Sunday Secrets

I’m writing this at 5:30 a.m. - before another part of me gets up - the part that will say that it’s a bad idea. Hopefully, the part of me that knows how to type in the dark is awake enough to prevent this post from looking like gibberish.

There’s something magical about Sunday mornings when the world is still asleep and only the universe is around to hear you. You can whisper your most secret hopes and dreams into your pillow and not worry about sounding greedy or audacious. On Sunday mornings, it’s okay to want too much.

A more experienced blogger friend of mine told me that no one reads blogs on weekends. Thank God. I don’t think I would have the courage to post this if I thought anyone was going to read it. It’s Sunday morning and I’m here to whisper my secret.

There’s a part in BEFORE EVER AFTER where I wrote:

“Instant coffee, followed closely by fat-free mayo, was the biggest lie ever told to humankind, Shelley thought. Her life with Max had just leap- frogged over it. All three looked exactly like what they were pretending to be on the outside, but the truth inside was a different matter. She could not digest any of them.”

I neglected to include another lie. People have asked me how I feel about my book being published. I always answer that I couldn’t be happier – that I couldn’t ask for anything more. This is a lie. The pillow beneath my head knows the truth. It hears the dreams I whisper when I think no one else – including myself – can hear. I want more…

I want people – lots and lots and lots of people to read BEFORE EVER AFTER. I want them to know Max and Shelley’s story. I want Max and Shelley to walk around inside their heads and keep them company on rainy afternoons. I want people to love them as much as I do. I want four little words to be printed above the title of the book: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER.

Audacious? Yes. Greedy? Of course. But it’s a secret and it’s Sunday morning. It’s okay to want too much.