Have you ever wondered what authors were thinking when they wrote a particular story? For us, Greetings from the Flipside is far from conventional storytelling. Rene Gutteridge and I share about our new story in the following video:
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What is your destiny?
I went to a women’s conference this weekend in Los Angeles, CA called Ascend. This year’s focus: Fearless Joy.
One of the speakers, Deborah Pegues, said: “You were designed for destiny.” She also shared that in reference to how God sees us, “You are perfect for My purpose.” She encouraged everyone to embrace their uniqueness, not criticize themselves for flaws and imperfections. I loved one illustration she specifically had about writing. She said, “Is there anyone out there who feels destined to write a book?” Quite a few women raised their hands. She encouraged them to sit down in that chair in front of the computer and say, “Lord, I’ll be your typist. What’cha got?” Deborah never intended to be a writer, but kept sensing particular messages she was supposed to put out there, and now she has a book and speaking career.
One big difference with me is that I always knew I wanted to write from the time I was 5 years old. (I didn’t just want to: I would do it. I’d write stories and plays and make everyone in the neighborhood suffer through performances. :))
Whenever I teach writing classes I often encourage students to find that “one story only you can tell” merging your unique life experience with your storytelling desires and creativity (whether that is a non-fiction book, a fictional novel, or screenplay).
Have you questioned what you are supposed to be doing with your life? Ryan and Jayne Elliott have a website called CareerSighted that features videos with people from various professions. They recently came to my home and interviewed me about what it’s like to be a screenwriter and a novelist. Check out the video for an inside peek about what this profession is like. Click on the CareerSighted link to check it out:
CareerSighted Video: Screenwriter/Novelist
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Greetings from the Flipside
SYNOPSIS
Hope Landon has been rewriting other people’s greeting cards since she was six years old — there’s always a funnier caption. She’s all set to chase those creative dreams with her musician fiance in New York City until he leaves Hope at the altar, deciding he must not really love this girl if he can’t write a song for her. That may give her something to write about.
Hope disappears alone on what was supposed to be the couple’s month-long honeymoon. Upon returning she learns of her funeral — everyone in her life concluded Hope must have killed herself after being jilted. Needing a fresh start more than ever, she heads for the Big Apple only to discover it’s not that easy to rent a place when you’ve been declared dead.
Taking shelter at the YMCA, Hope soon lands a job at a Christian inspirational greeting card company as an assistant to Jake, a guy who shut down his organization’s humor department. She has lost her faith in love; he needs to find something or someone that will make him laugh again.
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Greetings from the Flipside will stretch your imagination and lead you on a journey with our lead character, Hope Landon, much like It’s a Wonderful Life did many years ago with George Bailey. As you step into Hope’s shoes, perhaps you’ll laugh, cry, and find hope with her to live a full life and chase after your set-aside dreams–and if you’re looking for it, maybe find true love. For anyone who’s read our prior work, Never the Bride, you know we like to think outside-the-box with our romantic comedies. Are you ready to suspend your disbelief and journey with us to the Flipside?
THE THEMES
If I were to sum up what this book means to me, at its heart, it’s about having hope in the midst of trials and to believe that life will get better again. It’s about how God can “Romans 8:28” anything in your life. (Yes–that’s a verb now!) He’s able to take those bad circumstances and turn them around for your good. What I love about Hope Landon’s character is she is a fighter, no matter how many bad things happen to her. But she’s honest about it; she doesn’t sugar coat pain.
Have you ever gone through something emotionally painful and had someone pat you on the knee and say in that empty way, “Things will get better”? They think they are being comforting while your temptation may be to strangle them. Hope Landon likes to keep it real. But the irony is… she’s a little challenged to know what’s real and what isn’t in her world. Sometimes her life feels like a bad dream. Yet even bad dreams have a way of waking us up to what truly matters in life. Sometimes, they’re not actually bad but have a chance to show us that what we wanted wasn’t what was best for us after all. They can even point us in the right direction. I know for me, many times, I’ve had dreams that helped me heal from painful circumstances or helped encourage me toward a better place in life.
If any of these themes resonate with you, we hope you’ll check out our story.
THE BACKSTORY
Rene Gutteridge and I have been so privileged to work together in such a special and unique way. It started after I wrote The Ultimate Gift as a film, when she was hired to write a novelization of my script. After that, we teamed up on Never the Bride, a romantic comedy I had written as a script. We have an amazing working relationship and truly help each other to become better writers.
