Choices, Choices by Christine Johnson

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…" Robert Frost wrote one of my favorite poems, The Road Not Taken, describing the choices and decisions we must make on life's journey.

Do you remember that key moment when you faced a huge decision that you felt sure would change the rest of your life? Many years ago as a college student who desperately wanted to write stories, I faced the choice of pursuing that dream or opting for the sure-thing in a business career. Since I had almost no money in the bank, the dream seemed beyond reach.

In my upcoming May release, Love by Design, Jen Fox faces a choice between her dream of joining the expedition aiming to be the first to fly over the North Pole or a solid career in nursing. She has no savings, and flying cost a lot of money. Moreover, she could sign up for a hospital nursing program that cost nothing beyond her clothing and a few supplies. The choice seems obvious.

Since I'm currently writing for Love Inspired Historical, you might assume I chose to follow my dream, and you'd be partially right. I did finish a bachelor's degree in English. However, I took that degree into librarianship for many years, setting aside my dream. It was never forgotten, though, and the Lord blessed me by bringing it to fruition at just the right time.

Which path did you choose?

Christine Johnson

Love by Design (Dressmaker's Daughters #3, LIH, May 2015)

Love's Rescue (Keys of Promise #1, Revell, June 2015)

http://christineelizabethjohnson.com

http://www.facebook.com/ChristineJohnsonAuthor

Treasures from the Past

Christine Johnson here to talk about journaling in the midst of a busy month. I have one Love Inspired Historical out and another due to my editor in a couple weeks. It's good to take a break with all of you today. Grab a cup of coffee, and let's settle in for a chat.

Readers often ask me why I chose to write in the post-WWI era. I love how that time had one foot in the horse-and-buggy era and one foot in the modern age of the automobile and airplane. It's also a fabulous period to research since many resources from that time are still available in print or online. As someone who used to write medieval romance, I truly appreciate that!

I'm also blessed that my grandparents grew up in the 1920s and left behind stories and journals of their experiences. My grandmother wrote about her excitement going from the farm to the big city for the first time. Her observations came in handy in All Roads Lead Home, my new release, when small-town girl Anna Simmons makes her first trip to Chicago.

Likewise, my grandfather drove across the country in the 1920s. Though his "journal" wasn't nearly as detailed as my grandmother's, he noted every breakdown - and there were many - as well as how much he spent on every little item. What a great resource for this month's book where Mariah Meeks decides to drive to Montana to rescue an orphan. My grandfather was a mechanic. Mariah is not. That means she needs to find a mechanic to go along. The only one willing is the man she jilted two years before. Add in his little sister, and it's bound to be a pretty rocky two thousand miles.

What a treasure my grandparents left for me! I've tried my hand at a lot of different journals, from travel to daily to devotional, though I'm not yet sure I want the next generation to read my meandering and often immature musings. I suspect they're not much different from prior generations. I could relate to my grandmother's feelings when she saw skyscrapers for the first time or worried over which gentleman would call on her. Some things stay very much the same.

Let's chat about journals and other memory-keepers like photographs. Did anyone in your family leave such treasures behind? If so, which do you value most and from what era? Do you keep a journal? Do you ever wonder if anyone will read it years from now?

Many blessings,

Christine

All Roads Lead Home

Love Inspired Historical, January 2012