Let’s pretend you have a dream you want to accomplish. Now, imagine you are one step from achieving it when something goes wrong and there’s nothing you can do to change the outcome.

Most of us will experience this at least once in our lifetime.

Writing novels requires hard work and determination. Sometimes this isn’t enough. Sometimes an author’s only option is to pray and wait for a miracle. This was the case with my new novel Dress Shop Miracles.

But first, how Dress Shop Miracles came about:

I was going through old college papers when I came across a Christmas story I had written for a creative writing assignment. I sat down to read The Victorian Lady about a widow who owned a dress shop. Prior to reading it, I had been thinking about writing a Christmas story and this one had the potential for a novel.

I began retyping the story, weaving in new ideas and before I knew it, I had a new plot, theme, and characters. Instead of a middle-aged woman, I created a young lady, Molly who is in love with a dream, and her boyfriend Ted, a former city guy turned small-town farmer. 

I had a great deal of hope for Molly and Ted’s story, and for readers. I planned to release the novel in 2021 for the holidays. Then the unexpected happened. I kept getting knocked down with various ailments. My dream, like my character’s, came to a halt more times than I care to count.

It wasn’t until mid-July of this year that I turned the manuscript over to my editor. Several weeks had passed when I learned she was dealing with a family emergency. I had to find a new editor.

Often, reserving a date with an editor is three months out! I had three weeks to meet my deadline!

Was my Christmas story going to be delayed for another year? I felt all the emotions Molly and Ted experienced in unfortunate hardships.

Friends reached out to me with suggested editors. I researched possibilities and made inquiries. The only thing left to do was pray and wait for a miracle. It came! I hired an editor who was willing to squeeze my manuscript into her busy schedule. I had to hustle but instead of another year’s delay, I had a suitable, extended deadline.

Then I needed more miracles!

There was a 10-day delay in receiving the proofed copy, and two days before announcing the preorder I kept getting an error message with my software program. Again, prayer was my only resource. Faith in this project—small as it was at this point—was all I had to hang on to.

My dream like my characters’ hopes came to a halt more than once. Maybe I should take extra thought to the next book’s plot. I’ve certainly grasped that “To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)

Will Molly and Ted learn this as well?

How about you? Have you experienced a period of waiting for a dream to bloom? If so, please share in the comments so we can encourage one another.

Release day is November 1, so be sure to get it now on Amazon while it’s discounted. 

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Top image: Arek Socha, Pixabay