Cecile’s Latest Book Light Within Cobblestones

THE TROUBLE WITH EDITING

God is my master gardener,

I am HIS GARDEN

tool.

There are times when one should gird themselves in preparation for a slow process. In the case of my latest book, the editing process has been a momentous and tedious struggle. Not with my current editor but with the last few.

It seems there is a vast difference between a general edit and an edit for publication.
If I had only understood this in the beginning there would be a lot less disheartening efforts in the wrong direction.

It is not a good idea to have a family member or a friend edit a book if they only have a rudiment of understanding of both the subject and of the process.

God love them, it’s not their fault, it is my fault. The process is not just fixing a few commas or making sure the spelling is correct on a word. So I will apologize here and ask for forgiveness from all of them. When editing a book for publication there are several steps. Verbiage and continuity in relationship to the theme is important.

Then there is the need for an author to make sure the subjects are fully understandable through an easy read. Disconnections and unfinished thoughts disrupt the flow. Authors don’t always see this for we write our thoughts out and then claim them without rereading at times. The author; that would be me in this case, has complete creative control. If the content causes confusion then the book will not read or sell well once the word gets out.

A good editor, one worth their salt will press for perfection in the edit process without regard to the author’s ego. With Light Within Cobblestones, and my editor Dr. Terri Pixlee, I struck gold. When you read the book you will see why I say this. God gave me a great brush and pen. Then He brought the finish. With her editing help the book is exactly as God wanted the book to be.

I have learned patience is the next best thing to having a good editor. The Lord was at work here when He had my friend Tina bring Terri to my attention. My thanks, Lord.

A Funny Thing Happened

Life With Cecile

We try to have a sense of humor about everything that happens in our lives because lots of Stuff happens. We don’t define it any further than Stuff because it can be so much Stuff there is no way to title it any other way. Instead, Stuff makes for funny stories.

My husband and I like to spend time together driving. Sometimes these drives are just to have a relaxing day. Other times they are great for working out our frustrations with life, our jobs or our personal issues. Driving shoulder to shoulder instead of face to face in tense situations like arguing is less stressful and is considered by many counselors to be a non-threatening physical position for a man and woman to have words and emotions that need resolutions. So away we go as often as possible. We pray before we head out each time for we never know, will it be a fun day or a work on us day? For fun or for fury either way it works for us.

We lay it out and let God labor on us through our honesty with each other.

One of these times we were more than heated in our discussions. So much so that my darling husband decided to pull over in the nearest empty lot out in the middle of nowhere with no one around. There were no homes just a few abandoned buildings so he parked to could continue the discussion at the top of our lungs and not end up distracted and in an accident. He is very thoughtful of my safety even when we are at each other’s throat over an issue. We are very plain speaking so I’m not being negative just truthful. I was grateful in my heart he was being wise even when we were growling back and forth with hearty exuberance.

We went on and on for some time when suddenly WHAM and the car violently swayed back and forth. We grabbed each other like the world was about to come to an end. All thoughts of the argument immediately disappeared as we expelled the air from our lungs. Both of us having gulped and held our breaths when the car began to rock. In a few moments I looked away from my husband and looked out the passenger window to see exactly what if anything had hit the car. I looked down.

There was a dog, passed out on the ground. He had run into the car and knocked himself out.

My husband and I began to laugh, we had had a drive by dogging. We laughed so hard we both got the hiccups. We completely forgot what we were arguing about with such vehemence. All we could figure was the car being blue and reflecting the clouds in the sky, the dog never saw us.

Of course then there is the fact that dog spelled backwards is God.

Since we had completely forgotten why we were arguing we think the Lord intervened. We happen to know God has a sense of humor when it comes to both of us. We walk with Him in everything. We got out and pet the poor thing until it woke up and wandered off, just a little off kilter from the event. We were already off kilter and God was aware. God will be attentive if you bring Him along in everything you do.

Isaiah 41:10 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

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