Going Home

I am excited to welcome my good friend Kathy Harris. Although we have not met in person, Kathy and I are members of a close-knit group who share hopes, dreams,  successes, disappointments, and confidences in cyberspace.  


Join us as Kathy talks about something near and dear to all of us at one time or another in our lives: going home.

Many times over the past few years, I've dreamed of being back in my grandparents’ house. The small white bungalow, tucked behind a double row of trees, was surrounded by fields of corn. The stalks were taller in maturity than I was at the time (or, for that matter, than I am now).

The vegetable garden, henhouse, pond, and barn are indelibly engraved into my memory. It has been almost twenty years since I last visited that old homeplace, but I can still taste the first ripe tomatoes of the season, hear the cackling of the chickens, and smell the musty scent of the hayloft. 

I can mentally slide my hand across the faded gray, rough-hewn barnwood—and delight in the memory of a dairy cow licking my fingers with her raspy, pink tongue. In a flash, I’m sitting on my grandpa’s knee, trying to learn how to milk one of those cows, and then giggling when a thin white stream of milk misses the pail and lands on his bare foot.

As an adult, well past childhood, I would drive for hundreds of miles in rain or snow to return to that family home on special occasions. The place—and the people who inhabited it—brought me comfort then. Thinking about it—and them—still does.

There’s something special about returning to our roots, remembering where we came from. Like human carrier pigeons, we often try to go home. If not physically, then within the confines of our minds. 

Perhaps by way of a built-in spiritual compass, we also understand that our eternal home is waiting. We can’t yet see it. But we know it’s there. 

In the meantime, we each have a journey to complete here . . . miles, rain, snow, and winding roads set out before us on our way “home.”

QUESTION: What are some of your favorite childhood memories? 

(Answer this question in comments between now and October 31st to be entered in a drawing to win a copy of Kathy's book, The Road to Mercy. Be sure to leave your email address!)

The Road to Mercy

by

Kathy Harris

Tragedy, love, and secrets meet on a journey of faith.

Have you ever dared to believe you could find God's forgiveness, even when you can't forgive yourself?

Dr. Ben Abrams, rescued as an infant from a fiery crash that killed his family, turned his adversities into success but lost his heritage of faith. Fifty years later, Josh and Bethany Harrison face a difficult decision that also tests their faith. A rupture in Beth's carotid artery leaves her on the brink of death, even as she's pregnant with their first child. While Dr. Abrams urges her to abort the baby to save her own life, she and Josh step out on faith and
continue the pregnancy.

During the next few months, Josh, a contemporary Christian singer, struggles with his faith while Beth hides a secret that may destroy their marriage. She also discovers a decades-old connection to Dr. Abrams that could change his life forever.

                               - Abingdon Press, September 2012

Kathy Harris is an author by way of a divine detour into the Nashville entertainment business. She graduated with a B.S. in Communications from Southern Illinois University and has spent the past two decades employed as a marketing director in the Nashville music industry.


An active member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the publicity officer for Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, Kathy lives near Nashville with her husband and their two Shiloh Shepherd dogs. Her fiction debut, The Road to Mercy, was released by Abingdon Press on September 1, 2012.

Kathy regularly interviews literary and music guests on her blog, Divine Detour . Visit Kathy's author site.. She can be found on Facebook or Twitter @DivineDetour.

Confessions of a first book editor

Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the book launch for Written World Communications' most recent release, the prarnormal/action/adventure novel Rockapocalypse by Byron Suggs. Although all WWC book releases are exciting, this one holds a special place in my heart.


It is the first book edited by me.

For months, author Byron and I emailed, talked by phone, quibbled over words, debated grammatical issues, discussed scenes, and at times, agreed to disagree. I can't say I ever got inside Byron's head, but I did start thinking the way his characters would think. 

After a while, I no longer had to ask grammar or local flavor? in a character's dialogue. I just knew. 

I turned in the final proofread, and in a matter of days, the manuscript was off to press. That's when the doubts bombarded my brain. 

Had I caught all the typos? 

Had I corrected inconsistencies in capitalization?  

Had I been tired when I read the final copy and missed something really important?  

It thrilled me to make my way through a throng of people to the back of The Written World on Saturday where Byron sat behind a table with a stack of books next to him - real printed books we and other members of the Written World team had worked on and perfected together. The cover art we had all agreed on was replicated in a big poster located next to him.

Even though Byron and I had joked about never reading the book again, I couldn't resist thumbing through the pages, skimming sentences and scenes I'd read at least a dozen times over the past weeks. Somehow, the words looked different between the pages of a bound book than they did on a computer screen.

Then I found it The one thing I had feared. It jumped out at me like a mole on the end of a model's nose. 

A mistake! 

I won't repeat the sentence itself to avoid ruining any portion of the story for readers, but there is a period where a comma should be!  

Readers might not even notice, but that particular oversight is one of my pet peeves. 

This example will explain what I mean.

"Let's go." Sue said. (incorrect) 

"Let's go," Sue said. (correct) 

UGH!

