So excited to have fellow Lighthouse of the Carolinas’ author, D.L. Koontz. Just the cover of her novel, Crossing Into the Mystic, makes you want to bring the book a little closer and find out what it is about. Come help me welcome her to the blog today!

Do you remember daydreaming when you were a child about what you wanted to be when you grew up? Most of us do. Sadly, many of us lost sight of those dreams as we grew.

I sure did. I always wanted to be a novelist. I wanted to open unknown worlds for readers the way other authors had done for me.

Like Pepper (who came from a long line of oral storytellers in the mountains), I too learned the art of spinning yarns from family storytellers, all while sitting on our front porch in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains in rural Pennsylvania.

But, that dream got lost somewhere along the way as I pursued other paths through college and work.

Perhaps self-doubt kept me from finishing any of the dozens of stories I began through the years. Or, maybe it was fear of starvation that kept me motivated through a master’s degree in a more “practical” field than creative writing. Or, maybe it was pride that kept me collecting business credentials in a collection of states and countries.

In short, I got derailed from my dreams.

But, whatever the reason, I learned those dreams won’t always go away, and we won’t get back on track, until we prayerfully ask God to guide our paths.

Then, as German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, we “must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.”

Wait! That’s not what conventional thinking advises, right? According to pop culture, we’re supposed to set plans and goals, create bucket lists of things to accomplish, and accept that life moves on at a predictable and steady pace.

But it’s often in prayer that we discover that God has other plans, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

And so it was through prayer that I began to write. Earnestly. Finally, finishing one novel after another.

And when God led me to inspirational fiction, I was thrilled, but confused as to why, in the manner of Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker, I was led to approach my stories from the dark side.

I wanted to write safe, not risky; warm and fuzzy, not nail-biting and dramatic. I hoped to make readers relax and enjoy, not sit anxiously on the edges of their seats.

But, again, God interrupted and directed the path.

When you wonder if you’re on the right path or if you’re following what God has planned for you, pray. Here are a few scriptures to give you strength as you move forward:

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when yet turn to the left. ~Isaiah 30:21

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his way. ~Psalms 37:23

In all ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths. ~ Proverbs 3:6

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. ~Psalms 32:8

D.L.Koontz is the author of Crossing into the Mystic and Edging through the Darkness, the first two novels in The Crossings Trilogy. She hails from Pennsylvania, but now lives on a cattle ranch in southeast Georgia where she juggles writing with endlessly going to town for supplies. Find her at www.dlkoontz.com.