EMBRACING THE JOURNEY
by Sandra Orchard
"I wasn't going to be one of
those people who died wondering what if? I would keep putting my dreams to the
test - even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This
is the shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live
there."
- Alex Haley
- Alex Haley
Haley’s quote is posted on the home page of my
website, and is an apt description of my journey to publication. Thankfully, my
shadowland of hope included the odd contest win or editor request and other
timely nudges of encouragement from God to persevere.
The encouragements I most delighted in were the friendships God brought into my life along the way. I have no doubt He orchestrated the delivery of my Romance Writer's of America magazine to another aspiring writer in my small community. A writer who was so excited to discover another crazy person in town that she hand-delivered the magazine to my doorstep and invited me to attend a local writing group that I had no idea existed.
I was also profoundly blessed, long before I ever became
published, to have the opportunity to minister through those writing
relationships to people I might otherwise have never met.
I could fill pages recounting writing courses and
workshops I’ve taken, craft books I’ve read, conferences I’ve attended, and
critiques I’ve paid for, not to mention all the manuscripts I’ve written and
rewritten. But from the outset I’d been warned that the journey is typically
long and fraught with setbacks. As a result, my expectations were realistic, and
the positive feedback—including signing with an agent following my first-ever
conference—was super-encouraging.
But that elusive first contract was not to be for a
few years, a few manuscripts and another agent later.
In hindsight I'm glad for this. I learned so much about crafting stories in those years. I was mentored by fabulous authors. And I proved to myself that I could write to a deadline. So that by the time Love Inspired Suspense offered me my first contract and asked for two books per year, I had the second in the proposed series finished and had plenty of time available to plot the third. It made the whole process much less stressful, especially as art fact sheets and marketing were added to my things-to-do list.
“So do not throw away
your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when
you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Hebrews
10:35-36
My advice to all whether published or pre-pubbed is enjoy
the journey. See God’s hand in the little things. Embrace the friendships. And
don’t give up.
DEEP COVER
by
Sandra Orchard
Love
Inspired, September 2011
224
pages
Maintaining
his cover cost undercover cop Rick Gray the woman he loved. Sweet Ginny Bryson
never really knew Rick--he never gave her the chance. Not then, and not now,
when he's back with a new alias to gather evidence against Ginny's uncle. The
man's crimes led to Rick's partner's death, and Rick wants justice to be
served. But his investigation is stirring up trouble, and Ginny is in the
middle of it. Someone wants Ginny to pay the price for what her uncle has done.
But how can Rick protect her without blowing his cover, jeopardizing his
assignment...and risking both their lives?
Sandra Orchard lives in rural Ontario with her
real-life hero husband, two of their three children, and a young husky with a
fetish for rubber boots and remote controls.
Although
Sandra taught high school math before starting her family, her childhood dream
of becoming a writer never strayed far from her thoughts. She dabbled in
writing how-to articles and book reviews, but for many years, needlecrafts,
painting, and renovating a century-old farmhouse satisfied her creative
appetite.
Then
she discovered the world of inspirational fiction, and her writing took on new
direction.
In
2009, she won the Daphne DuMaurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense,
and the following year, on her “graduation day” as a home-educator (i.e. her
youngest daughter’s first day of college), Sandra learned that Love Inspired
wanted to publish her first novel. And so her Undercover Cops series began.
Sandra loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website, www.SandraOrchard.com. Romantic Suspense to Inspire the Soul
LOL -- Sandra will you sit still a spell, you're making me dizzy with all this blog hopping!
ReplyDeleteSandra, thanks for stopping by today. You've offered great advice for the pre-published author, and for anyone who's seeking to fullfill their dream.
ReplyDeleteI pray that God will bless your new journey.
LOL--Kav, thanks for coming along for the ride!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Brenda, for having me here and for your prayers.