My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 23
It was later that first day that I met Becky Nesbitt.
So. Like I said, I was walking around the conference going, "Ahhh . . ." Just enjoying the moment.
But after meeting Becky and hearing how serious she was about wanting my stuff, I started to . . .
worry? No, that wasn't it. Started to wonder? Nope. Not really. I don't know what I was starting
to feel, but it felt weird. I mean, not only did Zondervan want my stuff, but Tyndale House wanted
it, too?
What would have happened if I had left that conference brochure in my recycle bin and let it get
hauled away?
Hmm.
So. Anyway. I talked to Becky and she told me to send her my entire manuscript. At first (I'll
admit it) I said okay. But then, after thinking it over and praying about it, I was positive I wanted to
go with Karen and Zondervan. Becky actually seemed disappointed when I told her (I think she
really was!). But don't ask me to explain how I felt when I realized that I had just said, "No," to the
acquisitions editor at a major publishing house. You don't say no to a major publisher!
I told Becky how grateful I was, and how sorry I was, and that if she gave me her business card, I
would still send her some chocolate.
Two weeks later, I put an Oregon Coast sand dollar and a huge package of Hershey's chocolate in
the mail. A week after that, Becky e-mailed me to say thanks.
I think I may have made a friend.
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 24
So. Mount Hermon. April 2-6, 2004. One fabulous week. As it came to a close, I'll admit, I hated
to see it end. I must have gained ten pounds on the good food and desserts, and a billion new soul-
fattening memories of all the cool people I met and "broke bread with." The Palm Sunday service
was incredible. Karen and her dad (who is a sweetheart, by the way! Hi, Mr. Sapp!!) sang several
songs together, and then we all enjoyed communion. It was a sweet and powerful gathering of
saints. Made me pine a bit for heaven.
The nice thing for me now . . . is knowing I'm going back in a week! This year's conference is
March 17-22, and features keynote speaker Liz Curtis Higgs. Needless to say, I can't wait!!
But anyway, back to last year, as the conference came to a close, I climbed in my wee car and
pointed it back toward home. More beautiful sunny weather on the drive, more incredible sights to
see, and, yes, this time, I had a crisp $5 bill for those Foreboding Toll Gates blocking the entrance
to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Hah! Didn't even need it. The sign, this time, said PROCEED WITHOUT PAYING.
Fitting end to a perfect week.
But wait! There's more!
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 25
One of the coolest things about the news I received that first day at Mount Hermon was dropping
fifty cents into the phone booth outside Mount Hermon's Post Office that very night and telling my
brother all about it. He's my only brother—it's just him and me—and he's been pulling for me ever
since 1996 when I first told him I had starting writing novels. I actually moved in with him and his
family so I could enter all my hand-written scratchings into his brand-new computer. But, more
about that later. On April 2nd, 2004, as I stood in that phone booth gushing with joy and weeping a
bit as I talked to him, I think it blew his socks off. He said he was proud of his baby sister. That
he always believed this day would come. I knew it was true, because he had shown his support for
my writing since day one. But to hear him actually say it . . . priceless.
The second person I knew I had to tell was my friend in Florence, the same friend I had stopped in
to see on the way down to Mount Hermon. After struggling with figuring out how to tell my
classmates at the conference, then not even telling some of them, as I pulled into the parking lot in
front of my friend's store in Florence, I even struggled with how to tell her. Do I just burst through
the door and shout, "They liked my stuff!" Or do I quietly say, "In 2008, go to your favorite
Christian bookstore . . ."
When I walked into Shannon's so-positively-cool brand-new store called Mother May I (she sells
children's clothes and toys and everything that's cool for kids and expectant mothers), I didn't say a
word. I could only smile.
But she heard every word I was trying to say. I could tell she did. Because she let out this burst of
happy laughter and slapped a big hug on me.
Family and friends. Priceless.
