2015: A Year of Firsts

What a year! 2015 will go down in (my) history as the year dreams came true. It was a year of many first-time experiences in my writing career.

In March, I joined Coffee Cups & Camisoles, a group blog with fellow historical authors Jaime Jo Wright, Anne Love, and Erica Vetsch.

In May, my first published story, Four Brides and a Bachelor in The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection released, and I happened to be with a group of Minnesota authors on release day! It was so much fun to celebrate with Erica Vetsch, Michelle Griep, Julie Klassen, and many other lovely ladies.

Erica and I are both in The Most Eligible Collection!

That's author Julie Klassen buying my book! :)

I also had my first book signing event in May!

Over the summer, I wrote my first story for Love Inspired Historical (an imprint of Harlequin Books) in their Blurb2Book Contest. I was one of seven people contracted during the contest and I signed my first contract with them. My story, A Mother in the Making, releases in September 2016.

In July, I became a "multi-published" author, when my second story released with Barbour. My novella, A Groom for Josette, released in The Convenient Bride Collection.

The moment my second book arrived on my doorstep!

In 2015, I wrote three complete novels. One has been contracted and the other two are sitting on editors desks under consideration. It was the first time I have written more than one novel over the course of a year.

On the home front, this was the year I took my daughters on their first airplane ride. We went to Washington, D.C. in May and saw so many wonderful things. In September, my twin boys went off to Kindergarten, and for the first time in eleven years, I didn't have preschoolers in my home. My oldest daughter had her tonsils removed and then a couple months later she got braces, my second daughter started homeschooling, and my husband took the girls on their first hunting trip.

My beautiful family!

2015 has been an exceptional year. I thank God that all of us are healthy and happy, and we've made some incredible memories. In 2016 we look forward to many more adventures to come.

Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me. In 2012, I started this blog as a way to document my journey to publication and it's been such a blessing to see my dream come true. My prayer is that my journey would encourage you to take one of your own. If God has placed a dream on your heart, go after it! You never know what blessings He has in store.

Your Turn: What are the highlights of your year? What are your hopes and dreams for 2016?

2014: A Year for Dreams

"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort." ~ Jesse Owens, American Athlete

I'm reaching for some big dreams, ones I've dreamt about most of my life. In 2014, I signed my first two writing contracts. It's amazing to live in the midst of a dream come true. I'm honored and humbled to be here.

This year, I felt confirmation that any dream God places in our hearts can come true, if we're willing to discipline ourselves and work hard. Reaching for a dream isn't about perfect timing, or perfect circumstances, or perfect people.

It's about a perfect God and His perfect plan.

If we sit back and wait for everything to be perfect before we pursue our dreams, we will never reach for them. How many times have we said: "I'm too busy," or "When the kids grow up," or "When I'm retired"? God is looking for ordinary people to do extraordinary things. He's looking for people who are living busy, ordinary lives. When He called His twelve disciples, that's exactly what they were doing. If they would have said: "Jesus, can you wait until things settle down at work before you ask me to follow you?" they would have missed out on the greatest adventure of all time.

C.S. Lewis said: "The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."

Everyone is busy. We all fill our sixty minutes an hour with something. Could we not fill some of those minutes pursuing the dream God placed in our hearts?

God called me to pursue publication during the busiest season of my life, while parenting four small children. My twin boys were not quite two years old at the time. It was probably the most inconvenient season for God to ask me to pick up my pen. It has challenged and refined me like nothing else could, but it has also given me some of my greatest blessings.

Has it been easy? No. Has it required sacrifices? Yes. Have I been disappointed, rejected, tired, frustrated? Yes.

Am I happy I answered the call? More than I can ever say.

But this dream isn't about me--or you. A dream is a gift from God. It's a Seed from Heaven, planted into our heart soil, waiting to grow and bear fruit for His purposes. It's designed to further God's kingdom and bring glory and honor to Him. In the process, it makes us feel truly alive and brings an abundance of joy.

How can we say no?

My prayer for 2015 is that you reach for the dream God placed in your heart. Answer His call, go on the greatest adventure of your life, and change the world. Sixty minutes an hour.

