The story I never wanted to tell

Writers usually fall in love with an idea for a story and write just to get it out of their heads.

It’s like venting your frustrations to a close friend (or a stranger at the coffee shop), but the therapeutic benefits last longer. Once you publish a book it’s out there for all to see forever, so people will ask you about it forever (unlike the stranger at Starbuck’s who can’t track you down).

My latest book, Into What Splendor, released worldwide this week and I’m sure I’ll get lots of questions about it going forward, like “Why do you say it’s the story you never wanted to tell?”

Glad you asked.

The thing is, it’s an animal story. Farm animals. Goats, pigs, owls, cats… you get the picture. Not that I have anything against animal stories, I just never had the desire to write animal stories. But now I find myself confessing to you that I had an idea for an animal story I had to write just to get it out of my head.

And I’m glad I did!

Not because it was causing any problems up there, but because the process of writing it down brought us to this day. Now, I get to share the story with you!

Click here to download the first 14 pages of Into What Splendor

The crux of the story is this:
A farm cat and a barn owl wager which of them will catch a sneaky, high-and-mighty field mouse first. This “friendly” wager quickly unravels the world around them.

Life is like that, isn't it? We start off with certain intentions, but we don't realize the impact our actions will have on the greater community. Sometimes we can't make amends in our own lifetimes and we hope those who follow us will handle the clean up work. But will they succeed, or fall into the same trap that hobbled us?

At its core, Into What Splendor is a cautionary tale. But it's also a tale of friendship, repentance, and sacrifice.

So was it a story worth telling? Time will tell, but I’ll let each of you be a judge on the panel of popular opinion. Check out the free download of the first 14 pages on my website, or head over to Amazon to read the full adventure.

Tech-savvy readers click here for eBook
Old-fashioned types click here for paperback

Happy reading!
Jack