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!

Quote of the Week - Aiming High

I'm adding a new post. Every week, sometime during the week, I'll be posting a quote that has caught my attention and inspired me to do better, work harder, and/or think happier thoughts. So here's the first one.

"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

Tune in on Monday for the regular news post. I'll tell you how things went at my author's event at the library. I hope somebody comes. I hope several somebodies come.