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Karen Erickson on Why NY!

Today we shall talk to author Karen Erickson on how her dreams came true! Over to Karen...

 
I had a moment recently. A true realization of dreams acquired and coming true. I was at the RWA (Romance Writers of America) conference last week in New York City. Rushing around from commitment to commitment, seeing old friends, making new ones, both working hard and hardly working...as usual, it was a great and inspiring time.

But it hit me as I was on an evening bus tour around the city that I was actually in New York. The big city. The place I thought I wanted to live when I was an ambitiously dream-filled teen thinking she could do and conquer anything she set her mind to.

You see, I discovered fashion magazines in my early teens and thought for sure I could be a glamorous magazine writer someday. I wanted to work for Vogue. I wanted to travel, wear designer clothes and write for the most revered fashion magazine in all the land.

But that dream was doused by reality and I soon became caught up in the everyday life-type stuff. Marriage, babies, jobs. I'd dabbled in writing, semi-seriously at one point but I could never finish anything. And you know, life always got in the way. Until one day I knew I wanted to pursue writing romance for publication seriously. I set the goals and went to work, telling myself, you can do this. I sold in 2006 and haven't stopped since...

And so I ended up in New York City because of romance writing. My teenage self would've been thrilled. Hey, my current self was thrilled. I'm in New York City, I thought. Because I'm a writer. Maybe not for Vogue but hey, that's okay.

What I'm trying to say is, don't give up on your dreams. They might not necessarily come true as you originally envisioned them but that's okay. Striving toward your dreams is most definitely the best way to live.

Trust me. You work hard enough, your dreams will eventually come true.
About Karen:

After leaving the working world to become a stay at home mom, Karen Erickson realized she needed to get crackin’ and pursue her life long dream of becoming a published writer. A busy mother of three, she fits her precious writing time in between chasing her children, taking care of her wonderful husband and pretending she has a maid. She lives in California.

Within the last two weeks Karen had two books out - her first historical romance Lessons In Indiscretion and the sexy contemporary romance Notorious. You can find out more information on her books page.

Where you can find Karen on the Web:  

WEBSITE      BLOG       FACEBOOK     TWITTER


14 comments:

  1. Great thoughts to share and inspire! I'm always preaching the same thing to my friends. You're dreams may not happen as you see them, but if you work hard you won't be disappointed in what you do accomplish!

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  2. Fantastic advice! It's true that everything will work out in the end, even if it's not the way you envisioned it. But it's all for a reason. :)

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  3. Hi Lorarific and Madeline!

    I so agree, it does tend to work for the best. Thanks for coming by!

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  4. Karen, it's great that you get to live your dream -- or a slight variation thereof. ;-)

    Sounds like you had a good time at the RWA conference. It seems like a really exciting event, and also a worthwhile opportunity for professional development for romance writers.

    Nas, thanks for introducing us to Karen.

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  5. Excellent and inspiring message, Karen. I'm so envious of your New York visit. I bet you had a blast.

    Hugs
    Shell

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  6. Congrats on everything....All the hard work pays off...

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  7. Thanks for the advice Karen! I needed a little pick-me-up and you inspired me.

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  8. Hey everyone thanks for stopping by! Hard work definitely pays off - and if I inspired anyone or offered them a little spark of hope, then my deed is done. :)

    Shelley, NY was awesome and I'm sorry you weren't there. You need to come to another conference and soon!

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  9. Thanks for sharing your journey Karen.

    ......dhole

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  10. Karen, loved reading about your walk. It is so very interesting. Very inspiring. :-)

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  11. A couple of years ago I finally shelved my dream to become a physical therapist. I just realized that it wasn't realistic. But, now I am looking at some other dreams I have had for a while. And, according to my physical therapist, there are other ways to do what I love without all of the necessary education! Dreams are good!

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  12. Great to hear your story, Karen. Congratulations on your two releases!

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  13. Oh, that moment of realising you're really HERE!

    And I agree, sometimes you end up somewhere in a way you hadn't quite imagined... but it's better that way!

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