It all started a few years ago when I thought I might like to take up writing again. When I was younger, I used to read books as fast as you could get them into my hands. I used to write stories, poetry and songs staying up later than I should have sacrificing sleep to get the ideas out of my head and onto the page. I have notebooks and scraps of paper stacked in boxes that I can't bear to throw out even though the pages have yellowed and would probably turn to dust if I touched them.

Anyway, I don't know how it happened exactly but my priorities got out of whack and reading books and writing were replaced by other things. As the years went on, I found myself becoming more and more dissatisfied with life. Something was wrong but I didn't know what it was.

So I was flipping through a course catalog for the College of DuPage and saw a non-credit course called "How to Land an Agent" which was being taught by a local author who had just landed a 3 book deal with a major publisher. I remember thinking at the time "I used to dream about being the next Stephen King. Wouldn't it be cool if I still could?"

To be continued...