Category: Kimly’s Trade

Kimly's · Kimly's Trade

I’m Back! I think.

Jacquelyn Sill8 Comments

I don’t know entirely what the hell happened between me and blogging, but after a long break-up, we’re talking about getting back together. In many ways, this is the conversation; I’m having it with the keyboard and I’m having it with you.

Honestly, this is all pouring out of me so quickly, maybe I’ll give you a little background.

Earlier this week, my publisher contacted me about rewriting my already published novel, Where the Water Rages, so that they could sell the rights to a larger book distributor, where it could be marketed it to a wider audience. The larger distributor had read the novel and emailed a review, which included changes that needed to be made so that the story would appeal to more people. Some of the changes made me laugh, and I was able to distance myself from work that I did so many years ago. During which time my library grew, and I had the opportunity to have many talented professors and academic peers speak into my writing. So, when I heard that they thought Kimly was unbelievable—too impulsive, it made me smile a defeated grin. Kimly was penned, nine years ago, by a woman who herself was impulsive and made reckless decisions, often getting in over her head. Broken pieces of me pierce through that manuscript and some of them are fraught with inconsistencies. To put it more bluntly, I was a hot mess, trying to work out my shit. This, of course, is not a reason to disregard the editorial recommendation. Maybe Kimly does need a face lift. The top two comments about Kimly are one: that people find her annoying, and two: she reminds them of me. Hmmm…how odd. Hearing now that the woman with whom I can relate, doesn’t seem like a real person sends my little Enneagram 4 heart onto a rollercoaster of introspection.

So, yes, I would be willing to work with editors and make Kimly more likable. If there is an opportunity for me to grow as a writer and to learn how to be more relatable to people, sign me up!

But, wait, there’s more.

And this is where I get agitated.

I start to remember why I felt pressure to be creating something. Making something, churning something out. Churn. Churn. Churn churn church churn church. Churn Church…work for it, work for it…earn it…deserve it.

The change that the bigger book distributor recommended ((SPOILERS)) was that the romance between Kimly and Dak be made more intense, and possibly that their relationship lands differently at the end of the book. In other words, Kimly needs to fuck Dak and leave her cheating husband. Hmm. Do I want to write that story? I didn’t then, Praise God.

The next non-negotiable idea they suggested to increase sales was to have Kimly do something significant by the end of the story. As they put it, quoting my publisher reading their email, “readers feel cheated watching Kimly go through all of these experiences, but at the end, she doesn’t even write a ground-breaking editorial piece. She only saves one child.”

Wow.

For a long time, I felt so much pressure to do something significant. The feeling runs deep and goes back far, and I’ve done a lot of work to break it down and understand it. But as for writing, as I remember it, I was feeling pressure to stand apart, to be excellent at something and it emerged with the digital age. This need grew inside of me. A need to have a lot of followers, a bigger team, a best seller. To do something big within this new digital world. The idea of just being a kind human living a simple life was out there, but I didn’t know how to make it what I wanted. I wanted to want it.

And then I did.

And so did Kimly. She just did it before me.

So when the bigger book distributor suggests I write a Hollywood ending, my answer is a firm, maybe.

I mean…I am writing again, and if a woman emerges who gets the guy, cracks the case, and sells a truckload of books, then, by all means, she is welcome to the story! But as for Kimly, no.

Kimly went on a search for significance, where she met a man that made her question what she had within her marriage, she saw the love she could have for a child, and she discovered how deeply God loved her and the places he would go to save her. Kimly realized that the most significant thing she could do was to be involved in her marriage to make it work, to become a more attentive mother, and to care for the person directly in front of her. She didn’t write the big editorial piece because that is not what this particular fable is about.

Anyway, all of this to ask, does anyone read blogs anymore? Just wondering if it’s worth my time.

What I found left me breathless
Community · Freedom · Kimly's Trade

What I found left me breathless

Jacquelyn Sill1 Comment

Dreams come true. Sometimes it feels like a nightmare when it happens, but sometimes it evolves into a better reality than the original dream. In many ways, the latter is what happened with my novel, Where the Water Rages.

When I began knocking on the proverbial publishing door, I had little direction. I used search engines and Twitter to locate the names of publishers and literary agents and I made daily inquiries. All the while, I had a dilemma to overcome. As I searched, I learned that many mainstream publishers weren’t interested in a book with Christian themes, and many Christian publishers wouldn’t touch a book that dealt with themes present in my manuscript.

