Photo courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

When I was a kid, I loved the thrill of a roller coaster. My heart pounded in my chest anticipating the two to three minutes of high-speed adventure. Wet with sweat, my hands gripped the cold handlebar, hanging on for dear life, as it scaled the first hill. As the ride dipped low and took me high, I vowed never to ride another roller coaster again. Of course, I always did.

The days of riding roller coasters are behind me. After a ruptured disc in my back twenty years ago, two days following a ride on a coaster, my thrill seeking days were over…or so I thought.

To say the last four months, since I entered a writing contest sponsored by a publisher, was a roller coast ride, is a colossal understatement. Going from a…