Perseverance . . . .

Summer vacation.

It's one of the greatest things on planet earth. The sun is warm and happy, the grass is green, the flowers bloom (when I remember to water them), and routine goes completely out the window. No homework, no minimum reading requirements, no bedtimes, or wake-up times. Take all day doing your chores, or get them done fast and play the rest of the day. Whatever works. . . .

At least that's how it is at our house.

I love summer!!

But with the lack of routine its hard for me to make sure I am setting aside time to write. So . . . yeah, haven't done much of that this summer.

But it doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about writing. In fact I think of it constantly. Ideas flow like mad and I even designed a writers/art studio that we've been working on. It even has sheet-rock and if not for a gallbladder attack and subsequent surgery, it would be mud and taped by now.

So since I am now forced to enjoy the end of my summer vacation from the couch, I figured as long as I can stay awake long enough, now would be a good time to catch up on my blog. If the writing is a little confusing, blame the pain meds:).

Before my little attack we had just returned from a family vacation to the beautiful state of Wyoming. We enjoyed the Teton and Yellowstone national parks, Jackson Hole and even spent a few nights in the gorgeous, fun, little town of West Yellowstone, Montana. I have to say, if my husband could find a job up there and the summers were just a little longer, I would so want to live there. It's the perfect place for all sorts of inspiration. I only hope some of the pictures can become paintings eventually--but the light is never the same on photo paper.

The vacation did a lot for our family. We were crammed in our little car for hours on end and yet the fighting stayed at a minimum. My boys were in awe of everything and it was just too beautiful to be grumpy. The pace was slow, and we went to every hotpot or scenic spot we felt like, no time constraints to make, or specific places we just had to see. We looked at the map, loaded our backpacks, and went wherever we felt like hiking to. We even saw a mama bear and her baby just off one of the trails we took. It was so amazing!

I didn't worry about my book or its status with the agent, or how much I had to do when I got home. So when we did get home, I felt refreshed and ready to face whatever came up (even though I wasn't expecting one of those things to be surgery).

When we got home we were watching (yes, this is another movie moment) Rudy--one of the best movies of all time because of the story. I actually had the opportunity to hear him speak at a writers conference once. What an amazing man. During the movie I felt such empathy for Rudy as he opened letter after letter rejecting him from attending Notre Dame, his life-long dream.

Writers know what this feels like.

We spend hours upon hours creating something, it becomes a part of us, and then we send letters about it out into the world hoping someone will see its possibilities, want to read it, and hopefully help get it into the hands of others who will read it, love it, and give it a place on their bookshelf.

So when the rejections pile up, it becomes harder and harder not to give up.

Rudy didn't. Despite the odds against him. And he eventually fulfilled his dream.

Most of you who read my blog know I have written 26 queries, and received 25 rejections. One query finally made it past the slush pile and the awesome intern requested the novel, read it, told me she enjoyed it, and passed it along to the agent to read. I am still waiting to hear back from them, but from everything I've read about other author experiences, I'm just really grateful my creation actually made it this far. I really like the agency and I hope I will hear back from them soon, but this experience has taught me a lot. What if I had given up at query rejection number ten, or fifteen, or twenty-five? What if I had never sent that twenty-sixth query?

There is no guarantee the agent will decide to represent me at this point, but I'm not going to give up on my dream. Sometimes we have to step back and enjoy the scenery, slow down and focus on what really matters, and let what will happen, happen. I can't make someone love my book. I can write it and send it out, but the rest of the details have to work themselves out.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the scenery and never, ever, stop dreaming.

For anyone who might be thinking of giving up on your dreams, you just might want to watch the YouTube video, Brandon Sanderson: Writing of Epic Proportions (I tried to copy the link but couldn't get it to work). My friend shared this with me and it was like he was taking the words out of my mouth--but he says it better than I ever could. Great man, great writer, great inspiration:).