Hi Friends! I am so excited to share this blog post with you. It’s from my friend Peg and I think you’re going to enjoy it. Plus. . .there are some potential gifts in it for you! Read on. . .

The Metamorphosis of a Novel

by Peggy Blann Phifer

It started out in Milwaukee. The title: Totally Tori. Victoria (Tori) Summers, a graduate of a highly-respected music school (think Julliard), is married to the heir of a Milwaukee banker with a number of branches throughout the county. Her in-laws don’t like her. A big blow-up with her husband, Justin, ends with him demanding a legal separation. With nowhere to go (no family left), Tori’s best friend, Maggie, gives her the keys to a summer retreat in northern Wisconsin, so Tori and Kaz, her Siamese cat, go north where she meets the local forest ranger, Clay Buchanan. But then Tori learns that Justin has died as a result of a brain tumor and that he sent her away, not because he didn’t love her, he didn’t want her to suffer through his illness.

I had trouble bringing everything together at that point. I’d gotten myself in way over my head. But I stubbornly stuck with part of the premise and changed the title to A Time to Heal based on Ecclesiastes 3. I dropped the separation and brain tumor and changed it into unwanted divorce because it had happened to me. But it had been too many years since I lived in either Milwaukee or northern Wisconsin and I couldn’t make it work.

So, time for a change of scenery. Realizing I could not make this book realistic, I moved the story location to Vegas. Tori became Roni (Veronica) and the title was now A New Sunrise. And Clay was hired by Roni’s mother-in-law to try to dig up some dirt in her life so Roni’s husband, Justin, would put her out of his life. That didn’t work for me because, in my heart, I knew these two had a past and I really had trouble writing them as strangers. Weird, but true.

Then things settled into place—sort of—and Roni became Erin, the working title was Sunrise tomorrow, and this time her husband, Justin, dies in a tragic boating accident intended to kill her, too. Here we meet Larke, Erin’s sister, and John, later to become Doug, Erin’s father-in-law, and Maggie, from Totally Tori, returns to the story with a new spelling of her name, Magie. (You’ll have to read the book to find out about that.) J And, of course, Kaz, the cat.

Now things are taking shape. But I still had problems with the boat accident/murder. I couldn’t figure out how to make it happen believably, and there would have been a huge investigation into it and I had no idea what that would involve. I didn’t have the research knowledge or resources I have now that would have helped me through that part.

Anyway, that, too, was abandoned. The “sun” part of the title stuck with me. I still needed Justin to die and leave Erin pregnant. And I needed to bring Clay “back” into her life after Justin’s death with a ‘past’ between them to reckon with. I came up with To See the Sun after some intense brainstorming, both on my own just rattling off stuff on an open Word document, and with a few friends who believed in me and the evolving final story.

All three books in the Desert Faith series consist of one of the senses and one of the elements: See, sun; Hear, wind; Taste, rain.

You can read the back cover blurb and the first chapter of To See the Sun at: http://peggyblannphifer.com/my_books.htm

Thanks, Joy, for giving me the opportunity to share this long, arduous, frustrating, but rewarding journey.

And now, for the fun part! Follow the steps in the exact order as outlined below:

1. 1.      Go to my interview of Joy’s book Your Life, a Legacy on the Whispers in Purple blog at http://www.whispersinpurple.com/2012/02/your-life-legacy-by-joy-dekok-and-fun.html
2. 2.      Follow the directions at the bottom of that post. (There are two steps to that.)
3. 3.      Keeping what you’ve discovered and created, come back here and choose one sentence from this article where your newly created word will fit, rewrite it and put it in the comments section below.
4. 4.      Be sure to include your name and email information (i.e. yourname [at] yourdomain/server [dot] com/net/org) in order to qualify. Confirmed followers of Joy’s blog get one extra entry. Confirmed followers of my blog (www.whispersinpurple.com) will get an additional entry. That’s three chances to win.