Our new project, Greetings from the Flipside, started when I was a writing fellow in a program called Art Within. We had to pitch about 50 ideas to the company before they settled on the one I would write into a script for the fellowship. The first germ of this idea started with just four words: “Christian Greeting Card Company.” They asked me to develop a romantic comedy for that setting. That was in 2007. And here we are, six years later, watching the release of the novelized version of that same story. You never know how long it will take to see something from its beginning stages grow to some kind of fruition (whether that is a book or a movie).
I had a lot of fun building a Pinterest board, sharing some of the locations I had in mind when writing the script. If you’d like to know what to picture as you read the novel, feel free to check it out:
Greetings from the Flipside Pinterest Board
One of the most fun days for a writer is when that first official copy shows up on your doorstep. After months or years of labor, you get to see the final product.
We’d love to hear from you! Rene and I have a joint page on Facebook. Look us up under Cheryl McKay & Rene Gutteridge or scroll down and like us from this page on the right.
Special thanks to B&H Publishing, who believed in us and our story.
The book is now available from many book retailers:
Greetings from the Flipside B&H Publishing
Greetings from the Flipside Christian Book Distributors
Greetings from the Flipside Amazon
Greetings from the Flipside Books-a-Million
On the link to Barnes & Noble, you will need to type in the title:
Search for Greetings from the Flipside at Barnes & Noble
How to use Pinterest for Inspiration as a Writer
I only recently starting using Pinterest. When I first heard, “You should be on Pinterest,” I groaned. Just what I need. Another social media site to kill time on. I’m already on Facebook, Twitter (which I am NOT a fan of using), and my blogs. Why add another thing to my plate? But very quickly, it won me over. Besides the beautiful photos from all over the world, I found another use that has really helped inspire my writing.
Whenever I take on a new project, I enjoy finding pictures that go with the locations, props, costumes / wardrobe, etc of the time period or era I’m writing about. If it’s a modern day story, even just finding locations for where the movie version could shoot has been fun and helped me with descriptions.
For example, when writing my most recent romantic-comedy screenplay, Love’s a Stage, I used Pinterest to find all sorts of Thanksgiving wedding decoration ideas. I didn’t necessarily want to have a Thanksgiving wedding board on my page, so I didn’t pin them to any particular board. But as a resource, the visuals I found were very inspiring as I wrote those scenes. I did make a colonial board for that story to go along with some of the pilgrim research in the story.
Pinterest Board for Love’s a Stage
Pinterest can be especially helpful when you are researching a particular industry or time period. I made 2 boards while working on Song of Springhill. (It’s already a screenplay but is currently in the works as a novel.) One is about the location and mining industry. The other is about the era, the 1950s.
Pinterest Board for Song of Springhill
I did a lot of Danish research for a current project, looking at Denmark, Solvang, CA, Elk Horn, IA, and everything from locations to food, outfits, and shoes. Making that board made me so excited about writing the project.
Pinterest Board for Windmill Falls
While Pinterest didn’t exist yet when I first starting writing the screenplay version of Never the Bride (or the novel), I’ve been able to use it while the script version is in development to be shot as a film, and will be able to use it for inspiration when penning its sequel, Forever the One.
Pinterest Board for Never the Bride: the movie
A Word about using Pinterest to Market Yourself as Writer
It’s often suggested that we, as writers, make our Pinterest boards in a way that can have some appeal to others who are interested in a particular topic. Most boards shouldn’t just be dedicated to a particular book or project in a way that may not appeal to others. So it’s suggested you choose a category for your board that has a broad appeal topically if you are hoping this board will bring awareness to you and your projects (books, movies, etc). Some projects may warrant their own board (like we chose to do with the Never the Bride board.) But the other boards, like the one for Windmill Falls or Love’s a Stage, I went with broader categories like Danish Living and All About Colonial. That way, those interested in those topics will follow the board.
For my non-fiction projects, instead of doing a board that is just for my books Finally Fearless: Journey from Panic to Peace or Finally the Bride: Finding Hope While Waiting, I chose to make boards with broader topics, like:
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Remember: in using Pinterest as a writer, it’s not just about selling books or DVDs. It’s about connecting with people, your readers and viewers, and giving them something that is useful to them just by visiting your page (or your blog if your Pinterest pins also link to a particular blog like this one).
Click Here to Learn More about my Books & Movies
Now, go make your writing more Pinspiring!
Hope for Singles Waiting to Find Love
Are you frustrated with being single? Have you been wondering where God is in the midst of your life and its seemingly missing “love story?” So was I. For almost 39 years of my life. I tried to pen what that love life should look like (with my purple pen, in my journals. Ten, twenty. Okay, maybe more like thirty journals worth?) But seriously what I penned was no where near my reality.
