Letting a Rough Draft Cool

When I finish a rough draft, I always put it back and let it sit for a while before I pick it up to do my first edit. In the meantime, I usually write a new story. By letting the first manuscript cool like this, I can see it with fresh eyes, the changes I need to make become clear, and they jump out at me. Depending on the circumstances, it can be a long time until I get back to it. Sometimes, I'm even amazed that I wrote this story, and I find it more appealing than I remembered. It pulls me in all over again.

I know that other writers do this too. Stephen King wrote that it's what he did in his book about the craft, On Writing. I'm sure many other writers do also. I may leave it cooling longer than most writers do, but it works for me. I can find mistakes and where revisions are needed easier if what I originally wrote is not so fresh in my mind. 

I usually self-edit at least three times before I send a manuscript to a professional editor. However, I may only let it sit for one long period. Once I start editing, I may or may not do all three of my edits then. It depends on when the book needs to be finished and what else I have going on at the time. However, I would never let my edits be the only ones. I just can't catch all of my own careless errors, no matter what methods I use. To me, an editor is essential.

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Caleb's Choice

Caleb was a strong man, both physically and spiritually. When Joshua was dividing up the Promised Land among the tribes of Israel, Caleb asked for Hebron, a land that would still need to be conquered. Caleb knew that God would go with him and before him, and therefore, he would be victorious.

It didn't bother Caleb that he was eighty-five years old at the time. He thought he was as strong as the day Moses sent him out as one of the Israelite spies because he said, "As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in" (Joshua 14:11). Caleb had confidence because he trusted God.

When Caleb chose Hebron, it was still a land where frightening warrior-giants lived. I doubt that many other tribes argued with Caleb's choice. But the Bible tells us how Caleb led his men to drive "the three sons of Anak, Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai" out. The giants were overthrown because of Caleb's faith in God to lead him. God had promised this land and victory to the Israelites, and Caleb believed Him. 

When we are faced with a difficult task as we serve the Lord, we need to have the same faith as Caleb. Trust in God, allow Him to lead us, and expect the victory. 

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 Amazon Digital Awards

Did you know that Amazon gives digital rewards with purchases you schedule for no-rush shipping? This option is available on most products that are shipped to your door. The circle to darken is below the shipping information on the right of your order before you check out.

With these rewards all being for a dollar or more, they are enough to buy a Kindle book, and readers can acquire many books for free this way. The rewards remain good for two or three months, and they can accumulate for that long. Buy the books that go on sale, and stretch your rewards even more. And I would love for you to purchase some of my books with those reward dollars.

I always buy Kindle books with my rewards, and Amazon will apply them automatically to any digital purchases I make. So, the whole process is really simple. . In a year, the savings can add up, and that means a whole lot of good reading.

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The Breastplate of Righteousness

. . . having on the breastplate of righteousness" (Ephesians 6:14b).

A Roman soldier wore a sleeveless piece of armor that covered his front chest and his back like a full vest. It could be made of leather, metal, or chainmail. This part of the armor protected many of his vital organs, such as the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach, and intestines.

The breastplate of righteousness refers to the righteousness of Christ. We take on His righteousness when we accept Him as our Savior. In essence, we trade our sinfulness for his righteousness. We can do nothing to save ourselves other than accept Christ and submit to Him. We are saved by grace as a free gift from God. And when we allow Him to, the Holy Spirit will help us make righteous choices in our daily lives.

This breastplate also represents guarding our minds and emotions against sinful thoughts and feelings. In Hebrew culture, the heart represented a person's mind and will. The guts or intestines stood for the emotional side of a person. When we put on the breastplate of righteousness, it will protect both. We can hardly live a Christian life without it. So, let's make sure we have our breastplates of righteousness in place as we start off the New Year.

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Publishing Plans for 2022

I have my tentative writing/publishing plans done for the next two years, through 2024. However, as I well know, some of these are likely to change along the way. For now, I just want to share my plans for the coming year with you. Because I will be doing another five-book series and there will be two MAPS (multiple-author projects), I don't expect these plans to vary much. 