My granddaughter, who accompanied me to the booksigning, saved my crushed ego. 

"Look, grandma. All books have mistakes." She showed me the book she had brought with her, a novel written by a world renowned author that has sold millions of copies.

Sure enough, at the end of a paragraph of dialogue, there was no closed quotation mark! I double checked to be sure the same character was not continuing his dialogue in a new paragraph. 

Nope, this was a genuine, bona fide mistake!

When it comes right down to it, the only book where I have never, ever seen a single error, whether it be typo or missing comma, is the Holy Bible. How fitting that God's book is the only perfect one I've ever found!





There are probably other errors in Rockapocalypse, things I missed. I heard that during the printing process, in one place, the word "chief" lost its "c." Bet any reader smart enough to read the book will figure that one out.







I believe in this story. 

The message overshadows the mistakes by miles.

Welcome Home!

About a year after they married, our son Jason and his wife Jaque decided to make their home in New York City, a fair distance from our Colorado home. Two years ago, they stretched the mileage chasm even further when they moved to the UK. 

Two years is a long time to not see your son, but contact such as instant messsaging on the computer, gmail chat via cell phone, and an occasional Skyped conversation along with a phone call every few weeks kept us pretty well in touch.

Three weeks ago, our daughter told us she was taking our granddaughter to the mall to do some back-to-school clothes shopping. My husband and I took our granddaughter, Madi, with us to look for a new laptop that morning, and when we took her home, we stayed for lunch and watched a movie. 

I thought it strange, when it got to be late afternoon, that they had made no move to leave for their shopping trip, especially since the mall is eighty miles away. "The sale doesn't start until six, Mom," our daughter, Joelene, told me. "We have plenty of time." 

When I texted her at 11:00 PM and she told me they were just leaving Pueblo, I was surprised. "Madi talked me into taking her out to dinner and we played some mini-golf." 

Oh, OK, that made sense. 

When 12:30 (A.M, mind you) rolled around, I was getting tired and thought I would text again just to be sure they were home before heading on to bed. No sooner did I get the text sent when I could have sworn I heard a car drive in the yard. I chuckled to myself. Madi must have talked her mom into letting her come over and show us all of her new school outfits, even though the hour was late.

I heard a knock on the door and went to unlock it with a smile for Madi, Towering above me with his six-one frame stood Jason! Joelene and Madi had been to DIA to pick him up, and they'd been keeping the secret that he was coming since April!

We had a wonderful couple of weeks together. Jaque had also come along, but they had parted ways in Charlotte, N.C. They had brought a friend from the UK, Josie, who had never been in the US, so Jaque and Josie flew on up to NYC to do some touring there while Jason flew on out to Denver.

A couple of days later, the girls flew to Denver, spent the night with a friend, and Jason drove up and picked them up the next day. They had a chance to visit friends and family here locally as well as take a couple of days to visit friends in Colorado Springs.

It was fun to watch "the kids" do some of the silly things they used to do together years ago, like climb on the garage roof!  Back in the day, I would have been up there with them. Not any more!

Jason sure misses Mexican food, so we went out to dinner at one of our local Mexican food restaurants.

Um, Little Bro, did you really just take a drink of MY pop?

Dairy Queen is the only fast food restaurant in our small town, and of course we had to make a visit there!

One day Josie treated us to home-made crepes. Oh, man, were they ever good! 

Jaque mastered the art of flipping them, but, nope, I didn't even try!







One evening, Jason and Jaque brought out a whole bunch of sweet treats from the UK. We're still enjoying the variety of candies and cookies! In the meantime, they purchased some of the favorites they miss, mainly Mountain Dew and Chips Ahoy cookies! 

The vehicles overseas are smaller than here. They don't have many "big trucks" or SUV's, so I invited Josie to take my Ford pick-up for a spin. 







The second week of their visit, the girls and Jaque's family went on a road trip out west to see Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. 

Jason was able to arrange to work while here, since he normally works from home on a computer. He brought a laptop with him and the company supplied him with a phone. Due to the time change between the UK and here, he worked his shift at night.

Of course, I didn't remember to get any more pictures until we were at the airport and the three were leaving!

Jaque & Jason

Jaque & Josie

Jason & his mom  (yours truly)

Jason was not thrilled about having to go through the body scanner at the airport, but they all made it out okay.  As you can see, we had a chance for one last wave good-bye!

A lot of people say they miss the days when their children were young. I guess in a way I do too, but I'm also proud to see the adults both of our kids have become. It's fun to relate to them as adults, to listen to their view of the world, their experiences, and the sibling banter that occurs when they reminisce about their childhood. 

Modern technology allows us to stay in touch with loved ones, no matter how much distance separates us. When kids move away, it's still hard, but not quite as hard as it was back in the day when the only means of communication was by letter or a phone call.

Still, it's not the same as giving a child (even an adult child!) a hug, seeing them smile with their sibling at some silly memory, or watching your once little boy stride across the room with the determination and maturity of a grown man. 

We will cherish the memory of every moment of this visit and can't wait for the next one!