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"This auditorium is to be devoted to the cultivation of the arts and sciences, and to the education of people, in affectionate recognition of the life and services of him in whose honor and memory it is dedicated." That's the inscription on the bronze memorial tablet in the lobby of Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium in Winston-Salem, which was dedicated May 8, 1924. Last week, I shared a little about University of North Carolina School of the Arts, a place that's history plays a very important role in my upcoming novel Songs for a Sunday. This week, I want to share another location that's featured in my book. (Can you see me in the picture, standing in the middle of those six giant columns?) Reynolds Auditorium is the setting of TWO pivotal scenes--one in the 1960s timeline and one in the present-day timeline. Both of these scenes are some of the most emotional I've ever written. The building is so majestic, it begged to be included in a story. And its history is so intriguing, it deserves to be remembered. There's much to tell, and I encourage you to read about it at the link below. (The site includes a digital copy of the 33-page program for the five-day celebration that marked the dedication and opening of the auditorium.) https://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/domain/12029 Here are a few highlights about the magnificent building:
In Songs for a Sunday, two of my characters get to perform here, in very different situations. I hope you enjoy how this special location is used in the story. The book is available for pre-order now. 
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North Carolina School of the Arts plays a major role in my next novel, Songs for a Sunday (releasing 2/7/23.) I thoroughly enjoyed my research of the school's amazing history. The idea of North Carolina becoming the home of the first public arts conservatory in the United States was conceived in 1962, and a state committee was established that would eventually make North Carolina School of the Arts a reality. The school opened in Winston-Salem in September of 1965. From the school's website: "The school’s location was determined when the citizens of Winston-Salem, known as the “City of Arts and Innovation” and home of the first municipal arts council in the nation, raised nearly a million dollars in a two-day telephone campaign to win the school for the city." In 1972, the school joined the University of North Carolina system, and in 2008, the name was officially changed to University of North Carolina School of the Arts. The institution trains students at high school, undergraduate, graduate, and post-master's levels and consists of professional schools of Dance, Design & Production, Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. The school is well-known for their annual production of The Nutcracker, which is referenced in Songs for a Sunday. The first performance, which two of my characters would have attended, was on December 10, 1966 at Reynolds Auditorium, a venue that's the setting of two major scenes in the book. The picture below of that performance is from the school's online digital archive: https://digitalcollections.uncsa.edu/islandora/object/uncsa%3A266 Another fun fact: The school's mascot is The Fighting Pickle. Songs for a Sunday is available for pre-order now.  The finalists for the upcoming Selah Awards were announced today, and I am so thrilled that New Wine Transportation Company made it to the final round of judging in the Novella category. Many names of writer friends were called during the live stream of the announcement of finalists, and I literally stood in my kitchen and clapped each time I recognized a name. It's been so fun to celebrate with them today on social media. The awards are part of Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, which I'll be attending for the fifth time in May. The awards cover several genres/categories and are for works published in the calendar year prior. New Wine Transportation Company was entered in the Novella category because the word count is just shy of the requirement for novel categories, though by different standards it is called a "novel." Last year, I was a finalist in the Historical Fiction category for Where I Was Planted. (I came in fourth place, which isn't actually a place, but it was still a thrill to be a finalist.) This year, there are two other finalists in my category, and I'll be honest, I would love to know how many entries there were for the category in total. I want to celebrate, and I do, but part of me always wonders things like, Were there only three entries? Either way, I'm grateful for that pretty gold seal, and I'm cheering on all my friends who are also finalists. Excited to find out all the winners on June 1!  I’ve had the opportunity to guest post on a few different websites this year, but I am especially excited to have an article published at CBN online. I pray God will use these words to encourage the church for the benefit of His kingdom. You can check out the article here. Thanks for reading and sharing!  
Join the scavenger hunt to see the full cover of Chad Pettit's “Fate of the Watchman” and also look for clues to win a $10 Barnes and Noble egiftcard and a free digital pre-release ebook of “Fate of the Watchman”!