From February through August, I will be publishing the Idioms and Cliches series: A Bird in the Hand, Going the Extra Mile, A Few Bumps in the Road, Got Your Goat, and Taking Stock. A Bird in the Hand, the first book in the series, is set in Colonial Pennsylvania and is already available on preorder (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09JWMLYSP). Going the Extra Mile is about the first couple's grandson who gets caught in a blizzard in the Appalachian Mountains. In A Few Bumps in the Road, Judith and Robbie, children from the couple in Going the Extra Mile, move to Kansas for Judith to become a mail-order bride. Robbie becomes the main character in Got Your Goat when he goes home with his friend from the Civil War and meets Emily Rose Howard in the Appalachians. His granddaughter marries a lawyer and moves to Washington, DC, until the Great Depression hits, and they're forced to return to the Appalachian Mountains in Taking Stock.

My second MAP novel is scheduled to release on October 25, 2022. Forget-Me-Not-Cookies by Fern is another book in the Old-Timey Holiday Kitchen series. This one is set in Big Lick, North Carolina, in 1898. I enjoyed writing and publishing Walnut Cake by Wylene in 2021 with this group of authors so much that I decided to also join their project for 2022. Then, on December 12, 2022, I will publish my third MAP, Candace, in the Runaway Bride series. Candace Joyner runs away from the unscrupulous man she's supposed to marry and ends up spending the winter in the Rocky Mountains. Watch for more about this book and series, including the cover reveal, at a later time.

I have the rough drafts of all these books already written, and they're moving through the editing process. The covers are also ready, but I'll need to wait for the go-ahead to show those in the MAPS. I am considering the idea of publishing one more book in September before Forget-Me-Not-Cookies by Fern comes out in October. Both the Old-Timey Holiday Kitchen series and the Runaway Bride series have a September slot open right now, and I'm not sure which one I would prefer. I'll make that decision soon. I like working ahead like this. It gives me plenty of time to tweak the stories as needed, and I never have to push to meet a deadline. It makes the writing even more fun for me.

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 Shod with the Gospel of Peace

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 6:9).

Peace is highly valued on earth and in heaven. This is why Christians should be shod with the gospel of peace, so they spread it wherever they go. Luke tells us in 2:13-14,  ^"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they spoke of peace on earth. In fact, Isaiah called Christ the "Prince of Peace" when he foretold of His coming in 9:6. Jesus came into the world to bring us a way for salvation, and it's only through Him that we can find true, lasting peace.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3).

For the Roman soldier Paul talks about in Ephesians 6, his footwear was crucial, and without it, he wouldn't be able to carry out his duties. Soldiers normally wore a type of toeless boot with spikes on the bottom for better traction in slippery places or on steep inclines.  Having peace in our hearts will keep us from sliding into sinful reactions when the path gets rough.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).

We both need to be at peace with God and to have the peace of God before we can spread it to others. This is where we find our joy. "Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy" (Proverbs 12:20). Hebrews 12:14 tells us that without peace, no man shall see God, and Matthew recorded Jesus saying, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (5:9). This is one of the reasons Jesus came to earth to be born in a manger all those years ago. As our Savior, He is our peace, and He wants us to help others find that special peace that passes all understanding.

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 A Slight Change of Plans

In my last blog of 2020, I wrote about my writing plans for 2021. At that time, I planned to finish the Cactus Creek, New Mexico, series of five books: Second-Choice Bride, Sterling Orphans, Poor Relation, Returning Neighbor, and Southern Belles, and then finish with a Christmas book, The Sweetest Christmas. For the first time, I had a whole year planned out in advance for my writing and publishing.

I did finish the Cactus Creek series as planned. I also published the book I had planned for Christmas, but it changed from what I had originally thought. That change came through a MAP (multiple-author project). A new opportunity came when I had the chance to join a team of authors in the Old-Timey Holiday Kitchen series. Each author would write one or more novels in the series. The guidelines said it must be historical, set around the holidays, and feature a food with the recipe coming at the end of the book. Guess what? I had the manuscript already written.

Yes, The Sweetest Christmas fit all that criteria. I only had to change the main character's name from Alana to Wylene to conform with the pattern of the titles and include my Mom's walnut cake recipe at the end. Therefore, The Sweetest Christmas became Walnut Cake for Wylene. I saw the fact that this completed manuscript fit the project so perfectly as a good indication that I should join this project, and I've been very happy I did. Walnut Cake for Wylene was fun to write, has been very well-received, and quickly became one of my best-sellers. It's available in Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, print, and Audible. You can get your copy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0964JF3P9.

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