Milestone and contest

I scribbled it on scratch paper and showed it to my son. “What do you think of that name for a blog?” I asked.

He examined it thoughtfully. “Yeah. It’s okay.”

The title, Stories Happen, had popped into my head. I wanted a connection between attempting to write fiction, as I then was doing, and experiencing life. From my point of view, everyday existence often occurs without warning, as I least expect it, and by chance.

Yet travel inside my thoughts (as maybe you’ve done a wee bit reading my posts) and you’ll note my wonder-gilded trust in an author. One who masterfully plots and characterizes, setting forth a tale sure to ring true and satisfying in the end. No matter the twists and bewildering turns each chapter unfolds.

I guess imagination is required to think stories happen for a purpose. But I’m not alone in my possible delusion.

And for this reason, or maybe just because it popped into my head a year after composing my first Stories Happen blog post, I’d like to give away a book, The Christian Imagination. It inspired and rejuvenated me a while back, when I wondered whether the story of my writing life neared its end.

I toted it everywhere, to my daughter’s horseback lessons and my son’s Shakespeare rehearsals, and it shows on the worn front cover. I read and reread reflections by such writers as C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, T.S. Elliot, and Annie Dillard.

I’ve loaned the book out before, but now I’d like to package and mail it to one of you who responds, comments, connects a post, or emails, describing a milestone in your life story. I’ll pull the winning name from a hat, though I lack a fetching assistant like Summer’s sweet daughter, who chose my name in a recent giveaway.

Hm, mm, happy anniversary to my blog.