Kaitlin Walsh, Author . . . Officially!

My wake up call this morning was from Emily. Seeing as our primary means of communicating is texting, meeting in person, and/or sending memes and new bookshop locations to visit over social media throughout the day, I was caught off guard. Immediately, my eyes shot open and my heart felt heavy in my chest. I was confused as to why she was calling so early and instantly assumed the worst.

The anticipatory dread that found me as I anxiously answered the phone was instantly replaced the second I heard Emily’s excited voice on the other end of the line. She was eagerly (and borderline impatiently - kidding, kind of) instructing me to go to Amazon and Barnes and Noble so I could type The Pup with the Heart-Shaped Nose into the search bar. Through my blurry, freshly awake eyes, I saw it, my book - The Pup with the Heart-Shaped Nose - for purchase on Amazon. It was there, ready and waiting, for the world to read!

It is a strange and surreal feeling to see your name attached to a book and listed as the author, but it is also truly incredible and utterly indescribable. I have dreamed of this moment for as long as I can remember, and now, it is no longer just a dream . . . It is my reality, and I could not be more honored, proud and excited to be living it! If you see me, feel free to pinch me, because I can hardly believe this is real!

The past several months have been filled with learning, writing, revising, and creating. I have never felt more excited, creative, and proud over a project in my life. Amidst all the happiness and excitement, it has also been an emotional journey. As much as I love writing and sharing mine and Decimus’ story, it has also been filled with a level of sadness, heaviness, and vulnerability that is hard to talk about (the author’s note in the back of the book explains this more clearly).

This self-publishing process can be hard to navigate, daunting at times, and can leave you with more questions than you knew possible but, when you hold the finished product in your hands for the first time and see the pride on the faces of those reading the words you have written, you remember just how worth it every obstacle, frustration and feeling of defeat was to get you to the place you are today.

My gratitude is endless and my excitement, unmatched. I am proud of the story we have created and I cannot wait to share it with everyone who is kind enough to read it and meet The Pup with the Heart-Shaped Nose.

As always, thank you to Emily for being my partner in creativity, my voice of reason, my soundboard, my comedic relief, and the calm to my chaos. Your illustrations brought our story to life, and your guidance got me (and this book) where we are today. I could not have done this without you, and there is no better person to work alongside. I know this is only the beginning, and I cannot wait to see what comes next!