It's going to be okay

“An Author to her Book” is a poem by Anne Bradstreet that I used to enjoy teaching. She addresses her book as her child personifying the motherly relationship with the words and images we place on the page. Throughout the poem, Bradstreet relays the internal struggle of not being good enough to dress her child for going out into the world and inevitably into the hands of critics.

With my latest novel sitting beside me, I hear the nagging little voices telling me I’m not good enough. I feel the tug to apologize for asking people to read my story, but I also have an excited quiver, making me feel alive. This is it. Ready or not, Shroud of Ice releases this Nov 25. This little guy is all set to tell the final chapters of the oldest cold case - Otzi the Iceman murdered over 5000 years ago. It’s a tale of the betrayal by those we love, a fight for survival as we make our way home, the power of forgiveness especially of ourselves, and the courage to believe we were meant for more.

But still, in the quiet of the morning with his brand new cover and bound pages I can’t help but ask him if he’s going to be alright out there. The world is a scary place.

He simply says, “It's going to be okay. I’ve got this, Mom.”