The Aftermath

Just so you know I'm not superwoman -

Yep, that's the pile of laundry that didn't get done while I was finishing the manuscript. It has to get done now, because my sister comes tomorrow to take care of the kids while hubby and I are in China.

It's a lot of laundry, but, then, I've got a lot of kids!

The Week In Review

The photos say it all. Book 15 or 14 or whatever it is, completed, edited, polished, packaged. Every time I finish a book, I feel like a tree killer. Piles of paper in the garbage can. Piles of paper on my desk.

Piles and piles and piles.

310 pages of manuscript printed out and read. Edited and reread. Re-printed and read again.

Aside from making sure my book was ready to go, I began packing, completed paperwork that must be hand carried to China, shopped for the stuff Sassy E needs for her performance. Typed up lists for my sisters and mom (who will be staying here).

And realized I am adopting a child.

Really and truly and for sure.

Bringing her home and making her part of us at the same time we allow ourselves to become part of her world, her life, her experiences. All her goods and bads and in betweens, all her challenges and triumps, swirling into what we already have.Our challenges and triumphs, our goods and bads and in betweens. Until there is no longer an us, no longer any her, but simply a family.

There is something beautiful and profound in that. Something beyond words or even thought. Something that wells up and spills out, overflowing into everything I do and think and say.

I finished my book this week, but more than that happened. I realized I was adopting a child. Really and truly and forever.

And it changed me.

Four days.

One down. One to go.

With my trip to China looming, it's important that I stay on top of my writing schedule. This is much easier said than done. I'm trying, but my big fear is that I'll fall behind. My next book is due June 15th. I leave for China June 17th.

Yikes!

Thankfully, book 14 was just accepted, and my editor did not need me to revise it. That is a HUGE relief off my mind. I was trying to figure out how I'd finish book fifteen and revise book fourteen and get ready to leave for China. No matter how many ways I tried to make it happen in my mind, it never did.

So, I've been saved the fate of having too much to do. Instead, I have enough to do.

Which may actually be the same as too much.

Oh well. Better to be busy than bored. And I definitely am busy!

Ready or not, here we come!

I know. This is my writing blog. However, my mind is caught up in all things related to Q, so.....

We've finally got approval to travel to meet her!

We leave June 17th and will be back July 1 or 2.

We should meet Q on June 22.

I've got to get RUNNING FOR COVER in to my editor before then.

Here We Go Again!

I'm off and running on my next book. RUNNING FOR COVER is the first book in a three book miniseries about a sibling group separated by adoption.

I guess adoption has been on my mind a lot lately.

So, for Mother's Day, my wonderful husband bought me the perfect gift - a new laptop!

As you may recall, my old laptop died a quick, brutal death. Now it is nothing more than a carcass waiting to be buried or brought back to life. I'm not sure which will happen.

As I admired my new writing tool, I was reminded of the days when my sons were much younger and believed that new sneakers would make them run faster. Each boy did the same. He'd put on his new shoes and run through the yard, shouting, "Look! Look how fast I am now, Mom!" And, in those sweet moments, it seemed as if they really were.

Today I will type on my new computer, and I will hope that the same shoe fairy who sprinkled magic speed-up dust on my sons' shoes has also sprinkled magic speed-up dust on the keyboard of my laptop, so that I can type faster than ever and shout for my boys to come see. "Look! Look how fast I am now, kids!"

Happy Mother's Day!

Gotta Love This Cover

My May release is the last in the Sinclair brothers series and the first book I've had with hero and heroine on the cover. I'm not sure if people on covers is a new trend for Love Inspired Suspense or if it's new trend for my books or if it isn't a trend at all, but my last two Sinclair brothers stories have had people on them. I've always preferred to have scenes on my book covers, but I may be changing my mind. The cover for DEFENDER'S DUTY does make me ask questions, and the book covers that make me ask questions are usually on the books I end up buying.

Today, I begin work on the first book in my new miniseries. My goal is to mail the book out by June 8. I hope to fly to China sometime after that, so I really need the book complete and in Melissa's hands by then. In order to do this, I've got to increase my word count by 500 - 1000 words a day. We'll see how that goes!

I've got nothing insightful or interesting to say, so I'm off to begin my word count for the day.

