The Falcon in the Barn (Book 4 Forest at the Edge series) (104 page)

I also acknowledge that I’m having the
absolute time of my life scritching out these stories.

(Ok, that’s not quite accurate: I do
everything on my computer, so I don’t really
scritch
, but
“tapping out these stories” doesn’t sound as romantic. And I love
the word “scritching,” even if my computer doesn’t recognize it.
Scritch. Scritch. I wish you could see in print all these angry red
squiggly lines. My computer doesn’t like bajillion, either,
although it’s a perfectly good word.)

I acknowledge that without my many friends
and family who tolerate my hobby and occasionally proofread for me,
I’d never have the time to do this.

I acknowledge that these characters haven’t
been created by me, but simply dropped into my head many years ago
and have been growing over the years until they finally demanded
that I write about them. And I also acknowledge that they surprise
me as much as I hope they surprise you. Really, I have no idea what
they’re up to until I’m scritching out the words on my
keyboard.

It’s very much their story, not mine. Forgive
me when I get in their way.

I’m just the teller, not the creator.

And I checked: this phenomenon of characters
taking over the storyline is quite common among writers. We’re not
crazy. Entirely.

But if I am crazy, please no one cure me.
This is just far too much fun. I thoroughly enjoy the voices in my
head. Occasionally they let me get in a word edgewise.

Thank you for reading, for tolerating my many
mistakes, for your encouraging comments, and for joining me on the
ride. As you can tell there are a few more books still coming in
this series. The Shins and many others still have a lot more to
do.

I can hardly wait to share their future with
you!

About the author . . .

Trish Strebel Mercer has been teaching
writing, or editing graduate papers, or changing diapers since the
early 1990’s. She earned a BA in English from Brigham Young
University and an MA in Composition Theory and Rhetoric from Utah
State University. She and her husband David have nine children (and
now adding grandchildren) and have raised them in Utah, Idaho,
Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. Currently they live in the
rural west and dream of the day they will be old enough to be
campground managers in Yellowstone National Park.

Other titles:

The Forest at the
Edge of the World (Book 1)

Soldier at the Door
(Book 2)

The Mansions of
Idumea (Book 3)

Visit me everywhere
else!

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https://twitter.com/mercertrish9
Blog:
 
http://forestedgebooks.com
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