This past week has been an amazing ride. I got my first book published. It's already for sale on Amazon and B&N. Can you believe that?
Several years back, I was listening to a Chuck Missler Bible Study, and felt like I was supposed to write a book about the battle of Jericho and the events leading up to it. My response was, "Yah. Right. Like I know ANYTHING about writing a book." The feeling didn't go away. As a matter of fact, it intensified. I grabbed a notebook and a pen and began writing down ideas and notes. They were coming to me literally faster than I could get them on paper. Characters. Plot. Sub-plot. Descriptions. It was pretty amazing.
I spent about three months researching everything I could find about the location, time period, customs, pagan beliefs, and all the information that was sprinkled throughout scripture. It was a tedious process, and I was determined to make this book as accurate as was physically possible.
I began writing the book in the evenings, after my boys had gone to bed. I know me. I'm one of those people who jumps in with both feet, and I knew the project would consume if I let it. I had to promise myself right off the bat that I would only work on writing it when it didn't interfere with my time with the boys. So, for the next several months, I got very little sleep.
Once I felt like it was 'shareable', there were several family members and friends from church who agreed to read it, and they all gave me glowing reports. I was encouraged by their responses. Writing a book was not one of my lifelong dreams or goals. I just felt like I should do it, so I did.
I posted it on a website where publishers go looking for new material, and was offered two publishing contracts. Neither of them were what I was looking for, so I turned them down. Since then, I have occasionally offered it to friends and aquaintances to review at their leisure, but aside from that, it's been just waiting on the proverbial back shelf. As a matter of fact, I've written another novel already, and have recently started a third.
It's funny how God sometimes makes us wait WAY longer than we would expect. After three years of inactivity, everything came together in one weekend, and the book was literally published and for sale on the two largest book-selling websites in FOUR days. Did you catch that? Three years of waiting, and when God was ready for something to happen, it all came together in four days. That's amazing to me!
I am grateful for the encouragement and advice offered by various friends, family, and facebook aquaintances. This has been such a fun experience!
If you'd like to get a copy. It's being offered for a limited time for only $2.99 on Amazon as well as on B&N. The paper copies will come out later. They take a lot more formatting and production time.
I look forward to hearing your feedback about the book. My sincere prayer is that you are blessed by what you read, and discover a different facet of this familiar Biblical narrative. Please be sure to rate the book on Amazon or B&N after you have read it. Apparently that's the way it will move up in the standings and gain a larger audience.
The link above will take you to the FaceBook page for the novel. It will serve as a forum for feedback and discussion. Please join me there!
Blessings to you all today!
~Gwen
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