Nancy’s Comments on Revelation in the Cave

May 5th, 2013

What can I say? I wrote my first book and published it! Voila! I’ll never disparage an author again! What a journey.

I believe it’s important for each person to find a voice and proceed on a path of growth and personal transformation. That’s what my book is about, and that’s what happened for me as I wrote it. The book morphed quite a few times and so did I. Expressing voice was my motivation and continues to nudge me on this path of leading my emerging effort – “Spiritual Seedlings,” a little business I created in the process. .

The life of a Creative is a meandering road, full of serendipities and challenges, opportunities and miracles. The experiences and joys of this project have surpassed my wildest imagination. I sat down each morning, determined to co-create with God a book that would be a voice for peace; a message that Jesus preached love and nonviolence – choosing to suffer if necessary rather than kill. I hoped to lift this message of the Book of Revelation up and out to my readers.

 Overtime I began to say I was trying to write a cross between the Ya Ya Sisterhood and the Da Vinci Code to challenge the Left Behind interpretation of scripture. The audacity of that statement continues to humor me. Did I accomplish this? You tell me!

 In the process, I learned a lot about writing – and also learned there is much I don’t know. I encountered other writers in writing group and at Antioch Writer’s Workshop. I traveled to Greece and Turkey, twice. I researched and learned much about life in the early church and the Roman Empire.  I developed the discipline to press on, day in and day out until a final draft emerged.

 The downloadable Reader’s Guide expresses some of the themes in the book – nonviolence, women and spirituality, the Rapture Theory exposed, transformation, reconciliation. I’ve heard a first book is autobiographical. Well, perhaps a lot of “me” comes out in the pages — fun and spirituality, hopefulness and redemption, laughter and adventure, mediation and the unexpected. Some people get it, some people don’t. Some say the message is buried too deeply; others say that it’s too obvious. But I have received enough affirmations to be encouraged – and enough critique to help me know I have room for growth.

 I hope you enjoy the story and that it pulls at your heartstrings in some way. Perhaps Revelation in the Cave will open your mind to the role of women in the early church; perhaps call you to work at reconciliation and/or forgiveness with someone who has made a huge mistake, perhaps to reach out in love to someone who is different, perhaps to work harder at living your own dream and adventure, perhaps to consider and listen to Spirit’s nudges in your own life.  If a seed has been planted that suggests the importance of suffering love, a refusal to resort to violence then I will be most pleased.

 Since writing, the marketing journey calls me outward. I’ve been to Iowa and Michigan, to Sertoma Club in New Carlisle, to libraries and book groups, staged events and done readings. Early on, I decided that I wanted it to be a fun journey.  So I’ve been having a good time, and laughing my way through this. I’m willing to come and speak, or sit down and discuss with your group, too.  Just email me and let me know and we can work out something ( nancyflinchbaugh@sbcglobal.net).

One of my readers said what she enjoyed most about the book was the group of women – the MAMs; how they didn’t let their differences divide them, but enjoyed each other. She wanted to be a part of a group like that.  And so, I decided to start a MAMs Book Club Springfield which began meeting in my home in March.  A new community of wonderful women have entered my life,  because of my writing project.  And, since the MAMs will live on in future books, I decided to create their own book club on the Web. I hope to create a place other book clubs and readers can go as they look for books to read.

So here we are – the MAMs Book Club on the web. And each month, I hope to continue to express my voice, commenting on the books we read.  The MAMs will each have a voice, and I encourage you to share your voice, here, also. The wonderful world of reading unlocks personal doors into new possibilities for life. I hope each book I read changes me in some way – and I’d love to hear about the changes for you.