Last Thursday was more than usually exciting. I officially sold my book and I got a surprise delivery. Of the two, what I got from UPS turned out to be die bigger deal.
A bit of backstory might be helpful. Two years ago, I lost my best girlfriend. Angel, to cancer. She put up a terrific fight but the breast cancer made it to her brain. After she was blind, before she lost her voice, the first thing she asked every time I called was, "Any news on the book?" She was, it's fair to say, my biggest fan.
But I had no news on the book before her death–which is one of my few regrets. I had started writing the next book before she died. It was about her and she had given me her blessing. I didn't have a tide yet but I had this nagging feeling it had something to do with pirates. So I created a file called, "Pirates," and everything I wrote about Angel went into that file.
Last Thursday, more than two years after Angel's death, I finally received my contract but instead of the elation I was expecting, I was hit with a massive wave of misgivings. As I read the contract, I realized I was going to have to do a lot more work than I ever imagined. I wondered if it was worth it. Everything Id done suddenly felt worthless. I sincerely doubted I would ever be successful.
I heard the UPS driver make a delivery. I didn't even get up. We get a lot of deliveries. I was expecting some candles. I didn't feel like reviewing my contract. I didn't feel like doing anydiing, except maybe crying. Then I spilled a glass of water all over my desk.
"Great."
I sopped the water up off my laptop and went downstairs to get more ice water. I remembered the candles, picked them up, and brought them into the kitchen. They felt very light. This was supposed to be 72 votive candles; it should have been a heavy box. I cut the box open. Whatever was inside was covered with tissue paper but did not look like candles. Through the tissue paper, it looked like... well, it looked like a treasure chest.
I lifted the tissue paper. It was a Pirate's treasure chest. I lifted the chest out of the box and started to laugh–because getting an unsolicited treasure ...
