WIPpet Wednesday: "What Really Happened"

The WIPpet Wednesday blog hop gives authors a chance to share snippets from their current Works In Progress. Thanks to K. L. Schwengel for hosting! 

     I'm not giving you a WIP today. "The Beloved Daughter: Bonus Materials" is now available on amazon and smashwords (and is therefore not a WIP). My kids book, "What, Hurricane?" is still in the illustrations stage, but since I'm not self-publishing it, I'm limited in how much of it I can share with you at this point.

     So, I'm going to give you a WIPAST (work in progress a second time). I've decided that while I wait for God to heal my wrists to the point where I can start working on "Not Alone" again, I'm going to re-edit, reformat, and relaunch my first-ever published book, "A Boy Named Silas."

     Today is 9/11, a day that no American who was alive in 2001 will forget. (It's also the birthday of a very special WIPpeter I know, but I doubt she wants me to make that public, so I won't mention who I'm talking about.) Back to 2001 ... after the attack on the Twin Towers, many Americans were left asking, "Why would God let something so terrible happen?" That's the same question my husband and I wrestled with almost six years ago when our son Silas stopped breathing in the delivery room. So, in honor of 9/11, I give you page 11 of "A Boy Named Silas: The First Five Years."

(Quick disclaimer: You'll definitely see my faith come out in these WIPASTs, because that's really the only thing that carried our family through Silas' traumatic birth experience. I know not everyone in cyberland shares my convictions, and I won't be hurt if you just decide it's not your thing to read.)

***

In writing Silas' story, it's hard to know where to start. I could tell you all about the moment when my husband Phillip realized something was “wrong” and went to get the doctor. I could tell you about all the medical procedures of Silas’ NICU days, including a surgery at three weeks to close off the top of his esophagus and put in a feeding tube directly into his little stomach. I could tell you about the friends and family who visited us and sent us cards, about the one year­ old big brother who woke up in our hotel room singing Jesus Loves Me, or about the family outings to Walmart that became the highlights of our weeks.

These are all great stories, and part of Silas' life that I don't want to ever forget. But there's an even more amazing story that needs to be told first. In spite of Silas' traumatic birth, I never felt the need to ask, Where was God in all of this? Where was God when massive brain hemorrhaging made my son stop breathing only an hour and a half after his birth? I already knew where God was. I didn’t need to ask. He was right there in the hospital room with us, and He was holding Silas. Of course. What else would the Almighty be doing at such a moment?

our miracle baby, 1 day old

It wasn't until Silas was three years old when I got an even more vivid picture of what really happened that horrible morning. And that’s the story that really matters. Silas is fascinated by angels. Once he spent an hour playing with Legos and literally built and entire army of angels. There were months of his life in which angelic beings occupied a large percentage of his imaginative play. Eventually I had to ask myself, Were there angels there with Silas that day he almost died? 

Finally I took the question back to God. And in my mind, I saw dozens of angels ... not cute little guardians, but soldiers who fight for the advancement of God's kingdom. Each one of these heavenly warriors guarding Silas' crib. They completely surrounded my son, watching attentively, even militantly. Each one wanted the honor of holding Silas as the doctors tried to resuscitate my limp and lifeless child. Then God came down, parted the company, and told his faithful servants, "No.” The angels moved out the way while the Almighty Himself declared, “I will be the One to hold the child in My own arms."

“A Boy Named Silas” is about what God has done from that moment on, and what He will continue to do in the life of an amazing little boy named Silas.

***

Random Fact: Silas has now gone four and a half months without using his feeding tube at all!

Want More? Check out my books on amazon! 

About That Video... I have no idea why the video I showed you guys of Regi and me didn't work out the other week. But if you want to see our video, it's up at the Kickstarter page for The Beloved Daughter audiobook, coming out soon! (I just need one or two more pre-orders for my campaign to be fully funded. Check it out!)
 