OKAY, win what?

• A free copy, either paperback or download, of my new release To See the Sun.
• A free copy of Joy’s new eBook, Your Life, A Legacy.
• A sterling silver necklace with heart and diamond.
• A set of Joy’s Jot Books
• A copy of Joy’s novel, Rain Dance

There will be at least one more blog to check for another part of the word game and an additional prize.

So, when will the winner be announced?

Good question. When this scavenger hunt is over. Probably before the month’s end. Keep in mind: Each of the blog sites outlines above, if you’ve left a comment and played the game, add entries to your total tally. Only one entry per blog unless otherwise stated.

Physical items available only to the lower 48 contiguous United States. E-book/s open to anyone.

Peg

I’m pleased to intoduce you to Karen Baney – thanks so much for sharing your heart with us, Karen!

Over the past two years, I’ve been challenged to make friendships a priority.  See, I had a few friendships that ended in heartbreak and disappointment.  I was afraid to open up and even convinced myself that I didn’t need friends.

Then, I began to realize that I was missing the heart-healing that comes from having good friends—close friends—the kind that you can call on for anything.

So, I picked up a copy of Dee Brestin’s book, The Friendship of Women, and started a book club over the summer two years ago.  This began my journey of seeking out new friends.

One of the things Dee discusses in the book is the importance of not reading into a “no” answer when trying to initiate a new friendship.  It was a hard lesson to learn, but one that I was given an immediate opportunity to apply.

There was a woman at my church that I met while serving in women’s ministry together.  I thought we had a good connection and that she was someone I would want to be friends with.  So, I spent three days working up the nerve to email her (too afraid to call, even though I had her number). 

Then I waited.  And waited.  And waited.

For two weeks I waited.  I went through a range of emotions.  Maybe she doesn’t have time for another friend.  Maybe I misread the connection.  Maybe there was something wrong with me.

One day, after I had given up hope of hearing from her, I received a reply.  She was so excited that I contacted her.  She had been thinking of getting together with me (faint!).  She told me the reason she was so delayed in responding was because she was out of town on vacation and hadn’t been checking her emails.

I was cautious at first.  I mean, what if she backed out?  What if we met for coffee and ended up hating each other?  What if she decided I wasn’t worth the time?

Well, our first get together was for coffee.  One hour, rolled into two, then into three, then into four.  Somewhere around the five hour mark, a customer approached us.  He asked if we had left and come back or if we’d been sitting there all day.  See, he had been in that morning with his little girls and noticed how animated our conversation was.  When he returned in the afternoon to pick up a coffee on his way somewhere, and he still saw us sitting there, he just had to know how long we’d been friends.  We told him the truth:  five hours.

See, that connection I thought was there—was really there.  For the past two years, I’ve been blessed to know and rely on my five-hour-coffee friend.  Whether by email, text message, or a quick dinner together (really three hours is never enough), I leave feeling uplifted and renewed.  She cheers me on.  She prays for me.  She encourages me.

Friendship is so important.  We need friends apart from our spouse, children, and co-workers.  Sometimes it takes deliberate effort.  But it is always worth it.

Karen Baney, in addition to writing Christian historical fiction and contemporary novels, works as a Software Engineer.  Spending over twenty years as an avid fan of both genres, Karen loves writing stories set in Arizona.

Her faith plays an important role both in her life and in her writing.  She is active in various Bible studies throughout the year.  Karen and her husband make their home in Gilbert, Arizona, with their two dogs.  She also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University.

Here’s a little bit about Karen’s new novel:

Niki Turner has finally arrived.  Her career as a Software Engineer is soaring—she has just been offered the company’s most sought after account, Helitronics.  Life would be perfect, if she could stop her roommate from playing matchmaker.

Then Kyle Jacobs mysteriously re-enters her life.  As painful memories resurface, his presence turns her life upside down and threatens to waylay her career.  She must find a way to work with him—after all, he’s the helicopter flight consultant for the new flight control system she’s coding.

