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A Collaborative Poem about Truest
I wrote this with my friend Mary, who is a genius. She is going to change the world, and I’ll just say, “I knew that all along.”
Untitled
by Mary and Jackie
Friday.
There is rain falling on Green Lake, and how can you say
the words that hang between you
like a veil you cannot tear?
The swans are quiet now, a silence that digs and destroys,
and you marvel that he can believe the sun will ever rise.
Saturday.
There is rain falling on Green Lake, a liquid pit that
takes and takes and never gives.
Sunday.
There is rain falling on Green Lake, and this time, you see it:
the stark splendor of it all, and the echo of the swan’s lamentation,
which roots you to the earth like a promise.
Dear Diary: January 2015
Today is my spiritual birthday! Nineteen years ago, I made the best decision of my life and signed everything over to Jesus. It’s been a wild journey with him ever since!
This month has been packed to the gills. I celebrated the new year with my best friend Eir, I watched Truest start cropping up for pre-order on online bookstores all over, I turned 33 and didn’t have a third-of-a-century crisis in any way.
I spent close to a week up in Duluth on a writing retreat, where I hammered out 10k words in three days. I’m absolutely thrilled about my work in progress! The characters are gripping my heart, making me laugh, making me cry. And the best thing is that I’ve been absolutely LOVING the writing process lately. 2014 was a bit harrowing, and– truth be told– there were many stretches where I didn’t feel like I was enjoying writing anymore. Over and over, I’d ask myself, “Is this still what you want?” Sometimes I’d have to really think about it, but my answer always was yes. And now: to enjoy it again? Delicious. Hard, hard work. But good work.
Some exciting things are coming up for me! I’ll be reviewing my galleys soon, making last-minute changes and corrections to the manuscript, and the cover will be revealed next month! I’ve been so eager to show the world– I hope you’ll all love it as much as I do!
I love that “twenty.”
I got my galley pages today; that is, Truest is starting to look like an actual book.
I need to read through these, make any last-minute changes, and then we’ll make my ARCs (advance review copies)! I’m still tracking down permissions for a few of the song lyrics and poetry in the story. Let me tell you, that part is not fun. With my current work in progress, I’m trying to stick mostly to stuff in the public domain.
Anyway, I know a lot of you say that you want to hear all the details on the publication journey– even the little ones– so I thought I’d better share this exciting step with you all!
Hugs!
OCD & Truest
Truest is deeply influenced by my experiences with OCD, especially the detachment and paranoia that first spurred me on to get a diagnosis. While Truest isn’t a book about OCD, there are strong themes about uncertainty and the nature of reality.
“Is it always this way?” I asked.
“What way?” Gordon asked back.
“Does life always have more questions than answers?”
“Oh, yes,” he said. “At least that’s my experience. And actually, the older I get, the more questions I have.”
“It seems so backward,” I said.
Gordon laughed a little and then said, “Does it really surprise you, Westie? Faith and uncertainty are accomplices.”
Truest is full of lessons I’ve learned from a life lived with OCD, in bondage and in freedom. I’m getting ridiculously eager to share it with you.
Click here to learn more!
2014 Creative Goals: Final Report
Well … here’s how I did on my creative goals in 2014. I’m going to consider it a successful year, and it really helped me shape more realistic creative goals for 2015, which you’ll see on the blog tomorrow!
JACKIE LEA SOMMERS 