Updates on my books and other projects

Writing Update: Discovery Draft Done

FIRST – I finished the draft of Discovery. Finished. The whole draft. Now it’s really fat. I tend to overwrite, to write everything just in case I need it later. That means the draft meanders and has a LOT more than it needs. It has characters and scenes that may or may not make the cut. So the project over the next few months (after my Old Testament class finishes) will be to trim it down so that it doesn’t drag and keeps you turning pages. It would be awesome if we could get this out next summer…

The cool thing is that now we have AI, and I confess I have had too much fun creating images. (So, Much. Fun.) For example, here’s young Brad Molinsky., our hero…

SECOND – I wanted to make sure you knew about the release of Contingency: Between the Lines. Here’s a sample so you can see what it’s like. Here are points 6 and 7 from Chapter 1 and a journal entry for Bobbi.

6. Seeking God in Crisis

Reflection: In her moment of crisis, Bobbi cries out to God with questions: “How could he? How could You let him? How are we supposed to recover from this?”

“Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” Psalm 42:7-8

Question: How does God meet us in our moments of deepest pain and questioning? What does it mean to be honest with God about our feelings?

Application: Write a prayer expressing your honest feelings to God about a difficult situation you’re facing or have faced. Include your questions, doubts, and hopes.

7. The Path Forward

Reflection: As the chapter closes, Bobbi resolves to be “ready for him when he came home,” suggesting a determination to face the situation head-on rather than remain passive.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5

Question: What wisdom do we need when facing betrayal or other relational crises? How can we discern the right path forward?

Application: What situation in your life requires God’s wisdom right now? How might you actively seek His guidance rather than remaining passive?

Bobbi’s Journal

July 28

I can barely hold the pen. My hand won’t stop shaking. How is it possible that yesterday morning I woke up thinking I knew my life, and today I wake up a stranger to it?

That email. Those words. “My whole evening is free again. *wink*” I keep seeing them when I close my eyes. I didn’t even mean to read it—just a glance at Chuck’s computer while looking for that file he mentioned. Now I can’t un-see it. Can’t un-know what I know.

Chuck isn’t home. He’s still in Kansas City. Or is he? Is he even where he said he’d be? How many other lies have there been? Seventeen years of marriage, and suddenly I’m questioning everything. Every late night at the office. Every business trip. Every time he was distant or distracted. Were those all lies too?

I tried calling him. Six times. Straight to voicemail. I left messages that started calm and ended . . . not calm. I called his office. Tracy doesn’t work there anymore. Convenient. I called the hotel. He checked out early. Of course he did.

The boys . . . What do I tell them? How do I look at their faces—Chuck’s eyes in Joel’s face, Chuck’s smile on Brad’s lips—and explain that their father . . . No. I can’t even write it down. As if not writing it makes it less real.

I keep moving through the house like a ghost. Making coffee I can’t drink. Straightening things that don’t matter. If only I could wash away the knowledge. But it’s there, lodged like a stone in my chest.

I’ve always been the strong one. The organized one. The one who holds everything together. But I don’t know how to hold this. It’s too big, too heavy. I feel like I’m drowning in my own kitchen.

God, where are You in this? How could You let this happen? We’ve served You, built our marriage on You. I’ve tried so hard to be a good wife, a good mother, a good Christian. Was it all for nothing? How are we supposed to recover from this?

I keep thinking about that stupid BMW. The one he had to have. The one that was going to make him look successful to his clients. Was it for her? Did she ride in it? Did they . . .

I can’t go there. I’ll shatter if I go there.

I need to pull myself together. I need to be ready for him when he comes home. I need answers. I need the truth, all of it, no matter how much it hurts.

But what if the truth is that he doesn’t love me anymore? What if he wants her instead?

No. I can’t think like that. One step at a time. Get through today. Face him when he gets home. Then decide what comes next.

God, if You’re there, if You’re listening, I need You now more than I’ve ever needed You before. Because I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to be this person—the betrayed wife, the broken woman. I don’t know how to face today, let alone tomorrow.

Help me.

THIRD, I’d love to hear your questions. Reply to the email and I’ll do my best to address them in a future post.

Thank you so much for reading!

Guarded: New Fiction Release

By Paula Wiseman

Guarded A Nolan Grant story Encounters Series Companion title graphic

It’s here at last!
Releasing today are the ebook versions of Guarded, a companion story to the Encounters series. I say companion because it does not follow chronologically and runs parallel to the existing stories. But like the others in the series, it tackles a tough subject head-on, namely sexuality.

It’s available for Kindle and all the other e-readers, like Nook, Kobo, Apple books and so many more. The paperback is on its way.

From the back cover:

Identity comes from understanding your place and how you fit in. Son, brother, that kind of thing. Sometimes, though, we take on an identity based on what we do.

My older brother died a war hero. I was the quiet one. The college boy. I thought if I got good grades and kept from getting drafted I was home free.

I was wrong.

But Jesus didn’t save me to make my life easier or to give me what I wanted. He didn’t even save me to help me feel good about myself. He saved me because He loved me. I never understood the depth and wonder of that love until I saw my own incurable brokenness.

Seeing that brokenness was only the beginning. Restoration comes but not without testing. I knew the tests weren’t over. Far from it.

I hope you pick up a copy of Guarded.

Journey to Easter Is Available

By Paula Wiseman

I have some news! A brand-new Bible study Journey to Easter released this week just in time for Easter. (Yes Easter! We passed Groundhog Day. Now we just have Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, first day of spring and we’re there.)

