I'm a dreamer, but I never dreamed this

I grew up daydreaming.

Because of that I was never alone. An only child until I was six, I had every kind of pretend playmate -- including the kind that chased you back to the house. Or waited for you in the dark.

When we lived at our cabin near Lava Lake in the Gallatin Canyon, we had to make the trip to the outhouse at all hours. For a kid, it was pretty far -- especially at night. I would race out there, throw open the door, check to make sure no one was inside waiting for me, then quickly jump in and lock the door. The return trip was worse because you knew that they knew you were in there.

My parents probably thought I was afraid of bears. I feared something much scarier -- my own imagination.

I always imagined writing stories someday and having someone publish one -- though I had no idea how it worked and there was no one to ask.

But that's as far as my daydream went. I never equated the publishing part with someone giving me money for a story. I just wanted to see it in print and for another person to read it.

So when it finally happened and I got published, I was blown away. It was amazing. Someone had read my story and Woman's World magazine was going to publish it. I believe their circulation at the time was 1.3 million. I figured out that if even one-third of the readers read my story that would be...unbelievable. Not only that, they paid me $1,000 for my short story. I couldn't have been happier. It was way beyond my expectations.

Then I sold my first book to Harlequin Intrigue. It got a 4 1/2 star review (out of 4 1/2 stars), something else I hadn't expected because I hadn't even thought about reviews. Then I found out about conferences and met other writers who became good friends. Then there were the fans who wrote me wonderful letters, some of those fans from my first book still keeping in touch as book #44 hit the shelves last week. And then there were awards and now the first three books of my Whitehorse: The Corbetts have made Walden-Borders top ten bestseller list for series.

It's small potatoes in the big scheme of things. But it's more than I ever dreamed. I feel so blessed. I have met such wonderful people along the way, learned more than I ever wanted to :) and had so much fun doing what I love.

My book Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch was chosen to represent the Intrigue line this year to celebrate Harlequin's 60th anniversary. The book is being offered in ebook free at www.harlequincelebrates.com

I understand the printed version may also be given away during the Romance Writers of America conference held in Washington, DC in July 15-18. More on that later. (I will be at the Wednesday evening book signing, signing Whitehorse books, sorry these won't be free, but if you're in the neighborhood, drop by and say hello.)

I'm still amazed as I was when I sold my first short story. As I finish up my 47th book, sometimes I have to pinch myself it feels so much like a dream.

Except it's so much better than I ever dreamed and I feel like it's just beginning. :)