As release week for One for the Road draws to a close, I wanted to use today as an opportunity to say an extra big thank you to everyone who’s made this release such an incredible experience. Zach and DeeDee’s story is truly a special one to me, and I was so floored to see so many readers felt the same. The weeks leading up to the book’s release were filled with so much enthusiasm and anticipation from readers, and it left me humbled and beyond grateful to have the place in this community that I do.
This is, of course, an odd time to be releasing books. It’s filled with so many questions and dilemmas for authors, and I know I’m not the only self-published author who found themselves wondering if putting a book into the world right now is really the most sensitive thing. The mind boggling response to One for the Road, however, left me with no doubt that stories are more important than ever.
I’d like to share an excerpt from the book’s acknowledgments section here, since I think it sums up what I’m feeling quite well:
“The journey that takes a story from an idea to a fully formed book sitting in a reader’s hands is long, winding, and often feels like hauling yourself along the side of a mountain through thick fog with nothing put a thin rope to assure you you’re not going to plummet all the way to the rocks below. It can be an extremely solitary journey, but the more times I scramble along that perilous path, the more helping hands I discover waiting to pull me up higher than I’ve ever been before. I add a new layer of depth to my definition of ‘gratitude’ with every book I put out into the world, and that has never held truer than now.
Releasing a story amidst a backdrop of panic, fear, and grief that has reached every corner of the world has left me with so many questions: about myself, about my role as a writer, about the ways life does and does not work. A lot of those questions may leave me wondering forever, but knowing that in this moment, you are holding this book in your hands and reading these words brings me the most important answer I could ever ask for.
There is still a place for stories in this world, and as long as that place remains, I will write them. So, thank you, dear reader. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for proving that stories have always been and will always be one of the things we can count on when everything else seems to fall apart.”
Thank you for taking a shot on One for the Road, whether that’s been as a reader, a blogger, a supportive fellow author, or simply someone cheering me on from afar. You make every day of this author journey worth it, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us all.
Love,
Katia
