Thursday, December 19, 2013

Anticipation by Terri Weldon

Terri Weldon
On Monday, Terri Weldon shared some interesting tidbits about her debut Christmas release, Mistletoe Magic. If you missed Monday's post, you can read it here

Please join me in welcoming Terri back as she shares about Christmas and miracles, and as writers, how that holiday spirit of "anticipation" can carry through in our writing. Welcome back, Terri!   ~Dora

While trying to decide what to talk about the word anticipation zinged into my mind. And for me, it seemed perfect. What two better things to anticipate than Christmas and writing?

During the Christmas season it is so easy to become consumed with cooking, shopping, and decorating that we forget to anticipate the birth of our Savior. I know His birth took place over 2000 years ago and we all know the Christmas story. Maybe we know it too well and maybe we need to be reminded it isn’t just a story. The birth of Jesus is a miracle and Christmas is a time for us to experience that miracle anew. To celebrate the fact God loves us so much He sent His Son into the world. A tiny miracle that became that world’s greatest blessing.

In a different manner I believe we should feel a sense of anticipation about our writing. I don’t know about you, but when that first gem of a story idea niggles at my brain I’m full of anticipation. Midway through my first draft I may wonder what ever made me think I could write. By the time I’ve finished revising the book for the last time I may never want to think of those characters again.

Do you know what happens then? I send that story out and I begin to anticipate what will happen. I hope and I pray an editor will love it. And in the case of Mistletoe Magic, when I finally saw my first book accepted I felt a whole new wave of anticipation. For once I looked forward to editing and I felt a strong sense of anticipation hoping my editor, the wonderful Annette Irby, would like the changes.

Then I anticipated the cover. Next the release date. And then, I’ll admit, I anticipated and feared friends, family, and strangers reading my book. But the entire process was one of joy. God allowed my dream of being published to come true.

Now I’m filled with anticipation at the thought of writing that next book and I hope I never become complacent about it. But more importantly, I never want to become complacent about the miracle of Jesus’s birth.

What about you? What has you filled with anticipation this Christmas season? What lies ahead in your writing journey?
Mistletoe Magic
Purchase Link
Misty Winslow is determined to find her prince charming. She meets the man of her dreams through an internet dating service. Or is he? Because the new dentist in town sets her heart a flutter. It's love at first sight for Tyler Davenport, but before he can finish his first root canal Misty is involved in an exclusive online romance with Wes99. Tyler begins to get jealous of Wes99, his online persona! Soon he's pulling out all the stops to woo Misty. As Christmas approaches Wes99 and Tyler both ask her to meet them under the mistletoe. Which man will she choose?

Terri Denise Weldon claims her regular life is really pretty mundane. She refrains from saying dull! Terri shares a home with her sister, Cynthia, in Oklahoma. They’re the best of friends and enjoy many of the same things. She has three dogs – a lovable mutt and two adorable Westies.  Terri enjoys gardening, shopping for shoes (a habit she needs to break), and working in her church library.
Mistletoe Magic is her debut novella and she is currently writing a suspense series.