Still Waiting

Today is the middle of April and here in Louisville, it is snowing outside, again. Snow! Will spring ever get here? I saw a funny post from a friend saying that this year we are experiencing spring by faith, not by sight.

And so we wait ...

We wait, fully believing that warm weather will actually arrive at some point. Gardens will grow again, people will enjoy outside activities again, and we will feel sunshine spilling over our sun-screened shoulders again.

I am also still waiting on word about the book my husband and I wrote called "A Stand for Truth", from that publishing company that does not seem to be in any hurry to communicate with us as to the status of the manuscript they have been reviewing since last November. We have heard in a round about way that they are quite interested and likely to send the long-awaited contract. If and when they do, I will post it here in a very happy, very excited post. :)

In the meantime, I keep on writing. Currently, I had a devotion that appeared in The Secret Place last Saturday, articles in SEEK in Feb, March, and again in June, a "Truth Pursuer" article in the current issue of Clubhouse Magazine, a couple of pieces in "War Cry" sometime this spring, and just received contracts from Purpose Magazine, SEEK, and Power for Living for articles that will appear in the fall and winter.

I juggle that freelancing with time spent working on the devotional books I'm co-writing with my friend. These will be released over the next couple of years.

This fall, PNP will re-release "Glimpses of the Savior" a holiday devotional, and release "Prayer Warrior Confessions" an anthology. Cover reveals for those will be coming sometime in the summer and fall. Next year they will release two of the Glimpses of God devotionals and the final two will come in 2020. These four will each have 50 devotions and will be for one of the four seasons, winter, spring, summer, and fall. So, I have plenty to keep me busy even without all that will need to be done if/ when we finally get a contract on "A Stand for Truth."

But I sure would love to hear from the publishing company. I can just picture it, I'm sitting outside in the warm sunshine checking my phone when that news comes in.

I like dreaming.

Learning Patience

George Orwell is quoted as saying, “Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”

This quote has always made me laugh because it strikes a chord with me. As an author / freelance writer I can relate to feeling driven to write. I laugh at myself because I find I am always giving myself a writing assignment just like a teacher would require of a student. Some of these assignments are short and I can complete them quickly and reap the satisfaction of seeing them published in some form but others take much longer. 

Prayer: It's Not About You took four years to write and about another five to get published, though some of my books have taken less time to write. But one that I co-wrote with my husband, tentatively named, "A Stand for Truth", about his time as a trustee at Southern Seminary, wins the award for taking the longest! 

It took us at least seven years to write and we have yet to secure a publisher, though we are close. We submitted it to a traditional, well respected, Christian publisher, in November who seemed eager to take a look at it. But we have yet to hear anything final from them, though a few days ago, a fascinating chance encounter revealed new information that gives us reason to be very optimistic that we should hear sooner rather than later. I will certainly keep everyone posted as soon as I know anything for sure. In the meantime, I am learning yet another lesson in patience as I wake up every morning thinking, "Maybe today we will get that book contract."

...something I have done nearly every day since the first of the year. :)