I just finished editing the final chapter in the Riley Cooper Series of Hope, A Beacon of Hope, and I have to say it’s bittersweet. As I said in my previous post, I love the character, Riley Cooper, but I’m ready to move on. Riley Cooper has been my best friend for the last three years. Where the reader only spent a week or so reading about her (and I’m sorry to say, had to wait a year to read the next chapter in her life), I have spent every waking hour thinking about her, starting the day I wrote the opening line in An Inheritance of Hope.
When I started the series I knew it would be a trilogy and when I got to the third book, I kind of freaked out because I wasn’t sure I would have enough material to finish it. Then, lo and behold, Dr. Frank Turek (crossexamined.org) and Dr. Roger Spradlin (todayswalk.org) happened, and through these two men, God’s words were loud and clear and gave me direction. Book three, A Beacon of Hope, is now my favorite of all three books. I had the most fun researching for it and writing it. The two men mentioned above, unbeknownst to them, were the ones that helped to open the flood gates to my imagination. They would both probably freak out (not really, neither strike me as the type to actually freak out) if they knew. I guess this would be a good time to give credit where credit is due, David Barton, (wallbuilders.com) is the reason for all the Founding Father quotes. Any chance that I got to hear him speak about the founders of our country, I listened. An amazing man! Okay where was I . . . even though Frank Turek is the only one mentioned by name in A Beacon of Hope, I took terrific notes while listening to Pastor Spradlin’s sermons, and sprinkled them throughout the book. The Fruits of the Spirit being one of them (it’s one of my all time favorites that Pastor Spradlin preached).
The next step for me, and Riley Cooper, is the cover design. This part will only be hard if I can’t get the image I have in my mind, into the minds of those that work in the cover design department. I love the Restoration of Hope’s cover, and to date it’s my favorite. However, it will come second to this one if I can get the Mind Meld to work. Fingers crossed.
Sometimes I wonder if writing is something I want to keep doing . . . I loved writing the Riley Cooper Series of Hope, even though it was a lot more work than I thought. But yeah, I love telling stories and I love learning. Writing gives me the best of both, so, hopefully one day you’ll meet a guy named Clay and a young woman named Savannah. 😉
Until next time,
Larissa