The End

Those are some of my favorite words. They mean - done, complete, finished. They mean a goal met, a contract fulfilled, a success rather then a failure. They mean I have followed through, persevered and kept going. They mean that when times were tough, when kids were cranky, when I was cranky, I gritted my teeth, bore it and just kept right on going.

They mean that I am not just a dreamer, I am an author.

They mean that hour after hour of typing letters, words and sentences have not been in vain.

They mean the vision in my head is now something I can hold in my hands.

And they mean a new beginning, a fresh start, another chance to make it just right.

Which is what I have today!

The manuscript is complete. The author is happy. And maybe that pile of laundry will finally get clean!

Worst Fears Confirmed (double posted from my adoption blog)

Or so it seems.

My gut instinct on the swine flu thing was right on. According to the Rumor Queen, some agencies are reporting that no referrals are being issued this month and that CCAA (china center of adoption affairs)will be shut down for 20 - 30 days. I'm not buying the shut down, and I really don't think referrals will be held up. I don't think this will effect LOA by more than a day or two. What I do believe is that no travel approvals will be issued until after the swine flu outbreak has weakened its hold.

Of course, this happened just days after I cancelled a book signing at the biggest book expo in north America. Not only do I not get to see my daughter in May, I've had to disappoint my publishing house for nothing.

Please excuse me while I go drown my sorrows in chocolate.

Profound Writer Thoughts

Ha!

Yesterday was take your kids to work day at my husband's job. I would have had several hours to write in complete SILENCE, but my eldest son had piano guild and I had to drive him there, wait for him to complete 45 minutes of evaluation and then drive him back to my husband's workplace. Although I was supposed to pick the kids up sometime after lunch, I figured I'd rush home and write for an hour and a half while the house was empty (and what a blessed thing that is!).

So, off I went. Back to the house and the computer.

That's where things got dicey.

My intentions were good, but I started having an internal dialogue that went something like this -

"Shirlee, you need to sit down at the computer and write."

"I would, but I'm hungry. I need to eat."

"You need to write."

"But I can't write when I'm hungry. I might actually lose weight and what a catastrophe that would be." Cue violin music here.

"You NEED TO WRITE."

"Okay, I need to write. But do I want to write? I mean really want to?"

"Yes. You want to write because you need to write, because you get paid to write, because you actually enjoy writing. So WRITE."

At which point I sat myself down in front of the computer, pulled up my manuscript and would like to say I began writing.

But that would be a lie and lies are not allowed in Love Inspired (not to mention the fact that God strictly prohibits them).

So, I decided I needed to check on a few blogs I follow, but the entire time I perused the blogs, that annoying voice in my head was chanting, WRITE, WRITE, WRITE, WRITE.

And the other voice (because, of course, there are two) was whining, I JUST WANT TO RELAX FOR A FEW MINUTES.

And finally the chanting, annoying voice won out. I started writing. The words started flowing. I forgot I was hungry and that I'd rather read a few blogs and relax. I forgot writing was work that I wasn't sure I felt like doing. The ideas burst onto the page in words and phrases for ten whole minutes.

And then the phone rang. It was my husband, telling me it was time to pick the kids up. I saved my manuscript, walked out my front door, and a little voice whispered in head, "see, I TOLD you you should have started writing as soon as you got home!"

So, in case you're ever wondering what goes through my head before I begin writing...refer to this post. It explains everything! And in case you ever start having a similar internal dialogue with yourself...go with the voice that's screaming WRITE. It'll save you time, because for authors, that voice always wins in the end.

Thank Goodness For My Husband

The adoption is really wreaking havoc on my brain. For well over two weeks, I've been saving my continuity book on a USB device (I'm sure it is called something else, but I'm not computer savvy enough to know the name). At least that is what I thought I was doing. Until my wonderful laptop CRASHED. As in...completely stopped working. As in....no way to access my file. So, feeling rather smug that I'd done exactly what my-husband-the-computer-guy is always telling me to do and saved my document on a backup disk, I pulled out the USB device, plugged it into my desktop and realized that I HAD NOT BEEN SAVING the document to the device. Suddenly, I was three and a half weeks from deadline and missing the last ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY PAGES of my document.

