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| Linda Brooks Davis |
Have
you ever prayed for something and then been surprised that God actually answered?
Author Linda Brooks Davis shares
how an unexpected and shocking phone call opened the door to publication.
Enjoy! ~ Dawn
How
My Dream Became a Reality
Miss Colombia, Miss Philippines, and I have next to nothing
in common—not hair color, body shape, facial features, age, heredity,
ethnicity, residence, or life experiences—except one, in an eensy-weensy way.
I, a 70-year-old grandmother, and those two goddesses have
shared a this can’t be happening moment. Theirs occurred at the Miss Universe pageant last December when Steve Harvey announced Miss Colombia was the new Miss Universe ... and then had to admit he’d made a mistake. The crown went to Miss Philippines, not Miss Colombia. Whooops. (http://bit.ly/1rI6aas)
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| Miss Universe Pageant |
Watching that unwatchable-yet-can’t-take-your-eyes-off-it
moment transported me back to January 2015 when I received word my Operation
First Novel entry—THE CALLING OF ELLA MCFARLAND—had won first place.
My first words: “That’s impossible.” (A few months prior
when I learned my entry had made the list of 11 finalists, I had told my
husband it was a good thing the list didn’t end at 10 or I wouldn’t have made
it.)
I expected something akin to the words poor Miss Colombia
heard: “I’m so sorry but there’s been a mistake.” Any minute the Whoops call
would come … Surely. But the clock ticked away what remained of the evening and
the phone sat silent while I worked my way through believing the unbelievable.
The experience was traumatic—in a good way—but traumatic,
all the same. I’ve read that when a person experiences trauma, the needle in
the brain’s “trauma center” goes “KERBAM!” all the way to “Full” and beyond.
That’s true.
My tank—or cup if that suits better—ran completely over.
I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I cried. Couldn’t quit.
Every time I thought about it, I cried. Around 11:00 my husband asked if I was
going to be OK. (He was eyeing bed but wanted to be awake and alert if I had a
stroke.)
Sure, I was OK. But I couldn’t stop pacing. Shaking my head.
And weeping.
I slipped on my wool coat and sat on the porch. The air was
cold. The sky clear. The stars in their places. Moon, too. The earth hadn’t
shifted on its axis.
Deep breaths. And then prayers of thanksgiving. God was
seeing to it that my dream would be reality. Jerry Jenkins was the tool.
Johnny Cash’s “Why Me, Lord?” came to mind, reminding me my
journey began in late 2006 when I stumbled across an essay contest online. Adam
McManus, talk radio host on KSLR AM in San Antonio, together with one of his
sponsors, Jerry B. Jenkins, was offering the Christian Writers Guild Conference
to the winner.
It wouldn’t hurt to enter. I wouldn’t tell a soul, so I
wouldn’t have to answer questions. I could write an essay about why I should
attend the conference. I’d been dreaming secretly about writing illustrated
children’s books. My daughter had carried (with great agony) and then delivered
(at 28 weeks) a beautiful set of triplets (1 girl and 2 boys) in 2005. She had
rejected the fertility doctor’s insistence that she abort one of the babies
early on and had spent the better part of 21 weeks in the hospital experiencing
every complication in the annals of “at-risk pregnancy.”
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| Linda's 36-year-old Bible |
I wore my knees out in prayer. Daily when I arrived in the
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and heard “They’re doing OK” I whispered a prayer:
“Thank you, Lord, for honoring Lynn Lee’s trust in Your care.” A year later,
another boy came along. Four babies in diapers—not your everyday baby
experience—requires extra applications of prayer.
Fast forward—past joining several writers’ organizations,
critique submissions, conferences, workshops, contests, mentors, tossing aside
one idea after another, starting and stopping, reevaluating and going at it
again, and even throwing in the towel for 6 months. I’d had it!
Until one morning in April 2014 when I woke with a story on
my mind. It wouldn’t let me go. I sat at my computer, opened a document, typed
CHAPTER 1 … and began to weep.
“I can’t do it, Lord. You’ll have to stand beside me.”
The Kleenex box grew lighter and lighter—the way it does
when it’s getting to the bottom and a quick yank throws it up over your head.
That’s the picture.
At times I thought I felt Jesus beside me, whispering words
every now and then, his finger pointing to a pathway, urging me to get my heart
in tune—in rhythm—with His, the most precious moments in my writing life so
far.
I did my best to edit the manuscript but on the last day
before the deadline, I clicked “Submit” knowing it needed a lot of work. The
consolation: The feedback would be valuable.
Did I expect the feedback I received on the following
January 16? Absolutely not. Was I stunned and traumatized and unbelieving at
first? Absolutely.
For whatever reason, the Lord chose this blessing for me.
The story isn’t perfect, not by a long shot. But neither am I. By the Lord’s
gracious hand, I was granted some ideas and words and the freedom to put them
together as I chose. My ancestors’ experiences are tucked into the story, and
readers see my heart and soul laid bare. Mainly, I hope they see Jesus.
Writers, if I can do this, YOU can. Don’t give up!
Thank you, Lord.
Ella
McFarland’s dream is a teaching position at Worthington School for Girls. But
scandal clouds her family name and may limit her to a life of grueling farm
labor in the Indian Territory. Her fate lies in the hands of the Worthington
board, and there happens to be one strikingly handsome man with a vote. Will
they overlook the illegitimate son recently borne by her sister, Viola?
1905
brings hope of Oklahoma statehood and the woman’s suffrage debate is raging,
forcing Ella to make decisions about her faith, family, and aspirations. When
she comes to the rescue of a young, abused sharecropper’s daughter, her calling
begins to take shape in ways she never imagined. Education is Ella’s passion,
but a new love is budding in her heart. Can she find God’s will amidst the
tumultuous storm that surrounds her?
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| Meme - Quote from The Calling of Ella McFarland |
Linda Brooks
Davis, first-place winner of the 2014 Jerry B. Jenkins Operation First
Novel award, has lived in multiple states and outside the U.S, but she speaks
Texan.
Born and reared in Raymondville, a small farming town in the
southernmost tip of Texas, Linda holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She
devoted forty years to the education of students with special needs before
settling down to her lifelong dream: writing. Set in 1905 pre-statehood Oklahoma,
THE CALLING OF ELLA MCFARLAND, an inspirational historical with a strong
romantic thread, debuted on December 1, 2015.
When not writing, Linda enjoys teaching 4-year-olds at
church, reading, and researching genealogy. She and her husband dote on six grandchildren,
three of whom arrived in 2005—in triplicate form. In her first published
article, “The Choice,” which appeared in 2011 in LIVE, a publication of Gospel
Publishing House, she chronicled her daughter's agonizing at-risk triplet
pregnancy and the heart-wrenching choice her medical team placed before her.
You can learn more and connect with Linda here:
Website: www.lindabrooksdavis.com
Email: linda@lindabrooksdavis.com
Twitter: @LBrooksDavis
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LindaBrooksDavis/
YouTube Book Trailer: http://bit.ly/1VZcAi5
Publisher, Mountainview Books, LLC: http://bit.ly/1NqmYtF
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1RCKMgf
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1SEJUEI