One day, after receiving umpteen rejections, a publisher began to show interest in the manuscript. Of course, I was shocked by their interest, and as we began the ebb-and-flow of building a deal, I looked for any information on the company. I was unable to believe that a publisher would really be drawn to the project and certain that this was a scam.

I’ll tell you what I learned about my publisher, and then I will tell you why YOU should care.

Kharis Publishing is an up and coming publishing house located in Northwest Arkansas, it’s an imprint of Kharis Media LLC, the leading mass media corporation in Africa. The team at Kharis Publishing is “committed to social empowerment through publishing and literacy initiatives.” The publishing company operates with a two-fold goal.

First, because they recognize how difficult it is for minority and first-time authors to get published, without relying on self-publishing, their goal is to give a voice to such authors. Second, is their unique business plan. This is the part that affects you as a potential reader of Where the Water Rages, and it’s the part that left me breathless:

“The second goal is to empower orphans to take charge of their lives, by building resource centers or mini-libraries within their orphanages so those kids can learn, dream, and grow. For every book sold, we donate $1 towards establishing such resource centers.”

Yep, that’s right. For every single book sold, Kharis Publishing donates $1 to an orphanage.

Why do they do this? Well, it all comes back to Francis Umesiri. Born in rural Nigeria, Francis Umesiri spent each day walking 3 miles to retrieve water for his family, and then he spent the evenings reading borrowed books by the light of a kerosene lantern. The two men who loaned him books challenged him to read as much as possible and to write reports on what he had read.

Today Dr. Francis Umesiri is a Biology professor at John Brown University in Northern Arkansas and the founder of Kharis Publishing. He credits his success in academia with his love for reading and the individuals who took an interest in his life by loaning him books.

As you can imagine, when I learned this, there was no other publisher I wanted to be in contract with. The story I wrote about a little girl who is sold into the slave trade is fiction, but the frustrating reality is that this isn’t fiction for too many children. The innocents who are victimized most often come from living situations where poverty is rampant, and an orphan child living on the streets is an easy target. To a child in a third world country, an orphanage is representative of hope, as often their extended families do not have the resources to care for them. Orphanages give them a chance that they might not otherwise have, but children need more than just food and shelter. To distance themselves from a disadvantaged life, they need knowledge; they need books, computers, and learning materials.

The idea that my fictional manuscript could play a part in empowering a child, in bringing resources for learning to an orphanage left me breathless.

Now, the manuscript is bigger than me, as good is integrated into the sale of each book.

Water ragesAnd this is why you should care. When you purchase Where the Water Rages you aren’t just keeping the wheels of big business spinning, as is often the case with larger publishing houses. No, you are supporting a publishing company who has made it their goal to be the difference in the lives of orphans. You are helping to build a library of books in an orphanage in Uganda, a place where it is difficult for children to acquire the books that are readily available in the United States.

One book, one dollar, every time.

Would you consider visiting Kharis Publishing today and purchasing a copy of Where the Water Rages?

Share this article on Facebook: be a part of my dream and help bring literacy to the life of a child.

Why I am Thankful for my Failure
Kimly's Trade

Why I am Thankful for my Failure

Jacquelyn Sill2 Comments

11168856_10153348741096970_5894260610798824795_nToday is the final day of a fundraising campaign that didn’t reach its goal, and we are thrilled about it failing.

There are a couple of reasons the failure  brings us pleasure. First, it is a reminder that God has called us to walk by faith in all things. The phrase, “One Step at a Time” or “Walk by Faith” are quickly tossed to people who are facing difficulties. If a friend tells you their child has been diagnosed with a rare disease, if a coworker shares the shame of an upcoming bankruptcy, or if a close friend admits to an addiction it is natural to offer hope by reminding them to walk in faith. We know that while our loved ones can’t see their way out of the darkness–walking through it one step at a time is all that is required.

Through this experience, we have been reminded that the same is true for good things. If an adventurous soul wants to accomplish their dreams, they still have to walk by faith and shower themselves with the same grace they would offer to someone who feels like their life is in chaos. Faith walking is not reserved to the chaotic life, it’s an everyday calling–for ordinary souls to achieve their daring dreams.