I did not cry. Although, there were some tears in my eyes. Instead, I swallowed down panic and began rewriting those 120 pages while my husband (the most wonderful real-life hero in the world) went to work on my dead laptop and confirmed that it was, indeed, dead.

I rewrote thirty pages of document that night, the sick feeling in my stomach never quite leaving. I write fast, but not so fast that I could finish in time to meet my deadline. I'm a stickler for getting my stuff in on time, so this was a very big deal. I knew I'd have to call my editor and tell her that I might need an extra couple of weeks. Meanwhile, my husband wrestled the hard drive from my laptop, brought it to work and was able to extract all but ten pages of my work!

Yay, hubby! Yay, me! Yay, Emily who will now not get a panicked, tearful call from a panicked and tearful author who stupidly was not saving to the right file on her computer.

Crisis averted. Lesson learned. Now every time I save, I save to both my USB and my hard drive.

In honor of his hero status, I am posting a photo of my hero hubby signing the adoption papers for Q. And, of course, I couldn't resist also posting pictures of my cheeky (thanks for the word, Brenda) new daughter.

Introducing Q!!!

Today, we received the surprise of our lives. Approval from China to adopt our fifth child. Q was born March 31, 2002. She is seven years old and waiting in Chongqing. I do not believe in labeling my kids or in limiting them, so I've kept from mentioning Q's special need (which, I think, is obvious). However, I am happy to answers any questions about it.

We are beside ourselves with joy. As always, God's timing proves beyond what any of us anticipated. We were expecting to wait at least another 1.5 month for China to say 'yes' to our request to adopt Q. Instead of the average of fifty-odd days, it took only 32 for our approval.

Please pray for us as we begin making travel plans. Pray for Q. She is old enough to understand what is about to happen, and I can't help wondering if she's scared. Imagine being told that strangers were coming from a strange place to take you from everything you have ever known. Imagine that those strangers spoke a language you didn't understand. That is what is happening to Q.

Every time I think about it, I want to cry.

Where Art Thou, Spring?

With your green shoots and vivid colors?
Your chirping birds and azure sky?
Where art thou, spring?
Did the thrill of winter offend?
The joy of icy storms and snow covered cow patties drive you away?
Where art thou, spring?
Not here in Washington.
That is for sure.

Hahahahahahah.

That is maniacal laughter. I've been driven to it by this:

"SPOKANE, Wash.- With at least another inch of new snow in Spokane County the record snowfall record for a season has officially been shattered. Spokane County broke the record on Sunday by about a tenth of an inch. The old record was set in 1949-1950 at 93.5 inches. On Sunday, Spokane County hit 93.6 inches.

So far there haven't been any snowfall totals for Thursday morning. The National Weather Service is reporting at least an inch of fresh snow on the ground and calling for another 3 to 5 inches by day's end." KHQ-TV

Writing Advice

Lately, I've been receiving a lot of email asking for advice on becoming a writer. This has made me think a lot about the tools needed to actually sit down and write a book and, beyond writing the book, what it takes to make the story engaging to a reader.

Last night, I read an email from a thirteen-year-old who asked for tips on how to become an author. I was able to pull from several weeks of thoughts on the subject and pinpoint three key characteristics of a good writer. Those three are listed below along with the advice I provided for the thirteen-year-old. No rocket science here, just commonsense. Sometimes, though, we're so busy looking for the 'secret' to success we forget that there's no secret to it at all.

A writer must be a voracious reader.
One of the most important things you can do to prepare to be a writer is to read a lot. Fiction. Non-fiction. Whatever you can get your hands on! Learn how to write interesting sentences and how to create a compelling scene by studying the work of authors that you like. Then practice using words to paint vivid pictures for your readers. An author who can do this will always have a readership.

An author is a a student of humanity.
Aside from reading and practicing the art of writing, you should also spend time studying people. In order to be a good writer, you must understand how people think and act. You must know what they are doing but also why they are doing it. Studying people will help you create compelling characters that will grab a reader's attention.

