T.C. Slonaker, author
  • Home
  • The Angelmen Series
    • About the Angelmen Series
    • Trailers
    • Hierarchy of the Beings
  • Books
    • Amity of the Angemen >
      • Sample of Amity of the Angelmen
      • Amity Trailers
      • Reviews of Amity of the Angelmen
    • Asher of the Angemen >
      • Sample of Asher of the Angelmen
      • Asher Trailers
      • Reviews of Asher of the Angelmen
    • Caedmon of the Angelmen >
      • Sample of Caedmon of the Angelmen
    • Malachi of the Angelmen >
      • Sample of Malachi of the Angemen
    • The Battle >
      • Sample of The Battle
  • About T.C. Slonaker
    • About Me
    • Interviews
    • Beliefs
    • What Am I Doing Now?
    • Quotes
    • How I Became Published
  • Blogs
    • Passion Under Grace (T.C. Slonaker's blog)
    • Tracy's Top Ten
    • T1D Family Life, While We Are Waiting …
    • Woman on Sports
    • The CDO Writer
    • What's On My iPod
  • Humor
    • Body Language >
      • Chapter 1: About Going for a Ride
      • Chapter 2: Stomach Revolts
      • Chapter 3: A Surprise Early Morning Gym Visit
      • Chapter 4: Birthday Present
      • Chapter 5: Laziness and Cats
      • Chapter 6: Thinking Ahead, I Think
      • Chapter 7: Learning About Softball As A Grown-Up
      • Chapter 8: Allergies, Smallergies
      • Chapter 10: A New Machine at the Gym
      • Chapter 11: After the Flood
      • Chapter 12: Asthma (not so funny)
      • Chapter 13: Birthday
      • Chapter 14: A Snake
      • Chapter 15: Pituitary Coup
      • Chapter 16: My Shorts Don't Fit, Part 1
      • Chapter 17: My Shorts Don't Fit, Part 2
      • Chapter 18: An Accident
      • Chapter 19: An Accident, part 2
      • Chapter 20: On Vacation
      • Chapter 21: Getting Work Done in the Summer
      • Chapter 22: Listening to a Game on the Radio
      • Chapter 23: Interview With a Pancreas
      • Chapter 24: I Don't Have a Cold
      • Chapter 25: Collision at the Plate
      • Chapter 26: The Aftermath
      • Chapter 27: Moving On
      • Chapter 28: At the Beach
  • Events
  • Contact Me
    • Ask A Question!
Share What You Like

Passion Under Grace

My thoughts as a Christian wife, mother, author, person.

"Mom, when we're rich..."

2/12/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
I don't think I even heard the end of my child's question.  Perhaps I cut her off.  I had to explain to her that she wasn't facing reality, and it was time to learn why I do what I do.

First I had to let her understand why her thinking was askew.  She knew it was a big deal for me to be published.  She didn't know that, for me, it only affirmed that what I wrote had merit.

The authors she had envisioned were the ones she heard about on the news, who were indeed millionaires, J.K. Rowling, Stephan King, etc.  How many other authors  wrote books in the library who were not the famous people on the news?

Too many to count.

And they are not my co-workers, they are my competition.  I tried to explain it this way.  My daughter plays soccer.  She loves it, but is on the "C-level" team. Chances of her becoming a famous soccer player aren't great.  (I don't say that to be mean.  By all means, she can work hard and get better.) Even if she were an A-level player, the next step would be beating out all the other girls for a spot on the school team.  Then, she would have to beat all the school teammates for a college scholarship.   From the college picks, she would have to stand out to a pro scout.  (I don't even know if there is a professional level woman's soccer league, but just saying.)  And then, she would have to stand out among her teammates there to be recognized by the public as one of the great ones.  Many steps to soccer fame.

And I explained that even if she never made it to the next level, she would probably keep on playing soccer because she loved to play.

Then I explained to her how "rich" we could be this year.  Due to the percent of royalties I earn, if I sold 200 books (guessing that I could include the second book in this lot) this quarter, after taxes and tithes, I would net about $30.

That was absolutely shocking to all my kids.  We know people who are not rich who make that much in an hour. The kids could pick out video games they want that cost more than that.

And they know I have put in wayyyyy more than an hour's worth of work on my books.  The next question was obvious.

"So then, Mom?  Why are you writing these books?"

The answer was hard to put into words.  While I was thinking, my son started for me, "Because she likes it.  Duh!"

Yes, that is part of it.  It is an awesome feeling to have complete control over the lives of people and even worlds I have created. I like making up characters.  I like putting them in trouble and then trying to figure a way out of it.  I like having a way to be dramatic.  My personal life has no real life-or-death situations, but I face them everyday in my books. My children don't always listen to me, but my characters have no choice.

But if that were the only reason I wrote my books, I would never have started the painful task of trying to find a publisher.

My books have a message.  I didn't want to start writing without a purpose, and there is only one purpose I feel is worth sharing - spreading the Gospel.  I was a youth group leader in my recent past, and a youth group member in my more distant past.  I know that young people listen best to what is interesting.  So I asked God to help me find a way to talk to them that was interesting.


