We all have them.

What are yours?

What do you dream about? What gets your heart racing in the morning? What lights your fire through out the day?

What are your demons? What do you fight and struggle with, within yourself? Things that most people don't know about that you struggle with daily. What makes life challenging for you?

Good writers channel both their dreams and their demons into their writing. Writing is an art, and artists channel their inner selves into their work. Those things we struggle with, we put into words and flesh them out into fictional or non-fictional characters to bring them to life on the page...or screen. We attribute our own characteristics and characteristics of people we know and people we meet into these two-dimensional beings to make them seem three-dimensional. We have to live in the character's world for a while, then add heart and soul to each two-dimensional figure head.

We do this so that...

As a reader, you become completely engulfed in this world that we've presented to you. The goal is that we've reached into you mind, into your heart, into your soul, and touched, fondled, even squeezed and yanked your personal dreams and demons and ripped them out of you and placed them on the page or screen in front of you. We've put them right in front of your eyes and make you stand up and take notice of them. We've brought them to life for you to the extent that you can't deny their existence...if even for a few hours.

And we do this....to please you, the reader.

Yes, we bring your demons and dreams to the forefront of your mind and our demons and dreams to them...to entertain you. To please you. To make you happy.

To give you a break from your own life. And to pull you into our life.

Just briefly.

Then we'll let the chain drop that we've yanked you out with and let you fall back to your comfort zone, putting all of your dreams and demons back in their safe place.

But just until you read our next book ;)
 
Here you are, minding your own business and next thing you know, a flash of inspiration hits you. An idea. A seed. You've been "seeded" or....inseminated. This is the pleasure point.

Then you feed and nourish the seed, helping it grow. You have to constantly feed it so it doesn't wither away. As you feed it, and it grows, it requires more time and nutrition to fatten up, to flesh out, to form something resembling the finished product. This may last a few months.

Once you've gone through that process, the time is close to polishing your baby for the world to see. You now begin to labor through the important stuff to consider keeping for it's long term life. What will be best to help it prosper for years to come? What will make it as healthy as possible? What will help it get along with others? Or even outperform others? This stage normally needs input from other, more experienced people.

Now it's time to share your new creation with the world. You're nervous and anxious. You're excited and glowing. You're sweating and bloating. And that's all normal. You've spent months getting to this point. Now you're ready to push the final creation out to the world at large. There are likely to be screams of anguish side by side with craving love and support from family and friends. "Will the world like and accept my new creation?" This is one question among many flying through your  mind.

You realize you'll have conflicting emotions about your new creation for a lifetime to come. You'll have unending love and pride, alongside disappointment and fear. But, you figure you'll handle those as they come.

Finally, you take that last deep breath, squeeze hard one last time....and push your new creation out to the world. It's time to set it free and let the world love it or hate it as they will. Either way, you'll always love it.

Wow...who knew giving birth to a kid was so similar to giving birth to a book? Ok ladies, you have my permission to now bash me over the head. Just leave the bricks at home when you do so. Thank you.