Book of a Lifetime ~ Valerie Ronald

 

I remember the smell and feel of the new school scribbler on the desk in my childhood bedroom. Within its blue cover, blank pages waited to receive my first attempt at writing a book. I was eight years old. Now that I could read and print, I was eager to record the story swirling around in my head. Determined to fill the notebook, I laboured with my limited vocabulary to describe scenes of a log cabin and the family living in it, especially a girl just my age. My stubby pencil hardly kept up with her adventures pouring out of my mind. The notebook was never filled as my focus moved on to some other childhood interest, but I remember the excitement of creating a whole world from my imagination. 

Throughout my school years and post secondary education in journalism, writing was my passion. I planned to make it my career and hoped someday to publish a book. I worked for a few years in my chosen field but too soon marriage and a growing family took over. I barely had time or energy to journal occasionally, never mind write a book.

Fast forward fifty years and finally the dream is becoming a reality. My first book will soon be launched. Each Shining Moment is a devotional compilation of my many moments of lingering in God’s light. They comprise a lifetime of experiences and lessons gleaned from my walk with God and time in His Word. But it is not the book I thought I would write when I first dreamed of being published so many years ago. I imagined a work of fiction with exciting characters, vivid settings, and a riveting plot. God was not included in the story then.

It wasn’t until life became hard that I knew I needed to include God. I struggled in a painful marriage, raising my children alone while my husband pursued his own adventures, eventually abandoning his family. Then came a time of clinging to God through the deep valley of a cancer diagnosis and an uncertain future. I am so thankful God renewed my health and brought me to a place of peace and blessing, giving me an opportunity to finally write a book.

Now I realize that the book I was meant to write needed to rise from the ashes of adversity so others could hopefully identify and learn from what God taught me. Looking back over the deep truths God instilled in me in those hard places, I see His perfect timing and wisdom in having me wait until my senior years to write this book.

It is not about me. It is all about Him. 

"Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips."  Hosea 14:2 NIV
 

 Valerie Ronald writes from an old roll top desk in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, with her tortoiseshell cat for a muse. A graduate of Langara College School of Journalism, she writes devotionals, fiction and inspirational prose. Her purpose in writing is to encourage others to grow in their spiritual walk. 

Ornament: A First Book by Bob Jones

My first book was the outcome of an emotional roller coaster of a journey.

The journey began on an August Wednesday in 2011 when an email appeared in my inbox – “things aren’t good.”

Kristen Fersovitch, a twenty-eight year old wife of an Edmonton firefighter and mom of three preschool boys, just heard from her doctor that kidney cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.

“I’m scared.”

Kristen was a seven-year old bundle of energy when we first met. I was the Children's pastor at Central Tabernacle in Edmonton. God gifted Kristen with spunk and the singing voice of an angel. A pastor’s greatest pleasure is staying in the same charge to watch kids grow up, graduate high school, spread their wings, get married and have kids of their own.I got to do that with Kristen.

That August afternoon I called Kristen rather than reply. She cried at her end of the line and my tears were right there with her. We prayed. And then she asked if she could sing and share her story on the following Sunday at church. Singing was Kristen’s way through the ups and downs of her life and this cancer journey would be no exception.

Over the next twenty-four months Kristen would record an album and grace the platform of the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium as a featured soloist, not once but twice in Canada’s premier Christmas event – the Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree. She sang with an American Idol winner and brought tears to the eyes of thousands who witnessed her courage in the face of a terminal cancer diagnosis. 

She was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and her story was shared on CTV, Global and every print media outlet in Edmonton.

Kristen passed away just before the Thanksgiving weekend of 2013. Her funeral – attended by family, friends, politicians, media and strangers whose lives she touched - was the lead story on Global Edmonton. Her oldest son was six.

Along with so many others, I prayed, fasted, and believed for God’s mercy in Kristen’s life. Her husband Mike was desperate for her to be well. Her sons needed their mom alive. Her family and friends spared no effort to support her. But death was God’s answer.  

Ornament: The Faith, Hope and Joy of Kristen Fersovitch became a way of dealing with my grief and disappointment.

Kristen’s life was on display for all to see – just like a beautiful Christmas Tree ornament. She touched so many people who asked similar questions – “How are you holding it together? Where are you finding your strength?”