Gently Humorous: Accidentally (On Purpose)

     It's pretty amazing how often my toddler will "accidentally" get himself into trouble. I've lost track of the times I've found Thomas with marker on his face, toes, hands, or other unmentionable body parts. When I ask him what he thought he was doing, he replies, "I accidentally drew on myself."

     I tried explaining to Thomas the difference between accidentally and on purpose. When I caught Thomas sitting on his brother's bed ripping pages out of a beloved book, I asked him, "What do you think you're doing?" I'm lucky my three year-old hasn't started rolling his eyes at me. He hasn't realized (yet) what a silly question that really is. Then again, I guess I haven't either.

     "I accidentally tore the book on purpose," Thomas admitted.

     At least my lecture set in. A little.

     Thomas' habit of "accidentally" falling into sin on purpose might be cute and humorous if it weren't so much like my own spiritual shortcomings. How many times have I accidentally wondered into the kitchen and ended up glutting myself? How many times have I picked up that secular novel and accidentally forgot to skip over those scenes I shouldn't read? How many times have I accidentally lost my temper with my kids?

     I'm horribly guilty of purposefully leading myself into temptation so that I can accidentally fall into it. Truth is, I'm no more mature than my three year-old. And I'm not as cute, either, which means I need to be even more careful. (Because, face it, it's not too easy to stay mad at a smile like this.)

     Thankfully, God has more patience with me than I have with my son, but every once in a while I imagine my heavenly Father must be sitting up in heaven asking me, "What do you think you're doing?"

***

Random Fact: My wrist tendons (which are responsible for my sporadic blogging of late) used to make a thumbs-up at only about 35 degrees. Now, thanks to a ton of stretching, I can give a 90-degree thumbs up. (It's the little things that count.)

Blog Love: This post is part of Christian Home Magazine, hosted by Laura O. Since my friend Regi is also hosting her Mirth and Music Monday meme on Mondays, I'm also posting a YouTube video for you to enjoy that, in my opinion, is so musically mirthful I'm giving you both M's in one bang.

Aren't the Piano Guys awesome? I'll be taking my five year-old to their concert next winter. I'm not sure if he's more excited or if I am.

Want a free book? I just signed up with a new website that rewards readers for promoting their favorite authors. Visit my Libboo page to see how you can earn a free ebook just for your tweets and posts!

WIPpet Wednesday: "Something Like That"

The WIPpet Wednesday blog hop gives authors a chance to share snippets from their current Works In Progress. Thanks to K. L. Schwengel for hosting!

Happy Wednesday, WIPpeters!

My wrists continue to flare up at the most inconvenient times, so my WIPpeting may continue to be sporadic for the time being. Kinda stinks (for me at least), but at least you know I'm with you in spirit. Or something like that.

Ok, the WIP. This comes from book 2 in My Solar-Powered History series for kids. The title of the book is What Hurricane?

***

We made our way up a ladder to the deck. We squinted in the sun and saw that the ship was still anchored next to land. Some men wen were carrying cargo on board and others were climbing up the ropes and poles that shot up toward the bright sky. “What ship is this?” I asked my brothers. I tried to remember what Dad told us before he programmed the machine. A supply ship to Jamestown. Admiral Somers, my great-great-great-grandpa, or something like that. And what had Dad said about a big storm?

***

As you can figure, the Otis boys have some excitement coming their way. Stay tuned...

And now that the WIP is out of the way (that was 8 sentences from page 8, by the way, it being the last Wednesday in August and all), how about something really fun? This is a video fellow WIPpeter Regi McClain helped me make for my Beloved Daughter audiobook pre-order campaign. I'm including the version with bloopers - this one's a lot more fun, in my opinion.

Speaking of Audiobooks: If you want to help me raise the funds I still need to pay the audiobook narrator, I'd love to invite you to my kickstarter page.

Random Fact: I was at a youth retreat once growing up where a flash flood left thousands of us stranded in a college basketball stadium all night with no electricity.

Good Laughs

This post appears in Christian Home Magazine, brought to you by Laura O.