Can she forget the past and see him as the new man he has become?  Or will her resentment keep her from finding what she has always been searching for?

This contemporary novel is an upbeat and compelling story set in the Phoenix Metro Area.  Karen Baney shows a new side to her writing with great wit and banter between the main characters.   Inspired by her love of romance and of computers, this story takes readers on a journey filled with laughter and tears.

You can purchase Nickels HERE.

Jon and I are childless. This was not our plan, but It was and is God’s. Instead of children of our own, God filled our hearts and lives with the children of our siblings and friends. WE ARE BLESSED! I don’t often “yell” in my blog posts, unless it’s really important.

Last week our niece Joanna volunteered to be one of my pre-release readers for Your Life, a Legacy. Today she wrote me a note and gave me permission to share it with you. Here it is:

Dear Aunt Joy,

May I just say I really love your new book, “Your life a Legacy.” I have often wondered how to create a legacy and your book gives so many helpful tools and resources to make that happen. Sharing personal memories with loved ones by creating a satchel story and steamer trunk stories makes the world come alive through your own eyes and helps others to relate to your life history. I think we all want to make a difference in the world-Life touching lives.

Then she went on to share some precious memories that brought tears of tenderness to my eyes. Oh how I love this beautiful young woman! She is part of my Legacy.

Although I wouldn’t have chosen infertility, I’m grateful for it. I have a Steamer Trunk (You have to read the book to understand!) full of stories about the kids I love and who love me back. My Legacy is rich because their parents shared them with me – without them, my life would truly have been barren. With them – not so much! While my womb remained empty, they filled the empty places in my life to overflowing.

Sometimes God speaks to us from His Word, in the words of a song, in the embrace of the  wind, or in a soul message from His Spirit. Today, He touched me in a note from a niece.  Yep, I’m blessed. Greatly.

Joy

A pre-release reader contacted me today regarding JotBooks – they are mentioned in both Your Life, a Legacy and Poetry – Touch the World With Your Art & Soul. These idea catchers are the size of a business card making them easy to take almost anywhere or stash in the places your ideas most often show up.

You can purchase 3 JotBooks for $6. This price includes sales tax and shipping/handling HERE.

Your story matters,

Joy

I’ve already heard from a couple of you who have asked, “Who is the little girl on the cover?”

She is me.

When considering cover graphics for Your Life, a Legacy, I decided to use photographs from my family collection. This picture of me is one of my mom’s favorites.

The couple in the other photo are my maternal grandparents, Ed and Joy Johnson, on their wedding day in the early 1930s. I love them dearly and miss them greatly. (I say love in the present tense although they have been gone from this life for a long time – their passings didn’t stop me from loving them – only from actively showing them that love.)

Today to celebrate the release of the ebook, I’m printing the cover on good paper and will frame it to hang in my office. A good friend took my ideas, the  graphics I liked, and designed it for me. I think she did a beautiful job!

I’ve already had requests for the print book. That will be released as soon as the cover is done. I’m working with CreateSpace on that – the will be slender (approx 40 pages) and I needed some additional expertise with that. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s available.

Thank you all for asking,

Joy

 I had breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants today – Perkins. There I watched a one year old show off her walking skills. Each step was intentional and a big accomplishment. She only fell when somone distracted her from her efforts. Determined to succeed, she got back up and took another tiny step.

Legacy writing is similar in the following ways:

• It’s accomplished by taking baby steps into the memories we believe matter most
• Each step or memory requires focus
• Each recorded memory is an accomplishment
• Distractions will come and we’ll stop, but like the little one I watched, if we’re determined, we will get back to the task at hand – Legacy Giving.

You can do this and the small (soon to be released) book, Your Life a Legacy can help.

The ebook will be released on January 16th for $4.99.

 Graphic purchased from fotolia.com    © Svetlana Fedoseeva – Fotolia.com