Fortune Calling

This is one of those posts I despise. A blog where a writer lets you know what they are thinking and feeling. But, I have to give you all a heartfelt thank you for this. I signed onto Amazon a few minutes ago to see how my newest launch was proceeding. Look what I found while there...

• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,099 Paid in Kindle Store 
• #8 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Short Stories
• #17 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 45 minutes (22-32 pages) > Literature & Fiction
• #42 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Cultural Heritage
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• This short story means a great deal to me and I'll tell you why. In 2013 I spent most of the year in Tennessee, helping take care of my mother, who passed in October 2013 of brain cancer. The months leading to her death were grueling however those months were nothing compared to the weeks following her death. Isolated in a rural community in Tennessee, I had a heaping portion of pain blended with heartbreak, and topped with despair. Stuck outside-of-nowhere-with-the-anywhere-but-here blues.  I prayed one night for a sign. 
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• Give me a sign. 
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• What came back? Shine. The word mom always told me before I went anywhere. Shine. Be your self. The way my mind works meant it could only mean one thing. Listen to the song by the incomparable Dolly Parton. She won a Grammy a few years ago with a bluegrass cover of Shine, which was originally recorded by Collective Soul. Did you know she covered it? It is an exemplary sound and a true work of musical artistry. Here is the official video. 
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FORTUNE CALLING was inspired by Shine yet it took three months to write. Those 8269 words did not come easily. Eventually, the Story took over and wrote itself, as all stories do. Dallas Fortune and FORTUNE CALLING mean a great deal to me. There are a few things I have in common with Dallas and I am not going to share with you what they all are. Not yet. 

What I will share is that Dallas Fortune suffered, yet she had faith, hope and the promise of love. Faith, hope and love. The greatest of these are love. This little story was my faith in the arts during a time of grief, the hope of better things to come and the love of my husband, father, some family, a lot of friends- very special friends, and now you - for downloading this story and reading it. I am so thankful today and love you all for enjoying my story.