Setting a High Mark - Your Grandmother Would

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark." ~Michelangelo

Last week I got to proof the pages of my Rosey Corner novel, Small Town Girl, that will release this July. When a writer gets the pages to proof, the book is almost ready for the printer with the pages as they will look in the book. Here you can make minor changes and correct typos and other typesetting errors. It's a writer's last chance before the book is published to make it as right as she can. I never mind doing these edits. To me this is the easy part, the icing on the cake. 

This time it was even better because when I started leafing through the pages to get to Chapter 1, I came across this page 4. And it hit me that this was a dream come true for me. When I first began trying to write for publication, I used to open up books of favorite authors and look at their "Books by" pages and dream of someday having a page like that. And now I do! This isn't all the books I've published, but it shows the books that are in print or soon will be. The list isn't as long as many authors might have in the front of their books, but it's my list. 

When I looked at it last week, I had the feeling that yes, I've been blessed with stories. Blessed to have those stories published. Blessed to have readers who want to read those stories. Blessed to have these books in print. That's what a writer wants. His or her stories to be out there for readers. That's easier now than when I began writing. Then most of us wouldn't have ever imagined reading an entire book on an electronic device you can hold in your hand. A device that can store hundreds of books for you. We thought a book would always need paper and a printer and binder as well as a bookshelf. Now even after the paper copy is off that shelf, it's easy to have the e-copy stay on the electronic bookshelf for readers. That's been true of my Heart of Hollyhill books, but being an old fashioned reader, I'm thrilled to have my Hollyhill books back out in paper for readers too. You can have a chance to win one of those paper Scent of Lilacs books now by checking out Jocie's interview on Margaret Daley's blog. Jocie had fun answering her questions.

Don't worry. I haven't forgotten about the wonderful grandmother stories. In fact, many of the stories you're shared fit right into this theme of setting a high mark for our dreams and goals. Your grandmothers could imagine you doing wonderful things. They dreamed big for you and encouraged you and were proud of your successes. Here's a story from Connie L. about her grandmother encouraging her to use her talents for the Lord.

"What I remember about my grandmother was that she was always singing. I can still hear her singing 'Tell it to Jesus.'  Both my grandmother and my mother instilled a love of music in me. Their desire was that I would serve God with music. I became a church organist, and played at church for many years. Now I sing in the choir, and fill in on the organ when needed. I will always be grateful to my grandmother for her love of music."

When Connie wrote to give me permission to use her story, she said she's looking forward to singing with her grandmother again in heaven someday. 

I'll share more of your Grandmother stories on Sunday. Patricia said it for so many of you when she wrote this after telling me her grandmother story. "I think I will miss her for the rest of my life."

 
Thanks for reading and you still have plenty of time to enter my giveaway and share your grandmother stories. Deadline for entries is midnight EST April 1, 2013. I sent out copies of Scent of Lilacs to two of the winners in my blog giveaway, but one of the winners turned her prize back over for another winner. Pam, you're it. I'll get in touch. 

Dream Big

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark. ~Michelangelo

At this time of the year, everybody talks about making New Years' resolutions. Here are some you might hear or even make yourself. Lose weight. Eat healthier foods. Exercise more. Read through the Bible. Finally write that book you've always wanted to write. Go back to school. Spend more time with your family. Do a kindness every day. So many good things we can resolve. But what about dreaming? What about thinking about what we want to happen in the year ahead? Do we aim too low with our goals? 

Years ago when I was just a kid who didn't know any better, I aimed high. I played on my aunt's old Underwood typewriter and dreamed of being a writer. I had no idea how to go about making that happen. I just knew I wanted to write down stories. I wanted to see those stories in print. And I had the amazing dream that somebody might someday pay me money for my words. Me, a farm girl who had never met the first writer. Me, a girl who had chores like stacking wood on the back porch for our wood stove and feeding the chickens. Me, a girl who only had a very few books she could call her very own. (I love libraries.) What were the odds that girl would ever figure out how to write a story, much less a book? Slim to none. Yet, there's that shelf of books with my name on the fronts under that old typewriter. Having that happen once was a big dream for me. Having it happen over and over again was a very big dream. 

 Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. ~Harriet Tubman



In October I went to a writers' retreat where we were all encouraged to dream big. What did I want to accomplish in my writing life in the year to come? What did I want to do in my personal or spiritual life in the months ahead? Was I afraid to challenge myself with big dreams? What big dreams could I dream? I think I had a hard time coming up with what the leaders of the retreat considered "big" dreams because my published books were already big dreams coming true for me. But I could dream more books. I could dream more readers. I could dream about bestseller lists or award ceremonies or maybe movies made from my books. Those could be my big dreams, and I do dream about some of those things. I do want more people to read my books because I love sharing my stories. But at the end of the day, I can't get away from the truth that I'm already living my big dream of writing stories and having them out there for readers, and that somebody is paying for my words. Simply, without a doubt, amazing! 

I'll keep challenging myself to keep dreaming. I'll challenge myself to make each new book better in some way than the last! I'll dream of tomorrow's book and aim high. And I'll try never to forget how blessed I am to be living that long ago dream.



 God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame. ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How about you? Are you dreaming big for 2013? I hope so. Thanks so much for reading, and don't forget - you are in my dreams!

Focusing on a Dream

~~ I took this picture with Steve Ladd at the New Year's Eve Gospel Concert at Sand Spring Church. My husband's group, the Patriot Quartet, was singing that night along with several other groups and Steve. Until recently Steve was the tenor for the well known gospel group, Gold City. He gave that position up to start a solo ministry in order to be with his wife and two children more.
~~ The life of a gospel singer in a traveling group can be very difficult. The groups stay on the road much of the year and it makes family time difficult. That may be why so many of the gospel groups are family groups. Darrell didn't luck out about that when he married me. I can hum a good tune in the kitchen, but it's unlikely anybody will want to hum along with me. But Darrell has had the itch to sing gospel music all his life and has been singing with various groups for over 35 years. He and the other guys in the Patriot Quartet now are weekend warriors who travel all over for Saturday and Sunday concerts. You can check them out on their website and even listen to some of their songs. http://www.patriotquartet.com/
~~ But back to Steve Ladd and what I was planning to talk about tonight. Steve said that when he was eight years old his parents took him to hear Gold City in concert and he came home saying that someday he would sing tenor for that group. That's quite a goal for a kid of eight to focus in on. He was already singing with his family in churches. His dad was a traveling evangelist. So he knew about singing. Then he said when he was a young teen, people kept telling him that his voice was going to change, become deeper. So every night, he prayed that the Lord would let his voice stay high. Else how would he be able to do as he planned and sing tenor for Gold City. The Lord certainly honored his prayer and his dreams. He can sing some high notes and he did sing them with Gold City just as he began planning to do as a kid. You can tell by looking at him what a nice guy he is, so if you ever get a chance to go hear him, take it. You'll be blessed.
~~ His story made me think about how I had some of the same feelings when I was a kid. Not to sing for Gold City. That's for sure. Or anybody else. But to write. I knew when I was ten that I wanted to write. And not just write. I wanted to write stories that people would read. You can't imagine what a big dream that was for that little country girl who didn't know anything about anything and especially nothing about how to become a "Writer" with a captial W. Still, I never thought about it being something I couldn't do. I just took up my pen and began writing. Later I sought whatever avenues I could to figure out how to write better. That wasn't an easy thing for me as a young wife and mother with limited resources. Translation - no money for dreams. Yet I never put down my pen. At least not completely. I chiseled out time for my writing, sneaking minutes and hours when I could between my many other chores. I kept count of those hours and minutes in a writing journal. That helped keep me focused and accountable for my time.
~~ For years - even after I was published - I was hesitant to say out loud that I was a writer. It sounded presumptuous. Like I was claiming something I had no right to claim. Or maybe it simply meant so much to me to reach that goal that I didn't want to claim it too soon. Even now with nineteen books published and several more in the works to be published, I'm shy about telling people I'm a writer. And yet that's still my goal, my dream. To write books people will want to read. But in order to read your book, people have to know about your book. Nowadays, writers are supposed to do everything they can to collect reading friends. So you have to tell people about your books. I guess that's why I have this poem by Sir William Gilbert written on my desk calendar.
If you wish in this world to advance
Your merits you're bound to enhance.
You must stir it and stump it
And blow your own trumpet
Or trust me, you haven't a chance.
~~ I still don't blow a lot of trumpets. But I do talk about my writing and my books every time someone asks me to. And I talk to you. Thanks for listening. And reading.