This post is stop #5 on the Cover Reveal Scavenger Hunt for “Fate of the Watchman”, a novella from fellow Ambassador International author Chad Pettit. The book releases on October 1, 2018 and will be followed by Chad's second full-length novel “Fate of the Redeemed” {release date TBD}. Please read the details below carefully. The hunt begins August 30, 2018, at Reading is My Superpower (www.readingismypower.org) and ends on September 7, 2018, at Chad Pettit's site where he'll reveal the cover for his book! (Keep reading for a teaser of the cover!) There are 9 stops on this scavenger hunt, and you will find a CLUE IN RED at each stop. This is your clue here at stop #5: "WHO Your next stop is the website for author Allison Wells, www.allisonwellswrites.com. Write all your clues down as you find them! When you find all nine, unscramble and enter the clues into the giveaway entry form (link below). The giveaway will remain open until September 9, 11:59pm EST. Winner is subject to eligibility verification and will be notified within 24 hours of the giveaway ending and has 48 hours to respond before an alternate winner is selected. No purchase is necessary and this promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram or Facebook. Thanks so much for stopping by my site and participating in the “Fate of the Watchman” Cover Reveal Scavenger Hunt and Giveaway. Who is Chad? Chad Pettit grew up in Oregon with books and the mountains to help his imagination grow. After high school, he spent ten years in the Army, travelling and deploying all over the world, including two combat tours in Iraq. After the military, Chad earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Texas A&M University-Central Texas, and then he started teaching English at an early college high school in central Texas. Chad currently serves in a local church as a deacon and the Sunday school superintendent. What is “Fate of the Watchman”? Lester Sharp is a workaholic, obsessed with the success of his business and oblivious to the world around him. All of that changes when a peculiar stranger comes into his shop asking for food and help. Lester soon finds himself on an impossible journey around the world to bear witness to some of the greatest tragedies a person can know, all frozen in a single moment of time. In this challenging and gripping novel, debut author Chad Pettit, delivers a supernatural, pulse-pounding adventure in which Lester Sharp is in for the longest second of his life and learns lessons to last a lifetime. For more information about Chad Pettit & “Fate of the Watchman” visit: Website: www.chadpettit.net Twitter: @pettit_chad Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChadPettit.Writer Instagram: chad_pettit_ For more information about Ambassador International please visit: Website: www.ambassador-international.com Twitter and Instagram: @AmbassadorIntl Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmbassadorIntl 
Here's a sneak peak at part of the book cover!
I've been sharing blog posts every day this week, leading up to my guest post TODAY on Southern Writers' Magazine. As a new author, I am grateful for the opportunity to share some ideas with the writing community. And, as a southern author, I'm especially happy to be associated with a magazine that promotes literature and authors from the south.
Read my post, titled "More Than a Story", on Southern Writers Magazine's blog called "Suite T". 
I'm not a very patient person. I think I get it from my father. Or, at least, since he has the same character flaw, I can claim it's a learned behavior or some undiscovered genetic predisposition and give myself an out. But I guess it really doesn't work that way. The older I get, the worse my impatience grows. I generally show grace, but often fail when it comes to customer service hold times and waiting for a table at restaurants. Lately, I find myself waiting for a lot of things.
The writing-related things on my list are normal. Just part of the process. So, I'm not complaining. No one has dropped the ball or has been too lax about anything. They are working on multiple projects for different authors, not just me. I'm just impatient. The last item on the list, simply by nature of the process, takes a long time, too, although it's frustrating. But I had a revelation today: I need to be waiting on something even more important than the things on my list. The words of Jesus in John 14:30 reveal the thing I should anticipate most anxiously. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." It's so easy to forget, or take for granted, or push to the back of our minds, the promise of Christ's return. But the expectation of His second-coming is fundamental to our faith. We are waiting. Not just waiting, but in a constant state of waiting, watching, and working, as we continue to live and enjoy the life He has given us. I'm in a season of waiting now. But that's where I should live! Expectant! When I stop and put things into perspective, the nearer-every-day reality of my blessed hope as a believer should make me more patient when it comes to all the other, lesser expectations in this life season. I'm thankful that, as with Jesus' return, God controls the times and the seasons. Everything works out for good, no matter my perceptions of "on time", "quickly", "slowly", or "delay". I need to trust God's timing every second of my life, even when I have to wait longer than I'd like for a book layout, a life-changing situation, or a pizza buffet. And may we all wait together anxiously for His coming.  How To Be An Aspiring Author While Working a Full-time Day Job and Raising Small Children11/17/2017 This point of writing this article is partly stress-relief, but, hopefully, it will also serve as light-hearted absolution and encouragement for anyone else who is in my shoes right now. So...here's my list! 1. Let yourself be a little crazy.Cut yourself some slack, and know that this season of life won't last forever. Maybe someday, you’ll become a successful author and won’t need the nine-to-five job to pay the bills. That, or your spirit will be crushed from the struggle and you’ll go back to “only” working full-time, raising children, and managing a household. For now, if you forget a birthday party your child was invited to, it's okay. In six months, they won’t even remember. If you forget to pack a child’s lunch and have to leave work to take them something from a drive-through, it's okay. They will be thrilled to have nuggets and fries instead of a Lunchable. And if you call your spouse by the name of your story's protagonist, it's okay. They probably weren’t even listening anyway since they have gotten so used to you being buried in your laptop screen instead of engaging them. It's okay to be a little crazy right now.
