Legendary Writing by Author Sydney Avey

Family legends are precious. Parents caution children with tales of wayward aunts and cousins. They inspire budding talent with accounts of Grandma’s life on the vaudeville stage, and encourage resilience with stories of ancestors who pulled covered wagons over snow banks to start new lives in the golden West. Stories like these bond families together over generations. And if you have a writer in the family, they may pop up in a memoir or a novel.

Both of my novels contain the stuff of family legends. If you want to work a time honored story into your writing, here some points to consider.

Feel free to take liberties. Your account does not need to be told exactly as you heard it. It does not need to align to how others remember it. Allow the legend to serve the story you are writing. You are after emotional truth, not historical accuracy.  I’m writing a novella based on ancestral stories I heard from family members, source material I inherited, and genealogy I’ve researched. I want to include a bizarre tale of a trolley accident and a miraculous healing that is legend in my family.  There are numerous gaps in my knowledge of certain facts, so I’m inventing some of the details. That’s what fiction writers do. 

Consider how other family members might respond. How much consideration you give to friends and relatives who may have a different take on the family legend is highly personal. Frankly, I decided to wait until older family members who would have been offended passed away. I did not want to damage family relationships or feel restricted from telling the story the way I chose. Now, my close family is just as intrigued as I am to release the black sheep from their pens and let them have their say. 

Treat your legendary characters with respect. Families often have whipping boys, an ancestor who gets blamed for every negative character trait that turns up through the generations. By all accounts, my great grandmother was one tough customer. On the face of it, she abandoned a marriage, put her career ahead of her children at a time when most women did not work, and used her high intelligence, quick wit, and acerbic tongue to make life miserable for my mother. How I wish I had asked the questions that might have provided a more balanced picture (or not), but we don’t think to probe until it’s too late. Rather than perpetuating a family tradition to vilify, try seeing the legend from a different point of view. Our legend is not clear on what prompted great grandma to leave her husband and go to work. Therein lies a story. 

Do you have a family story that wants telling? Tell it with creativity, love, and respect and you have a jar of preserves spiced just right to appeal to a reader’s taste, and one that will last in a family’s memory. 

Sydney Avey lives in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Yosemite, California, and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a lifetime of experience writing news for non profits and corporations. 

Buy links:

The Lyre and the Lambs by Sydney Avey on Amazon. ISBN 978-1-

938708-31-2 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-938708-33-4 (ebook).

The Sheep Walker’s Daughter on Amazon. ISBN 978-1-938708-19-

0 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-938708-20-6 (ebook). ISBN 978-1-

938708-30-5 (audiobook). 

Contact links:

Email: mailto:sydneyavey@gmail.com
Website: http://sydneyavey.com
Blog: http://sydneyavey.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook/sydney.avey
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SydneyAvey  
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sydneyavey
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/yosemitesyd/boards/

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What's the Deal with Backstory? by Author Ane Mulligan

Contrary to popular belief, backstory is a good thing. Now, before y'all call for a lynching party, let me tell you what it' good for and what it's not good for. After all, backstory helps you, the author know your character. What makes her tick? What formed her worldview? Why does he dislike women who have a good business head? 

Let's get the "not" out of the way first. The reader does not need to know the backstory of your characters to understand the plot—at least not in the beginning. A bit of mystery about the character is a good thing. It draws the reader onward to find out why this otherwise nice guy is so antagonistic to the heroine.

I always tell new writers to think of it this way. You're attending a party, and you host introduces you to a new neighbor. You start off the conversation by telling her your life history, and the new neighbor will be in jeopardy of whiplash, looking for the host to rescue her. 

Readers who are bombarded with backstory in the first few chapters of a novel with either ski over it or close the book for good. Either way, your time has been wasted by putting it in.

Now, let's look at what backstory is good for and how to discover it. First, I conduct a character interview (CI). Think of that as a journalist interviewing a subject for an article. In my CI, I dig and prod for the character's secrets and for his or her fears. What happened in their childhood that had a major effect of them?

After I've completed the CI, I write a stream of consciousness (SOC) backstory. This is where I go back two or more generations. People are the product of their ancestors' worldview. For example, let's say your great grandparents lived through the Great Depression. They probably could get more for a quarter than anyone you know. They taught your grandparents, who taught your parents. But did your parents continue that trait or did they, because of their more affluent status, break away from it?

