Gratitude: Two Hundred Short Poems by A. H. Morris Book Tour, Guest Post & More! {Ends 3/22/24}

Taking the Leap

I have always loved words. They are musical notes to me – intriguing on their own but with infinite potential given the right context.

Perhaps that is why I write poetry. I want to see which words can serve my inspiration.

For years, I didn’t feel the need to show them to other people. I agree with the story of two writers who meet on the street. One asks the other how his novel is going. He replies that it is finished. The first asks which publishing house has it. The second replies, “None. It is in a drawer in my office. I wrote it to organize my world, and it has done its job.”

One night at dinner with a good friend, I mentioned that I had written some poems. She asked to see them. I trusted her to be gentle in her assessment, so the next time we had dinner, I brought some of my poems. I knew she would be kind, but she was remarkably effusive in her enthusiasm for what I had written. She put the idea in my mind that these were not worth trying to publish.

I proceeded to go through all the usual self-doubts: Did I have anything worth saying? Does the world need another book of poetry? How would I go about getting it published? Where would I start?

The next day, I received an email blast from our local chamber of commerce. It showed a list of recommended businesses in the area. One was for getting help in publishing a book. I wrote an email to Amanda describing my situation. We eventually met in person, and she was everything I had hoped she would be. She walked me through the process from editing to final proof to artwork to marketing.

A few weeks later, my book Gratitude, Two Hundred Short Poems was available on Amazon and receiving glowing reviews. I was thrilled. I took a leap of faith and was rewarded.