STEP INTO THE LIGHT
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PATTI’S BLOGS
The Over Fifty Writer (1st and 3rd Friday)
Patti’s Porch (2nd and 4th Tuesday)
Meet seasoned authors, learn about new books and find inspiration to help you along your journey. No matter how far you’ve come or where you are going, I’d be honored to travel with you. If you like what you see, please subscribe to avoid missing updates.
Antony has won several book awards, is a columnist for Practical Homeschooling Magazine, and hosts The Shepherd’s Pie radio show and podcast. A previous guest on Step Into the Light, Antony returns today to discuss the sixth book in his teen historical fiction Harwood Mysteries series titled The Devil’s Ransom. Join us as Antony discusses The Harwood Mystery series, it's message for teens, and his plans for an innovative and intriguing adult series due to release next year.
FEATURED BOOK: Heart of the Matter: A Journey to Faith,
AUTHOR: Laura Edge
PUBLISHER Elk Lake Publishing, Inc.
GENRE: Memoir
SERIES OR STAND ALONE: Stand Alone
TARGET AGE: 15-90+
IT IS MY PLEASURE TO WELCOME AUTHOR LAURA EDGE TO THE OVER 50 WRITER. LAURA TALKS ABOUT HER JOURNEY OF FAITH THROUGH A CHALLENGING MEDICAL CRISIS.
GOD’S PERFECT PLAN
by
Laura Edge
When I was a young mom, cardiomyopathy damaged my heart muscle and my active lifestyle changed overnight. Anything that elevated my heart rate was off limits. I had to quit my job and find a new, sedentary career--preferably one that involved children in some way.
God provided the perfect solution: writing children’s books. I love reading and learning about new things—why not combine my two great loves, children and books?
I didn’t know the first thing about how to write a children’s book, so I took writing classes online and joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. At my first writers’ conference, I won an award for the first five pages of my novel-in-progress, and a lovely and brilliant children’s author with more than one hundred books in print mentored me for a year.
What a confidence boost!
I finished my novel and submitted it to literary agents and publishers. It was rejected by one and all. I rewrote the novel and the new version was also rejected by publishers. I wrote a new novel, and it won a writing contest too. I found a literary agent who agreed to represent me. But that book didn’t sell either. I studied the craft of writing, read a ton of how-to books by successful authors, attended writing workshops, and joined a critique group. And I wrote. A lot. But all of my manuscripts were rejected by publishers and literary agents.
Discouragement replaced the heady excitement of creating something unique. I started to doubt—maybe writing wasn’t God’s plan for me. Maybe I was a talentless hack masquerading as a writer. But I kept working, kept studying, and kept learning. Through a writers’ newsletter, I saw an article about a nonfiction publisher looking for writers for a series of American history books for children.
Perfect, I thought. I love history!
But I had no idea how to write a book proposal.
Seasoned writers advise newbies-with-a-dream to follow publisher guidelines to the letter when writing a book proposal. I worked on a writing sample, studied books published by the publishing company, and agonized over a cover letter that didn’t make me sound like a complete rookie. Then I sent the publisher my proposal and crossed my fingers. A couple of months later, shock of all shocks, they offered me a book contract. Whoo-hoo! Dancing in the street time!
The book they hired me to write was a creative nonfiction title about Hull-House, a settlement house in Chicago set in 1908. I toured the Hull-House Museum and spent long days at the University of Illinois doing research. Each time I uncovered an interesting tidbit, my excitement grew. I wanted to share all the cool stuff I discovered with the world. After Hull-House was released, nonfiction publishers offered me biographies and American histories to write. I didn’t make a lot of money, but I had steady, interesting work.
In spite of the ups and downs of book sales, writing turned out to be the best possible job for a mom with heart disease and young children. It allowed me to work when I was able and step away the moment my sons walked through the door. I doubt I would have attempted it if cardiomyopathy hadn’t chained me to a desk, but I fell in love with my new career and felt blessed to have found a sedentary job with beauty and purpose.
I never set out to become a writer, but it was part of God’s perfect plan for my life. As Scripture reminds us, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).
God’s plans are always better than my own. Today, with seventeen published books, I stand in awe of His faithfulness. Writing has become one of my greatest joys, and my heart rejoices that I have the privilege of encouraging others on their writing journeys as God faithfully guided me on mine.
Blurb for Heart of the Matter
Laura Edge hears the words, “You need a heart transplant,” for the first time when she is thirty-nine-years-old. Her family has just returned from a joy-filled vacation to Disney World when she develops a cough. The cough worsens, and a team of cardiologists gives her news that tears her world apart. The mother of five-and six-year-old boys must trade Little League games for hospitalizations and her favorite Italian foods for handfuls of pills.
Heart of the Matter chronicles Laura’s journey as she tries to stay alive long enough to raise her children. She learns to trust God for each heartbeat and finds faith in His goodness. A survival story with a message of hope, Laura’s memoir will resonate with anyone facing life’s greatest challenges and most impossible questions.
Amazon Buy Link
Laura B. Edge is the author of the Christian memoir, Heart of the Matter: A Journey to Faith, and sixteen nonfiction books for children and young adults. She loves to read, travel, dance, and watch football games. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Texas at Austin and studied abroad with the American Institute for Foreign Study in London, Paris, Rome, and Athens. Laura has taught reading and writing in middle schools and at a community college near her home in Kingwood, Texas. She currently works as an online editor.
Learn more about Laura at www.lauraedge.com.