Ginger Garrett

I’m editing two novels and writing another. My brain should be fried, but being couch-bound has its advantages. Not many, actually, but at least I am able to get more writing done while my ankle heals. Now I will be waiting for galleys to come back on both books while I wrap up the new novel.

Getting the galleys back is the worst part of the publishing process. Galleys are the first time you get to see your book after edits, just before it goes to the presses. The hateful thing about galleys is that you realize the book is over, and it isn’t everything you dreamed of. Yet, it’s the best you could do for that moment in time. It’s like getting to relive your past only to realize you can’t really do anything different, even though you are wiser now.

If any of you dream of becoming a writer, just know that it’s okay to start and not like what you write. You’ll spend a lot of time not liking what you write. But if it’s the best you can do for today, then learn to let it go. I wish I could learn to apply this same lesson to life!

After being bedridden following tendon surgery on my ankle/calf, I was granted a walking cast yesterday afternoon. Praise God for the littlest comforts that I am enjoying again: pouring myself a cup of coffee (or four cups, to be truthful), going to Wal Mart for a quick errand, and meeting my kids for lunch at school. Ahhh…..

Of course, my coach turned back to a pumpkin and I had to be back on the couch by 2pm to get the swelling down, so here I am.

Sunday I’ll be at the Canton Festival of the Arts  in Canton, Georgia hosting a panel on Inspirational Writing with River Jordan, Karen Spears Zacharias, and Cathy Lee Phillips.

If you’re in the area, and don’t mind a little rain, please come share a few hours with us. I’ll be signing copies of Beauty Secrets of the Bible, which is a title that may mislead. It’s not only based on ancient remedies and rituals used in biblical days, including those Queen Esther most likely used in her harem days, it’s a book that examines a radical, rich expression of beauty. Ancient beliefs about beauty, particularly in the Jewish culture, challenge us to acknowledge that whatever we do in the name of physical beauty will have a spiritual impact. We often pursue beauty because we want to be loved and accepted, but the deeper story is that we can pursue beauty as a means to honor those we love.

I’ll also bring my new historical novel based on the life of Anne Boleyn, a martyr for women’s literacy and our right to read the Bible. She died, in large part, to give us the right to read. It’s a story that is often not told, because it’s more “fun” to imagine her sleeping around at court. But she didn’t, and if you ever wanted to know the truth about this enigmatic woman, the novel might be just a little bit of light.

Hope to see you all there–and if you come, look for the redhead with a limp!

One more week to go until I am off bedrest and get a walking cast! I had a ruptured ankle tendon repaired last week, with a scar that runs up the foot into the calf. Not so pretty. But the pain is manageable, and I can’t help but think that an entire summer spent elevating my leg will pay some wonderful dividends. Maybe I’ll finish my next novel ahead of schedule, or write a new nonfiction, or just get my emotional batteries recharged.

This past year I’ve done everything I could to avoid sitting. I cooked, cleaned, ran half marathons and competed in triathlons, ate, and worked. OK, to be truthful,  I mainly ate! I didn’t sit. If I did, frustration would eat me alive. (Which is in itself a long story, best to be avoided here. Suffice it to say it’s publishing related.) Thank God (I mean that!) for the blessing of traveling the country talking to women’s groups. Listening to your stories, holding hands as women shared their heartaches and hopes: this is what has kept me going. I am in awe of the strength and beauty of the women I’ve met. I could sit and be still when I was listening to one of you.

So now while I am a prisoner of my couch, I am hoping God has something in store for this season of sitting. Maybe a new idea, a change of heart, a fresh start? I have to believe that I’ve spent a year or more running away from the silence, trying not to feel the frustrations, and yet here I am, stuck. I feel like Jonah or perhaps Jacob. Either way, I know there’s going to be a good story in all of this. Let’s hope it doesn’t include any wild animals vomiting me up.

Thanks so much for your prayers and concern. Next Thursday I get my walking cast, so at least I can get out a little every day, like going to the mailbox. My ladies know: God tends to speak to me in the mailbox!

I am about to leave for the hospital for ankle surgery and will be offline all this week. I disabled comments because too much spam was coming through but you can always send an email through my regular address. The button is somewhere around here on the screen.

Be well and know you are loved!