/benCH mark/

/benCH mark/

Noun
A standard of excellence, achievement, etc, against which similar things must be measured or judged.

6-23-13
Today is the Day Before a Benchmark for Courtney and her writing career. It is the day that way back in 2007 she only hoped would become a reality.

Tomorrow is the first, the one by which all others to come will be measured and experienced and compared. Because tomorrow her debut novel, Faking Normal, becomes Real to the writing world; not just for Courtney and her family and her friends and her editors at Harper Collins. 

Ta Da - drumroll, please ~
June 24, 2013 is the cover reveal for Faking Normal. There will be a celebration among friends, there will be blogs and giveaways and surely, many congratulatory tweets.

It was barely one year ago that Harper Collins bought Courtney's books, giving her the means to become a full time writer, as she wanted and dreamed.  Eight months from now, on February 25, 2014, her book will be in the hands of people who have supported and encouraged her in the writing community ... and on bookstore shelves and in libraries and blogs.

I always believed it would happen ~ on that nebulous someday. And now, as Twitterdom would say, ALL THE FEELS!

I pray there will be many more cover reveals in the future, but this one is the first and special;  there can never be another first. As a wise editor in NYC once asked her about a different manuscript, "Is this the book you want to become your debut? Go home and write the book you are meant to write."

The answer and the action to that question resulted in Faking Normal!
And tomorrow, you all get to SEE.

I'm so excited (oh, yeah), so pleased and happy for Courtney, and I can't wait until tomorrow! Congratulations, my sweet baby girl! I love you.