life happens but a writer keeps writing

Like everyone else in the world, writers go through all sorts of things in life.

Good things: Falling in love. Marriage. Birth of a child.

Bad things: Divorce. Death of a loved one. Cancer. A runaway child.

And through them all, writers write. Sometimes more. Sometimes less. Sometimes the words pour out like a rushing river. Sometimes the words straggle out like molasses. Some books get written in a matter of weeks. Some books take many months (and feel like centuries).

I’ve written through all kinds of life experiences, both the good and the bad. And my early years of writing in the CBA had plenty of both. So I thought I would pause for a moment in my writing journey reflections and look at the novels I worked on from 1998 (when I began writing Christian fiction) through 2002 (the year of my last entry). The dates I’m including in parentheses are the years I finished writing them, not the years they were published.

1. Hometown Girl (1998)
2. The Forgiving Hour (1998)
3. Taking Care of the Twins (ABA novel, 1998)
4. Whispers From Yesterday (1998)
5. Daddy Claus (final ABA novel, 1999)
6. The Shepherd’s Voice (1999)
7. Dear Lady (2000)
8. Patterns of Love (2000)
9. Heart Rings/The Story Jar (2000)
10. Ribbon of Years (2000)
11. In His Arms (2000)
12. Firstborn (2001)
13. Promised to Me (2002)
14. Speak to Me of Love (2002)

Sometimes I feel like I haven’t worked hard enough or accomplished enough, but I guess I haven’t been too sluggish.