That moment when everything changes!

You know that saying - Your life can change in an instant?  It's so true!

One moment I'm doing my normal boring thing - the next minute the phone rings and everything changes. I'm a Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense Author!!

My CALL actually started with a voice mail that I listened to in the bathroom of Pizza Hut, but it was still just as amazing as I'd always imagined it would be.

This is my call story:

I was working my summer job at Pizza Hut. I'd only been working a few days and felt like I'd just spent three hours running around like a chicken with my head cut off. The lunch rush was crazy that day. My feet were killing me and I was way past ready for a break. I asked if I could have one and grabbed my cell phone and went to the one place I thought it would be okay for me to check my phone and relax a few minutes... the bathroom. I know, TMI probably, but it's the truth and it's my call story. :)

I had two missed calls. One was an 800 number that I still haven't checked back on and the other was an area code I didn't recognize. I'd asked friends before what the New York area code was, but I couldn't remember. My heart still skipped a beat. I had two voice mails. That tiny flame of hope sputtered to life as I hit the button to check. My Killer Voice story had been with the editor only a few weeks, but they'd started making calls and I was hopeful it would happen for me too, some day. When I heard the voice at the other end I think I nearly fell over. All I remember hearing was, "This is Shana Asaro from Love Inspired books..." After that everything was a blur of tears of joy and just trying to figure out how to call her back. I presumed she had good news, which thinking back on it now, was probably jumping the gun just a little bit. But, I'd heard enough call stories before to know that editors didn't usually call you unless they actually were interested in buying your book.

I asked my manager if I could get away for a few minutes to make a phone call so I could at least call her back and set up a time to talk. I was told I could leave early and go home if I wanted. And boy, did I want. On the way home I called my daughter and through the tears I was still battling, managed to tell her that my editor from the Killer Voice pitch contest had called me and I was on my way home to call her back.

I made it home within minutes. I live in a small town, it doesn't take long. :) I had to explain to my teenage son that there was going to be crying for the next few minutes. He now tells me I didn't explain the why well enough and that he had no idea what was going on until later. Somehow I managed to get it all together enough to make the call back. I think I was able to speak in mostly complete sentences. I hope so anyway. I was so excited. The call was because she wanted to offer me a contract for my Killer Voice book!!! Most of what happened after that is a blur of happiness and thankfulness and every other good emotion you can imagine. We went over some of the details and talked a little about revisions and she asked if I wanted to write under my name. I was stumped on that one. For a very long time I hadn't imagined being anyone other than Tammy Johnson. After I divorced though, it seemed odd to have that be the name associated with every book I write for the rest of my life. I spent most of last night thinking about it, and I've decided to just keep my name. It is me after all.

After that it was a blur of calling my family. I called my daughter back and told her, and my sons and sister, mother, brother ... then friends and then I finally was able to make it to the internet and share with all my online friends as well. It's totally been an amazing experience and everything I had ever hoped it would be. It was a little odd to sit home last night and do nothing after all the excitement, but the down time was probably a good thing for me.

God really has blessed me with this sale. It's been a dream for such a long time and now I can barely believe it's happening. The night before the call I was feeling really discouraged and beginning to doubt a lot of the choices I'd made. I spent some time with God talking about how hard it was for me to keep hoping and believing and that I knew I should just stay strong but I didn't know if I had it in me to keep trying. I begged for a sign that I was on the right path at least. The next day, I got the call. How's that for a sign? I am blessed and so very thankful.

So that is my call story and now the rest of my writing career begins. I'm not sure where to start, but I hope to be here, sharing it with you every step of the way.