It’s been almost eleven years since I self-published my first book, “Elizabeth’s War,” and there’s an interesting story behind it. This is also the first time Friday the 13th falls in February, just like eleven years ago!
Here’s the post from five years ago telling the story of what seemed like bad luck wasn’t.
It was late at night in February on Friday the 13th. My bedroom was heavy with the chill of a snowy day. I had finished reading for the night and made one last bathroom trip. As I jumped out of bed, my feet hit the cold hardwood floor. That sent me rushing through the icy room without watching where I was going. As I crossed over the bear throw rug, my left foot caught on our twenty-pound black cat, Coco. He had made it a habit to lie on top of the bear on the rug, blending in.
In what felt like slow motion movie, the cat didn’t move, but I did. My weight shifted, trying to counterbalance, and I reached out to the dresser but missed. At that moment, I knew I was going down. So, I twisted in an attempt not to land on top of the cat, who has a lot of trust in me that I won’t hurt him. That’s when I heard a loud snap and hit the ground.
Now, next to Coco, I found the only thing that hurt was my foot. Through this event, my husband was still peacefully sleeping. After several painful tries to get up, I finally called out for help.
“Why are you lying on the ground? You should get up and sleep in the bed.” My groggy husband replied.
It took him a few moments to realize that I couldn’t get up and was hurt. Once he uprighted me, I hopped on one foot to complete my task. Each jump jarred my foot painfully.
Not wanting to go to the hospital in the middle of the night, I slept with a fortress of pillows protecting my injured foot.
I didn’t sleep much.
The next morning was Valentine’s Day. The special day was spent in the ER. Sharing my story kept the hospital staff amused. My husband never left my side and reassured me that it didn’t matter where we were, if we were together. He had a good point.
Later, I left on crutches and rested through the weekend. As the days went by, I found I had too much time on my hands. I tried to fill it with TV shows, but I realized I needed something to do.
That’s when a family member suggested I publish one of my children’s books.
With all this new time on my hands, I did a lot of research. Finally, I was ready to push that button. I was published.
Once I released that first book, I haven’t stopped. I kept going forward into the writing world.
So, happy eleventh anniversary to the time I tripped over our black cat on Friday the 13th and broke my foot. What appeared to be a bad event ultimately opened the door to a whole new world for me.
NOTE: Coco is going to be thirteen this year. Luckily, Friday the thirteenth and the number have been lucky for me, including getting engaged on it.
Embrace your inner child by reading a good book! D. L. Finn (Denise)
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