Author! Author!

I often say that I could write a book about the people who write books. Although I’ve been a writer most of my life, I didn’t have a clue about authors and writers. I also didn’t know anything about publishing a book. While in North Carolina, I interned for a Publisher and there is where the world of writing invited me inside. Walking into that office every day felt like Heaven. My creative juices flowed like never before and all I wanted to do was write and help others with their writing.

Each author I met was a mystery ready to be explored. I found it intriguing that most of the time what I read didn’t match what I learned from meeting the author. In writing, authors are bold, fearless, and free. But in their lives, they were timid, fearful, and most were bound by something – childhood trauma, difficult relationships, or unfulfilled lives.

Writing was an escape and I could relate. In fact, many of these authors who were just meeting me would find themselves telling me things they had not told others. It surprised them but as I reflect on this phenomenon it makes sense. In me, they found a commonality – a kindred and wounded spirit that by the grace of God overcame!

They had stories to tell and I was willing to listen. Not simply because they hired me to publish it for them, but because I got it. I never took a story and published it. The process is much more complicated than that. After speaking to an author and reading their story, I can discern and feel a deeper understanding. There is a connection that happens that bonds us.

Each encounter is an experience that leaves a lasting impression on my heart.