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"...and he guided them to their
desired haven.”
Psalm 107:30
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Already
as a young girl I loved to write and make up stories. Throughout the years, the longing to write never ceased, but there was
little time, nor energy to do something about it. I was
able to write newsletters, both in English and Dutch, to keep family and friends updated about our lives, but it wasn’t
enough – I wanted more.
I took a Dutch correspondence course, but
had to write about subjects and genres I didn’t like, and which didn’t fit my style. The whole setup was also
more on a recreational, hobby level.  Then, out
of the blue, August 2006 a brochure arrived which changed my life. Tucked between a book order from Christian Book Distributors
(CBD) the little brochure challenged me to "pass the free test and write for publication". Wow! I did the writers’ test and was deemed a candidate for the course. The rest is history, for this was what I really needed, the tool
that brought my writing on a professional level. Mentored by my personal teacher, Mary Rosenblum, I finished the 2 year course
within six months.
 By now
I realized that my writing was a gift from God, and that it wasn’t a selfish pursuit. In order for the talent to be
used for ministry I had to take the dream off the backburner and start cooking.
Being a mother first and a writer second at times could be rather stressful,
but I learned to write whenever I could – even when it was only for half an hour. I received tremendous joy and fulfilment
through writing and tried my hands at all kind of subjects. But so little could be said in a 1000 word article. I wanted to
be able to express myself more fully, and for that, I needed a novel.
Where best to learn how to write a novel than at Long Ridge. Being a graduate student,
I was able to enrol in their Novel Course, with again, Mary Rosenblum as my teacher.
The aim of the Course was to finish
at least the first 3 chapters of the book. I had a whole 120.000 word Manuscript ready of a Historical/Biblical novel and
received my second diploma!  With
the lessons I had learned, I now was able to revise my first novel, about Elijah and the widow of Zarephat, edit and revise
the second novel, FIRST FRUITS IN JERUSALEM, and present the manuscript to a British Publisher for reading. Wanting to give
the Dutch market a try, I send a translation of First Fruits to several Dutch publishers. It’s still quiet on all publishing
fronts, but I keep trying!
When not busy researching the 4, monthly history pieces about Israel/the Jewish
people for Radio, or preparing an article for the Embassy's monthly Newsletter, I continued researching my next
novel.
This one 'begged' to be written, and is set in England and Holland in the time period before and during
the Second World War. Because of the overwhelming amount of material to choose from, it was hard to make a selection. Often
I wandered off on side tracks, and got caught up in the curiosity certain subjects triggered in me. There was so much I didn’t
know about the War period in Holland! I learned more each day, and it sure gave me a new perspective on how it was to live during that
dark historic period.
Then came the traumatic event of our foster son, Na'il's sudden death. I no longer
was able to concentrate on my writing, so the novel idea was put on the back burner. Instead, I wrote a book about the twelve
amazing years Na'il had been with us.
By 2009,
I could proudly state that I had become a Published writer. Only a few were paid publications, the rest was ‘pro Deo’,
but it was a good way to build a writer’s platform. Skills could only be honed by practice, like every other craft,
and the more I wrote, the ‘easier’ it became. Each day, I learned more things. day.
Although most of
the articles were non-fiction, I noticed that writing fiction gave me the most joy. I didn't like to read books that left
a bitter taste in my mouth, or ended unsatisfactory. My stories/books would ALWAYS have good endings, I decided.  The 3rd
novel, about the 2nd World War, which I had hoped to beome a series, kept stalling. I became frustrated. Wondered how
to proceed.
And then, another little advertisement began to nudge me. Wouldn’t it be too soon
to learn to write for children? I wondered. Perhaps I should practice some more writing for adults? But what if in
a few years time I would not be able to afford the Course? So, I took the plunge and enrolled in Long Ridge’s sister Institute
– the Institute for Children’s Literature. I was excited to learn new things while working alongside my teacher,
Nancy Coffelt, who had several children’s book on her name. Nine wonderful lessons to look forward to! The novel
was trashed indefinately, and I decided to focus more on writing for children.
Orson Scott Card said, “Everybody
walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t
see any.”
Being a T.M.I.S (Too Many Ideas Syndrome) kind of writer, I knew that
the children’s market would be a wonderful outlet for all those ideas that kept on coming.
UPDATE 2011
Writing
Na'il's story - Just do It! - truly was a 'First Fruit'. Through Lulu.com, I published
the book in the summer of 2010. In a few months time, I self-published two more books and was asked to write the story
of Irene Levi's life - From McComb to Jerusalem. This resulted in Hela asking me to publish her book,
Israel, History in a Nutshell. Being able to ride on her band wagon, opened even more PR doors than I ever
could imagine. Writing my books in English, I then would translate some of them into Dutch - adding books to the ever
growing list. By now we have published ten, which means that we are an 'official' publishing house now!
More
books are waiting to be written - one is the story of three boys named Lucas, all connected to a very special woman, Rita
Adams. My children's novel (Biblical fiction/Judeo Christian) is still in the writing/editing/revising stages. I press
on, trying to use my constantly honed skills to write for God's glory!
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