Where I Wrote Crawling to the Light

The Word of God, the Bible, my favorite book.

It comprises works by over 40 authors, all of whom wrote their books in various places and times.

I read and study this every morning. This is where I get inspiration for everything I write.

This past week, I've pondered on these authors, on where they wrote their books. Moses wrote in the wilderness; Paul, inside prison walls; and Jeremiah in a dungeon.

I then thought about where and under what circumstances I wrote some of my books. Today, I'll put the spotlight on Crawling to the Light .

When did I write this? I started writing it about 2012. 

Where did I write it? In the computer lab at Roane State Community College, Oak Ridge campus, and at the Oak Ridge public library. At the time, I had no laptop. I still remember arriving at the former location early in the morning, even on cold ones, my hands still in gloves, my fingers flying across the keyboard to warm them up, to get myself in a groove, while listening to Foreigner.

What inspired me to write it? Psalm 68:6 (NIV): God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing... At the time, I went to a lot of local Christian hard rock shows. 

What other circumstances were going on in my life? Painful underemployment, unsure where to go next, and unsure where to go with all this writing. My husband had frequent military orders. I wrote a lot while he was gone.

What obstacles did I have to overcome while writing this novel? My long unmet desire--everything short of a need--for my own laptop. A certain personal relationship had also suddenly gone awry. These public computers weren't accessible until 8 or 10 a.m. The one at the public library had a two-hour limit. Nothing like being inspired at 6:30 a.m. and having to settle for paper and pen. I've also experienced being so fired up to write--only for the computers to not be available, for any reason, from federal holidays to them being "down". When I wrote this book, I cried a lot. Sometimes, it was because of the unfolding of the plot, other times from having to go to these great lengths to write this book.

Even back then, I knew to not wait for perfect conditions. This leads to my last question.

What would I change about the novel now? The wordiness, killing some of the characters, and taking out the head hopping.

I'd now like to hear from you, please. What other book of mine would you like to know more about? Please tell me.

I'd also like to hear from my fellow authors. What inspired you to write the book you published? What were your circumstances at that time? What did you have to overcome?

Reclaiming My Story: The Best Prefix Ever, Part 2

 A big thank you to all who read and commented on last week's blog post. I'm glad you got something out of it and appreciate your kind words and input.

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At the end of September, I met a woman who has become a good friend and mentor. She gave me a binder about her small group. It comprised tabs and hard copies of things she'd written. The last one described something I'd never heard of before--and almost every word described this personal spiritual issue I'm getting through, one step at a time. I re-read and wrote some notes about it, circling some words and phrases.

Rediscover meaning

Reshape personal narrative

Reclaim your story

Reclaim means is to rescue or bring back from error to ways of living or thinking regarded as right; to demand the return of; try to get back. Some synonyms include reshape, refashion, regroup.

This has been the best year yet of having mentors. Let me reclaim feeling better after talking with someone. I haven't had this in several years. I've gone too long without it.

Last Monday afternoon, I met up with this friend/mentor in her office. When I first met her, she bought a copy of Strong & Steadfast . When we initially spoke on the phone and I told her about my books, she said she wanted to buy a copy of this novel. As we talked last week, she had the book with her and showed me she was more than halfway done. She said she loved it and couldn't put it down.

She only wanted to know more about my books, what inspired me to write them.

I realized she's in my target audience. She bought my book, almost sight unseen. For the past six or seven years, that target audience I'd had was gone. It's now time to reclaim that--as well as other things about being an author.

Let me reclaim my role as an author after so many years of others teasing me, blowing me off, or letting me know in no uncertain terms they were not going to support me. I forgive all of them of their outright unkind words and actions (or lack of them).

As an author, I've faced lots of rejections. But getting so many of them to the detriment of my health and well-being. Let me finally experience joy, support, acceptance.

The conversation with this friend/mentor lasted much longer than expected. As we slowly wrapped up our time together, I thought of these questions: 

What if your story was different from everyone else's in some group? 

What if you experienced something outside the confines and norms of social media?