An author has an indomitable spirit.
Being a writer means never giving up. Sometimes writers are rejected many times before they are published. Teach yourself to persists even in the face of what seems like failure. After all, God often teaches us the most important lessons when we are at the point where we are ready to give up. Remember that success will happen in God's time, but that His timing does not preclude our hard work. In other words, you must work hard to learn the craft of writing so that you will be ready for whatever writing opportunity God sends your way.

Two Down, Two to Go

And I'm not talking about books.

I'm afraid the ICK has hit my house. Darling Daughter One was sick last week, went on an antibotic and started feeling better. So, of course, twenty-four hours later, Darling Son Three told me his throat hurt. I spent a couple hours at the doctor and pharmacy yesterday and, besides his horrible cough, Number Three is feeling better. Fever is down, throat isn't hurting as much, nose isn't running.

But I'm sure his germs are. Probably running straight to Darling Son One or Two. Now, I don't want to play favorites, but if the ICK is going to hit, I hope it hits Son Two. Son One can't handle being sick.

In case you're wondering, I'm still writing. The thing about working from home is that there are very few good excuses for not going in to the office! That is both a blessing and a curse. I have noticed, though, that I am able to come up with plenty of excuses to avoid doing laundry. Kids are sick? Can't get the laundry done. Migraine? Can't get the laundry done? Smashed big toe into wall? Can't get the laundry done.

Sadly, I seem to be out of excuses today. Or maybe it's simply that the pile of laundry is multiplying three times for every one excuse I make. Sigh.

Here's hoping your laundry piles are a lot less tall than mine!

After the Call

A few people have asked if I'm as excited about a new sale as I was with my very first. The answer is - I am!

However, that excitement is tempered by knowledge. I understand the process now. I know what happens after the call. So, rather than screaming at the top of my lungs, jumping up and down and shivering with anxiety and anticipation, I scream at the top of my lungs, jump up and down and then get to work. I pick dates for turning in my proposals and my completed work. I email those to my editor and I mark my calender with circles and smiley faces and huge exclamation points. I assess my schedule, looking carefully at what will come in the next year and planning my writing schedule accordingly. I brainstorm titles, book cover ideas, and I think of how I will cut my twenty-five page synopsis down to one (for the art department). I assess how many words will need to be written each day to attain a goal of manuscript completion three weeks prior to my due date (after so many years and so many books, I know that is exactly how long it will take to revise and polish my manuscripts).

Then, I take two days off. I bask in the joy of being published. I celebrate, but only for a couple of days. Because I know that receiving that contract is only a small part of a very long, very wonderful road.

Happy Sunday!

Yay!

I've got to run and get finger printed (again). It should be exciting. Several hours of waiting in a crowded lobby to get my fingerprints taken. Fingerprints which are already in the data banks. And I can assure everyone who wants those prints...I haven't sewn on new fingers since the last two sets of prints were taken.

The good news is...Melissa Endlich offered me a three book contract!

I'm so excited to begin this newest series. The excitement over that will last way longer than the inconvenience of fingerprinting.

Have I said lately how much I LOVE my editor??

Immortalized in a Venerable Monument

I have four...well, actually five....kids.

Of the four that are at home, only one has inherited my love of the written word. The other three....well, let's just say they'd rather not write anything. And read? We're making headway in that area, but I still wouldn't say they adore books the way I do.

So it was with great dread that I collected today's writing assignments. Each kid was required to choose a place and write a paragraph describing it. The key to this assignment was to use interesting adjectives. Three of my kids didn't do so well. Unless you include big, little, loud, green, bright or beautiful in your list of interesting adjectives. My twelve-year-old, however, put a smile on my face. He chose to describe Mount Rushmore, and his description could have come out of any travel brochure. As a matter of fact, I tactfully (ha!) asked if he'd looked in his history book. He, being him, reminded me that he was studying world history not US history.

My favorite sentence of his was - The four presidents immortalized in this venerable monument....

My writer's heart swelled fifteen times its normal size when I read that. Immortalized. Venerable.

Those are interesting words, thoughtfully used. They reflect the kind of passion for written language that can't be taught or learned.

It's a God-given gift and I can't take any credit for it, but I can't help but be happy that one of my kids shares my passion for words

I HATE Waiting

Waiting.

It's part of a writer's life.

That doesn't mean I like doing it.

Currently, I am waiting on several things. Not all of them writing related.

