You should be careful what you ask for because you will get it. You may not always like it, but you will get it. I always get what I asked for, in some weird way. it may not be exactly what I asked for, but I will get it. I always ask for it in the guise of signs, so I know if I’m heading the right way. Or sometimes, if I need to rethink some things. But the signs I ask for always lead me to the right place.
Last year, I found myself in a position of needing some signs. I was editing my first novel, getting rejection after rejection, and I was just lost. It was a perfect moment for a sign. I needed to know moving forward with this novel was right or if I should just shelve it. It really felt like it was a lost cause. So I asked. I received.
I happened to be wandering around the store one night and there in front of me was a display of different bulbs. It was mostly bulbs I wasn’t interested in, but I looked anyway because I was drawn to this display. I walked to the other side and saw it: Red Dutch Lily.
Now, this might seem inconsequential. But to me, it was my answer, for my two main characters in my book are named Lily and Dutch. He even calls her Red as a nickname. Red Dutch Lily. I grabbed a bag. I had the perfect place to plant them. I put them in the soil, gave them some water and said: if you grow, if you give me a bloom, then I’ll know that I should publish my book.
Crazy, I know. The chances of speed growing a bulb from a big box store is slim. But I did. Not long after, I had little green sprouts. Five to be exact. The same number of major characters in my book. Still, I wasn’t hopeful that they would make. But one did. It was the tallest and the strongest. It was my Dutch. After all, the novel was basically his story.
Then it happened. A long yellow tubule appeared. It was going to bloom. Last year, I had one bloom. Our agreement had been upheld on its end, so it was time to uphold mine.
This year, I wasn’t sure the lilies would come back. But I knew if they could come back, then I could too. I could finish that sequel. Maybe even get to that third one, as I had planned. I could make this series, this trilogy I had in my head but growing from a bulb from a mass market is difficult. Often the bulbs are dead or decayed. But these bulbs aren’t. This year, my five sprouts appeared. Growing to the same height as before–some smaller than others, but still present. Still acknowledged.
But this, I needed to know if I should continue. Should I bloom, or just accept my one novel is a fluke.
This year, I got a response.
Not one. Nope.
Not two.
No, I got three buds. Two have bloomed already, another is a day away from blooming. Staggered in their opening beauty, I have my trilogy. And I have my sign. I have a bloom for my trilogy. Yes, it might seem illogical and impossible, but not to me. I have a series to fully cultivate. I can’t let my lilies down.
Oh, by the way, I have yet to find these particular bulbs again.
Until next time…
Like my blog? Why not try my novel? Big city actor falls for a small-town historian, reigniting a moonshining feud. Things are about to get real messy, but can their love survive?
The Mess We’re In is available at Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Barnes & Noble NOOK and Books-a-Million.
Carolyn Lawrence, Author 