When life was at its worst, Kristen was at her best. And she gave all the credit to Jesus. “I believe Jesus will heal me but even if he doesn’t I trust God with all my heart.” The book became a way of helping others find the same kind of faith she had. At the end of each chapter, thoughtful questions shone a light to help readers encounter Jesus.

Generous friends of Kristen and mine funded the project. Word Alive Press designed and published the book as a legacy piece – hardcover, with a texture made especially for readers to feel the gentle strength of Kristen when they held the book. Ornament includes pictures of Kristen’s Christmases, including her favorite Christmas tree ornaments. Through sales of the book over $30,000 was raised for an Education Trust fund for the boys.

Ornament was awarded the Canadian Word Press Life Story of the Year in 2016.

Copies are available through Chapters.ca or by emailing bob.pb.jones@gmail.com

Bob is a recovering perfectionist, who collects Coca-Cola memorabilia and drinks Iced Tea. His office walls are adorned with his sons’ framed football jerseys, and his library shelves, with soul food. He writes to inspire people to be real, grow an authentic faith in Jesus, enjoy healthy relationships and discover their life purpose.

Follow his writing at Pointes Of View.

The Wounded Trilogy by Lynn Dove



The Wounded Trilogy by Lynn Dove

I have always loved the children’s book, “The Little Engine That Could”.  I loved the pluck and spunk of that little engine with the “I think I can, I think I can” attitude.  I love underdog stories!  I love the idea that despite all odds and being the smallest and definitely not the strongest, this little engine succeeded when all the other bigger engines failed because he believed in his heart he could do it!

What’s that got to do with me, you say?  Well, in 2009, I published my first book, "Shoot the Wounded", a young adult contemporary Christian fiction that has spawned two other books, "Heal the Wounded" and "Love the Wounded" (The Wounded Trilogy).  The books delve deep into the real world of teenagers trying to live out their faith in the midst of upset and struggle.  The books have garnered much praise and attention for their sensitivity towards social issues such as teen pregnancy, gossip, bullying and cancer and the books continue to fair well on some of Amazon's best-selling lists.  They have won awards and 5 star reviews, and teenagers and parents alike are buying and reading the books in numbers I never imagined.

But the books were almost never written…

I wrote Shoot the Wounded over twenty years ago.  It started out as a short story, something I just plucked away at for a weekend writing, but one hundred pages later I realized it was not a “short” story any more.  I would add a bit more to the manuscript every now and then, but I really had no real intention of going any further with it.

Then life happened...

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001 and it was a two year battle where everything I was doing before my diagnosis basically went “on hold” until I was healthy again.  I was just starting to grow back all my hair that I had lost after chemo, when God called me to seminary and also to be the Minister to Children at my home church in Cochrane.  My oldest daughter got married.  Life was full and busy.  I graduated from the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary with my Master of Religious Education degree in 2007 and one day as I was cleaning out all the “old” files on my computer I came across the untitled Shoot the Wounded manuscript.  It was just collecting computer “dust” and I almost hit the delete button…

My husband, Charles stopped me.  “Why don’t you finish that story and do something with it?” he said.

That led me on the writing and publishing journey that culminated in Love the Wounded, the third book in the young adult series. 

There were many ups and downs, with seemingly endless hills to climb on that particular writing journey.  There were many times I felt just like the Little Engine that Could…but with the help of God and MANY mentors, and supporters, I puffed my way up those hills with an “I think I can” attitude.  On those days when my thoughts were: “I DON’T think I can anymore”, and I felt weak and worn out from the effort, all those encouragers God had placed in my path helped push me up and over those mountains!

I am so grateful that God continues to use the message in my books to encourage students who are victims of bullying.  My books, written from a Christian world-view perspective, are reaching out to teens and adults who need to know that they are not alone; God is always there for them.  My writing has become a ministry and I am humbled God would use me and my books to spread His message of Hope to so many. 

While promoting my books, I began writing my blog, "Journey Thoughts" which has gone on to win a Canadian Christian Writing Award in 2011 and has to date over 11 million hits!  I would never have even thought to write that blog had it not been for publishing my first book. 

I don’t know where this “track” I’m on will continue to take me but with God and all my encouragers helping me along, I’m pretty sure it will be a great ride!

*(adapted from a previous article entitled "The Little Engine That Could" I wrote in 2013).

