Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Sherry Shindelar

Talkshow Thursday: 

A Guest Post by Sherry Shindelar

Pixabay/Ralph

Do you ever feel as if you’re on the tortoise track? That your progress toward your goals and dreams can be measured in turtle years instead of light years?

That’s the way I had been feeling about my writing career. I have dreamed of becoming a published novelist since I was nine years old. At different times over the years, I had put the dream aside, but four years ago, the Lord renewed my passion for writing. I fell in love with writing all over again. My characters came alive in my head.

Since June 2019, I've devoted time each day to writing, researching, and/or critiquing, and I've attended numerous online conferences seeking to learn the craft. My critique group has been invaluable in helping my stories to be the best that they can be.

And yet the road to publication seemed to be moving along at a snail’s pace.

I was struggling with being patient and with persevering. Then, I thought about Abraham.

Abraham was seventy-five years old in Genesis 12, when God said, “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you … All people on earth will be blessed through you” (vs. 2-3).

Abraham believed God and left everything to follow God’s call. No surprise, right? Abraham is one of

Pixabay/Jorg Peter

the superheroes of the faith. Of course, he listened, believed, and obeyed. Left everything familiar behind, except for his wife, his nephew’s family, and his possessions, and went to a foreign land? No biggie. Only I bet it was terribly difficult because Abraham was a real man with real fears and concerns. (He really showed that side of himself down in Egypt when he told his wife to pretend to be his sister.)

By the time Abraham was ninety-nine years old, he was having his doubts. Twenty-four years had passed since the original promise. He had questioned God before, but this time when God spoke, Abraham laughed at the thought of having a child.

Yet the Lord was faithful. A year later Isaac was born. Twenty-five years after the original promise!

I also thought about Hannah from the Bible. She waited years, praying for a child and enduring the disdain and ridicule of her husband’s second wife, but Hannah was faithful, and in His perfect timing, the Lord gave her Samuel.

When David wrote the Psalms of despair and fear, he didn’t know for sure that God would rescue him. He didn’t know he’d live to become king, rule for decades, and die of old age. Even after he became king, there were dark moments when he feared all might be lost. David didn’t know how God would answer his prayers. But he trusted that God was at work in his life. I needed to work on having that same trust and faith.

When I finished writing my second book this spring, I decided to put it aside and start a third. I had heard too many no's during editor/agent appointments. They advised me to find a new topic, a new era.

But God had a different answer. He kept whispering don't give up and nudging me through my writing friends to pursue publication now.

I sent out two proposals. A month later, I had a contract offer for a three-book series. God had finally

said Yes! And in a big way, when I least expected it, and totally caught me off guard.

My first book, set in Texas in 1860, will be coming out next year with Wild Heart Books.

In the midst of the race the Lord has given us to run, we may not always see where the pathway goes, and we may feel as if we’ll never reach the finish line of the dream or goal He has given us, but He is faithful. He fulfills His plans and answers our prayers in His own perfect timing. Give Him a chance to amaze and surprise you!

Originally from Tennessee and the Shendandoah Valley area of Virginia, Sherry Shindelar loves to take her readers into the past. She is an avid student of the American Civil War. When she is not busy writing, Sherry is a college English professor working to pass on her love of writing and literature to the next generation. Sherry won the 2020 ACFW First Impressions Award for Historical Romance. In in progress, Shenandoah’s Daughter, is set in the Shenandoah Valley during 1863 – 1864. When she is not busy writing, Sherry is a college English professor working to pass on her love of writing and literature to the next generation. Sherry won the 2020 ACFW First Impressions Award for Historical Romance. In addition, she has won two MN State Art Grants and an RWA scholorship. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historylitgirl/

Website: https://sherryshindelar.com/