Today I welcome an author and friend (whom I met here on my website). She is a kind spirited lady who has a fun sense of humor. Come laugh with:
Jan Drexler
Enter to win Jan's book,
The Prodigal Son Returns
Scroll to the end of the post to see how to enter.
Forgotten Dream
Mary does a very
dangerous thing on her blog – she asks writers to tell a story.
Doesn’t she know she’s
opened a Pandora’s Box? Who knows what we’ll write…
Well, God knows what
we’ll write, doesn’t he? Take my story, for example.
Four years ago, in
2009, I was finishing my homeschooling career. Two of our children had
graduated, the third was entering his senior year of high school, and the
fourth was about to be a junior. It was time for me to look to the future.
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That prayer opened
the door to a forgotten dream – writing fiction. Forgotten because I shy away
from the literary elite. Forgotten because I had done so many other things with
my English degree. Forgotten because every other time I had tried to write fiction,
it was garbage.
Believe me. It was
bad.
But once opened, that
door refused to close. I know, because I spent the next six months trying to
close and lock it.
Oh, I delved into
writing some…a few nonfiction articles about homemaking and homeschooling, and
I kept up my blog.
But behind that door
was the dream that only God and my husband knew existed – to write stories
other people would want to read.
After a year of
arguing with God (Do you ever try that? It never works.), He turned up the
heat. My husband lost his job of thirty years and was unemployed for the first
time in his life. I knew writing wouldn’t bring in quick money, and besides, I
was still homeschooling – but God said to go for it. My husband and I decided
to give it a try.
“Give me two years,
until we’re done with homeschooling,” I said. “If I don’t start earning money
with my writing by then, I’ll find a job outside the home.”
(Two years. Isn’t
that funny? We were so naïve!)
God was behind the
timing, and He had the next two years planned like a path for my feet,
illuminating each step on the path only after I had taken the one before it.
Step by step He guided me. I found writing helps and instruction through ACFW
and the Seekerville Blog. I started entering contests, and received wonderful,
helpful feedback on my writing. Every day I was on a steep learning curve, and
with God’s help I was able to absorb it all.
I finished my first
novel in the spring of 2011, just about the time my husband’s new job brought
us to the Black Hills of South Dakota. That novel, The Prodigal Son Returns, was contracted in the spring of 2012 –
the same month our youngest son graduated from our homeschool. Love Inspired
published the book in May, 2013. Along the way I found an agent, a writing
group, and many new friends in the writing community.
So the two year trial
I asked my husband to give me? God didn’t need a two year trial. He did it in
His perfect time.
Jan
Drexler, a recent graduate from Homeschool Mom-hood, devotes her time to the
voices in her head who have been clamoring for attention during the last few
decades. Instead of declining Latin nouns and reviewing rhetorical devices, her
days are now spent at the computer where she gives her characters free rein.
She lives
in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband of thirty years, their four
adult children, two rowdy dogs, and Maggie, the cat who thinks she's a dog. If
she isn't sitting at her computer living the lives of her characters, she's
probably hiking in the Hills or the Badlands, enjoying the spectacular scenery.
Jan’s
debut novel, The Prodigal Son
Returns, was published by
Love Inspired in May 2013.
Contact
info:
Website: www.JanDrexler.com
Fun blog:
www.yankeebellecafe.blogspot.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/JanDrexlerAuthor.com
Twitter:
@JanDrexler
She can
also be found on Amazon and Goodreads!
Reader, how about you? Do you have a forgotten dream waiting to spring to life?
To enter the contest for an autographed copy of Jan Drexler's book: "The Prodigal Son Returns":
leave a comment (and email address)
and become a follower of this site if you aren't already.
U.S. residents only.
Winner announced on my facebook page.
Thank you, Jan, for Joining us This Weekend!
Reader, how about you? Do you have a forgotten dream waiting to spring to life?
Comments
Here is the link to the permanent exhibits:
http://www.river-gallery.com/subpage.php?pageId=119&page1
The Prodigal Son is in the upper left corner.
It sure has been raining a lot in Atlanta. Maybe the seed of a dream will soon be sprouting. :-)
The Prodigal Son has always been one of my favorite parables, but I didn't even think of it as a title for my book until my editor at Love Inspired suggested it...and then I realized how perfectly it fit the story :)
Praying that your seed will sprout soon!
I love when events come together. So glad you saw the exhibit and then stopped by today.
What dream has been planted for you? So hoping it is something you will be tremendously fond of and that it will sprout soon. Blessings on you, girl.
Love chatting with you today.
Barbara Thompson
barbmaci61(at)yahoo(dot)com
I'm a follower and subscriber.
jrs362 at Hotmail dot com
I review books and then share them with someone else.
Of course you are entered, Barbara.
So nice to chat with you today.
Of course you are entered. :)
It was fun chatting with you today, Hope to see you again, soon.
So glad you stopped by!
I hope you get a chance to read this book. It's my first and I'd love to have you review it!
Thanks for stopping by!