2. Hire a maid.If you have to, break open the piggy bank (yours or your kids’) and pay someone to rescue your family from the disaster area your home has become since you started the undertaking of writing and publishing a book. There is no shame in this. It’s completely understandable that every time you start to fill the dishwasher you think of a great piece of dialogue and have to leave the dishes floating in milk from that morning’s cereal so you can write before the thought is gone. It’s understandable that you want to spend the only free hour you have after the kids are asleep writing, instead of scrubbing cat puke stains out of the carpet. It’s okay. A maid service every other a week will do wonders.
3. Don't sleep.This is an acquired skill. And if you are able to attain it, you might be able to skip Step 2 and use some of your unnatural awake-time to actually clean your house, or fill out those field trip permission slips and book order forms, in addition to editing your manuscript. But more than likely, your hands will be on the keyboard anyway, right up until the moment you fall asleep and start drooling on the space bar.
4. Have a really great spouse who doesn't mind if you're a little crazy and the house is a mess.Having a supportive husband or wife is a huge benefit for aspiring authors. If yours isn’t supportive, I’m not suggesting you trade them in for one who is. But if you do have one, let them know how invaluable their support is, and they will likely continue giving it, even when the level of crazy spikes and they’ve had to empty the dishwasher the last five times in a row.
5. Pray. Often.This one is a serious one. Pray to make sure this dream that you feel God has put in your spirit is really from Him. Then pray for endurance to reach the goal. Pray for wisdom and guidance, to find the right agent and the right publisher. Pray for an audience for your book. Pray for your spouse, that they continue to overlook the crazy. Pray for your family to thrive, even in the midst of chaos.
6. Read your writing to your children.Share your work with your kids. Let them see you struggle over it. Let them watch you work hard, and share your successes with them. Teach them how to chase their dreams. This is part of your legacy for them- words that you’ve birthed into a story that will stay with them after you’re gone. If you and I are in the same boat, I hope you found this list helpful! Please comment and share if you have some tips to add!  Venturing away from my devotional-style blog posts, this one is a bit more personal. I am writing this mainly to set up "Part II" of this post- a humorous article called "How To Be An Aspiring Author While Working a Full-time Day Job and Raising Small Children" (how's that for a title?). But I realized, in order for me to start writing articles about writing, I first need to explain to family and friends what I am doing.
While my blog is 95% my thoughts on scripture, it is also about life in general, and my life has been even crazier than normal lately. Back in July, "out of nowhere" (read, God works in mysterious ways) I had an idea for a story (see my Writing page) pop into my head. I started writing and couldn't stop until the story was complete and I had a novel (although at 42,000 words it is considered a short novel). Now, I am starting the journey of getting it published. Announcing to the world that I am "trying" to get a book published is a scary thing, since there are so many unknowns. But I do believe I will publish it eventually. The question is, will God allow me to have it published traditionally or go through self-publication? I've stopped and started so many projects over the years, and I've had so many "passions" that fizzled out, it's daunting to broadcast this one. But I have a clearer vision now for my writing, and I have some specific goals in mind to help me not lose the fire on this one. But can I just share with you a little bit of my crazy, blessed life right now?
I know there are plenty of people who are just as busy as we are, if not busier. But whew! Sometimes it feels like my head is spinning! And I am so incredibly happy to be on this journey! I feel like God is shaping and molding our lives, and we want His will to be done in everything! I am so very thankful for His leading, and I am thankful for the busy seasons in life! Ecclesiastes 3:1: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. "For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (From 1 Samuel 16:7) I wrote this short story for children three years ago. It's about not judging people by their outward appearance. Now, I'm pasting the entire store as a blog entry, in hopes of spreading the message. Go here to download: Children's Stories Remy's New Friend "What's that you say?" the man in the frumpy brown sweater asked curiously.
Remy turned around hesitantly. She hadn't meant for anyone to hear her mumbling. She stared blankly at the man until he asked again, "What did you say?" Remy knew better than to talk to strangers. But her mother smiled and nodded at her from the corner of the bookstore to let her know it was okay. "I was just thinking out loud," Remy said. "Oh, yes, yes. Very good. Thinking is important," replied the man. "But what did you say?" There was concern in the man's voice, but it was also very gentle. He had a nice smile, and he stood patiently waiting for the girl's answer as she inspected him. The man had a funny accent. His pants were a bit too short, revealing mismatched socks, and he wore a big, furry sweater, although it was almost July. He had funny hair, parted too far over on one side, and a few pieces fell down into his eyes which were framed by thick, dark-rimmed glasses. But the eyes behind those glasses were remarkably kind-looking. |
About the BlogThank you for visiting my blog. I share devotional articles and musings about life, parenting, and the writing journey, as well as important news about my books. I hope you find something of interest here! 
Heather Norman Smith
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