I think I could write a book about my book promotion
experiences over the past seven years. In this scintillating piece of
literature, I would include some of the more startling and amusing conversations
I have had at my book table, such as the following:
‘So what do you have here?
‘These are my six novels and this one, Soul Friend, is non-fiction.’
‘Oh ... what are they about?’
‘Well, I explore different faith themes in my novels such as
understanding God’s love, forgiving others, using our gifts to serve God, overcoming
rejection, holding onto our faith, and so on. My latest one here, The Inheritance, highlights the
importance of dealing with anger and bitterness in our lives and learning to trust
God. It has a strong male main character in it as well as a female one this
time.’
‘Oh ... so you said they’re novels. Do you mean fiction? I don’t usually read fiction.’
‘Yes, they’re fiction—but several of them were inspired by
real people.’
‘Oh, okay. ... And what about this one here? Did you say
it’s non-fiction?’
‘Yes. It’s the story of my own journey with my spiritual
mentor Joy.’
‘Oh ... you mean you wrote it yourself? Wow!’
‘Yes. I wrote all these.’
‘You mean ... you mean you wrote all those as well?’
‘That's right.’
‘Wow! I’ve never met a real author before. That’s amazing!’
It’s a little strange how, even when I talk about ‘my’ books
or ‘my’ writing in such settings, some people still think I must be selling
someone else’s books. After all, their expression says, I couldn’t possibly be an author! Yet I can well understand
where they might be coming from. You see, when I was a child, I always thought
authors weren’t real people like the rest of us. I think I imagined them as a
race apart—some sort of exotic beings from a realm far removed from us whom we
could know only via their names on the covers of their books. They must be so
clever, I used to think. Only super human beings could weave stories together
like that. Imagine writing a whole book!
Now I know differently, of course. Now I myself have joined
their ranks. And, as I usually assure those who have such conversations as the
above with me, authors are quite normal people—well, sort of! We just happen to
love writing, even when that involves many hours of hard work. And some of us also
believe that’s how we can best serve God and others.
I never imagined I would be a ‘real author’. I can well remember
the day I received the proposed cover of my first novel and how I felt when I saw my name in large letters at the top. My first thought was ‘What have I done?’ Now my work and many of my inner thoughts would be out there for all to see. But
in the years since, I have discovered what a privilege it is to be a ‘real
author’ and to take hold of every opportunity to honour God and bless others that
comes my way as a result.
What are your thoughts about ‘real authors’ or your
experiences of being one? Is this a term only published authors can use? Does
it differ from the term ‘writer’, which I still prefer to put down as my
occupation?
Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives
in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and
Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well
as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and
lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six
published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared
spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three
grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.