Your Turn: What stops you from pursuing your dreams? What was your favorite memory from 2014? What are you most looking forward to in 2015?

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EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA!

 

I have some fun guests lined up for 2015! Every Wednesday I will welcome a fellow author to my blog for fun interviews, guest posts, and lots of giveaways! My first guest will be one of my favorite authors, and dear writing mentors, Susan May Warren. She'll be joining me here on Wednesday, January 14th to talk about her newest release, Always on My Mind. But I'll be back before then to talk about my favorite subjects: history, Minnesota, writing, faith, and family. See you in January!



My First Book Cover!

I can hardly believe I'm writing this blog post today! Do you see that cover?!?! It has my name on it! And tucked inside the book, right in the midst of some incredible novellas, my first story will be printed. My story!

That's amazing to me, and a testimony to the faithfulness of God. He planted the dream, He watered it with His word, He sent sunshine upon the fertile soil of my heart, and He has made it grow.

Dreams really do come true, and this book is proof.

I began to dream of being a published author when I was nine years old, and twenty-five years later, I'm looking at my very first book cover.

Do you have a dream? I know you do. Is it dormant, or is it at the very forefront of all you say and do? Does your dream scare you, or empower you? Do you feel as if you'll never achieve what you've dreamed? Or are you certain it will one day be yours?

No matter where you're at on your dream journey, have hope. God placed the dream there like a tender little seed, and He wants to see it grow and flourish, until it produces fruit.

This book is the fruit of my dream--the first fruit. My dream is still in the process of maturing. But someday, with God's grace, I hope to bear an abundance of fruit from this dream.

Your Turn: I'd love to hear about your dream.

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The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection releases on May 1, 2015, but is available for pre-order here.

I'd love if you stopped by my Amazon Author Page and liked it! You'll find the page here.

And if you'd like to learn more about my story, Four Brides and a Bachelor, which will be a part of this novella collection, please go here.

It Takes a Whole Village



My parents with my kiddos (and niece) at Mt. Rushmore



I love having a good support system. Actually, I need one.

As a wife and a mother, I need mentors and friends to model what a good marriage and good parenting looks like, so I know what I'm aiming for. I also need these people so I can discuss ideas, cry on their shoulders, celebrate little (and big) victories and just enjoy life. Some of my greatest support systems come from my extended family, my church, my MOPS (Mother of Preschoolers) group, my ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) class and my close friends.

When it comes to writing, I've also gathered together a support group (I'll talk more about this on Wednesday on Lindsay Harrel's blog!), because I know that there is strength in numbers and I'm an extrovert who gets recharged when I interact with other people.

But, there's an even more important support system for me, and that's my immediate family. It's made up of my husband, my children, my parents, my in-laws, my siblings & spouses and my nieces & nephews. I know I can reach for my dreams because I have this group of people committed to helping me achieve them.

Sometimes it's as simple as giving me encouragement, or as intense as babysitting my children! Whatever need I have, I almost always start with this first circle of support and I know I can find it.

Last week I had a big need. I spent so much time working on my manuscript this summer that our clothing seemed to take over our house. The kids had grown out of a lot of it and the summer clothes needed to be put away and the winter clothes needed to come out. It was a big, daunting job and I just didn't have the time to put into it.

In comes my mom.

She volunteered to organize all my children's clothing! It took her three days! If you have four or more children (heck, if you have one child!) you know how much work this takes. The last two days of intensive work on my manuscript, I was in one room editing away while my mom was in the girls' and boys' bedrooms organizing clothes and entertaining my boys. The third day I helped finish up the job.

I couldn't be more thankful for this gift from my mom. Not only the gift of organizing my children's clothing, but the gift of support so I could pursue my dream. It is a priceless gift, indeed.

 

What about you? If you could have someone do one job in your house, what would it be?

The Conception of a Dream

Next week I'll be attending my first writer's conference and I can't even describe my excitement. For years I've dreamed of being at a conference, surrounded by like-minded people, learning as much as I can about the industry and meeting other writers.

I've had a story in my head for over ten years and numerous times I tried to sit down and write it, but I was always side tracked by life. In February 2012 I was finally ready to get that story written. I jumped into the writing world feet first - and the more blogs I read, the more how-to books I studied, the more writers I met, the more I wanted to keep pursuing my dream. I was in the middle of a Writing 101 crash course and I loved it!

