I started my novel Leaving Lonesome on New Years Day 1995. The first draft I wrote in four months. I was a young Army wife with some things on my mind. I worried about my husband flying helicopters.

My beloved uncle had taken his own life a few years earlier after spending the day with me and that still was crushing. We didn’t know why my uncle had killed himself and I hadn’t stopped it. I didn’t even see it coming on that warm summer afternoon we spent together before he went home and hung himself. I didn’t know in those early days of my writing that I was telling stories to deal with my pain, to face my fears, and to pass the time with Scott often away from home serving in the military. We celebrated our son’s first birthday with Scott gone for four months. We sent this photo to daddy, missing him so much. Writing was my big romance in those days.

I worked on this novel for several years after that first draft won a contest and I ended up with a New York literary agent. I wasn’t a great writer, but I was determined. We had three little ones, and I wrote after putting them to bed at night.

Late last night, I finished Leaving Lonesome. To those who prayed me through it, thank you. I love you guys and now when I write, I think of my friends and readers, hoping and praying the story will also help you deal with your pain, face your fears, and pass some lonely time.

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word,” said Martin Luther King, Jr. Today is Martin Luther King’s day. The man with a beautiful dream who worked hard to make his dream come true. A dream that continues to benefit us all.

Unarmed truth and unconditional love… we all need this, don’t we? These photos were taken when Scott was a Blackhawk medevac pilot and I was a weary mom of little ones with a dream to become an author.

Do you have a dream hidden in your heart? If yes, I am praying for you. Work hard, keep the faith, and think of others. God gives us dreams to make the world a better place. For glory and for beauty always and forever.