Today I celebrate ten years as a published author! I had hoped to release a commemorative edition of my first book to mark the occasion, but a hand injury decreed otherwise. God being rich in mercy, the hardcover edition of my latest book is now available on Amazon.

I’d be grateful if you could buy a copy of this new edition, or the previously released paperback, and leave a review on Amazon. That will introduce me to new readers—something every author needs! You may also want to check out my award-winning 100-day devotional.

If you decide not to purchase either book but would like to make a donation to my ongoing writing and ministry, here are the links. Thanks in advance, and now let me share a memory from the day I became a published author.

I remember June 29, 2013 as though it were just last month. In fact, I’ve forgotten what I was doing on this day last month, but the events of that career-defining day from a decade ago are printed like a paperback in my memory.

One of these memories appears in the preface to the tenth anniversary edition of Pioneer Boulevard. If everything goes according to Plan B, as I am praying it will, the book will be out in July.

June 29, 2013 was a scorching Saturday in Los Angeles, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees. A friend who had driven 70 miles to attend the book launch wagged an accusatory forefinger at me and said, “You had to pick the hottest day of the year.”

“I’m from India, remember?” I replied, trying to ignore the moist beads trickling down my neck and back, and wishing I had worn a white cotton dress like my friend. Having never launched a book before, I was new to this—a pioneer, like my characters—and it reflected in my attire.

As I recollect how uncomfortable I was in my formal black dress and the new sandals that pinched, I am reminded afresh that being a pioneer is not always a comfortable experience. It’s usually the exact opposite, in fact.

If I could relive the day I became a published author, I would definitely wear a summer dress and sensible shoes. And there are myriads of things I would do differently in the decade since. Most of these things I will never be able to redo, so I only ask God to grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Something I long ago realized I could and should change was the order of the stories in this book. The first edition had opened with “A Thirtysomething Secret,” which I see as an introduction to the world of Pioneer Boulevard. My esteemed tutor in England, novelist Joe Stretch, shared this opinion, and I was sure my future readers would agree with us. Imagine my surprise when more than one reader remarked that the book should have opened with a different story.

With their genial feedback ringing in my ears, I decided to begin this edition with the story that seems to be a favorite with readers. Originally placed third, “Crocodile Tears” also happens to be the first I wrote chronologically, as well as the one from which I have quoted in the afterword to my latest work, There Once Was a Man Who Suffered: The Book of Job in Limericks.

Another change is the addition of a Q&A section at the end. These are questions I have actually been asked, mostly at author talks held at public libraries and such, but sometimes in private conversations too. My answers shed light not only on these ten stories but also on my writing process and writing in general. If some aspiring writer should find them helpful, I shall consider my labors rewarded.

—Sharon Arpana Edwards
Los Angeles, Calif.
June 29, 2023

(c) 2023 by Sharon Arpana Edwards. All Rights Reserved.