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 26
I live at the bottom of a small hill, directly across the street from the beachfront motel where I used
to work. Arriving home that day in April 2004, I coasted my wee car down that hill right up to the
steps leading to my apartment. Turned off the engine. Sat there for a second, completely exhausted
by everything that had happened, yet knowing as soon as I stepped foot outside my car, my amazing
Mount Hermon Adventures would come to a close.
I think I sat in the car for a full minute before I got out.
And, yes, after unpacking and crashing away into oblivious dreamland, the next days held nothing
but workworkwork for me at my job. Real Life in full force. But that was okay. I only had a few
more years before my first book hit the shelves. I could hang in there until then.
A part of me wondered.
After fixing the LDTs the group had pointed out to me (see Part 20), I sent off exactly what Karen
Ball requested: Chapter One of my novel, A Good Day to Die. (She had actually asked for the first
three chapters, but when I told her my chapters tended to be long, she asked how long, and I told
her three chapters would be about 100 pages of stuff. Her face reflected pure shock at that moment,
and she quickly said, "Oh, then send me only the first chapter.")
And the days rolled merrily along. I signed an agent agreement with Mr. Steve Laube (and the
group he worked for). (That's an inside joke.) And I worked at the motel, and I worked as an
independent contractor for Sally Stuart compiling and updating the Resources section of the 2005
Christian Writer's Market Guide, and I house-and-kitty-sat for a good friend who had left for five
weeks, and . . .
. . . and then I got a call from Steve Laube.
As it turned out, it was THE CALL. And if I thought my life had turned on a dime on April 2nd,
2004, on May 11th, 2004, my entire universe spun 360s on that same thin dime.
Dramatic, yes. But just another page in my amazing adventure.
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 27
I had been house-sitting for a few weeks by then, keeping an eye on a cute fluffy cat named Gideon,
sleeping over at nights. It was fun, but sleeping on the hard bed was difficult. By the third week, I
was pretty much a walking zombie, especially since Gideon loved to pounce on my head every
morning at 4:30, without fail.
So, brain dead and loving it, I headed home for a little while after work, before heading back to
Gideon's house. While I was home in those few minutes, the phone rang. I said hello. The man's
voice said hello and, "This is Steve."
Now, I'll admit, at that moment I was thinking, Steve? Steve, who? I don't know any Steve. Then
he started talking about someone named Karen and a contract, and it slowly dawned on me. Oh,
yeah. Steve. My agent!
As close as I can remember it, this is what he said: "They don't want to wait to publish your book,
they want to publish it right away, so it will release in May 2005. And they don't want just two
books from you, they want three. Can you have book two done by October, and book three done by
the following May?"
I'm brain dead. Remember? It just dawned on me who I was talking to. I said, "Um . . . yeah. I
can do that."
He talked about some numbers. (Afterward, I realized this was his "negotiating my contract.") He
asked if those numbers were all right.
I said, "Um . . . yeah. I can live with that." (My dead brain was starting to reel about now.)
He told me how excited he was for me, how excited everyone was about this project. He said it
would go before the "pub board" on the 24th, and then it would be official. He said he'd let me
know what they said.
I said, "Um . . . yeah. Okay."
Hanging up the phone that day, May 11th, 2004, I sat on my couch and stared out the window. I
think I stared for a long while. And then I started to laugh. No, not just laugh, giggle. It was the
hysterical giggle of a brain dead woman who just had her universe spun on a . . . okay, I won't say
it, but you get the idea.
Wow.
Stuff dreams are made of.
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 28
So. Okay. Yes. Life. Universe. 360s. Dime.
What is this. A keyword search?
No, really. Wait. Yes. Really. Believe it.
May 24th, 2004. Karen Ball left this message on my answering machine: "Welcome to the
Zondervan team!" Steve Laube left this message: "It flew through committee. You should have a
contract to sign in thirty days."
June 17th, 2004. I signed a three-book contract with Zondervan Publishers.
June 30th, 2004. I finally sent them (as per their request) my complete manuscript.
