This year I will be launching a book, LET ME IN: A Japanese American Woman Crashes the Corporate Club 1976-1996. I’ve spent the last two years—TWO YEARS!!—working towards this goal, and the launch dates are getting firmed up. But before I forget, I thought I would spend my blog talking about how I got here. How I made the transition, who helped me, and where I want to go from here.

Two years ago I had just completed selling a business that my husband and I had run for almost 20 years. We were business consultants, helping companies improve their business processes through best practices and software. We focused on the sales side of the world, but ventured where ever we were needed.

Both my husband Scot and I were eminently qualified for the work—both of us had been employed by extremely large corporations, and came from small family business backgrounds. We met in the University of Minnesota School of Business getting our MBA’s. Our corporate careers were fast track management jobs that were challenging, interesting, and fun. But I think we both felt our roots in small business and being independent were calling us back, so that’s where we spent the last 20 years we had together.

I love the business side of writing, and it is likely my strong suit. It is also the part of the business that true “artists” are many times weakest. I am done writing this book, and now the business of writing kicks in.

I’d like to take you on the journey I’ve been on and share some of the ups, downs, and learnings I’ve had over the course of the past two years.  When you see me in September at the launch party, I hope I look fresh, engaged, interesting. I hope I look like someone you’d like to support by buying a book! But most of all, I hope you know after reading these blog posts how much work, how many hours, how many tears, went into looking fresh, engaged and interesting for those few minutes at a party.