Friendship with Authors

It dawned on me last night that I actually know authors. I don’t just read their books, but I’ve developed friendships with those who write and get published. It’s a privilege and a joy to be their friend. Reading a book when I’m the author’s friend is something special. Let me introduce you to three authors I know.

 Trinity is not Joyce Long’s first book, but it’s the first of her books I read. When I went to her book signing at a local bookstore, I got a signed copy. I met Joyce at my first meeting with the Heartland Christian Writers. As the new writer of the group, Joyce gave me a warm welcome. At our Christmas party she had a box of her newly published books, and we shared her excitement. The writers group meets monthly (lately on Zoom), and Joyce is a ball of encouragement as we critique each other’s work in progress (WIP). Her background is in education and nonprofit communications. Trinity is not a theological essay but a blend of personal experience and biblical knowledge to help readers discover the fullness of God.

   John Matthew Walker, MD is a one of the fiction writers in the HCW group. He’s our leader, and he developed the website: https://www.heartlandchristianwriters.com/ Visit the site and read our focus statement. I read the latest of John’s books, Moonlight Awakens, a sex-trafficking story. It’s dedicated to “the invisible, the forgotten, the shamed.” John did his research on this horrific yet mysterious world that involves young girls and their trapped condition. John states his writing genre as “suspense that awakens hope,” and he follows through with that in this remarkable story that moves readers to do something about the darkness of sex-trafficking.

   How Callie Daruk and I became friends was a surprise yet a God-thing. She read my blog and sent a message asking to phone me. Her call was an invitation to help me with my “dream job.” Callie offered her skills with transcription. I sent her a series of Bill’s sermons on cassette tapes and she returned them as typed transcripts for me to edit and prepare for publication. Our friendship grew during the time her WIP became a published book, What Does God Want You to Do Before You Die? I pre-ordered it on Amazon, which was not supposed to happen in that time frame, for I had it before the release date. A mistake that proved beneficial, for I was able to send a review early. Callie’s book―30 devotions to help you begin living your purpose―is only 123 pages but packed full of insight and persuasion to follow God’s leading.

While I treasure my books, these and other authors are God’s jewels to me.