I am waiting to hear whether or not my wonderful editor Melissa Endlich can convince my senior editor to buy my next book. Melissa said she loved it, but maybe the senior editor of the line will hate it. Seeing as how I've been suffering severe writer's doubts lately, that seems like a likely scenario. Though Melissa has assured me that I have no reason to doubt my writing, the perfectionist part of me just can't let go of the "I'm not good enough" feeling. Strange since I've written twelve books already. Sigh.

I am waiting on pre-approval from China. I won't even go into that. Suffice to say....waiting is NOT fun.

I am waiting for spring. Seeing as how it is 14 degrees outside, there is a blanket of snow on the ground, the weatherman is calling for single digit temps and there is snow in the forecast for the weekend, I think I may be waiting for a long, long time.

Maybe I should bake some bread. At least waiting for the dough to rise has its benefits. That pungent yeasty scent that wafts from under the cloth. The slow rise that is obvious and noticeable and makes the wait much less painful. And then the certainty of success. I've baked enough loaves of bread to know when it's going to work and when it's not, and I only bother waiting for the ones that will. The best thing is that its in my control. I start the dough knowing how long it will take. I begin with the knowledge that the end of the process will occur in a rather defined amount of time.

If only the wait on everything else in my life could be so easily predicted!

Will You Show Up?

We had a guest speaker at church a couple of weeks ago. He isn't a pastor, but does short mission trips. His message really touched me, and I often find myself thinking about his words. He was talking about the boy with the loaves and fish and the wonderful miracle Jesus performed. It's a story I've heard and read a thousand times. However, what the speaker said, really resonated with me. He asked.....

Will you show up?

Will you give what you have?

Will you believe that what you have is enough for God to accomplish His plan?

Sometimes I look at my abilities, my time, my talents and my finances and I wonder, "what can God do with these? They're nothing compared with what others have."

But God isn't asking me to give more than what I have. He isn't asking that I wait until I feel accomplished enough, talented enough, wealthy enough. He is asking me to be where He needs me now, with what I have now. He is asking me to have faith in His ability to accomplish great things through me despite my shortcomings, my lack of time, of talent, of wealth.

In these trying times, we can still believe that God can use us. That He will use us. If only we are willing to show up and to give what little we have.

Where Did Spring Go?

For a few blessed days it was above 45 degrees here in beautiful Washington. I basked in the sweet smell of spring that seemed to hover in the air. Rain fell, but it was a soft rain. The kind that brings thoughts of gardens and flowers and green leaves.

And then winter returned.

I wonder if the robins that have been hopping around in the yard are as shell shocked as I am.

At least the quail are happy. They've been running around the yard. One in particular always makes me smile. He seems happy to be with his buddies, but happier still to find food. Often, the covey of quail will be in the neighbor's yard. Then, as if all are wondering about the grass being greener on the other side, they'll run in mass toward the fence, quickly ducking under it. All except for my favorite little guy. He runs just a little slower, arrives at the fence just a little after everyone else. Then he tries to squeeze underneath. Oh, how he tries. Pushing his cute little head under, realizing that he can't proceed, backing up and trying again. Only to finally understand that he simply cannot squeeze beneath. Suddenly, he'll hop from the ground, spread his wings, soar for just a moment before he lands on the other side.

I've seen the quail do this a half a dozen times since we moved to Spokane. Sometimes I think the poor bird is a little dense. I mean, he's tried six times and hasn't made it under yet. Other times, I think he's foolish. What if a cat were coming? Would he still try to go under the fence or would he immediately spread his wings and fly. Most of the time, though, I admire his pluck. Failing once hasn't kept him from trying again. To him, getting under the fence has never ceased to be a possibility. Trying and failing only gives him more impetus to try again.

And who knows? Maybe one day he'll make it under that fence. I can almost see him now, strutting his stuff through our winter-barren garden, his feathers fluffed and his head high.

If only I could so clearly see my own failures as opportunities to persist. If only I could believe as strongly as that pint sized bird that anything is possible. Animals are not capable of faith, but they are capable of persistence. Why is it that we humans, who have faith opened up to us, are so quick to see failure as the end of the road rather than the beginning of another chance?