Yep you read that right, the book proposal for The Journey Home (which releases in a few weeks!) was submitted while I was actively in labor from my hospital room.
Writing a book has been a dream for many years and now that book launch month is finally here, I thought I’d share a little more of the wild backstory of the birth of this book — that also coincided with the birth of my son.
In October of 2020 I participated in the Book Proposal Boot Camp hosted by Lysa Terkerust with COMPEL. I spent 4 months crafting my proposal with the help of Tracie Miles and the amazing women in my group (a few of whom have gone on to be published! Check out Julie Bulser and Taylor Murray’s books).
This was my third book proposal I’d written in the past 18 months. After writing my first two, pitching them, getting lots of feedback and direction from agents and people in the publishing industry, this was going to be my last shot at traditional publishing for a while if it didn’t go anywhere as I prepared to transition into a new season of motherhood.
Late in January, I emailed my submission in and shifted gears to get ready for baby Jack's arrival. A few weeks later, in mid February, I opened up my inbox to find out the news that my proposal was selected to go to pub board with Thomas Nelson (the meeting where different proposals are pitched and publishers decide which titles they will publish) and was ecstatic!
By no means was it a done deal, but it did give me confidence that this proposal was stronger than my previous ones and had a good shot at finding a publisher, even if it wasn’t with Thomas Nelson.
It was a little after midnight (early Tuesday morning) I woke up feeling nauseous with back pain and irregular, infrequent contractions. A little less than a month away from my due date and a first time mom, I thought there was no way this was the real thing. Having an appointment with my midwife already scheduled that morning, I decided to wait to see what she thought and eventually drifted back off to sleep.
Turned out that I was starting to dilated and she had good reason to believe my contractions were indeed the ‘real thing,’ not just braxton hicks, so she sent me to labor and delivery triage to be monitored.
In denial that I might actually be in labor, while my husband drove across town to the hospital, I texted my boss letting her know I’d try to make it in on time for my night shift and then reflexively checked my inbox next. An email from Meredith Brock (my wonderful agent who was also a co-host of the Book Proposal Bootcamp) popped in and my heart began to race as I clicked on it and frantically read the email. I had almost forgotten entirely about my pending proposal!
She was at pub board with Thomas Nelson and was wondering if I was able to make a few tweaks and additions to my proposal. She asked about scheduling a brief call to discuss what they were interested in seeing. Typing back as quickly as my fingers would move, I told her that I would love to talk and told her the sooner the better because while I wasn’t supposed to be having a baby for another month but things might be changing.
Within 30 minutes I was pacing around the waiting room as they cleaned a room in triage for me talking on the phone with Meredith about my proposal. She assured me there was no rush and that I could get the edits to her by the end of the week but I knew in my gut I needed to get them to her by the end of the day!
Fast forward to the afternoon and evening, my labor progressed as I stood in my hospital room with the tocometer strapped to my belly (the contraction monitor) typing away from my makeshift desk. It was clear this baby was coming, it was just a matter of when and how since he was breech.
Delivery was not imminent at that moment, but he was coming sooner rather than later and I felt the race against the clock. Around 8pm I sent off the final touches to my proposal and a little after 2am on February 24, 2021, Jack Reasons Boggs made his wild entry into the world after a failed attempt to flip him (his heart rate dropped dangerously low) and an emergency C-section to bring him safely into this world.
Life with a newborn is a whirlwind where your days and nights bleed together, with around the clock feedings and snuggles, so naturally my book proposal was the last thing on my mind.
On March 24th 2021, one month after Jack was born, I crept quietly into the living room one morning to take a phone call (or so I thought) with Meredith Brock. To my surprise, it was a FaceTime call which was seen by the look on my face and my general sleepy new mom appearance with unwashed hair in a bun, dark circles under my eyes and my robe on. It was Meredith and Lysa Terkerst calling to tell me that Thomas Nelson had accepted my book proposal and that I was going to be a published author!
There were happy (and probably hormonal) tears of shock and gratitude! A dream finally coming true and the sweetest simultaneous births of my son and this book that would finally be brought into the world.
If you want to full birth story, you can read it here and read more about The Journey home + order your copy here!
