March 13, 2022
My Personal Journey
In much of the same way that Digby has been on a journey, I have been on one as well. God has led me down this journey and continues to do so. I am greatly humbled that God has allowed me to become a published author. It is Him working through me that has accomplished this. There’s no other way to explain it. He deserves all the praise and honor, not me. For you see, I didn’t write a book. God wrote a book through me.
I’ve always enjoyed writing and can express myself better through the written word rather than the spoken word. Writing stories, plays and poems were things I liked to do when I was younger. I never really pursued writing though as my life and career took me in another direction. My work involved writing, however, it was more technical writing. I did take a short writing course through the mail a long time ago where agency writers critiqued my short stories; I didn’t think my stories were very good. In more recent years, I had looked at possibly trying to write for magazines and other avenues, however, never really got serious about it. I’ve had ideas about writing short stories, about animals and morals but nothing really cliqued with me.
Through all these years, I’ve been growing closer to God, especially since my retirement six years ago. The desire to write became stronger more recently. I thought if I’m going to write, I need it to help others learn about God. The urge to write a children’s book became strong. Not wanting it to sound preachy; I wanted it to be about real life in the day of a child. I pondered what to write about and how to tie it into biblical principles.
Although I had been to Sunday School when I was little and completed confirmation classes as a teenager, I never really knew when I was younger that God lived inside of me, nor did I know much about the fruit of the Spirit. I had seen a lovely fruit of the Spirit tree in my daughter’s home, on her wall, several years ago. My own bible study of the fruit of the Spirit, listening to a televised bible teacher explain them, and little things just kept popping up that kept me focused on them. It wasn’t a huge revelation like a light bulb going off one day; it was God showing me through several different ways this was the topic. The fruit of the Spirit was it. I could tie the nine different fruits into relatable everyday life stories for children.
My children and grandchildren were the inspiration for many of the stories. More recently, some of the ideas came through one of my grandsons; he had a new baby in his family, typically has a messy room, can have a temper at times, however, has the kindest heart. God filled my mind and helped me put these and other ideas down on paper. Most of the stories themselves didn’t take that long to write. I wrote this book during the covid quarantine in March 2020. Digby is far from perfect; none of us are. He gets angry, has a messy room, and has some difficulty learning, but he is also kind, gentle and discovers he has the fruit of the Spirit inside him to help him.
I saw a tv advertisement on Covenant books after I had written it and, on what I felt was a whim, which I now believe was the Holy Spirit guiding me, decided to contact them for further information. The name, Covenant, reminded me of God’s promises to humanity; I felt God leading me to this publishing company.
In June I requested information about the publishing company and did my research. My research satisfied me. I submitted my manuscript in July and received a call later that month that it was accepted for publication. The acquisition agent started talking about a contract. I recall saying something to the effect of hold on, I need time to think about this. My mind was spinning. How did my manuscript get accepted? I don’t have a journalism degree. I’ve never published anything other than in my school newspaper about 40 years ago. I thought they must accept everyone (although their website does state that they receive thousands upon thousands of submissions each month and do not have the capacity to publish most books presented to them). The agent informed me if the manuscript subject matter/storyline was deemed something they would be interested in, it would be submitted to their evaluation committee for review for possible publication. Two weeks later, I received a congratulations email; my manuscript was accepted. They wanted to send me an offer to publish.
No one knew that I was writing a children’s book. I did not tell anyone anything until my manuscript was accepted and they sent me a contract. I then told my husband and children. They were surprised and happy for me. My son looked over the contract with me. We both had lots of questions and he offered valuable input. After getting all the questions answered, I took a step of faith and signed the contract. The journey began – or should I say continued?
Covenant asked for an author biography. I didn’t know what to say. I’m a small-town country girl who was teased as being a hick from the sticks in high school. I don’t have any writing awards or published articles. Who am I? What was I going to say? My husband asked our children what they would say about me. I began with the facts – wife, mother, grandmother, job, hobbies and counted on my children to fill in the blanks. My daughter also read my final draft manuscript and offered key suggestions, particularly on the book synopsis and my author bio. Covenant requested my picture; I took a selfie and emailed it and my bio in.
It’s been a long process to get to this point where the book is printed and now available for purchase. There were many different phases that required very detailed work. Deciding what the characters would look like was one of the many phases. (For the illustrations, my immediate family are pictured in some type of resemblance in many of the characters.)
A major concern for me was I was altering the bible verses. I did not want to add or delete from the bible verses, however, wanted to make them more simple and easier for children to understand. I didn’t know if I needed a note and/or disclaimer pertaining to them; Covenant assured me I did not. I was more concerned though about how God felt about it as all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for instruction, correction, and training in righteousness.
Going with a large publishing company, your book gets in line with many other books. It takes several weeks at each step in the process and if changes are required on the author’s part or the publisher’s, it adds more time to it. I’ve wanted things to happen quickly. While I would review things thoroughly, I would do them quickly to move the process along. There were many things along the way that were out of my control that slowed down the process. I’ve had to be patient and wait and wait some more, and trust God that this will all work out.
Even those who do not know God and the fruit of the Spirit can relate to the everyday life stories and good morals. It is my hope, however, that those who do not know will come to know God and the fruit of the Spirit and dig deeper into the stories, bible verses and questions. It is also further my hope that those gifted to teach will help others in these endeavors, whether they are just starting to learn or to further their education and understanding.
