After two and a half years of doing “Fiction Tuesday” it feels odd to not be posting part of a novel on this day of the week! To help balance out how odd this feels I wanted to give an update on the projects I’ve got underway.

First, I wasn’t able to map out any more chapters to the Penny Gnomes sequel this week. It’s a bummer, but I was called to participate in a funeral for the husband of a former church member on Monday. The pastoral call comes before hobbies, and when a former church member’s current pastor reaches out to make such an invitation it would be unconscionable to say no. The funeral was a special time for which I was glad to be present. I was grieved when the former member had to move away, and overjoyed that she ended up at a congregation whose pastor is a friend of mine. I was even happier when she reached out to say her husband, late in life, had decided to embrace the Christian faith and pass through the waters of baptism. This man’s funeral was joyously sorrowful, with plenty of laugher and deep-felt tears. I can pass up a week of novel mapping to be part of that!

Second, today I wrote the second of six short fiction pieces which will be part of the Lenten devotional I’m writing. I’d been wondering if I was going to be able to carry the theme throughout the writing process, but it’s looking more possible the more I ponder. My third piece is beginning to crystalize in my head and I should be able to get out a draft in the next day or two if I find the time to sit down and write. I’m still not able to share any more about the theme itself, but these pieces are like nothing else I’ve written. It will be interesting to see it all come together.