As some of you know, I've finished writing a manuscript for a book that I'm attempting to market in the realm of Christian publishing. It's something I felt very pressed to write. I started it in May 2008, finished in October 2009, finished editing it in November and started fishing for publishers. I took a break over the holidays because of... well, the holidays. But I've been continuing to pray about it and think over what I should do and how I should go about it. This morning, after a particularly long time on my knees, I got in my car, started my new audio book up, and an idea occurred to me.
Sue Monk Kidd, author of "The Mermaid Chair", "The Secret Life of Bees", and many others, has a book called "Firstlight" which is a compilation of her early writings, most of which are quite inspirational. This morning while I listened on the way to work, I learned that she was a writer for Guideposts magazine for over a decade. And it occurred to me that perhaps this is a good way to get my feet wet in this market. If I were to take the book apart, chapter by chapter, and submit each chapter as an article, then later put it back together as a compilation, it might make things simpler for me during this process. I can't imagine it was coincidence that this came up in this particular book, at this particular time, on this particular morning.
So, I've started "Firstlight", and I've also started a book called "A Three Dog Life" by Abigail Thomas. I'm definitely liking this one so far. It's a memoir -- the woman is writing about her husband who was hit by a car while attempting to rescue their dog from running into traffic, and his personality changes drastically after brain surgery. It invokes a kind of low-grade anxiety in me while I read it, but I'm fascinated nonetheless. It makes me wonder, how would I feel if my husband became a type of shell that a different "husband"'s personality lived inside? I would love him and stay with him and take care of him regardless, but how would I feel, emotionally, watching him endure such a tragic existence day after day? Indeed, enduring it myself? Most people, I think, would have a tendency to put up a barrier and avoid their spiritual side, be angry with God, and let it affect everything in their life negatively. I would hope that I would remain the same person I am inside, with the same spiritual connection, but even moreso. There have been points in my life when I've been in trouble and have pulled away from God and everything I've believed and, like a child pulling away from a parent, I've done nothing but make my circumstances worse. Inevitably, during rough times when I have attempted to pull closer instead of putting up that barrier, He's worked things out His way and they are far better than I could ever have imagined my own solutions to be.
You might have noticed I didn't start reading a Clive Barker book yet. Now I'm debating which one I should read. My initial inclination was Weaveworld, because I've heard of it before, and because my friend Danny had it rated highly on the list he sent along with the books. But he mentioned to me that I might want to get my feet wet with a short story compilation before diving into an epic. Stinking logical outlook he has.
I'm hungry, and I need to go grocery shopping. That's not going to happen tonight, because it's dark and I'm in my robe. So I must find some snackies to hold me over until tomorrow when I buy us some real food.
Happy weekend, everyone!
SJS
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