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| Amy Leigh Simpson |
Amy
Leigh Simpson and I met at an American Christian Fiction Writers conference
some years ago when we both sang on the conference worship team. Her warm
personality and sense of humor draw people in. Amy’s journey to
publication reminds me of Proverbs 19:21. “Many are the plans in a person’s
heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (NIV). Enjoy! ~ Dawn
Writing
With Heart, No Matter How Cliché
“Follow your dreams.” “Live your passion.” “Never give up.”
As trite as they seem, we’ve all clung to some variation of these types of
affirmations. Even on the other side of the coin we have, “You’re better off.”
“When one door closes, another opens.” “It wasn’t meant to be.” etc.
Well-meaning contradictions, these clichés, but knowing which side you’re on is
not always “cut and dried.”
First off I want to say whether they come to fruition or
plummet from our starry-eyed sky like a dismantling airplane, your dreams have
a purpose. You need only to look back on the memory of a dashed dream or broken
heart to see the hand of God plotting an even greater adventure, honing us in
the gifts we were meant to develop, and building up perseverance and character
for the race we are meant to win. If you’re a writer like me, it might be the
story he has already written in your heart that is awaiting its debut. But the
fact is, not all who dream get the happily ever after they are longing for. So
how do you know when to tackle your next plot problem or when to let that
chapter simply end?
For me, I watched one big beautiful dream I’d cultivated for
most of my life gradually lose its luster. Oh, I clung to it like a toddler in
tantrum for a while, but I eventually started to see the cracks that I’d so
naively turned a blind eye to for years. My heart was restless for a time, but
the good old cliché proved tried and true, “another door opened.” A new dream. An author. Ha! Tell that to Amy ten
years ago and she’d laugh you straight out the door. That Amy dreamed in music,
she would never in a million years consider writing a book. For most of my life
I didn’t even like to read. But then, my heart changed, and another old standby
came back to taunt me. “Never say never.”
So I wrote. My heart on the page. I wasn’t writing to sell,
(though I secretly hoped my stories would reach farther than my mom’s laptop) I
was writing what I loved to read.
But even though I’d gained notice for the quality of my
writing craft, my story—my heart—didn’t quite “fit the mold.” Rejection. Wave
after wave of “close, but no cigar.” Having already lost a dream I held a
certain talent for I had to step back and ask myself, “Am I setting myself up
for another fall? Is this a bigger part of my story or just a footnote?”
The bottom line… no dream is wasted. Whether yours ends up
as a book on a shelf or simply a handful of beautiful chapters dreaming in
story until another adventure begins, enjoy the ride.
We’ve clung to the verse about the “desires of our hearts”
in times of fledging courage and redundant failures, and we can often rally
enough faith to pull ourselves up by our “bootstraps” to go another round. But
ultimately you have to trust the author of your story. He knows your heart and
he delights in your joy.
Keeping dreaming big! When your time comes, it’ll be worth
the wait!
Amy
One dying secret. One
missing truth. And a whole lot of trouble…
Sadie
Carson is an expert on unfinished business. Five years after the derailment of
her dreams she’s just barely existing, using her job as a hospice nurse to give
others the one thing she can’t seem to find—closure. So when her elderly
neighbor Charlie, a brilliant conspiracy nut known for harassing the FBI, is
murdered, Sadie suspects Charlie might’ve been onto something and intends to
make sure someone solves the mystery of her friend’s death, even if it’s her.
The
feisty little blonde may have found the victim’s body, but FBI Special Agent
Archer Hayes has no intention of letting some nosy civilian interfere with his
investigation. The guilt he feels is bad enough. The last thing Archer needs is
another distraction to haunt him. Especially one as beautiful and beguiling as
the girl next door.
But
throw in a mountain of hoarded evidence and suspiciously coded journals and the
case takes a puzzling turn toward a decades old conspiracy cover-up from World
War II—one only the victim’s closest confidant can help untangle. Sadie and
Archer reluctantly join forces to decode the riddle—one that lands Sadie in the
crosshairs of a desperate killer. And when the dangers of the past and present
collide, Archer must fight to save the life of the woman he’s falling for . . .
only to discover he might be the one in need of saving.
Amy Leigh Simpson
writes romantic mysteries with honesty and humor, sweetness and spice, and
gritty reality covered by grace. When she’s not stealing moments at naptime to
squeeze out a few more adventures in storyland, she’s chasing around two
tow-headed miscreants (Ahem)—boys, playing dress up with one sweet princess
baby, and being the very blessed wife to the coolest, most swoon-worthy man
alive. Amy is a Midwestern-girl, a singer, blogger, runner, coffee-addict, and
foodie. Her Sports Medicine degree is wasted patching up daily boo boo’s, but
whatever is left usually finds its way onto the page with fluttering hearts,
blood and guts, and scars that lead to happily ever after.
I’d be delighted to connect with you on Facebook and
completely tickled if you checked out my DEBUT novel When Fall Fades! And stay
tuned… Book two is due out at the end of May!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorALSimpson
Website: http://wbp.bz/whenfallfades