It's within the SOC backstory where I discover so much about my character. Besides their worldview, I learn the lie they believe about themselves, and that lie will color their motivation, and that motivation will drive their plotline. 

In my debut novel, Chapel Springs Revival, my secondary lead, Patsy, comes from a loving home. Her mother is a well-known artist and her father a country doctor. She grew up without them around a lot. One might think her lie is that she's unloved, but that wasn't it. Patsy believes she's helpless – powerless to fix things. In her own life, she falls victim to it by ignoring problems. If she doesn't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist. 

Your characters will either fall victim to their lie or they will try to prove it wrong. Remember, the key is: Lie drives motivation drives plotline.

Much of what I learn never makes it into the manuscript, but if makes the characters come alive. They're three-dimensional and when they are real to you, the author, they become real to the reader. 

One of my beta readers said after reading Chapel Springs Revival, "I love the people. I want to find out more about their lives."

And that's the goal for backstory. 

While a large, floppy straw hat is her favorite, Ane has worn many different ones: hairdresser, legislative affairs director (that's a fancy name for a lobbyist), drama director, multi-published playwright, humor columnist, and novelist. Her lifetime experience provides a plethora of fodder for her Southern-fried fiction (try saying that three times fast). She firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. President of the award-winning literary site, Novel Rocket, Ane resides in Suwanee, GA, with her artist husband, her chef son, and two very large dogs. Her debut book, Chapel Springs Revival released Sept 8^th.

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Write What You. . .No? by Author Betsy S. Amant

As an author, I’ve attended many conferences and sat through a ton classes on the craft of writing. And while the courses taught a variety of topics, all of which were extremely enlightening and helped me grow in my craft, one theme seemed to rise throughout each one—a niggling concept or message that dug intentional talons into my heart and held on tight. 

That theme was “write what you know.”

That theme has been argued before, of course. Because, technically, that message would mean that you could never write a romantic suspense story with a policeman hero if you, yourself, were not a policeman. That message would mean that you would never be able to write about a an astronaut if you’ve never been to space, or a race-car driver, or a military vet, or a doctor, or a lawyer if you had never driven race cars, manned the front lines in combat, earned a tough degree or passed the Bar. 

And very unfortunately for me, that would mean I would have never been able to write about a female baker longing to break free of her small town, average-flavored life and make it big in the culinary world, because—ahem—I can’t bake to save my life. Oh sure, I can whip out a Pillsbury roll of cookie dough with the best of them, but when it comes to creating unique cupcake delights like my heroine Kat Varland, my expertise definitely lies more in the “taste testing” field.

So how can an author write what they know, if they don’t know all of these different careers and venues? 

I believe, while the message is taught with good intentions and is really more of a prod to thoroughly research your stories before hitting “send” to your editor, that it’s really more of a nod to the author’s heart. 

I write inspirational fiction, which means all of my stories have a subtle faith theme throughout. Therefore, my characters are filtered through my own Christ-centered worldview. And my experiences in my faith and in my walk with Christ are going to be evident, more or less, in one way or another, through my character’s faith walk in the story. 

How can I honestly write a story with a deep-rooted theme of forgiveness if I’m harboring grudges in my own life? How can I successfully pen a novel with a message of restoration if I’m fighting negativity and depression in my thoughts? How can I offer a legit source of joy and hope to my readers if I’m secretly at my keyboard, hopeless and afraid?

I can’t. I have to write what I know.

So for me, that means doing the research not just for my story’s plot, but for my character’s hearts. What internal conflict will they overcome? More than likely, it’s going to be one I’ve recently overcome or am learning to overcome right along with them. 

The characters in my new release All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes both learn some hard-earned lessons in sacrifice. Heroine and cupcake baker Kat Varland must learn how to shake off her insecurities and fears and set free her dreams while trusting that the ultimate Dream Giver (God) has her best interest close to His heart. She has to believe that He can turn even her most average-flavored dream into one bursting with color and sweetness. And hero and high school football coach Lucas Brannen must discover that sometimes, letting go and surrendering his own perfect play gives God the opportunity to call a surprise play that lands the ultimate victory. 

