Robin Lee Hatcher's Write Thinking

Nine states to go

In the fall of 2001, I had plans for a trip to New England. I was going with a friend to see the fall colors, followed by a small writers' retreat hosted by our publisher. Then 9/11 happened. The retreat was canceled and so was the rest of the trip. All these years later, I've never made it to New England (with the exception of Massachusetts, thanks to a conference in Boston).

I began wondering a number of years ago how many states I'd actually been to. I knew it was a lot. I kept meaning to stick tacks in a map or something so I could figure it out. Well, thanks to the Internet, I can skip the tacks. I found a site that helps a person map out what states they've visited. Here's mine (states I've visited in red):

create your own personalized map of the USA

As you can see, I need to make my way to five states in New England, three states in the South, plus my neighbor to the Northwest, Alaska. I'm sure going to try to accomplish this before I get too much older.

-rlh-

on the treadmill

Well, look who's here! Me!

I put in long hours on the revisions of Return to Me and got the file sent to my editor on Wednesday, October 11. Later that afternoon, I packed my suitcases and prepared for my trip to Portland, OR, to attend the Women of Faith Contagious Joy Conference.

My friend and I departed Boise around 9:00 a.m. on Thursday. Counting rest stops, lunch, and shopping at the Gap outlet store, we arrived at our Portland hotel nine and a half hours later. After dinner, we checked out the route to the Rose Arena so it wouldn't be a surprise to us in rush hour traffic. Then it was back to the hotel and prepare for bed. I got six hours of sleep that night.

The WoF conference was an awesome experience. I still haven't processed everything. I was blessed by the teaching and the music and being with 15,000 other women who were there to praise the Lord.

My take-away on Friday's pre-conference teaching on the story of Gideon by Patsy Clairmont is the phrase: "The sword of the Lord and [Robin]!" When I am obeying God, I move in His power and strength. He can bring victory out of horns, cracked pots, and a torch.

Sandi Patty was phenomenal. Not just her singing which is so glorious I had to remind myself to breathe at times, but also her story which is such an example of what God's grace and forgiveness can do in a life.

By the time the evening session ended, it was almost 10 p.m. Back to the hotel and into bed. Six hours of sleep again.

My take-away on Saturday is from the New Testament: "And then Jesus came." Those four words make all the difference in the world. No matter the trials or troubles, when Jesus comes into the midst of it, healing and deliverance happens.

The heartbreaker and encourager of the day was Carol Kent. I listened to her book, When I Lay My Isaac Down, a year ago and said then that it is a book everyone should read. Even though I knew her story, hearing her tell it brought on the tears. Each one of us has to "lay an Isaac down" in one degree or another, probably more than one in our lives. My friend is doing her book as a Bible study with another friend. I'm thinking I need to buy the hard copy so that I can do the questions at the end of each chapter. It is so powerful, those lessons of trusting God and surrendering our all to Him.

Kathy Trocolli was another musical high point. She sang what I believe is a new song, at least one I hadn't yet heard: Talk to Jesus. That was another song where I had to remind myself to breathe.

Finally, I would say that Patsy Clairmont is a pistol. She made me laugh and laugh, and yet her teaching is deep and meaningful.

The conference ended around 5:00. We stopped at Red Robin and ate juicy burgers, returned to the hotel, packed, and fell into bed at 8:00 p.m. I was up at 3:00 a.m. and we were out of the hotel by 4:00 a.m. Eight hours later, we rolled into Boise.

Now for the downside. All the air blowing on me (arena, car, and fan in hotel room) gave me something. The glands in my throat were swollen and hard by late on Sunday, so I was at the doctor's on Monday and am now on penicillin. Pretty much slept away Monday. Feeling much better today.

My edits should arrive later this week, so I will soon be back to work. Oh, and thanks for those who emailed me to see if all was well.

In the grip of His grace,
Robin

steps in the 7's

Ever since I answered that Seven Sevens meme, I've been pondering my answer to the "Seven things I want to do before I die" question. I'm keenly aware that I'm fast approaching senior citizen status (I'm on the wrong side of 50, so denial isn't an option!), and if there is something I really want to do, sooner than later might be good advice to myself.

