Into the Fire

Man.

How do you approach this subject over and over again without feeling ridiculous? I do not know. Other than with honesty. So . . .

Sometime in September or October I will have been a Christian for 30 years. Wow. I have learned that a focal point of the walk with Jesus is obedience. Obedience pertains to every single area of our lives. But to keep on topic, this obedience must be applied to our serious writing endeavors as thoughtfully and determinedly as any other facet of living on planet earth as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I write my novels as an act of obedience. Am I saying this makes them perfect or somehow elevates them above the works of others who don’t make this claim? I am not. I only know, as I’ve said innumerable times here and elsewhere, that I couldn’t write them without the inspiration and assistance of the Holy Spirit. I’m just not that creative.

Maybe it is for this reason alone that I love the books I’ve written. Not because of my “sensational” talent as a wordsmith. Not because I can tell a story better than someone else. Not because I do or don’t follow the rules of writing or the failsafe formula for writing a novel. The stories I’ve written are a wonderful gift to me that surprise me as they develop with characters I love, and some I detest, who all have a story to tell, a “life” experience to share, and they simply must not be denied the opportunity to be set upon the pages of a novel.

When I wrote The Famous One, it came fluently, one of three I wrote and finished in 2005. To now have it in print with a cool cover and getting positive feedback from both male and female readers is something only God can provide. As you all know, I’m a terrible marketer because it’s so awkward to tell people to buy my work. And so hard.

Sunday at church a woman to whom I’d given a copy of my first novel (Hope Of Glory) approached me between services telling me how much she was enjoying the book, where she was in the story, how “real” it was, and this lady has nothing to do with horses or horse racing. What a gift from the Lord when I can see the sheer pleasure on a reader’s face as they describe the experience of reading this story God had assigned to me to write.

Today two more readers (one male, one female) of The Famous One sent me e-mails expressing their satisfaction with the book, one of them giving me the following quote to use:

“The author of The Famous One, Nicole Petrino-Salter, takes the time to breathe depth and life into her characters. Her writing is passionate, compelling and strikingly honest.”

The other person had this to say:

“I became entwined in the life of strangers again and had to find out where their lives meshed. You have a wonderful gift of painting the picture of a person’s struggles in everyday life as well as their relationships. I felt like I knew Joey like a friend at the end of the book and was surprised by the ending . . . I came to realize that the ending really was exceptional.” (Edited to eliminate spoilers.)

I have no idea how visitors to this blog will react to these posts. While I love sharing my work with all of you, I am uncomfortable posting commentary which makes me feel like I’m boasting. All I really have is word of mouth, so that’s what I’m passing along to you. Please don’t hold it against me.

All praise goes directly to the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth and all good things including lovely words.

Father, I do thank you that you have allowed me to receive “good reports” on these stories you’ve assigned to me. You get all the credit for anything good. You’re amazing. Please continue to lead me in your ways everlasting. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.