Your Work + Silence = God’s Mighty Plan? by Sonja Anderson

Sonja Anderson

I love today’s journey to publication story!  Sonja Anderson’s experiences encourage us to remember that God’s silence doesn’t mean he’s not listening or preparing the way for us to unlock gates to opportunities. Instead, he may be waiting for the right time to fling closed doors wide open. 
~ Dawn

Your Work + Silence
 = God’s Mighty Plan?

It doesn’t get much better for an elementary school librarian than to watch five copies of her very own book be in constant circulation.

Sophie’s Quest (released in 2015) contains a double whammy for a diverse, public school audience: as a Holy Land quest, religious themes run throughout, and there is even a Christian emphasis to the ending. People seriously wondered if it would even be allowed. Kids of every religious background, however, don’t let that worry them and they all check it out—even Muslim students tell friends it’s a “good book.”

The call to write it came fifteen years ago, when my kindergartener had argued with friends over “whose God is biggest.” How could I help her become a more respectful neighbor in our diverse community? How could she communicate her own faith more effectively? An idea for a story began to take shape.

Prayers for courage to begin writing led to the Holy Spirit practically hounding me. After a year, I finally said aloud to God, “All right! I’ll do it! Just go with me the whole way, okay?”

And He was! I could sense His presence and help through each step of the research and writing process. When the manuscript was ready, a personal contact soon led to an enthusiastic reading from a Zondervan editor. This is going to be easy, I thought. Thank you, God!

How wrong I was. Caught between her desires and a company shake-up, the editor turned it down. Subsequent submissions disappeared into black holes in the editorial sky. Even editors who requested the manuscript took many months to finally reject it.

Had God fled the scene? Had I done something wrong? Was the manuscript not really ready?

Then, a publisher “LOVED IT.” Sophie’s Quest would be published! Inexplicably, months and then four more years passed leaving a trail of unanswered emails and broken promises. Where had God gone—again? Praying friends kept praying, but I had largely lost hope.

Finally, in a free write during a Christian writer’s meeting, I submitted through tears to God that it was His book to publish—or not.

By the mysterious grace of God, within a month a Christian publisher in the UK offered to publish it. Not only that, but within hours of each other, the actual contract FINALLY arrived from the first interested publisher! God had given me a choice! I took a deep breath, prayed, and took Door Number Two.

Consider what God may have been up to during the long silences: When I started submitting Sophie’s Quest, its publisher wasn’t even a company yet. I wasn’t working at the elementary school yet.  I didn’t know a single Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist child in my community. Now, I know lots! Miracle of miracles, they are all checking out buying, and reading MY BOOK!

What might God be up to during your silent times? May you trust that, like Paul, you will not “run or labor for nothing,” but instead, “shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” (Philippians 2:15-15).

To God be the Glory!

Sophie Topfeather, 

Sophie Topfeather, Superstar!

Superstar!

Thorns and thistles! Whoo-oo knew that following the Golden Rule could lead to SO MUCH TROUBLE! Can Sophie and Timley get the Park animals to work together before the entire Park goes up in smoke? A novel for ages 8-12, this is the sequel to a Sophie's Quest, a Holy land friendship adventure. 

Available November 26, 2016!

Sonja lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband and two daughters. She works in a public elementary school where she gets to encourage kids to follow the Golden Rule multiple times a day.

To connect with Sonja and learn more about her books, please visit:

www.sonjaandersonbooks.com  

www.facebook.com/sonjaandersonbooks

 www.twitter.com/SonjaMarie9  

www.soundcloud.com/sonjas-bible-stories

 

Writing Picture Books by Deanna Klingel

Deanna Klingel

Happy Monday, writers! Have you ever thought of writing a picture book for children? I've loved reading them to my kids over the years. From the pictures to the stories, picture books are imaginative and they feed creativity. Our guest today writes them and is here to share her experience. Whatever your dreams, write on! ~ Annette

Writing Picture Books

by Deanna Klingel

Funny how many things come full circle and catch us unawares. When I was in school I used to say “I want to write children’s books when I grow up.” I grew up, but instead of writing books for children, I was reading books to my seven children for many years. We loved to read, find “secret” things hidden in the pictures, learn new words, giggle at the funny rhymes or plots, and memorize the text. When they were small, I’d write little stories about them, for them. And eventually, they all grew up and moved into an adult world. I was pleased to finally have time to pick up a grown-up book with lots of pages, like Nicholas and Alexandria, and read it without interruption. But it wasn’t until “retirement” that I began my writing career.

I’ve written several books for young readers, but only recently picture books. I know from comments I hear at conferences and book events that many people think writing books for little kids is easy and good practice for writing “real” books. I’ve heard comments like, “I think I’ll start with something easy, like a picture book, then move up.” 

As with every genre, picture books have their own “rules.” With 150-1000 words, depending on the age of the reader, economy is important. The writer must think like a child. Using simple style and structure, every word must be necessary. There is no room for “telling.” Words help the pictures “show” both action and dialogue. Because the stories are quickly read, doesn’t mean they are quickly written. And because they are for children, doesn’t mean they are easy to write.

My first picture books, the Little Beth Series, are coming out soon. These books were written for my youngest daughter when she was four. They went to contract on her thirty-fourth birthday!

~~~~~

Deanna Klingel lives and writes in the mountains of western North Carolina with her husband Dave (her live-in I-T guy), and their golden retriever, Buddy. Their seven children are all married and live across the southeast with eleven Klingel grandchildren. 

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Available soon: Beth's Birds

Little Beth shows children the names of the birds in their yard.