As I’m sitting down to write this little butterflies are fluttering around and quickly turning to rays of sunlight struggling to burst out of me. And I’m a touch weepy. So here we go- before I turn into a puddle.

About a year ago, I got an idea. What if girls were married off, but for something other than money. Something they had, but they couldn’t control. Like…magic! And that was the start of a Young Adult Fantasy that’s taken over my life.

About six months later, it was fully written, revised, rewritten, revised again, given to critic partners, revised again- well, you get the picture. I dutifully sent it off to a list of agents. While I had my moments of doubt like all authors do, I believed in it. It felt right, good. Replies came in. Contests were entered. There some really great comments from a few agents and other writers. People liked the bits they were seeing and wanted to see more.

But then something wasn’t feeling right. I stopped sending queries even though I still had a list of agents. I let it sit while I worked on another project. But I keep thinking about not only how much I loved my book, but other people’s response to it. I couldn’t bring myself to do nothing. I hemmed and hawed. Should I send it to agents again? Should I go directly to publishers? Should I look at smaller publishers? What would be best for me and my book?

At first the answer came slowly. It had always been there tugging in the back of my mind. But soon it was tugging harder and harder. Then it morphed into a full on yank that felt not just better than any other option, but like it was the right option. The one I needed to go with. And so I decided to self-publish. That’s right, I’m going indie!

My debut YOU ARE MINE, a YA Fantasy, will be published on May 6, 2013.

To all those who have already given me so much support and encouragement and to those of you who will help in the future thank you, thank you, thank you! And yes, I’m no longer just a touch weepy, I’m full out bawling. No, you don’t get a picture.

And typical me, I rambled longer than I meant to. So, without further ado, here’s the blurb and a link to good reads if you’d like to add it.

YOU ARE MINE

Serena knows a few simple things. She will always be owned by a warlock. She will never have freedom. She will always do what her warlock wishes, regardless of how inane, frivolous, or cruel it is. And if she doesn’t follow the rules, she will be tarnished. Spelled to be bald, inked, and barren for the rest of her life—worth less than the shadow she casts.

Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.