So I turned my pen over to another outlet. One in which I vent my frustrations, my questions, prayers, and cries out to God. I turned it into a book, Finally the Bride: Finding Hope While Waiting. Now, it’s available in audio form.
One of my most popular blogs has been:
16 Ways to Pray for Your Future Husband
So I know there are a lot of people out there waiting, searching, wondering what God is…
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How Precious is the Gift of a Day
There are times when news stories truly captivate my attention and sometimes my heart in a way I can’t let go. I can’t stop reading about the people, their lives, their journeys. Lately, there are so many things happening in our world and even just in our country that have pierced many of our hearts. School massacres, marathon bombings, rescued kidnap victims, disaster tornadoes.
But then there’s this story of one man in Canada that has fueled many of my prayers, tears, and cries out to God on behalf of the family. And I don’t even know them.
When a friend in Canada posted about the kidnapping of Tim Bosma, asking for prayers for the family, for some reason that story got under my skin. She went to high school with one of Tim’s sisters. Another friend’s family went to church with Tim’s family. He disappeared from the same community where…
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Ripple Effect of Life
I don’t even know how to begin this blog, this delicate story on my heart. There’s a story I’ve wanted to tell for years. It’s inspired by actual events from my own family. (And for once, no, it has nothing to do with how long it took God to write my love story, as shared through my books Never the Bride: a novel and Finally the Bride: Finding Hope While Waiting.) It’s more in line with the themes of my feature film, The Ultimate Gift: legacies and what we do with the time we have, and the gift one day of life brings to us.
This story is about my history, its roots, and how the ripple effect of events are why I am here today, why I was able to be born.
But this story also meant the death of someone else. That is sobering.
In fact, without death and the multiple tragedies reflected in this story, I wouldn’t be here today. I wouldn’t have been able to be born into the family I was born into.
Have you ever pondered the events that brought you to this earth? Have you ever asked yourself the question, “How was I born into my particular family? Why am I here? What was I meant to do?”
Many years ago, my father told me we should try to do a film about my grandfather’s life as a miner in Springhill, Nova Scotia. It took me a while to listen to him. Eventually, I woke up to this amazing town and the balance between tragedies and extraordinary miracles this place experienced! It’s one of those tiny towns that, in the 1950s, when tragedy struck multiple times, the entire world stopped and watched. Waited. Waited for good news, hoping for miracles, hoping for news of lives saved.
This place, its stories, and my grandfather’s life there, were all the inspiration for my screenplay, Song of Springhill, which I am currently adapting into a novel. (To be released in Spring 2014.)
My grandfather, Charles Hugh McKay—also known as “Dado” to his grandchildren—died when I was fifteen years old. I wish, when I was younger, I had been more interested in asking him questions about his life as a miner, and the miracles that spared his life. It wasn’t something he voluntarily talked about when not asked. I embarked on a quest to get to know more about what his life was like after he was gone. I wish I had taken better advantage of the time I had with him.
His first mining accident was in the 1940s, and contributed to him not having to go off to war because he suffered a broken pelvis. A rail car ran over him in the mines; it took him months to recover. There are stories surrounding two of Springhill’s biggest disasters, the 1956 Explosion and the 1958 Bump, that also affected my grandfather’s life.
My aunt, Joyce Harroun, told me of a story relating to the 1956 Explosion. The way she remembers it, her father (my grandfather) switched shifts that day with another man. The man wanted to go hunting during the day, and asked my grandfather if he’d work the day shift for him, and upon his return, the man would work my grandfather’s afternoon shift.
Because of this shift, “Dado” got off work just a couple hours before the mine blew up. His life was spared, but the man who switched shifts with him died. They had the same job working in the same spot by the rail cars.
It also meant that the team of men my grandfather was used to working with died that day too; he lost a lot of his friends. As my Aunt shares, it was the only time she ever saw my grandfather cry up until that point in his life.
When interviewing one of the survivors of the Explosion, this survivor supplied two names of those who had the same job as my grandfather. Both of them were killed in the Explosion. I found an article in the Halifax Chronicle that seemed to back up the story my Aunt told. It mentioned one of their names as one who was “working an extra shift for a friend” that day, implying he wouldn’t normally have been underground.
Despite the dangers, my grandfather continued to work underground. Then in 1958, he was trapped underground when one of the biggest disasters in coal mining history hit: The Bump. October 23, 1958.
My father anxiously waited for news of whether or not his dad was still alive, from the Lamp Cabin, a place where miners turned in their lamps when they finished their shifts. His father’s check number, #712, remained on the board, showing he had not yet surfaced. Not yet picked up his check tag.