While I hope this book will be enjoyed by children of all ages, it focuses on the 8 – to 12-year-old – the older children – they’re not real little but are not teenagers. I believe this is a crucial age – children this age can really begin to understand and learn how their actions affect others. And let’s face it, it’s before those teenage years when they may be harder to reach – lol.
The most important thing in this journey is that this book helps others; even if it only helps one individual, it will have been worth it for me. It is my hope and prayer though that this book will help thousands and thousands of children around the world. I know that’s a lofty goal, however, it’s not me, it’s God; he’s directing my steps. His purpose will stand.
We are all God’s children, no matter our age, and have these special God given qualities inside us, whether in seed form or more fully grown. Let us discover them and use them in our everyday lives, like Digby does.
Thank you for being part of my ongoing journey. May God bless you all.
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September 23, 2023
My Personal Journey – Part II
As some of you may know, God wrote a book through me, Digby’s Discoveries: The Fruit of the Spirit. It was published in January 2022. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the past year and a half and continues to support me in any way.
In the time since the book was published, there has been much going on. It’s been challenging receiving numerous phone calls and emails from a variety of publishers, marketing firms and others in the book related industry and not knowing who to really trust and what is the most cost effective. I’ve strived to be a good steward of the resources God has so graciously bestowed upon me; I’m not sure if I’m doing well in that regard or not. I’ve done a few events, from local vendor shows to international bookfairs. Some may not have been the best use of his financial resources while there may be others that I should pursue. While I haven’t been one hundred percent sure of some of the efforts I’ve invested in, I trust God has been and continues to work behind the scenes and is working all things out for good.
One of these ways was evident several months after the book was available, I was getting a little discouraged and wondering if the book was helping anyone. I received a note from a high school friend that they used the book in their Sunday School class, and they were excited to see what Digby did each week. That one encouragement meant so much to me. God worked through her to encourage me. He continues to encourage me in a variety of ways.
It has and continues to be what I believe is one of the things I’m currently called to do. Numerous books have been purchased; sales have been relatively slow though overall. I know that it’s not the number of books, but the lives they touch through the book that’s truly important. With that said, I, of course, want the book to reach and help many, many children.
I realize this book will not continue to help anyone if no one knows about it. I’ve been remiss in promoting the book as much as I should have. I know what I’m not, and that is a salesperson, however, I also know that with God all things are possible, that we’re to do things afraid, and to be bold in stepping out into the unknown.
On this Digby’s Discoveries page is where you can find a variety of topics related to the fruit of the Spirit: bible verses, nature pictures, videos of my grandchildren sharing about the book, my personal journey of how this all began (see 3/13/22 post), and a video trailer of the book with links to purchase.
I’m humbly (and boldly) asking for your continued support. Please share my posts, like my page, follow me (I can’t see my followers until I have 100), consider purchasing a book, write a review if you’ve read the book, and tell others by word of mouth. Your continued support is very much appreciated. God bless you all. Have a wonderful day!
P.S. Stay tuned; a second book in the series will be coming out soon.
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July 5, 2025
Personal Journey – Part III
Much has happened since my last personal journal entry (Sept. 2023) relating to “Digby’s Discoveries”. Two more books in the “Digby’s Discoveries” series have been published. “The Armor of God” in November 2023 where Digby goes to camp and uses various pieces of armor to help him through dealing with a bully and the resulting challenging situations. “Choose to Love” was published in September 2024. Through a school assignment, Digby learns what love is and that it is a choice.
The most significant and heart-breaking event has been my husband passed away last year. I’ve been hibernating for the past year and have had difficulty moving forward. I have been remiss in some areas, particularly in sales/marketing/promoting the books. My husband was my biggest fan and believed I was in negotiations for my first book to be published by a top traditional publisher.
To make a very, very long story short, I was the victim of a publishing scam and lost a significant amount of money. To any authors or would-be authors out there, please be careful. I thought I was being careful; I asked lots of questions, but they built up my trust over time and then took advantage of me. I won’t go into details. The bottom line is I did not research enough and was not a good steward of God’s resources. A key portion of this happened when my husband was ill; I may not have been thinking clearly. Regardless, it’s on me. I should have known something was off if I didn’t totally have God’s peace in the situation.
Needless to say, I’ve been afraid to pursue marketing efforts in case they’re not legit. I’ve been stuck in the middle but need to press on. I’m striving to move forward first and foremost from my personal loss and then the publishing scam. I still believe sharing “Digby’s Discoveries” is something God wants me to do. I know I need to move on with life in general and book initiatives. I need to do it afraid.
I felt the best place to begin again was here, to be real, and ask for your prayers and support. I truly want these books to help children of all ages. I want all to enjoy them and learn more about what God’s word says. If no one knows about the books, they won’t help anyone.
Thank you to all who currently read my posts, follow me, have purchased books, or written a review. For those of you already following me, my posts here will continue, however, with a focus from Digby’s perspective with periodic marketing posts.
If you don’t already, please like, follow, and share my “Digby’s Discoveries” Facebook page and posts. If you, your children, grandchildren, or children you know, have read, and liked these books, please write a review on Amazon, or tell others about the books.
Consider purchasing a book. Some of the books’ pricing on Amazon has come down because they are no longer considered new releases. (A fourth book in the series is currently in progress and will be published sometime over the next several months.)
Thank you all. God bless you.