Tomorrow!

Tomorrow... is the official publication date for INTO THE WILD!

Tomorrow... I will be at Book Revue in Huntington, New York, to celebrate my book launch. And you're invited! Here are the details:

Thursday June 21st at 8pm
Book Revue
313 New York Avenue, Huntington, NY

Tomorrow... I will be reading from and signing copies of INTO THE WILD! And there will be cake and coffee too! Cake decorated with INTO THE WILD cover art! How can you say no to that?

I can't believe it's happening tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow!!! Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps... No, that doesn't quite capture the right mood. But here's a link to some random dude reciting the Macbeth soliloquy.

One day more! One more day... No, not right either. But here's a link to the song from Les Miz as performed by Lego people.

The sun will come out tomorrow! Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun... Yes, that's better! And here are links to several adorable kids pretending they're Annie. Okay, I really need to stop playing with YouTube now.

Tomorrow is the day that I have been waiting for and working toward for literally my entire life. I am not exaggerating here. This is truly the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Or more accurately, it's the beginning of my dream of being a published writer.

I actually remember the moment that I decided I wanted to be a writer. I was on a chairlift somewhere in New England with my dad, and I was worrying about my future. I was ten years old (double digits!), and I didn't have any career goals. The horror! Did I mention I was a somewhat anxious kid? Anyway, my dad said, "Well, you're creative. You could be an architect, an artist, a writer, an investment banker..." I stopped listening at "writer." Until that moment, it hadn't occurred to me that a real person could become a writer. I'd never met a writer. I'd thought of them as mythical, magical creatures like unicorns or wizards. Writers were wizards who created these magical spells that completely entranced me.

Once I latched onto the idea that I could become a writer, I really latched on. I raided the library for how-to books on writing. I made endless lists of stories I wanted to write (and I even started a lot of them). I drew maps of imaginary places. I made lists of potential characters. Once, I even read the phone book looking for interesting character names. When the annual magazine drive came around, I convinced my parents to buy me a subscription to Writer's Digest, a magazine about writers and writing. My subscription has never lapsed in the 23 years since then.

All through middle school and high school, I continued to write. I went to Duke Young Writers' Camp for three different summers. I started and stopped a bajillion stories. In college, I worked primarily on playwriting. My senior thesis was a play that involved Mrs. Bennet from Pride & Prejudice, Morgana la Fay from Arthurian legend, and a large fire-breathing dragon. (Note: this is not the way to make friends with your technical director.)

After college, I returned to novels. I submitted my first full-length manuscript a year after college. While I waited to hear back, I wrote another. And then I sent that out. Rinse, lather, repeat. I wrote nearly every day. I even went part-time at my day job so that I could have more time to write, despite the cut in pay. It wasn't easy. Sometimes I doubted myself. But I never doubted that I wanted this. I wanted to be a wizard who could create a magical spell to entrance someone like me. I wanted this very, very, very badly. So I didn't stop.

A year ago, the stars aligned. The magnificent Andrea Somberg became my agent, and six weeks later, we had offers for INTO THE WILD. (Click here to read my post about The Call.) And now it's really, really happening! INTO THE WILD comes out tomorrow!

I love thinking about how happy the ten-year-old Sarah would be. She's doing cartwheels inside me right now.

1 day until the Wild is unleashed!!!