Austin with Brad was a welcome occassion.

We needed to slow down and enjoy the front-running success that we had already had with the book. We had sold over 100,000 copies and were seeing the numbers increase exponentially on a daily basis. It seemed that people actually liked my book. I was enamored by the response and the future possibilities and began running new book possibilities by Brad as we ate dinner.

We ate at Fleming's in downtown Austin.

Brad and I both ordered the Bone-In Ribeye. It was a fabulous dinner and we paired it with a Caymus 40th anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon. The steak, the wine, the sides and the conversation was exhilarating. I couldn't thank Brad enough for the help that he had supplied. He had introduced me to an agent that had actually taken my book, and was helpful in the process toward setting up a book tour. While my agent had given me free reign to setup book signings as I wished, we had certainly made progress having a dedicated contract with Barnes & Noble.

Barnes & Noble gave us cart-Blanche.They had really taken the time to roll out the red carpet for us. I was scheduled for signings for the next forty days, so my time in Austin had to be relaxing. I would call Dad each nite on the road and tell him about our day. He was keeping track of my numbers and perhaps knew them better than I did from a sales perspective. He knew his numbers, and so did the rest of his community.

Brad and I talked about our next book projects. He was slated to do something different and was going to pen a sappy Christmas story. I, on the other hand, had only a few good ideas, but could not decide. It was either going to be a fiction novel about a specific place in my past or a story about life in an Amish community. I needed an outlet, and starting a new book while on the road would not only be rewarding, but also relaxing.

As I laid my head on the pillow that night, I began thinking about how a novel from the Amish country might go. The ideas kept flowing, so I started the book that nite in Austin. Would I strike gold again? I wondered...

Los Angeles and Napa were also a hit.

I sold approximately 5,000 books thru all channels in these two events and online. My first goal was to reach 25,000 copies; which would more than pay for my advance and make me profitable. I could see the book starting to explode and wondered how big it could really become.

My father, Liam and Isabella were also extremely excited. They had not seen me this happy in years. It was not that I had not recovered from my loss of Brady, but they could now see a new passion in my eyes with the book.

Once leaving California, we were off to Nevada, then Arizona and New Mexico. We would do shows in Las Vegas, Reno, Flagstaff, Phoenix, Albuquerque and Sante Fe; just to name a few. In no time, we were selling 5,000 copies a week online and were frequently selling up to 1,000 at book signings. Our tour was becoming wildly successful.

Liam and Isabella decided to get into the action. Liam built a website for me and Isabella decided to do some sales and marketing; to include social media. While we did not see a huge impact immediately, the growth was exponential.

By the time we finished Albuquerque, I reached 25,000 copies sold. I would now begin to see the fruits of my labour as my advance was paid back in full.

While touring throughout Texas, Brad and I decided to take a few days for ourselves. We would spend two days in Austin recharging our batteries, so to speak. The children continued working hard, as they had set a new goal of 250,000 copies. At that point, I would be able to call the book a success in my mind. Again, I wondered how far I could go; and the numbers were beginning to speak for themselves.

Monday we would start beating the pavement, but it was first time to build a strategy.

Brad had many contacts at the larger bookstores and decided we should put together a cross-country tour. He contacted Simone at Barnes & Noble and she was happy to accept my offer to do a book tour having heard that I was picked up by Simon & Schuster.

We would begin in two weeks.

Since we were on the west coast, it was decided that we would travel the country from west to east. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Napa would be the first three stops.

Two Monday's later came quickly as Simone suggested that we strike while the iron was hot. Simon and Schuster promised the book in two weeks, and actually delivered. I was able to get an advance of 2,500 copies. In a whirlwind fashion, I sold one hundred books at my first event in San Francisco and an additional 3,500 thru online channels in the first week. Not only was a published author, I was making money with the book.

Brady would have been proud of me. My greatest accomplishment was undoubtedly raising my children, but the book project had become a close 2nd.

I was happy with my latest success, Brad was happy to be along for the ride, and the whole process was motivating me to write a second book on the road. It was one of the most rewarding points of time in my life.

