On track

Pres posting this. Thank you, Reny, for keeping us focused and tribal. On Friday, five minutes before noon, I handed off “No Mercy” to Steve, my editor. You have been praying for him. As I write, he is hard at work.

Steve and I are proving to be a good team. You have prayed that we would be. Father heard, and answered.

The scope of our work together changes tenor and pace in this phase. The edits Steve suggested in the first edit were substantive, e.g. this character needs to be developed; this time sequence is confusing; this discussion is redundant; I suggest; let’s think about; what if you? The upcoming edits are line edits: punctuation, grammar, redundant word use, inconsistency, etc.

But Steve’s work is about far more than making “No Mercy” a showcase of literary style. In a nutshell, he is working to make “No Mercy” safe for me to publish and readers to read.

As you will soon see, “No Mercy” is a very personal book—to me and to the reader. One of my reviewers wrote, “At times I feel you have been allowed supernatural privilege to view the film that plays in my soul, and at other times I am almost embarrassed, as I feel I have been privileged to view yours!”

Poor writing creates insecurity. Think about riding in the car with a good driver versus riding with a poor driver: When you ride with a good driver you are free to enjoy, immersing yourself in your thoughts, discussions, daydreaming. But when you are with a hack driver, you are too distracted by his poor skills to do anything beyond worry if you’ll make it to your destination—alive.

Steve is laboring right now to ensure the readers of “No Mercy” will not feel they are in the hands of a hack writer. Rather, that they feel secure to immerse themselves—vulnerably—into the story and personally identify with the main character, Henry “Hank” Henderson.

As Reny has written to you, “No Mercy” is a book about connecting with God. It is a novel about encountering grace, succumbing to the tragedy of independence, and coming face-to-face with the mercy of your Heavenly Father.

You can readily see what Steve is up against for the next two weeks. Please intercede on his behalf accordingly. More on my next steps from Reny. She’ll be in touch with you early in the week.

Thank you for gathering around and praying. I can’t tell you how encouraged I am to be surrounded by the tribe.

Bless you,

Preston