The Reflection Becomes Reality: How I Published My First Book

There’s a moment every dreamer chases—the instant when what once lived only in your mind becomes something you can finally hold in your hands.

For me, that moment arrived with The Reflection Game.

When I first started writing, it wasn’t with the expectation that the world would ever read it—or that I would even finish it. In my former life, I was a musician. I found myself writing for the same reason I once sang on stages: because there were things inside me that needed to take shape—stories that demanded to be told.

The Reflection Game was born a long time ago, though life had its own ideas.
As we grow up, priorities shift. Creativity sometimes stagnates under the weight of responsibility. One day, you realize you're an adult, learning how to inject your dreams into a job that provides financial security. Somewhere along the way, the stories stayed alive, quietly evolving.

The idea of identical twins always spoke to me. As a Gemini, I longed for that twinship—a mirror, a hidden part of myself. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to write a thriller about dual identities, though the characters and plotline shifted over the years, just as I did.

One day, I stumbled across an article about Danielle Steel, describing how she begins every project by sketching a loose outline. It struck me—putting the idea physically on paper could give it shape. I sat down and wrote the roughest outline imaginable, and something sparked.
The more I outlined, the more the ideas multiplied. Suddenly, I had twenty chapters mapped out. For the first time, my imagination wasn’t just something I daydreamed about—it was something I could see. And that momentum changed everything.

With no formal experience as a novelist, I dove in headfirst—writing, rewriting, editing, and reshaping chapters over and over again. New twists appeared, characters deepened, the game of mirrors grew more intricate. I kept going, even when the path was uncertain.
Later, I read a quote by Stephen King somewhere that resonated deeply:
"Stories are found things, like fossils, and the writer’s job is to excavate them."

That’s exactly how it felt. I wasn’t inventing a story—I was uncovering one that had always been waiting for me.

Of course, there were moments—dark, quiet moments—when I almost gave up. Fear whispered louder than inspiration. Doubt crept in between the lines.
There’s no handbook for publishing your first novel; just a series of leaps, stumbles, lessons, and a stubborn refusal to let go.

I quickly realized that writing the book was the easy part. Believe it or not!
Navigating the publishing world—the edits, the marketing, the process of putting your soul onto shelves—that was a new mountain to climb.
But somewhere between the first word and the final edits, the story stopped belonging solely to me. It became something meant to be shared.

And now, it's here. It's real.

The Reflection Game is a psychological thriller about identity, obsession, and control—but it’s also a mirror reflecting pieces of my own journey: the risks we take to find ourselves, the illusions we shatter, the truths we cling to.

Publishing my first book is more than an achievement. It’s a promise—to myself, to my mom, to my readers, and to the stories still waiting inside me.

Because this?

This is just the beginning.

If you are reading this, thank you for being here at the start. I hope you’ll stay for everything that’s still to come—the twists, the turns, the truths hidden in plain sight.

And when you're holding The Reflection Game in your hands right now—know that a dream once held quietly between heartbeats found its way to you.

Welcome to the mind of Grace Meridan and the world of a Midnight Grace.
I’m just getting started.