Wow! What a journey! Today as I type this, I have a contract for publication in hand. It has been quite a long road from idea to paper to contract. And I fear the road will continue to stretch before me until publication. But I know the Lord has brought me thus far and will continue to guide and sustain me until I reach that day when the final published copy is sitting in my hands.
Where did the journey begin, you wonder? It began…how does it go? A long time ago in a land far, far away…
It was nearly 10 years ago when it all began. I was in the Czech Republic on a mission trip. I have traveled to the Czech Republic 5 times to teach English at these Summer Camps put on by an organization called KVZ. On our first trip, I fell in love with the Czech Republic, its people, and its culture. As our trip leader did every year, he planned an interesting outing for us on our free day before camp began. While we were in Hradec Kralove, we visited a summer palace of the royal family, Hradek u Nechanic. While there, I was inspired by the atmosphere and architecture. I began to see the characters that I would come to know so well moving about the halls and grounds of the chateau. I even wrote one of the pivotal scenes in my mind that very day.
So, that year, the main characters were born in my mind and the backbone of the novel began to take shape. But nothing was put on paper for quite some time. I was actually busy pouring myself into the first novel I completed (which has not been published). And so, The Lady Bornekova was many years in the making once I actually put pen to paper (or keystroke to word document).