Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Why This Book?


I’ve come to the decision to publish another book – one that I was inspired to publish after attending the Christian Writers Seminar this past weekend in Castro Valley. It’ll be a collection of some of my favorite flash fiction pieces and poetry called Paraph. Yes, it’s my word from the Save-A-Word blog hop! How wonderful is that?
What’s great is that I can go through CreateSpace again and have the choice of having it in print or just as an eBook on Amazon which would be sold for .99 cents. After having enough critiques I think I’ll go for it. Here’s the title page and the intended preface for the book.




PARAPH

Stories and Poetry depicting the growth of
one child of God



by
Nancy LaRonda Johnson


Why This Book?



Having been blessed with the foundation of going to church in my youth and singing verses like “Jesus loves me this I know, because the Bible tells me so,” I have always had a strong belief that God is in my life. My favorite books at that time – other than reading the dictionary, which my mother swears I did although I remember just loving the pictures, but I guess that included reading it as well – was a 10 volume set of Bible stories. Yet my understanding of how much God was in my life and loved me, even while I yearned to know who he was in my difficult pre-teens and rebellious teens, took years to be realized.
Writing, however, was a good way for me to look into myself and give those confusing emotions a voice. Journaling thoughts, goals, dreams and poetry helped to keep me sane. Story writing came later, along with my interest in reading books that were too adult for my young, impressionable mind, including books by Jacqueline Susan, Mario Puzo, Harold Robbins and Sidney Sheldon. Still, the creative flame was lit. And I am sure it was a flame that was ignited by God and that is still being stoked by him.
Again, my understanding of God’s will for me as a writer has been long-coming. My endeavors into writing were first depicted by developing the craft, including expounding on emotion, creating a concise storyline, fine-tuning dialogue, and of course, the never-ending journey of grammar and flow. Creating lives in stories was magical and fun.
Then came God’s nudging me to write for his honor. To me, this did not mean I had to write only Christian stories, but stories that would bring people to a greater understanding of his love, of life and of others, especially those who are generally discounted by many Christians. As my writing often has a dark edge to it, I believe God has allowed me to develop that interest to reach those who otherwise would steer clear of Christian theology.
I am still God’s work in progress. This book, with its myriad of short fiction pieces (called flash fiction) and poetry, is a journey of my growth as a storyteller and sometimes poet, me opening my ears to God’s directions, and finally my desire to write about God’s influence in my life. I hope you enjoy this journey.



~ That’s the preface, which would be followed by flash fiction and poetry. Let me know what you think. 

So, would you consider publishing your stories or poems that would otherwise stay tucked away in blog archives, thumb drives or old file cabinets?





8 comments:

  1. Hi! I had been quite impressed by your Save-a Word and I also wanted to join the game .However I could not manage .Yet I would like to publish my stories or poems.The only condition is that it must be read and should get the feedback.Another point is that I must know and should be able to find my write-ups and the comments.You are always an inspiration to me.Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind words Kajari. I hope you will be able to join the game. It doesn't have to be on Saturday, just whenever you get the chance.

      Being read is the goal of every writer! Unfortunately, it's not as easy as it seems it should be. There are so many writers and books out there, it's always a challenge to have it known that your book is out there too. I wish us both prosperity in that.

      Delete
  2. You should definitely go forward with the project. Readers are always looking for positive inspiration

    ReplyDelete
  3. I enjoyed your short stories that I read. What does Paraph mean? Nikki Grace

    ReplyDelete
  4. Does it mean "a flourish at the end of a signature"? Nikki Grace

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep it does Nikki. :) Will see how it works as the title of this short book. I'm glad you made it by and was able to comment. :)

      Delete
  5. It is incredible what our parents remember us doing and how we remember the same experience. I used to love the dictionary, too. I was enchanted by uncanny-sounding words that described everyday things, so I was always looking for them. It was fun. It still is ;-)

    ReplyDelete

Your comments add wonderful flavors. Thank you!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...