Learning and Growing

Part of a writer's passion involves continually working the craft. To that end, I recently participated in an intense week long seminar with author Bill Bernhardt. Ten writers reviewed each others work with Bill as moderator and instructor. The homework extended late into the night, every night. Our group improved so dramatically that Bill invited some of us to an advanced seminar in February. I'm already preparing for it.

My success with short stories continues. Chicken Soup for the Soul has agreed to publish Through a Glass Darkly, and is considering two others. Armchair Interviews awarded An Unexpected Dream second place in its Thanksgiving Day contest and published it on their website. Now with what I've learned about how to structure a novel, I'm reworking the four I've written. The improvements I'm making amaze me. The Fifth Step will be the first ready for marketing, and I've received encouragement from my critique group that its good quality. Wish me success as I venture out. I'll keep you posted on the results.

What's Going On?

I've developed a good critique partner in Matt Jones. Along with him comes his special abilities in graphic arts and one page promotions. He's working on two promotional covers for me now, and I encourage anyone who needs graphic work done to check Matt out at Matt@JonesHouseCreative.com. I'm still debating whether to attend the ACFW convention in September. Give me you input at our next WIN meeting.

Either way, I'm plowing forward. June 8-12 I'm joining an intensive seminar with Bill Bernhardt and Hawk Publishing. It's twenty hours of writing and rewriting query letters, synopsis, and chapters - the building blocks for marketing and selling my work. Wish me luck.

Successes and Expectations

With our move from Bixby to Broken Arrow, and our grandson's unexpected arrival, Pam and I have been swamped. But now, hopefully, we can update this blog more often. Having said that, I want to share the latest success in my writing adventures. Chicken Soup for the Soul:Count Your Blessings has sent me a proof of my short story, Through a Glass Darkly. It should come out in print December 2009. This is the second success in the past four months, and it gives me encouragement that my writing is improving.

I have great expectations for the future. I've submitted three entries to ACFW's Genesis contest in the Contemporary Fiction category. I submitted a short story to Lorian Hemingway's Short Story Competition, and I've completed my edits on four - count them - four novels! I'm preparing to layout a marketing campaign aimed at publication. Agents and Editors here I come.

I'll be a contributor this coming month to The Write Life, a e-zine that is growing in popularity. And, of course, I continue to learn and network through TWV2, hosted by Mary DeMuth. It's is a blessing.

A NEW YEAR AND A NEW LIFE

The Wind at My Back

A short story by Pam Wetterman

Have you ever stood in an open field on an August day in Oklahoma? The wind never stops blowing. It feels like a strong warm breath covering you. One day I experienced the breath of God on my back. I can’t say I heard an audible voice, but I knew it was God speaking.

In late 2007, I was impressed to get ready for a big change. I knew that every time a major change came, God always prepared me. That is how God impressed me to embrace His will and learn to live in obedience once again.

Like an ant getting ready for winter, I began to update our home. My first chore was to convince my loving husband of 42 years that our five year old home needed modernization. But after a time he was gracious and began to open up the purse strings. We double the patio and covered it with a pergola. My husband could see the need to paint the outside of the house and agreed to that as well. The difficult decision for him was to agree to a new more modern color. My wonderful husband hated change and he had not heard from God.

Then it was time for the inside. We looked for just the right colors. I could see an antique bronze faux in the great room, a significant change from the apple green that we had originally. My choice for the formal dining room was a touch of bold red antique with black and bronze glaze. I talked him into painting the rest of the interior and refinishing our hardwood floors. A true miracle from God. Our home was a palace.

Once the renovations were completed I could see the toll it had taken on my husband. Since I was not sharing what was driving me, I could not blame him for being resistant. He had not yet heard from God and maybe I had misinterpreted His message. No, I was still feeling a strong need to be ready. I began to feel as though the next steps would lead to us moving. But why did we have to move? Still, when God speaks, it is smart to follow His lead.

I had followed His lead before. My life changed significantly in 2006 when I was forced to retire early due to a severe loss of sight from Macular Degeneration. Having been a successful high level manager for most of my career, it was a difficult experience. Our finances were impacted significantly and we were down to only one income plus my Social Security Disability. But with God’s help, we were making ends meet.

In September 2008, my husband was forced into early retirement due to the downturn in the economy. We had already lost over 40 percent of our retirement savings in the market and we still had ten years left on our mortgage. Now I was beginning to understand. God had been preparing me for this for over 19 months. His answer to our need was to downsize our expenses, beginning with our home.

When you are married to someone who does not like change, it is not easy to ask them to make one of the most important changes in life. I began to share God’s vision with my husband. But he wasn’t ready to make this move. He felt we could make ends meet on our reduced income. So we sat down and worked together on a budget. It was soon obvious that if we cancelled our cell phones, our lawn service, the newspaper, and our cable, and never took any trips, we could pay the bills but there would be nothing left over for clothing or birthday gifts or Christmas. But in the spirit of following his lead, I agreed to give it a try. We set aside cash for groceries, utility bills, and the house payment. We did not have any credit card debt or car payment. Surely we could do this.