July 31st, 2004. I officially quit my "day job." (Which is a joke, mind you, since the "new job" I
was about to take on required my days and my nights and every single minute in between.)
August 5th, 2004. I returned from the Oregon Christian Writer's Conference to find an advance
check in my mail. Promply deposited it.
August 8th, 2004. Officially started A Good Day to Forgive, Book Two of the Kimberley Square
Series.
September 1st, 2004. A Good Day to Die, Book One of the Kimberley Square Series officially
became Wounded Healer, Book One of the Homeland Heroes Series.
September 15th, 2004. Payed my first quarterly federal and state tax payments.
Ahh, yes. The good, and the bad. : )
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 29
And so, we have almost come to the end of my now infamous Mount Hermon adventures. Well,
maybe not infamous . . .
As I look back over the past year, yes, I'm amazed. But right now, at this very moment, I'm slightly
caught in a limbo land of sorts. I've finished the typeset galleys of Wounded Healer, will have the
line edits done tonight for Warrior's Heart, and have finished the first four chapters of the as yet
untitled Book Three. In a few days I will again head south on Highway 101, will again cross that
spectacular Golden Gate Bridge (with a $5 bill firmly clutched in my hand), and will once again
walk under the magnificent Redwoods at the Mount Hermon Conference Center. After a quick visit
with my parents, I'll return to Oregon, finish Book Three to turn it in by May 1st and . . . and then
what?
Wounded Healer releases July 1st. Warrior's Heart, October 1st. In other words, if I thought my
universe had spun 360s before, oh my. What lies ahead is almost unimaginable, in a terribly
exciting and unbelievably wonderful sort of way.
So, yes, I'm in Limbo Land right now, not even able to comprehend what this summer holds. And
that's okay. The Lord has been pacing me, only allowing me to comprehend a small part of this at a
time. I asked Him to do this. If I try to comprehend it all, I know my brain will short-circuit and
I'll just keel over and that'll be it. Bon Voyahgeee. So, the truth is, I'm not even thinking about
what lies ahead. Except for the fun I'm going to have returning to Mount Hermon, and finishing
Book Three, my brainpan is empty. My eyes are glued only to one thing. Okay, not a thing, but a
person. And not just any person, but the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gazing steadily on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith. Hmm. If this is Limbo Land, then I
like it.
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 30
Part 30. Wow. But, this is it. Tomorrow I leave to start my new Mount Hermon adventures. Can't
wait!
As I wrap this up, I know you may be just as amazed as I am about everything that's happened over
the past year. Then again, maybe not. If you've read all 30 posts, then I assume you care enough
about me to see where the adventures will end. (But you know what assuming does, don't you?) : )
Well, here's the deal. The only true way for you to fully realize just how amazing our amazing God
has been in my life this past year is for you to go back with me a bit farther, back to the summer of
1996. Or even the summer of 1965, when my life-adventure began. Once it's all laid out, you may
think I made it all up. It's too good to be true. Well, they say sometimes real life is stranger than
fiction. For me, real life beats making it up, any day.
The new adventures begin April 2nd, 2005. Fitting date to begin, wouldn't you say? : )
But, for now, let's wrap up this collection of posts by saying this: "Oh, what a wonderful God we
have! How great are His riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to
understand His decisions and His methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who
knows enough to be His counselor? And who could ever give Him so much that He would have to
pay it back? For everything comes from Him; everything exists by His power and is intended for
His glory. To Him be glory evermore. Amen." Romans 11:33-36
Whatever you are facing, you can trust Him. Even when you have no clue where it seems He is
leading you, and it seems that He is way out there so far that He has lost track of you behind Him
trying to keep up. Trust Him. Just trust. Because He knows you're back there, and He knows if
you will keep your eyes on Him, you will not get lost. He knows where He's going, and where He
is going is the exact place you need to be.
Yep. And amen.
Vaya con Dios,
donna
It was later that first day that I met Becky Nesbitt.
