LaPalm Books

These past weeks have been a flurry of working on building upon the old book and creating the new. I’ve now got Still Life on consignment at two local bookstores with the potential for two other shops to follow their lead. And I wrote another 50 pages of the yet Untitled novel; fifty pages may not seem like much, but it’s quite a feat. For within all of it and the other normalcies of daily life, my family has also been dealing with a family member’s unexpected medical scare. I will not go into details here, but I will say it was a fearful time for many that turned out in the best way we could have imagined. However, this wonderful person is now recovering from major surgery, and we finally had the opportunity to visit after many, many phone calls.

Spending time with family is typically a wonderful reminder of the special people in our lives who cheer us while in our glory and hold our hand when things are down. They are the ones who see our good and bad side, but often love us all the more. Without their love and support and advice and criticism, we cannot grow to become the people we are nor reflect on who we once were.

And for me personally, I could not move forward in this endeavor without the simplest of sacrifices given by them and the sweetest of victories shared with them. For though writing is a solitary “sport” in which I must perform alone, it’s also a team effort to get to the finish line. For instance, the first book required much of my time, most of which could have be spent doing other things for myself and family. Now this time around, I’m wiser (well a little bit, anyway:) and have worked on improving the process so I don’t feel I’m neglecting the people I hold dear. Add in the fabulous women who pre-read my work so I can have honest feedback, and it becomes obvious that I cannot (nor do I wish to) do this alone.

And so, I didn’t write at all this weekend. In fact, I did nothing of value for my work or my home. Because sometimes we are needed elsewhere and wanting to be with others…the very ones who we love and pray more than anything will still be here today, tomorrow, and every day…