The second reason we are thankful we didn’t reach our targeted goal is because the goal got better.

When we realized we weren’t going to raise enough money to hire an experienced fictional editor AND pay for self publishing, we had to make a choice. It was going to have to be one or the other. Trust me, it wasn’t an easy decision. If we used the money we raised to hire an editor, we may end up with a polished manuscript–but how would we get it to those who had made pledges? And if we decided to forgo the editor and publish the manuscript in its raw state, would we be missing a step that could make the work more appealing and convey its message more clearly?

After praying and rehashing the situation, we decided that there was much more to be gained {and risked} by using the funds to hire a seasoned editor, even if it meant we wouldn’t have the necessary funds to self-publish. We decided that while self-publishing may be where we eventually land, we didn’t have to go to that place without first getting the manuscript into the best shape possible, then pursuing an agent and publishing house.

I don’t read my writing the way other people read it, so I cannot imagine an agent or a publisher seeing its value, but because we didn’t raise the money to do both, I am taking a step of faith that I would have never taken.

It’s much easier to walk down a well lit path. Heck, I even turn on a light to make the short journey down the hallway in my house. It’s normal and we will always strive to see more and know more–it’s in our nature. But, oftentimes when it comes to the dearest things in our life, the braver choice, the choice that brings the most growth and the greatest joy involves walking down a dimly lit path.

Follow this LINK for more information about Kimly’s Trade 🙂

My Favorite Shoes I Barely Wore
Community · Kimly's Trade · Uncategorized

My Favorite Shoes I Barely Wore

Jacquelyn Sill4 Comments

wordsWhen I was fourteen-years-old I joined my High School’s Track Team. Impressing my classmates with my agile Kenyan-like abilities, I won the team’s MVP award and garnished the nickname “Jackrabbit Jackie” for my hare-footed speed. Okay, well maybe that’s not altogether accurate. What actually happened might have fewer accolades.

During the spring semester of my freshman year, the extra curricular activity “Drill Team” was no longer considered a viable class in meeting my High School’s Physical Education requirements. In order for my fellow flag twirlers and me to meet our needed PE requirements, we either had to enroll in a traditional PE class, or we had to “go out” for Track and Field. After a conversation with Coach Monroe, a grandfatherly man whose gentle nature sits firm and soft on the bleachers of my memory, I decided to join the Track Team.

Coach Monroe needed runners to participate in a multitude of events, and he confidently suggested two in which he felt I would excel. The first was the 800 meter run. 800 meters is two laps around the track. TWO LAPS…without stopping. I’m sorry, but that’s a long way to run without an axe murderer chasing you.

The second event in which he convinced the team’s novice runner to participate was the Hurdles. Wikipedia describes hurdling this way,

The act of running and jumping over an obstacle at speed. A series of barriers known as hurdles are set at precisely measured heights and distance in which each athlete must pass by running over. Accidental knocking over of hurdles is not cause for disqualification, but is disadvantageous.

On one afternoon, Coach Monroe, who undoubtedly received his Masters Degree in Manipulation, managed to convince this newcomer that she should run in one event demanding endurance and a second event requiring agility in speedily skipping over obstacles which are strategically placed to knock her on her bum.

Two things stand out about my time on LMHS Matador’s Track and Field Team. The first is that I successfully DID compete in both of those events at two separate meets. Twice, Coach Monroe was able to convince me that I  could successfully navigate the obstacles strategically placed to trip me up. Even though I never placed in hurdles and the 800 meter run only garnished me a 4th place ribbon (out of four runners), I still did it.

The second thing that stands out is a treasured nostalgic heirloom I can still visualize to this day. The monument exists in the form of a pair of blue satin track shoes. I can still see the homely sneakers, and while I don’t know if they were really satin, they shine that bright in my memory.

mNILShzaajnE94KYj5bW4KwAs a teenager, the shoes were not my favorite–remember, I only wore them twice. The metal cleats sparkle in my memory not because of the way they gripped the ground seeing me safely over each hurdle, but because of the indelible message my father sent me upon their purchase.

A father who worked long days in construction, arrived home where his daughter, who was not blessed with athletic prowess, told him she was joining the track team. He looked down at her VANS deck shoes and said, “Get in the truck, you’re gonna need shoes.”

