My First Blog Post for The Write Stuff: In Which I Show You That I Have the Best Publisher Ever!

This is my first blog post for The Write Stuff, and I thought it was only fitting that I share with you a blog post by my excellent publisher, Cheryl Dickow of Bezalel Books.  Back in 2012, my first novel, Finding Grace, was published by her fine Catholic publishing company.  Then this past May, she approached me with an offer I couldn't refuse: she asked me to consider writing another YA novel for Bezalel.  (Actually, I almost did refuse this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime offer, out of fear of failure.  Why Cheryl had so much faith in me, I'll never know!  But God somehow inspired me to say "Yes!"  And I'm so glad He did!)

Here is a blog post which shows the enthusiasm Cheryl has had for my second novel, Erin's Ring, from day one.

Sometimes the Stars Really Do Line Up

When Laura Pearl first brought Finding Grace to Bezalel Books, I was impressed with her writing. At Bezalel Books, we don’t publish everything that comes our way—even if the author is willing to pick up the publishing costs. Rather, we read a sample chapter or two, a synopsis and then get a “feel” for the author’s passions and skills. Pretty much the Holy Spirit is part of everything and we are okay to say “no” if things don’t seem like a good fit.

Laura was a great fit.

Laura’s work at marketing and blogging and even entering the world of Twitter continued to impress me. Laura is the mother of five grown sons and I am the mother of three grown sons so there’s that, too. But I just continued to find her wit and insight to be inspiring. Every time I read a blog of hers I found myself smiling or laughing or in some way connecting with her spirit.

So it was that I began praying about approaching Laura to write a second book with one big difference: this one would be on our dime. We’d take the chance on her because what we saw in her first book and in her continued foray into the world of Catholic fiction really captured what we are about at Bezalel Books.

Needless to say, after months (literally) of praying, I approach Laura with the proposal for a second book. Knowing it took Laura years to write Finding Grace in between her duties as wife and mother, I also knew that I had a timeline in mind—as well as a smaller book. 

You can read Cheryl Dickow's blog post in full here.