husband told me on and off for years that I should write a book. I'd laugh and say, "Yeah, right, someday."

So what made me sit down at my keyboard this past Labor Day weekend and start writing? I wish I had the answer to that question. And it's a question that comes up often in interviews. "What inspired you to become a writer?" I don't know. Honestly; I don't know. I've always felt that I was a creative person. I just had trouble figuring out exactly where that creativity lay. I tried music, crafts, jewelry making, crocheting; and although I enjoy all of those things, I never really had a passion for them.

So back to writing. I love to read. And I love to correct spelling and grammar. (I would have made a great English teacher! Well, except that I don't like teaching.) So over the summer I decided to start a proofreading business. I saw it as a chance to do two things that I love. My first 'job' was proofing for a friend of mine who had just self-published her first book. As I talked to her about the process, I started thinking that maybe I could write a book. It took me another month to talk myself into it and on Labor Day weekend I sat down and wrote my first novel. (Not in one weekend, mind you, it took me 18 days.) I hit publish nine weeks after that and I was hooked!

So now I am a published author. And though it's only been three short months, I can't believe how much I have learned and how far that I've come. I've met some truly amazing people along the way, people who inspire me and cheer me on, people whom I've never met face to face but who have become lifelong friends. And I've discovered that I LOVE to write. It took me 46 years to find my passion.

My advice to you? No matter what age you are, don't stop until you have found yours!