I am very excited to announce a project that I hope you will consider being a part of. I am in the process of writing a book about Spiritual Signs. It is tentatively titled, SPIRITUAL SIGN STORIES.
This collection of short stories will be geared toward a young adult audience. The purpose of the book is to help young people follow the spiritual signs they are given in every day life. I’d like to show examples, via these stories, of how to ask for, recognize, and use signs, in order to find or stay on life’s intended path. It’s important for young adults and teenagers to realize they are not alone and there is a higher power at work in their lives. Hopefully this book will help inspire or restore faith in God to those who are lost or struggling.
I am asking family, friends, and acquaintances to help me by donating a story of a divine occurrence that happened to them, or someone they know. It could be a prayer that was answered, an intuitive voice, a physical sign, a vivid dream, creative inspiration, help to make an important decision, or something else remarkable or miraculous that happened to you in your life. The story must have a “proving” quality about it, and a purpose driven focal point. The sign should evoke a positive change in the character. If your story is chosen to be included in my submission to the publisher, I will notify you.
The story should be 800-1200 words in length, double-spaced (shorter stories will be considered depending on content), 12 pt. font, cut and pasted in the body of an email, sent by regular mail, or told by phone. Please include your name, address, phone number, and email address in the top left corner of the page.
If you’d rather not write the story, but have an interesting one, I’d be happy to take notes as you tell me by phone. I will write it and give you credit for the contribution. If you do write the story yourself, you will receive a byline in the book and a publication credit to your name. If you would like to donate, and remain anonymous or use a pseudonym, that’s ok, too. Stories may be edited for focus and clarity and flow.
The deadline for submitting stories is September 15, 2010.
Email me SIGN STORIES, cut and pasted in the body of an email (NO ATTACHMENTS PLEASE) using the CONTACT box.
Please feel free to pass this information on to anyone you know who might have a story to share. I would also be interested in receiving sign stories from teenagers as well as adults.
If you have any questions about this project or if you aren’t sure if your story would be a good “fit,” contact me. I’ll be happy to help. Thank you for your time and consideration. I am looking forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Susi Walter
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators of Michigan, Editorial Assistant
I am attaching my story that was previously published in Woman’s World Magazine (July 2005) as an example. Note: The ending has a “proving quality” and the purpose of Grandma coming to me in the dream is for closure and reassurance.
Save Us a Seat in Heaven
I was nine when my frail grandma suffered a sudden heart attack and passed away a day later. I never got to see her alive again, because children weren’t allowed in the intensive care unit. I felt empty, sad and scared.
At the funeral home, as I knelt at her casket, she looked like a mannequin of a sweet old woman with her rosary decorated around her delicate hands. I thought she was gone forever.
That night, I said my prayers and hopped into bed as fast as I could with my eyes shut tight. Though grandma had always been gentle and kind, for some reason, I was terrified that if my eyes popped open, I’d find a ghostly grandma standing over me.
When I told Dad my fears, he comforted me, “Grandma loved you to pieces, and she’d never do anything to scare you.”
That night, I had a vivid dream that I remember to this day…
My eyes opened, and just as I’d feared, there stood Grandma. But instead of feeling afraid, calm and warmth rushed through me. She wore a black baby doll party dress with big white polka dots. Grandma was bubbly and alive. Grandma stretched out her balmy hand, and I floated with her through the sparkling night sky. We visited a carnival and rode a merry-go-round. We laughed out loud together and ate vanilla ice-cream cones.
All too soon, we were back at my house, she was standing at the bottom of our staircase and I was at the top. Grandma said, “It’s time for me to go now.” I ran down the steps, hugged her warm body and said with a trembling voice, “Good bye Grandma, I love you.”
“I love you, too, sweetie,” she said. “You won’t be able to see me for a very long time, but don’t worry, I’ll save you a seat in Heaven.”
I awoke and raced downstairs to tell everyone about my dream. But I couldn’t interrupt the conversation already in progress, in which Dad was describing his last conversation with Grandma. Dad was soaking up the tears from his eyes with a hanky.
“I asked her to please save us a seat in Heaven, he said, “And she promised that she would.”
I knew then that Grandma really had come to visit me and that I’d see her again in Heaven someday.
