Writing from the heart: When does writing a story become a published book?

Dee Hoodcamp considered her scribblings, as she calls them, a mere hobby; a way to make sense of the events in her life. When she gave her manuscript to a friend, who asked if she could read one of her stories, the reaction she received was unexpected: “Other people need to read this! It needs to be available in Koorong Bookstores,” she told her. Thus, Letters to Tess became a book.

In Dee’s first fiction, Letters to Tess deals with young people, people who think that a fun life is a good life, and who do not see the need for God. People to whom the Bible is merely a book of fairytales.

Until things go pear-shaped in their lives and they need something more.

In writing, Dee follows in the footsteps of her mother, who was an avid story-teller. And growing up in a family where God and His Word were central, it is unthinkable that He would not feature in the stories she writes. To escape the bustle in the family home, Dee, the second of ten children, became a day dreamer. Later, during the many road trips through Australia, her husband, focussing on the road, was not very talkative. This gave her plenty of opportunity spin yarns in her mind, which she later put to paper.

Letters to Tess is a contemporary story about a husband and wife, Eddy and Tess, whose relationship suffers the strains of betrayal, deception, pride and guilt, resulting in the incarceration of Eddy for a crime he has not committed. It tells how different people manage their problems when their comfortable lives are disturbed. Both Tess and Eddy have to fight their feelings of guilt, whilst at the same time, not knowing how to.

The broad spectrum of characters around the protagonists each have their own story and this impacts the change in Eddy and the way he sees himself and the world around him. No doubt readers will recognise people of their own acquaintance in Eddy’s faithful friends, the inmates of the jail and the characters who, with the best of intentions, try to help the pair.

As a result of the author having a tenderness for all characters, each of them has been given careful and honest treatment; the good as well as the bad. She never loses sight of the vulnerability of humankind and the need for a Saviour, knowing that there will always be those who stubbornly refuse the forgiveness and redemption that faith in Christ offers.

Coincidental with the life of the characters, a large part of the book makes no mention of Jesus, God or the Bible. This makes it accessible to Christians and secular readers alike. Dee does not make saved people superior to the non-believers, or criminals inferior to law-abiding citizens.  And as the author has refrained from melodrama and sentimentality, Letters to Tess is a highly engaging and satisfying read, for both male and female readers.

Dee attends Hervey Bay Baptist Church in Queensland, where she is active in Pastoral care and a program called COACH. This has brought home the many needs that many ordinary people have, and the necessity for old-fashioned friendship.

Letters to Tess is a compelling, thought-provoking book that will keep you highly intrigued. Published by Ark House, it is now available globally.