A few days ago, I was reminded unexpectedly about how many adventures we go through in our lives. Some we see coming. Others catch us by surprise. But often we come across mile-markers on the road of life that remind us of where we’ve come from, or signs that point the way going forward.
As an example, we attended a family reunion at Bear Lake last week. Seeing the nieces and nephews growing up is a reminder of how time flies. We did some things we haven’t done before (like riding in a 6-seater ATV). Not knowing where the path is going to take you, having to backtrack and go another way, certainly reminds me of my publishing career. But a truly neat experience happened when we stopped for raspberry shakes in town and ran into a young man who we’d known as a missionary years ago. That we recognized and remembered him, and he remembered us and our names, made it a sweet reunion–and not just because of the shakes!
New adventures await as well. I’ve been invited to Beijing for the International Writing Program as a guest speaker in September. I’m hoping to wrap of the final book of the Harbinger series while I’m there. It should be fun as well as educational. My next post will probably be from there.
Which brings me to what triggered this post to begin with. I was searching for an old e-mail this week and came across many of the query letters I sent years ago. Among those were also many rejection letters too. As I looked at the dates (June 2008) I realized that I’ve been on this journey for more than 10 years. Even more if I go back to high school. I get asked for writing advice a lot, but for me the thing that has stuck out the most is the need to stick to it. To not give in to discouragement or rejection. Keep trying, keep writing. Some of the people who rejected me 10 years ago are people I know in the industry now. I have no hard feelings. It was all part of the amazing journey that we (you and I) have been on together. Thanks for sticking with me along the bumpy ride!
You never know what’s around the next corner!
-Jeff
P.S. I’d like to say a personal welcome to baby Brandon Tayt Miller, who was born a few days ago and was named after Jon Tayt from the Covenant of Muirwood series. Maybe he’ll read this blog post someday!
