Quick book news before I dive into my five thankfuls:
Seize the Love anthology is going out of print on February 14, 2024. If you haven’t yet snagged a copy of this book, now’s the time, friends. It makes a great Christmas gift for all the readers in your life.
My story in the collection is A Baker’s Heart: After nurturing her own soul with prayer and a favorite book, Cressidia-Lydia bakes scrumptious treats to feed the souls of her neighbors.
Also in the collection is a story called Loving Amelia by my mom, Faith D. Cox: Upon becoming a war widow, a young mother must move past her memories and love her daughter through lost dreams and heart-wrenching grief.
It was really fun being published in the same book as my mom. I hope you’ll enjoy our short stories this holiday season!
Five Things I’m Thankful For
Thursday of this week is Thanksgiving. This time of year always has me reflecting on what I’m thankful for. The list varies a lot depending upon the year’s events and issues, but the core remains the same.
#1 Faith
Firstly and always, I am grateful for my faith in God. He is always there when I need Him (which is every single day, by the way). He’s faithful when I struggle. He’s loving when I’m difficult. He’s solid as a rock when I’m a weepy mess. God is absolutely everything I need, but He’s also everything I want. To me, He’s Love, Goodness, Kindness, Comfort, Discipline, Instruction, Grace, Hope, Inspiration, Future, Present, Patience, and many, many more things–all personified.
I’m ever so grateful that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to minister on this earth, to die for the world’s (and my) sins, and rise again on the third day to conquer death and save my soul.
He did all that for you, too.
Do you know Jesus as your Savior yet? If you’re curious to learn more, please contact me so we can talk about it.
#2 Family
My parents and sister mean the world to me, and I’m incredibly blessed to have them in my life. We’re all a lot busier now than we were when I was growing up. Between my sister’s and my jobs, we don’t have a lot of time to hang out anymore, so holidays are especially good for us. Thankfully, there are two such holidays coming up very shortly. My parents and I all write: short stories, novels, and screenplays. So we’re constantly busy. But we make time to do dinner and a movie together a few nights a week (more when it isn’t hockey season for me, hehe). Sometimes I bring along my laptop so I can get more editing or writing work done after dinner but during the movie. I have really understanding and supportive parents. (Love you guys!)
No matter how short or long our time together is, I soak it in with gratitude and a happy heart.
#3 Writing
Writing has been a passion for me since I was sixteen, but I can trace my love of words all the way back to umbrella pages in second grade and learning to write my letters in kindergarten. I had some really good teachers who fostered in me a love of story and the written word. I guess I should have known I’d end up a writer when I asked to do extra research papers in high school.
Writing was especially fun the last couple of years, as I’ve seen God work miracles and open up some publishing opportunities for me. Sure, they’re only a couple of shorties and a novella. But they’re a great start in building a writing career. I’m very happy to have three stories currently available (see the above note about one story soon going out of print!), and I’m looking forward to the day when my first full-length novel releases into the wide world of books.
Will you pray for me, that I would pursue writing with all the heart God has given me? that I would take the publishing opportunities He places in my path? that I would always write and publish with integrity, a Bible-based moral code, and with hope of inspiring positive change in the hearts of my fellow sojourners of this planet?
#4 Copyediting
This year has been super busy on the editing front. That is such a humongous blessing for me, especially since my tutoring gig has been slow the last few years. I’ve had edit jobs in seven out of the twelve months of this year. Considering I take two months off for holidays, family time, and recovery (editing is mentally, and sometimes physically [hello, back pain!], demanding work for me), this is a really great ratio of work to non-work months. Not only that, but since two of the books have been anthologies or novella collections, once my current job is completed, I will have edited sixteen different stories in those seven months.
It’s no wonder my mind and body have been so delightfully worn out this year!
Once again, God has blessed me with only the best, most enjoyable stories to edit. This year alone, I’ve worked on everything from historicals to westerns to World War I and II to contemporary. The Christian fiction subgenres I’ve worked on have included young adult, romance, women’s fiction, art recovery, cruise ship, travel, international, mystery, age-gap romance, war veteran, family, newlywed, matchmaking, wedding, novelist, sheep farmer, and performing arts.
It’s been a fantastical year for story.
Be on the lookout on my Editing Portfolio page. Soon, I’ll be updating that page with the newest projects on which I’ve worked.
#5 TV Shows on DVD
Okay, so this isn’t a core thankful. But it has saved my bacon a lot this year. Funny enough, having TV shows (or movies or music) playing in the background while I work is helpful in distracting my ADD. (I wrote about this in an article on Jill Kemerer’s blog earlier this year, so please give that a quick read when you have a minute.) Yes, sometimes this means I get distracted by my favorite scenes, but I treat those as miniature mental breaks and then edit or write all the better afterward.
The shows this year have ranged from military (JAG and NCIS) to medical (House and ER) to comedy (Wings) to crime solving (Elementary and the remake of Hawaii Five-O). While all of these shows are imperfect, they have all in turn made me laugh, cry, get frustrated, and celebrate. They’ve given me a nice dose of story over lunch (replenishing my body’s energy levels was a great excuse to pause my work to enjoy my favorite episodes uninterrupted), but they’ve also kept me more focused when post-Covid brain attacked with severe lack of focus again and again and again.
I’m really grateful to be living in a time in which BluRay players and TV shows on disc exist. This story-obsessed heart of mine has nearly burst with happiness to be so saturated in story–between writing, editing, and TV show watching/listening.
Your turn!
What are you thankful for this year?
What TV shows do you enjoy watching?
What is your favorite thing about Thanksgiving?
Enter the Springtime in Surrey Art Contest!
There is a Springtime in Surrey Art Contest going on right now. All the details may be found on the Wild Blue Wonder Press website.
I hope you’ll have fun bringing to visual life the characters or setting of your favorite Springtime in Surrey novella!
Books to Read
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These books would make great Christmas gifts for the readers in your life.
Short Stories
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