WELCOME SHARON SROCK

About the author:  Sharon Srock lives with her husband, Larry, and two dogs in Rural Oklahoma. She is a

mother, grandmother, and Sunday School teacher. Sharon has one and three-quarters jobs and writes in her spare time. Her favorite hobby is traveling with her grandchildren. She is a member of the ACFW and currently serves as treasurer for her local chapter. Sharon’s debut novel, The Women of Valley View: Callie released in October 2012. The second in the series, The Women of Valley View: Terri releases in April 2013.

Connect with her here:

 Bloghttp://www.womenofvalleyview.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SharonSrock#!/SharonSrock
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SharonSrock
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6448789.Sharon_Srock

About the book: Despite a bustling day care center and a new foster

child, Terri Hayes hungers for a family of her own. Then a plumbing mishap leaves her homeless and questioning God’s plan. Steve Evans’s gracious offer of his basement apartment as a temporary solution is an answered prayer.

Steve is a successful writer and a good father, but Terri is horrified when Steve’s book research leads him to a harsh confrontation with the parents of her foster child.  She needs to distance herself from Steve, but her efforts fall short as his two scheming daughters plot to make Terri their new stepmother.

Will harsh words and sneaky plans drive Kelsey’s family further apart and put a wedge between Terri and Steve? Or does God have another plan in store?

And now . . . behind the book:

Numbers 11:15 If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!” (NLT)

The subject for this post was given to me as this: How has writing changed me?

I’ve been writing posts for this blog tour for a couple of weeks. This one sat at the bottom of my list, staring me in the face every time I opened my spreadsheet, as if to say “you will have to answer this question eventually.”

How has the writing changed me?

I’ll be honest with you. I’ve been in a period of uncertainty the last few weeks. Yesterday I was feeling a lot like Moses in the verse above. Moses was doing the job God called him to do, and all he received was grief. I can identify. Jonah and Elijah both had their “just kill me” moments as well, so I’m in great company.

 How has the writing changed me?

It’s easy to see the negative changes.

It’s made me busier. Writing is a third job for me—and still a non paying one as I write this post--but if you lump all the writing related bits and pieces of my day into a single measurement of time, it actually takes more time than my paying second job.

It’s made me more introspective, and not always in a good way. I’ve always been a bit OCD. I like to be in control. I like making lists, and I’m most comfortable knowing my day is going to follow a predictable pattern. I have a spreadsheet that I take on vacation, detailing what activities are scheduled to happen on which day. Pity the person who gets between me and my plan. Writing is a poor career choice for people like me. Waiting is not one of my virtues and writing and waiting are interchangeable words.

It has managed to both strip me of my self confidence while giving me the greatest feeling of accomplishment I’ve ever experienced.

As I said, I’ve been in a period of uncertainty the last few weeks.

But then, the most wonderful thing happened. Wonderful beyond a paycheck, the extra dose of patience I crave, or the added three hours I might need in my day. A note arrived from a person I’ve worried about and prayed for, someone the book was never intended to reach. They read the story and found themselves touched on a spiritual level. Something I wrote made them stop and take a serious look inside their own heart.

All because I took time I didn’t really have and invested in a waiting game I’m ill prepared to play. Suddenly those negative are transformed into positives. The cloud of my uncertainty parts just enough to get a glimpse of the SON.  I guess, in God’s grand scheme, it’s all a matter of perspective.

How has the writing changed me?

God and I are still working on that.