It was October 2008 and with concern, we began. November was even more difficult and then came December. How could I not get a few gifts for our grand kids? My heart was so low. Finally we made the decision to pull cash from our savings for a modest Christmas.
Once again I mentioned the need to “downsize” and my husband said, “I am not leaving this house until you put me into a nursing home. That is final.” I knew it was time for God to speak to him. My attempts were futile. Within two days, my husband came to me and said, he had called a realtor just to see what we could get for our home. Wow, God was working. All I had to do was take my hands off the situation and give it to God.

December 22nd we met with the realtor. On the 26th we ventured out to see what homes we could afford on our new lower income. God took us to a new construction home that was perfect and the builder offered to reduce the price by 10 percent. We immediately placed a contract on the house. Now to get our home sold. This is when we really saw God at work. One family came to see our house on the 29th and made an offer. It was too low and we began the difficult war of offer vs. counter offer. Finally, the evening of the 30th, my husband shouted into the phone at our realtor, “No more, we are done. Either they want the house at our price or they can find another one. I am not negotiating any longer. I am done. “That night we went to bed with heavy hearts. Surely this was a dead deal. Would we loose the new home? It was the home God had provided. Now was the time to rest in His arms and wait.

The phone rang early the next day. Our realtor called to say the buyer had agreed to our price. The only condition, vacate the house by the 30th of January. We agreed and began to panic. It was time to use our 25 plus years of business experience to execute a plan. We had to pack and move in 30 days.

Looking back, I continually felt God’s warm breath on my back as we packed. Today, we’re settled in our new home. It’s lovely. We have reduced our house payment by 66 percent and our home insurance by 50 percent. God knew our needs and He acted quickly. His warm breath on my back was gentle, but consistent. I can rest in the knowledge that we followed His will and will be taken care of during this very difficult financial time. God is certainly good. If you begin to feel a warm wind on your back, stop and listen. He is speaking.

A Victory!

I reached a major goal yesterday when Armchair Interviews award my short story, An Unexpected Dream, second place in their Thanksgiving Short Story Contest. I'm excited because, not only is their website is an award winner, but I set a goal to be recognized by published authors as having talent. I've been so fortunate to have people encouraging me in my writing, my wife Pam, Cec Murphey, my dear friend, and Matt Jones, my critique partner.

Today, I still have two goals unfulfilled. I still need an agent, and I'm still not published. But, I'm pumped. I'm entering three manuscripts in the Genesis Contest next year, and I have hope for success. My motto is: Kept Writing And Never Give Up!

FLUFFY THE MASTER

Finding myself with some discretionary time on my hands, I have begun to experiment with backyard activities. Now, to some, that could mean gardening, landscaping, bird watching or any number of other fun activities. But I have started Fluffy watching.

Now you may ask “Who is Fluffy?” A name normally selected for the master cat in your home. And, as a matter of fact, Fluffy is a great name for a cat. But for me, Fluffy is a rogue squirrel bent on stealing my peace and home.

I first met Fluffy over a year ago. He was hanging up side down on my bird feeder, with both of his hands in the seed. He ate for over ten minutes while my guard dogs, Bailey and Barkleah watched, poised to attack. Then he casually climbed down from the feeder and challenged my dogs to a run across the yard. Of course, both dogs were game but had no chance to catch Fluffy. He climbed up a tall tree while the dogs jump up and down at the bottom.

At first, I thought my goal was to keep Fluffy out of the birdseed. After all, this seed was custom seed purchased for the Cardinals and Bluebirds, not for a Squirrel. I tried installing a Squirrel baffle. It was to frighten him away. He only saw this as an addition to the game he played with us daily. I tried putting out Squirrel food; he laughed and moved on to the feeder for the gourmet bird seed. He tormented my dogs and me for months.

Then one day, I heard him in the attic. Oh no, not inside, Yes. Now we had a real problem He was setting up house for the winter. I called a professional Squirrel hunter. He sealed the hole in my house, and we hoped for the best. The scratching in the attic stopped. I felt I had won. But no. Fluffy was back the next spring day and chewing a new hole. Now it was all out war.

After contacting several experts, my crafty grandson installed peanut butter into a two-ended cage. This cage was placed on the roof in a path to the new hole made by the squirrel. In just one hour, Fluffy was eating peanut butter in the cage and we were traveling to a beautiful park four miles from our home. What a win - win for us all. The dogs could rest from the teasing. I could get back to working on my books, and Fluffy would be living in a new resort with many other beautiful squirrels. After all, he was a bachelor and needed a fine spouse.

Within one short week, my grandson heard familiar sounds coming from atop my roof. Could it be? The next morning, I inspected the attic. No squirrel was inside. But out in the lawn,Yes, Fluffy was back, or someone resembling him, with three more companions.(A beautiful new wife?) Now what? I give up. He can have the gourmet bird seed. He can live in a nest in the trees. But two traps are in my attic. He can never, never, live my attic. We will learn to live in peace. He is the master Squirrel you know.

Writing In Retirement

I've had a few requests to learn more about the novels I'm writing. Presently, I'm marketing a political, called Standing Firm. In it, a third political party rises in America, a conservative Christian party, and a congressman from Oklahoma runs as its first presidential candidate. The story is about the campaign, told through the eyes of his wife and the candidate himself.

The novel follows the candidate's wife, through a nasty campaign filled with an assassination attempt and international intrigue. She provides the stability to play off his crusader, "I can win against all odds," attitude. Will see how editors react to it. I'm working on three other novels, and I'll review those in future posts.