hope and imagination – Page 3

Thoughts and Readings, Part 3 (Kat’s Dreams)

Pleased to share this final in a 3-part video series discussing my new book, Kat’s Dreams. Thanks, again, to RM Media for these video opportunities!

Smith reflects on what faith means in difficult times and on her new novel, Kat’s Dreams.

Transcript:

Smith: The fiction series I’m working on is called Sacred Grounds. The Sacred Grounds Novels follow Kat, who’s a woman I think of as both a faithful and a feisty heroine. In the first novel, Kat’s Dreams, she’s facing some very difficult things, which makes for a good story and also gives us a chance to see who she is. One of the things I’ve enjoyed about writing Kat’s story is how it’s given me a chance to reflect on what faith means in some of the more painful moments of life.

Not that this is a painful book. Not at all! It does tackle some difficult things. Kat is, after all, on a #MeToo kind of journey. Yet, she has this very stubborn sort of gladness inside her. She insists on enjoying the world and the people around her, and she’s determined to find a good way forward. That’s one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed getting to work with her as a character.

Reading: I’d noticed how much could happen inside of a person before she had any words at all to capture it. In fact, now I had fewer things to say, in general, and I even had fewer words for prayer. At first, that bothered me, but then I started wondering how many words a time truly needed in order to earn the name of ‘prayer.’

Smith: I hope you’ll subscribe to the blog on my website at calliejsmith.net and please do go to the “books” page of my website to get yourself a copy of Kat’s Dreams.

Thoughts and Readings, Part 2 (Kat’s Dreams)

Thanks, again, to RM Media for this video opportunity (part 2 of 3) to talk about paying attention and about my new book, Kat’s Dreams.

Read More about kat’s dreams

Video Transcript:

Smith: As a clergy person, I’ve gotten into the habit of paying attention to the spiritual aspects of how we live and breathe and move through this world. I’m also a mountain biker, and that hobby gets me outside and away from my computer. It’s one way I practice really being present to the world around me and the path unfolding before me. I definitely gave that appreciation of bike time to the main character in the series of novels that I’ve been working on.

Reading from Kat’s Dreams: And that had been that. But now? I felt very different. I felt less outgoing and trusting, less ready to dare and try new things. I stayed more to myself, felt more hesitant to dream, and needed more time to process what was happening inside of me. Getting outside and riding my bike came to feel like my lifeline to the world, the one place where I could let myself get excited, go fast, and dare new things regardless of whether or not I fell. There, I could always get up and go on. In the rest of my life, I wasn’t getting up and going on so quickly.

Smith: Please subscribe to my blog at www.calliejsmith.net and go to the “Books” page for a link to purchase Kat’s Dreams on Amazon.

Thoughts and Readings, Part 1 (Kat’s Dreams)

Many thanks to RM Media for providing this video opportunity to “think out loud” about reading and writing as spiritual practices and about my new book, Kat’s Dreams.