In March I received two contracts–one through Heartsong Presents and one through Bethany House for two full-length historical novels. I still had no idea where He was taking me, but I stepped out in obedience and told my principal I would be resigning at the end of the school year. In January of 2005, God began prompting me to leave my classroom. :o) From there I began questioning what I was to do with the healing He had given me.īecause of my health, I had been forced to teach part-time rather than full-time, so I wondered if I was supposed to return to full-time teaching or do something else.

I mean, think about it–juxtapose healing from constant pain against a writing contract… Which would you choose? Truly, it’s a no-brainer.

I eventually came to the conclusion that being made whole emotionally and physically was more than enough, and if that was what all the writing was about, then I was satisfied. I did a lot of questioning following the Denver conference about my call to write, and whether or not publishing was something I was meant to continue to pursue. My goal at that point was “learn about the publishing world and GET PUBLISHED,” but God had so much more planned… Following the Denver conference in 2004–where He led Ruth Seamands to “insist” *smile* I allow her daughter (Brandilyn Collins) to pray for me and subsequently healed me from a life-long burden of shame that was literally making me ill–I truly believed He had placed me on the writing pathway just so I could be at that conference at that time to receive His healing touch.

In 2002, I “stumbled” upon the American Christian Fiction Writers on the Internet, joined, and began attending their conferences. So I stopped submitting proposals, but I didn’t stop writing. I tried for three years in the mid-1990’s to find a publisher, but a series of rejections defeated me. Please share some of your writing/publishing journey with usįrom my earliest memories, I’ve dreamed of being an author. My readers would love to hear your thoughts:~ Kim ~ Thanks for spending some time at Relz Reviewz. Kim Vogel Sawyer, author of the newly released Bygones, took time out from her busy writing schedule to chat with me.

Bygones by Kim Vogel Sawyer