Cover of Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow

I’ve never written one of those ‘When I Grow Up…’ essays in school. I wouldn’t really know what I’d have said anyway if I did. A ballerina perhaps. I really enjoyed dancing, and I liked my tutus. Or, more likely, something practical, like a doctor.

But, since I’m thinking about it now, I’ve decided that when I grow up, I want to be like James Rollins. Not only is he a great author (his books will keep you up all night long), but also an inspirational speaker, and overall, really cool guy.

Until a few years ago, I’ve never really given much thought to my occupation because I kinda figured, ‘well, work is work, as long as I can pay my bills and fund my likes-to-travel lifestyle, I’ll be OK.’ I never seriously considered that writing and authoring books could be considered a viable “work goal.” It was always relegated to that strange, amorphous “wouldn’t it be nice” dream. Enter 2010, and the birth of this blog, and well, I realized dreams can become realities.

So why James Rollins, and not, say JK Rowling? Though Rowling’s rise to authorhood is inspiring indeed, I simply identify more with Rollins’s route. I’ve had the privilege of hearing James Rollins speak as the keynote speaker for this year’s DFW Writer’s Conference, and many of his life milestones resonated with me.

Even though he was a successful veterinarian, he still wanted to be an author. (And no, not the All Creature Great and Small, kind. More like the adventure-thriller kind.) He also thought that was a “wouldn’t it be nice…” goal until he got a wake up call from one of those motivational, live-the-life-you-dream kind of speakers. Rollins actually only listened to the first portion of that talk, but it was the most important part–write down your goals, and everyday, do something that will bring you one step closer to that goal.

Rollins wrote down his goal. Dedicated a portion of every day (even during a 12-14 hour work day) toward that goal. And with a little luck and a LOT of hard work and persistence (read: stubbornness), he became a best-selling author across multiple genres (aside from thrillers, he writes the Jake Ransom series for children, and he writes fantasy as James Clemens). Speaking of Jake Ransom…

Because James Rollins has become a role model for me, and because I think everyone needs a Rollins book in their personal library anyway, I’ll be giving away a signed copy of the first book of his children’s series, Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow to a random commenter who comments between now and next Monday, June 18, 11:59PM EST. Just let me know you’re interested and please leave your email!

This giveaway is now closed. Congrats DB Smyth! Random.org chose you! ^_^

So, now you know my new author role model, and kinda what I want to do with my life…what did YOU want to be when you grow up? Or, whose career path resonates with you the most?