Occasional is one thing but . . .

I believe I really do owe an explanation for my long absence. Without going into drama detail I will just briefly say that I was challenged with a major attack on my body. After surgery and follow-up treatments I am pleased and thankful to God to be able to say that I'm well and expect to stay that way. I thank all of my friends, family and my publisher's staff who supported me through prayer during my trial. It has been a difficult climb back from the valley.

Needless to say, the whole process distracted me from my works in progress and set me way back with my blogging. BUT, my love of writing is returning and I have purposed in my heart to get started again and to be more diligent in blogging.

My promotion and sales suffered during the time period mentioned. I did two successful book signings shortly after my surgery, but I quickly found out that was too much too soon. However, I am now feeling more up to the challenge of pursuing and preparation for events.

My next blog returns to the subject of writing and my thoughts about two points that are of interest to writers and readers in general.

Reader Feedback: When bad feedback is actually good.

Hi there -- it's me with my occasional blazon. I am always thrilled when I can share something that is positive and will also be encouraging to fellow authors.

I have been sincerely humbled the past few weeks since I received my pre-release author copies of Detour to Heaven. I am very selective with those I "give away" for feed back and promotional reasons. Hoping that the gesture of generosity on my part will be spiritually rewarded to glorify God. My hope has not been deferred.

Before explaining this entry title, let me share with you that as a Christian fiction author I am well aware when writing that I must reflect the honorable title of Christian (follower of Jesus Christ) at all times in a way as not to bring dishonor or shame to the Lord. So bearing that in mind, I proceeded with caution when I began Detour to Heaven because some content I knew would touch on sensitive areas of humanity. With humanity being the key word, I wanted to write what I sincerely believed was a good book inspired from God.

The first chapter reveals a rather shocking surprise, but I trusted the Lord to give me the eloquence to write without offending and compel the reader to continue reading to find the positive outcome. The novel contains further content that if not written well might leave the readers with a bad taste. However, that has not happened with my pre-release readers. And just this morning I received an email from a reader who humbled me with praise for the book.

Why the blog title: I have to smile when I remember my first encounter with one of the readers, she said: "I thought, I can't read this. But then I knew there had to be a good outcome." And another one of her comments was "At one point I was so angry, I wanted to throw the book through the window." (She was referring to what happened to one of the main characters.) She continued "But I didn't and kept reading." Her last comment is what every writer dreams of and loves to hear. . . "It's hard to put your book down." And when she finished it, "I wanted to call you last night to tell you how much I loved reading it, but I was afraid you would be asleep. I started reading it again." All the quoted material is from a professional who is employed at a place of business I frequent. Her enthusiasm for the book has led to pre-release sales.

Another encounter with a reader revealed a person who had obviously led a very sheltered life and had not encountered much of the world's ugliness. She was not even aware that one thing that took place in the novel actually happened in the world of humanity. She was genuinely surprised.

One reader said: "It is a little spicy." (Keep in mind that 'spicy' to some people may not always mean 'spicy' to others.) I asked her if she was offended, she said, "Oh no!" It's real life. I love it."

Another comment was: "Your first book was good, but you hit the nail on the head with this one."

So there you have it--sometimes negative reader comments are actually good comments.

Common denominator--all readers so far have identified in some way either with the main character or some event in the book. At this point I truly do feel blessed and humbled as an author. I have pending one book signing and one speaking engagement, dates to be announced after the release date of March 23, 2010.

An aside here: An open and personal belated congratulations Cliff Graham on your movie deal. You go! And thanks for keeping us encouraged to be passionately desirious to succeed.

One More Time

I love to write. Yet, when it comes to blogging, my muse can fail me. However, I'm going to try one more time. This will be my third attempt with google blog. Why, again? Motivation is, well, a strong motivator.

The word occasional in my blog title seemed most appropriate, since I am rarely inspired with subject matter for daily blog entrance. However, I'm sure now, with the new motivation, there will be some need to ccomment more often.

Once upon a time, blogging wasn't that difficult for me. I always had much to say and seemed to be able to find things of interest to blog about and humorous things to comment on, pertaining to my writing or everyday experiences.

I don't know what happened--perhaps my lack of inspiration was due to a recent major change in my lifestyle, or the lack of having a person to be in love with. Who knows? The desire to blog is present, but the topics are lacking. Could it be maybe, that all subjects are covered in the blogging world?

My last attempt at blogging, believe it or not, produced stress. Yes, stress! I felt guilty because I wasn't updating my blog as I see the really interesting (in my opinion) bloggers do, some on a daily basis. Humm . . . not good. Of course not good--because a writer should never compare themselves to other writers, it only leads to disappointment in oneself. Writers should be their own unique selves! And with that uniqueness they will find their audience.

So, having said all that, I'll end this first entry with the promise that occasionally, I will update my blog! Stay tuned.