While writing this story, I had to learn similar lessons. Like Kat, I had to learn to let go of my shattered dreams and the insecurities holding me back, and believe in a better future. And like Lucas, I had to learn that surrendering what I’m holding so tight actually stifles and crushes it, rather than controls it. There is freedom in sacrifice and in letting go—and there is reward to obedience. 

And that is why I will always strive to write what I know. 

Betsy St. Amant has a heart for three things – chocolate, new shoes and sharing the amazing news of God’s grace through her novels. She lives in Louisiana with her adorable story-telling young daughter, a collection of Austen novels, and an impressive stash of Pickle Pringles. A freelance journalist and fiction author, Betsy is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and is multi-published in Contemporary Romance. When she’s not reading, writing, or singing along to the Tangled soundtrack with her daughter, Betsy enjoys inspirational speaking and teaching, and can usually be found somewhere in the vicinity of a white-chocolate mocha.

www.betsystamant.com

www.writergetsreal.blogspot.com

@betsystamant

https://www.facebook.com/BetsySt.Amant

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Developing a Work of Fiction by Author Carrie Stuart Parks

I didn’t think I could write. 

Not fiction at any rate. Over the course of several years, I discovered I could write nonfiction. I’d successfully written and illustrated several how-to drawing books. When I visited the publisher, North Light Media, my editor said I had a great voice. I grinned, thanked her, and asked, “what’s ‘voice’?” 

I decided to write a non-fiction book about signs of deception from a Biblical perspective. As a forensic artist and law enforcement instructor, I experienced and studied deception displayed by certain ‘victims’ of crime. Each chapter started with an illustration from my forensic work: a young man who claims to have been attacked by a ninja, a bank robbery case where the robber was the bank teller, a killer who murdered his wife and said it was two other men. I had great stories. But … I needed to fictionalize them. I discovered it wasn’t that hard.

I pondered the ease of working in fiction. I also thought about my childhood. I grew up, and still live, on a 685 acre ranch in the mountains of North Idaho. We had a lot of horses. Every chance I had, I would gallop madly through the woods on horseback imagining I was a French resistance fighter pursued by Germans, or Velvet Brown about to win the Grand National, or an early pioneer chased by an irate Cheyanne war party. I could be very creative in inventing reasons to roam through the woods on horseback.

So maybe I wasn’t so unimaginative…and I loved to read…I did write poetry in college…so what’s so hard about writing a novel?

Boy howdy, was I in for a learning curve! Show, not tell. Passive language. Plot points. No tension. Thin characters. You name it, I had to learn it. I really believed I was writing well. And I had an awesome mentor: NY Times best-selling author, Frank Peretti. But I was blind to the errors in my writing.  I finally decided to study each writing point I should be doing automatically and study it until it was second nature. This took years. Ten to be exact. In between I suffered discouragement, tears, and occasional moments of above average writing. 

The payoff finally came. Terry Burns of Hartline agency signed me a day after reading my finished manuscript. Thomas Nelson expressed interest twenty-seven minutes after receiving a book proposal. Five out of eight publishers receiving the proposal wanted the full, with two major publishers vying for publication rights in a three book deal at auction. Pretty heady stuff. 

So, let me share some hard-learned advice: keep writing. There are only two types of writers: those who have been discouraged, and those who will be discouraged. Listen to other writers who tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Keep growing and learning. Everyone starts down that long journey to publication the same way. And God Bless.

Carrie Stuart Parks is an award-winning fine artist and internationally known forensic artist. She teaches forensic art courses to law enforcement professionals and is the author/illustrator of numerous books on drawing. Carrie began to write fiction while battling breast cancer and was mentored by New York Times best-selling author Frank Peretti. Now in remission, she continues to encourage other women struggling with cancer. 

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How I Stay Inspired and Motivated by Author Deborah Raney

Everybody seems to have a Top 5, Top 10, or Top 20 list these days, so I came up with a few lists of things this writer loves.  

