building forts and book reviews

Here's my son, Paul, peeking out of the fort he built this weekend. Looks like he's in the Amazon with all that vivid green. He had a ball sawing wood and hammering nails and driving the lawn tractor to get there. Nothing is square or very sturdy but he doesn't care! I think I need to learn to be like Paul. Just enjoy the journey and try your best (and leave the rest to Him).

I'm busy with book 2 and will be till deadline. Actually I've been busy with book 2 for almost 2 years and am missing book 3. I'm learning to write a bit faster and keep my internal editor on a leash. On breaks this weekend I picked up my copy of The Frontiersman's Daughter and read my favorite chapters. Then today I found Randy reading it! He said as if surprised, "I really like it!" But what else is an author's husband supposed to say?! He's not a reader but so far he's on page 36 out of 412. We'll see how far he gets:)

On the publishing front, I really like this recent review of The Frontiersman's Daughter by Christian Book Distributors. Their fiction editor writes: "I loved the characters in this debut novel! No person was simply one-dimensional; no enemy only evil; no hero only good. Devout and flawed, strong and foolish, principled and stubborn, these settlers and renegades move against the sweeping backdrop of America's beginnings and bring frontier history to life. The fascinating details of everyday living made me appreciate the hardships and dangers better than any textbook account of the events!"

I still have so far to go. A writer never stops learning and improving their craft. I'm still an apprentice after 41 years of writing and reading hard. In heaven I think I'll still be writing, only getting it right the first time!

Don't quit. It's very easy to quit during the first ten years. -Andre Dubus