Courtney Ellis

Sometimes you work at something, and work at it and work at it and work at it, and then a dream comes true.

When I was a senior in college, I asked Dr. Kent Gramm, one of my favorite writing professors, if I should pursue writing as a career.

“Well,” he said softly (Dr. Gramm says everything softly), “if you are meant to be a writer, you will not be able to stop writing, no matter what else you do.”

His words have proven true. From elementary school to graduate school, seminary to the pastorate, childhood to parenthood, writing has been my constant companion. However busy the rest of life is, I can’t seem not to do it. Early mornings, late nights, doctor’s waiting rooms, in line at Costco… the writing happens.

At the very end of 2017, after decades of writing, this happened:

I’m over-the-moon, top-of-the-morning, sugar-on-my-cereal, jumping-up-and-down, kid-at-Disneyland excited to have been offered a two-book contract with Rose/Hendrickson Publishers.

The publishing process takes some time (I guess? I’m totally new to all of this…), so the first book will be headed to market in early 2019.

For now, I’ll be finishing the last five chapters, editing the whole project for cohesion, doing a lot of research on the Christian virtue of simplicity (there’s your hint as to its subject matter!), and walking on air.

Stay tuned, friends. I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks for cheering me on.

[For my friends at church, don’t worry – this doesn’t change anything! I’m not going anywhere. <3]