November) – in a small town in Wisconsin called Reedsburg. 

 

 I stayed at the Park Road B&B, the lovely establishment of Donna and Tom Hannon.  I had an egg and asparagus casserole, strawberry topped French Toast, a blackberry fruit dish, and red wine and blackberry sorbet that nearly made my eyes water. 

 

 

            Walked into the movie set in my mind when I drove into old town Reedsburg.  From bungalows to Victorians, from the ornate Presbyterian Church to the rich bells tolling from St. Peter’s Lutheran church, I fell back into time.  We drove around the town snapping pictures, buried ourselves in the local history room, took photographs of key locations and asked seemingly silly questions (like how does Pea silage smell?) to the locals.  We feasted on the rich history of this town, delighted and satisfied. 

           

 

 

 

And then I met Jeannette.  She lived in an apartment in the renovated hospital where I am setting my story.  Donna, knowing I wanted to see the hospital, called her while I was sleuthing through the library records, and surprised me with setting up a tour.  Delighted, I headed over to the hospital and met Jeannette – only to discover that she had lived through World War 2.  My character sat before me (and graciously let me interview her!) 

 

 

          

Then I worshipped at a local Reedsburg Church (www.todayschurch.com) for Easter.             

           

What a rich weekend.  And it reminded me of the Wedding at Cana where Jesus turns the water into wine.  I love this passage – (and not only because I’m a wine drinker, and would have loved to taste that wine)  because to me, it speaks to my novelists heart, reminding me of three truths.

Here’s my Baptist three-point sermon Post-Easter thoughts:

1.       Jesus believes in the celebrations of life.   Like a wedding.  Like stories.  I have always loved the fact that he was both a preacher and a storyteller.  And in this passage, I love that he cared about the emotional needs of the wedding guests.  I love the fact that he was at the wedding in the first place.  Perhaps the guests didn’t “need” more wine, but the wedding wouldn’t have been what it needed to be without the wine.  Jesus delighted them by affirming their celebration.   Jesus affirms my celebration of life through words and stories.   

 

2.      And I know this because Jesus meets a writer’s physical needs.  As a writer, I need facts.  I need to interview people and understand places and occupations and technical issues about the topics I write about.  I am constantly amazed at how God provides for these needs.  I sat next to a Green Beret on a plane who helped answered questions about Team Hope.  I sat next to a Greek man (again on a plane!) who inspired my book Sons of Thunder.  I met a fellow writer who was dating a bull-rider (for Taming Rafe).  My garage burned to the ground and I met a slew of firefighters (for The Perfect Match).  God provides when I need facts. And not just facts, but time, and words and even encouragement.  Jesus is a writer’s provider.

 

3.      Truth number 3: Everything tastes better with Jesus.  I love the ending of this story – how the master of ceremonies took the bridegroom aside and said, “Hey! You saved the best for last.”  Of course it was the best – Jesus was the vintner!  (and I can’t wait until the celebration feast and get a taste of that wine!)  See, when Jesus is in it…it’s delicious.   Which is why, in my opinion, inspirational fiction – fiction of truth and hope – has a richness to it that nourishes our spirits.  It’s delicious because Jesus nourished the life of the author – and that spills out onto the page.  And…it reminds me that without Christ, my novel will be dry and lifeless.  Jesus makes my novels tasty.

We’ve taken a bit of a break this past month to prepare for the Frasier contest – now that the judges are busy judging, we’re going to get back on track with our romance blogs. 

But for those who might be feeling overwhelmed with their writing journey, wondering how they’re going to finish their novel, or even if they should, consider the story of the wedding at Cana.  And ask Jesus to turn your water into words. 

Susie May