A Letter from Teresa for December 23

Hello Friends,

As the year comes close to an end, I often find myself reflecting on all the things that happened in 2015: the good, the bad and the ugly. The good is, I published two books this year, Wolf in the Pulpit, and my first romantic comedy, All of Me Loves All of You. The bad is, I didn't finish the collaboration I'm writing with author, Keith Gaston. The ugly is, I almost gave up on writing fiction. Yes! I nearly threw in the towel for good this time.

I know that people assume that authors make a lot of money from book sales. But as with anything you're trying to get people to buy, in order to make money, it has to be selling. That goes for books, too. If your book isn't selling then, obviously, you're not making money.

This year, I had to rid my mind of the "used to." You know, I "used to" be a top-selling African American author. I "used to" gross close to $6,000 per month in ebook sales. I had to face a hard truth and that is: I may never make that much from book sales ever again, and if I don't, will I continue to write?

Of course, I'm going to continue to write because that's what true writers do! Plus, each and every single time I start feeling down and out, one of my readers send me a message, and I'm reminded why I write fiction in the first place.

I write because I truly love doing it! To be truthful, I never thought I'd become as successful as I did. I never even dreamed I'd be a full-time author, earning an income from just writing books for the past five years, either. Yet, I did it. To say I'm thankful and grateful is an understatement. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

If I have to do something else in 2016 and write on the side, I'll gladly do it. I stepped out on faith, lived my dreams, and I have no regrets.

If you're thinking about giving up on something you love doing, I hope you find a little encouragement in reading this. Sometimes, doing what you love should not be all about the money.

Christmas is two days away and even though I don't have a lot of money to spend on stuff, I still consider myself blessed beyond measure. I have my family, friends and YOU! And YOU will always be the reason that I will never throw in the towel on writing.

Thank you for giving my books a chance. Thank you for continuing to read them and passing on the word about them. Thank you for not giving up on me when I sometimes wanted to give up on myself. I am forever grateful. May you and yours have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!!

Love,

Teresa