Book 2 is on the way!!!! But before I tell you anymore. You HAVE to hear how God brought it all together.
Book #1 was released… literally right before the United States went on lock down for COVID-19. Bye bye book signings. Goodbye read-alouds. All my thoughts on visiting schools and churches went out the window… I did not feel right pushing the book.
Six months later… well at least I tried…
See, my illustrator is a work-for-hire illustrator, so I needed the sales from the first book to support the cost of illustrations for the next book…
Low Sales = No next book… No Platform = No Sales…
I sat at Youth Group telling some of the students and another leader that I guess those agents and publishers were right- I didn’t have a strong enough platform to make it. Well, at least I was obedient and got to take this ride so far…
The next day I had a class scheduled at 4 am and another at 6:30. (I work for VIPKID and teach kids in China- best gig ever if you can handle the early hours.) I was planning on going back to sleep after that 4 am class… BUT I woke up to a 24-hour booking at 5:00… not going back to sleep.
So, after that class, I did what anyone with time to kill would do- I scrolled through Facebook.
The very first post was a repost my aunt shared from Dallas Jenkins, the creator of The Chosen. During this video, he shared his testimony of how a box office flop brought him to the Chosen. In it, he shared how God revealed to him it wasn’t his job to feed the 5,000, he needed to provide the loaves and fish. It really spoke to me. I smiled. Content with the message and knowing there was more to it. I immediately thought about my book project but decided I didn’t need to make this about me. Amazing testimony. Even more Amazing God!
Then the very next post said, “God entrusted you with a ministry not the results.”
Alight God got it! This is about me. You’re not done with this ministry and this project. It is about the books.
So, I started thinking about crowd funding… that is, after all, how they are funding The Chosen… and I had an old grade school friend (Aubrey Betz) actually starting a crowd funding campaign to fund the illustrations for her book (Alex and The Butterflies).
Seemed like a logical idea. I reached out to my editor, asked about sales, and asked his thoughts concerning crowd funding.
Then I told my husband my plan. I’m going to crowdfund to support the illustrations for the next books.
And he said, “Have you prayed about it?”
WHAT! Why wouldn’t God want me to crowdfund to support the illustrations of the next book!?!? I KNOW I’m supposed to be moving on book 2… I was so mad that he said that… but he was right.
So, I asked a group of ladies to pray with me about my writings.
Within a matter of hours, a young lady from my Bible study back in December was placed on my heart. She had offered back then to pay for the illustrations for the next book.
I wrested with my pride so badly. I was not going to call her almost 8 months later and ask for money. No way! I would just crowd fund, and if she wanted to help out, she could.
Well, that kind of pride can wreck your peace. I had the absolute worst day ever. And I knew it was because I was not being obedient.
The Lord put on my heart, “I blessed you this talent. I blessed her with finances. Why would you take away her blessing?”
I sent her a message and held my breathe.
Before I knew it, book 2 was fully supported and accepted!
As I expressed my gratitude, this dear sister in Christ echoed the message God put on my heart. “We don’t have the talents to do what you’re doing, so allowing us to help in another way is a huge blessing to us!”
God blesses us each in a different way, AND He uses those blessings to do His will!
And that my friends, is how God moved book #2!
How GREAT IS OUR GOD!
None of it was me. 100% the Lord. He made a way when there was no way. He used other faithful brothers and sisters in Christ to make this project come to life!
I can’t wait for you to read it! I seriously think it is better than the first!
And in a way only God could have orchestrated, the title of the next book is: Daughters of The King: A Princess Problem with Pride.