MY HOPE SECURED: An Update on My Work in Progress

Because of our move, July was a lost cause on editing my current work in progress. But I am pleased to report that as August began, I got back into the swing of things. I’m into the polishing phase on the novel, which will be titled My Hope Secured.

I’ve discovered a good way to keep myself focused on the text as I edit. I am having Microsoft Word read the book to me. The automated voice in Word doesn’t use much expression, but it does a surprisingly good job at basic pronunciation. (There are three voices to choose from—they are all acceptable.) By following along on the page as I am read to, I am less likely to get distracted than if I were reading silently to myself.

I’m also less likely to edit needlessly. I’m at the point in the writing process where I have crafted the book to the best of my ability (or mostly so—I’m still finding a few incongruities in the plot). But as long as my fingers are near the keyboard I continue to make changes. Most of the changes now are not corrections or even improvements, they are simply word-smithing. I’m trying to make myself only edit where I really think change is necessary because every change allows the possibility of errors to creep in.

As with my other historical novels about the West, the title of this novel comes from the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” One verse in that hymn goes as follows:

The Lord hath promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

You’ll have to wait for the finished novel to decide whether My Hope Secured lives up to the promise of the song.

Readers of my newsletter have seen the blurb for the novel already. (There is a reason to subscribe to the newsletter—I often announce developments regarding my writing there first.) The current version of the blurb reads:

Hannah Bramwell arrives in Oregon City in late 1850 to help her widowed brother raise his children. But her brother’s new wife does not want Hannah in their home. With no wilderness experience and a leg disabled in childhood , Hannah must learn to survive on her own.

Zeke Pershing, an Oregon farmer, loves the pristine woodlands from which he wrests his livelihood. Then family tragedy leaves him with overwhelming responsibilities , and new homestead laws threaten to cost him half his land.

Brought together by necessity, Hannah and Zeke confront quarrelsome neighbors, ruthless thieves, and their own sorrows and fears as they struggle to find peace and prosperity on the untamed frontier.

I’m hoping to publish the novel by Thanksgiving . . . or by the end of the year for sure. Within the next few weeks, I will be revealing the cover My Hope Secured.

Tell me what intrigues you about my forthcoming novel, or send me a comment about your own goals for the remainder of 2019.