author, Ginger Solomon
a debut author with a fabulous gift for writing.
Enter to win Ginger's new release,
One Choice
Scroll to the end of the post to see how to enter.
Living the Dream
Long before I began writing novel-length fiction, I
wrote my thoughts in a journal – sometimes on paper, sometimes on the computer.
I would pour out my soul in writing – a prayer to God, most times, but
sometimes it was just random happenings.
Everything went into the journal – pain, joy,
frustrations, prayer requests, and anything and everything in between. It
helped me stay sane surrounded by many young children. My oldest was thirteen
when my seventh was born. Yes, I had seven children in thirteen years. No, none
of them are multiples.
Many days I was at my wits end trying to keep
everyone happy and schooled, but at naptime/reading time, I could sit in my
room, or at the computer, and write out everything that was happening. It
helped relieve stress. It also brought me closer to God. I could feel his
comfort as I shed tears over some of those pages.
Over the years, the yearning to write intensified. I
would sit with pen in hand over a blank journal page or stare at an empty word
document and wonder what it was I should write. Nothing came to mind, so I kept
journaling.
Many times, over a period of two or three years
starting around 2007, I sat staring at a blank page/screen. The desire to write
bubbled up inside me, but I didn’t have a story to tell.
One day I woke with the most amazing dream stuck in
my head. I went about the day’s business – breakfast, quiet time, school, etc.
When afternoon quiet time rolled around, I found I had to write the dream down.
That dream turned into my first novel.
I didn’t know ANYTHING about writing a novel, had
never really considered doing such a thing. I wrote it and even had the nerve
to send it to agents, who subsequently rejected it. It hurt, but I vowed to
myself each time a rejection letter arrived that I would LEARN how to write,
and I would write a novel that would glorify God. So I joined the American
Christian Fiction Writers group, and I read and listened. I went to their
annual conference, and I listened. I soaked it in day after day.
Meanwhile I was writing my second novel, One Choice. I applied everything I had
learned up to that point. I took it to conference and pitched it. It was then
that I learned large, traditional publishers did not like for the hero or
heroine to be non-American. I sighed.
I loved the story, but I put it aside and began
another novel – a Scottish historical romance. I pitched it and sent it to
editors and agents. One editor was VERY kind in her rejection and gave me some
great pointers. But it was still a rejection.
While that one had been out there in the hands of
editors and agents, I began another novel - a second Scottish historical
romance. I’m still in edits on this one, but it has been requested, and I am planning
to send it in a few weeks.
Sometime last year, I went back to One Choice. I still loved the story, so
I decided that starting smaller was not a bad thing. I had heard good things
from friends about Astraea Press. I submitted my story and held my breath
(figuratively, of course). Then it came – not a rejection, but an acceptance.
I was finally going to become a published writer. And
it all started with a desire to write, and a dream.
In One Choice,
my heroine, Cahri, also journals her thoughts. It became her substitute for
prayer when she felt God had betrayed her trust. However, I would say that she
was still praying, albeit in a different way and not consciously.
I still like to journal, though now that my kids are
much older, I don’t do it as often as I used to. My prayers have changed as my
children have grown. Today many of my prayers revolve around their safety and
their future. I also pray that One Choice
and any future book I write will bring glory to my Heavenly Father.
Ginger Solomon is a
Christian, a wife, a mother to seven, and a writer — in that order (mostly).
When not homeschooling her youngest five, doing laundry or fixing dinner, she
writes or reads romance of any genre, some sci-fi/fantasy, and some suspense.
She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, president of her local
writing group, and writes regularly for three blogs. In addition to all that,
she loves animals, horses especially, likes to do needlework (knitting,
crocheting, and sometimes cross-stitch), and loves to sing in the choir at
church.
Please visit her links:
Cahri Michaels is American by birth, but
Belikarian by choice. Being selected to participate in the Bridal March forces
her to give up the independent life she’s created for herself. She’s not ready
to be anyone’s wife, much less to a man she doesn’t know.
Prince Josiah Vallis despises the
centuries old tradition—the Bridal March—that is forcing him to choose a wife
from fifty women. Why does it matter that he’s twenty-five and still single?
When Cahri and Josiah meet, sparks fly.
Will it ignite a godly love that can see them through or will they be burned,
never to be the same?
Choose a link for more information about One Choice:
Choose a link for more information about One Choice:
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Ginger's book: "One Choice":
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Thank you, Ginger, for Joining us This Weekend!
.
Do you journal? Why type of things do you journal?
Comments
susanmsj at msn dot com
I don't journal, never really have. I may have had a diary as a little girl, but never really did it regularly.
pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com
Sometimes I'm concerned that others will read what I journal. As a result I tend not to pour my heart on a journal page. BUT, I can in a fiction book through my characters. Think of all the points of view I could splash across the pages there! Meek/mild, feisty, sappy, grouchy, thrilled. And I wouldn't get in trouble :)
I highly recommend buying and reading Ginger's books. She really has a wonderful gift for storytelling!
Blessings, Patty.