Lynn Dove is the award-winning author, of the YA “Wounded Trilogy”- a contemporary Christian fiction series with coming-of-age themes.  A wife, mom, grandmother, and free-lance writer with articles published in several magazines and anthologies including Chicken Soup for the Soul books, her blog, “Journey Thoughts” is a Canadian Christian Writing Award winner.  Readers may connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and at lynndove.com 

There’s No Expiration Date on My First Book by Nina Faye Morey

While my novel’s first draft flowed nimbly onto the paper from the nib of my pen, my second is stumbling unsteadily across my keyboard. But I’m not going to let myself get bent out of shape on account of this snail’s pace. The way I look at it, there’s no expiration date on my first book.

The slow progress of my novel is mainly due to getting sidetracked by an offer that seemed just too good to refuse. I honestly did try to decline it a couple of times to stay focused on my novel. But when the offer reappeared for possibly the third and final time, I decided God must have had a hand in it.

For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who will annul it?

His hand is stretched out and who will turn it back?

~ Isaiah 14:27 NRSV

You see, I’d always dreamed of writing for and editing a magazine. The writing side had already become a reality, but I’d begun to think the editing side was destined to remain in the dream category. Unless I founded a magazine of my own. Believe me, that thought—temptation—has occurred to me more than once in my lifetime. So, long story short, I accepted the offer to be the editor of InScribe’s FellowScript magazine.

Even though it’s a quarterly publication, working as FellowScript’s editor eats up a substantial portion of my time. So that means I’m often forced to let my novel rest undisturbed in my desk drawer for extended periods. But I view this editing opportunity as another one of those life experiences that will only serve to enrich my writing in the long run.

Frequently, I see those lists of bright, young, up-and-coming authors, who are celebrated as “the ones to watch.” But just because I’m getting a few grey hairs doesn’t mean I’m past my “best before” date. I like to think I’m still in the “prime of life,” and it’s not too late for me to achieve success as an author. Besides, just think of all the life experiences I’m accumulating along the way to write about. Despite having already passed me on the path to publication, those bright, young prodigies are still far behind me on the road of life.

I would hardly be alone in writing and publishing my first book rather late in life. Several successful authors have proven it’s still possible to find the path to publication in later years. These “late bloomers” have had their first book published after age 40, 50, or even 60. After all, “late” is a comparative term. Late as opposed to . . . ? Besides, I don’t believe creativity has an expiry date either.

I can think of several “mature” authors who’ve inspired me over the years. When I was a youngster, one of my favourite books was Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. She wrote this beloved children’s classic in her last decade of life, and it wasn’t published until she was 57. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote and published her first book, Little House in the Big Woods, when she was 65. Like me, she’d written for some periodicals in her fifties, but her novel writing didn’t really get off the ground until her retirement years. One author who certainly proved it’s never too late is Millard Kaufman, who published his first novel, Bowel of Cherries at age 90.

As you can see, there’s no time limit on achieving your writerly dreams. So write, write, write; edit, revise, and repeat; and stop worrying about still not having made your way through the door of that publishing house. Just relax, take your time, enjoy the ride, and never give up on your dream.

Photo Credits: Best Before Date - Nina Faye Morey; All Other Photos - Pixabay

Hidden in My Cupboard by Sharon Espeseth

Sharon's Cupboard for Unfinished Books One and Two--Google Images

Just realizing the blog theme of first and/or hidden books was scheduled for July 2018 jangled my nerves. I procrastinated. With the deadline staring me in the nostrils, I needed to come to terms with the assignment. For accountability to my writing comrades, I hereby admit that I have two unfinished books hidden in my cupboards. These books exist and are in the cupboard for posterity to discover or discard, as they so choose.

Book One is a gathering-up of family stories written in memoir fashion. Some have been published and well-received by my readers; others have not seen the light of day. Book Two is a book of devotionals for Christian writers. Perhaps those of you who have written either of these two genres could weigh in on the viability of one or the other.

Leading up to my scheduled appearance of my blog, I went into a tangent of accountability and excuses for why I haven't finished these two, or any other, books. Like many of the rest of you, I have legitimate reasons/excuses why they are not in print. But then, so, I'm sure, could others of you who have written and published any number of books.

