The Kindness of a Stranger

I made it through my first pitch session yesterday, and the editor encouraged me to send my book to them . . . when I have the latest revision finished.  I made a couple of mistakes in my presentation that I hopefully won't repeat next time I pitch to an editor or agent, but overall I felt I did pretty well, all things considered.

I spent all day yesterday at the LTUE conference.  It was a really good experience.  I learned a lot from all the classes I attended, but far and away the best class was called Drawing Out the Dragons by James Owen.  He is a gifted writer and illustrator/artist. 

His class encouraged the audience members to make wise decisions.  He started out with the saying: "If you really, really want to do something, no one can stop you.  If you really don't want to do something, no one can help you.  The choice is always yours." He had several other very wise sayings.  Then he talked about some personal experiences that illustrated his points.  His experiences really touched me, because there were a couple of times when life handed him a really difficult challenge, and he overcame them and went on to do what he loves.

After the class, I found the bookseller shop and purchased the book that goes along with his class.  A little while later, I found Mr. Owen to ask him to sign it.  I don't usually tell people I've gone through cancer, but I felt comfortable enough--given his own experiences--to tell him.  I'm glad that I did.  I felt such an outpouring of love and support from him!

He told me that he has a dear friend going through the same thing I'm going through.  He dies his hair purple in support of her and others who are facing a difficult challenge like that.  (Yes, his hair was purple!)  Then he signed my book in purple ink.  (That was a happy accident that I pointed out to him.)  Finally, he gave me a hug.  I'm normally not a very demonstrative person, and I think people are often afraid to hug me because of that, but I still need hugs.  When he did that, I was touched  deeply.  Later, I realized that it was a very Christ-like act.  I will always remember the kindness James Owen showed for a complete stranger who needed it.  He told me, "You are strong enough to do this!"

Mr. Owen has created a new fan in me.  I didn't know anything about his books before, but I definitely plan to get into them now!  I hope that someday I can influence people for good the way Mr. Owen influenced me.  Really, that's what Christ wants us to do: to love and support each other on this journey of life.

Picking Up Where I Left Off

I told you so!  When I'm not sitting around languishing from chemo or surgery all the time, I don't get around to blogging like I should.  Sorry if you've been waiting anxiously for news. ;-)

I have only 2 herceptin (mild chemo) treatments left, then I'm really done with chemo and all things resembling it.  (Hurray!)  I guess you could say I will soon be liberated from the Borg (see some of my earliest posts).  My most recent treatment was last Monday.  It went well.  I haven't had any problems with my port for awhile, so that's a blessing.

On Thursday, I started working for Steve as his secretary and office manager.  It was different, going to a real job outside my home, but I found to my surprise that I enjoyed it.  I like getting things done for him so that he can work more efficiently.

Yesterday, we finished our bedroom remodeling project.  We have yet to move several pieces of furniture and sundry belongings, but the girls slept in their own rooms last night.  I think everybody is happy with the new arrangement!

Here, the walls are going up.  You can see the completed mermaid in the background.

Really jazzed about the hot pink in her new room!  OK.  She's hamming it up . . . just a little.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend.

I did the dolphins, but she painted the coral and several of the fish herself.

For the last month (since my last post, in fact), I've been rewriting my novel.  I guess being away from it for nearly a year helped me see some of the flaws more clearly, and I decided I'd better fix them.  There were some big issues (like going from first person point of view to third), so it required a complete rewrite.  I got the first draft finished last week, and now I'm polishing it up.  I gave myself a deadline by signing up to pitch the book to an editor from Shadow Mountain at a conference this coming weekend.  The rewrite won't be finished, but I hope I'll at least have the first 3 chapters polished to show off.

Sometimes I wonder if I've gone crazy, diving into a pitch like this when the book is in the middle of a rewrite--but I think I just really needed to pick up my life where I left off, one year ago.  The conference I will attend (Life, the Universe, and Everything) is the same conference I went to last year the very weekend I found a lump in my breast that turned out to be cancer.  In a sense, I've lost a year of my life, at least as far as progressing in my career goes.

However--as my mother-in-law pointed out to me recently--a year is really not that much, in the grand scheme of things.  Besides that, I've progressed in so many other ways.  I feel like I'm a much better person for the experiences I've had this year.  I know I'm a stronger person.  Pitching to an editor terrifies me as much as it did before cancer, but I have the scars to prove that I can do tough things.

(Not that this editor is tough: I've heard that she is kind and easy to talk to.  In spite of jitters, I'm looking forward to meeting her because I'm a fan of not only all the books she's edited, but also those she wrote herself.  So, there will be just a touch of hero-worship in there.  ;-)

Shameless plug: This is a great read for those who like time travel romance!