A note from connie...

God never wastes a circumstance. Whether we are walking through heartache or disappointment, or exhilarating joy, God uses every moment of each experience to teach us, to deepen our faith or increase our trust, or simply to demonstrate the great lengths to which He will go to prove His love.

Nobody can travel through this life without experiencing mountaintops and valleys, and I can certainly claim my share of both. In the past few years, God has taken me down paths I never dreamed I would tread, and every experience has shaped me to be the person I am and the writer I am. Many of the blessings I’ve received have come wrapped in packages called “friends”. I am awestruck by the way God orchestrates my footsteps and intertwines them with those of people who have become like family to me.

For me, being a writer means working alone, at home…just me and the cat most of the time. But it’s so sweet to know all I have to do is shoot an email across the country to another writer friend for advice or prayer or brainstorming a story or sharing a giggle. God has blessed me with the best critique group on the planet. Add to that the world’s best agent and this writing journey is an adventure. Through the advice, instruction, and encouragement of these incredible ladies, God has ordained some amazing things, not the least of which was my first publishing contract.

As a writer and as a child of God, I’ve navigated some surprising twists and turns along the way. One of the most important things I’ve learned as a writer is to use the events and ordeals, the trials and blessings, the laughter and the tears to season my stories and create characters to which readers can relate. If I can express what God has taught me through a personal experience by giving those same emotions and conflicts to my characters, then readers can get a glimpse of how God has worked and moved in my life, and can in theirs as well.

Jesus was a storyteller. He often used parables to communicate precious truths to His followers. Sometimes people will respond more readily to a story than they will to a sermon. If Jesus used the vehicle of storytelling to touch the lives of those around Him and point them to things of eternal value, then we as writers of Christian fiction can do no less.

My first three books were published in 2011, and I was thrilled to receive contracts for four more books last year as well. 2012 will see the publishing of my north Georgia series. New story ideas and characters are percolating in my head and heart all the time. Seeking God’s path for their expression is an adventure. How blessed I am!

Because of His grace,

~Connie~