Who wants to read MY stuff?

By Stacy Johnson

We pulled the family together for our weekly tradition of "Family Movie Night" lastnight. My daughter and I were anticipating finally pulling all the boys together and making them watch Twilight with us. They haven't been as excited as we have been. They got it into their heads a long time ago that they didn't want to watch any "love stories" for our family movie night. It didn't matter how many times we explained to them how exciting and action packed it was, they were determined to not enjoy it.

My youngest kids didn't have school today, so we started the movie later than normal lastnight. My oldest son, who goes to a different school district, and had to be to school this morning, said he would start watching with us, but he would be going to be early that night and wouldn't be able to finish watching it with us. About a half an hour into the movie, I told him he ought to go to bed; he ignored me. I reminded him one more time, just before the scene where they played baseball; he ignored me again. When the movie was over, he finally pulled himself together and headed to bed. When I asked him how he liked the movie, he responded with a wry little smile and said, "I knew I wasn't going to like that movie." I knew he would.

It caused me to wonder if Stephanie Meyer knew the magnitude of what her story would become? Don't get me wrong, I know she believed in her book, but did she dream that it would be come a major motion picture? (Maybe she did, I know I believe in the power of positive thinking) Did she think that she would have throngs of fans sitting in the WalMart, even in the po-dunk town of Queen Creek, waiting with their magic blue ticket so they could buy the movie at midnight? Or, that the book would be so well received by not only teenage girls, but that those girls' moms would start fan groups on Facebook and MySpace? And now that it is a movie, consider all the boys who are watching it and liking it? I know it took me a really long time to finally read those books because I didn't think I could get caught up in a "vampire love story."

I am now considering all the book ideas I have had and how I shrugged them aside, thinking that my idea wasn't good enough, or it wouldn't reach a large enough audience. How can I possibly know the impact it could have. Thank heavens for all those great authors out there who keep on writing, because they believed in their stories. I need to believe in myself more and just get it down on paper, wether I think it will become a best seller or not. We all need to.

I have to go now, my parenting book about a mother who is out of control needs some real life stories to add to it and I can see a story brewing in the kitchen...