Coming to a Close

It's hard to believe that in only seven days I will be twenty-two years old. My goodness!

It's even harder to believe that in six days I will be finished with my first novel.


August 4th marks the deadline for my book to be finished. Once I've rolled up to August 4th, I'm done with all edits, all revisions until a real editor chooses to take the project on. And it is then that the REAL work begins: finding a publisher. I'm actually not panicking about that process. If God wants this book to be published, then it will be published. I'm just pleased that I actually finished the project. So, as I'm drawing this novel to a close, I'm looking back on how this all began, and I'm amazed by God's goodness.

I began writing this book over a year ago because I couldn't find a job, and I had nothing to do. I'm not a "sit-and-do-nothing" kind of chick, so being unemployed with agonizing. First it was disappointing, then it was depressing, and then I began to despair. Never, ever despair, dear friends. There is no faith or joy in it, let me tell you. One day, and I'll  never remember which day it actually was, I just sat down and started writing. I was sick and tired of feeling lethargic, and my newly graduated brain was still firing on all cylinders, so I started doing what I'm good at: writing.

Slowly, this story started to weave together, inspired by snippets of real life, songs, poems, and testimonies. I didn't know where it was going, but it certainly wasn't stopping anytime soon.

It's been over a year since I first started typing out this story, and now it is almost finished. Just this past week, God gave me an early birthday present: a job only five minutes from my house. I'm going to be doing what I love. What a gift! Does this mean that my writing is over? NEVER! I have a job, I am a writer. Writing is my career, my passion, and I'm not going to stop just because I'm now an employed lady. I can't wait to see what is going to happen with this book, and I'm already researching for my second.

So, wow, God. Thank you for the hardest year of my life. Thank you for the trials, the confusion, and leading me even though I felt like the walking blind. Without this year, I never would have learned to trust you, and I never would have felt the prodding to write a 75,000 word novel....

I'm so blessed. Let the countdown to August 4th begin!!