After I wrote my memoir “Breaking Free: 45 Years in the Wrong Body” and saw it get picked up by the good people at Brainspired Publishing, I was sure that sales would come rushing in, followed by in-person book signings and all the good stuff one thinks happens to authors. Then, when weeks, months, and, yes, years went by, my ego took a hit. My book wasn’t selling much, and I didn’t understand why. I mean, people were telling me that it helped them and that it was well-written, so why the lack of sales?

I figured it was partly due to being with a small press publisher on top of my now rapidly diminishing sense of worth as a writer. So, I did the only thing I knew I could: I read everything I could on the craft of writing and viewed my fair share of videos on how to write thrillers because, by then, I was well into writing my first thriller novel. The truth was that it wasn’t the publisher, or me for that matter, just how things move when at the beginning, before gaining momentum.

After many drafts and thinking I couldn’t polish the work any further, I began sending out query letters to agents and got rejection letter upon rejection letter. Each one was polite, a few even explaining what didn’t work for them. All encouraged me to continue. I will not pretend I wasn’t shaken to my core because I was and felt despair at ever getting it right.

In December 2023, my wife Dany and I decided we needed a change of scenery, so the house went up for sale, and we started our search for another and eventually found one less than a half-hour away. We even have our own wooded area. Naturally, this meant packing boxes, dealing with both the sale of our old house and the purchase of the new one and everything that comes with such life upheavals. During this period, which will see its end in a few days from now, I didn’t write, I couldn’t, my mind was too busy.

Doing something different has allowed for a time of reflection and assessing what is important to me. One thing was sure: I needed to manage my expectations better. What was it that I truly desired from writing? Fame, fortune, my name up in bright lights? I’m not opposed to the above, but that wasn’t what did it for me. I had a more profound desire that could satisfy me and make me feel like all was good in my world. I wanted to keep writing and evolve as a writer and hopefully be so lucky as to share my writing with others.

I am following my dream. It’s the same one I’ve been following when I was a painter and created pieces about queer folk, about feminism and inclusion. I’m writing a thriller about a queer trans woman profiler who lives in my area. I’m pretty stoked to present her and her friends to all of you eventually. You will enjoy the storytelling and hopefully fall in love with the main character, Mary Dubois.

So, not to push anything on you, my friends, but while this thriller goes through the necessary steps to publishing, may I suggest reading my memoir “Breaking Free: 45 Years in the Wrong Body”. You can order your copy at:
https://brainspiredpublishing.com/our-book-store/ols/products/xn--breaking-free-45-years-in-the-wrong-body-by-joelle-circ-larame-vsfg

I am looking forward to reading your reviews and comments.

Enjoy the read,

Joelle Circé