THROUGH ADVERSITY - A TRIBUTE

Pain. We’ve all had it at one time or another, that all-encompassing, consuming pain that invades every thought and steals your life. You cannot escape it – even in sleep. And when it’s chronic, you know that sooner or later it always comes back.

I knew this thief intimately. He’d come into my life in 1985 when I fell down a flight of stairs. The doctors said it would’ve been better if I’d broken bones – they would have healed. Not so with all the slamming and wrenching my body endured on the way down those thirteen steps – and believe me, I felt each of them. I had the bruises to prove it. But I was young and strong, and the permanent partial disability of my neck, shoulders, and back wasn’t about to keep me from doing things – no matter what the doctors said. I had the Great Physician after all – and far more stubborn Irish pride than was probably good for me. But by the time 2005 rolled around, I was singing a different tune.

I have no idea if the fall I took was a contributing factor or not; it didn’t/doesn’t matter. All I knew was that for the last two years I had begun to suffer from excruciating pain in my fingers and hands. Was it overwork, overuse? There was no way to tell. The pain would seem to descend from out of the blue, linger for indeterminate amounts of time, and then disappear as suddenly as it came. The first half of 2005 was spent in misery, trying to figure out what could be done, forcing myself to do my database job and write in spite of the pain. And when it finally disappeared once again, I was ready to make up for lost time.

Praying nearly non-stop, I set to work that December of 2005 on the story of grandmother Glory Harper. Her antics made me laugh – the idea of a 52-year-old trying to teach her grandson to use a skateboard was amusing, the end result of the lesson (the runaway skateboard causing a three-car pile-up) even funnier. The more Glory and her family developed, the more excited I became . . . and the more convinced I was that this story would finally get me published.

I studied the requirements for the Heartsong Mysteries line and hoped I was following the directions for a proposal. Even though I’d always been a SOTP (seat-of-the-pants) writer, I dared to write a synopsis for a book I hadn’t written. I prepared the submission packet with care, asked advice from the writer friend whose book had been accepted for the line, and had my daughter edit it with a fine-toothed comb. Things were falling into place. Well, sort of. It needed a title – and not just the goofy one I’d come up with: The Case of the Bouncing Grandma. But every time I thought of changing it, something stopped me. Or was that Someone?

2006 dawned with Gramma (my former mother-in-law) getting sicker. From one hospital to another and an ever changing diagnosis, she wasn’t improving. Despite obvious discomfort and pain, she retained a positive attitude and a ready smile.

Visits with Gramma always began with her asking, “How’s that silly grandma coming?” Her eyes would light up as I’d share the most recent Glory Harper escapades. And the more I shared my ideas, the more certain I was this was the manuscript that would go all the way. Gramma’s confidence and laughter reinforced this notion. No matter how ill she was, she wanted to know how the writing was going and what I was planning to do next.

I drew on Gramma’s strength as I always had, determined that the excruciating migraine that began shortly after the new year wouldn’t stop me from getting the proposal to Heartsong Mysteries or keep me from finishing this book. Through doctors’ visits and medication that landed me in the emergency room three times, I persevered and finally got the proposal sent.

Gramma was still cognizant when Susan Downs, editor for Heartsong Mysteries, wrote to request a full manuscript. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes or her determination that I would finally succeed. But as much as we all wanted her to stay a while longer, God had other plans. Early in February of 2006, he called this angel home.

FOR GRAMMA

She came on loan from Heaven,
A Saint from God above.
She brought with her the sunshine,
She gave to us her love.
Her work was hard and painful,
Her heart was great and true.
She taught us to be humble
And watched us while we grew.

But Heaven only loaned her
For a brief and special time.
They felt her absence deeply
Much more than yours or mine.
We miss her laugh, her smile, her voice
They never will grow dim.
But we thank the Lord the time He gave
Before calling her back to Him.

Thank you, Cornelia, you taught me more about living and loving than you’ll ever know.

BEGINNINGS . . . THE BIRTH OF AN IDEA

Near the end of 2005, there was a lot of excitement and buzz throughout the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) loop about a new cozy mystery line being developed by the Heartsong division of Barbour. Like everyone else, I read the announcements with curiosity, wondering if this might be something I could try. I toyed with the idea off and on, but didn’t really know if I could take the mystery/suspense I was used to writing and work it into something totally different. And then, of course, was the question of whether or not I could write humor. Sure, I loved to tease with my daughters and husband, but trying to make the public laugh, that would just be too difficult. The problem: the idea just wouldn’t go away.

Later that same year, a fellow ACFW member asked if I’d have time to do a quick read-through of her manuscript – a book that had been accepted into the cozy mystery line mentioned above. I loved the book, the easy way it read, the humor, and of course, the mystery. It was exciting to even be a tiny bit involved with a soon-to-be published author and her first novel. Big things were happening all across ACFW because of Heartsong Mysteries . . . was it possible I could be a part of that as well?

A lot was going on in our life at the time. My incredibly wonderful and awesome former mother-in-law – Gramma – had been sick since before Thanksgiving, and praying for her healing was uppermost in my mind. Gramma had always been a big influence in my life, her gentle wisdom, strength, and humor, plus her ability to forgive and continue to love me after her son and I divorced only reinforced what I already knew – she was one of God’s angels on Earth. Each time I visited her, something niggled at me, something I couldn’t put my finger on . . . until early one morning after a late night and a lot of prayer – a story about a grandmother . . .

As Christmas approached, the idea refused to be ignored. It nagged at me day and night, always with a vision of Gramma’s smiling face and her laughter. Unable to escape the pervasive thoughts, I finally relented and sat before the computer – an empty manuscript template in front of me. I closed my eyes, placed my fingers on the keys, and prayed.

“If you want a story, Lord, then You’re going to have to write it.”

I’d always known when He took over – the writing was much better than anything I could ever do on my own. But before, I would at least have more of an idea for a story. This time, all I had was a grandmother. Or was it?

I know I sat with my eyes closed for a long time that day. I also know I was typing. Well, you know how that is . . . your fingers know things sometimes before your brain does. At least, it seems like that at times. And that day, that day, God moved my fingers over the keys for several minutes before I was consciously aware of what was going on. By the time I lifted my hands from the keyboard, I had a nine-page chapter – and zany grandmother Glory Harper had been born.

WELCOME!

Welcome to the Bouncing Grandma Mysteries blog. I hope you will join me on this crazy adventure from creation to publication of the soon-to-be released cozy mystery, The Case of the Bouncing Grandma. The first of the Bouncing Grandma Mysteries has an official release date of October 2008 but will be available for pre-order in August through its publisher Sheaf House at www.sheafhouse.com, at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com, as well as in your local bookstores.

It’s my aim to give you a little insight into how the story of Glory Harper and her family began and the process of bringing this novel to publication. I’ve never blogged before—or been published—so it’s liable to be quite a ride. I hope you’ll be patient and stick with me through the process of learning the ropes—and with luck, we’ll have a good time along the way.

I’m just getting my feet wet with this introduction but promise to be back soon with “the rest of the story.” Take care and God Bless!