From time to time in this space, Balboa Press publishes articles written by our authors in which they share some aspect of their self-publishing journeys. These are the words of Patricia May, author of “A Seashell Meditation for Children” series. For more information about Patricia, check out her website, Facebook and Twitter. Download the Balboa Press free publishing guide to receive more information on self-publishing your book with Balboa Press.

Write a book or ten! Hi, my name is Patricia May, author of the 10 book collection, A Seashell Meditation for Children. I love telling my story as this is a story of pure inspiration. I have never written before now, never even entertained the idea of writing no less publish a book, or ten!

My story began in Denver, after attending a davidji seminar at the I Can Do It! Conference in April of 2015. My family and I walked out from the seminar discussing just how amazing davidji was and how important it was to not only meditate ourselves, but to get our youth meditating as early as possible. My husband Dave came up with an idea to get seashells for our grand-kids and get them to listen and concentrate, holding the shells up to their ears while having a meditation read to them. Great idea? Yes it was!

June 12, 2015 while I was in my kitchen cleaning, I was hit with what seemed like a bolt of lightening! In a seconds time, or faster, an entire scenario played out before my eyes. I felt as though I was inside a whirlwind spinning around with all the information right there with me. I received this information as clearly as if I had read an entire book on it somewhere and saw it page by page. I “knew” I would write and publish with Hay House, a 10 book collection on introducing meditation to children in short story rhymes using seashells as a tool for focus and concentration. I picked up a pen and paper, instantly wrote down 10 titles that just flowed out onto the paper before me, and wrote the first book, The Seaside. Then I told my family and friends what I was about to jump into. So exciting, and with everyone being so supportive, no questions asked, I went on to day two.

I wrote the second book, Birds of a feather, then picked up the phone to call Hay House to let them know I would be publishing a 10 book collection with them soon. What did I know about publishing? I was told there was a company called Balboa, a division of Hay House that would be happy to help me. Tina Colbert was my first call connection, who inspired me and loved what she heard. I finished all ten books in nine days, and then went to the next step with the help of the Balboa team members. Taking me step by step through my journey, answering a million questions, always there to get me going in the right direction, my books were published exactly 4 months to the date, when the idea came to me in my kitchen that day. And it didn’t stop there. The marketing team then helped me to get the word out. I am so grateful to all the members at Balboa for helping me get to the next level. It wasn’t a decision I even had to think about, loving Hay House for decades, this fit right in exactly when and where It needed to.

For me, becoming an author through pure inspiration, and the help of Balboa to reach my goals, I say, follow your heart, do not think so hard, meditate, find your happy place and when it hits, well, just flow with it. When I finished writing my books, I sat down with my laptop and I emailed davidji, letting him know what an inspiration he was in this adventure of mine. Not expecting  a thing in return, just showing my gratitude, I received an email from davidji the following morning telling me just how brilliant he thought this whole thing was! Guess what? davidji wrote a testimonial for me that is there on the back of each one of my books! He has invited me to be on his Hay House radio show. I would say, dreams do come true, but in my case, it didn’t start that way. My mind, body and soul was open to receive what ever it was that was meant for me to be, do and have at that time. Our local tv station came out and did a shoot at the spiritual center I attend, filming the youth group kids all doing the seashell meditation. Teachers, yoga classes and children’s educational programs have been picking up my books and implementing them into their programs. And the word just keeps spreading. Thank you Balboa, davidji, and all that inspired me in this journey.

Happy writing!

Balboa Press authors who’d like to share a 350-600 word experience related to the self-publishing of their books, are invited to do so by sending a message through our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BalboaPress, by tweeting us @BalboaPress, or by emailing dghosh@ balboapress.com. We may not be able to use every story, but we will read and consider them. Balboa Press reserves the right to edit stories for content, grammar and punctuation accuracy; as well as for space.