On Saturday, I got to dress up in baggy shirt, askew baseball cap, low riding jeans, and a fake tattoo on my arm, then I performed a Christian rap with fellow authors. The words were all about the importance of Christian fiction. We had the room rolling on the floor. The rappers in the photo are:
Vanilla Nice (James Scott Bell)
Copdiddy (Mark Mynheir)
The Glorious G.I.G. (Brandilyn Collins)
AminHim (Robin Lee Hatcher)
You can find the words to the song over on Charis Connection.
Today begins all the crazy business parts. I meet with an editor first thing. Next I’ll sign A Carol for Christmas (ARCs) for an hour in the Zondervan booth. For a couple of hours I get to look around the convention floor, take some photos with friends before going to tape an interview, followed by another meeting with an editor. By then it will be after 4:00 and time to return to the hotel and get ready for a dinner with Steeple Hill authors.
Attending ICRS sounds like fun and most authors have a lot of fun, but it is always an exhausting time, both physically and emotionally. When I see how many books are being published, I can’t help but wonder how anyone will ever find mine. But one thing I love about the Christian authors I know. We see ourselves as a Christian body who are in this together, doing the work God has called us to, and when one of us is honored, we are all honored.
God has already blessed me in so many ways while I’ve been here. By divine appointments, He’s allowed me to minister to and pray for fellow authors who find themselves in places of pain similar to what the Lord has brought me through (and continues to bring me through) in this particular season of my life. God never wastes a hurt. My greatest ministry will come out of my greatest pain. (paraphrasing Rick Warren) Amen.
Off to prepare for my day.
-rlh-
