So, then, to every man his chance – to every man, regardless
of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity…

—Thomas Wolfe
______________

Well, I’m back. Way sooner than I figured, back when I last left you to head out on that long slog, to see if the next book would come. Because on that long slog, a little side road popped up, and there was no choice but to take it. So I did. And somehow, strangely, it brought me right back here to the blog. To tell you of how it was.

Nope, I haven’t turned in any new writing to Tyndale. Carol hasn’t read a page of the stuff I’ve been working on, for the sequel. Not even a word. Because it’s still way too rough. Because it’s not ready. And I won’t send it until it is. I have been working at it, and, well, sitting there and staring at it. Trying to “feel” my way in. Probably a bit too intensely. I got a rough draft cobbled together a few weeks after my last post. Sketched out what I needed to write, for a few chapters, in different places. And somehow, I even found a good thread or two, to develop. But it never broke loose. Somehow, it all seemed so elusive, so hard. The harder I concentrated, the harder I tried, the more my brain froze up, seemed like. Each day that rolled by was one more day gone. And the inner tension escalated. I’m losing time, here. I have to find it somehow, the voice that will speak my story. And still, day followed day, and not much was getting written, in actual word count.

I badly needed a break, a diversion. Something to get my head cleared. And then, last week, events abruptly took a turn of their own. Seemed like something or someone was nudging me. Stop. Don’t freak out. Take this side road instead. And check out a spectacular view from a new place.

Early last week, it all started with an email from someone at the Tyndale marketing department. Good news, it proclaimed cheerfully. On March 1st, Amazon will slash the cost of Growing Up Amish, Kindle version only, to a mere $3.99. And push it hard. Publicize it. The Tyndale email claimed I should be excited. This was a big deal. Every month, Amazon hand-selects one hundred books to promote. And my book was somehow included in this elite group.

I’d never heard of Amazon’s monthly “hundred books” promotion. But I thought it sounded cool. Amazon knows how to market, I knew that much. But a hundred books? Seemed like a lot, to push out there, even at a discount. And I checked my eBook stats. Growing Up Amish has been floating around lately at the respectable ranking of anywhere between 3500 and 5000 or so. Out of a million eBooks. Maybe, with the discount and the marketing push, it might creep back up there. I hoped it might even climb to 1000 or so, and maybe stay there for a while.

Thursday morning, March 1st. I checked my Amazon ranking. Right at 4500. All right. We’ll keep an eye on it, throughout the day. At noon, I checked again. Amazingly, that 4500 had dropped to around 2000. Wow. Amazon’s machine must be working. They’re probably sending emails to anyone who ever clicked on an Amish fiction book. Hey. Look at this. The real story for $3.99. Close to nothing. Check it out. And by the time I left the office at five, I was at 727. Under that 1000 marker I’d hoped for. In less than half a day. And the cautious thought edged into my head. This could be big.

Way back in the day, last summer, when my book crept onto the very bottom of the New York Times eBook bestseller list, it lurked for days and weeks at around 200 to 300 in the Amazon rankings. And Carol told me at the time that it sold around a thousand copies a week, to make the bestseller list. At that ranking, 200 to 300, it had sold a thousand copies a week. The highest ranking I ever saw back then was 133. And it stayed there very briefly. It might have crept a few notches higher, but I didn’t catch it.

And suddenly, I started imagining things. What if the book reached that plateau again? What if? That would be wild. Totally wild. And on Thursday evening, March 1st, as the book rocketed up past 300, I felt it really could happen. It could.

Turned out I hadn’t seen nothing yet. On Friday, the book kept pushing its way up. And up and up. 200. Then it hovered around 150 for a while. In all of Amazon eBooks. The hundred and fiftieth slot out of a million eBooks. Wild stuff. And still the number climbed steadily. 125. Then 113. Then 106. The highest I’d ever seen it. Maybe I could break into the top one hundred in all of Amazon. How cool would that be?

That evening, I clicked “refresh” now and again, on the Amazon page for my eBook. Nope. Just hung right in there at 106. It’ll probably drop now, I figured. That close to the top 100, but still no cigar. And then, just before 9 PM, I refreshed the link again. And the magical number leaped right out at me from the screen. 91. Number 91 in all Kindle books on Amazon. The top hundred. I’d made it. I stared in ecstasy. And disbelief. And then I snapped a picture of the screen and posted it to Facebook. The top one hundred. I’d made it. In the second day of Amazon’s March promotion. Just unbelievable.

And it turned out, again, that I hadn’t seen nothing yet. This time, my book was heading out and up to join the big boys. I posted the link with promotional sale information on Facebook. My friends went haywire with support, webbing the link on and out into the ether. Word of mouth. Buy this book. $3.99. That’s nothing. By Sunday morning, it broke into the top fifty. By Monday morning, it held at 33. And each day it crept up a bit. Fluctuated some, sure. But always jumped up past previous numbers. 22. Then 27. Then 21. On Wednesday morning, and again on Thursday morning, it broke into the top twenty at number 18. The 18th most sold eBook on all of Amazon.

That’s wild territory. Wild and beautiful. Rarefied air, any way you look at it. I stand here in awe. This is a place I will likely never see again. The book might plummet in the rankings at any time, but no one can ever take it from me that it’s been where it’s been. Even the Tyndale people seem mildly amazed. And perhaps just a little astounded.

And I think back to those days when I was struggling, writing Growing Up Amish. Intensely, frantically at times, as the next monthly deadline relentlessly closed in. In despair, at other times, when I could not find the words to speak what was in my heart. Somehow, I ended up chatting with God in those moments, now and then. Informally, just talking, reminding Him. This is your book. You can take it where you will. Do with it what you want. Just help me get it said right.

I believe He heard me, and did just that. Helped me get it said right. I really do. There are not a dozen words I would change in the entire book, even if I could. I credit my Tyndale editors, too, of course. A lot. But that was a given from the start. It was a miracle they were even involved at all.

And I feel a bit like I felt back then, except for the despair part. Here on this wild and beautiful road, where I see my book flirting with the highest rankings on the internet. This is your book, God. I gave it to you before it was even written. Take it where you will. Now. Next week. Next month. Whenever. Wherever. I don’t know what the future holds. You do. Bless the path of this book.

And here, at this place, I can only stand and marvel in gratitude. The windows of heaven have opened and poured forth blessings such as I could not possibly have imagined.

All right. That felt good, to write the old blog again. I’m thinking I’ll do that now and again, regardless of how the other writing’s going. It’s good to come back to where it all started, and stay connected to my readers. It helps get my brain unstuck. And this is a safe place, where I can be myself. So I’ll plan on posting once a month, at least, sometimes more. Depends on how often I can fit it in.

And now, it’s back to those rough drafts. Maybe with a fresh perspective. Maybe not. In some ways, my head seems clear. In others, it’s more fogged up than ever. We’ll see how it goes.

A couple of links before closing. The link to my eBook on Amazon, for those who want to check it out. Buy it, for crying out loud. For every Kindle in your home. It’s less than a latte at Starbucks.

And finally, the audio version of Growing Up Amish is now available for preorder. It’s being released on April 1st. I’m eagerly awaiting my copy. Should be here any day now.