Good and Evil

The latest book in the Bayou Beni series, "Merciful Blessings" includes a character struggling with drug addiction, another character suffering in a domestic violence situation, and some background characters (unnamed) who supply drugs and commit violence.

Because we are in Bayou Beni, I can get the background characters arrested, remove the character from the domestic violence situation, and get the addict the help they need.  And if I were queen of the universe, that is how it would work in the real world too.

Writing my stories challenges me in so many ways.  In this particular book, I'm challenged to live up to what I believe.  Here's the passage from the book:

“And that is how it happens. People mostly don’t turn away from God and good in an instant. It is a path they get on and keep traveling further away from God and good. The most important thing to remember is God is always trying to get them back. To invite them back into a loving relationship with Him, and to doing good instead of bad things.

“That is why we are called to pray for everyone. To pray that they turn back to God and to doing good in His name.”

“So no one is really bad, Sister Dorothy?” asked Michelle.

“That’s right, Michelle. Because we are all made in the image and likeness of God, and we all have salvation available to us. We can choose to do bad things, but God is always waiting for us to turn back to Him, to be sorry for the things we have done that hurt God and others, and to do good.”

I wrote it, so obviously, I believe it.  But it can be such a hard concept to live up to.  In some ways, life would be easier if we could discard people as just bad.  But my Christianity demands that I recognize all people as children of God, and made in His image and likeness.

While I am writing this book, my prayers will focus on praying for people to turn back to God and to good.  That should be part of my prayer life always, but sometimes it falls off the list.

Another reason I have to keep writing my books.  My characters are consistently encouraging each other to be their best selves, and they keep reminding me to be my best self too. 

Seen and Heard

There is short story I have never written that I will write someday.  In the world of my short story, when people talk and no one hears them, or when they walk through life and now one sees them, they start to disappear.  The people in this world become more and more invisible as they are not seen, heard, and appreciated.

Believe it or not, the same thing is happening in this world.  Not literally, but figuratively.  We all need to be seen and heard.  One of the tragedies of modern life is how desperately hard so many people are trying to be seen and heard.  Sadly, they are doing this via social media, and in doing so are forfeiting the opportunity to be present in the lives of the people around them.

One of the things I love about spending time in my fictional world is that the people in that world are present for each other.  They listen.  They empathize.  They participate.  They care. They deliver on their promises.

We can all be those kind of people.  It can be easy to get busy with our own lives and priorities, and lose sight of the people around us.  But everyone needs to seen and heard.  Everyone has stories to tell.  Everyone has insights that are valuable.

In all the noise of existence, taking time to stop and focus on someone and their story is the greatest gift you can give them.  And the greatest gift you can give yourself.  Because you never know whose story is exactly what you need to hear.

And you will miss that chance if you don't make the effort to stop, to see, to listen, and to hear.

Best Laid Plans

When I retired from my career as a Safety Professional, my plan was to write books.  I'm executing that plan, albeit differently than I had pictured.

Over the last few years of my career, I had started writing my stories in my head.  I had a notebook where I wrote down names, and places and ideas.

My plan was to start in the past, and work my way to the present, following a set of families.  When I was about 100 pages into my first book, Sowing Freedom, Reaping Joy, I had a stroke.  It was a small stroke, and I have had a complete recovery.

In the immediate aftermath, and while I was doing my rehabilitation, I found I couldn't write my historical books.  My short term memory was terrible, and being historically accurate is important to me.  So I would look something up, and then forget, and look it up, and forget.  It was very frustrating.

But writing was and is important to me.  To feel like myself, I needed to write.  So I decided to start writing a present day novel.  I fell in love with my characters.  I wanted to spend more time with them.  I realized their stories would span multiple books, just with what is already in my head.

The first two books published ended up being set in modern day.  Then I finished my historical.  Then I wrote a modern day that incorporated quite a bit from the historical.  Than another modern day.  Then another novella, a Christmas story.

Now, I am finally working on another historical, while also working on another modern day book.  And I have no idea how many books it will take to get from the time that Sowing Freedom, Reaping Joy is set until the time Count Your Blessings is set.

But it really doesn't matter.  The stories are inside me, waiting to be shared.  I'll just keep sharing them until I run out.  Or time runs out on me.  Because being a writer is who I am.

Confession Time

I have a pretty regular morning routine.  Get up, drink coffee, wash and brush my teeth, feed the dog, make the bed, get breakfast, take out the garbage if it is full, and then bring my breakfast and sit down at the computer.

That gets me to the confession part.  Sometimes I try to put as much stuff in front of sitting down at the computer as I can.  Because the day is always exciting until I look at the computer.  Will I have page reads?  Will I have book sales?

Usually, the answer is no.  But for the magical month of January 2022, there were page reads and book sales regularly.  It was so exciting!

I knew when I set out on this adventure in writing that sales were not guaranteed.  I have said multiple times that I write my stories for myself, and I greatly appreciate anyone who reads them.

But I'm human, and like anyone, I like to see my work being consumed and appreciated.

Whether there are sales or not, I'll keep writing.  I have to.  It is what I do.  And I'll keep hoping every morning before I look at my Amazon sales dashboard, that there are page reads and sales.  And I'll be disappointed most days.

The days where a happy surprise awaits me keep me going.  Maybe tomorrow, or later today another happy surprise awaits.  I will keep hoping.

Fear

One of the recurring themes in my books is fear, and how fear holds us back from living our best lives.  Many of my characters struggle to take a step towards a better life, because fear is holding them back.  Fear of failure is real.  Fear of the unknown is real.  Fear of losing the familiar is real.

One of the hardest truths about fear is that it is not processed in the rational portion of the brain.  Fear is purely emotional.  This makes it very easy for fear to be used to manipulate people.  It makes it easy for us to convince ourselves to not make changes that would be good for us.  Because no amount of logical information will quiet the emotions that fear evokes.  So what can we do?

I make it easier for my characters to get past their fears by providing a supportive community where they can discuss their fears, and be supported in making changes with the knowledge their friends and family will be with them to support them no matter what the outcome.

We can all do that for each other.  We can be that supportive community.  We can share our fears with our circle of support.  It can be very hard to admit to fear.  It can be easy to just put your head down and live every day like the day before.  And if you are happy in that space, good for you.

But if you know that fear is holding you back, you can tell people about it.  You can ask for help and support as you try to make changes despite your fears.

A life lived fully will also be full of scary moments.  Of moments where you let go of the known, and venture into the unknown.  If you allow yourself to hold on to your support crew as you step into the unknown, the journey is much easier.

I hope that you have that warm circle of support that my characters have.  And if you do not, I hope you can reach past whatever barriers have prevented you from finding that circle, and find it now.

I know how scary it can be to share your vulnerability with others.  Honest and real connections with others always include allowing ourselves to be vulnerable.    For me, sharing my vulnerability has been greatly rewarded with deep and abiding relationships.  All of them so very worth getting past the fear to forge them.