Be Still...

A couple of week ago I found myself in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, a little resort village in the heart of Door County. Some dear friends own a vacation home there and graciously allow me to set up shop when I need to get some writing done. I got a lot of rewriting done and a jump-start on my new novel. It was heavenly.

My pup, Murphy, was with me, a 13-week-old furry ball who is in training to be my writing companion. I have visions of him lying in my lap one day or at my feet all cozied up while I transfer profound words from my soul to the page. I imagine him encouraging me with a wag of the tail or a gentle lick to my face when I struggle over my prose. Right now though, all he really wants to do is chew on my toes.

Besides writing, I used my time there to wrestle a bit with God. You see I was feeling a distance from Him that wasn’t comfortable with. He hadn’t gone anywhere, but I seemed to have gone AWOL. I didn’t like how I’d been behaving lately. There was something about it that embarrassed me and puzzled me. I allowed things to come out of my mouth that shouldn’t. Harsh words. Thoughtless words. Uncaring words. They lingered in my mouth like raw eggs. Who is this person? I didn’t know her. And, I didn’t like her much.

Have you ever been surprised by your actions or words? Have you ever reacted or done something that seemed so out or character from who you believe yourself to be? You’re convince that your body has been taken over by someone as nauseous as that Cruella DeVil, the bad lady who wanted to slaughter all those lovely Dalmatian puppies to make herself a fur coat, Well, that would’ve be me. Nope, Murphy didn’t need to fear for his life. His little hide wouldn’t make much of a coat for a Barbie doll, much less some one as big as me. However, I’d lost my way just as sure as Ms. DeVil did when she ordered the deaths of those 101 precious Dalmatians.

God loves me. He’s forgiven me. But He wants me to be better than this. I needed Him to show me the way back. So, that week as I wrote, I also took some time out to listen. I was still and awaited. And, when I felt His hand on my shoulder, I felt the DeVil in me sling away under His holy touch. It was a good week.

“Be still and know that I am God…”

Putting The Book To Bed

Last week I had a little ceremony to participate in. It was a quiet ceremony attended by only me.
I finished writing, MAN FROM MACEDONIA, MY LIFE OF SERVICE, STRUGGLE, FAITH & HOPE at the end of the summer. The book is at the printers and hopefully by the end of the month, I will be holding the finished product in my hand, yet in my office, I still had my files out and my ‘storyboard’ up on the wall.

With all the editing that had to be done from manuscript to galley, I kept the storyboard up and my files at the ready—just in case. And I’m glad I did, because during the editing process, I needed to go back several times and check a fact or two. When you write a book that spans several decades, let me tell, you have lots of notes and files and photos and interviews and timelines and… the list goes on. And, when your story intertwines with historical events that are very well documented, you need to have your resources on hand, at all times.

But, that’s all done now. So, the very last act for me, as the writer of this project was to pack it all away. It was the putting the horse out to pasture, or the putting the baby to bed ceremony. With the packing and labeling of storage boxes and the taking down of my Post-it Note storyboard, this project came to an official end.

Tears flowed a bit as I looked over my wall. The section headings, once only vague ideas that, three-years ago, were only written in my head, are now forever recorded on the pages of the book. File folders with marker scratchings all over them and stuffed with news clippings, photos, and timelines are now bedded down in two storage boxes taped shut.

My wall is once again empty and needs a fresh coat of paint, by the way. But my file drawer is not. Already about, five or six folders are laying on the bottom, as research has begun on the new book., a novel this time. In fact, eight chapters are already written. I even woke in the middle of the night last night trying to figure out a plot twist. And so it begins.

MAN should be out and available by the end of February. I hope you buy a copy and enjoy meeting a remarkable man. I certainly enjoyed introducing him to you. But now, I have a mystery to solve and a new character to flesh out. And, I’m sure it won’t be long before my wall will be covered in Post its once again. How else will I figure out how a police dog ends up in a graveyard by himself one spooky night? Gotta go, I’ve a new package of bright blue sticky notes to crack open.

MAN FROM MACEDONIA- MY LIFE OF SERVICE, STRUGGLE, FAITH AND HOPE

I am most pleased and honored to announce that the book I have been working on for the past three years is about to have its day. On February 15, 2010, MAN FROM MACEDONIA- MY LIFE OF SERVICE, STRUGGLE, FAITH AND HOPE should be available for purchase online. Look for it on Amazon.com or on the official webpage at www.manfrommacendonia.org. The book should be available at selected bookstores not long after.

This collaborative non-fiction has been a labor of love. Dr. Aaron Johnson invited me into his life and trusted me with his story- a story that inspires and challenges anyone struggling to live their faith out loud.

Team MFM is currently working on scheduling book signings and speaker events for both me and Aaron. If you would like to invite us to your event, please feel free to contact me through this blog. We'd love to share this story with you.

Stay tuned. There's more to come...

Lots to be thankful for

I don't know about you, but Thanksgiving at the Cleveland Household was fabulous. Six grandchildren (three of them under seven months old) and their parents filled our little log house to the brim. There wasn't a corner left untouched. As we huddle around and step-over each in our little great room/kitchen combo, we laughed, ate, played games and just hung out. I'm sure this scenario was played out in homes all across the country. But, I don't want to take it for granted. As with most families, we've had our hurts and trials throughout this year, and to have us all together, happy and healthy is a blessing I thank God for.

Over the weekend, I did have a chance to check email and received a nice surprise-- a copy of my new book cover! It's gorgeous and exactly what I'd hope it would be. My family huddled around my computer as I beamed with pride as they 'oohed and aahed' at the cover.

I can't wait to share it with you. Today, the book goes to print and by February 2010, it will be launched. An exciting few months are ahead. So stayed tuned.
Blessings all!

Oh, For The Good Old Days!

