WRITING HOME

WRITING HOME
Friday, January 22, 2021 by AMY ANGUISH

Categories: Friday's Fiction

PLEASE WELCOME

AMY ANGUISH

FICTION FRIDAY

Writing Love Letters/the story behind the story

Have you ever had a pen pal? For anyone who has, it’s probably been a long time, right? More of something people participate in when in elementary school. Well, for some reason, this author thought it would be fun to make my characters pen pals.

Maybe because of my grandparents. You see, during the Korean war, my Grandpa was there and Grandma was still in Arkansas. They kept their love alive through the mail, sending letters and recordings of their voices, even the announcement of my aunt’s birth. And when Grandpa died, back in 2013, Grandma clung to those old letters when she could no longer cling to him.

Maybe because all during high school, I had my own long-distance relationship with a boy in Oklahoma. And every now and then I wonder what would have happened if we’d stayed together instead of dating and marrying the people we ended up with (don’t get me wrong—I adore my husband am so very glad to be his wife, but there’s always a “What if” going in this author brain).

For whatever reason, this story started forming in my head and wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote it. So, Writing Home gained a life during Nanowrimo 2018, although it was originally called Old-school Romance. Christiana Jones and Jordan White have letters back and forth to each other all the way through the book, as their relationship grows and changes and becomes even more.

Was it a challenge? Yes. How can it not be challenging to write a romance where the characters don’t even live in the same town? But was it worth it? I think so.

So many people want everything to happen quickly, as fast as heating something in the microwave—or faster. They want the instant gratification of social media posts and text messages. There’s no time to wait for the post office to deliver a letter. But what if they had to?

Does it make things mean more? Does it give you an extra appreciation for it when you have been longing to receive it for over a week? When you have to think about what you say before you write it out long-hand? When you have to pay for a stamp and envelope to get it where it’s going?

Sure, a pen pal-ship today wouldn’t be the same as what my grandparents had back in the 50s or even the same as what I had in high school. But I think it’s still a fun idea. Enough that I wrote a whole book about it!

So, I’d love to hear. Have you ever had a pen pal? Do you think you could handle it today?

MORE ABOUT WRITING HOME

Can letters from the past spur a couple on to the future of their dreams?

Christiana Jones dreamed her whole life of living in Huntsville, Alabama, so she can’t figure out why it doesn’t feel like home. Her relationships—on social media and in real life—seem shallow and empty. When she unearths a stack of her grandparents’ letters, it spurs an idea. Could she find something deeper with a penpal?

Jordan White is taken aback when his cousin Tina suggests he become penpals with her childhood best friend. What could a Louisiana boy have in common with a girl two states away? After all, he’s happily settled on his family’s property and working the job he always wanted. But every letter they exchange has him wishing for more.

As they grow closer through their written words, the miles between them seem to grow wider.

Can love cross the distance and bring them home?

Buy Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Home-Amy-R-Anguish-ebook/dp/B08RHN7T2W

ABOUT AMY ANGUISH

Author of An Unexpected Legacy, Faith and Hope, and Saving Grace

Amy R Anguish grew up a preacher's kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good.

Follow her at http://abitofanguish.weebly.com or http://www.facebook.com/amyanguishauthor

Or https://twitter.com/amy_r_anguish

Learn more about my books at https://www.pinterest.com/msguish/my-books/

And check out the YouTube channel she does with two other authors, Once Upon a Page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEiu-jq-KE-VMIjbtmGLbJA)