Big Changes Coming to this Blog!

This blog is about to change!

Before I took my long blogging break a couple of months ago, I gave a hint that I would have an announcement about an upcoming change to the blog. I didn’t mention it again because the change has been slower in coming than I would have hoped, but I’d like to tell you a little bit about it now. Plus, you’ll want to keep reading, because there’s a contest and a chance to win goodies in it for you!

The bottom line is, The Queen of Perseverance is going to fade away, to be replaced with a new blog that I share with my niece.

Three or four months ago, Kristi (the aforementioned niece) told me she would like to start a blog and asked my advice. I was excited to hear this, because I’d been wanting to ask her for some time to share a blog with me. Over the past couple of years, Kristi’s and my interests have really meshed. We’ve done a lot of talking about our creative dreams, story ideas, ambitions—and how all that fits into God’s plan for our lives. We’ve both read a lot of C.S. Lewis and been inspired by his ideas about Christianity and the imagination, about our longing for something beyond ourselves that is ultimately a longing for God.

Beyond our interests, Kristi and I are both searching, trying to find where our creative interests fit in our service to God. It’s something we’ve both been trying to work out for a long time. (Okay, I’ve been at it a lot longer than Kristi has, but still, she feels a little weary at times, too.) Even so, we both have a feeling that the upcoming year will be pivotal, that we’re both going to be on a journey that will lead us to some answers one way or another.

I, for one, just finished up up a romance novel geared toward the CBA (Christian Booksellers’ Association). My agent advised me to write it to try to help me break into publishing. I’ve been doing a lot of things like that over the last few years, trying to reach that publishing goal. I haven’t gotten published and haven’t been terribly happy with my writing, either. I’ve been talking to God about all this, and my intention is that, if this manuscript goes nowhere, I’m going to take a whole different path. I’m going to start working on a couple of projects purely because I’m excited about them—not because I can figure out what market they will fit into, or because they will pigeon hole tidily into a particular genre. I may even pursue self-publishing or small presses. I daily pray for God to show me which fork in the road to take, and I’m willing to be flexible.

And if it does sell—well, my journey this year will definitely be different! So I’m excited to see where things are going.

As for Kristi, she graduated a few months ago with a degree in theater and film studies. She’s been acting locally on the stage, writing plays, and making some short films, but she’s wondering where her career is going, too. She feels God is calling her to go to L.A. and try to break into the industry there. Talk about a journey!

So…one way or another, it’s going to be an interesting year. I’m hoping all of you will share that with us. And now…this is where you come in.

We would like your help in naming our blog. Also, if you have any ideas for a tagline, or a pertinent quote we could use on the mast—any suggestions like that would be helpful. And for each suggestion you leave, you’ll receive an entry into a drawing for a $15.00 amazon.com gift certificate. (You can also email me your thoughts, if you don’t want to post. Just use the “Contact me” button in the right-hand column of this page.)

I’ll give more information about the upcoming blog next time, so you might want to wait until then to send your suggestions.
Until then, start thinking!