We climbed into my Dad’s sky blue pick-up truck and he drove us to the nearby Big 5 Sporting Goods Store. I can still see my father’s checkbook as his calloused hand signed the note paying nearly fifty dollars for the funky footwear. Fifty dollars may not seem like a lot of money, but over thirty years ago in our middle income family with two working parents; it was an oddity for my Dad to spend that kind of cash on shoes.

This is where the heirloom explodes in my heart.

My Dad didn’t buy me track cleats because I whined and moaned about needing them, and he didn’t buy them because he had any false expectations about my running abilities. The man had raised me. He was fully aware that I was a girl who was drawn to reading, performing, and creating far more often than exerting myself athletically. Unlike Coach Monroe, my father probably had a pretty good idea that I would eventually find my place on the track team, not running in an event, but running the announcer’s booth with a microphone in hand and my voice echoing through the stadium.

I’ve wondered at times if I would even remember my brief inclusion to the track team were it not for the physical manifestation of my father’s confidence. For all I know or imagine, the 4th place ribbon and the spiky slippers sit somewhere in a landfill, and it’s the memory of my father’s belief that has become the treasured heirloom.

This week I was reminded of that parental belief when my Indiegogo fundraising campaign to pay for the editing and publishing of my first fictional manuscript received a hearty donation. Upon notification, I learned the donation was made by my parents.

Writing has brought so many good things into my life, and this is among them. Years from now, will the a published book shine brighter than the heirloom’s of encouragement I’ve already received?

When you drive someone to Big 5 and  buy them a pair of cleats, the runner’s belief in their ability to run well is re-energized.  When faithful friends or far off strangers are willing to invest in your dreams because they see your potential, what happens at the finish line becomes more likely, but less consequential. It’s a race worth running no matter the outcome. Even last place becomes a victory for all.  Time and again, the spark of creativity has been rekindled for those who strive to create by the mere knowledge that someone believes in their ability to navigate the hurdles and endure to the end.

For more information about the fictional book I wrote and how to be a part of Making Kimly’s Trade Happen, simply click on this LINK.

Don’t Believe Me; Just Watch
Kimly's Trade

Don’t Believe Me; Just Watch

Jacquelyn SillLeave a comment

e4893f2c9316df7e33677cf4a90b3ae7I have lived with a nagging, disgruntled voice in my head for an indeterminate amount of time. Late at night, she sneaks into my room, crawls into my bed, and whispers words like, “more” “different” and “better”. Sometimes I don’t recognize her when she comes calling until I’ve listened too long. She’s a persistent dame. Beautiful, and forever young, she shops at high end stores, and lives in a house I’ll never occupy. I use scripture to silence her and I ask for help when I am overwrought. Oftentimes, my husband will spot her before I do. He’s not fond of her, at all, and does his best to keep her silent.

The battle for significance and the acceptance of one’s self is an age old war. It’s an inner battle, and for many people it takes decades to be able to stop internal lies from paralyzing us from moving forward.

You would think my inner critic would be proud of me today. Why today? Well, today I have been “interviewing” editors to work on my fictional manuscript, Kimly’s Trade. Several years ago, a friend read through Kimly’s Trade and helped me with basic grammar errors, and I was grateful for what she brought to the project. A lot has happened since then, (understatement) and through everything that had happened, my writing improved, and when I returned to the project I knew it could be better.

This month, I am hiring a professional editor who has experience in fiction, specifically one who has worked with characterization, plot, pacing, and voice. I am looking through the resumes I’ve received from my advertisement on Outsource.com and I am struck that I have such an assortment of talented individuals to choose from.

My inner critic could have taken the day off, maybe used the time to go to the gym or get a pedicure. I mean, there’s no room for judgement on a day like today, right?

Of the twenty+ applicants, some have submitted work for me to evaluate. Looking at what they have offered, I have been tempted to devalue my own manuscript. In awe of what I was reading, a paralyzing insecurity began to come over me. I suddenly saw myself differently, suddenly saw myself as being inadequate. I heard the shrill voice I recognize, and it whispered, “Oh Jackie, this world of literary people is a land of  incredible talent, and you aren’t a real writer. You are a waitress.”

The liar never leaves. She’s bound to look for me, bound to chase. And, eventually, she’s bound to find me.

