Welcome to today's guest blogger, author Grace Bridges!
Dreams Past and Future
As the new year gets going it's a good time to consider the year gone by before turning to the one to come. Last year at this time I was living in Germany, working for the police. Now I live in New Zealand and work for myself. In between were all sorts of adventures, mostly of my own choosing.
After seven years in Germany I decided it was time to come home. But not directly. I'd always dreamed of spending more time in Ireland, so that's what I did. From May to August I lived on the coast near Dublin, and spent September in a seaside town near Belfast. My plan-making seemed kissed with blessing from the very start: the first landlady I rented a room from is a Christian, as were all the others living in the house. A sea view from my room provided inspiration for my summer of writing: finishing one manuscript and writing another in its entirety as well as completing a dozen full-length critiques in exchange for the input I needed on my own work. I made many friends, some for life; I was able to help out the local church as a worship leader for three months; I walked the beaches, traveled the country a bit, and soaked in that wonderful, damp Celtic summer. And after that, my hosts in the North wouldn't hear of payment at all, although we were strangers until the day I arrived in their house. I have to shake my head and wonder. Surely this is not usual?
After that I flew to New York and began a two-month odyssey across the States. Here I met many online author friends and even some fans! While the journey was indeed arduous, it was such a privilege to be a guest in home after home across the country. These people are more than Internet acquaintances now. And how wonderful to talk authorly things in person! Plans were made for ocean-crossing cooperation in various online projects and book publishing, but that's another story.
One month ago I stepped off the plane from L.A. in my hometown of Auckland, New Zealand. The southern summer was about to hit in full force, and I reveled (still do, actually!) in the beaches and lush subtropical suburbs. A time of waiting ensued, and I painted some rooms at my parents' house while considering my next move. Literally. Now that move is completed as I now live in a shared house with a wonderful outlook including the (somewhat distant) sea; the swimming pool is rather more than I dreamed of!
And so that sense of dreamy wonder follows me still. I have been given more than I imagined possible. This is just the start; as I gain a new footing in my homeland, write more books, and develop my business, may this awed gratitude ever remain for the - ahem - unusual things my Creator hands me.
ABOUT THE BOOK - Faith Awakened
In virtual stasis to escape a deadly virus, an ex-slave finds far more than just survival...
Ireland as it has never been seen before – in a future where hope is hard to come by. Mariah, living in the dark time after the advent of a one world government, seeks the light in the underground Fellowship of the Awakened. Shortly afterwards, nearly the whole earth is silenced, and she struggles through the shock with a handful of survivors. Yet the danger has not passed away entirely, and they are forced to fight for their lives using an untested technology. Faith, too, grows up in Ireland, but it has little in common with the homeland Mariah knew. Sometimes she thinks her life is perfect, asking herself, “If this is a dream, when am I going to wake up?” Other times it seems repetitive and monotonous. She experiences much to delight her, but also suffers from inexplicable bouts of amnesia that rob her of the past again and again. Seeking answers, she travels much in the free world, where disappointments and successes vie for the upper hand until she finally finds fulfillment in spite of all her disasters. n spite of all her disasters.
WIN THE BOOK
If you’d like to be entered to win a copy of Faith Awakened just leave a reply to this blog. I’ll pick a winner at random on January 15th. Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you're the winner. (To prevent spammers from trolling for your email, please use this format with the brackets--you [at] yourmail [dot] com--or something similar.) Good luck!