I starting writing the Angelmen series because I wanted a new parable.  I wanted another way to show kids what God's love could look like.  So, I created a new race of people and showed a parallel plight.  (OK, I didn't create them. God created them, and they really did exist.  But since I believe they were wiped out long ago, it is completely fictional to have such characters today.)  And each book brings Truth from the Bible into hands of my readers.


Would I love to see my books turn into movies?  Heck yeah!  Because it would make me rich?  No, for the people it could reach.  Would I love to stand up in front of an auditorium full of listening young people?  Yes.  (I am strangely blessed to not mind talking in front of large groups of people.) Why?  So I could tell them the message.

You don't write unless you have something to say.  If you do, it is best to just keep it to yourself.

1 Comment

    Passion Under Grace,
    Author Blog

    This is the personal blog of T.C. Slonaker, author of the Christian YA fantasy series, The Angelmen.  Read about her thoughts on parenting, faith, marriage, and the world.  You never know what you're going to get!

    Picture

      Follow This Blog:

    Submit

    Archives

    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    40
    Amity
    Angelmen
    Asher
    Asthma
    Attitude
    Azaleas
    Baby
    Battles
    Beauty
    Bed
    Bejeweled Blitz
    Biking
    Blog
    Books
    Bully
    Cat
    Categories
    Cats On Lap
    Christianity
    Christmas
    Coaching
    Cold
    Color
    Comfort
    Comfy Chair
    Communion
    Conceit
    Crazy
    Cross
    Customer Service
    Darlings
    Death
    Depression
    Diabetes
    Editing
    Facebook
    Faith
    Games
    God
    Good Deeds
    Good People
    Grammar
    Guilt
    Guns In School
    Heaven
    Humility
    Humilty
    Ice Cream
    Jesus
    Just Say No
    Just Say No
    Kids
    Laziness
    Legs
    Like My Work
    Lollipop
    Money
    MS
    Muse
    Nails
    Nephilim
    New Year
    No
    Notes
    Numbers
    Ocd
    Parenting
    Patience
    Preface
    Pretty Dress Day
    Publishers
    Race
    Reading
    Rejection
    Respect
    Rich
    Richard Paul Evans
    Running
    Sanity
    Satan
    Self-publish
    Sell
    Sheets
    Shoulds
    Sin
    Sleep
    Son
    T1D
    Talent
    Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier
    Tv
    Twitter
    Vacation
    Why I Write
    Wonder Woman
    Worth
    Writing

Photos used under Creative Commons from transp, normalityrelief, iluvcocacola, srgpicker, amboo who?, infomatique, tubedogg, bitmask, Tax Credits, Maggio7, Waiting For The Word, Mr.Lujan, Caperd, alan.stoddard, lolololori, maxime.mcduff, Sharon Mollerus, Lora Rajah, Kuster & Wildhaber Photography, jeff_golden, _M-j-H_, Divine in the Daily, s.schmitz, Robert S. Donovan, Ambernectar 13, ~ggvic~, NIAID, andy_c, dreamymo, elka_cz
  • Home
  • The Angelmen Series
    • About the Angelmen Series
    • Trailers
    • Hierarchy of the Beings
  • Books
    • Amity of the Angemen >
      • Sample of Amity of the Angelmen
      • Amity Trailers
      • Reviews of Amity of the Angelmen
    • Asher of the Angemen >
      • Sample of Asher of the Angelmen
      • Asher Trailers
      • Reviews of Asher of the Angelmen
    • Caedmon of the Angelmen >
      • Sample of Caedmon of the Angelmen
    • Malachi of the Angelmen >
      • Sample of Malachi of the Angemen
    • The Battle >
      • Sample of The Battle
  • About T.C. Slonaker
    • About Me
    • Interviews
    • Beliefs
    • What Am I Doing Now?
    • Quotes
    • How I Became Published
  • Blogs
    • Passion Under Grace (T.C. Slonaker's blog)
    • Tracy's Top Ten
    • T1D Family Life, While We Are Waiting …
    • Woman on Sports
    • The CDO Writer
    • What's On My iPod
  • Humor
    • Body Language >
      • Chapter 1: About Going for a Ride
      • Chapter 2: Stomach Revolts
      • Chapter 3: A Surprise Early Morning Gym Visit
      • Chapter 4: Birthday Present
      • Chapter 5: Laziness and Cats
      • Chapter 6: Thinking Ahead, I Think
      • Chapter 7: Learning About Softball As A Grown-Up
      • Chapter 8: Allergies, Smallergies
      • Chapter 10: A New Machine at the Gym
      • Chapter 11: After the Flood
      • Chapter 12: Asthma (not so funny)
      • Chapter 13: Birthday
      • Chapter 14: A Snake
      • Chapter 15: Pituitary Coup
      • Chapter 16: My Shorts Don't Fit, Part 1
      • Chapter 17: My Shorts Don't Fit, Part 2
      • Chapter 18: An Accident
      • Chapter 19: An Accident, part 2
      • Chapter 20: On Vacation
      • Chapter 21: Getting Work Done in the Summer
      • Chapter 22: Listening to a Game on the Radio
      • Chapter 23: Interview With a Pancreas
      • Chapter 24: I Don't Have a Cold
      • Chapter 25: Collision at the Plate
      • Chapter 26: The Aftermath
      • Chapter 27: Moving On
      • Chapter 28: At the Beach
  • Events
  • Contact Me
    • Ask A Question!