What's in a Name?

My mom sent me a photo this morning and asked if I knew the Angela Meuser who has her name on IDAhope since that used to be my name.

I responded that I am this Angela Meuser. See, when my first husband left and I had to raise three kids on my own, God provided a publishing job just for me. There was a local printer who had a customer ask if they could print a book for him. They did and thought, "We should offer to print books! We should start a publishing company!" They put me in charge.

For two years I got to teach writing classes and edit manuscripts and plan book launch parties. This book, IDAhope, was my idea. I said, "Let's do a Chicken Soup for the Idaho Soul. We'll publish a bunch of stories in one book, and all the authors will buy copies to sell." So we did.

My daughter, who was nine at the time, wrote a story about learning to kneeboard. I got to publish it in IDAhope, and she had her first book-signing at Borders before my debut novel even came out.

If you didn't notice, there's another name on that book. Martin Shepard. He owned the printing company and was my boss. He died of cancer shortly after I left, and the small publishing company died with him.

So when I say that God provided a job just for me, I'm completely serious. I feel the same way about my debut novel. I shouldn't have sold my first book on proposal alone. But God wanted me to know I could do this. God wanted me to know that not all dreams die.

I may not be Angela Meuser anymore, but her legacy lives on inside of me, and I want to spread it wherever I go. There is always hope.