So There's This Book.

"When I used to read fairy-tales, thought Alice, I fancied that kind of thing never happened...and now here I am in the middle of one! There ought to be a book written about me!" 

--Alice in Wonderland, 1896

The thing about believing in karma is that it also tends to make you superstitious.

Like, really superstitious.

I always step on planes with my right foot. I always say a prayer right before I kiss my babies goodnight. I don't step on sidewalk cracks, walk under ladders, or feed gremlins past midnight (though that's probably just common sense, right?)

In that same spirit, I've been holding back on sharing some truly wonderful news with you, just to make sure all the is were dotted and the ts were crossed before I started blurting things out on the internet and making it really, truly, REAL.

Today...finally!...is the day for 'real'.

So...


I'm writing a book.

Karma Gone Bad, my memoir about life as an expat housewife in Hyderabad, India, will be published in September 2013 by Sourcebooks. Below is the announcement from Publisher's Marketplace...

Non-fiction: Memoir		Blogger Jenny Feldon's KARMA GONE BAD, about an Upper West Side newlywed who says good-bye to Starbucks, cheeseburgers, and all her notions of 'home' when she and her husband are outsourced to Hyderabad, India, and she must confront her perceptions of herself, her world, and what it means to be home, to Shana Drehs at Sourcebooks, by Lauren Galit at LKG Agency (World).
--Publisher's Marketplace

In a true example of karma, I'm absolutely in love with my publisher and am thrilled the book will have such a perfect literary home. This journey was truly a labor of love, and I have so many people to thank for being part of it (most of whom will have to wait for the Acknowledgements page, hee hee.) But for today, I am so grateful to my incredible agent for her support and vision for the book, and to my ever-patient family for loving me in spite of the fact that writers are temperamental, unpredictable, overly emotional, chronically sleep-deprived and impossible to live with. (And it's only going to get worse...sorry, family!)

From the author page of my very first "real" book, circa 1989

Being a published author is a a dream I've had since I was a child. It's been a long road of blood, sweat, tears, and impossibly hard work, but making it this far on my journey is worth every single second. It's also--second only to raising my kids--the most fun, wonderful, amazing thing I've ever done. Writing is like breathing for me, like the perfectly calm space in the center of a storm. Being able to live in that space, to tell my story in this medium,  is the culmination of a lifetime of candle wishes and star light, star brights.

I am so incredibly grateful.

E and N: if you read this post someday, know that THIS is one of the lessons I hope you'll remember always:

Dream big, bigger, BIGGEST and never stop dreaming. Know that through a combination of hard work and luck and magic (and yes, karma too!) fairy tales can happen and dreams do come true. 

And now... it's time for a crazy celebratory dance party on the kitchen floor!

Our song choice today is "On Top Of The World" by my current fave, Imagine Dragons. The lyrics capture my feelings about all of this exactly. And while, as ever, life will continue to be a roller coaster of ups and downs, joys and struggles and perfectly imperfect moments...

... for this moment, I am, indeed, on the very top of the world :)

A million thanks for all the support and love you continue to show me here. 

Much love, light and good karma to all!