So. Like I said, I was walking around the conference going, "Ahhh . . ." Just enjoying the moment.
But after meeting Becky and hearing how serious she was about wanting my stuff, I started to . . .
worry? No, that wasn't it. Started to wonder? Nope. Not really. I don't know what I was starting
to feel, but it felt weird. I mean, not only did Zondervan want my stuff, but Tyndale House wanted
it, too?
What would have happened if I had left that conference brochure in my recycle bin and let it get
hauled away?
Hmm.
So. Anyway. I talked to Becky and she told me to send her my entire manuscript. At first (I'll
admit it) I said okay. But then, after thinking it over and praying about it, I was positive I wanted to
go with Karen and Zondervan. Becky actually seemed disappointed when I told her (I think she
really was!). But don't ask me to explain how I felt when I realized that I had just said, "No," to the
acquisitions editor at a major publishing house. You don't say no to a major publisher!
I told Becky how grateful I was, and how sorry I was, and that if she gave me her business card, I
would still send her some chocolate.
Two weeks later, I put an Oregon Coast sand dollar and a huge package of Hershey's chocolate in
the mail. A week after that, Becky e-mailed me to say thanks.
I think I may have made a friend.
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 24
So. Mount Hermon. April 2-6, 2004. One fabulous week. As it came to a close, I'll admit, I hated
to see it end. I must have gained ten pounds on the good food and desserts, and a billion new soul-
fattening memories of all the cool people I met and "broke bread with." The Palm Sunday service
was incredible. Karen and her dad (who is a sweetheart, by the way! Hi, Mr. Sapp!!) sang several
songs together, and then we all enjoyed communion. It was a sweet and powerful gathering of
saints. Made me pine a bit for heaven.
The nice thing for me now . . . is knowing I'm going back in a week! This year's conference is
March 17-22, and features keynote speaker Liz Curtis Higgs. Needless to say, I can't wait!!
But anyway, back to last year, as the conference came to a close, I climbed in my wee car and
pointed it back toward home. More beautiful sunny weather on the drive, more incredible sights to
see, and, yes, this time, I had a crisp $5 bill for those Foreboding Toll Gates blocking the entrance
to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Hah! Didn't even need it. The sign, this time, said PROCEED WITHOUT PAYING.
Fitting end to a perfect week.
But wait! There's more!
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 25
One of the coolest things about the news I received that first day at Mount Hermon was dropping
fifty cents into the phone booth outside Mount Hermon's Post Office that very night and telling my
brother all about it. He's my only brother—it's just him and me—and he's been pulling for me ever
since 1996 when I first told him I had starting writing novels. I actually moved in with him and his
family so I could enter all my hand-written scratchings into his brand-new computer. But, more
about that later. On April 2nd, 2004, as I stood in that phone booth gushing with joy and weeping a
bit as I talked to him, I think it blew his socks off. He said he was proud of his baby sister. That
he always believed this day would come. I knew it was true, because he had shown his support for
my writing since day one. But to hear him actually say it . . . priceless.
The second person I knew I had to tell was my friend in Florence, the same friend I had stopped in
to see on the way down to Mount Hermon. After struggling with figuring out how to tell my
classmates at the conference, then not even telling some of them, as I pulled into the parking lot in
front of my friend's store in Florence, I even struggled with how to tell her. Do I just burst through
the door and shout, "They liked my stuff!" Or do I quietly say, "In 2008, go to your favorite
Christian bookstore . . ."
When I walked into Shannon's so-positively-cool brand-new store called Mother May I (she sells
children's clothes and toys and everything that's cool for kids and expectant mothers), I didn't say a
word. I could only smile.
But she heard every word I was trying to say. I could tell she did. Because she let out this burst of
happy laughter and slapped a big hug on me.
Family and friends. Priceless.
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 26
I live at the bottom of a small hill, directly across the street from the beachfront motel where I used
to work. Arriving home that day in April 2004, I coasted my wee car down that hill right up to the
steps leading to my apartment. Turned off the engine. Sat there for a second, completely exhausted
by everything that had happened, yet knowing as soon as I stepped foot outside my car, my amazing
Mount Hermon Adventures would come to a close.
