Tracey Marley

One of the more beautiful blessings I’ve received since seeing Promise for Tomorrow published, was experiencing the reaction of my parents to that reality. You see my parents have always been proud of me, quick to give a congratulations when one was due, and have pretty much been open minded when I wanted to try something new. When I relayed the fact that I had written a book and was pursuing it through the publishing process, I could tell they were happy, excited even, but the reality of what was going to happen wasn’t fully hitting home to them.

Throughout the eight plus months of editing and design they would ask how it was going, what was it like and when the book would be out. They watched my kids so I could work, even gave their input on the cover design, font choice and layout. It wasn’t until I got the final proof from Tate, almost a year later, that I saw it finally click for them. In particularly, my dad.

“I got the proof,” I said, holding up the first hard copy as I strolled into their backyard one sunny afternoon. My parents were working their much loved flowers and grass. Dad put up the water hose and joined my mom who had taken the book from me and was starting to cry. His bottom lip trembled as he took the book from her and wiped his hands on his shorts so as not to dirty the pages. He flipped through the chapters, eyes filling. There in the yard all sweaty and grimy, my parents were more proud of me than they have ever been in their lives and I knew it. They finally had something tangible they could put his hands on. It clicked and they cried. Big, fat, happy tears that I will remember till the day I die. This is not an exaggeration. I’m thirty-one. In graduation ceremonies where I was at the top of my class, in hospital rooms where I birthed their fourth and fifth grandbabies, these kinds of tears were never shed!  Those things were important, but this was so in a different way.

Weeks later when I got the actual books, my dad was the first one in line to buy his even though I’d already given him and mom a personalized copy. He told me he wanted one for himself because he was going to read it. I know many people won’t appreciate the magnitude of this not knowing who my father is, but this really is huge. My mother loves to read, but dad…he’s a worker, a man’s man, a trucker. Don’t get me wrong. My dad is smart, wise even, but most of his intelligence comes from real life experiences. This will probably be the first book he’s ever read outside of a magazine, a Sunday school commentary or the Bible. He is 64 and is actually reading Christian romance because I wrote it. He keeps telling me if he ever sees a copy in a gas station he’s going to buy it.

Same thing with my husband. There are some things he’s just not into, romance novels being one of them. For me he read the book and went on to discuss the story and characters with detail. Knowing the men in my life were willing to venture into the uncharted waters of fiction in order to get a better glimpse of my female heart truly has been a beautiful blessing. One I will never forget.