As much as I want to, I can’t shut her out completely, because some of her words have an element of truth to them, but she is a distorter of truth: “You haven’t received a contribution to the publishing campaign in over week.”(TRUTH) “You are never going to have enough money to pull this off.”(LIE)

But, shutting her out completely is not the important thing, anyway. It doesn’t matter if her whispers wake me every single morning at 3:22. What matters is what I do after I hear her whisper. What matters is what I do at 3:23. She isn’t the only voice living within, after all. There is another voice, the voice of Truth, and that voice tells me to keep moving forward. If my inner critic doesn’t believe it can happen, then she will be the one who misses the adventure, not me. With or without my inner critic, I will reach my goals. She doesn’t have to believe it, she can sit back in all her disbelief and watch it unfold anyway.

She may have whispers for me, but I’ve got words for her, too. Don’t believe me? Just watch. (Cue, Bruno Mars)

For more information on being a part of Making Kimly’s Trade Happen, visit our Indigogo fundraising page at the following link: Kimly’s Trade, A debut novel by Jackie Sill

Ready to Quit, After Four Short Days
Kimly's Trade · spiritual growth

Ready to Quit, After Four Short Days

Jacquelyn Sill1 Comment

Have you ever noticed how as soon as we take that first step in faith, we begin to feel like we are on the wrong path? Ironically, we find ourselves wanting proof where God has called us to walk in faith.

Is it just me? Or can you relate? We can be completely confident in the thing we are supposed to do, but as soon as we hit minor hurdles, we begin to wonder if we were mistaken and entirely off base.

thSome of us begin to search for a sign or an indication that we are on the right track. If you think like me, if you find yourself wanting to please others, your first response when feeling insecure may be to look at how others are responding. Suddenly we get trapped into believing the indication of whether we are on the right or wrong path can be measured by the approval of others. Using the gauge of approval places us in constant turmoil, especially if someone we value silently withholds that all powerful nod.

Tuesday night I started a fundraising program for the fictional novel I wrote and am now rewriting and editing. Four nights later I came home from a eleven hour day at the restaurant and told my husband I shouldn’t be raising money or editing the novel. Tired from a busy day? Perhaps. But it was more than just food server exhaustion.

What had happened in four short days?

  • In four short days I saw my possible failure at this venture as being more humiliating than the shame God already helped me walk through in the past.
  • In four short days I began to take my eyes off the editing and fundraising God was calling me to do and place them on the response of others.
  • In four short days I forgot the importance of being obedient to God over pleasing anyone else.
  • In four short days I was willing to trade confidence from the Lord for “Likes” on a Link.
  • In four short days I forgot that walking by faith actually meant…WALKING. BY. FAITH.

1280x800-walkbyfaith

I have a welcome critic who will most likely call me out on posting this blog. Writing a piece about the need to stop relying on “Likes”, Comments, or Shares, while simultaneously placing it online where other people can give a nods of approval is ironic.

I gave birth to the welcome critic over 24 years ago, and on that evening I guess I invited his lifelong critique, however, at this time posting an ironic blog about faith is part what God is calling me to do as a statement of faith.

There is more at stake in what I am doing than just getting a book published. It’s a matter of doing the things God has called me to do every single time. It may be big, or it may be small–size TRULY doesn’t matter. Obedience matters.

Here’s the thing, the steps I took towards total rebellion to the Lord and the breaking of my marriage vows started off very miniscule. They were tiny little steps of disobedience long before they were outright strides. And late last night, after talking and crying with my husband about the fears I have for continuing with this project, it all came back to that. I heard myself say it before I even fully grasped it, “I can never live in disobedience to the Lord again.”  You guys, it was awful. Being in that sin wasn’t pleasurable and exciting, it was terrifying and lonely. I never want to be out of His will again. So, if taking tiny steps will keep me in His will, then tiny steps I will take.

For more information on my fictional novel, Kimly’s Trade, please visit our Indiegogo campaign by CLICKING ON THIS LINK.

 

Because I Said So
Kimly's Trade

Because I Said So

Jacquelyn Sill2 Comments

I didn’t think I would ever say it to one of my children, but then one day it just fell out of my mouth.

“Why do I have to practice piano before I watch Sponge Bob?”

“Why can’t both of the cats and the dog sleep in my bed with me?”

