Face-to-Face with 4 a.m.!

I don't know about you, but there are very few things that will get me out of bed at 4 a.m. I can think of only a handful:

• My darlin' daddy needing to be taken to the ER. Amazing how wide awake I can be at 4 a.m. when that happens. Thankfully, it hasn't happened often.
• My puppy making those terrible hurking sounds that let you know your rug is about to be ruined.
• Fishing. I'll get up even earlier to go fishing. I love it. I knew I'd become a true fisher-woman the day I baited my hook with leeches and maggots. Yeah, I know, gross. But the fishies love 'em!.

• The call of nature. But only if it's screaming.
  

Yup, that's about it. Until yesterday, that is. That's when I discovered a whole new, fun reason to get up at the crack of dawn (rather than the crack of noon, as I far prefer...). What reason could that be? Well, check it out:

Seated from left to right:Tracy, Jenny, Nerolie, Lyn

Back: Rel, Angela, Nolene, Marg, Wendy and Sheryle

These lovely ladies, who live in Australia, have formed a book discussion group. You may know one of them: Rel Mollett. She has a marvelous blog, Relz Reviews, in which she keeps folks informed on Christian fiction and authors. I've known Rel through the internet for a number of years, since she wrote me after reading one of my novels. I've long been impressed with all she's doing to promote Christian fiction, so when she told me her group was reading my book, What Lies Within, (which a number of them are holding in the picture, bless their hearts!) I told her anytime they wanted to talk with me about it, I'd be there.

Be careful what you promise.

Now, I knew there was a time difference between Oregon and Australia . I mean, I'm not stupid. But I didn't realize just how LARGE a difference there was. So when Rel told me I'd need to be on the phone at 4:30 a.m. to talk with them, I only hesitated for a second. Well...okay, two seconds. But I was so excited at the prospect of talking with a room full of Aussies who'd read my book, it didn't take me long to get past the shock. Thankfully, Rel took to heart my advice to shoot me a number of reminders. With the short term memory issues I have thanks to Fibromyalgia, it's always a bit of a risk expecting me to remember something out of the norm. But with Rel's reminders--and PostIt notes all over my computer, bathroom mirror, and alarm clock--I was up and out of bed Friday morning at 4:10 a.m. (I only hit the snooze once. Aren't you proud?)

I made my way to my still dark office and waited. And sure enough, right at 4:30 a.m. Pacific, the phone rang, and there on the other end was Rel--and a chorus of greetings and laughter from the others. We talked for an hour, hitting on everything from why novelists use prologues to what an editor does to a bit of my own faith journey. And though I had to listen extra careful to be sure I understood what the ladies were saying (I loved their accents!), I had no trouble at all hearing the warmth, excitement, and joy permeating the women in that group. The hour passed as though it was a second, and when it was time to say good-bye, I told the ladies I wanted a picture. To remember them. To pray for them. And to show all of you.

So take a good look at those smiling faces. Though I only spent an hour on the phone with this wonderful group, I felt their love for each other and God. And, believe it or not, for me. So considering all I got from my time with them, getting up at 4 was not just okay, it was a real blessing.

Thanks, ladies, for a wonderful time together. May God bless each of you richly!

Peace--

Karen