Two weeks went by and we were continuing to send out pieces each day.

Then Ellen called.

She called and Brad answered. He was calm, and handed me the phone. A voice on the other end asked calmly, "Is this Stephanie?" I confirmed that is was and the lady on the other end identified herself as Ellen from Simon & Schuster.

She asked, "Are you sitting down?" I sat for a moment and then she said, "Your book has been picked up by our firm and we are granting you a $25,000 advance!" Not knowing what to say next, I jumped nearly out of my shoes and screamed at the top of my lungs, "I am going to be published!"

Brad immediately ran to the fridge and got another bottle of champagne. And this time, he popped the good stuff. Mumm Napa.

I continued to be running around like a blubbering idiot and ran upstairs with my glass of champagne that Brad had poured me to change. We were going out on my dime, and it was not going to be to McDonald's or Burger King.

Osteria Panevino would be the reason for the season; and I meant season, as I knew this contract was just the beginning of a long run of things to do. Book signings, road tours, and many nites of celebration.

I just could NOT wait for the fun to begin. I had done it!

After a full breakfast on Saturday morning, Brad and I began putting together a plan for the week. We had a goal of getting the book sold within a month.

Each week we would contact twenty-five publishing houses. Five per day, with manuscripts sent and phone calls and emails written. Brad had mainly been published at Simon & Schuster, with the exception of a few books which he went the self-publishing route.

Brad had an agent in New York, and she seemed like the best bet to immediately get an offer. Brad had already sent off the book, but he shared with me that it goes thru quite a lengthy process from beginning to end; writing to publishing. Editorial review, cover design, manuscript design, approval, final approval and the like.

Her name was Ellen. Ellen had successfully climber the ladder from a junior agent to Editor-in-Chief. She had been in charge of everything, from one department to another across the industry time and time again. And she was a shark. She had a razor-sharp eye for the business and a rolodex to rival anyone in New York.

She was quick to respond that Wednesday that the book was being considered. Brad and I continued to "get out the word" on a daily basis. We were wasting no time; as we were playing offense and not defense. Brad had shared with me that this was a rough game to win.

I was talking with my father daily and having him ask me about my progress with the novel is what kept him going; as he had had plenty of heartache on his plate. I additionally wrote him letters, and tried to keep him in the loop with text messages as we made progress.

Brad was nothing more than extraordinary. His cause and concern were genuine. I just knew in my heart of hearts that we would soon get an offer.

I would not realize how long it would take to grieve over my mother's death. She had lived a long and fruitful life with my father; but that was not the point...she was gone, and I would not see her for a long time.

Dad and I spent the week together. I called to check on the kids and Brad daily, but he had things covered at Casa Amor. I longed to be there with them, but it was important to spend time with Dad in his moment of grief. It would take him much longer to push away the feelings of emotional turmoil; the demons within, that would haunt him nightly for a while around mom's passing.

Brad was chipping away at his contacts. In his opinion, he felt that he would find a publisher for my book and that it would not take much time. I, on the other hand, was more concerned with Dad. Despite living a hard week with him, we did have a few good times and a few laughs over things. What consoled him most is that he knew in his head that she was in a much better place. Looking down on us...and smiling.

I flew back to San Diego International on a Friday. Brad and the children greeted me at the airport around 6:00 PM. I was famished, so the first order of business would be dinner. It would not take us long to find a suitable and familiar restaurant in the Gas Light District.

Florent was a new spot in town, but we decided that it would be a staple in the restaurant scene around our house. After all, we were just minutes away and the food was phenomenal. After dinner, we decided to go o a local club for a nite cap. Both of the children were old enough at this point to enjoy a nite out, and having spent the last week in a somber mood, I needed to be enlivened.

We danced the nite away, and drank most of what the bar had on tap. In the morning I would be sorry that I had imbibed to excess, but I had been smart enough to drink a lot of water and take a few Advil before bed.

Brad had the grill fired up in the morning, and a nice breakfast consisting of a multitude of things would be the first order of the day before chipping away at selling my novel.

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