To celebrate the release of my anthology ONE LUCKY NIGHT, I've invited several author friends to share about when they've experienced luck in their life. I hope you enjoy!
KRISTINA KNIGHT
I am a firm believer that we make
our own luck. And by 'making luck' I mean we create goals and work toward those
goals to the best of our abilities. But there is still luck involved in that: I
can sweat blood over a manuscript but if it hits an editor's desk right after
she contracts a similar book…no joy. And I can make sure my self-published
titles are edited and formatted as well as possible but if a reader doesn't
connect with the characters…sadness.
So while I'm working to the best
of my abilities, I'm also looking for those windows of opportunity – or luck.
Sometimes luck comes in dreams.
This is going to sound a little bit woo-woo. But this is why I believe in
working hard, making your own 'luck' and getting lucky:
Several years ago my husband and I
were living in Nebraska – he worked at a local radio station, I worked at a
local TV station. He called me one morning and told me he'd had a dream. In his
dream, we played a KENO ticket and hit 8 out of 8 numbers (KENO is a lottery
game). He said it was crazy but he really thought we should go buy a ticket and
play the game that day. I said he was going to think I was crazy but I'd had a
dream the night before – about our very conversation.
See? Woo-woo. I played the ticket
for $20.
That night we went back to the
restaurant where we bought the ticket. And we didn't hit 8 out of 8 numbers.
We hit 7 out of 8.
8 out of 8 would have won us
$1000.
By hitting 7 out of 8 we turned
our $20 into $475!
$475 isn't the same as winning a
Mega Millions or anything…but for us, it was totally cool!
My Lucky "Mistake"
My publishing journey hasn't exactly been the most straightforward, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. This sometimes farcically bumpy road was one the luckiest ones I've ever stumbled upon. Because along the way, I met this amazing community of readers and writers, who I rely on for pretty-much everything. They are my sounding board, my advice-givers, my beta-readers, and my cheerleaders on the inevitable dark days. I adore y'all, and I'm so grateful I lucked into this little corner of the writing world. Skal!!
I'd planned a trip to Napa which included a half hour of tight curves. If the tear hadn't been discovered, the tire could have blown on one of those curves.
This got me thinking of other times when Life brought the right person or the right information into my life to prevent disaster. I said a prayerful "thank you" right then and there for those "taps on the shoulder" which keep me out of trouble.
For more, visit: http://www.
GINA HENNING
My Lucky Night
One of my most memorable lucky nights was the first evening of my honeymoon in Costa Rica. Now hold on, I’m not sharing that kind of story. No, this is about getting lucky with my husband in a different way. We were staying at a resort with a casino on site but our luck wasn't about money. It was about something much different. As soon as we arrived and made our way over the marble floors of this gorgeous hotel, we noticed something a little strange. We were the only ones at the reservation desk. We were the only guests in the lobby and finally the only people in the pool! The resort was empty, other than the hotel staff. Of course, I thought it was a bit odd, but then I ordered a margarita from the swim up bar and realized that it was pretty freaking awesome to have the whole place to ourselves. Part of the reason the hotel was vacant was due to timing, as we were married over Labor Day weekend, which just happens to be during off-season. However, nothing could have been more on, and I consider it to be one of the luckiest nights of my life.
Find more about Gina at http://www.ginahenning.com/
You can find ONE LUCKY NIGHT at all retailers. Here's a sample of what people are saying:
Happy release week, friend. I'm so grateful our paths have crossed!!
ReplyDeleteSo lucky that we've met, ST!
DeleteCongrats! And what a fun topic! I love these stories :)
ReplyDeletewhat fun stories!! Thanks for inviting me over, Melinda!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the invite, I enjoyed reading all of these lucky stories! :) ~GINA
ReplyDelete