I think I sat in the car for a full minute before I got out.
And, yes, after unpacking and crashing away into oblivious dreamland, the next days held nothing
but workworkwork for me at my job. Real Life in full force. But that was okay. I only had a few
more years before my first book hit the shelves. I could hang in there until then.
A part of me wondered.
After fixing the LDTs the group had pointed out to me (see Part 20), I sent off exactly what Karen
Ball requested: Chapter One of my novel, A Good Day to Die. (She had actually asked for the first
three chapters, but when I told her my chapters tended to be long, she asked how long, and I told
her three chapters would be about 100 pages of stuff. Her face reflected pure shock at that moment,
and she quickly said, "Oh, then send me only the first chapter.")
And the days rolled merrily along. I signed an agent agreement with Mr. Steve Laube (and the
group he worked for). (That's an inside joke.) And I worked at the motel, and I worked as an
independent contractor for Sally Stuart compiling and updating the Resources section of the 2005
Christian Writer's Market Guide, and I house-and-kitty-sat for a good friend who had left for five
weeks, and . . .
. . . and then I got a call from Steve Laube.
As it turned out, it was THE CALL. And if I thought my life had turned on a dime on April 2nd,
2004, on May 11th, 2004, my entire universe spun 360s on that same thin dime.
Dramatic, yes. But just another page in my amazing adventure.
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 27
I had been house-sitting for a few weeks by then, keeping an eye on a cute fluffy cat named Gideon,
sleeping over at nights. It was fun, but sleeping on the hard bed was difficult. By the third week, I
was pretty much a walking zombie, especially since Gideon loved to pounce on my head every
morning at 4:30, without fail.
So, brain dead and loving it, I headed home for a little while after work, before heading back to
Gideon's house. While I was home in those few minutes, the phone rang. I said hello. The man's
voice said hello and, "This is Steve."
Now, I'll admit, at that moment I was thinking, Steve? Steve, who? I don't know any Steve. Then
he started talking about someone named Karen and a contract, and it slowly dawned on me. Oh,
yeah. Steve. My agent!
As close as I can remember it, this is what he said: "They don't want to wait to publish your book,
they want to publish it right away, so it will release in May 2005. And they don't want just two
books from you, they want three. Can you have book two done by October, and book three done by
the following May?"
I'm brain dead. Remember? It just dawned on me who I was talking to. I said, "Um . . . yeah. I
can do that."
He talked about some numbers. (Afterward, I realized this was his "negotiating my contract.") He
asked if those numbers were all right.
I said, "Um . . . yeah. I can live with that." (My dead brain was starting to reel about now.)
He told me how excited he was for me, how excited everyone was about this project. He said it
would go before the "pub board" on the 24th, and then it would be official. He said he'd let me
know what they said.
I said, "Um . . . yeah. Okay."
Hanging up the phone that day, May 11th, 2004, I sat on my couch and stared out the window. I
think I stared for a long while. And then I started to laugh. No, not just laugh, giggle. It was the
hysterical giggle of a brain dead woman who just had her universe spun on a . . . okay, I won't say
it, but you get the idea.
Wow.
Stuff dreams are made of.
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 28
So. Okay. Yes. Life. Universe. 360s. Dime.
What is this. A keyword search?
No, really. Wait. Yes. Really. Believe it.
May 24th, 2004. Karen Ball left this message on my answering machine: "Welcome to the
Zondervan team!" Steve Laube left this message: "It flew through committee. You should have a
contract to sign in thirty days."
June 17th, 2004. I signed a three-book contract with Zondervan Publishers.
June 30th, 2004. I finally sent them (as per their request) my complete manuscript.
July 31st, 2004. I officially quit my "day job." (Which is a joke, mind you, since the "new job" I
was about to take on required my days and my nights and every single minute in between.)
