Weekend Concerts

Last weekend we got to go to two concerts and I don't think anything this summer is going to be able to top how much fun we had.   It was great!  Friday night we saw NEEDTOBREATHE and Saturday night we saw Building 429.  It was so much fun to watch NEEDTOBREATHE perform "Washed by the Water" live.  It's such a great song.  Building 429 performed all my favorites of their songs: "Fearless", "You Carried Me", and "Glory Defined."  After the concerts we got to get all their autographs and something we have always wanted, a picture with each of the bands!   It always amazes me how nice the people are from the bands I've gotten to meet.  Everyone was so open and nice to us.  I really felt blessed just to be able to be there and spend even a little bit of time with each of them.  It makes me look forward to when we are all together in heaven and I can spend much more time with them. 

 

Us with NEEDTOBREATHE

Us with Building 429

 

I really loved seeing everyone's smiles.  They were so wonderful.  It changes everything when you get to meet the people who create the music you like to listen to.  It's so much more fun and enjoyable.

 

We took quite a bit of video of the concerts.  I'm really glad because it is SO fun to re-watch.  Here is a video that Jake took of Building 429 performing "Fearless."  It's the only video I've had time to get uploaded so far.

My Books

We went on vacation at the beginning of this week and when we came home Wednesday, my books were here waiting for me!    It was such a huge, amazing moment opening the box and seeing The Pirate Daughter's Promise as a real book.  When I started writing it again back in 2006, I had always dreamed of getting a book published, but I had no idea it would be the one and it would actually happen.

 

Here is a picture that Mom took today of me with my books.

TPDP Available Now!

I just got home from work and what did I find awaiting me?  An email from my project manager saying he got the proof copy of my book and it is now in print!  It is now available to purchase through the WinePress online bookstore.

 

Click here to purchase.

 

Now I will get my free author copies in about 5-7 days.  I can hardly wait to finally hold my book in my hands.

It's Getting Close!

The Pirate Daughter's Promise is very, very close to being available!  It went to the printer last week and as soon as my project manager gets the proof copy and approves it, he'll officially mark the book as "In Print" and it will be available for order!  That could be as soon as this week or early next week.

Loving Music

As I've said in my past posts, music was not my thing at all a couple of years ago.  I hated to have the radio on . . . I guess it seemed distracting to me, especially when I was writing.  I've gone completely the other way now.  I LOVE music.  Lately, I've been listening to music all the time.  I don't have a lot of favorite artists, but I am so into the ones who are my favorite.  StorySide:B, of course, is still my favorite and now within the last couple of weeks I've really been getting into Jeremy Camp.  His songs are so powerful and mean so much to me.

 

Because I love music so much and love to watch music videos, I wanted to share a YouTube playlist I've made and will be adding too.  It's just a bunch of my favorite artists, either performing my favorites of their songs or talking about their work.

 

Authorization to Print

This afternoon I received the form to sign authorizing Pleasant Word to print my book which means as soon as I sign it and send it back, my book will go to the printer!  This is the final step!  I'll probably get my first books in about three weeks.  I still can't quite imagine what that moment is going to be like, opening the box and getting to see my completed book for the first time.  I've been working on this for so long and to have just about reached the end is amazing.  In just a few weeks I will have gone from working to get my book published to trying to sell it.  I look forward to starting all the plans I have to promote it.

Being Used by God . . .

. . . it is definitely one of the most amazing experiences in life.  Turning my writing over to Him and asking Him to use me and what I write is one of the best decisions I've ever made.  It's given me wonderful experiences that, no matter how small, always fill me with awe.  Experiences like coming up with the title for Every Tear or being given the perfect line for an important part in a book when I've prayed for it.  It's amazing how God can speak to you even if you don't even realize it at first.  I am a Christian who admittedly has trouble witnessing verbally, but I feel God has given me the power to do it through writing.  I never felt I could come up with the right words to explain faith and other things to people, but many times, especially lately, I find myself reading over what I write and thinking, "Wow, I didn't know I could write something like that or explain it that way," and I know it's all coming from Him.  Now that I've begun writing Makilien which is an allegory of becoming a Christian, living a Christian life, and battling the forces of Satan, I've had so many of those wowing moments and I've only just started.  Seeing the ways God has directed me into using my fantasy stories, that once had no meaning, to paint a picture of life with and without Him is very awe-inspiring and satisfying.  One of my favorite verses is: Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. - Proverbs 16:3 NIV  I always keep that verse before me when I'm writing because when I do commit my work to God and ask Him to help me write in a way that glorifies Him, it's then that my writing is at its best and I am able to write better than I first thought I could.