I’m running late today, but you’ll soon see there’s an excellent reason for it.
I’ve been asking the Lord to give me the seed of the next Bell Mountain book. I don’t want to wind up trying to write it as the weather turns cold.
So after our grocery-shopping, I was sitting outside with my cigar, taking in the spring day, mentally compiling a list of characters in my books (it helps me remember who’s who); and I asked one more time for something, anything, that would get the next book started, ask and ye shall receive–
And I got it. Wham, bam–the opening scene of the book, and a symbol to tie the whole story together, however it shapes up. Completely out of the blue: nothing to do with any of the loose ends I left, purposely, dangling from the closing chapters of His Mercy Endureth Forever. Them I’ll get to, in good time.
Man, I’ll never get used to this, even though it’s happened so many times–like every time I wrote one of these books. God always surprises me.
I even got a working title: The Wind From Heaven.
Rejoice with me. I’ve got a big, big job ahead of me, it’ll stretch me pretty good; but it’s the work I love best, and I have no idea what I’ll encounter on this journey–surprises all the way. But with the Lord guiding me, wherever the story ought to go, I’ll tell it.
Oh–and you can bet I broke out my legal pad and wrote that scene. I’m on my way!
Your new title, “The Wind from Heaven” reminds me of something that happened when Israel was fighting for survival. Some Israeli soldiers were walking through the desert at night when they suddenly realized they were in the middle of a huge mine-field!
They were poking cautiously around with their bayonets to find the mines and disarm them, one-by-one. It would have taken forever to get across the field, even if they survived.
Suddenly a strong wind came up out of nowhere and blew all the sand off the mines! As soon as the sand was gone, the wind stopped. They were now able to just walk through the mines safely..
That is in one of the episodes in the “Against All Odds” TV series that I just finished watching on Prime Video. It’s a documentary about Israel’s unlikely survival. There are many other miracles as well. Fascinating!
Around Bell Mountain, we’re into miracles.
Good for you, having a new start. I feel the same way when I am just writing my articles. It is great when that moment comes when you know what you are supposed to write.
And it’s never what I was expecting.
As I read this post I felt like I was right there with you and could see the expression on your face as the revelations came. Aha moments are the best.
It’s amazing how things like that happen.
Here I was with all these loose ends left in the last book–on purpose–so I could pick up the story from there in the next book: and what I got has nothing to do with any of them. And yet it seems so exactly right!
Isn’t is funny how creative works take on a life of their own?
I’ve said it before–my books are smarter than I am.
This is great news! May God bless you as you write the next adventure!
And I like the new title!!
I always used to be bad at titles. The publisher changed the titles of all four of my horror novels–for the better, I might add.
I can see a faint picture of a series that is my dream to write, but I deem it too fast to say these things…