Aloha! I can’t believe it’s been a year since I first joined the Debutante Ball. Mahalo to the previous class for giving me the opportunity to work alongside K.A. Doore, Martine Fournier Watson, Layne Fargo and Stephanie Jimenez, as part of the Class of 2019. I had no idea what kind of ride to expect as a debut author, and it was truly wonderful to be part of the DB-Hive. I so appreciate their generosity.
It has been a rollercoaster ride, so many moments of joy and elation and so many moments of anxiety and uncertainty as The Atlas of Reds and Blues made its way into the world and started to be read. I wouldn’t trade this adventure for anything — I so appreciate the friendship and community we have built. Please read Kai’s, Martine’s, Layne’s and Stephanie’s stellar books! These are madly talented writers whom I proudly call my 
friends.
I always thought of myself as an organized person and yet, I received a lengthy hands-on, trial and error tutorial this year about time management and organization and teamwork. My job as social media maven was laborious at times and I really learned to become more efficient — am so grateful for the help I received at those times when real life took over and I couldn’t get to the computer and complete a task.
I love the community of writers and readers and book lovers we have been a part of. I love talking to writers and sharing strategies, and helping good books get well-deserved attention.
My advice to anyone serious about their writing is to remain persistent. Keep reading books (especially ones outside your chosen genre), and supporting new works on social media. And write every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Build your community and continue to collect rejections. The ones who keep honing their work and collecting rejections end up getting their works published.
Mahalo for the encouragement and support this year from the Deb Ball community. I will still be on Twitter and Instagram after the switch over in early September. And you can always find me on my website: devislaskar.com. Aloha —
