One Not-Quite-A-Hit Wonder

You may be wondering why Jesus is frolicking with children who are wearing vintage swimwear…and where Jesus is the other nine months

In the Stone Ages, when I proposed this book idea to a Christian publisher, I had a series in mind. I’ll write these little gems for each of the four seasons. They will be full of faith building stories, along with activities for toddlers and preschoolers to do with a parent. The message was that whatever you do, Jesus is with you, thus the title. (And, yes, I realize it is grammatically incorrect. That’s called “poetic license,” right?)

So, I signed the contract for the first one,  Jesus and Me in The Summer and began the thinking stage for Jesus and Me in the Fall (pumpkins!), Jesus and Me in the Winter (Don’t even!) and Jesus and me in the Spring (Think marigolds in styrofoam cups!).

But, in the end, “moderate sales” weren’t enough to pursue three more books. Sadly, Jesus and Me in The Summer was my one not-quite-a-hit wonder.

How dreadful for that “moderate” sales group of children. I can only imagine the spiritual scars this inadvertently caused, the wayward ways that could have been thwarted had they been able to experience Jesus beyond the summer months.

Could it be that I share something in common with the author of Footsteps In The Sand?  Perhaps “Anonymous” is on the downlow because his or her readers were left to believe that Jesus was also just a summer companion. A wise move, staying anonymous. For me, it’s too late. My name’s on the cover.

The pressure of influence is real for a writer. Lately,  I tend to avoid that by sharing words of no social redeeming value or significance. If a reader stumbles upon my blog and happens to smile, great.  If not, at least I haven’t led them astray.

But, before I recommit to  the realm of nonsense writing, there’s one more thing I need to say:

Dear Group of Tiny Christians who read my book in the 90’s:

I hope you were able to find some stuff to do with your parents before cellphones and tablets directed their attention elsewhere. At least Pinterest came along and there’s a good chance you did. I had ideas for other books.  I really wanted to teach you how to grow grass out of egg shells with faces. And about The Golden Rule. Oh, well. 

The worst part is I may have given you an inaccurate account about Jesus. This may come as a shock, but He’s with you ALL the time. Yep! Not just in the summer.  You may need to rethink some things. 

Jennie Todd, author of  Jesus and Me In The Summer 

Just for poops and giggles (children’s writing mode), I checked out Amazon to see if my book still exists. It’s selling for $.01.   Also, someone  attached his name as author, along with mine.  There was no “John Todd” in the making of my book. If he’s a glory seeker, he could’ve chosen a better book (like maybe one that sells for $2.99).