Shannon Vannatter – God’s Perfect Timing

Welcome Shannon Taylor Vannatter who shares about her publication journey and a blurb from her new release. Watch for White Roses in stores November, from Heartsong Presents.

WHITE ROSES – heartsongpresents.com May 2010/Stores Nov 2010
WHITE DOVES – heartsongpresents.com Oct 2010/Stores Apr 2010
WHITE PEARLS – heartsongpresents.com Jan 2011/Stores July 2011

God’s Perfect Timing

Who made up the rule that kids should know what they want to be in life, when they graduate from high school? At the tender age of seventeen, I’d decided to enroll in vocational technical school and take computer classes. But then, a visit to the hairdresser with my best friend changed my course. Hey, that looked like fun.

The first few months of costmetology college fascinated me. Soon reality set in. I thought fixing hair would be glamorous. Instead, it was hard work, which led to sore feet and hair in my teeth. By then, the course was half-finished. Quit and waste five months of my parents’ hard earned money? I stuck it out and worked in three different shops, including my own, during the course of the next ten years.

Craving something different, I applied at a bank, got the job, and hung up my scissors. At first, it seemed like the perfect job. But as more responsibility was handed over to me, stress multiplied. I applied as a receptionist at a large company and got the job, which was wonderfully stress-free, but oh so boring. Thankfully, this company had oodles of office jobs and when each one came open, a notice went up on the bulletin board. Over the next seven years, I transferred from office to office, mostly doing data entry.

During this time, that story that had been in my head for fifteen years really wanted to come out and I’d finally realized it could be a book. My father-in-law gave me his old computer, and three months later, I began submitting my completed novel to publishers. The rejections poured in, but I wrote another book, and another. I absolutely loved writing. Finally, at thirty-three I figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

But I still had a day job. My last job was in Accounts Receivable, entering checks into the system before they went to the bank. I had my own office and didn’t have to deal with customers. Just me and my computer. Though daily account balancing was stressful, I loved the job. To top things off, a publisher wanted my third book. It was a Print on Demand company, which I didn’t understand at the time.

About this time, my husband answered the call to preach. After I picked my jaw up off the floor and told God how unworthy I was to be a pastor’s wife, I supported him and he was ordained. Churches began calling him to fill in for their pastor or in between pastors.

After sixteen and a half years of marriage, I got pregnant. It wasn’t a total surprise, but it happened about the time we’d given up. Immediately, I was exhausted and it never let up throughout the entire pregnancy. I had two book-signings and was too tired to do much else, other than work. Pre-eclampsia swelled my ankles to the size of a Sumo wrestlers’ by my fourth month. By then, I’d learned that POD means overpriced books that don’t end up in stores and don’t sell.

By my seventh month, I was on bed-rest. During that time, I got my first request for a full manuscript from a major publisher. I lay on the couch on my left side to keep my blood pressure down, and my feet above my heart to keep the swelling down. From this pretzel position, I edited my manuscript with my red pen, until my arms went numb from carpal tunnel syndrome because of all the swelling.

I finished the manuscript and sent it off, had a healthy son, and went back to work. I never wanted to go back to work. I’d always planned to be a stay-at-home mom like my mother had been. But we’d always been a two income home and there wasn’t any wiggle room to do anything else. About that time, my husband got an offer from a church. His pay would almost replace my income. I gave my notice.

I loved being a stay-at-home mom. For all of our son’s firsts, I was there. The rejection came in on my full manuscript, but I kept writing during nap time. Time flew. My son went to preschool three days a week for social skills and suddenly, I had all day to write. By kindergarten, I had all week to write.

Nine years of submitting, three writers’ groups, dozens of conferences, and eleven books later, I’m finally published by a traditional publisher, where the books actually end up in stores. During the school year, I spend weekdays writing. When school is out, my computer goes off and I’m mom. During the summer, I’m pretty much just mom and I get my writing done at night after my son goes to bed. And all the time, I’m the preacher’s wife.

I’m on the brink of having my first book in stores in November. Looking back, it seems like a winding, disjointed path. But being a hairdresser, a loan clerk, a receptionist, and a data entry clerk has given me much fodder for my books. Marrying a man who morphed into a preacher, deciding late in life to have a baby and then things happening slowly in that area has brought me to where I am now and made me the writer that I am. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. God had it sorted and His timing is always perfect.

Amen! And here’s a blurb from White Roses, Shannon’s first novel:

Pastor Grayson Sterling loves his wife. The problem is, Sara was killed by a hit-and-run driver two years ago. Grayson knows he needs to move on, that the continuing depth of his grief is not healthy for him or his young son. Desperate, he convinces his church to hire Mark Welch as associate pastor to relieve him of some of his load. When Adrea Welch arrives at his church with her brother, Grayson cannot deny his attraction to her.

 For years, florist Adrea Welch has been artfully arranging white roses for Sara Sterling. Now those flowers are carried to the cemetery by a faithful, grieving husband. How can Adrea be so attracted to a man still devoted to his dead wife? When secrets from Adrea’s past collide with their budding relationship, both she and Grayson must learn to lean on

God’s abiding wisdom.

Find Shannon:

http://www.shannonvannatter.com

http://www.shannonvannatter.com/blog

http://www.inkspirationalmessages.com