The Email

The original Flynn Sinclair

It never ceases to amaze me that God has the best timing when it comes to matters of faith and doubt. When A Muse of Fire was rejected earlier this month, I decided that staying positive was the most important thing. The story had been my baby, it was the story I cared about most, and even though it was rejected, the publishing company had kept it a full week over what was said to be their maximum wait time. My critique partner is doing an incredible job going through the story to give me the best feedback possible. So in all honesty, I have a lot to be grateful for with that story.

But there are always quiet times of night when doubt begins to creep in.

This week has been a week of doubt for me. Muse's sequel was giving me problems (which I've slowly been working my way out of), and I was nervous about Red Moon's submission. I had no idea how long it would take to hear back on a requested full; I expected at least two to three months. I mean, it is a lot of writing to get through, and editors are swamped with all kinds of additional work on top of their manuscript reviews. Besides, Red Moon was a book I wrote because I wanted to read a werewolf story like it, and my DH told me that if I couldn't find it, I'd just have to write it for myself. I never expected it to go anywhere, especially not after SYTYCW.

In short, I was feeling sorry for myself.

I sat down the DH, whined quite a bit about how I didn't know if I was meant to be a writer, and with his *gentle* pep-talk, decided I had to get back on my butt and write some more. I did, and as I was able to write out another 2,000 words of A Pure Flame.

By now it was officially night in Alaska. DH took out the dog for one last potty break and I sat down again at my computer. It's become habit now to go to the Internet and open my emails, even if I don't expect to get any. But this time, there was a note waiting in my Gmail inbox from Escape Publishing.

I didn't even fully read the email. I got to the line that said, "I'm delighted to accept it for publication."

I was up out of my chair and throwing on my boots. Then I was out the door and sprinting towards the DH and the dog while laughing/crying/yelling all at the same time. DH nearly had a heart attack; his exact words were, "Are you okay? I've only been outside for two minutes..." before I slammed into his chest and explained.

Needless to say, he was pleased.

There is a ways to go in this journey, but I've taken my first steps. Like I said, God really knows when to give you a boost...