Just in case I have any followers, I do apologize to you few for the long absence.

When I arrived back from North Carolina, lots had to be done and I haven't taken the time to report back in. So, here's what's happening...nothing. Well, that's not true. A lot is happening, but it all appears to be happening in s-l-o-w-motion. The book trailer is complete. We're very proud of it and soon I will post it. The manuscript is off to the publisher and now that's a waiting game. It's been six weeks with no word. The book passed their first review and now it is being reviewed by the all important marketing committee... the real folks who decide if a book lives or dies.

Publishing just isn't what it used to be. Gone are the Max Perkins, the infamous editor who held the hands of Hemingway, Faulkner and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings to name a few great ones. He'd even personally visit these writers on their home turfs and sit in their living rooms and read their partials. Can you imagine? Oh, wouldn't that be wonderful, to be pursued and sought after by an editor, and then coddled and nurtured by that editor until your 'baby' made its debut. Oh for the good old days.

Today publishing is up for grabs. Big Houses no longer hold the keys to all that sit on the bookshelves. Self-publishing is becoming respectable. E-publishing is on the upswing. Print-on-Demand is making it's mark, and now with an announcement just out by Thomas Nelson, the world's largest Christian publishing house, they have started their own "vanity press" in the form of WestBow Press. You pay them, and they'll publish your book. Used to be a big no-no to do that. Writers have been warned since the Moses scribbled a few notes, not to pay anyone to publish their books. How foolish, it was thought, to prostitute your work in such a manner. If your book was good, a legitimate publisher worth it's ink would pay you for it. Oh, for the good old days.

I don't know when I'll hear from the publisher considering MAN FROM MACEDONIA. But if I don't hear soon, I may be forced to consider the unthinkable--self publishing. In fact, the foundation who started me on this project and has supported me while I've written the book, has now hired a publicist/copy editor, to whip the manuscript into shape if in fact we do have to go the self-publish route. It's not my first choice, but it may be our only choice. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I've just about finished refurbishing my kitchen cabinets, my flower beds have shrivelled from the hard frost, and my next book is simmering on the back burner of my mind.

If you're a writer trying to publish. I'd love to hear your stories and your thoughts on self- publishing. Until then, keep believing in yourself and the gifts you've been entrusted with.
dc

Almost Done!

I got home from my North Carolina editing trip last Wednesday. There simply are not words to describe all that went on. What a wonderful feeling listening to Aaron Johnson read from the manuscript! And then visiting Willard, NC where Aaron grew up was a 'charmed' experience. Thanks, Aaron and Mattie for your graciousness and hospitality.

Well, one more week of polishing and the manuscript, MAN FROM MACEDONIA, will be ready for review by the publisher that has requested it. I brought home a couple of hours of video of Aaron, Willard, and other stuff as well, which we are working into a promotional book trailer. That's going to be way cool!

As this book winds down, my fingers are itching to get started on my next project-- a novel that's been stewing around in my head for a year or more. While working on MAN has been a labor of love, I am looking forward to working on fiction now. It feels so freeing to be able to make it all up and not adhere to all those pesky facts. I'm gonna make up people, locations and events. If I want it cold and rainy one day and sunny the next in my novel, then so be it. Don't have to check with the Almanac to see what the weather was doing back on a certain day in 1960. If I want my character to have a car accident that breaks his left arm and as he rides in an ambulance where he suddenly gets beamed up by aliens for a joy ride in their starcraft, then there it is. No checking if it's true. It's true if I say it's true. Can't wait.

I won't be able to start the new book until sometime late September. First, I've got to get caught up in my real life. I've got kitchen cabinets to finish painting, flower beds to prepare for winter and...well the list goes on. But until then, I get my edits done. I kiss this baby good-bye, and leave it the editors and marketing committee to do their thing. Wish me luck!

blessings...

A Visit to God's Country

Well, my time in Fayetteville has come to an end. Yesterday, our little party traveled to Willard, North Carolina to finishing up filming for the book trailer and some good photo ops. Dennis and Debbie Walsh, the folks who started us on this journey, Aaron and Mattie Johnson, and me.
To hear Aaron tell it, Willard is God’s Country. Back in his day, Willard was a southern, segregated farming community where his parents sharecropped. They worked on the land owned by the family, the white Johnsons, who owned their ancestors as slaves. Today, a smattering of both sets of Johnsons, black and white, still lives there.

We visited the house where Aaron was born. It has electricity and running water now, but it didn’t in 1933. We sat on the weathered-stain back porch of the small schoolhouse he attended until the eight grade. It was a ‘colored’ school back then, with a wood stove for heat and an outhouse. Paint is peeling off the sides of the modest building now as broken windowpanes flash you a toothless-like grin. But for Aaron, this little building it was a shining star of his past.

We visited the segregated graveyard where his parents and most of his siblings are buried. As I walked through this sunny, but hallowed ground, I felt like I had known all these folks. Aaron had told me so many stories about Miss Cassie and Wille Johnson, his parents, his Aunt Annie, his brothers, Tommy, Lennard, RV and James, and his sister, Bertnita—they’re all there. And, finally, we lingered awhile near the trees where his neighbor, Doc Rogers was killed by the Klan. It was a special day.

Today, I fly home weary but filled up with such gratitude for this experience and this opportunity. I can’t wait to introduce you to Aaron through the book, MAN FROM MACEDONIA- a tale of hope. You will be blessed… trust me. But for now, I pack my bags hurriedly and anxiously await the first sight of my hubby, the love of my life to welcome me back home with tight hug. I can’t wait to step back onto Wisconsin soil and the three little acres of South Moon, our home. It’s time to get back to my family and loved ones. I believe I have some grandbabies coming to visit me this weekend and I can’t wait!
Blessings, all!