I didn’t have an answer, but it’s nice to be asked, and it wasn’t the first time this month. It was the third or fourth. I’d honestly lost count.
In the cycle of the first drafts, rewrites, edits, rewrites, edits, rinse and repeat, I often forget the most important element. The reader.
Of course. I want to deliver the best book I can. Funny. Emotional. Cozy. Inspiring. Thought-provoking with the words spelled correctly and commas in the right place.
While I’m wrestling with plot, characters who have a will of their own, timelines, pacing, and research, I forget there is a finish line on the horizon. Somewhere, there is a reader waiting for my book.
In keeping my eyes on the One for whom I’m doing this, the One who called me and equips me, I’m forgetting the why of it. Someone needs to hear this message. Be encouraged. Given hope.
That’s a lot of pressure.
But I also need to consider why God has me writing romance books that inspire not only a warm, heartfelt story of two people finding their way to each other, but to show the importance of God in their happily ever after.
He has me writing such things because somewhere, someone needs to read it. Someone needs to be entertained. Given hope. To forget the horrible day they had at work. The long drive home. The sick kids or grumpy husband. The in-laws who made a surprise visit. A trip to the emergency vet in the middle of the night. Someone needs to get lost in your world with your characters. Someone needs to see His light in a dark moment.
Why isn’t my next book done? Is this God’s perfect timing? Or me being lazy? This is a question I often ask myself. Is God saying, “Pattie, you have more work to do”? Or am I denying myself and others the work he has entrusted me with? Does it really matter? Does anyone really care?
Then I’m asked, “Pattie, when is your next book coming out?”
And I’m reminded it does. The work I’ve been called to, am sometimes kept in easy pursuit of, matters to someone. My thinking otherwise is second-guessing not only myself but also God, who called me to serve Him with words.
To whom do I owe this work? My reader? God? Myself? Is there an “all of the above” option? I’ll pick that.
While I write in service to God, I also want my reader to gleefully anticipate my next book. I want to write good stories that offer hope, that entertain, that make it worth the wait.
In the cycle of the first drafts, rewrites, edits, rewrites, edits, rinse and repeat, I often forget the most important element. The reader. #seriouslywrite #encouragementforwriters via @lovesportslove
Why isn’t my next book done? Is this God’s perfect timing? Or me being lazy? #seriouslywrite #encouragementforwriters via @lovesportslove
To whom do I owe this work? My reader? God? Myself? Is there an “all of the above” option? I’ll pick that. #seriouslywrite #encouragementforwriters via @lovesportslove
Repossessing Christmas
A public man hiding from his pain.
Major league shortstop Max Southerton returns home each offseason to drive a tow truck for his uncle. Here he finds solace with his faith and the only family he has left. While repossessing a car, he meets a tenacious young woman down on her luck, and his heart starts yearning for something he shouldn’t want and doesn’t deserve.
A private woman outrunning an ugly past.
After four years in prison, Jenner Kincaid is starting her life over with a second shift job and God on her side. While her optimism outweighs her fortunes, she’s convinced it’s enough until she meets a stubborn tow truck driver who won’t take no for an answer. Can a moment of God’s grace bring two guarded hearts together?
As their friendship grows and hearts entangle, Jenner comes face to face with her greatest mistake. Can she let Max go before her past destroys him?
Pattie Frampton is a tea drinker living in the coffee capital of the world. Married for over thirty years, she is the mother of four children and soon-to-be grandmother of two. When she’s not penning Christian romance, because who doesn’t love a happily-ever-after, she is the family genealogist, an award-winning quilter, and a rescue dog mom.
Her first book, a Christmas novella, was released in Oct. 2017. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Northwest Christian Writer’s Association and Novel Academy.
You can find Pattie at:
Author Website: www.pattieframpton.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PattieFramptonAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
Twitter @lovesportslove
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36366969-repossessing-christmas?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=td73e8J9mz&rank=1
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Pattie-Frampton/e/B07647R2WS/