Once the earliest miners were rescued, my grandfather was the third person to walk through that Lamp Cabin door. The first face he saw was my dad’s fourteen-year-old face, waiting for him, hoping and praying he was still alive. Seventy-five men died in that disaster.
After the rescue, “Dado” vowed to never go underground again. That meant he needed to find new work to support his family. This led him to take a new job and move his family to the Boston area. This move is how my father eventually met my mother, when she was an attractive 16 year old, a spunky Massachusetts girl that he was set up with on a blind date.
This blind date never would have happened if my grandfather had not been spared by the 1956 Explosion or survived the 1958 Bump, the tragedy that made him decide to leave his life of mining. My father has said, unequivocally, he would have had no reason to leave Canada had he not been moved to the United States with his father’s career change.
My parents have been married since 1966. It’s ironic to me to think that this disaster (and the fact that “Dado’s” life was spared 10 years before that time) is the catalyst that brought me to this earth.
At the same time, it’s sobering. I ponder the family who lost their husband / father / son because of the innocent desire this man had to go hunting that day. November 1, 1956. I ponder what he must have missed out on, dying so young. How those in his family must have questioned over the years “what if?”
This story helps me connect specific dots that allowed me to enter the scene. It makes me ponder why I am here and encourages me to want to make the most of the life I am given and do at least a little bit of good while I am here. It reminds me of how we are not promised any particular amount of days. I hope anyone reading this will be encouraged to make an impact with their lives, no matter how long they are blessed to be on this earth.
Any ideas for how you’d like to change the world? Your family? Or even just the life of one person? You never know when that may have a ripple effect on the lives of many others.
Springhill, Nova Scotia Pinterest Board
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Some photos of the book author with Springhillers:
Cheryl with Caleb Rushton and his wife Pat (He was a miracle survivor of the 1958 Bump, after being trapped for 6 days)
Cheryl with Arnold Burden, a doctor/ rescuer for both the 1956 Explosion and the 1958 Bump
Cheryl with Herb Pepperdine, miracle survivor of the 1958 Bump
Norma Ruddick, wife of the “Singing Miner”, Maurice Ruddick, a miracle survivor who was rescued after 8 1/2 days underground.
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NOW AVAILABLE:
Spirit of Springhill: Miners, Widows, Orphans, Rescuers and Children Tell True Stories of Springhill’s Coal Mining Disasters (A Book of Interviews with People of Springhill)
Spirit of Springhill (PAPERBACK VERSION)
Spirit of Springhill (KINDLE VERSION)
For Canadian Citizens:
Click Here to Buy Spirit of Springhill in Paperback from Cheryl’s Createspace Store
Click Here to Buy Spirit of Springhill in Ebook Format from Amazon.ca
COMING 2014:
16 Ways to Pray for Your Future Husband
Here’s a new blog I just posted on our other website, finallyone.com.
If anyone knows what’s it’s like to wait to find love and marriage, it’s me. I waited 39 long years of life to walk down the aisle. Trusting God during the long wait was sometimes extremely difficult. Some days, all I could do was pray. I started to realize that “all I could do” was actually quite significant. I found out later how God-led my prayers actually were, once God revealed to me who I was going to marry and what he was going through in his life when I chose to pray certain things. My prayers mattered; my prayers paid off. When waiting to find a husband and get married, it can seem like you are helpless and “doing nothing.” One of the best things to do while waiting is to pray for your future husband. To follow are 16 prayer points that you can focus on during your…
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Finally Fearless: Journey from Panic to Peace
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To watch the Finally Fearless Video:
Some of you who know me, know that I have been working on this next book for a very long time. Some of you know of it as my “autobiography” about fear and knew that Finally the Bride: Finding Hope While Waiting was only a small part of my life, that book I was writing while bored and waiting for God to finally bless me with a husband.
Those who’ve known me for the past ten or so years of my life may have no idea this part of my life ever existed. I was struck recently by reactions when my mother and my husband read the book. Both of them had a very similar response. My mother asked, “How is it that I never knew my own daughter?” And my husband said when he read this book, while he knew it was mine, it’s not who he’s married to now. He was very thankful that God healed me so abundantly. When you read my story, you will understand fully why my healing and freedom from fear were necessary for me to walk down the aisle and marry the most wonderful man God gave me. I often pondered the thought about how what I longed for I feared the most. And that fear kept me away from men and relationships for a long time. There were years I thought I’d never be able to get married because of it.
