"HIS EYES" - My upcoming novel for adults & teens
Releasing early 2025. Check here for updates and progress reports.
Book Summary
“His Eyes” is a story of life-shaking tragedy, reflected in the victim’s eyes. Sixteen-year-old Michael learns to cope with grief, deal with bullies, see God at work through people different from him, and rescue his mom from drug addiction.
Through these challenges, "His Eyes" addresses why God allows tragedy. Living hope replaces cliches when each character navigates grief to find comfort in God's presence. Ultimately, Michael's haunting vision of his dying brother's eyes transforms into the vision of God's loving eyes.
"His Eyes" is an Inspirational General Fiction novel in the Coming of Age genre. Check back here for more updates.
Progress Report as of July, 2024: "His Eyes" won a Foundation Award at Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference 2024!
Four years ago, I innocently launched my dream to write a novel. I was a novice fiction writer with no idea what I was doing, despite publishing a "Going Full Circle" in 2013.
But the storyline grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. The story poured out of me .I wrote 60,000 words in two months, finishing in the summer of 2020.
I had several people read it and give feedback. That autumn, I re-wrote the story. During the winter months, I took some online writing courses. Then I re-wrote again in early 2021.
I marketed it to literary agents and book publishers throughout that summer and fall. But, because the story involved a handgun and also is inspirational, it was too controversial, and I received almost 100 refusals. So, I set the book aside for most of 2022 during my retirement and move to the mountains.
In November 2022, I got a contract to publish with a small Christian publisher. But the controversial storyline remained a problem. The publisher raised valid concerns and wanted to publish it with a disclaimer. In July 2023, the publisher and I parted ways by mutual agreement.
Larry J. Leech II became my writing coach that same month. I am finally learning how to write fiction the correct way and the book is going great now. We are adding more depth to the story with every edit and re-write.
In June 2024, I completed a full re-write with Larry. My manuscript is now ready to submit again to Literary Agents.
Please say a prayer for my book and I’ll let you know as soon as I have another update.