Promise’s Prayer Re-launch! And Interview with “Erika from the Past”

It’s launch weekend for the second edition of Promise’s Prayer!
New cover, new formatting, new editing!

First, the important things: the ebook is on sale through tomorrow night for just 99 pennies! After that it goes back up to $2.99, so be sure to grab it today or tomorrow.

The signed paperback of the new edition is available!

Special Post! Interview with “Erika from 2014” and “Erika from 2017”!

I found this fun post from launch week of the first edition of Promise’s Prayer back in 2017 with interview answers I’d written both in 2014 when I had just finished the first draft, and answers I’d written just before launching the book for the first time. I thought it would be fun to share in honor of the re-release . . . with updated answers!

On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best), how well do you think this book turned out?

Erika from 2014: Probably 6 or 7. I’m happy enough with it, but it does need editing. Somehow things never seem to appear on paper as they do in my mind, so it doesn’t match the quality I imagined–yet.

Erika from 2017: Wow, it’s clear that my opinion and love of the book have only improved with each edit. I’d now rate Promise’s Prayer somewhere in the range of 9 – not because I believe it’s the best book ever written, but because I deeply love the characters, the message, the plot, the wording, the journeys of Carita and Kaelan, and the truth of Adon Olam. It’s by far my favorite fiction story I’ve ever written.

Erika from 2020: I think I may be back to a 7 on this question. My writing skills have changed and improved in the last several years . . . and so often as I undertook my most recent edit this year I wanted to entirely rewrite the whole thing. But I still love the story, the message, the characters . . . and everything else about the book. And the second edition is so much better than the first.

Have you ever rewritten or edited one of your books before? If so, what do you do to prepare yourself? If not, what’s your plan?

Erika from 2014: I have edited many books, but actually few of them have been mine. I edited a non-fiction book of mine a year ago. I don’t prepare much; I dive in. My plan is to go through and fix/improve one section at a time.

Erika from 2017: Editing other people’s books seems far easier than editing my own! Most of that is probably psychological as well as the fact that I’m not emotionally attached to other people’s books, i.e. with my own books, I can justify in my head why I chose those specific words or added that specific scene. With other books, I can be more objective. That said, it sounds like I didn’t have a very concrete plan when I first started editing. No wonder it took over two years! I did develop several sub-plans along the way. I read my book several times start to finish, editing each time. Three different times I sent the book to a few friends for opinions and feedback. I edited on my computer, on Kindle, and from the paperback. I scanned every bit of formatting as well as read sections repeatedly for typos. I listened to my computer read my book out loud to me and followed along with it. If there’s a method I didn’t try, please let me know and I’ll add that when I edit Book Two.

Erika from 2020: I’ve edited so many books in the last three years, both mine and other people’s. With mine, generally I let the first draft sit for a while, then go back and edit, edit, edit.

What’s your final word count? Do you plan to lengthen or trim your book? 

Erika from 2014: My final word count is 66, 328, and I’m planning to both lengthen and trim my book, though I’m not entirely certain yet how significantly. Because I know some parts will be added and others deleted, I’m not certain whether my word count will increase or decrease, but I expect at least a minor increase before it is finished.

Erika from 2017: My book has lengthened. The final word count is 71,469 – so I added about 5000 words in the editing process. Several new scenes are included in those 5000 new words.

Erika from 2020: 74,786. Once again, it lengthened a bit with this new edit.

What are you most proud of? Plot, characters, or pacing?

Erika from 2014: I’m most proud of my characters–no question there. I got to know them far better than even I imagined. They really took off with what I gave them and led me places I had no idea we’d go. Even supporting characters developed unique personalities and showed who they truly were. Kaelan showed up much more often than I expected, and other characters whom I expected would take the stage more stayed in the background. Plot and pacing are another story… pacing proved more difficult the further I got into the book, and with it, the plot seemed stagnant too, but my wonderful characters rescued both by the end.

Erika from 2017: I’m still most proud of my characters. Kaelan, Carita, and their friends are so realistic – I can relate to what they are thinking and feeling, and every time I read the book, I’m learning and growing along with them. Pacing is much better now than it was initially, though I’m not entirely confident about it. I’m very happy with the plot now that I’ve identified and filled in the original plot holes.

Erika from 2020: Still the characters, though I’m also quite content with both plot and pacing now.

What are your hopes and dreams for your book? What impressions are you hoping this novel will leave on your readers and yourself?

Erika from 2014: My hope and dream is that those who read the book will be able to relate to the characters and events in the book and that they will think about their own views and perspectives on life, culture, society problems, and their personal life purpose. I hope that readers will evaluate their own methods of approaching their goals, dreams, and what is important to them and ensure that they are making the right choices. I am also challenging the stereotypical “save the world” element of many novels.

Erika from 2017:  My desire is to demonstrate how the real, powerful, lifechanging truths of God’s kingdom (the spiritual realm hidden from our physical senses) could play out in a fictional setting. I hope that readers are encouraged to pray and challenged to trust God with their fears and struggles, relying on Him alone. My goal is that God will use this book to reveal His kingdom to my readers. As C.S. Lewis writes: “By knowing Me here for a little, you may know Me better there.”

Erika from 2020: My hope is that Promise’s Prayer demonstrates the power of the kingdom of God through ordinary people, transforming daily life into His resting life. My goal is that God will use this series to reveal His kingdom to you as the reader. My prayer is that by spending time seeing and knowing God within these pages, you may know and experience Him more intimately in your daily life.

ABOUT THE BOOK

He promised to save the land. She received a divine calling.
But how can mere prayer quench his restlessness and her fears?

Walking behind a plow day in and day out gets boring for a nineteen-year-old who longs for nothing more than adventure. In the midst of the rampant lawlessness and love of pleasure that drive their country, Kaelan Ellith yearns to make a difference. When a promise at his mother’s deathbed gives him the impetus to do just that, he’s off to the capital city to bring back the knowledge of Adon Olam. Despite his natural leadership skills, his schemes keep going awry, and lost people keep passing into eternity without hope. How can he ever keep such an impossible promise?

Shy Carita Kostan knows the voice of Adon Olam, and she desires nothing more than to follow His calling: “Love. Serve. Pray. Persevere.” Yet how can she minister His love to her neighbors when her soul is tormented by their unmet needs and handicapped by her own paralyzing fears?

When the true nature of his promise and her call begin to surface, Kaelan and Carita just might discover how saving the world is entirely different than they imagined . . . if they have the humility and the courage to receive it.

A clean, family-friendly Christian kingdom adventure fiction novel for all ages