If you remember the Journey to Easter series from a couple of years ago, this study greatly expands on those posts with insights into the passages and thought-provoking questions that challenge you to think deeply about your faith and your walk.

Over seven sessions, you’ll stop at a different place with Jesus, beginning in the Upper Room on the night of His betrayal and ending in the locked room after His resurrection. Each stop has its own distinct role to play in the unfolding redemption story. While you’re there, you’ll have a moment to observe, to reflect, to consider, and ultimately to worship the Savior who loved us and gave Himself for us.

I think my favorite stops were The Garden and The Locked Room. Want to sample it? Download the first chapter, The Upper Room.

Journey to Easter is available as a paperback from Amazon and as an e-book at BN, Apple, Kobo and other favorite retailers.

Thanks for reading! (PS. Thanks for your patience and understanding if you already knew about the release.)

Favorite Books of 2017: Updated links

By Paula Wiseman

(Some readers had trouble seeing the book covers. Text links were added.)

Technically, I suppose this is not a Writing Friday update, at least not on the surface. But writers are also readers. Voracious ones. I don’t get to read enough. But between writing, working, homeschool, and church, I managed to squeeze in about three dozen books in 2017. Granted, some of them are FOR writing or homeschool. Directly or indirectly, they deeply influence what I write both here and in fiction. I thought I’d share a few with you. (And I love book lists.)

Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God

Sabbath is one of my favorite areas of study and if you’ve been around very long you may have picked up on that. Mark Buchanan is one of my favorite writers. I have his book, The Holy Wild in the queue for 2018.

Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms

I started this one on retreat in 2016 but didn’t finish it until this year. It’s a short book, but best digested in small bites. Invitation to Solitude and Silence is up this coming year.

Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson, Counsel from the Cross

I read a lot of counseling books. In fact, they take up at least three shelves in my office. When my son got his reading list for his Introduction to Psychology class, I had half of them already. (I made him promise to let me read the other two when he finished.) Inevitably, the things I learn find their way into the mouths of characters like Phil and Donna Shannon or Neil Craig. This book reinforces the fact that there is no healing apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

I “finished” this one right after retreat this year. I’m still reviewing and pondering. Because we understand at our core that our salvation comes by grace, we shy away from anything that challenges us to work or to discipline ourselves. But we know from all kinds of experience that we don’t improve at anything without practice and effort. Our spiritual growth is no different.

What did YOU read that impacted you this year?

UNDONE for Kindle is Here!

By Paula Wiseman

No preview chapter this week. A flurry of emails went back and forth early this week and here it is. The paperback will be out soon, but you can get the ebook versions for Kindle and Nook.

Thanks for your patience. Download your copy, and if you left a review when you’ve finished reading it… well, that would definitely put you at the top of my Nice list.

I’m pretty sure I have the best readers ever. Thanks for sticking with me!

Oh, if you haven’t already, check out the trailer.

UNDONE Chapter 7

By Paula Wiseman

Chapter Seven

Jan

Saturday, September 11

I left him sitting in the car, and went inside. Maddie and Malcolm met me in the kitchen. “Nana’s called twice,” she said. “I told her you had taken Dad to see Dr. A, but she wants you to call her.”

“Thanks. I’ll call her back.” The dog skittered around Maddie’s feet trying his best to catch my attention.

She glanced at the door. “Where’s Dad?”

“Outside.”

“Is he okay?”

“Dr. A did some quick tests and gave him a prescription. He wants to see him again.”

“But he’s okay?”

“Yes.”

She stretched up to her tiptoes and looked out the window. “Why is he just sitting in the car?”

“He got a call from someone at church and he’s deciding what to do.” I got a treat for the dog and he eagerly took it and strutted out of the kitchen.

She looked at me, then at the floor then her eyes darted to the window and back. “You can say it,” I said. “Part of our problem is that we’ve spent years burying what we think and feel. You can tell me anything, Maddie.”

“It sounds bad.”

“Maybe it won’t be as bad once you say it. Sometimes imagination is worse than reality.”

“I know Dad loves me . . . but sometimes . . .” She glanced at the door, then the window. “Sometimes it feels like the people at the church are more important to him.” She dropped her eyes. “That’s bad to think that, isn’t it?”

It would be hard for her not to come to that conclusion. “Pastors have a really hard job trying to balance their commitments to their churches and their families.” Which was true, and I respected how hard it must be to strike that balance. David expected me to fill in for him at home, but it never clicked that Roger could do the same for him at the church.

Maddie stepped back and crossed her arms, almost hugging herself. “Did you really mean that I could say anything to you?”

“Yes.”

“Why’d you do it?” She blinked and quickly wiped her eyes. “It was so wrong. You knew that . . . and it’s disgusting and . . .”

“And I embarrassed you. I am so sorry.” I held out my arms to hug her, but she quickly shook her head and stood rooted to her spot. I tried again, a little softer this time. “I’m not sure I can explain it yet. I hope Neil can help me.”

“You can try.”

“All right.” I took a deep breath. “You remember when you were little, and you loved to watch Snow White and Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and all those others?” She nodded. “And you wanted to dress up like them? You wanted to be them?”

“Pornography is not about princesses, Mom.” Her voice was flat, dismissive, not unlike her father’s.

“No, it’s not. But . . . I think we desperately want someone who will love us enough to face the dragons for us, who will love us even when they find out the ball gown is just an illusion, and we’re really clothed in rags and dirt.” I looked into her sweet, precious, innocent eyes. “And that’s where it started, Maddie. I didn’t start out on the internet. I started reading stories about women who were cherished . . . and I wanted that more than anything.”

Read the rest of UNDONE Chapter 7