You Don't Sell a Dream

Yesterday was Derby Day, and here in Kentucky that's almost like a national holiday. I've heard it said that every Kentuckian should attend at least one Derby, but I know a lot of us that haven't and probably never will except via television. They do some great coverage on t.v. which is fine by me. I can't imagine being out in the crazy infield (too old) or in the clubhouse (too poor). And if truth be known, now too lazy to fight crowds, etc. for a look at a horse race I can see much better on t.v. That is really a sign you're getting old, isn't it? Oh well. Sigh. Sometimes the truth reaches out and smacks us right in the face.

Anyway I usually watch the Derby if I can and I always pick my favorite. Good thing I'm not a bettor because I hardly ever pick a winner. Yesterday I was pulling for one of the sentimental favorites, General Quarters, owned and trained by Tom McCarthy, a retired school principal. General Quarters won the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, so the horse and owner got a lot of ink in the local papers. McCarthy has always wanted to be involved in horse racing, but life got in the way and he decided he'd best find a way to make a living for his family. So he became a teacher. But when he retired, he went out and got himself a horse. One of the stories I heard yesterday on the Derby coverage was that somebody had offered to buy General Quarters at a price that no doubt would have given McCarthy a good profit, but he told the prospective buyer, "You don't sell a dream."

And you don't. Or you shouldn't. You shouldn't ever sell a dream. You shouldn't abandon it along the road of life. You shouldn't bury it forever under reasons the dream could never be possible. You should cherish your dream and live it if you can. You don't sell a dream.

I can understand where McCarthy was coming from. From the age of ten, I have wanted to write. I wanted to write stories people wanted to read. I had that dream. I still have that dream. And I know a lot of other people have the same dream. There are many aspiring writers out there. Some will hold onto their dream and persevere until that dream becomes a reality. Others will be beat down by rejections and the often soul draining process of writing and will not.

I held onto my dream. I often tell people my best attribute as a writer is perseverance. I don't give up easily and I never gave up on my dream of being published. The dream began to look possible when I saw my first piece in a magazine in 1971. Then when I held my first novel in my hand in 1978, the dream seemed a reality at last. But you know that didn't make the dream of writing a good story and seeing it out there for readers go away. I think it just made the want to stronger. I wanted (yearned) to hold more newly published books in my hand. I once went almost ten years without that happening, but I didn't "sell" the dream. I didn't totally give up and get a job. I did get a part time job that made the writing harder but the bills easier to pay. Still, I didn't abandon my dream. I'd work a while, then quit and write a while. Even when the stories weren't selling. I couldn't give up the dream. Writing is part of me and I'm living my dream now with a book or two in the stores and a couple waiting in the wings. The Believer will be released August 1, 2009. Not so long from now.

Meanwhile back here on the farm, I'm ready to dream up a new story. A better story. One even more readers will want to read. So the dream lives on.

I hope if you have a dream that you will find a way to live that dream. If it's to write, you might be interested in going to www.noveljourney.blogspot.com and reading an interview with agent, Donald Maas, who has written several respected books on how to write a better book. I haven't read any of them, but those who have say they are very helpful. Novel Journey did an interview with me in February 2008 if you want to go back and poke through their archives.

So keep dreaming. And while you're at it, think about all the things that might never have happened if somebody hadn't had a dream. The Wright Brothers dreamed of a machine that could fly. Michelangelo dreamed of painting the ceiling of Sistine Chapel. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream of equality. John F. Kennedy spoke our nation's dream of landing a man on the moon. And Tom McCarthy had a dream of owning a horse that went to the Kentucky Derby. His horse may not have worn the blanket of roses, but Tom McCarthy still ended the day a winner. He is living his dream.