First of all, I managed to make it pretty far on force of will. I'm 50, have a grown son and three published books, plus a syndicated column read by millions. Only problem is the bank account is brushing along the bottom and I can't keep thinking that some magic is going to happen if I just keep trying out different angles.
Very patient agents have told me on more than one occasion to pick a genre and stick with it. But, mixed in with my love of writing was a need to prove something and the need always won.
That's why I have a thriller, a book that's southern fiction and a memoir plus a column on current affairs every week and another on life in general. You can see a pattern in my lack of a clear plan. Everything has received critical praise and the readers who've found the books, loved them. But I never stuck around long enough in a category to build the audience any further than that. It was like I was building great foundations to houses without ever putting up walls and then wondering what happened.
Enough already. Faith in theory is exhausting and childish. Big girl faith requires doing what's right and then nothing more. My old way wasn't leaving any room for God. My new journey is going to open that up a bit.
Besides all that folderol, I recently survived two separate bouts of cancer. The first one was absolutely, positively supposed to kill me, but I'm still here and I know it's by the grace of God. The doctors were so convinced the news after the surgery would be bad they told me to sit down because they were sure the good news would shock me.
So, enough of my headstrong ways. I can change and when I say I want to be of service, actually mean it and practice it. Of course, a good part of the time I'll still be figuring out what that means but the willingness is there and my feet will hopefully follow.
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