I guess we hoped by now we would all be heading back to offices, or bars, or gyms after the Christmas break, but now we’ve been told as a whole country once again to Stay at Home. Perhaps this one will be easier because (let’s face it) we saw it coming, or because we’re professionals at this game now, we know how to play. Then again, this isn’t like the summer of 2020, where the sun shone and the rain stayed away and we could go outside for our daily exercise and dog walks, when queuing for supermarkets was almost enjoyable because you got a bit of a tan doing so. No, this lockdown could be a lot harder, not least because of the weather, also because of the weariness we are now all feeling.
We need something to pick us up.
As I watched and heard announcements from various leaders I saw the same thing in each of their eyes: a pleading look of desperate hope. Right now all we have is hope: hope that people will follow the rules yet again; hope that the new variant is not that strong; hope that the vaccination roll-out will go to plan; hope that the vaccine will bring us through the other side of this.
This is not going to be easy, and there’s a lot of doom and gloom media out there right now and I don’t want to add to that. So, after looking back on all that we have done last year, I turn my focus to our upcoming announcements as an indie publisher. We’ve got a few more books due out this year, plus some exciting audiobooks and a shiny new website coming your way in the next couple of weeks. We’re excited to be working again with Care for the Family, LICC, and to also be teaming up with events such as Big Church Read in the next few months. Plus, with Lent just round the corner, we’re starting to think about some of the rhythms we want to get (back) into with some of the books we’ve released over the past couple of years.
Some of you reading this may have faced truly life changing events this year, times when you might have asked more than ever where is God in all of this. We know our work is a small drop in the ocean of Everything Else (and because you’re still reading this I want to thank you again for your continuous support!), but we hope we can provide an escape, or a respite, or some encouragement and inspiration through this Lockdown, that the words of our authors can give some points for reflection and thoughts for your personal situations, however hard they may be, that they might be for the glory of God.
We’re in your corner, we’re here for you, and we want to keep bringing you the books and words you need in these tough times.
About the Author
Aidan is one of Muddy Pearl’s latest recruits, as Sales & Marketing Officer. When not at work, Aidan can be found cycling around the country lanes of South London, photographing architecture in central London, or enjoying craft coffee on the sofa with a good read (anything from real-life novels, to coffee table books and travel guides, to biographies and accounts of real life rage-against-the-machine stories).