     A few days ago, my son experienced something totally new and unexpected. We were eating lunch and listening to an Adventure in Odyssey, and one of the characters said something so funny that milk came out his nose.

     I admit, my only experience with trying (and failing) to laugh and drink at the same time happened at a sleepover and involved some especially carbonated Root Beer. At least my son was spared the fizz.

     Truth be told, I've been in something of a funk for the past few weeks. I was hoping to have my next novel edited and ready to publish by the end of the year, but my wrists aren't cooperating. They're telling me they need a little time off of the computer. (Which, incidentally, I've taken as God's way of telling me I need a little time off the computer as well.) Unfortunately, I haven't necessarily been as submissive as I should be to this enforced Sabbath of sorts.

     Which is why I'm so thankful my friend Regi has continued to come over and get me laughing. As you'll see in the video below, we've had our fair share of laughs this past week as we put together a video to let people know about the soon-to-be-released audiobook for my novel, "The Beloved Daughter."

     For some reason, being down just doesn't carry as much pull when your best friend is sitting across the table giggling at you. (I mean with you...)

     Thankfully, neither of us were drinking milk or Root Beer while we made the video. Because that would have been a pretty big mess.

Here's Regi and I trying our darndest to keep that water out of our nose when we made a video about "The Beloved Daughter." It took us a while, but we eventually nailed it. :)

Want to see more of Regi? Check out her blog, or click here for the most hilarious short story I've ever read. (And, no, I'm not just saying that because I owe her one for helping me make this video...)

Interested in The Beloved Daughter audiobook? Click here to see my kickstarter campaign and pre-order your own copy today.

Guest Post: Free Children's Book

Today I'm hosting a guest post from Susette Williams, a writing friend of mine whose book, The Day My Parents Got Lost, is free for the next two days!

The Day My Parents Got Lost - by Susette Williams

 

Has your child ever wandered off or gotten lost? When our oldest daughter was a toddler, she wandered off in a department store. Suddenly we were experiencing every parent's worst fear. Then when we found her, her tone was accusing, “You left me.”

Muttering in my own disbelief, “I… didn’t… leave you.” Then having to spend many years trying to convince her that the way she ‘pictured’ things was not what she thought. I’m not sure who needed therapy more. Our daughter, for feeling abandoned, or us for her making us feel like we were horrible parents. She was too young to realize the whole situation. Now that she’s older, and a school teacher, she’s thrilled to find out I wrote a book inspired by those events. Her students are anxious to read it, especially knowing it was inspired by their teacher.

My newest picture book, The Day My Parents Got Lost, takes a look at getting lost through a child’s eyes. While in the story, his parents are having fun, that most likely wouldn’t be the case in real life. The story gives children the opportunity to see how parents feel. I wrote this as a humorous story because while getting lost is very real and scary, we don’t want to scare children. The book gives parents and teachers the opportunity to speak with children about what they should do if they get separated from parents or a group. If you haven’t developed a plan with your children, or even your grandchildren, discuss safety tips and who they should turn to if they have a problem.

As a tool to help you lead into this conversation with discussing the topic and how to respond, I am offering The Day My Parents Got Lost for free August 20-22. Please download a free copy during these dates and leave a review on Amazon so that other readers know how much you enjoyed the story.

Download a copy for free August 20-22 at: http://ow.ly/o2yom

Feel free to contact me through my website and share if you have ever had a child wander off or get lost. You can also download free coloring pages for Wacky Wishes. We will be having free coloring pages coming soon for The Day My Parents Got Lost.

Comments and coloring pages:

http://www.susettewilliams.com/childrens_book.html

Follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/SusetteWilliams

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensAuthorSusetteWilliams

WIPpet Wednesday: I'm Back

     Well, I'm back. Sort of. My wrists have been giving me a really hard time lately. I took a few weeks off just about all things computer. Not very fun when you're in the midst of editing a book you hoped to launch in November. Half a month later, I'm back at the computer (for short spurts at a time). I haven't even opened my file for Not Alone since my wrists flared up. But when typing for thirty minutes elevates the temperature around your forearms a good three or four degrees compared to the rest of your skin, it's time to give yourself a break no matter how much you dislike the idea.

