Happy Wednesday Main Streeters! As I write this weeks blog, I’m overwhelmed, tired…… and truly thankful. It’s been a whirlwind of a week since we talked last, so lets get right to it!
As I mentioned, my boys were home last week for Spring Break. The weather was pretty chilly, and the parks were really crowded, so we didn’t do as much as I hoped. We did make it out for a few hours and went to Animal Kingdom for the evening. We had FastPasses for Expedition Everest and Dinosaur, which was helpful. Rivers of Light however was out of FastPasses and the stand by area was at capacity too, so it was hard to find a spot to see the show. Rivers of Light is beautiful, I love the music, the lotus flower floats are my favorite. If you’re going to go, I suggest getting a FastPass if possible or that you get there early so you can get a seat! It’s worth it!
Well, the rest of this weeks update will be a little different…. because as most of you know, I finally was able to announce some exciting news that I had been keeping since the end of last summer. Yes, I wrote a book, “Moving to Main Street, U.S.A.” and it was finally ready to go. Do you have ANY idea how HARD it was to keep this a secret? My gosh, I wanted to share my excitement with the world, but I chose not to just in case the plan fell through. With how my luck usually goes, anything can and will happen, so I chose to wait. Family and close friends knew, but that was it. We had talked about me writing a book for awhile, but I didn’t think anyone would be interested in it. Well, my publisher thought otherwise, and I put our story together. He asked that I have it done by December 1st, and it was. I was just waiting to get the final word. At the end of last week, we had gotten an email from the publisher saying that the book was up on Amazon, and I was in total shock. I thought I’d get say so on a cover, get to see the final draft first, something… anything. That’s not how things went. Boom, there it was, and I was just numb. I put so much of my heart and soul into that book, it was our story, and it was out there for all to see. When I do blogs, I can always to back and edit things out or change something that I feel I didn’t say right, but with a book, you can’t. What’s done is done, and that my friends is scary. I did a live feed to talk about the book in our Facebook group, and the response I got was overwhelming. I still hadn’t seen it yet, but our readers were so excited and supportive, it was a dream come true. Very, very surreal.
Two nights ago, I finally got my hands on my book. When the package came my heart sank. Up until that point, it still didn’t seem real to me. People had been posting photos of the book and tagging me in them as they received their packages, but I hadn’t seen it for myself yet. Seeing it makes it real. Would I like the cover or critique it? Would parts be edited out that I felt were important? Would I be able to handle seeing my life in print? Well, it was… again, overwhelming. I pulled it out of the envelope and gasped. Yep, it’s real, there it is! I opened the book and saw names I know and memories that are still in the forefront of my mind, and yes, the tears started to flow. These stories until now have only been in my head and heart. Now, there they were in print, for all to read, and it was just more than I ever thought it could be. The book was hard to do, there were a lot of hard times that we went through, BUT I felt that talking about those things was very important. To me, telling our readers all the struggles, the ups and downs… well, it’s showing vulnerability, and I’m sure somewhat easy to relate to in parts. We all go through hardships in life, but we can push through them and come out better on the other side. That was a huge point that I wanted to make. It’s not just about my Disney journey, it’s about believing in yourself and doing your best, even if you don’t necessarily feel like you can. To my surprise, the book is doing VERY well, the feedback has been amazing, and I’m truly humbled and thankful. It’s been less than a week, and I already feel a sense of accomplishment. Thank you God for this blessing!
Screen shot of the book rating two days after release!
This week has been mentally exhausting. Instead of enjoying the moment, I sit and worry, and I’m not sure why. No one is as hard on me as I am on myself. This ride that I’ve been on where TMSM is concerned has been such a rocky road, and you’ll see that in the book. It is what it is…. it’s my story, and I pray that it can inspire others to not give up and keep chasing their dreams. If I can help even ONE person with this book, then I did my job. We’ve had people asking already if there will be a sequel, and to that, I have to say, wait and see. I never thought the first one would do so well, and I’m taking this one day at a time. Readers have asked me to do live feeds, and I’ve done two so far in TMSM Fan Nation, trying to answer things as best I can. Your feedback is so important to me, so keep it coming! People have asked how they can support us, and buying the book is a huge one right now! Spreading the word about Moving to Main Street, USA is another way to help! Also, readers have asked about autographed copies of the book, and that’s also available at https://www.themainstreetmouse.com/moving-main-street-usa/.
In the past seven years, I have learned SO much about myself, other people, and the Disney community as a whole. It’s been a roller coaster ride, but I feel that at the end of the day, hardships make you stronger, and lessons can be helpful to others, not just ourselves. I have met the most amazing people, people who love and encourage me no matter what, friends who became family…. how great is that? Thank you, all of you, who have been supportive of me and my Disney dreams thus far. What’s next? Well, I don’t know, but the sky is the limit, and anything is possible. More to come….. I promise you that!
Well, that’s it for this week’s update. I’m so tired, I need to regroup and embrace all of this craziness that the book has stirred up, crazy in a good way of course. Thank you so much for checking in and keeping up with us every week. It’s because of YOU, our readers, that we keep going and do what we do, and for that I’m eternally grateful. Until next week…. sending you lots of love, blessings and pixie dust! See ya real soon! ~M
*You can order the paperback or Kindle version of Moving to Main Street, U.S.A. on this link ~ https://www.themainstreetmouse.com/moving-main-street-usa/ or become a “patron” on our Patreon page here ~
https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=5182417&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.themainstreetmouse.com%2F
To my family, friends and staff….. I love you all, thank you for believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. xo
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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