Writing ‘Darkness Trembles’

Darkness Trembles: A Battle for One Lost Soul has gone on a very long journey to become what it is today. I am and have always been terrible with dates and times and names and anything that requires me to remember details for an extended period, so I am going to speak in generalities. 

IN THE BEGINNING: 

• I have always had a bent for writing but haven’t always pursued it. I think it is an inherited strength, as my dad’s career was as an editor for IBM, my sister was in PR, my brother wrote two books, and I’m certain all of my children have skills in that area. 

• I began my career as a special education teacher, and though I taught all the subjects, Language Arts always came more naturally. 

• I began looking into publishing Children’s Literature after I had my first child but never took the leap of faith required to accomplish that dream.

• With three boys under the age of five, I began teaching at a homeschool hybrid. While there I learned to teach composition in a way that differed from the public-school curriculum I had used previously. It rekindled my desire to write. 

• Before finding the time and calling to write Darkness Trembles, I got my ‘fix’ writing curriculum, songs, skits, etc. 

ABBEY:

More than three years ago, I asked Abbey, an 18-year girl and artist, if she wanted to collaborate on a book. I’d write the story, and she’d do the art.

• Abbey is a dear friend of the family who decided to take a gap-year between high school and college. 

• Abbey struggles with anxiety and depression, and I wanted to encourage her to use her God-given talents to share a story of hope. 

• Abbey and I began discussing typical high school struggles, including mental health, cliques, post-2020 verbiage, faith, LGBTQ, etc. 

• Abbey was on board. 

Abbey, the talented young artist who inspired this journey of hope and creativity.

We wanted to focus on the ever-increasing issue of mental illness in young adults. I immediately saw the main character as someone who was different from most but could easily move in and out of established high school cliques. To allow Abbey’s art to be an integral part of the story, the main character became an artist who oftentimes doodled her feelings on the pages of her journals.   

Unfortunately, I couldn’t write fast enough for Abbey to participate on a day-to-day or even week-to-week basis. I gave her a few general assignments to draw some of the secondary characters and a map of Valdosta, but we couldn’t find a good rhythm. Then she left for college. By the time I had a lot for her to do, she was drowning in homework. With that said, I decided to do the art myself (with far less skill) and had a portfolio of 70+ doodles by the time I finished writing the book. However, when I got to the publishing phase, I learned that artwork makes formatting difficult and costs a whole lot of money, so I scrapped it all. 

A glimpse into my 70+ doodles created during the writing process

WRITING THE BOOK: 

Main Character: Bolanle [Bo-LAHN-lee] Naliaka Anderson, had to be a mixed-raced teenage girl, as Abbey is Chinese (on her mom’s side) and American redneck (on her dad’s side). Her father, Joe, is a self-proclaimed Tennessee born and raised redneck who is also very intelligent and funny. So, if Chinese/Redneck isn’t pc, please talk to him. 

Abbey's beautiful interpretation of Bolanle

For my readers struggling to pronounce Bolanle’s name, I’m sorry. I thought about changing it at the end, but that would have required me to rewrite the chapter that explains why her blonde, blue-eyed, teenage mother chose such an exotic name. Simply put, I didn’t have the energy. 

Setting: I wanted the story to be set in Georgia but not too close to home (metro-Atlanta). So, I did a little research and found Spook Bridge in Valdosta, Georgia. It was perfect! Abbey and I jumped in my car and road tripped 248 miles south to gather information, take pictures, and spend time exploring all the possibilities. From there, we drove another 45 miles west to Thomasville, Georgia, and though I didn’t know it at the time, it would become Bolanle’s hometown. 

Spook Bridge in Valdosta, Georgia | Image by Liz Mitchell via Google Maps

Major Themes: 

• Most importantly, I want to help people embrace the transforming power of the Word of God. My hope is to inspire those who aren’t faithfully reading the Bible to seek Him wholeheartedly and allow His Truth to affect and direct their lives (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16).

• Secondly, I want my readers to understand we live in a world where spiritual forces of darkness and light impact our daily lives. Yet, many of us live ignorant and/or apathetic to this reality. The Bible teaches that our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) and tells us to be on guard (Ephesians 6:10-18). But, to fight our enemy, we first must acknowledge his existence.

• Lastly, I wanted to hi-light that life is full of choices that can impact us in big and small ways. And, these choices oftentimes require bravery and sacrifice. 

My Writing Process:

• I am considered what people in the writing world call a pantser. That means I write by the seat of my pants, which may or may not be completely accurate. 

• New ideas would typically come as I was taking a walk or a shower. I told the ladies in my Hope*Circle (see below) it felt like God downloaded the next character or scene when needed, and then I’d just sit down to write. 

• I was told by the so-called experts to get all my words on the page and go back later to edit, but that didn’t work for me. Well, the truth is, I didn’t really try. Instead, I edited, rewrote, and edited some more before I would move on to the next chapter. Right or wrong, the book is done!
  

OTHER RANDOM STUFF:

Truth: I didn’t really want to write this book. The main thing holding me back was thinking I might spend a whole lot of time creating something that would sit on a bookshelf amongst thousands of other books and never get read. So, like Gideon throwing out the fleece (Judges 6:36-40), I asked God over and over if this was really His will. It was and is. 

• Each time I asked, God answered affirmatively through people who had no idea I was seeking assurance that writing a book was His will. 

• Later, when I told a friend of my concern about wasting time, she encouraged me to focus on the journey God may want me to take rather than the final product. It was a complete shift in perspective that I needed.

• Finally, as the book began to take shape, I realized it is God’s to do with as He pleases. I don’t know the “big picture,” but He does. So, if I sell one copy (Thanks, Mom!) or a million and one copies, it is all for His glory, and I will praise the Lord! 

I joined Hope*Writers, an online writing community, which gave me an abundance of resources to help me start my journey. I knew I would need accountability, so I joined a Hope*Circle (groups started by members of Hope*Writers who have a common interest or need). My group has met for 2 ½ hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for over three years. During the first 15 minutes, we discuss what we plan to work on. The next two hours are spent working. And the last 15 minutes we share accomplishments and offer critique. After that was firmly established, we added monthly goal setting to help keep us focused and moving forward.

Several of the secondary and tertiary characters are named after people in my world, but most have nothing to do with the actual characters in the book. For example, the bullies in Journal Entry Three were named after my brothers, James (Jimmy) Walter Hill and Jeffrey Willis Hill. They are not bullies, btw.

Darkness Trembles: A Battle for One Lost Soul was known as The Shepherd’s Journal for the entirety of its writing. However, as I started the publishing process, I was told the title could get lost among books in other categories such as shepherding and journaling, so it had to change. Soon after, I was having lunch with a friend who told me about a song with the lyric, “Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble,” and my book had a new name! 

I created a map of the city of Valdosta, the trailer park, and other random details and taped it to my closet door so I could quickly determine where people were in the story.

The thing that kept me writing Darkness Trembles for more than three years is the belief that God called me to this task. To stop writing would be to disobey that call. 

I am a teacher at heart, so my hope is that many people will read Darkness Trembles and desire to grow in their faith and seek God in His Word. Beyond that, I would love to continue the conversation with those who have questions, need encouragement, and simply enjoy learning.

Darkness Trembles is out now, the Kindle edition is free for limited time!
Click here to get your copy!