A Look Back at 2016

This is my final post of this year and I thought I'd take a moment to look back at where 2016 has brought me as an author. This year has brought a shift for me as an author from someone who writes as a hobby to someone who is pursuing writing as a career. I don't know if I'll ever be a published author - many people try and fail - but I feel like I'm on a path to give me the best opportunity right now.

January saw the publication of Resolution Room, the first book in my new Holliday Hotel series. I have to admit that I have loved this book. I love Carol Holliday and I am looking forward to seeing what happens at her bed-and-breakfast next. This book talked about pushing ahead of God's timing, which I fear that I do too often. When we wait on Him, though, things line up the way they ought to, and I'm always surprised at how easily things fall into place.

I started an author's page on Facebook at the beginning of this year. It's been an interesting learning experience for me and I'm still developing as I explore this more. I've enjoyed the more personal contact with my readers. I look forward to utilizing this page better in the future.

Another big step for me was joining American Christian Fiction Writers. This group helps writers to develop their skills through courses, peer review, conferences, and more. I've done a couple of the email courses, but haven't utilized it as much as I should. I'm hoping to be more actively involved next year.

I also signed up with Westbow Press to publish Resolution Room in a physical format. This was an interesting experience for me. The time it took to prepare it for this put me behind schedule in some ways which has been frustrating. However, holding my book in my hand was an awesome experience.

There's something special about seeing and holding your work in your hands. To turn the pages and see your name in print is amazing. The best part is that I really felt like God was directing me in this direction. I've learned a lot from the process and can't wait to see what this leads to in the future.

Part of this process led me to sign with Merge Left Marketing to help me figure out the best way to advertise for my books better. They will be designing a website and logo for me to start with. I really like my team and I think this will be a huge step for me.

Finally, I was able to publish a new Christmas novella. This was a difficult one for me to write, but I was happy with the final outcome. I also figured out how to do Amazon giveaways and was able to set one up for this book. It was fun to do and I think I'll probably do more in the future.

I only had two goals this year: to publish Resolution Room and to write a Christmas novella. I accomplished both of those goals, plus way more than I expected! I can only praise God for the extra blessings, because I know they're from Him.

Coming up in 2017, I can't wait to unveil the new website and logo that Merge Left Marketing will do for me. I'm hoping to publish the second book of the Holliday Hotel series in February. I'm pretty far behind on it right now because of publishing Resolution Room in print. I'm hoping for another Christmas novella this year and possibly something else - if I have time. God's really been moving me out of my comfort zone and it's been an interesting year for me. I look forward to where He will lead next year. Happy New Year!

Christmas Reflections about Mary

This Christmas season my church choir did its traditional program called A Festival of Carols. This year's program was called "Sounds of the Season" and was a radio show counting down to Christmas with emails and call ins to play specific songs. I don't know if everyone realized it, but all of the emails or call ins were true stories. One was about listening to "Twelve Days Confusion" while doing Christmas baking and another was about how after a trip to a friend's house with her large family, an only child found significance in the song "Silent Night". Another was about a mom who had made her son a quilt and when he had enlisted he took it with him. One year he asked for more quilts for all the soldiers he was with. With the help of other women and some online support to help with shipping costs, she was able to meet his request.

I was able to contribute one of the stories that was shared (I even got to record my voice to be a "caller"). I wrote about deep late night reflections I would have after my son was born. I thought as we head to Christmas that I would share it again.

"I hadn't thought much about Mary as a mother until I had my own son. After he was born, when it was getting close to Christmas, I found myself looking at his little face and thinking about what Mary felt when she looked at Jesus's face. Did she look for a family resemblance? Or did she look for His glory? When I rocked my son, I wondered how Mary would have rocked Jesus. When I held his little hands, I realized that the hands Mary held had formed man from the dust of the earth. As I wondered about my son's future, I questioned how much Mary really understood of what Jesus would accomplish. As I sang lullabies, I imagined what songs Mary sang to her Son. How nice it must have been to have a perfect Son who never sinned and yet . . . how convicting. How strange it would have been to see the Son of God taking His first human steps. How unique to teach the All-Knowing God to talk - the very One who spoke the universe into existence! Suddenly songs about Mary as a mother took on a whole new meaning. To this day, they bring tears to my eyes thinking about what an awesome responsibility and privilege it would have been to be the mother of Jesus."

The story of Jesus's birth can become so familiar that it loses it's awe and wonder. God Himself came down to earth because He loved us so much to take the death penalty that we deserved so that we could be reconciled to Him. That is the most wonderful thing that He could have done. As we celebrate Christmas this weekend, take a few moments to pause and really think about what Jesus coming to earth really means. Take in the wonder of that event. And have a very Merry Christmas!

Dedication: Snowfall

I've been blessed in my life, not only with my own amazing family, but with amazing in-laws as well. Rachel had already married one of the four Lyman boys when I joined the family. She's such a warm, friendly person that she really helped a shy, young girl feel welcomed and loved. She was the first member of the family that I really felt I could sit down and talk with.

Since then, she has become a dear friend as well as my sister-in-law. She and I had a lot of similarities in growing up years and we've talked about the culture shock when you marry into a family that is so unlike your own. We've both been involved in our children's schools, both worked with kids, and both direct our churches Vacation Bible Schools. We both chase after our children and try to keep up with their busy schedules. She's been a mentor to me in a lot of ways although I'm not sure that she realizes that. I very much respect her opinion, and I always enjoy the time I spend with her.

Although we're very similar, we have our differences, too. Rachel is much more outdoorsy than I am. I'm a city girl through and through while Rachel will go hunting and camping with her family. Her family lives in a rural area of Arizona. Her children have a much different lifestyle than my own children. My kids call them the "cowboy cousins". They participate in rodeos, raise livestock for 4H, and live in the country with chickens, cows, and horses.

One year Rachel invited all the cousins to have a cousins camp at her house. All but the youngest cousins went, and they had a blast. The city cousins were so happy to do farm chores, and the cowboy cousins were happy to show their city cousins what life in the country is like. It's an experience they still talk about and I'm sure they'll never forget it.

When I decided to write "Snowfall" I knew I was going to need a little help. I can do research on some things about ranching, but I wanted the opinion of someone who lived in that community Rachel was my obvious choice. She not only has been a part of that lifestyle for years, but she is an avid reader. She was by far my fastest editor to date. I couldn't believe how quickly she got it back to me. On top of that, she's been one of my biggest supporters. I know that she reads all of my books and that means so much to me! I was so thankful for her help, and I had to dedicate "Snowfall" to her not only for her contribution to the book, but for her encouragement and support to me from the moment I published my very first book.

Thank you, Rachel, for being my friend, my mentor, my editor, and my sister! I love you.