I Dream the Dream

Is there anyone who can listen to Susan Boyle at her audition for Britain's Got Talent and not have a smile on their face, tears in their eyes, and goosebumps on their skin?

Her story is the stuff of dreams. A woman plucked from obscurity, her buried talent uncovered, the transformation waiting to be wrought. So what if she's 47 years old, has never been to a big city before, and dresses in an out-moded fashion. That smile of hers lights up her face in pure beauty and her voice causes souls to shiver in delight. This brave soul took her courage in her hands to pitch her one hope of having her singing talent recognized and met with success beyond anything she'd ever dreamt possible.

Ask authors Anna Campbell or Trish Milburn or Diane Gaston whether it was worth pursuing the publishing dream in the face of year after year of fear, rejection, and despair. And they will come back with a resounding, "YES!" The fruit of their work—the printed books on the shelves, the awards, the accolades from readers—has been infinitely sweeter than anything they'd imagined possible.

Like Susan Boyle, we, aspiring writers, have to take our talent in our hands and courageously step forward to the computer day after day to write and send our pages out in the world...so that, one day, we, too, may receive our own standing ovation.

An aside...

Last week for Spring Break, we were on our first trip to Disneyland, a place "where happily ever after happens every day," because Disney professes to be in the "dream-making business." Disney hiring Susan Boyle permanently for their show would be the awesomesauce of win!

Another aside...

Twelve-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi wowed the judges at Britain's Got Talent audition.