My first attempt at writing a book was a total mess!

When I left my corporate career, one of my goals was to write a book. I wanted to write a book about women in leadership that would inspire, encourage, and support women in corporate environments. So, I started writing yet another boring leadership book. Frankly, it bored me, so I was sure that it would bore my readers too.

Stumped, I let the project go. I focused on other things.

Then one day, I went for a walk. It was a beautiful early summer day. The temperature was perfect. The sky was a brilliant blue, and the grass and the trees were a vibrant, rich green from all the spring rain. I was listening to music and walking briskly along – attempting to get some exercise while I enjoyed the day.

I started hearing a voice in my head. Not mine. It was a woman’s voice, and she started telling me her story. Her name was Sheryl Simmons. She was a corporate leader, and she had just been appointed to the board of directors. But. . . she didn’t agree with the other members’ positions on a critical issue. What was she to do?

I wrote down what I heard when I got home. That piece became the prologue of Discovering Power.

I started hearing more of the story at other times. Sometimes, I’d wake up in the morning with a new chapter or two already formed in my head. I kept writing because by that time I was curious about what would happen next!

Now, I was an English major in college and a lifelong reader, but somehow that’s not the same as writing a fiction book. As excited as I was about the story, I knew I needed to get help making it really good. But where to start? I could have taken courses on fiction writing, but that felt like it was going to take too long and not really get me where I wanted to go.

That’s when Bridget Cook-Burch showed up in my life via an introduction from a mutual acquaintance, Linda Fisk.

One of the things I’ve learned is that when we take risks and commit to a goal, especially a goal that is aligned with our true selves, resources that we need suddenly appear.

I hired Bridget to help me with the book, along with her talented partner Hannah Lyons, and I got a crash course in fiction writing. They were able to help me enhance what I already did well (writing dialogue is one of my superpowers) and taught me a lot about world creation and pacing and hooks.

What I love most about Discovering Power now is that it still holds the original essence of the leadership story I wanted to tell, but it’s richer and deeper and so much more exciting—at least for me. I hope you’ll agree!

Discovering Power has been a labor of love for me, and therefore not really labor. Plus, Sheryl continued to talk to me after the book was completed, as did a few other characters, so there’s a sequel, Pursuing Truth, that I’ll be able to share in September, and a third book in the process of being birthed.

Writing is such a joy for me! But it’s also a little scary to put it out in the world. It’s a risk. But risk-taking is another one of my superpowers, so I’m doing it!

I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

But in the meantime, I’m also excited to share that I’ll be hosting an exclusive three-day virtual retreat for women leaders to help them discover their power. The event will be held for one hour a day on May 9-11!

Sign up for the Discovering Power pre-launch giveaway for a chance to win a free, autographed copy of the book and an opportunity to participate in the Discover Your Power virtual retreat.