The Sound of Rain, Volume I of the Jayson Wolfe Story

The Sound of Rain, Volume I of the Jayson Wolfe Story


Featured Song: “Funeral for a Friend,” by Elton John


Some years back, I had just finished up a novel that had needed to be turned in by the end of September. I mentally decided that I would not do any more writing until after the holidays. I had some other big projects going on, my son was submitting mission papers, and Christmas was coming. About a week later, through a twenty-minute drive, the bulk of the first three volumes of the Jayson Wolfe Story came to my mind with clarity. Initially I was very frustrated. I just had too much to do to write a story of this magnitude. I decided to do what I had done at other times when a story idea came and I wasn’t in a position to write it. I sat down to just type out my ideas so I wouldn’t lose them. But the more I typed, the more it kept coming, and after a number of days, I had to accept that I just needed to write the book, or I would never get any peace. Ten weeks later, on December 16th, (Oh, how I remember) I printed out a manuscript that was over 1,000 pages long. And surprisingly, it was very good and ended up needing very little revision. Miraculously, I also managed to care for my family, help my son prepare for his mission, and do Christmas preparations as well as write the book. The story felt so much like it had come through me, rather than from me. It was such an amazing experience! However, I knew that my publisher wouldn’t print a book that long, and I could see no possible way to divide it into comfortable separate novels. So, I just held onto it, life went on, and I wrote other things. A day came when I felt like I needed to propose the idea of this story to my editors. Their response was, “Oh, we’ll just chop it into three parts; no problem.” For that reason, the first three novels of this series can’t really stand on their own. The first part is intriguing, the second part full of heavy conflict, and the third part is where all the good stuff happens. That’s because the three together make a complete story.


The way this book came to me so quickly, and with such clarity, is just one of many miracles that are associated with it for me. The music is another amazing part of it, and the timing as well. I’ll get into that more when I write about part two.