An Audience

It’s kind of fun having fans.  Several of my beta readers for After the Dream have expressed excitement over my next book, Pigs Fly.  I’ll mention it in conversation, and they’ll tell me how much they’re looking forward to it, or they will bring it up and ask.  It’s not a big fan base, but it’s nice feeling appreciated.  It gives me hope that I will find a reasonably sized audience for it.

The same is true with my readers’ group who is helping me with my middle-grade children’s book series, Doomimals.  Multiple people have expressed excitement over the story and want to share these books with their kids.  But the best praise I’ve had so far is in my teenage niece’s delight in it.  She is not easily pleased, and she’s older than the target audience.  I know my kids have had a lot of fun helping me come up with ideas for chapter titles and story events and characters.  The harder part will be making sure these books are not just exciting but meaningful. 

For me, it’s not so much about being appreciated, admired, or even paid.  It’s about helping people.  It’s why I write.  It’s why I do what I want to do:  to touch lives.  I’m sure I will enjoy having strangers come up and tell me they had fun reading my book.  But the comments I’m looking forward to are the ones about how the story, its events, its spiritual content, etc. helped people. That’s the kind of commentary that will truly mean I’m fulfilling my calling in sharing the stories I’m here to share.  I don’t want my words to remain flat, black and white letters on the page.  I want them to help people feel understood, overcome hardship, and find healing.  Otherwise, I’m missing the point.