Last week we left Whisper on the Wind on the shelf…and not a bookstore shelf, but on the proverbial author’s idea shelf. Ignored but not quite forgotten. It remained, of all the World War One books I’d either written or wanted to write, my favorite. Partly because writing the original draft brought such spiritual affirmation from God. I told myself someday I would pull that manuscript out and work it into shape until it was publishable. But other projects (with deadlines) took priority.
In the mean time, I went on to see Pieces of Silver get published and receive a Christy nomination. Didn’t win, but as they say it was an honored to be nominated! 
Remember Me was contracted as well, which is the sequel that taught me it’s okay to love a character so much you just can’t kill him off, even if your original plot outline calls for it. Proof that it’s far more fun to write by the seat of one’s pants than wasting a lot of time with a detailed outline. The characters are really in control, not the author’s outline. Silly me for thinking any other way.
Around that time, while attending another ACFW conference, I connected with a new (at the time) literary agency, WordServe Literary. I was finishing a project that was dear to my heart in a different way—The Oak Leaves, which has a lot of “me” in it because of the Fragile X connection. Ultimately WordServe Literary went on to represent The Oak Leaves manuscript, selling it to Tyndale House Publishers. We also sold its partner book, On Sparrow Hill, and then an independent story called My Sister Dilly.
Needless to say, I was busy. And happy—but balanced. Having a child with a severe form of Fragile X Syndrome is an ache I live with, keeping my feet on the ground, my hopes on Heaven. But Whisper on the Wind still sat in the back of my mind, reminding me not only how loved God made me feel during its creation, but that the story itself was sort of a gift, assuring me He really did wire me to write. I always knew the story was fast-paced, the characters memorable—well, at least for me, since it had been at least a half dozen years since I’d first “met” them and they still seemed real to me.
So after finishing My Sister Dilly I pulled out Whisper on the Wind and read it through, wondering if my affection for it was more spiritual than practical. Maybe it held a special place in my heart only because it was the first thing I’d written after that long drought; maybe I loved it because while I was writing it I sensed God’s love and approval. Maybe it was an exercise in writing that I needed, but the book was meant to be a special gift from God to me, for me. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with it until I picked it up again, and fell in love with the story and characters all over again.
But it was still a while before I was able to work on it once more…
Join Me!