Eight years ago, I wrote the first draft of a novel
entitled, Currahee. It gained some
favorable comments from editors when my agent first sent it out, but alas, no
one offered me a contract. I continued to revise it, but a few years ago,
though I loved the story, I didn’t know where else to turn, so the story became
one more file forgotten on my hard drive.
Meanwhile, I went on and wrote other
stories, one of which became Give My Love
to the Chestnut Trees, which of course is now in print. A year ago, I’d
just finished yet another manuscript, which was making the rounds of publishers
when my sister said, “I think you should go back to Currahee.” She loved the story and insisted that I take another
look at it. So, I did.
I reread it and decided to change it from third person to
first, which meant removing two other points of view. Additionally, I removed
more than 15,000 words and added back around 20,000. It was a big job as almost
all rewrites are.
This manuscript has a strong World War II thread, and I knew that I
needed to get it out soon, because we’re losing WWII vets every day.
Again, my agent sent it out, just as two other fiction
houses closed their doors throwing 40 contracted novels back to agents. The
publishing world is changing at lightning speed with epublishers rising and
independent publishers offering more options making it hard for many
traditional houses to stay in business. I began to wonder whether I should take
the independent route myself and prayed about it. It seemed that God repeatedly
confirmed that path in many ways including something Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book, David and Goliath, but that's a post for another day. This venture involved a financial investment that would not and
could not come from the already stretched family budget.
Still, I moved ahead and negotiated a contract at a great
rate with a reputable company. The rate would hold through December 31 of 2013.
On the New Year, the rate would increase substantially. We prayed about the dollars I would need for
a down payment to secure the contract. December 30th came
and went, and I continued to pray, “God if this is your will, then would you
please send the money, and if it isn’t, please help me to accept it.”
On the afternoon of December 31, I went to the mailbox, and
pulled out a few letters, most of which appeared to be bills. With a heavy
heart, I went inside and opened them. I was right. Most of them were bills. But
hidden among them, was an unexpected dividend from an investment. Then, one of
the supposed bills turned out to be a refund check from a medical provider for
an overpayment. In combination with another unexpected gift that day, the
amount came to what I needed to secure the book deal, praise be to God!
A few days into the New Year, I had a revelation because of
something I heard on television. This year is the 70th anniversary
of D-Day. Currahee begins with a scene,
which occurs on June 6, 1944. I’d felt an urgency to get the book out, but did
not realize the D-Day anniversary until I’d already signed the contract.
I'm aiming toward getting the book out by late
April or early May, and though the book is finished, I’ll still be doing revisions, working some 12 or 14-hour days in the
weeks ahead.
Would you pray with me about Currahee, that it would be all God wants it to be?
Thank you dear readers for your encouragement and support. I
look forward to sharing Currahee with
you.
"May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17).
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17).