Sometimes I’ve felt so naïve about this great big gigantic world of writing, and I’ve wondered; what’s a nice girl like me doing in a strange unknown place like this… the publishing world.
I had walked in, sat down, and made myself comfortable. I had felt I had enough information to think I could play this game. After all, look at how many people are writing and succeeding. So with a story… a web-site and of course My Space, I have been faithfully applying all my ingenious strategies so I could become well known enough to fit in and make the team.
Um…
Well, guess what? I am a newbie, inexperienced, and would have to admit; my fellow writers have been at this for a long time. I know why. It takes years to qualify, to build up muscle so-to-speak. Like an athlete; a swimmer that begins at a young age and strives all their life, many of my team mates have been practicing, literally, all their lives. They’ve received awards and at-a-boys, and through much effort have made it to the top. Definitely a place to strive for…but at times I have wondered if I was in over my head, in the deep end of the pool. Gulping for breath and treading water…
Then you find someone who lends a hand, throws a life line and teaches you some of their own hard knocks lessons… and ultimately encourages you with their response and leaves you feeling optimistic and feeling like there’s hope.
Today I received my first review of I Must Be in Heaven, a promise kept and I’m walking on air. I’m recognized as a novelist. My work has been read and…
Well, here’s the review By:
Nina M. Osier,
Author of the Farthinghome Trilogy
(Fictionwise.com best selling series)
I had walked in, sat down, and made myself comfortable. I had felt I had enough information to think I could play this game. After all, look at how many people are writing and succeeding. So with a story… a web-site and of course My Space, I have been faithfully applying all my ingenious strategies so I could become well known enough to fit in and make the team.
Um…
Well, guess what? I am a newbie, inexperienced, and would have to admit; my fellow writers have been at this for a long time. I know why. It takes years to qualify, to build up muscle so-to-speak. Like an athlete; a swimmer that begins at a young age and strives all their life, many of my team mates have been practicing, literally, all their lives. They’ve received awards and at-a-boys, and through much effort have made it to the top. Definitely a place to strive for…but at times I have wondered if I was in over my head, in the deep end of the pool. Gulping for breath and treading water…
Then you find someone who lends a hand, throws a life line and teaches you some of their own hard knocks lessons… and ultimately encourages you with their response and leaves you feeling optimistic and feeling like there’s hope.
Today I received my first review of I Must Be in Heaven, a promise kept and I’m walking on air. I’m recognized as a novelist. My work has been read and…
Well, here’s the review By:
Nina M. Osier,
Author of the Farthinghome Trilogy
(Fictionwise.com best selling series)
Bill and Valerie met in 1962, and promptly fell into puppy love. That was natural enough; Valerie, after all, was only 12 years old. That was their beginning, just the same. They married when she was 18, just before Bill left for Vietnam. After he came home safely, they raised three children and founded an electrical contracting business. With over 30 years of marriage behind them and their family grown, they scaled that business back in preparation for retirement. They worked together, no longer employing anyone else, and they both loved it that way. What could be better than spending every day of your life - at work as well as at home - with your best friend? Who also happens to be your spouse?
That's how it was on the morning when an aneurysm burst inside Bill's brain. In minutes, Valerie's life went from near perfection to waking nightmare. Would her husband survive? If so, would he be the Bill she'd known and loved for so long; or would she find herself transferring a shell from hospital to nursing home, after the long fight to save his life? And not incidentally, how was she going to stay afloat financially without a source of income - let alone pay for Bill's care without medical insurance?
In this novel based on a true story, God answers Valerie's prayers and questions one step at time. The faith she and Bill have shared and nurtured for so many years bears her up when she needs it most. The publishing world offers plenty of other true stories about Christians forced to deal with a loved one's catastrophic illness, but trust me when I tell you that this story is unique and well worth reading. It's a tale told simply yet vividly, and above all it's a love story. Its gritty realism pulled me right in, and it never once committed the sin of turning saccharine. Which is why I found it so difficult to put down!
Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 EPPIE winner, “REGS” http://www.geocities.com/nina_osier/
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