“Why can’t I jump off the wall into the swimming pool?”

And there it was. “Because I said so.”

Throwing out the quick response wasn’t always done because my children couldn’t understand the possible consequences. The majority of the time I gave them a quick answer was because I didn’t want to take the time to explain the reasons they needed to obey.

Lately, I have heard God whispering those four little words to me.

Working through my devotionals, alone in my quaint little home, driving along the highway looking at the desert landscape–all of these times I have heard a holy whisper from God telling me to finish a project I started. I have told God all of the reasons why I shouldn’t finish this project and insisted we talk about something else, but he keeps bringing it back up.

When I ask him why it is so important to him that I finish THIS particular project, he simply replies, “Because I said so.”

The project is one that began several years ago as a story God had placed on my heart. Questions arose as I watched a friend live courageously while dying of cancer. I met Irene through a book club. I was invited into a group where I knew none of the other women. The ladies were reading “The Art of Racing in the Rain” in which one of the characters has cancer. Irene had already been fighting her own battle and she spoke freely about the things she read in the book that were transforming some of her thoughts, as well as those things with which she disagreed. I was immediately drawn to her because not only was she one of the most passionate women I had met in a long time, but she was also one of the most honest. There was no tip-toeing around an issue with Irene. She was blunt and straight forward. In many ways, she was everything I wished I could be. I never became her, but somehow, through God’s grace, I have a daughter who is a lot like Irene.

38383_1495481222489_7299045_nWatching Irene drift away was devastating. She died in her home in July of 2012. I wouldn’t claim to have felt the pain as deeply as others. She has three children who survived her death, and a handful of very close friends. They are the ones who have had to live life without this soul to remind them of their beauty and their worth. They are the ones who have had to make decisions without her input–knowing full well that she would have had an opinion! But with Irene my closeness to her didn’t matter, because she had the ability to pull in people who barely knew her. She could make everyone feel included in the heart of whatever was happening.

When I first met her she was fierce and strong, like a lioness. Granted, she was a lioness in leopard print with a bright pink bow, but fierce none the less. In her sickness she was becoming frail and weak, like a kitten. Watching this strong, beautiful woman who was close to the same age as myself, slowly drift away was alarming, and made me question my own significance.

One day, before Irene was too weak, we had gone for a hike in Marshal Canyon. This hike is more like a walk through the trees, and Irene begged me to take her. While walking I found myself confessing some of my deepest fears about my own identity to Irene. Even though I would come away feeling selfish for talking about myself to a dying woman, she didn’t make me feel that way then, and I don’t think she would see it that way today. She listened to the fears I had about sins I was fearful I might be capable of committing, and the confusion I was dealing with in regards to my marriage.

FullSizeRender(6)It was on this hike that she encouraged me to take my questions, fears, and doubts and give them to God in the form of a book. She told me that the greatest strength I would have over these areas of weakness was to talk about them.

It was shortly after that hike that I began to write “Kimly’s Trade”. The tale of a woman who in the middle of a marital crisis travels to Thailand desperately searching for significance. One of the key verses that came to me as I told her story was Matthew 16:25. I began to realize that the question I was trying to answer could be found in that verse.

Then I set it aside.

Even though God had called me to write it and take it to completion, I didn’t. Perhaps it was pride, perhaps it was fear–maybe it was just plain laziness. Whatever the reasons were, or the mixture of reasons, I put aside the story I had written, and I didn’t finish what God had told me to do.

So many things happened after that.

I turned my back on writing. I turned my back on transparency.

IMG_9004Now, here we are several years later and hundreds of miles away from that hiking trail, and God has called me to finish what I started when I first penned Kimly’s Trade. Through the last year and a half of blogging and reading God has allowed me to see areas where my writing can be improved, He has given me new insight to old struggles, and he has removed a lot of the fear that once held me in restraint.

Tired of resisting God, and fully aware of how things turned out the last time I resisted Him, I returned to the keyboard, doing a lot of cringing and some major rewrites on Kimly’s Trade.

Finally, knowing this venture would require a step of faith, I submitted to him completely and started the fundraising campaign with Indiegogo to raise the money to get the manuscript in front of a professional editor and published. I did the research and put together a plan.

