I'M BACK

Hello, Dear Friends,

I've missed you all. I've missed tracing your journeys and the special gift of your wisdom. Blogging has been integral to my growth in God over the past two years and I gave it up only to embrace a greater good, which was to write the first of four books of spiritual reflection. I expect my last galleys to arrive by this Wednesday and hope to have the book in print by a projected book launch on Saturday, October 28, 2006.

Writing 'The Dawsonwood Diaries' has seriously disrupted routines at Dawsonwood Cottage. I found that I wrote best first thing in the morning and in the later evening and on into the night. It was not unusual for me to be nattering away at the computer until three o'clock in the morning. Is this late or really early???

On the whole, I am pleased with the result, although I was dismayed to find that I had edited about six chapters in hard copy and then 'forgot' to make the necessary alterations to my disk. This necessitated more corrections of galleys than I had hoped. And typos did slip in no matter how well Rob and I edited. All of this slowed down the process.

I had the most encouraging letter of rejection from Knopf, a division of Random House, with recommendations that I go to Word, Castle Quay or Zondervan. Even though the diary is marginally fictionalized, it really is autobiographical in nature and therefore not within their specific mandate. I wanted the book to be out in time for speaking engagements this fall and therefore chose to self publish through Xlibris, also a division of Random House. If this book draws any interest at all, I will find a way to publish the next book through a Christian publisher.

Yes, the book is about Christian spirituality and personal growth. This surprised me somewhat in the end, not that I would deny Christ, but I really thought that there would be more of a family therapy emphasis in my stories about my family. Not so. In the end, I am really writing about the context of my awareness of God and the fact that this came to me through family. It is about how God uses the imperfection of my creatureliness. It is about doubts as well as certainties. It is about the foundations of my attachment to God. It is about the heart of God for the strange and seemingly invisible people who have taught me much over a lifetime.

The book is serendipitous but I discovered that certain life themes came through in the end. I suppose that with diary entries being reflections somewhat losely connected, it would make good bathroom reading.

I am still debriefing this experience for myself, so please forgive me if my next few posts explore this a little more. I'll be visiting your blogs today to see what you are doing. There will be a bit of back reading to catch up on and I don't expect to read all the way backward to April, but I do want to catch up on my friends' thoughts, struggles and triumphs.

With affection,
Blessings,
Connie