I really wanted to share about this book and its author during Creative Inspiration Week, but long story short it didn’t happen. While I didn’t get it posted that week, the good news is that now I can give it the special attention it deserves.

While many of the women I featured during Creative Inspiration Week have written books and are sought after by magazines on a regular basis, I think we can also be inspired by women who are more or less just starting out on their journey of influence. We don’t all have publishers or connections to magazine editors, but it is the most determined among us that will succeed in whatever we set our minds to. For some bloggers and aspiring authors, writing a book is something they dream about. Polly, from the blog Counting Your Blessings, shared with me a little bit about her first book and how she took it from a dream to reality:

I suppose I’m not unlike many bloggers in that I’ve always hoped to write a real book someday. And, like many others, the blog slipped into my life at just the right time and has been wonderfully fulfilling. Yet I’ve always been kind of nutty about books, magazines, photo albums… I love them! So when I found a way to put together a few words and few pictures, and actually see it all in a bound form, I couldn’t wait to try it out. And that’s what Vintage Christmas is – my first try. Truly, just my own photos and a few of my own comments – nothing deep or complex. Because I was self-publishing I didn’t have to worry about what everyone else was going to think. I just put it out of my mind and told myself that if it’s garbage in the end, nobody will have seen it but me. It wasn’t really about whether it’s popular or not. For me, it was about trying. It was time to step away from my fears and give it a go. Now that I’ve waded into these waters, I’m excited to go a little deeper and start working on that “real” book!

I am proud of her for taking this step and I really wanted to share it with all of you. I really encourage you to stop by and visit Polly’s blog. You can find out about her Vintage Christmas book and start reading a bit of her life story in her recent postings on her blog, which I am sure will make a fascinating book one day!

I am turning off the comments on this post to honor Polly, who currently has her comments turned off on her blog as well! She is a humble person and wants to share from her heart. I love the idea of occasional silent posts, although I think I only managed ONE in spite of my intentions! In an effort to make Polly feel at ease about being featured, I decided to turn off comments on this post. I debated on this because I really wanted to be of encouragement to her and I KNOW you are the best encouragers EVER. But, because I want to be sensitive to her desire to have no comments on her own blog right now, I decided to follow that through for this. But I would love it if you would visit her blog and get to know her! You can however encourage her via email (info on her blog) if you want to contact her personally.

Congratulations, Polly, on your first book! Thanks for sharing about your journey!

photos are copyright of Polly at Counting Your Blessings