I’ve Got No Rhythm, But Today I Dance

I never dance. Ever. I can’t. I’ve got no rhythm or coordination, and even the Hokey Pokey intimidates me. At weddings, I sit, smile, clink my champagne glass, and watch other people wiggle and shimmy with carefree, happy abandonment. But I don’t dance. I’ve always feared what the world would think seeing me flap around trying to do the Chicken Dance.

But today might be different. You see, today I am not a Writer anymore. I am an Author.

Today, I jumped out of bed excited because my first book, Confessions of a Do-Gooder Gone Bad, was just “released,” which I think means that anyone on the face of the planet with interest, motivation or just random luck can find my book online and buy it if they want to.

Wow. I feel powerful. I’m not used to that.

I haven’t seen my actual book in print yet. I’ve only seen the cover. In fact, when I first saw it, I laughed uproariously at artist Kim Dingle’s angel with a black eye, husky legs and gnarly toes, because I couldn’t think of a more goofy, accurate and delightful pictorial representation of ME. I loved it.

(I don’t want to scare you. I don’t have a black eye or gnarly toes. But…dang… I do have husky legs.)

Point is, today everything is the same, but different. I am still a sappy goofball who can be moved to tears by Dog the Bounty Hunter. My favorite breakfast is still a brownie and a cup of coffee, and I still don’t understand why Amish people inexplicably call non-Amish people “the English.”

But today, I feel different. I feel proud for all the years I kept writing and dreaming. I’m glad I took chances and opened myself up to be ignored and rejected. I’m glad I kept writing when it felt like nothing would ever come of it. I’m glad that I allowed myself to be humble and vulnerable, and that I still kept believing that I actually had something to say.

That’s all a writer ever really has – something to say.

Today, I’m grateful to the editors who published my stories, because that gave me hope and confidence. I’m grateful to the wonderful readers who responded to my stories. I’m truly grateful to Billie Johnson and everyone at Oak Tree Press who liked what I had to say enough to publish my book.

If I’m lucky, lots of readers will also laugh, ponder and enjoy what I have to say in Confessions of A Do-Gooder Gone Bad.

Yesterday, when I was just a Writer, I never danced. But today I’m an Author, and maybe I don’t care if I’ve got no rhythm. I feel so elated that I’m going to do something special. I’m going to turn up the volume of Pink’s Raise Your Glass, wave my arms, move my husky legs and twirl on my pseudo-gnarly toes.

Watch out world. I’m gonna dance.

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Please visit my website at http://annkhowley.com/#about-ann