Sometimes when I write, the words just flow. When that happens I always know that I will like it when it is finished. If it doesn't flow, many times I will just delete it. There is all the difference when I write from my heart rather than from my head.

There are times that I wake up during the night with thoughts running through my head and all I want to do is to get out of bed and write it down before I forget it. One of my all time favorite poems came to me like that. I woke up at one o'clock in the morning. I was thinking "The temperature outside was seventeen below. Old Sarah sat in her big chair and rocked it to and fro". I lay there wondering where that silly thought had come from. Suddenly I realized it was a poem. I crawled out of bed and sat on  the couch in the dark and created the entire poem verbally. I wrote nothing down. I was afraid that if I didn't write it down I would forget it, but I was too tired to take the time to write. I decided that if it was as good as I thought, I would remember it in the morning, and if I didn't remember it, then it must not have been that good. It was three o'clock by then, so I climbed back into bed and fell asleep. The next morning I got up, sat down and wrote the whole poem. I hadn't forgotten a single word. To this day I cry every time I read it.

Last night something woke me up at midnight. All I could think about was the second book in the Little Chrisamee series. I have started writing it already. The things I thought of last night are my favorite part of the story so far. Now if I can just put it on paper the way it came to me last night it should be good. I guess time will tell.

Well, here is to those wonderful thoughts in the night.

About five years ago I was sitting in my living room and thought of a little angel observing the goings on outside of heaven. Suddenly I found myself writing as fast as I could. I had no thought of publishing a book. All I could think of was writing the story that was unfolding in my head. I was just having fun and never expected it to go any further than that.

I was using a pen and paper. There is something very personal about it. I don't know why so few people do that anymore. Computers are wonderful things, and are great fun because you can make all kinds of mistakes and just wipe them away with the touch of a key. When you make a mistake with a pen, you live with it. It forces you to strive for perfection. Then there is also the feel of the pen in your hand. I think it is probably like an artist holding a paint brush. Every movement of your hand creates something.

Sometimes I think about the old writings that have shown up occaionally in the handwriting of some of the greatest writers ever known. It is truly a piece of the writer. That is becoming a thing of the past because there won't be many hand written manuscripts to be found from our generation. You just don't get the same feeling when you see something typed on a computer. And yet, here I am, typing away.

For me, it is the same as reading a printed book compared to downloading a book on the computer. I read a lot of articles on the computer, and that isn't going to stop, but there is just something special about holding a book in my hands. It adds another whole demention to reading.

I wish I had more time to write my manuscript with a pen. Maybe someday, but until then I will keep on typing. I still love Little Chrisamee, the angel I created, and she and I will continue to spend a lot of time together. She will be in the computer, and  me sitting in front of it.

My name is Janice Austin Bates and I just published my first book. It is called "The Adventures of Little Chrisamee - Creation". The story is about a little angel who finds a window in the side of heaven where she sits for the next six days and watches creation unfold. At the end of every day she runs to the throne room and tells Father God what she saw and asks questions about it. The idea of the book is to tell children the story of creation and answer their questions.

I have a website being designed where you can order the book. It should be up and running in a week or two. I will let you know when it is ready.

In early May I will be part of a book signing at a quaint little book store called All About Books. It is located in Redding CA. Come join us if you can. I would love to meet you.