You want an apology? You aren't getting one.

I've noticed a few posts (I won't say where, this isn't about bashing someone--it's showing my side of the story) that come down to the same thing: "How can you be so arrogant?" All because I said my books were "phenomenal" and deserved 5 stars. That sometimes I was in awe of the fact that I wrote what I did.

Yes. My books are amazing. I make no apologies for that statement. I spend a year or more on each book. I spend a lot of money/time/marketing into making my books as perfect as humanely possible.

But let's back up. Before I ever published my first novel, I spent years perfecting my craft (reading books, college degree in English, practicing by putting Butt In Chair every. single. day., and more conferences and workshops than I can count). I faced HUNDREDS of rejections and rallied to keep trying. Keep working. I spent years struggling to move from "writer" to "author".

You can't forge through those kinds of disappointments, face the kinds of setbacks I have faced without a certain amount of confidence--something deep inside you that says (despite the seemingly overwhelming evidence to the contrary): I will get there. I am already there. My time is coming.

I wouldn't publish a book that I hadn't given 110% to. I wouldn't put my name on something I wasn't proud of. I wouldn't be an author if I didn't believe in myself.

And I make no apologies.