Hope, The Tonic That Energizes

I came home from Glorietta Christian Writers' Conference with requests from two agents and two publishers who wanted to see my book proposals. Reality so far outpaced my hopes for the conference that I'm still stuck in the middle of that first quick breath of surprise.

I sent three proposals out on November 1, and haven't heard a word back yet. In my experience, quick responses are almost always negative, so I am content to wait. Meanwhile, I'm hard at work applying the things I learned at Glorietta--specifically honing my chapter endings and making the books one character's story--for the publisher who requested complete manuscripts.

I feel like the wild bull stuck in the pen till the rodeo starts. Once my first two novels are pushed out of the way, I will barrell full speed into the third book.

The Preacher's Wife is almost writing itself in my head, longhand notes jammed into a folder, and scenes scratched out in spiral notebooks. I have plot points mapped out with a third of the scenes penciled in--somewhere. And, several scenes are actually written and nestled in the innards of my computer. Regardless of my negligible orgizational skills, this book has moved into the birth canal, and it will demand oxygen soon.