I’ve learned that one of the best ways to spark creativity, break writer’s block, and most importantly, avoid carpal tunnel, back issues, and other writer’s woes, is to not confine myself to my desk. In fact, I rarely sit at my desk to write. Instead, these are some of my favorite writing spots:

  

DEB’S TOP 5 FAVORITE PLACES TO WRITE

1. The table on my back deck under an umbrella
2. Mead’s Corner, a favorite coffee shop
3. My cozy office chair beside my Keurig
4. The living room sofa in front of the fire
5. In the passenger seat on a road trip to visit grandkids

Music is another great way to tap into new levels of creativity, and to capture the mood of the scene I’m working on. Movie soundtracks provide the perfect music to write by because they’ve been designed to set a mood, yet they are mostly nonintrusive. Some of my favorites are:

DEB’S TOP 5 MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS TO WRITE BY

1. Band of Brothers  
2. Braveheart
3. Charlotte Gray
4. Finding Neverland
5. The Tourist 

One of a writer’s biggest downfalls is the fact that it’s a very sedentary lifestyle. And the temptation to eat while we ponder the next scene is great. I try to use my writing snacks as a reward for reaching certain goals. For instance, for every 500 words I write, I might allow myself 5 M&Ms. Oh, the games we play to keep our seats in the seat till the book is complete. Here are my favorite snacks to write with:

DEB’S TOP 5 SNACKS TO EAT WHILE WRITING

1. Gobstoppers (mini jawbreakers)
2. Coffee Nips
3. Peanut M&Ms
4. Pistachios 
5. Potato Chips (I didn’t say the 5 healthiest!)

How about you (as a reader or writer)? What are some of your favorites to read and write by?

Deborah Raney accomplished something very few authors are able to do with their first book. Her debut novel, A Vow to Cherish (originally published in 1996), inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched her writing career after 20 happy years as a stay-at-home mom. Since then, her books have won numerous awards including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. 

Raney’s newest novel, Home to Chicory Lane, releases in August as the first book in the Chicory Inn Novels series for Abingdon Press Fiction.  

For more information about Raney and her books, visit her online home at deborahraney.com, become a fan on Facebook (deborah.raney) or follow her on Twitter (@authordebraney).  

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Keeping Secrets: The Power of Secrets in Your Characters’ Lives by Author Sarah Sundin

“Want to hear a secret?” Those words make ears perk up from elementary school playgrounds to high school cafeterias to corporate offices. Secrets fascinate us.

Secrets can be powerful tools in fiction. When readers sense a secret is in play, their ears perk up, and they’re drawn into the story to ferret out that secret—and to watch the consequences.

Almost all characters keep a secret. Your job as a novelist is to know why she keeps that secret, to decide when and how to reveal it, how to conceal it beforehand, and what the consequences of revelation will be.

Why a Secret?

Why does your character keep her secret concealed? Perhaps she fears physical consequences, such as being arrested for a crime she committed. Perhaps she is ashamed of something she’s done and doesn’t want people to think less of her. Perhaps she’s hurt or betrayed someone and doesn’t want that person to know. Perhaps she thinks she’s moved past it and would rather forget about it, thank you very much. In In Perfect Time, World War II flight nurse Lt. Kay Jobson comes across as bold and confident. If her secret were revealed, she’d be seen as weak and vulnerable, everything she’s worked hard to overcome. So she doesn’t reveal her past to even her closest friends—and she rarely broods on it.

When to Reveal?

When do you want the secret revealed to the reader or to other characters? These may or may not be the same moments. The most powerful times to reveal secrets are at the turning point between Acts I and II, the crisis moment in the exact middle of the novel, the turning point between Acts II and III, and at the climax. The revelation of the secret can drive one of those crucial moments or the secret can be revealed by those events. You may also choose to reveal a secret at other times, particularly when the revelation serves to build relationships. In In Perfect Time, Kay reveals her secret at the end of Act I. However, the hero, C-47 pilot Lt. Roger Cooper, reveals his secret to Kay in a quieter friendship-building scene early in Act II—but Kay’s knowledge of that secret drives the novel’s midpoint crisis.

A Slow Revelation

Sometimes the reader knows the secret from the beginning. But when the character conceals her secret from the reader, clues need to be dropped to build the mystery. When the secret comes out, you don’t want the reader to feel cheated and say, “What? How could that be?” But you also don’t want them to say, “Duh. Saw that a mile away.” Instead, you want them to say, “Ah ha. Now I understand.” Carefully spaced, carefully worded clues intrigue the reader. Sometimes I list or highlight all those clues in the manuscript and examine them. Do they tell enough? Too much? Should I pare them back? Or do I need more? The best time to drop clues is when the character is unguarded, due to stress, grief, anger, or intimacy.

How to Reveal?