At this point in my life--I am no longer young--I don't know if these two books, or any other books by me, will get written. That's where I begin thrashing around in my sleep. With rapid dog-paddling motions, I began the debate.

Was it other priorities that got in the way of writing, or was it other people that got in my way, or was it other people's priorities that held me back, or was it my  allowing  life to keep getting in the way? By my not being firm enough, or not determined enough, or not dedicated enough, did I let other people, other priorities, or other people's priorities control my time and efforts?

Around and around I went.

Over the years, I can relate to all of the above. But rehashing them is a moot point. Here I am in my senior years and I have much for which to be thankful. I would also be thankful, I believe, if I had books to show for my efforts, but I am thankful for my faith, my family, my friends, my computer, the sunset that is fading and reminding I should be in bed.These are the real things, whether I get them down in writing or not.

Over the decades, I've spent time with good friends. I've enjoyed sunrise and summer evenings at the farm--sometimes with my pen in hand. Sometimes not.

I've baked a lot of bread. I've grown huge and healthy gardens with my family. I've cared for my elderly parents and a few other relatives. I've stayed married to the same man for 43 years. And I'm thankful for the man he is, even if I don't agree with him all the time.

We recently celebrated 43 years of marriage

I've raised three children, adopted as infants. I loved them when they scraped their knees and when they brought me dandelions. I loved them through and beyond their teen years. Each of our kids have a big spot in my heart. I've bounced grandchildren on my knee and celebrated their "birth days" and their birthdays. . .

Our Jenny with her daughter Isabella
and her new brother Logan.
I was there to witness and then write this interesting story
for Celebrate Life Magazine.

Others of you may have done all of this and written books too, but that is your life and not mine. God made each of us as individuals and he did not mean we should compare ourselves to others. Jesus gave us a new commandment: Love your neighbour as yourself. He didn't command us to love our neighbours and measure ourselves against them.

If I sound defensive, it's only because I've been having this argument with myself for years and I want to settle it once and for all. I love the people who write books, because what would I have to read if good people didn't write the books. I have written articles and blogs and poems and so on, but I haven't tried to squeeze my thoughts, ideas and stories between two covers. So far, I am not one of those writers, but that's okay. I may some day get Book One or Book Two or Book Three written, but if I don't, that's all right too.

Right now, I am too busy living today and being myself to get all of that figured out. Like others, my husband and I are having health challenges. But we know that "God has plans for each of us, plans to give us hope and a future, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

I continue to seek the kingdom of God and what he has to teach me. I know "all these things. . ." will be given to me as well. Therefore I do not need to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own. (Matthew 6:33-34 Paraphrased by me from NIV)







A Word and a Prayer for All of Us

May each of us abide in Christ and learn that it is good to "Trust in the Lord with all (our) hearts and lean not on (our) own understanding." May we submit to God so that "he will make (our) paths straight." 
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

I thank God for his love, wisdom, guidance and promise. I thank God for "all these things." Amen

Stories My Grandmother Told Me by Susan Barclay

I've been writing stories and songs ever since I can remember. My grandmother was an excellent storyteller and I recall publishing a "book" for my elementary school library somewhere in the grade 4-6 period. I titled it "Stories My Grandmother Told Me" and it was put together on laminated paper and bound with a yellow spiral. It included a pocket for the check-out card. Those were the days of low technology!

My book included stories about my grandmother's Newfoundland dog, Major, who rescued her on two occasions. Once when she was little, she fell into a brook and the dog hauled her out; another time she almost sat on a snake while blueberry picking and Major shook the snake until it died. Another story tells of the time the family's house caught fire and her grandmother threw furniture out of the upstairs window. Grandma lived a pretty thrilling life.

It was so exciting when students checked my book out of the library and told me how much they enjoyed it. Even better when they said they hoped I would write a sequel. I told my grandmother that I would write more about her life when I "grew up" and sadly, I still haven't done so.

No doubt just about to launch into another story :)

I recently lost all the revised files of my first novel. Yeah, I know - back up your back-ups. Thankfully, I found earlier versions and have been able to piece it back together with a gap here and an overlap there. A lot more work lies ahead in the revision process. Hopefully, like Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises (dare I mention them in the same breath?), it will be better for the loss.

In the meanwhile, maybe it's time for a break. Maybe I should work on my grandmother's story and keep my promise to her... What do you think, dear readers?