But the changes I’ve dealt with in the last six months—and those I’m looking forward to in the next six months—are in anything but small doses.
They’re not bad. Just new.
For instance, I’m thrilled to be releasing Innocent Lies, the fourth and last book in my Hidden Truth series, on Friday. I’ve been working on this series for two years, and having finished it brings such a sense of accomplishment. (If you’d like to try out the series, you can download the first book, Convenient Lies, for free at my website or by clicking here.) The series has achieved everything I’d hoped. The sales have been good, the read-through, excellent, the reviews, wonderful. So I should be ecstatic, right?
I am. I really am. And I’m also terrified, because now I have to write a new series with new characters and new ideas, and what if I can’t do it? What if my next novel is the one that proves I’m an imposter?
(Am I the only writer who fears this?)
And that’s just one change in my life—the little one.
In June, my husband quit his job of twelve years. In December, he accepted a job in Austin, and I psyched myself up to move further south from our home of 22 years in Oklahoma. Not easy for this New England girl, but I had decided I was going to love Austin and figure out how to handle that heat. Then, a few weeks later, my husband got offered a different job, the one he’d wanted all along. Out with Austin, in with… Charlotte. Probably.
So I’m getting psyched up to move to Charlotte and trying not to think about that probably. Because nothing is set in stone with this new company.
Now, my husband has temporarily relocated to Pennsylvania, and I’m here in Oklahoma getting the house ready to sell to eventually move to probably-Charlotte.
Don’t you love all those qualifiers?
Meanwhile, my daughter is a senior in high school, and all this uncertainty has made the year more challenging. And my sixteen-year-old son… Let’s just say he’s less than thrilled to be leaving all his friends to move to probably-Charlotte.
Why do I bring all this up? Because it’s a new year, and each new year brings new challenges. Each new challenge gives us the opportunity to grow in our faith and step out in trust or to struggle and resist and complain. If there are no challenges in our lives, then there is no growth, and we want to grow, don’t we?
We just want it to be easy.
This year, the Lord gave me a word to focus on: Embrace.
Embrace the challenges.
Embrace the changes.
It isn’t easy, but I’m trying. So, somewhere in the midst of the packing and house-hunting and figuring out new schools, I will write the next book, and I will trust that the God who brought me this far will take me exactly where he wants me.
Innocent Lies, releasing this Friday.
"Kelsey huddled in the corner, tried to make herself invisible. Outside, she heard a muffled voice, a shout, and the pounding of footsteps across the porch. Then, the unmistakable jingle of keys. The lock turned. The door opened. And her last chance for escape melted like snow.”
--Robin
Patchen, award winning author of Finding
Amanda and Convenient Lies.
About
Innocent Lies:
A
lost little boy steals his heart.
When
Eric finds eight-year-old Daniel alone in the woods, he has no idea where the
boy came from or how he's survived the wintery New Hampshire weather. He
figures once he hands the boy off to child services, his part in Daniel's drama
will be over. He couldn't be more wrong.
She’ll
do anything to keep her son safe.
Kelsey
sneaks into Nutfield with a goal and a secret, but when she's arrested and sees
Eric, her first and only love, all her plans to expose her enemy fall
apart.
The
past catches up with them.
Together,
Eric and Kelsey fight to protect Daniel, an innocent child caught in a dangerous
game. Can Eric help Kelsey bring down her enemies without risking his
heart...again? Will Kelsey have to walk away from the only man she's ever
loved...again?
My
website: https://robinpatchen.com/books/innocent-lies/
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B0774WL7DR Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/innocent-lies-1
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1127396772
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/innocent-lies/id1307084222
Where
to find me on the web:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RobinPatchen/BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/robin-patchen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5187882.Robin_Patchen
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Robin-Patchen/e/B00A289790/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/robinpatchen
Aside from
her family and her Savior, Robin Patchen has two loves—writing and traveling.
If she could combine them, she’d spend a lot of time sitting in front of her
laptop at sidewalk cafes and ski lodges and beachside burger joints. She’d
visit every place in the entire world—twice, if possible—and craft stories and
tell people about her Savior. Alas, time is too short and money is too scarce
for Patchen to traipse all over the globe, even if her husband and kids wanted
to go with her. So she stays in Oklahoma, shares the Good News when she can,
and writes to illustrate the unending grace of God through the power and magic
of story.
