Every bride has a dream about a fabulous wedding cake when they are planning their perfect day. At a time when I was a bride I had my dreams too. I had envisioned every part of that cake, from the flavor, the shape, the colors, the little pearls that I fell in love with because it was the only job that the baker’s grandma did for her. They were not even offered to me and were not part of my original design, but once I saw the sweet old lady sitting in a corner doing those sugar pearls and the excitement with which she sat me down to show me what she was doing, if nothing else my cake was going to have some grandma’s pearls.

When I arrived at the place where the wedding was going to be held, the baker had just arrived. You know how there are things that you see in your head that can’t be translated in real life? She did. The image of my cake was exactly what was delivered and I jumped to hug her.

As happy as I was that day, I didn’t appreciate all her hard work until a year later when yours truly decided to take cake decorating classes and made a few wedding cakes herself. The planning, the designing, the roses that broke, the cakes that fell, the late nights and a whole memorial weekend doing fondant flowers to make them as real as possible. I then felt bad for grandma and how many hours of work I had gotten out of the poor woman wanting my precious pearls.

The same has happened with me and writing. My first book was “Mary Poppins”; I must have been around five years old. It was the first from a bookclub that my late sister had enrolled me in. She loved to read and left that legacy with me. I’ve always loved writing and reading, but I guess it wasn’t until now that I’ve written a few drafts with the dream of publishing that I’ve moved to a different level in their appreciation.

I was roaming through a bookstore today while my glasses were being repaired next door. That’s a good thing; otherwise I would have ended buying half of the store. Getting very close to the books (remember no glasses) I was able to recognize some of the renown names in fiction, literature, romance…and the few people who have written a book after their fifteen minutes of fame on television.

I saw some people leaving the bookstore empty handed and my heart sunk. I wanted to say, “Can’t you just take one? Some are really inexpensive and they are running a sale. Do you have the slightest idea of how much work goes into one of these? Sure you read it in two days and throw it in a corner.  Their authors sweated blood and tears for it. They were rejected ten times until someone decided to give it a second look. While you’re here at the mall, this author is in his or her dungeon trying to birth another creation. So just take one home”

Of course I didn’t say any of this; otherwise instead of writing this post, I would be in the padded room with the white coat. As a writer and a reader, I have a new appreciation for books than ever before. So to all writers out there…Thank You for your sacrifice to teach, inspire, entertain and motivate us. Readers thanks for supporting your favorite authors. Well and thanks to good bakers too!