Sometimes secrets are wrested out into the open against the character’s will. Sometimes they are revealed by trauma, when the character’s defenses fall and she spills her heart. Sometimes characters deliberately reveal their secrets to shock or repel people. And sometimes characters reveal their secrets in sweet moments of trust and friendship. What works best for your story?

The Consequences

Now her secret is out. Does this bring utter devastation as her world falls apart? Does it drive away her friends and loved ones? Does it bring closeness and deeper friendship? Remember, different people respond in different ways. The same secret may lead one person to reject her and another to embrace her. Ultimately, if you are writing a story about hope and honesty and faith, the long-term consequences of the revelation should bring healing for the character.

Do you like to use secrets in your novels? Do you have any tips to share?

Bio:

Sarah Sundin is the author of six historical novels, including In Perfect Time (Revell, August 2014). Her novel On Distant Shores was a double finalist for the 2014 Golden Scroll Awards. Sarah lives in northern California with her husband and three children, works on-call as a hospital pharmacist, and teaches Sunday school and women’s Bible studies.

Social media links

Website: http://www.sarahsundin.com

Blog: http://www.sarahsundin.com/blog

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SarahSundinAuthor 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/sarahsundin 

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sarahsundin 

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Dreams Deferred by Author Susan Lawrence

I never knew how to answer the standard question asked of children. What do you want to be when you grow up? I had four dreams – to be a wife, a mom, a teacher, and a writer. And I planned to have them all. 

At the tender age of twenty I became a wife, and only a few years later I landed my first job as a teacher of special needs children. The dream of being a mom took longer to realize – infertility claimed eight heartbreaking years before I held my little miracle son in my arms.

Two years later we were blessed with a second son, and four years after that we adopted our daughter. I spent a few fleeting years home with babies, and then I continued teaching, but I never lost my dream of being a writer. I wrote bits and pieces: kid’s plays, magazine articles, stories I could jot down while my family napped.

Life went by in a whirlwind of Little League games, spelling tests, and bedtime prayers. One by one our children grew up and moved away. My husband and I woke to the surprise of a middle-aged empty nest. The time for the fourth dream had arrived. My school district offered me the opportunity of early retirement with a benefit package. I could devote myself to pursuing the dream that persisted.

I wrote and rewrote. I went to conferences, studied the craft of writing, and established myself in a writing community. It was far more difficult than I’d anticipated. I achieved some small successes and encouragement from professionals. And I didn’t give up. I wrote and rewrote again.

In May 2014, seven years from the month I retired, my first novel,  Atonement for Emily Adams, was released. The main character, Emily, also dreams of being a mom. Her dream is deferred, too, not by life, but by death – the death of a child. Burdened by guilt, Emily tries to make up for her wrong by doing good works. Readers call the story excellent, inspirational, and satisfying.

Not simply a good story, Atonement for Emily Adams is fiction with a purpose. This late life dream-come-true of mine has the potential to make many dreams possible. Several months ago my husband, Gary, and I heard Scott and Marcia Borg, missionaries in Swaziland, Africa, share their vision to build a home for babies and children, orphaned and abandoned in the AIDs ravaged country. Swaziland natives would staff and run the facility and the children would be raised in a home-like atmosphere. The land had been purchased, but funds were needed to build.

Gary and I knew we had the opportunity to make a difference for these children who had no one to fight for them. We decided to donate our proceeds from my novel to Pour International, the non-profit organization founded by the Borgs. If Atonement for Emily Adams sells well, the book will build the abandoned baby home.

The dream of one little starry-eyed girl was a very long time coming. But it now has the potential for touching thousands of lives. A dream deferred is only a bulb, waiting underground for the right season to grow, sprout, and blossom.

Has your dream been deferred? What are you doing to nourish your underground dream?

Susan Lawrence, a graduate of Kansas State Teacher’s College, taught special needs children for thirty-three years before retiring to devote more time to writing, speaking, and storytelling. She has published two family devotion books, contributed to three anthologies, and has written articles for various Christian publications. Atonement for Emily Adams is her first novel. Susan lives with her husband, Gary, in the woods of Iowa. She is the mother of three and grandmother of seven beautiful and brilliant grandchildren. Contact Susan at: srlauthor@mchsi.com.

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Allegorically Speaking by Author Yvonne Anderson

Click to Purchase Kindle Version

“How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?” The folk song asks this rhetorical question not because the songwriter’s looking for an answer, but to prod the hearer to think.

