Here I am. At the end of one mountain with another one to climb. But which is the most insurmountable?
Writing was a special challenge because I'm sure every writer knows, the battle to find the time to write is real! I found myself tormented by real-world problems one after the other. But for me these problems have been a blessing in disguise.
If I had never had any health problems, I would never have left my programming job, spent so much quality time with my loved ones, including my grandfather who passed away during the writing of this book, and I probably would have never found the time to write. I'm a strong believer in fate, so the only way I can get over these many ordeals is to make sure that each one makes me a better writer and a better person.
Publishing, on the other hand, is an entirely different beast. Let's not talk about the time I thought I published it but months later found out I most definitely had NOT. I found myself at a service station with nothing but my phone at 30% battery around 4pm, staring at a button simply reading "Publish now". My battery died within an hour, and I hadn't ran it through auto-correct. Needless to say I spent the next 72 hours wrestling with Amazon to get the final product ready.
Both stages have their challenges, and I can't say I prefer either one. I do know however that I have thoroughly enjoyed both journeys, because of the loving support of the friends I made along the way, and the eternal loyalty of even older friends.
This is the most fun I could possibly have without risking my life. Even though there is so much to hate about writing (I had many long lectures with myself during self-reviews), and publishing, there's an infinite amount of beauty in them both.