So yesterday, I ordered an Italian language course (answer #4 was to learn a foreign language). I debated over Italian, Spanish, French, or Swedish. Swedish because my great grandparents (my maternal grandfather's parents) came from Sweden, and I hope to travel there someday. Spanish because there would be more opportunity for me to utilize Spanish as a second language since we have a large Spanish-speaking population in SW Idaho. French because it simply sounds pretty. But ultimately I chose Italian. Maybe someday I'll take a tour to romantic Tuscany (a la Under the Tuscan Sun) and Florence and Rome.

Answer #1 on that Seven Sevens meme was about travel, so I priced the cost of a guided tour to England and Ireland which are also the lands of my ancestors. This trip would/will be first on my list, before Italy or Sweden. It's time to set a travel date, at least an "ideal, hoped for" travel date, and start saving for it. I don't know if it will ever happen, but aspiring to something is part of what life is about, IMHO. I read something recently that said, "To be happy we need someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to." Of course, I believe to be truly happy, we also need faith in God, but I wouldn't quibble with the quote. It does make me happy to think about doing some fun traveling.

On Thursday I spent several hours planning out my writing calendar for the next several years, per my existing publishing contracts. I always plan for travel to CBA and RWA in the month of July. But I'm thinking I could sacrifice those conference trips (and expenses) one year for a trip overseas.

I let my passport expire a couple of years back. It had three stamps in it, two trips to Japan and one to British Columbia. So yesterday, still in anticipation of taking that trip to fulfill answer #1, I pulled a copy of the passport renewal application off the Internet, filled it out, went to AAA and got my passport photo taken (it is awful!!!). Today, I'm attaching my $67 check and mailing it off. Then I'll be prepared to go whenever the spirit moves me.

-rlh-

last day on the road

My alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. Boise time, but it was 5:30 here in Indiana (Eastern time). The media escort will pick me up at the hotel in about 30 minutes. I'm dressed and primped and painted and ready for the TV interview. This one is a live one hour show and I was told my bit will be about 10 minutes. So I've been asking the Lord that those 10 minutes will be fruitful, that the right people will be listening.

It will be a long day ahead of me. After the show, there is the drive back to Chicago (took about 3 1/2 hours yesterday to drive here). But my flight isn't until 8:30 p.m. (Central ). I may be dropped off at the Art Institute to kill some time rather than just hanging around the airport all day. Then again, I may ask to be taken straight to the airport so I can work. Thoughts are still churning with this new book idea.

I will be so glad to get home again. These interview trips have been wonderful experiences, and I pray that God will use them to help others and, of course, to get my books into the hands of more readers. Because like it or not, sales matter, and the market is tough.

Oh, today I will get to see Notre Dame. (Is that spelled right?) A person would have to be totally unconscious to not know something about this university. Fighting Irish, right? So this will be a treat. I'll try to remember to use my new cell phone that has a camera to snap a few pix.

Time to shut down the computer and pack up.

Blessings,
Robin

the creative flow

Yesterday's TV interviews went very well. I especially enjoyed the live hour long call in show last night. I was joined by a counselor from a local recovery center. He read my book before coming and had some wonderful things to say about it. The calls, of course, were heartbreaking, and I did a lot of praying as I listened to people talking.

This morning, after dancing around this new book idea for about a week or so, the opening words came to me in a flood. Unfortunately, it is time to turn off my laptop as I will be picked up soon and driven to South Bend, Indiana (a little better than two hours away). Hopefully, the words will linger in my mind and heart until I can return to writing them down.

-rlh-

USA Today opinion piece

I found the opinion piece in The Forum in USA Today for 12/6/04 to be good reading.

I'm having a lazy morning in my hotel room. As long as there is a Fox News channel available (there is) and high speed Internet access (there is), I can be content just about anywhere. Unfortunately, this suites hotel isn't close to any restaurants and there is no room service, only a complimentary breakfast (which wasn't exactly health food!). I think lunch will be cashews and Ritz crackers with peanut butter. Oh, yum. I will remember, from now on, to verify the food options. When one doesn't have a car, it is fairly important to know one can get food without having to take a cab someplace.

The things we learn in life...