The biggest dream I didn't have

Life lessons come in weird packages.

Nine years ago today, something amazing and shocking and unexpected and wonderful happened all at once: Sacrifice hit the USA Today Bestsellers list.

Leading up to that day, a few people had mentioned they thought it could happen. They said Crew had a fighting chance to hit it. Being the person who doesn't want to get my hopes up too high (and, really, these conversations completely exceeded anything I'd ever considered for my books), I wrote it off. It wasn't happening. There were fifteen reasons in my head why it was impossible and just being IN those chats, having my book in those discussions, was more than I ever dreamed.

That night, I was updating my iPhone, and because I suck at technology, I had to recruit the OL to help me. In the meantime, we had a friend drop by we hadn't seen in years. Mr. Locke and I were chatting with him, and he needed a ride home, so ML and OL left to take our friend home.

I moseyed back to my desk to check on my phone, and there was a text from an author friend. It read, "Congratulations, my USA Today Bestselling friend!"

I dropped my phone. My heart jumped in my throat, and I stumbled to pick it up and re-read the text.

"Are you serious? I made it?" I texted her back.

"YES!! You did! Congrats!" she responded.

Tears flooded my eyes, and I let out a shriek, gaining the attention of the three littles who wanted to know why I was jumping up and down in a silent scream in my office while tears were pouring down my face.

I try to explain to them something really terrific just happened and I realize - no one is in my house that will understand this and I need to TELL SOMEONE.

Somehow I managed to call ML and he picks it up on the second ring.

"OMG! I hit the USA TODAY! OMG!! I made it!" I eek out through the sobs.

His response? "I know."

Me: "What do you mean you know? I just found out two minutes ago!"

Him: "OL got in the car to take so-and-so home and said, "Mom got a text while her phone was updating. She hit that list thing she was talking to you about last night."

Wind. Out. Of. Sails.

LOL!

So I hung up and called the one person that knows to pretend she didn't know if she did (but she didn't) - my mama. Ha!

Remember—BIG DREAMS ARE FOR YOU, TOO. Don’t be like me and be too afraid to shoot for the stars! I was just a small-town Hoosier girl who stayed at home with her four sons and had no writing experience. I wrote a book, and it hit a nerve and catapulted me into a world I didn’t realize could be mine.

Shoot for the stars, friend.

(And read Sacrifice if you haven’t!)

After losing her husband in a tragic accident, Julia Gentry is barely surviving. Raising her young daughter alone takes everything she has—and that’s not enough. She’s barely making ends meet.

And then tragedy strikes again.

Julia’s only hope lies in the last place she wants to look—in Crew Gentry. Her husband’s brother is broody. Irresponsible. He’s broken her heart more than once and let her down every time she’s needed him.

Until now.

Crew steps up, spotting an opportunity to atone for his sins. He’s determined to fix the disaster wrecking their lives. But the only way to make things right might require him to put more than his heart on the line.
He might have to sacrifice it all.