I’m a city girl. Really, more of a suburbanite, I guess you’d say. Give me a house on a small patch of land—big enough for the dogs—and I’m a happy gal. What’s more, I’m perfectly content living in the flatlands of SE Texas, where the only hills are overpasses. (I know, I know. . .some of you are cringing!) Every now and again, though, I love to widen my scope, to see beyond my own backyard. I had the opportunity to do just that when I traveled to the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference a couple of weeks back. Yep, that’s right. This city girl went to the mountains. Well, more like hills. With redwood trees. And cherry blossoms. And cabins. Lots and lots of cabins.
Now, I don’t want to lead you to believe that I had to rough it on this adventure. These cabins are gorgeous, completely decked out with all the modern amenities. I settled into my home-away-from-home with much anticipation. I couldn’t wait to see what God would do as pre-conference activities got underway. I didn’t have to wait long. Within my first few hours, I’d met all six ladies in my mentoring clinic. We bonded at once. In fact, we bonded at such a deep level that we decided to stick together in an online group until we can reconnect in person next year. We prayed together, cried together, learned together, and watched in awe as the Lord moved in our midst.
When the pre-conference activities ended, the ‘real’ conference kicked off. I consider myself blessed because I was chosen by my good friend and conference director Kathy Ide to mentor in Susan Meissner’s major morning track. I was also tickled to teach two classes of my own, one on Facebook marketing and another on characterization (the Pandora’s Box method). Liz Curtis Higgs was our keynote speaker in the evening services and she blew me away, particularly in light of what she’s facing in her personal life right now. I was also deeply touched by Allen Arnold’s teaching the final night. To say I had the time of my life at Mount Hermon would be an understatement. God really met me there, and what He had to say has shaped where I’m headed next.
So, what did He say? I don’t want to bore you with the backstory, but the past couple of years have been rough. Most of you know that I lost my mother after years of being her full-time caregiver. Since then, I’ve just been coasting along, not allowing myself to really latch on to anything with the same amount of zeal as before. I’m currently attending a Grief Share group, which has helped a lot, but I knew God had more to say. At the conference, the Lord really began to deal with me about digging deeper—with my writing, my prayer/worship time, and even at my church, (where I’ve also been coasting). The specific words God gave me were “Lock down.” In my mind’s eye, I could see a clamp. . .clamping shut.
No more floating. No more skimming the surface. No more ‘just getting by.’ God began to ask me hard questions, like: “What are you DOING with your life?” Not, “What do you WANT to do?” or “What do you PLAN to do?” or even “What do you feel CALLED to do?” He kept asking, “What are you doing. . .NOW?”
Wow. For someone who’s only been keeping her head above water, this was quite a question. So, I’ve made a decision to keep my eyes on the prize, to work smarter, not harder, to finish what I’ve started, and to remain diligent, as best I’m able. You—my sweet readers—probably won’t notice much difference. This transformation is more internal than external. You’ll still see me producing novels, non-fiction devotionals, and even magazine articles. I’m also going to forge ahead with The Happy Writer, a youTube site to encourage writers. In fact, I’m going to take that a step further and develop a teaching/mentoring group, where I’ll teach/lead 10 – 12 writers over a six-week period in a Facebook group. If you’re interested in this program (which will have a price tag attached) just let me know. Details are being ironed out as I type this.
God met me in the mountains. Okay, hills. I have a renewed sense of purpose and vision for the journey ahead. He also surprised me in one more lovely way—I received a special honor on awards night: the Pacesetter award, (sponsored by editor-turned-agent Nick Harrison). I was blown away, but even more excited to be sitting with my mentoring group when the news broke. We celebrated together.
I’ll end this note by asking you the same question the Lord has been asking me: “What are you doing with your life?” Instead of responding, “Well, one day I’d like to do this,” or “Someday I plan to do that,” stop and ask yourself, “Why not today?”
Be blessed, all!
In many ways, I did not choose the Vineyard; it chose me. I certainly had no prior attachment to this quaint island, short of news stories about the rich and famous who vacationed there. In fact, I’d never even been to Boston, its near neighbor to the north. When I was blessed with the opportunity to write one of the books in the Mysteries of Martha’s Vineyard series I couldn’t resist a little research trip. What a trip it turned out to be!
Turns out, Crystal’s skills far exceed book work. She excels in the art of navigation and served as the perfect sidekick to guide me to the various locations on the island. We started with the lighthouse at West Chop in the town of Tisbury. As I stared at the romantic storybook cottage nestled under the shadow of the impressively tall lighthouse, I dreamed of what it would be like to live in such a place. I could almost picture my characters traveling from room to room in this cozy house. From the craggy shore just beyond the cottage, I took note of the sunlight rippling off of the expansive waters of the harbor. They set the imagination to flight. What would it be like, I wondered, to enjoy that view every day? To travel the narrow, winding streets of the Vineyard, canopied by arching trees overhead?
Crystal and I made it our task to visit every lighthouse on the island. Many are over 100 years old and have stood the test of time. The storms of life have not taken them down, though a couple are weathered in appearance. These sturdy structures served as a reminder that my situation back at home, no matter how difficult, would not leave me upended. With God giving me his strength, his tenacity, I could shine my light as brightly as ever, no matter how tough the storm. The winds, though ferocious at times, would not take me down.
This comfortable road emptied out on the island’s far west end where we witnessed the most startling view yet, the Gay Head cliffs at Aquinnah. There we located our final lighthouse, completely different in color from all of the others. While the others rose pristine and white, this one stood dark and foreboding.
In this majestic spot, I could literally feel God’s presence. I could picture Him at creation, his fingertip carving out the picturesque cliffs, the whisper of his breath causing ocean waves to rise. If the God of creation could make something beautiful out of all of this with just a word, just a touch, what could He do in my life? If He could take two bodies of water and merge them into one, could he somehow merge the carefree years of my pre-caregiver life with the overwhelming burdens of my current situation? Would He choose to craft them into a scene as beautiful as the one in the waters below?
We hated to leave the island but had to board our ferry by mid-afternoon. As we pulled away from this special island, I was overcome by feelings I’ve never before experienced. How could you love a place you’d never even known until now? Suddenly, I could hardly wait to get back to Martha’s Vineyard.
Oh, my sweet, sweet reader-friends. I feel like I’m in a whirlwind! I can hear the chant of the Munchkins from Munchkinland in my ears. This past week or so has been a blur, an absolute blur. . . SO many things happening all at once. I’m at a loss to cover each new thing adequately, so I’m going to make a tidy little list. Hopefully it won’t overwhelm you, as well!
1). My final Revell book, 
2). My latest historical collection,
3). My latest contemporary collection, 
4). My latest contemporary romantic novella collection, 
5). Speaking of merging stories, I’ve merged a few. . .with myself! You might’ve noticed that I’ve done several “seasonal” collections and have just added another to the mix. I’ve put three of my summer-themed stories into one collection and titled it 
6). On the non-fiction front: I’m so thrilled to let my writing buddies know that DIY Author has released my writing text, 
7). One of my older Revell books, Stars Collide, is currently FREE on kindle. I still adore this story. It brings back so many memories of living and working in L.A. (Did you guys know that I did that? Yep! The summer between my freshman and sophomore year in college my dad moved our family to L.A. so that he could get into the movie business.) I love my time in Tinseltown and I hope it shows in this (now free) book!
8). I’m in a BRAND NEW 
9). Bella lives on in the Bella Novella series! Three novellas have already released and the fourth is set to release on July 15th. Snag your copies of 
Finally, I’m SO excited that one of my very first romantic comedies, a little novella called