     The good news is that taking time off Not Alone gave me a chance to focus a little more on some marketing details for The Beloved Daughter. And even if Not Alone might not be launched this fall, the audiobook for The Beloved Daughter should be. I signed up with ACX and connected with a producer who's won 3 Audie awards and has narrated over 40 books on Audible, most of them in the Christian fiction genre. Match made in heaven? Sure, I'll go that far.

     As for WIPs, I hoped to be knee-deep in Not Alone edits by now, but such isn't the case. Fortunately, book 2 in my children's series, Solar-Powered History, is with the publisher and we're waiting on illustrations, so I'm not completely WIPless. Here are the first 14 sentences from What Hurricane?, the second book in My Solar-Powered History.

***

"What are you reading?” I asked my little brother O’Malley. It was snowing outside. O’Malley was sitting on the couch drinking some hot cocoa. His nose, like often, was buried in a book.

“The Tempest,” O’Malley answered. Now, you might think it would be a little strange for a five-year-old boy to be reading Shakespeare. I mean, Dad says even a lot of adults have a hard time understanding Shakespeare’s plays. But O’Malley’s not your typical kindergartner. What other kid do you know who’s published his own poetry collection?

Anyway, on this particular day O’Malley was reading "The Tempest." O’Malley liked Shakespeare so much he was actually dressed in Shakespearean style. He had leggings, short beige pants, and a loose white shirt. Meanwhile, my middle brother Benson was practicing the piccolo solo from Stars and Stripes Forever on his tuba, and Dad was in the garage working on parts for the solar-powered history machine.

***

     Yup, just a typical day in the Otis home.

***

Blog Love: Thanks for K. L. Schwengel at myrandommuse.wordpress.com for hosting the Wednesday WIPpet blog hop!

Are you on Facebook? Let's connect!

Date Night Nightmares

What's up with this photo?

     I haven't had the best luck when it comes to dating. Seeing as how I've been married for nine years, I guess I'm ok with that, but still I wish my dating life had a slightly better track record.

     My dating history began with a trip to a gay bar with a boy from college who decided to have an identity crisis on me. (That was my first date if you don't count the time my best friend's ex-boyfriend took me out to ask me how he should get back together with his lost love. Theoretically, since it was just him and me and he paid the bill, I suppose you could call this a date. I'm not into splitting hairs, but in my opinion it doesn't qualify.)

     I was a pretty pathetic single gal, so I guess it's fortunate that I met my husband to-be when I was 19. Still, I was a senior in college at the time and had plenty of opportunities prior to that to find out just how dismal my dating luck really was.

     And then I got married.

     Phillip and I ended up celebrating our first anniversary at McDonald's. It didn't have much to do with budget (because then it might almost be considered cute); it had to do with the fact that we didn't plan ahead of time what movie we wanted to see, and if we went to a sit-down restaurant we'd miss the show.

     On another anniversary, when Phillip was a full-time Bible college student in Nowhere, Alaska, we made the four-hour drive into the nearest "town" and ended up pushing a stroller around a mall and wishing we hadn't wasted all that gas. After we finally bought our first house, we decided to celebrate with a date night sans children. We got home from a nice dinner only to find that our son had clogged the toilet, and our new place still didn't have a plunger. An hour later, my husband returned from visiting three different stores in search of a plunger and rescued our plumbing.

     I suppose there are worse things to stink at than dating. Maybe in another nine years I'll be able to write a blog post about some of the amazing dates we've shared. Until then, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and invest in a movie directory app ... and an extra plunger.

What about you? What's one of your more memorable dates you've been on?

Blog Love: This post appears courtesy of Laura O and Christian Home Magazine.

Are you on Facebook? Let's connect!