Praise God, I was able to heal, face my fears, and win the battle over anxiety in this area of my life.
I understand why my mom and husband reacted this way. Even when I step back and read my book, it’s like reading about a stranger. This is so much due to the fact that God healed me so well, that the person I was for over 20 years of my life seems like she doesn’t exist anymore.
That person barred by the jail cell of extreme fear.
I’m glad my newer friends didn’t have to get to know this other part of me. I’m glad I am no longer acquainted with who I was, even though what I went through is a very real part of my history. It no doubt has an effect on who I am today. Sadly, I know many people relate to me and the journey I share in Finally Fearless: Journey from Panic to Peace. I wish more people didn’t have to. But it’s a very common problem people face, and I am tired of the silence that keeps people locked up in their fears.
It’s why I had to release this story, no matter how much vulnerability it called for. I knew back in 2001 that one day, like it or not, I would write it, and then be compelled to release this book.
That time has finally come.
Here’s the blurb from the back cover that shares my heart and why I wrote this book: (You can click on the links below and order the paperback and workbook or kindle version on Amazon.)
“This is one courageous book. In her bravest turn yet, Cheryl McKay dives into the storm-tossed depths of suffocating anxiety. This unflinchingly honest account is the personal hand of experience…guiding all who would read to still waters.”
—Susan Rohrer, author THE HOLY SPIRIT: Amazing Power for Everyday People
From Cheryl’s Journal:
Why am I like this? What is wrong with me? Why am I so afraid? I can’t control my anxiety; these fears seem to overtake me. Does anyone know how I feel? No one else has this problem. I am a freak, and I am alone. Where is God in this?
Do fear and anxiety rule your life?
They used to rule mine.
This is the book I was too afraid to write and definitely too afraid to publish. That would mean others could read some of my most private thoughts, pieces of my most difficult and painful journey. Most of my life, I put on a good face, that “life is perfect” façade. It was a sham. Then I realized I had to face my problems, my past, and my fears if I ever wanted to live a normal, healthy life. In writing this book, I decided to join the imperfect human race. I wrote it because I needed to heal.
Maybe you need to heal, too.
Through writing about my story of panic, fear, and seemingly irrational anxieties, I uncovered so much about panic and anxiety disorders, coping techniques, causes of anxiety and fear, soul-searching activities to help unearth the root of anxiety problems, and methods that can bring about healing. After many years of stagnancy, I found hope. God walked me through every step to help me find ways to grow, heal, change, and climb out from under the relentless thumb of anxiety. I can honestly say I am now healed.
Are you tired of fighting against your fears? Has panic interrupted your life? Has anxiety stopped you from going after your dreams? I encourage you to read my story and start your soul-searching journey now so you, too, can venture toward peace.
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Finally Fearless: Journey from Panic to Peace is filled with practical advice, exercises, personal stories, and tangible ways for readers to participate in their healing.
Also available:
Get the workbook that accompanies this book. The Finally Fearless Workbook is a great tool for church groups, book clubs, or individuals who want to play an active role in their healing from fear and anxiety.
I am not a medical doctor or a psychologist. I am a creative, intelligent woman. Yet panic and anxiety left me feeling completely out of control. I ached for God to show up and heal me instantly. Instead, He became my Wonderful Counselor, and He walked me through my fears, step by step, toward healing.
Much of my personal recovery came through healing exercises I did, the same ones I’m now sharing with you in this companion workbook. The work you will do here is a reflection of God’s relentless help in healing and encouraging me through these most vital exercises, creative assignments, journaling, reflection, and meditation on key scriptures.
This workbook also contains bonus material not found in the original book, including extra journal entries, assignments, poetry, and helpful collections of Bible verses grouped by topics like peace, hope, God’s faithfulness, fear, and trust.
Are you tired of fighting against your fears? Has panic interrupted your life? Has anxiety stopped you from going after your dreams? Start your soul-searching journey now so you, too, can venture toward peace.
You can get copies of the Ebook or Paperbacks on Amazon.
Special thanks to my husband for all of his hard work on this project. He designed the covers, designed the workbook, and took all of the beautiful, peaceful photography used in it. He wrote the original music for the book trailer, and edited it. (And yes, that’s his lovely singing voice at the end.) But more importantly, I’m so grateful for the role he played in helping me become Finally Fearless.
A Story About Friendship
This gallery contains 5 photos.
I have a confession: I am sometimes intimidated by talking to homeless people. I have never been one to enjoy talking to strangers on the street. (I have this thing about safety.) My husband is a magnet. I think because … Continue reading
Cheryl McKay (Screenwriter/Book Author) 