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| Linda Brooks Davis |
This
week, we’re sharing some of our most popular posts from 2016, and it’s my
pleasure to revisit this one. 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
When
My Dream Became Reality
Miss Colombia, Miss Philippines, and I have next to nothing
in common—not hair color, body or facial features, age, heredity, residence, or
life experiences—except for one.
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. Whoops. (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.” (I learned my entry had
made the list of 11 finalists a few months prior. I told my husband if it had
ended at 10, I wouldn’t’ve made it.)
I expected something akin to the words poor Miss Colombia
heard: “Sorry but there’s been a mistake.” Any minute the Whoops call would come. 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. Couldn’t quit crying. I
cried at each thought of it. Around 11:00 p.m. my husband asked if I was going
to be OK. (He was eyeing bed but wanted to be awake 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. Deep
breaths. The air was cold. The sky clear. The stars in their places. Moon, too.
The earth hadn’t shifted on its axis.
And then the prayers of thanksgiving tumbled out. God was
turning my dream into reality. He used Jerry Jenkins as His 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. Adam
McManus, talk radio host on KSLR AM in San Antonio, together with one of his
sponsors, Jerry 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, after all. My daughter had carried 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. Something akin to an ache around my heart wouldn’t let me go. I opened
a document on my computer, 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—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 felt Jesus beside me, whispering every now and
then, his finger pointing to a pathway, urging me to get my heart in tune—in
rhythm—with His, some of the most precious moments in my life.
I did my best to edit the manuscript but on the last day
before the Operation First Novel deadline, I clicked Submit knowing it needed
work. The consolation: Feedback would be valuable.
Did I expect the feedback I received on the following
January 16? Absolutely not. Was I stunned and traumatized at first? Yes.
For whatever reason, the Lord chose this blessing for me.
The story isn’t perfect. 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.
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| Meme - Quote from The Calling of Ella McFarland |
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?
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
