The Prayer, a Love Story
by Jacqueline
von Zwehl
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Do
you Believe in Miracles?
Do
you Believe in Eternal Love?
Do
you Believe in Answered Prayers?
YOU
WILL
The
Prayer, A Love Story is the inspirational true story of one woman who discovers
the secret to living a life filled with miracles, unconditional love and
answered prayers.
The
journey begins with a divine promise, continues with unforeseen life
challenges, and eventually leads to Jerusalem. Inside the Old City, a prayer will
unlock the key to a life of miracles. This journey is proof heaven is real and
its gifts are available to you now. Whether you have stopped believing in God
or not, God believes in you.
The
journey holds a promise for everyone. No matter how much darkness exists in
your life, it cannot diminish the flicker of even the tiniest light. That light
will lead you to your destiny and it will change your life forever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Excerpt
Two:
Wedding Day
I often wonder about the idea of a miracle. Is it something
you feel? Can you see it? Or is it some- thing you just know? Miracle is a very
big word, perhaps best saved for big events like the birth of a baby or the
first man walking on the moon.
As I ponder this thought, I’m surrounded by lovely,
fresh-cut flowers. Isn’t the blossoming of these flowers a miracle? A tiny
little seed in the ground, nurtured with rich soil, water, and light, grows to
reveal its unique beauty. When we look at the seed, we can’t see the miracle.
It’s only later, after its potential has been manifested, we realize what that
seed carried all along. Isn’t that how we all are? On the journey of our
destiny in this life, all of us start as seeds. Some of us are still in the
ground, waiting to grow. Some
of us have sprouted a few leaves, and some of us have fully blossomed.
Is the miracle the blossoming of the flower, or is the miracle knowing with
certainty that everything is already in the seed? Yes, for me it always comes
down to certainty. When all I can see is a seed in the ground, the miracle is
certainty in my knowl- edge of what the seed is destined to become.
These were the thoughts I recorded in my journal on the
morning of our wedding. I have heard that most brides wake up jittery and full
of excitement, perhaps thinking about their hair and make-up, the excitement of
the day ahead, and how the weather will hold up. I woke up and started writing.
‘What is a miracle? Today I will get married. I will marry
the man who makes my heart sing and who was sent as the answer to my prayer. A
man who calls me his miracle. Today is our seed, the first day of our journey
as husband and wife.We don’t know how our seed will grow. We don’t know how
many leaves will bloom or what its flower will look like. We don’t know what
storms we’ll face. We do know with certainty that this seed is our destiny. It
is our miracle.’
We were all ready. The driver took my hand and escorted me
to my seat in the limo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to handle
negative criticism.
When my publisher assigned me to a publicist to begin the
Advance Review Copy (Galley) Campaign to the media, the first thing she did was
send me a ten page questionnaire. Half
way through the questionnaire there was the following, "how would you
handle criticism of this work." Of
course, I gave a very good, politically correct answer about how everyone has
the right to their own opinion and it's an opportunity to grow and learn. That was a
joke because the book had not yet been released and I hadn't been tested
on this.
Now let's fast forward three months and I get my first
"unimpressive" review. The
review was three stars, not horrible, but very critical. My internal reaction ranged from, "she
doesn't get it", "she didn't read my book", "I can't
believe she said that!", to finally "are you kidding me?". Yes, I'm being honest. I did not handle it well. I thought I would. I thought I'd be more
mature, not be bothered, and let it slide right off my back. The fact is, at least for me, that wasn't my
reality.
Writing can easily be compared to giving birth to a
child. I know, I've given birth to two
of them, and my book also took me about nine months to get through all the
editing. It's hard to hear less than
raving reviews. It's just as hard as
someone telling you your child is dumb or ugly.
It's just plain awful, but the fact is, just as the moon rises and sets
each day it's a guaranteed certainty you WILL receive negative criticism from
someone in the world. Even if you win a
Pulitzer someone will hate your book.
There
are two types of criticism. One type is
from someone who is just not a fan of your genre/story line/ideology
etc... This type just ignore. The other type is from someone who genuinely
could be your greatest fan but is giving you "loving" advice like go
deeper into your characters, explore a wider range of emotions, fix the broken
plot sequence in the last two chapters.
This type of advice is valuable and critical to grow as a writer and you
need to listen. Your gut will let you
know when the criticism you're reading is just mean spirited or there to guide
you to be a better writer.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jacqueline
von Zwehl, is a faith based relationship expert. She holds a BFA from New York
University and a MBA from Pennsylvania State University. Jacqueline travels the
country as a motivational speaker encouraging singles on the path to finding
their soul mates. She has appeared on Nite Line, The Harvest Show, EWTN, TCT
TV, Victory TV, CatholicTV, Telecare, Changing Lives, CatholicLife, That's the
Spirit, The Church, The Cardinal and You, NPR, and more. Jacqueline lives in
Fort Lauderdale, FL with her husband Christopher, their two daughters and dog.
The Prayer, A Love Story is her debut book. Jacqueline von Zwehl, is a faith
based relationship expert. She holds a BFA from New York University and a MBA
from Pennsylvania State University. Jacqueline travels the country as a motivational
speaker encouraging singles on the path to finding their soul mates. She has
appeared on Nite Line, The Harvest Show, EWTN, TCT TV, Victory TV, CatholicTV,
Telecare, Changing Lives, CatholicLife, That's the Spirit, The Church, The
Cardinal and You, NPR, and more. Jacqueline lives in Fort Lauderdale, FL with
her husband Christopher, their two daughters and dog. The Prayer, A Love Story
is her debut book.
Read
Jacqueline's Blog at www.jackievonzwehl.com
Become a Fan:
www.facebook.com/JackieVonZwehl
Follow:
www.twitter.com/JackieVonZwehl
Author
Profile:www.goodreads.com/jackievonzwehl
Amazon Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Love-Story-Jacqueline-Zwehl/dp/1939819008/ref=la_B00DY9W62Y_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383163807&sr=1-1
Amazon Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Love-Story-Unconditional-ebook/dp/B00G8QTDKI/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383164024&sr=1-3&keywords=the+prayer+a+love+story
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Posts
9 comments:
Thank you to Dana Wright for hosting. I'm available to answer questions or simply chat. Wishing you a great day!
Great excerpt.
Great article. I too thought I would handle the less than stellar reviews well and have for the most part but recently discovered I didn't so much either. Same, it was a 3 star. Some things just sting a little more than others. :) We never really know how we are going to react until we are put in that situation. Some very good advice and thank you about being candid about your reaction. Congratulations on your book and I wish you all the success. :)
Informative post
I have enjoyed learning about your book. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks for the review and great giveaway!! :) jjo7796 at hotmail dot com
Thank you Maggie for the thoughtful response and to Patrick for leaving comments. Much appreciated. Wishing you the best.
I love how the blurb begins. Fires up my imagination.
Thanks for sharing how you handle negative feedback. It's a difficult thing at best to differentiate between a critique and criticism.
ilookfamous@yahoo.com
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