SUBMISSIONS
I have spent December revising and polishing Sparkles from Silence because… I was working on deadline! Right after Thanksgiving, both an agent and an editor asked to see the complete manuscript. You can see why the novel took priority over every other writing task. And I submitted to both individuals a day early!
Those of you who read my posts may not realize how S-L-O-W the publishing industry is, especially when you’re a newbie trying to break in. When I started this journey about eight years ago, I sure didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Since then, I have endured lessons in patience, I’ve begun to scale a steep learning curve regarding technology and platform, and I’ve improved my writing skill. In fact, Excerpt 1, the introductory chapter, is now totally revamped. The story remains the same, but better.
And I promise: after Christmas but before New Year’s Day, I will put up the next excerpt from Sparkles from Silence.
PRAYERS
Writing the World Without Sound series started as a way to share our story with family and friends–and wouldn’t it be nice if other people found the novel fascinating and wanted to buy it? Over time, my desires have shifted, thanks to one of my beta readers. She’s the mother of a deaf child, and after reading Sparkles from Silence, she thanked me for giving her hope.
I had been thinking the story was educational for middle-graders in the sense that they could learn what it’s like to live with someone with disabilities. While that is true, how much better to offer hope to people who are struggling through the same issues my family faced! With God’s help and our determined love for one another, we overcame innumerable obstacles. I want other families to know the same victory.
So this is my prayer request: that you would pray for Sparkles from Silence and its sequels to reach those families who need hope, that raising a child with disabilities results in amazing blessings.
And I would like to return the favor. If you have a prayer request and would like me to join you in that prayer, contact me, and I will pray for you. I haven’t tried it this way before, but I believe if you use the contact form, my website’s dashboard provides your email address to me without publicizing it in the comment section. That way I can respond to you privately.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Finally, I wish you a blessed Christmas. I will be enjoying four of my seven grandchildren and looking forward to a Christmas celebration where we light the Advent candles, share our blessings from the past year, and sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus.
I hope your families have their own warm, loving traditions during this holy season.
