I don’t think truer words have ever been said.
In today’s market whether you are a singer, song writer, race-car driver, restaurateur, or like me, a writer, the challenge is to get noticed in an ever growing field.
A friend of mine recently told me she almost gave up, it was just too hard. I know what she means; sometimes the anxieties and disappointments make a person just want to walk away.
Fortunately, I’m stubborn 🙂
When we first bought our restaurant I knew nothing about bookkeeping, payroll, hiring (and worse, firing) or cooking. I went in blind.
Thanks to perseverance and a mother who kept telling me to never give up, we made that place a success.
Now that I’ve embarked on a writing career it feels much the same. I knew nothing about putting a story down on paper much less the marketing aspect.
But, thanks to the generosity of people within the industry, and a mom who tells me not to quit 🙂
I’m learning.
The point I’m trying to make is don’t quit! If you give up you’ll always wonder what you could have accomplished. Find that person who’s in your corner no matter what, and go for it.
What have you got to lose?
I’ve received my first ever video review for the book, The Rebel’s Redemption.
Check it out below.
I’m so happy now that I stepped out of my comfort zone and didn’t give up when I wanted to.
Exclusive Excerpt from The Rebel’s Redemption:
They stood close together in the dimness of the craft store. Jared stared down into Annie’s misty green eyes and fought the urge to pull her into his arms. The citrus shampoo she’d used filled his mind with memories of his hands combing through her silky curls. The taste of her sweet lips. The feel of her luscious body wrapped around him in pleasure.
And he’d let her go.
His gut twisted into knots. Why would anyone want to break into a little craft store? It wasn’t likely to have much cash on hand, and unless the guy was into knitting there wasn’t much in the way of valuables either. Suddenly the rest of what she’d said fell into place.
“Where’s your son?” His hold on her hands tightened. She looked pale, frightened. It was his fault. If that prick had harmed one hair on her head… “Tell me again. What exactly did he say?”
“He said to tell you there’s no place you can hide. And he wants repaid, whatever that means.” Annie frowned and pulled one hand free to rub the back of her neck. She straightened her spine. “Chris is fine, he’s at school. Anyway, Jack will be here soon and I’ll give a statement. Let him handle this, Jared, he knows what he’s doing.”
And I don’t? Is that what she thought? What did she think he’d been doing for the past eight years? Jared spun away before he said something he’d regret and paced over to the glass door. He took inventory of the busy street. Everything looked normal. He drew in a deep breath, needing a moment to get his frustration under control. She was only giving voice to what the whole town thought, but from her more than any other, it hurt.
Annie moved to his side. “Look, I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. I just want to handle this by the book. It was nothing more than a simple break and enter. Jack will catch the guy and then we can forget this ever happened, okay?” she pleaded, lifting her hand to touch his arm.
He tensed in response. But then she let it drop and something within him fell with it. He wished…he wished they could go back eight years to that next morning so he could have another chance. He really did.
Jared figured his old friend Sergei had managed to track him to Tidal Falls. The overcoat thing Annie mentioned confirmed it, if not the accent. He’d seemed to enjoy wandering around the casino looking like a mafia hit-man. Damn Russian. Jared regretted ever getting mixed up with the Golden Key.
After receiving his discharge papers he’d decided to move to Las Vegas with the half-baked plan to start up a security company after taking a little time to wind down. He’d heard about some high stakes games going on at the Key and decided to try his luck. The place rocked, full of socialites and wealthy businessmen. Jared won a few grand and returned often over the next couple months, making friends with the dealers. Then came the fateful night. He’d always been good with numbers. When he noticed some discrepancies in the cards, he started counting. One thing led to another and next thing he knew he was hustled to a back room and physically warned against returning by head of security, Sergei the Serious. Jared’s Scottish temper got the best of him, and he retaliated by screwing with their mainframe computer system. The cops hadn’t liked his reasoning, or the pandemonium that broke out when he set off the casino’s fire alarms and caused winning tickets to spew forth out of almost every VLT in the place. He’d ended up on probation and been warned against any more gambling. Just as well, it was time to get serious about setting up his business anyway. He’d been looking at locations when Nick called.
“You’re not mad, are you?” Annie’s voice at his elbow snapped his attention back to the here and now. If Sergei was here, how had he known to come after Annie? And if he knew about her, what about…Ma.
“I need to check on my mother. Come on, let’s go.” He pushed open the door and waved her through, frowning when she didn’t budge. “What? I’m not leaving you here, so just forget it.”
Her head shook, curls flying, even as she gazed with worried eyes up the street to Grits and Grace. “I can’t, Jared. The creep ruined my lock. Everything I have is in this store. I can’t leave it unattended.” She turned grass green eyes up to him. “I’ll be fine, Jack will be here right away. Go, please. Make sure Grace is safe.”
He hesitated, torn between the need to check on his mom, and the overwhelming desire to keep Annie safe. A moment later the decision was made for him as a siren’s scream rent the air and a cop car roared around the corner and squealed to a stop on the wrong side of the street in front of The Craft Shack. The sheriff swung open his door almost before the car came to a halt. He grabbed his hat off the dash and jammed it on his head as he climbed out and started for the store. When Jack caught sight of the two of them by the door he paused, a frown pulling his eyebrows into rigid lines over his brow.
“Annie, you okay?” Jack’s brown-eyed gaze stayed focused squarely on Jared except for a quick up and down catalog of Annie’s body, his hand firm on his weapon.
“I’m fine, Jack. The guy’s gone.” Annie brushed by Jared, moving between the two men. “We’re attracting attention. Do you think you can turn off the lights now?”
The sheriff held his rigid stance for a moment longer, then reached in and snapped off the flashing red and blues. He grabbed his radio, canceled the callout, slammed his door and moved up to Annie’s side. “What happened, honey?”
Jared stiffened.
For more information on the books within this series check out the My Books link at the top of the page or click here: https://jacqbiggar.com/my-books/
And be sure to enter your name on the contest page: https://jacqbiggar.com/giveaways/
What about you? Have you ever thought of giving up and then were glad you hadn’t? Share your inspiring stories with us.
Jacquie Biggar-USA Today Best-selling author 
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