My mother did her best to instill in my sisters and me a sense of etiquette when out in public. She’d often remind us to “sit like a lady,” “don’t chew with your mouth open,” and “don’t make inappropriate conversation at the dinner table.”
When I was in middle school, we went as a family out to dinner. The memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think we were at a fancier restaurant that we’d normally visit. And maybe you have to know my sisters and me, but humor and pranks run deep.
Everything went off without a hitch. We sat like ladies. We chewed with our mouths closed. We engaged in appropriate conversation. I could practically feel my mother’s relief as we finished eating our desserts. But then my middle sister, Erin, slumped down in her seat, picked at her teeth with her fingernail, and proclaimed in the loudest voice possible, “Well, Ma! I’m swole up like a tick!”
Conversations around us stopped and people stared. My poor mother. If the earth had opened up at that moment, she’d have gladly jumped in.
In true Petrea household fashion, that story is now a legend. It’s now a “thing.” Any time we’re full, stuffed to the brim to the point we couldn’t possibly eat another bite, we turn to the next person and say, “I’m swole up like a tick!”
This past week at the American Christian Fiction Writers conference (see my photos on my Author Facebook page!) has filled me in other ways. My heart is full. My cup overfloweth. I’m brimming with gratefulness and peace. And so, of course, my brain now connects this sense of spiritual fullness with “I’m swole up like a tick!”
It’s just how I operate.
Last week was surreal. And it almost didn’t happen. My flight got cancelled in Asheville, and if you’ve ever flown out of that tiny airport, you know there’s very few options to re-book. I will forever be grateful for my new friend, Courtney Dailey, who was also heading to the conference and drove us 10 hours one way to New Orleans. I don’t drive in large cities. I just don’t. I crumble and panic. So, without her, I wouldn’t have gone. I knew as soon as we started on our way, God was going to show His grace and goodness the whole week. And He did not disappoint.
I’ve met so many new people, made friends, and “rubbed elbows” with authors like Sarah Sundin (I literally own all her books!), Gabrielle Meyer (if you haven’t read her Timeless series, you need to!!), Bethany Turner, Betsy St. Amman Haddox, Tricia Goyer, Cynthia Ruchti, Linda Glaz, and so many others. I worshipped with agents, editors, authors, and people like me hoping to one day see their book in Barnes and Noble. We laughed, we cried. I forgot my business cards, and it became a whole running joke.
And the proverbial icing on the cake was, of course, winning the Historical category in ACFW’s Genesis contest. It was exactly the validation I needed. And while winning isn’t a guarantee of a publishing contract, many former winners and finalists have gone on to become household names in the Christian fiction world. In fact, one of my favorite authors, Julie Lessman, was a finalist in 2005 and has since published 30 books, both with a traditional publishing house and indie. Carrie Turansky won second place in 2003 and has published 20 books since. Sara Brunsvold won in 2020 and now has two books out. Jamie Ogle won in my category in 2021, and her second book will be out next year. The publishing mountain is huge, but there is hope, and for now I rest in that.