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| Peter Leavell |
Snow Shoveling
by Peter Leavell
I just finished shoveling the snow on the sidewalks of a seventeen-acre apartment complex today. Twice.
You know, for a successful debut novelist who dreamed of
writing full time, working apartments isn’t a dream job. In fact, it’s not fun
at all. It barely pays the bills.
So why do I still have a smile on my face?
Because I keep in mind three very important items.
Reality and the
Writer
The first is reality. Writers don’t make money. They write. If
you’re in this for the money, then do something else. But maybe that’s good.
What if Charles Dickens hadn’t seen utter poverty before turning to writing? Or
Jack London’s wandering from job to job hadn't given him the experience to
write brilliant stories? What if Louisa May Alcott’s job resume wasn't as long as
London’s? Could she meet the reader at his or her level? When Mark Twain
traveled the Mississippi River, did he know he would be the most influential
writer America ever produced, because he knew the river so well?
Secondly, these men and women lived by working first.
Observing the world. And then incorporating what they saw, learned, and most
intriguing, felt physically and emotionally.
While few of us write at the level of these authors (speak
for yourself, Mr. Leavell!), I keep in mind that I must have a job to write.
Not simply to make money, although it’s a necessity, but to really live. Shovel
snow, because characters shovel snow. Paint houses, drive all night, eat peas
(yuck!), and just generally observe, because that’s what our characters do.
Keeping that in mind makes it easier to get through my day
and to my computer at night when I can plink out a few words.
The God Factor
And thirdly, and most importantly, you’re in God’s hands.
Jeremiah 29:11 “’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD,
‘Plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.’”
NASB
Oh, come now. Is anything better that to know that you can
cling to hope? And that you have a future? Controlled by God?
What a relief to know that this snow-shoveling writer’s
future isn’t entirely up to him. Because he would have chosen to write full
time. But he can’t, because he has to make a living. But it gives me something
to write about.
And that puts a smile on my face.
~~~~~
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| Gideon's Call |
Author
Peter Leavell forges an unprecedented tale of tragedy and triumph amid the
backdrop of the Civil War through the story of Tad, a very clever slave boy who
comes of age as America’s war reaches the sea islands of South Carolina. Tad’s
desire to better himself is obstructed by the color of his skin, until Northern
soldiers force the evacuation of white plantation owners, setting 10,000 slaves
free in a single day. These circumstances seem like a dream, except that the
newly freed slaves have no money, no education, and little hope for the
future—unless someone rises up to lead them. Based on true events, Gideon’s Callis the dramatic tale of
a young man who battles the shame of his past and faces the horrors of war and
unimaginable prejudice to become the deliverer of thousands of freed slaves.
Peter
Leavell, a 2007 graduate of
Boise State University with a degree in history, was the 2011 winner of
Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest. Peter and his family
live in Boise, Idaho. For entertainment, he reads historical books, where he
finds ideas for new novels. Whenever he has a chance, he takes his wife and two
homeschooled children on crazy but fun research trips. Learn more about Peter's
books, research, and family adventures at www.peterleavell.com and on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PeterLeavell.