Another rhetorical device that’s familiar to everyone, though not always identified as rhetorical, is allegory. When used in literature, a character, object, setting, plot, or other component is used to represent something in the real world. And, like a rhetorical question, its purpose is to encourage the reader to use his noodle. 

What comes to mind when you think of allegory? Pilgrim’s Progress? Animal Farm? The Chronicles of Narnia? They all fit the bill. But I’m not sure Gateway to Gannah does.

What’s Gateway to Gannah, you may ask? It’s a sci-fi series written by yours truly. I released the third book a couple months ago and plan to publish the last title in October. Never heard of it? I’m not surprised. Few people have.

When Sandra mentioned my doing a post about allegory, my first thought was, Huh? Because, you see, I never thought of Gannah as an allegory. Its themes are all pretty straightforward, not veiled in symbolism. 

In Pilgrim’s Progress, the protagonist’s journey is a metaphor for the Christian walk. In Animal Farm, the Russian Revolution is portrayed by a coalition of animals taking over the farm and establishing pigs as the new ruling class. In the Narnia stories, a wise, powerful lion represents Jesus Christ. 

In Gannah, however, people are people, the Creator and Redeemer are exactly as named, and the Bible is the Bible. No room for misinterpretation. 

This set to me to thinking about allegory in its various forms, and now I’m finding it everywhere I look – particularly in the Bible. One example among a multitude: the nation of Israel is represented by a vine in Psalm 80:8-16 as well in the 15^th and 17^th chapters of Ezekiel. 

Sometimes, biblical history is used as an allegorical illustration. Check out Galatians 4:22-31. The Apostle Paul comes right out and says, in v. 24, that he’s pointing out an allegory in the Old Testament. Although the events he refers to in Genesis 16 and 21 are historical, they also illustrate a spiritual reality. 

In another case, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:11 that Israel’s exodus from Egypt serves as an example to those who follow Christ. Old Testament history is both fact and illustration.

It’s not just God’s word that’s full of that sort of thing; so is God’s world. How about the metamorphosis of a grotesque, crawling caterpillar into a delicate, airborne butterfly? The process pictures the death of our sinful flesh and the emergence of a perfect spiritual body in the resurrection. Or how about the falling of a seed to the ground to die, later to emerge as a fruitful plant? Great allegorical performance art enacted continually on the stage of the world.

One of my favorites is the sunrise, which portrays the return of Christ (Malachi 4:2). Did you ever stop to think that at every moment of every day, the sun is rising somewhere on this earth in declaration of the coming of the King?

Obviously, then, allegory doesn’t have to be fiction—something real can portray something else that’s equally real but on a different plane.

What does all this have to do with the Gateway to Gannah series? Gannah is pure fiction: the planet, its people, and all the events described exist only in the imagination. These fictitious things do, however, illustrate actual traits and motives of human nature as well as scriptural realities: the universal power and authority of God (portrayed in the first book, The Story in the Stars), the reliability of the scriptures above human tradition or personal experience (Words in the Wind), and the fact that our Savior’s self-sacrifice demands a response on our part (Ransom in the Rock).

So is the Gateway to Gannah an allegory? I’m not sure. Maybe you should read it and decide for yourself.

Yvonne Anderson writes fiction that takes you out of this world.

And The Borrowed Book will give you a chance to win a free copy of Book 1 in the series this Friday. See ya then!

The Story in the Stars was a Carol Award finalist in 2012. The adventure continues with Words in the Wind and Ransom in the Rock and will conclude with The Last Toqeph, scheduled for release in the fall of 2014.

Yvonne lives in Western Maryland with her husband of almost forty years and shares the occasional wise word on her personal site, YsWords. She’s been with The Borrowed Book blog for a year or two now and has coordinated Novel Rocket’s Launch Pad Contest for unpublished novelists since the beginning of time. (Or at least, since the contest’s inception.) You may connect with her on Twitter or Facebook. Oh, yeah: she also does freelance editing. 

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Why I Wrote "Healer of Carthage" Video by Author Lynne Gentry

Why I wrote Healer of Carthage: Video

Social media links: 

Website: https://twitter.com/Lynne_Gentry 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Lynne-Gentry/215337565176144 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lynne_Gentry 

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lynnegentry7/ 

Lynne Gentry has written for numerous publications. Her newest novel, Healer of Carthage, is the first in The Carthage Chronicles series. She is a professional acting coach, theatre director, and playwright with several full-length musicals and children’s theater curriculums to her credit. An inspirational speaker and dramatic performer, Lynne’s first love is spending time with family.

Review:

Dr. Lisbeth Hastings experiences a tragic accidental death of a small child under her care and the hospital places her on a forced two week probation. She uses this time to visit her father, Lawrence Hastings, who is an archeologist, at his current dig in Aquaba Pass in the Sahara Desert.  This was the same location where her mother, who was a medical doctor, disappeared 23 years ago in the maze of underground caverns. 

 Investigating a particular cave called the Cave of the Swimmers, Lisbeth touches the glyphic red swimmers on the wall triggering the cave floor to open up under her feet dragging her down. Even though she leaps to grab hold of the edges, she continues to fall through the dark opening. As she tumbles downwards, she hears water thundering below. She awakens from the fall and does not recognize where she is. Being jerked upwards, Lisbeth realizes she is no longer in Aquaba Pass but in a slave block being sold as a slave.  Somehow, Dr. Lisbeth Hastings has time warped to 300 A.D. Carthage. How will she survive in this time period and will she find a way back to the 21^st century.

Lynne Gentry provides an entertaining look into the past. She creates the life settings of those who lived in Carthage in 300 A.D.; and skillfully depicts the immoralities, the misuse of power of those in Roman authority, the disregard of human life in the arenas, the hate for Christians and their beliefs, lack of medical knowledge to treat those suffering from the plague, and the inequality of women during that time. 

I enjoyed reading “Healer of Carthage” and I look forward to reading more from The Carthage Chronicles series.

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A Seat-of-the-Pants Author's Confession by Susan Reinhardt

Most people shudder at the thought of writing without an outline or other plotting aid. The opposite is true for me. I've tried many programs, storyboarding, etc., and all they do is make my creativity seize up like a car engine sans oil.

Would you like a peek into my SOTP (seat-of-the-pants) writer brain? Here goes:

1.  After I wrote "the end" on The Moses Conspiracy, I sensed the story wasn't complete. At first, I thought the original characters would again take center stage. 

Yet, when I sat down to write, my mind kept veering off and focusing on a secondary character, Jim Kenneman. A reader had mentioned she really liked him. As I was trying to force the issue and make the other characters primary, Jim finally whispered in my ear, "This is my story."

2.  Okay, switch gears. What story did Jim have? Well, he'd helped break up a hate group called, "The New Patriots." What if they decided to seek revenge and re-establish their organization? I sat down and put Jim in his Washington, D.C. office. (I couldn't wait to see what would happen next!) 

3.  I usually know where to start and where to end. The fun is getting there. Yeah, it's sometimes a little nerve wracking, but a hefty dose of prayer gets me through the tough times. And so, The Scent of Fear was born. 

4.  All through the first draft stage, another book was taking shape. A character from the first book was developing in my mind. She kept pushing me to finish, so her story could be told. So, a sequel turned into a trilogy. 

5.  People think a SOTP writer only writes when they're inspired. Not true. Getting my seat in that chair and writing is sometimes the hardest exercise of all. I try to leave a few loose ends from the previous writing session. It gives me a place to start, to pick up the story thread if you will.

So, there's a little glimpse into the writing life of this SOTP writer. BTW, this entire post was done at a moment's notice because it somehow slipped through my time management net. Happy writing!

Susan J. Reinhardt's publishing credits include her debut novel, The Moses Conspiracy, as well as devotionals, short articles, and contributions to anthologies. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. 

You can connect with her at her blog:  and on her Facebook author page.

A widow, daughter, stepmom, and active church member, Susan resides in Pennsylvania. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, couponing, gardening, and finding small treasures in antique shops.

The Scent of Fear

The Moses Conspiracy

Blog:  Christian Writer/Reader Connection    http://susanjreinhardt.blogspot.com

Facebook Author Page:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSusanJReinhardt

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7012233.Susan_J_Reinhardt

Twitter:  @susanjreinhardt

Review for A Scent of Fear, by S. Black:

Once again the ugly head of the New Patriots begins to influence the American people’s freedoms and to persecute the Christians. Henry Schwartz, the antagonist from The Moses Conspiracy, alias Striker, former head of the New Patriots, gains controlling influence with the Vice President Loring and President Briggs of the United States, spreading accusations against the current Director of National Security. Believing them to be true, the President appoints Henry Schwartz to replace Jim Kenneman as the new Director of National Security, and to arrest Jim Kenneman for treason.  Henry’s goal is to eliminate Jim Kenneman

Pros about the book:

“Scent of Fear” is scary with a believable plot in predicting America’s future downfall politically, financially, and spiritually. It was one of those books that was hard to put down. Lots of intrigue.

Cons about the book:

Quotation from Ellie Zimmerman in the “Scent of Fear”:
 “Pardon me, but I’m having trouble keeping the names straight. I’m not accustomed to people using an alias.” 

She expresses my exact problem with following the story line…keeping characters straight as to who they were, very confusing at times. 

I also had problems with the ending feeling too abrupt. So much so that I reread last few chapters to see what I had missed.

The love romance of the story between Dr. Abbey and Jim Kenneman seemed to grow too quick. They had only met once, time had elapsed; and before you know it, Jim was declaring his love for her and she was accepting it as if they had been seeing each other on regular basis and talking to each other a lot.  It just didn’t seem real to me.

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Doing What I Love by Author Stephanie Landsem

Before we begin, we have exciting news! You can come back on Friday for a chance to win a copy of Stephanie's latest release. Think, summer reading.

And now, this is what Stephanie wanted to share. . . 

I didn’t start out wanting to write historical fiction. In high school and my first year of college, I loved science and knew—just knew—that was what I wanted to study.   Then, I took my first history class. I left that classroom like a love-struck teenager. 

I took another, just for fun, and by my sophomore year, I knew I couldn’t deny my true love anymore. I called my dad and told him I wanted to change my major to history. 

Dad, a man of few words, didn’t say what I knew he was thinking. What kind of job can a history major get? No, what he said was, “Do you love it?” And I answered, “Yes, I really love it.” After a long silence, in which I’m sure he was wondering if I’d be moving back in with him and Mom in three years, he said. “Then do it. Worry about the rest as it comes.”

And so I gleefully changed my major from Chemistry to History and paged through the course catalog, trying to decide between classes on the early Russian Empire, ancient Greece, or medieval Europe. So many choices, and only three years to cram them all in.

With my debut historical fiction, The Well, releasing in June, I find myself amazed that I can sit down every day and do what I love the best.  And whether I’m plotting, writing a rough draft, or fine-tuning a manuscript, whenever I get stuck or can’t seem to get something just right, I go back to my true love—history—and always end up inspired.

Plotting

When I’m looking for a story idea, writing a synopsis, or outlining a plot, I remind myself that the story is in the history. My imagination might supply the details, the dialogue, and most of the characters, but the real story is already there, just waiting to be discovered in historical texts, scholarly works, and—in the case of The Well—the pages of the Bible. 

Time and again, I’ve discovered that actual events are more riveting than anything I can pull from my imagination. Much of the story in The Well came from scholarly commentary on the Bible and my research into Samaritan history.

Rough Draft

When I’m writing the rough draft and find myself with a lackluster chapter, I go back to my research.  Invariably, I find something fascinating that I can work into the story: a new setting or a historic tidbit that can move the story foreword and immerse the reader in the setting. 

While writing The Well, I went back to the Bible and my documents on Samaritan history and came away with new details that made the story shine.

Editing

Sometimes editing can get tough. I get bogged down in the details, frustrated, and know I’m too close to my material to see the flaws. That’s when I start looking at pictures. Photos of ancient ruins, paintings, and pictures of artifacts re-invigorate my sluggish brain and get me back on track.

For The Well, I started a Pinterest board of the many photos that I found in my research, and often went back to them for inspiration.

Whenever I get stuck in writing—and it happens pretty often—I always turn back to history and, so far, my true love has always come through.

Stephanie Landsem writes historical fiction because she loves adventure in far-off times and places. In real life, she’s explored ancient ruins, medieval castles, and majestic cathedrals around the world. Stephanie is equally happy at home in Minnesota with her husband, four children, and three fat cats.  When she’s not writing, she’s feeding the ravenous horde, avoiding housework, and dreaming about her next adventure—whether it be in person or on the page.

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