August 5th, 2004. I returned from the Oregon Christian Writer's Conference to find an advance
check in my mail. Promply deposited it.
August 8th, 2004. Officially started A Good Day to Forgive, Book Two of the Kimberley Square
Series.
September 1st, 2004. A Good Day to Die, Book One of the Kimberley Square Series officially
became Wounded Healer, Book One of the Homeland Heroes Series.
September 15th, 2004. Payed my first quarterly federal and state tax payments.
Ahh, yes. The good, and the bad. : )
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 29
And so, we have almost come to the end of my now infamous Mount Hermon adventures. Well,
maybe not infamous . . .
As I look back over the past year, yes, I'm amazed. But right now, at this very moment, I'm slightly
caught in a limbo land of sorts. I've finished the typeset galleys of Wounded Healer, will have the
line edits done tonight for Warrior's Heart, and have finished the first four chapters of the as yet
untitled Book Three. In a few days I will again head south on Highway 101, will again cross that
spectacular Golden Gate Bridge (with a $5 bill firmly clutched in my hand), and will once again
walk under the magnificent Redwoods at the Mount Hermon Conference Center. After a quick visit
with my parents, I'll return to Oregon, finish Book Three to turn it in by May 1st and . . . and then
what?
Wounded Healer releases July 1st. Warrior's Heart, October 1st. In other words, if I thought my
universe had spun 360s before, oh my. What lies ahead is almost unimaginable, in a terribly
exciting and unbelievably wonderful sort of way.
So, yes, I'm in Limbo Land right now, not even able to comprehend what this summer holds. And
that's okay. The Lord has been pacing me, only allowing me to comprehend a small part of this at a
time. I asked Him to do this. If I try to comprehend it all, I know my brain will short-circuit and
I'll just keel over and that'll be it. Bon Voyahgeee. So, the truth is, I'm not even thinking about
what lies ahead. Except for the fun I'm going to have returning to Mount Hermon, and finishing
Book Three, my brainpan is empty. My eyes are glued only to one thing. Okay, not a thing, but a
person. And not just any person, but the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gazing steadily on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith. Hmm. If this is Limbo Land, then I
like it.
To be continued . . .
My Mount Hermon Adventures Part 30
Part 30. Wow. But, this is it. Tomorrow I leave to start my new Mount Hermon adventures. Can't
wait!
As I wrap this up, I know you may be just as amazed as I am about everything that's happened over
the past year. Then again, maybe not. If you've read all 30 posts, then I assume you care enough
about me to see where the adventures will end. (But you know what assuming does, don't you?) : )
Well, here's the deal. The only true way for you to fully realize just how amazing our amazing God
has been in my life this past year is for you to go back with me a bit farther, back to the summer of
1996. Or even the summer of 1965, when my life-adventure began. Once it's all laid out, you may
think I made it all up. It's too good to be true. Well, they say sometimes real life is stranger than
fiction. For me, real life beats making it up, any day.
The new adventures begin April 2nd, 2005. Fitting date to begin, wouldn't you say? : )
But, for now, let's wrap up this collection of posts by saying this: "Oh, what a wonderful God we
have! How great are His riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to
understand His decisions and His methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who
knows enough to be His counselor? And who could ever give Him so much that He would have to
pay it back? For everything comes from Him; everything exists by His power and is intended for
His glory. To Him be glory evermore. Amen." Romans 11:33-36
Whatever you are facing, you can trust Him. Even when you have no clue where it seems He is
leading you, and it seems that He is way out there so far that He has lost track of you behind Him
trying to keep up. Trust Him. Just trust. Because He knows you're back there, and He knows if
you will keep your eyes on Him, you will not get lost. He knows where He's going, and where He
is going is the exact place you need to be.
Yep. And amen.
Vaya con Dios,
donna
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| My Mount Hermon Adventures Transferred from my blog, various posts dated from February 3rd to March 15th, 2005. © 2005 Donna A. Fleisher |