Life Can Be Messy

When life is too easy for us, we must beware or we may not be ready to meet the blows which sooner or later come to everyone, rich or poor. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

For the rainbow to appear in the sky, there has to be rain. Storms come in all our lives. Little dashes of rain sometimes and then at other times big floods of sorrow and trouble. We like to think about everything going along smoothly, but most all of us have stepped in a few mud holes as we traversed the roads of our lives.


For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ~Matthew 5:45 (NKJ)

Life can be messy. Even for believers. Even when you pray diligently and fervently. Accidents still happen. Betrayals still come our way. We still make mistakes. We give in to temptations or our loved ones do. We say something that injures. We do something we shouldn't. We're human. We might wish we were perfect, but we're not. 

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ~Romans 3:23 (NKJ)

What has me thinking about all this is a review I saw for one of my Heart of Hollyhill books. Can't remember for sure which title now, but the reader was upset about things that happened in the story. The person wasn't specific about what bothered her, but whatever it was she didn't think such things should be in a Christian book. I don't know what offended the reader. I'm not really worried about that or upset that the person didn't like my story. This isn't about an unhappy reviewer. Her comment just got me to thinking about how life can be messy. 

The characters in my stories are generally Christians or are seeking the Lord. But they aren't perfect. They often have messy lives. Just like the real people around me. We get old. We get sick. We see our kids and grandkids make mistakes. We lose our jobs. We slip on ice and end up on crutches. We back our cars into trees or other people back into us. We stub our toes on the roots of temptation. We shoot for the winning goal and miss. We mess up. And if we don't do the messing up, those we love do. That can hurt just as much or even more.

So I'll probably keep writing stories with some things that might offend the gentler reader. And while I never want to upset a reader, I do want to write a story about people who aren't perfect and who sometimes step in a few mud holes while living their stories.

How about you? Have you ever been so disappointed by a book you were reading that you didn't finish the book and/or wrote a bad review? Editors and publishers do generally make sure the books they publish in the Christian market meet certain moral standards. Do you think those standards are getting too loose as my unhappy reader did?  

I'm going to be a guest on The Bookclub Network this week and my publisher is giving away some copies of Summer of Joy. If you're a member of the Bookclub Network, check it out on Tuesday. Easy to join up to take part in the fun each week.

New Books and Reviews

In about a month I'll be celebrating a new book out for readers. Small Town Girl is scheduled for release on July 1, but usually I get to enjoy that new book smell when I open up a box the UPS man brings to my door a few days before July. It's always exciting to actually hold that new book in my hands. That's the reward for about a year's worth of work on this particular story and a lifetime of work trying to write well enough to be published and find readers.

One of the exciting things about having a new book come out are the reviews. These days you can find reviews all over the internet. Everybody has an opinion and in the book business, a lot of them post those opinions out there somewhere for the world to read.

I just read my first review of Small Town Girl. My publisher sent me a review from Publishers' Weekly. I held my breath while I read it, hoping for good. It wasn't bad. No wow, that's the greatest story ever remarks, but all in all a favorable review. See what you think.

Gabhart continues the story of the Merritt family, first introduced in Angel Sister. Kate’s the middle sister—the sensible one, the fixer of other people’s problems. She encounters her own problems when older sister Evie marries their pastor, and his childhood friend, Jay Tanner, comes to Kentucky to stand as best man . On the surface, Jay and Kate have nothing in common. She’s a third generation Rosey Corner resident; he’s a drifter. Kate stands strong in tense situations; Jay is prone to pack up and leave when things get tough. She’s a woman of faith; he’s not sure what he believes. Still, the attraction is immediate. While the ending is predictable, Gabhart plants enough roadblocks to make the story interesting. In dealing with Jay’s spirituality, she raises legitimate issues of faith and shows understanding of those who do not easily accept a Christian religious message. And while Kate is the undisputed protagonist, young Lorena Birdsong, an abandoned child unofficially adopted by the Merritts, certainly has her share of scene-stealing moments. Agent: Wendy Lawton, Books and Such Literary Agency. (July)

Would any line in that review encourage or discourage you from reading the book? What blurb would you pull out to convince someone that they should give this story a try?

Back in 2005, when Scent of Lilacs first came out and was my first book in the internet age, I hunted down reviews for it and read them all. There weren't that many. I floated up in the air when reading the good reviews and then got knocked back to the ground when a reviewer had a complaint about the story. Thankfully there weren't many unfavorable reviews for that book early on. Too many bad reviews might have been too discouraging for me while I was trying to get started in this Christian fiction genre. 

By the way Scent of Lilacs has since been reissued and gotten lots of reviews. It's also been nominated for fiction book of the month on The Book Club Network. If you take part in the book fun on that site, I hope you'll consider voting for my book. Lots of great books were nominated this month, so I won't be discouraged if I don't win. I've learned not to let bad reviews discourage me. I might stew about them a little, but then I move on to the next story. Or I remember some of the kind comments you have made here. You're the readers I'm trying to keep happy.

Thanks for reading. I do so appreciate each and every one of you who follow my on-line journal. I'm planning a visit from Sue Harrison next week. You won't want to miss that!