Ironically, the very day that I was set to start the campaign, I received some bad news that left me feeling more depleted than I had felt in a long time. My heart was sad, but I did not fail to recognize the coincidence in the timing of the bad news with the timing of taking this step. Stopping was not going to glorify God. Moving forward in obedience was all He was asking.

Even today, as I look at what is required to make Kimly’s Trade fully honoring to the Lord, I am filled with doubt. I find myself waking in the middle of the night and praying for God to help me with the rewrites and take the characters to a greater depth. Do you have any idea how strange it feels to be praying for fictional characters? Can you imagine how vulnerable a person feels when they find themselves discussing non-existent beings with the one who created every being in existence?

Without understanding why God would ask me to do something so silly, my fears set in and I ask God, “Why can’t I just blog? Why do I have to tell Kimly’s fictional story?”

And He responds, “Because I said so.”

Where do you come in? Quite simply, we can’t publish Kimly’s Trade without your help.

  • Share my blog! Share the campaign for Kimly’s Trade!
  • Use the Indiegogo share tools and share about this campaign! (Indiegogo measures this and pushes the campaign along!)
  • Pray for our marriage. Pray that we would be diligent in doing the things we have learned to remain steadfast and faithful. Pray for our continued healing and for God to be working through us and in us.
  • Pray for the writing. Pray that God will be glorified through Kimly’s Trade.
Kimly’s Trade, a Novel by Jackie Sill
Community · Kimly's Trade

Kimly’s Trade, a Novel by Jackie Sill

Jacquelyn SillLeave a comment

 

kimlyslittlesquareAmerican journalist, Kimly Denim, thought again about the man she met crossing the street in the center of the city of Chiang Mai. Something about him had left her feeling like a fluttering teen. Was it his eyes? She closed her own and visualized his gaze. Did he really have gray eyes? It wasn’t merely his appearance. Yes, he was handsome, but he wasn’t the first handsome man she had ever encountered. There was something different about him.  She closed her dark eyes and mentally chastised herself. She remembered the reason she had made the trip to the Asian country: The News Article. Humans. Slavery. Sex Trafficking. The last diversion she needed while navigating her way through this inhumane darkness was the distraction of a man.

Soon Kimly finds herself pulled into the darkest areas of the Slave Trade, as she is pursued by the Prostitution Lord, SuSuk.  Kimly flees the large city and heads north to the border of Burma. Travel through the foreign landscapes with Kimly and be pulled into the story of the slave child Noi.

Can Kimly trust her contacts? What is happening to the children in the border town of Mae Sai? Can Kimly believe there is a God when such atrocities are happening all around her?

The Story of Jackie and Kimly

Almost four years ago I wrote an 85,000 word fictional manuscript about a woman at a crossroads in her life. I named her Kimly because I saw her as a fierce lioness with a limited view of the strength she possessed. At the time I didn’t realize how significant Kimly’s story was to my own struggles. I also didn’t see how prophetic Kimly’s journey was to my own.
Within the manuscript I also unearthed the parallel story of a young girl sold into the sex trade.  When readers are drawn into Noi’s story of slavery and abandonment they will discover a story that is stimulating and triumphant. Reading the story allows readers to travel through the streets of Thailand on a life changing adventure filled with hope.

Kimly’s Next MoveIMG_9004

It’s time to move forward and give Kimly’s Trade a life outside of the Sill home.

Let’s Be Real…it’s The Story of God

Hashtags are great, and they are a catchy way to file photos and events. But, #TheStoryofDavidandJackie means nothing, while The Story of God means everything. 

  • Kimly’s Trade is the story of God’s redemption and restoration.
  • Time and again, God has been faithful to use stories as a means to spread the message of the gospel to people who might not hear about His love.
  • It’s time for that to happen again.

We can’t publish Kimly’s Trade without your help.

  • I am asking for donations to help fund Kimly’s Trade.   Make a Donation HERE
  • Look through the PERKS on the Indiegogo site and and pick the one that works for you!
  • Share the campaign for Kimly’s Trade!
  • Use the Indiegogo share tools and share about this campaign!
  • Pray for our marriage. Pray that we would be diligent in doing the things we have learned to remain steadfast and faithful.
  • Pray for the writing. As we are revisiting Kimly and Noi, pray that God will be glorified through their stories.

PLEASE go to Indiegogo and help us reach our goal! CLICK HERE and help us reach our goal!