Our coordinator suggested that in our April posts on this
blog site we might “write a post about who we are and what we write. . . . [and
we] can incorporate the where, why and when, too,” among other aspects.
An invitation to talk about
ourselves? How can
one resist! It’s like unbolting the
paddock gate!
 |
| Courtesy: Official Royal Family website |
Writing? My
first effort won first place in my elementary school age group in a writing
contest sponsored by the Ford Motor Company to mark the Coronation of Queen
Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II, that is—I wasn’t around for Queen Liz I!). I
don’t recall taking first place in anything since then. But hey, there are lots of things I don’t remember anymore.
As it is, I enjoyed
a much-loved career in the music industry in Scotland, where I served as
principal tuner-technician in companies in Glasgow and Aberdeen. And then, after
coming to Canada and studying for pastoral ministry I served in various Ontarian
communities until retiring in 2010.
Now back to
writing. From my youth I’ve put my hand to song-writing, poetry, Bible studies
(and sermons of course), short fiction, biographical sketches—including Bible
characters, radio program message scripts, newspaper articles and some
denominational magazine articles, and blog posts.
It surprised
me as much as anybody that my first published book was fiction for kids, featuring
a bevy of creature characters who inhabit a pond. Why surprising? Because
since my teens and throughout my adult life I buried my nose in serious stuff:
The Bible, theology and spiritual life and growth, and biographies of missionaries
and heroes of the faith.
I’d hardly
read fiction at all, since leaving behind in the 8th grade Tom Sawyer, Coral
Island, Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island and several Dickensian novels
and such like. Now I’m gradually digging through novels that lay buried in my
library in excess of 35 years.
In the
meantime, languishing dormant on the vine hang several book projects, including
some fiction, awaiting a springtime surge of nourishing sap to bring them back
to life and on to fruition.
Instead, for
now I’m putting together a collection of inspirational articles from among the
800 or so I’ve written since 1996 for P-Pep!
column, in the Southwestern Ontario community newspaper The Watford Guide-Advocate.* (I’m in hope of publishing before the end of
the current year.)
The articles
I’ve selected are not necessarily the best of the bunch; however, when browsing
through the files I tossed quite a number of them into the barrel, then stuck
my hand in repeatedly and pulled 52 of them out.
Those 52
articles are now divided into 4 sections of 13 in each. Each section will
contain 3 or 4 brief focus statements that are intended to encourage, called Words to Bless.
I plan to include
the phrase Raise Your Gaze . . . in
the title, for this expresses my desire to play a part in elevating my readers’
focus.
That’s what
TWG (The Word Guild) Authors Blogspot does for me. My colleagues’ posts draw my attention to
some thought, anecdote or topic that directs my attention upward—often
heavenward—from the frustrations at hand or the concerns that distract. They
lift my spirits and frequently induce a face-cracking a smile.
Keep up the
good work, everyone, and with help from above I’ll do the same! :)
~~~
*Serving Watford, Warwick, Alvinston and surrounding areas, since 1875
~~+~~
Peter A. Black is a freelance writer in Southwestern
Ontario, and is author of “Parables from the Pond” – a children's / family book
(mildly educational, inspirational in orientation, character reinforcing).
Finalist – Word Alive Press. ISBN: 1897373-21-X.
His inspirational column,
P-Pep! appears weekly in The Guide-Advocate. His articles have
appeared in 50 Plus Contact and testimony, and several newspapers
in Ontario. Peter’s current book project comprises a collection of 52 column
articles.
~~+~~
Blog: Raise Your Gaze
Contributor: Family and Faith Matters