I heard about ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) organization and the large annual writer's conference they hold in September. You have no idea how much I wanted to attend that conference, but I was so new at this I wasn't sure if I was ready, or if my husband was ready to invest that kind of money into my dream. So I mentioned it to him (actually more than once:), but I never pushed. If it was the right thing to do, it would come about naturally.

Six weeks ago I mentioned it one more time - in passing - and he said: "What would it take to go?" So I crunched the numbers, lined up child care possibilities and found a potential roommate. I also had to call my cousin, whose wedding is that weekend, and tell him I had this great opportunity. His encouragement to go was the final piece of the puzzle.

When I hung up the phone I stood in my kitchen and let out a little cry of delight! In that moment I was filled with the same emotion I felt each time I discovered I was pregnant. This sense that something was being conceived - that soon it would be birthed and would change my life. It was an incredible moment and I'll never forget it.

What that "thing" will look like is up to God. I don't know when or where or how, but I know that in His perfect timing everything will line up and He'll use it for His purpose and His glory. I'm so amazed and humbled that He'd call me to walk this journey with Him. I know that He'll give me everything I need, when I need it and one day I will hold my published book in my hands, much like I held each of my children for the first time.

I'm going to this conference with very few expectations. I'm not pitching my book formally, but I know I'll have many opportunities to talk about it. I don't intend to come away with a contract, but I hope to come away with more friendships, a better understanding of the publishing industry and a deeper sense of my calling.

What about you? Are you going to the conference? Have you ever had a moment when you felt God was conceiving a dream in your heart? Has that dream been born?

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I'm a featured writer today on Becky Doughty's blog! http://beckydoughty.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/wow-gabrielle-meyer/

Wings to Fly

I'm more convinced than ever that the greatest gift a person can give you is belief in your dreams. It's like having wings to fly.

When I met my husband David we were sixteen years old and I had already started to dream about writing. What I loved about him was his unwavering belief that I would some day be a publishes author. Neither of us knew what that road would look like, but we both believed it was possible.

Over the past sixteen years we dated, graduated from high school, went on to college, got married, started a business, bought a house, had our children and continued to dream together about the future.

In January of this year, my dream to finish my first novel, and dive into the publishing world, became a reality. Something clicked and I was ready to go after it. This wasn't the "perfect" time, as our twins were just turning two, but I realized that if I was going to do it, now was as good a time as any.

I know I'm preaching to the choir when I say this, but writing a book is hard work! I've had my ups and downs, but something kept lifting me higher and higher - something gave me wings to fly towards the impossible: my husband's belief in me.

There have been key moments when I know that God was using my husband as a mouth piece to proclaim life into my writing. One time was when I had my first semi-rejection. Through a compliment from a friend, there was also a criticism. That night I had tears in my eyes as I told my hubby what was said and that's when he told me: "Even if no one ever reads your words, keep writing. It was what you were born to do." The next day he bought me a writing desk. All I could do was put my arms around him and cry.

Another moment came when my one sentence hook was chosen by Randy Ingermanson as one of the best out of almost a thousand others submitted (he chose twenty-one). I squealed like crazy when I saw that email and my husband celebrated with me. If ever I've seen someone "beam" it was him that night. That's when he told me: "Your determination is inspiring."

Not only has he spoken life into my dream, he's also acted upon his belief in me. He agreed to spend the money to send me on a weekend retreat with My Book Therapy and two weeks ago he surprised me when he said I should go to ACFW, even if I wasn't ready to pitch my WIP. He told me (and I quote) "It's time to put our money where our mouth is." :)

Each time I've received a little victory on this winding road, he's been there to cheer me on. Each time I've run up against an obstacle, he's there to help me get over it. He praises me when I've done something right and he let's me cry on his shoulder when I'm feeling overwhelmed. He's never once said a word against my dream, even when I have.

So I soar to heights unknown, with the wings that my husband has given me, because he believes in my dream and tells me it was what I was born to do.

What about you? Who gives you wings to fly? What words of life has someone spoken into your dreams? What has someone done to show you they believe?