The Year of Jubilee.
That
is the tentative title of my third book. (Titles are hard! I change my mind a
lot and always think something better is out there. We’ll see if this one
sticks!) Technically it is the fourth project that I started, but out of the
blue the other week I had this deep desire to halt work on my current project, Out of the Dust, to continue on with the
main character’s story from the first two books—Molly Taylor. (I’m actually
waffling on titles for that one too! Right now it is between Out of the Dust and A Firm Foundation. I’m hoping that as I get further into it the
story will mold the title—it usually does.)
I
am beyond excited to begin work on this new project. I always get super
energized at the beginning of a new book, but I am even more thrilled with this
one. If you read my first book, Another
Ending, you know I write about some deep stuff. Hard stuff. Yucky stuff
that night even make your stomach hurt when you put yourself into the
character’s shoes and imagine what it might feel like to be in their situation.
My writing is emotionally based—I cannot tell you how many comments I receive
from people who say they really, truly felt like they were experiencing the
same emotions as the characters. As a writer, that makes my heart so happy!
From the get-go it was my goal to draw people in with the real life emotions of
the characters, and now that it is happening I just can’t get a handle on it. I
cannot thank God enough for allowing me to be able to do so. And since I know
it worked with book one, get ready for more of the same with book two—An Open Window. (An Open Window will go into production in June, by the way, which
will make it available right around Christmastime. Yay!) Grab the Kleenexes
beforehand, folks. This one might draw some tears out of you as well. I won’t
give away any plot details because so many have not read the first book yet,
but I will say that the issues in this book are not the same nature—I took a
step back from the intense issues of sexual abuse, abortion, and sexual
promiscuity and focused on some equally as important issues. But it probably
won’t give you the same yucky feeling in the pit of your stomach—you’ll feel
sad, and frustrated, and maybe even a little mad. But I don’t think you’ll feel
the same level of desperation as you might have with the first one. (Good or
bad, I don’t know J )
Originally
I was going to stop Molly’s story after the second book. You are all going to
love what happens to her, and it would satisfy many of you not to know any more
of what happens to her. But at the same time, Molly has become a dear friend to
me. I hope she becomes a dear friend to you as well. That being said, I wasn’t
quite ready to leave her behind, and God graciously provided me with an
extended story for her.
And
it is an extremely hard story to write. I’m even a tiny bit mad at God for
putting this particular story in my mind, because even thinking about it makes
me heart feel heavy. I don’t want to put my dear friend through even more pain,
but I’m going to do it anyway. Because the symbolism that comes out of Molly’s
struggles is very powerful, (I hope!) so even though it pains me to hurt her,
I’m going to do it so that the story of God’s wonderful love is made clear to
people who desperately need to hear it.
Maybe
you don’t know what the Year of Jubilee is. I don’t really either. I’m still
trying to fully comprehend it. (I’m going to have to stop writing here pretty
quick and do some more in depth research. Perks of being a writer—research!
Yay!) But here is a couple of verses from Leviticus to give you a very basic
idea of what to expect:
"Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year, blow the ram's horn loud and long throughout the land. Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan. This fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you." ~ Leviticus 25:9-11
"Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year, blow the ram's horn loud and long throughout the land. Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan. This fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you." ~ Leviticus 25:9-11
Freedom.
That’s all you need to know right now.
Prayers
always appreciated. (I’m only four pages into it right now, but it’s never too
early to start praying for the words to change hearts!)
Sara
P.S.
Some
of you might only recognize the phrase “the year of jubilee from this song.
Take a listen below J
Still
need a copy of Another Ending? You
can order it right here: http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-62510-420-5
Mother’s
Day is approaching…this would be a great gift to give!
