When Characters Bark . . .

From trees and ponds. Because they do.

Friends,

You and I both know that my publisher will likely change my working title before novel #4 goes to press, so I played with a few more options this week—and changed The Boat to Snow (meh) to . . .

The Beloved Foxes of Allis Hoot.

For now. The names and adjectives are up for grabs. And at seventeen, Allis is nothing short of . . . well, you’ll see. She may spit this title—and even her own name—right out.

Names aside, I love this stage of book planning. Everywhere I go, characters I’ve chosen for my cast show up with their backstories. Walk-ons trail them, begging for cameos.

I do mean everywhere. Scrolling through my photos this week, I came across this creature in a sideways pond shot. Many more in the tree pics below her.

#1

See her? What’s she like? What happened to her recently? What’s she thinking about? Where’s she from?

I’d love to hear.

And what do you spot in the trees below? If you ID the photos by number when you tell me, I won’t get confused.

*****

#2

My heart clenches on this one. WHO??? WHAT??? WHY???

*****

#3

For me, there’s a menagerie in this one. See any of them? Did someone gather them? WHY? What do they need?

*******

#4

A gentle . . . ??? Or do you see it differently?

*****

#5

This one morphs before my eyes, with a gamut of emotions in every view.

For you, too? See something else?

*****

“O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures.” —Psalm 104:24

But . . .

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” —1 Corinthians 2:9

Fun to imagine, though.

📙 📙 📙 Now, from my BOOKERY—a new giveaway for you who subscribe!

It’s a copy of my friend Dr. Kara K. Smith’s debutThe Widow’s Voice: Walking Beside the Widow in Your Faith Community! (Check out her thoughtful Substack HERE.)

Here’s this little gem’s gist:

When a friend or acquaintance loses a spouse, it’s natural to want to come alongside in a compassionate and helpful way. Yet, it can also feel awkward and uncomfortable in knowing how to do so. This book is here to help.

Five widows share their stories, insights, and the practical ways you can walk beside a friend in their grief journey and the adjustment to life without their loved one.

Each chapter includes questions for reflection and a call to action, providing ideas for you and perhaps a small circle of friends to come alongside a widowed friend in community, remembrance, purpose and faith.

*****

Interested? Reply by next Friday, January 31, with the word BESIDE in your subject line, and I’ll add your name to the drawing.

*****

Finally, I’m delighted and honored to share that my 2024 novel Leaning on Air has moved from the longlist . . . to the shortlist . . . to the semi-finals . . . and into the FINALS for 2024 Somerset Book Awards. That means it’s in the running for FIRST PLACE and GRAND PRIZE in the Contemporary and Literary Fiction category!

Soli Deo gloria.

The novel is a most unusual love story about marriage and autism, miscarriage and misplaced affections, family and farming, wild hawks and physics and the redemption and restoration of land and hearts.

And the story unfolds in the magnificent Palouse hills of SE Washington State.

Your Valentine may like it. 🧡

Oh, and over coffee last week: “Puns kill,” I told a punny friend.

"Yes, I have that," she said.

Took me a minute.😎

(I wish I could claim that one, but I found it somewhere (???) online, years ago.)

Love,

Cheryl

Word Count: Still 0. Lots of research to do yet.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.