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| Hilary Hamblin |
When God puts the desire in our hearts to write, he doesn’t
hand out a similar road map and itinerary to publication. Each journey is a little different. Enjoy as
author Hilary Hamblin shares hers.
~ Dawn
He
Said Write
I really love to perform. Give me an audience whether it’s
10 or 1000, I’m ready. While the rest of world equates public speaking with
death, I thrive on it.
Somewhere around 10 years ago, our church brought in a group
to stage a performance of Heaven’s Gates Hell’s Flames. It’s an intense set of
skits where the characters either know Christ and go to heaven when they die or
they don’t know Christ and they go to hell.
Sounds kinda morbid when I type it out like that. It’s
actually a very emotional and very eye opening performance for many people.
Anyway, our church was staging the performance and our members were trying out
for part. I was SO excited. The stage was calling my name.
When the casting director announced the parts, he started
with “I know some people will be disappointed, but I’ve prayed over these parts
and really believe we have the best people assigned.”
Never a good way to start out.
If you guessed I didn’t get the part I wanted, you’d be
right. Not only did I not get a speaking part, I got the part of an angel.
Don’t laugh.
For those of you have never seen the performance, the angels
stand in the background...for the whole 2 hour performance. At the end of each
skit we either raised our arms in celebration or cover our eyes. For two hours.
I was a little disappointed.
Then I heard that little inner voice, the one that only
speaks when you are quiet enough to hear it. That voice reminded me I had been
given a gift of hours of quiet concentration—the perfect opportunity for
intense prayer.
So I prayed. I prayed for the audience, for the performers
and for specific friends with life situations. I also prayed about my future.
The more I prayed the more I heard God reminding me of my desire to write a
book. A desire He gave to me.
“But what’s the point?” I argued silently all the while
remaining still raising my arms or covering my eyes the right time. “Getting
published is hard work and what are the chances anyone would actually want to
publish what I write?”
“Don’t worry about that part. Just write. I’ll take care of
the rest.”
I can’t say for sure those words were verbal or just my
heart’s answer. But the conviction to follow was so strong I couldn’t turn
away. At that time in my life I was newly married with no children. My husband
was going to college and working while I spend many nights and weekends home
alone—bored.
So I picked up my laptop, pulled out a short story I had
written in college and began to develop a storyline. You can read the fruits of
my labor in my first book “The Color of Love.” I trusted Him and the publisher
came, along with inspiration for a second book, “The Arrangement” which was
released just a few weeks ago.
Tweetables:
“That voice
reminded me I had been given a gift of hours of quiet concentration—the perfect
opportunity for intense prayer.” ~ Author Hilary Hambline Click to tweet.
God said, “Don’t
worry about that part. Just write. I’ll take care of the rest.” Click to tweet.
Caught
between the love of two men, how
will she choose?
Evie’s
wealthy parents have just given her an ultimatum: stop dating her boyfriend
Ben, or lose their financial support her junior year of college. Worse, they
want her to consider an arranged marriage to the family lawyer, Eli Wheatly.
True, Eli is handsome—tall, with a mop of curly black hair—but looks aren’t
enough for Evie. She dreams of true love.
When
Evie and Ben hatch a scheme to continue quietly dating while she goes out on a
few dates with Eli to keep her parents happy, Evie is surprised and confused by
the romantic flutterings she feels around Eli. What if she’s found the man she
truly loves…while dating another?
A
beautiful small-town romance that
will make you fall in love again…or for the first time.
Hilary Hamblin
started writing fiction in the 8th grade. As her writing has developed, she has
published two Christian novels, “The Color of Love” and “The Arrangement.” In
the middle of writing books, Hilary also operates a marketing and advertising
firm, Momentum Consulting, raises two children with her husband Josh and tries
to fit in a good run every now and then.
To learn more and connect with Hilary, please visit:
