Catching Up With the Author

 I feel like my life has been super busy the past couple of months. Not only has it been the holiday season, but it has also been NaNoWriMo, Church budget season, and Christmas revival. I'm enjoying this time of my life. I thought I would do one big post to catch up.

October Operations and Outings

My desire since I was 14 has been to write books for young ladies, but I cannot ignore the ministry God has also given me a ministry to serve in as the church secretary for Victory Springs. Our church changed our fiscal year to November 1 through October 31 that way we would not have to worry about budgeting for the new year during Christmas. Needless to say, October was pretty busy secretary-wise.

 I was also gearing up for NaNoWriMo. I wanted to learn more about London, so I checked out a few books from the library. I did not get to read all of them, but that was okay. One book that I really enjoyed was Dirty London: the Victorian Fight Against Filth. I learned so much about that period for the sequel to my second book, Redeeming Louise. In Redeeming Louise, the focus was on the London social season, but for my next book, I wanted to look into what life in London was like for the poor people. I took so many pages of notes. I tried reading another one, but it had a bad word from a source the book quoted. I was not able to finish that one. I also started reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. I only made it halfway through; I want to finish it eventually, but I will have to see when I get to it.

My family was able to go on a camping trip. It was Silas, Callie, and Micah's first camping trip, and we had to much fun. There is nothing like getting away for a few days and spending extra time with your family. It was very refreshing. We arrived at the park where we camped on Monday and left Wednesday to go to the Warner Robins Museum of Aviation. We got a hotel that night that way we could get cleaned up for church. I was not allowed to read any of my books on London while we were at the campsite, but I did read some of it on the way home.

I also posted more on social media. For some reason, I have always had a hard time keeping up with Facebook, but I have been enjoying having Instagram. Now, I just post on Instagram and link it to Facebook. It has been working well for me. I have also been using Canva a lot. I have designed so much within the past couple of months between Instagram posts and book covers, but that was more November.

November -- National Novel Writing Month

That sure was a busy but exciting month. I did not get to 50,000 words but I did reach just a few words shy of 30,000. I got sick twice in one month. First I had the stomach bug, then I had a cold right before Thanksgiving. I was doing better by Thanksgiving day though I could not smell through my nose very well. I had things going on three days in a row. Mom, Tabitha, and I went on our yearly Black Friday shopping trip. And on Saturday, a few of us from our church went down to Punta Gorda to help a church canvas the area for their opening day. My friend, Halee and I followed the church van, then after visitation, we stayed in Punta Gorda and got a hotel so we could attend their first Sunday morning services. My Grandma was even able to drive up to Punta Gorda to meet up with us for dinner. I really enjoyed the trip. It felt good to be a blessing, and I loved spending time with my friend Halee. Halee and her family moved from Washington state last fall. She helps me in the church nursery. She is such a blessing to me. We sure did laugh a lot on our drive home Sunday afternoon while stuck in traffic. 

Not only was I trying to get a good word count in, but I was also trying to get my second book ready for publishing. Though I did not reach the goal of getting it published by Black Friday, it was ready by the following Monday. I finally got my first payment from Amazon sometime in November. It's a far cry from 1 Million Copies sold, but that's okay😊. I have enjoyed hearing about those who have read it. One family that has been following my mom's blog for years read it. Even their boys read it. Some girls from a family that has visited our church a few times read it. Last Wednesday they came with their copy of King's Heart and asked me to sign it. That made me happy. And it felt a little surreal to be signing something. I have already sold quite a few copies already of Redeeming Louise.

Deck the Halls December

Or I could say, Designing December. I have used Canva quite a lot the past few weeks. I designed a book signing flyer, business cards, and a table top sign. I hope my designs have not been too crazy. I had so much to design and plan for my very first book signing. I even created a Book Signing Pinterest board. My mom created a video on my books signing. I still need to post it. It turned out very well. I had about 33 people come. I was so excited that my Grandma was able to make it. One dear lady brought me flowers. I had ordered 11 author copies (these were copies I ordered through Kindle Direct Publishing and only had to pay for the printing, shipping, and tax), but when Amazon said they would not arrive until the Sunday after, Mom and I both ordered copies through our personal accounts hoping they would come in on time. I ended up having 18 copies. At least four of them were gifts, and I had to keep one for myself. The order of 11 arrived Sunday afternoon, so I messaged the VSIBC ladies group on Group me and told them I would bring a few for them to buy. One other lady wants one and then I will have three left. I am so excited.

Whew! This turned out to be another long post. Can you tell how busy my life has been as of late? But it's been a good kind of busy. The Lord is so good.

Until next time, may you keep your heart.

Elisabeth Kristine

Author of Heart of Purity Literature