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| Bethany Turner |
Just when
we think we have this writing gig under control, something can make us feel insecure all over again. But, that’s also when God often surprises us.
Author Bethany Turner has
experienced some of those unexpected situations, and she shares part of her personal
journey with us today. ~ Dawn
When
God Does
a New Thing
I wonder what God thinks when He sees us down here on Earth,
so sure we’ve got it all figured out. I’m sure He’s never surprised. After all,
our attempts to pull together our own plans for our lives have literally been
causing problems since the beginning of mankind.
When I was offered my first publishing contract, from Revell
for The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck,
it was a one book deal. When you’re an obsessive planner, as I am, and—let’s
face it—a control freak (again, as I am), a one book deal is a mental
challenge. What do I work on now?
When you’re continually struggling with your confidence, and you’re oh-so-eager
to please everyone (as I am), a one book deal also becomes an emotional
blockade. Don’t they believe in me? Do
they just think I had one good idea and that’s all I’ve got in me? Hang on…are
they right?!
But eventually I had what I knew was another good idea. I
began writing, and I wrote in communion with the Lord. I was able to see how I
had grown as a writer, and I was pretty sure I was writing better than I ever
had. So, when the time came to pitch the new book to my editor, I knew that a
second contract with Revell was an inevitability.
And that pitch was rejected.
I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me. In my
overreacting heart and mind, all of my previous wondering and fears were
confirmed, and I could suddenly be assured that I was indeed a talentless hack
who had lucked into one decent thought for a book.
My editor has become a dear friend, so we wrestled through it
together. In one of our exchanges, I said to her, “I don’t even know what to
write, then! The only other thought I’ve had that even resembles a book idea is…” And I went on to tell her about three
sentences of a half-hearted idea. To which she replied, “I like that. Let’s
talk more about that one.” Soon we were in Dallas together at the ACFW
Conference, and over dinner we fleshed out that idea. About two weeks later my
agent called me and said, “There’s an offer in my inbox.”
Isaiah 43: 18-19a says, “Forget the former things; do not
dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!”
Sometimes all I can do is shrug my shoulders. I don’t
understand. I certainly don’t know the plan. But I’m determined to stop seeing
that as a problem, and instead focus on the promise that exists. His way is
always best, and that would be every bit as true if I never wrote or published
another book. God is doing a new thing! And I’ll take His new thing over my
former thing every time.
Becoming
a Christian is the best—and worst—thing that has ever happened to Sarah Hollenbeck.
Up to
now, Sarah Hollenbeck made her very comfortable living as a well-known,
bestselling author of steamy romance novels that would leave the members of her
new church blushing. Now she's trying to reconcile her past with the future
she's chosen. She's still under contract with her publisher and on the hook
with her enormous fan base for the kind of book she's not sure she can write
anymore. She's discovering that the church might frown on her tithing on
royalties from a "scandalous" book. And the fact that she's falling
in love with her pastor . . . well, let's just say that doesn't make things any
easier.
With a
powerful voice, penetrating insight, and plenty of humor, novelist Bethany
Turner explodes onto the scene with a witty debut that isn't afraid to deal
with the thorny realities of living the Christian life.
Bethany Turner
is the director of administration for Rock Springs Church in Southwest
Colorado. A former VP/operations manager of a commercial bank and a three-time
cancer survivor (all before she turned thirty-five), Bethany knows that when
God has plans for your life, it doesn’t matter what anyone else has to say.
Because of that, she’s chosen to follow his call to write. She lives with her
husband and their two sons in Colorado, where she writes for a new generation
of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor
and insight.
To learn more and connect with Bethany, please visit:
