Growing up, I always had an unstable home life. I remember writing often and in 1989 I had a PSR teacher give me a journal. I still have that journal today. In it I wrote short stories and early feelings about boys and childhood friends. As I got older, my journals changed, as did my subject matter. I wrote my feelings as a teenager out. In that black book, I processed failed relationships including a failed first marriage. I'd find quotes that meant something to me, and I'd write them too. Poetry and doodles coated the blank pages. Through my late twenties, my more adult journal stayed with me, a tool in my ever-maturing arsenal. I could look back and see that I was making similar mistakes.
In 2009 my first daughter was born. I didn't write nearly as often as I used too. I was caught up in trying to balance a marriage, banking career and mommyhood. When my second daughter was born two years later, I knew I wanted nothing more than to stay home and focus on being a mom. So I did. I began reading, a lot. I found the beautiful Breathing Series by Rebecca Donovan. I felt like I needed to talk about it. I wanted to shout about every book I was reading. This was also when the Indie world started to gain momentum. Having never not worked, since I was fourteen, I started to feel like I loved being home with my kids, but I was losing myself. I was a sleep deprived boob. Reading changed that for me. Then, I began a blog. I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't realize how big the online world was. I didn't even know what Goodreads was. I met this wonderful lady named Dawn, who started talking with me and we decided to give the blogging thing a shot together. She learned how to do things and taught me. We formed an amazing bond, being what eachother needed at that exact moment in our lives.
The more I read, the more I went back to my roots and wrote. I started stories and shared with Dawn a ton of my beginnings. In 2013 she asked me if I'd ever heard of NANOWRIMO--National Novel Writing Month. I hadn't. She explained to me that it was a month where you wrote and wrote some more. The goal was to get to 50,000 words in one month. I wrote 14k and scrapped it. Then I wrote another beginning and got to 27k. In May of 2014, I independently published my first novel. Since then, I have released six additional novels! Writing is the kindest thing I can do for myself. It makes me happy. When I'm not writing, I often feel as if something is missing from my day. It's a passion that has brought me balance.
Abby McCarthy is a reader and a lover of words. She is a blogger turned author and released her first novel in May 2014. She is a mother of three, a wife and a dog person. She has always written, sometimes poetry, sometimes just to vent about failed relationships, however in parenthood she has found her voice to help keep her sanity. Words have flowed from her, to review and with the support of amazing friends in the Indie community she has decided to pursue her dream of writing! She loves to write and read romance, because isn't that something we all yearn for? Whether it be flowers and hand holding or just the right tug on your hair. Isn't that what life is about? The human connection?
