No tags yet.
So last week I announced that this month, May 28th, I'd be publishing my very first book ever and that I'd be detailing about how this book even came to be. Today you're going to find out how this story came about...
The story behind the story...
So I'd like to say that there is some incredible, heart-wrenching story behind this book, (the book which is yet to be named...and will be named in this story,) but actually the story behind the "story" is relatively dull and plain.
As some of you know, I'm part of a writers site, https://www.noblenovels.com. (It's a website young writers can safely be a part of at no cost. The website allows young writers to share their writings with others, learn about other blogs and websites that encourage Christian writing, and see how they can use their writing to encourage and inspire others.)
I became part of this website back in June of 2017. Around July/August, there was a general discussion on the blog about what everyone wanted to do for the 5th anniversary of the Noble Novels site. A lot of us asked for a writing contest.
I was getting excited. If we had a story contest, I already had one or two stories in the works that would be perfect for a contest! They just needed to be added too, fixed up, and polished...and they'd be all ready to go.
My excitement was slightly...alright majorly altered when later in August, it was officially announced that we'd be doing a writing contest to celebrate Noble Novel's 5th year. I opened the Noble Novels post that morning, really pumped that I'd get to be a part of this! Those stories were stewing in the back of my mind...perfect to enter into a contest...then...
The writing contest had a theme...
The writing contest had a rule that you had to use a special quote someplace in the story...
And we had to mention a train in our story...
I had to say I was really, really--uh, "not thrilled." Showing my lack of patience, I immediately begin to grumble and complain that...
"They didn't say anything about a theme for the story!"
"It isn't fair! They didn't say anything about a quote!".....Somehow I forgot to look at the previous Noble Novel's writing contests to see what they were like...at least two of them had a specific theme the contestants had to create a story from.
When I finally stopped, looked over the contest rules again, I finally begin to think.
- I had to mention a train in my story.
- And I had to mention the theme/quote in my story.
And the quote was...
"Broken Crayons Still Color." (I'll talk about this more later)
I didn't know how I could incorporate the use of a train in a story that I'd enjoy writing, and the quote I had to use made me sigh. I wanted to enter this contest, but how could I when it seemed so...difficult? How was I supposed to write about crayons?
Besides that, I had lots of stuff happen in the fall that I hadn't counted on...It almost prevented me from working on a story for the contest.
But, with a lot of support from family, friends, and...in the strength of the Lord,
I wrote a whole new story and entered it into the contest...
Then I waited...
On October 22, 2017, the winners were announced!! My heart pounded as I scrolled down the post, my excitement growing with each announcement of the third, second, then...first place winner!
The first place winner was me! I couldn't believe it!
And yes, my story...the story that is coming out as a book on May 28th is titled,
"Even in the Grey"
After all that, God had been so good! Even when I complained and felt down...even when I was going through a really rough time during the fall, God was still good. He was still working...still there.
To think I had almost not entered because I thought it was going to be too hard and because I was a little miffed that it wasn't going the "way" I wanted it to go. God is good!
Epilogue (or after the contest) -
So later this year, in April/May, I seriously considered making "Even in the Grey" into an ebook to sell on Amazon. I also was getting geared up to create a blog. I wanted to get the word out about what I was doing, and I wanted to develop more communication skills as well as writing articulate posts for others to read.
As you all know, I have a blog up and running, and even now I'm in the process of editing and preparing my book to come out. I'm also hoping to release the cover for the book next Monday...I'm still in the process of working with the cover designer and can't wait to show it to all of you!
Just think, if I would've given up and said, "it isn't worth it," or, "this will be too hard," "Even in the Grey" would never have been written. I may have never started this blog, and I definitely wouldn't be publishing a book this soon.
As I sit here typing this, I'm really glad I didn't give up! I'm finally beginning to realize that some of the hardest things in life can turn into some of the most significant turning points in our lives!
How you can help -
- Do you have a blog or website?
- Do you like sharing about new writers and new stories coming out with friends or family?
If you have or like any of the above, would you be willing to share the name of my blog, bio/and bio pic on your blog/website to help me get the word out about my blog and first book coming out.
If you are interested in doing this, please contact me through the "contact" page on my blog so that I can know your onboard and give you some more details! I'd love to get you involved...
Please stay tuned for a really important blog post coming up on Wednesday, May 16th! "Beautiful Things" is going to have some awesome things happening!
Laura