Interview with Sylvia Bambola

Heritage Publishing, 2015

BB: Hello, Sylvia! Welcome to The Borrowed Book. Do you ever read your dialogue aloud to see how it sounds? And have you ever performed an action you want one of your characters to carry out in order to help you visualize or describe it?

Bambola: I actually read the entire manuscript out loud. It’s amazing how those awkward words or phrases will jump off the page! And yes, especially the dialogue. Hearing it lets me know, in short order, if it’s stilted, awkward, fake, or doesn’t resonate with my particular character. I rarely perform the actions of my characters. But what I do is visualize each scene as though I’m watching a movie. I literally see it in my mind’s eye, how my characters move, their facial expressions, their emotions. If it all seems realistic and possible, then I go ahead and put this vision to paper. If not, I rework the scene in my mind.

BB: What aspect of being a writer is the most challenging for you? What steps have you taken to overcome this hurdle?

Bambola: Hands down, the most difficult aspect of being a writer is the marketing—a problem since marketing is a big part of a writer’s life. It’s absolutely necessary if we want to sell books. And traditional publishers expect this from their authors. Only problem, most writers want to write not participate in the business end of things. So what to do?  For me, overcoming this problem meant I had to get over myself and realize that both writing and marketing are “all as unto the Lord.”

BB: If you felt the Holy Spirit urging you to quit writing, would you do it?

Bambola: Without a doubt, “yes.” For me, writing is a ministry and would have very little meaning if God were not in it.

BB: If you’re a plotter, have you ever tried pantsing it? If you’re a pantser, have you ever given plotting a try?

Bambola: I’m definitely a pantser but I have tried plotting as well and found it too restricting. I want to be surprised by the story line and by my characters, and for me pantsing works best. That’s not to say I don’t have some idea where the story is going, because I do, especially when writing historical fiction since research of the times and events will dictate where you go. My recent novel, The Salt Covenants, takes place in 1493 Spain when the Inquisition is in full swing. What would happen if a young Jewess, who had converted to Christianity, suddenly came under the scrutiny of an inquisitor? Would she flee? Would she go to a new land with someone like Christopher Columbus, and could she reasonably go by herself or would she have to be accompanied by a man? And if yes, would that man be a husband? A brother? A father? The answer to these questions, and others, restricted where I could go in my novel. But even when writing historicals I’m a paster and generally am surprised by some of my plot twists. And I hope my readers are too. 

BB: Does your best writing flow? Or are you most satisfied with the work that you’ve labored over, sweating and groaning?

Bambola: I’d love to say that inspiration carries the day, when words flow so beautifully and freely that my fingers can’t type them fast enough, but for me this doesn’t happen often. In reality, my writing feels more like pushing wet concrete hill, very labor intensive and often frustrating. So I’d have to say usually my best work comes only after hours of much labor and groaning and sometimes even sweating.

BB: Do you prefer writing the initial draft, or do you enjoy the revision process more? Do you revise as you write, or do you first produce a big mess that you later have to fix? If your first draft is rough, do you have to cut out a lot of dead wood, or add flesh to the bare bones?

Bambola: I don’t think there’s anything more intimidating to a writer than that dreaded blank page. The purpose of my first draft is to fill pages, get my characters from point A to point B, and make sure that where they are going and where the plot is going are rational and believable. Is it a big mess? Actually, it’s more like some nasty thing you’d scrape off your shoe. Usually I have very little dead wood to cut, just a lot of flesh to add. But that’s the process I really LOVE. For me it’s a joy to see my characters come alive, to begin breathing on their own and to see the plot actually develop in a way that carries the story smoothly from scene to scene. 

Author Bio:

Sylvia Bambola

Sylvia Bambola is the award winning authored of seven novels, has two grown children, teaches women’s Bible studies, and is learning the guitar. Born in Romania, Bambola lived her early years in Germany. At seven she relocated with her adopted family and saw the Statue of Liberty and America for the first time. But the memory of those years in post World War Germany inspired her to write Refiner’s Fire, which won a Silver Angel Award, and was a Christy Finalist. Publishers Weekly, in their starred review, called Bambola’s latest novel, The Salt Covenants, “transcendent” and “beautifully written” while Library Journal says it “adeptly depicts a time and place not often explored in Christian historical fiction.”

To Buy:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0989970779/

Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/1120995842?ean=9780989970778

Books-a-Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/9780989970778?id=6217838042591

Links:

website: http://www.sylviabambola.com/books

goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/83706.Sylvia_Bambola

facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sylvia-Bambola/78754640991

twitter:  https://twitter.com/sylviabambola

Read More

The Brothers' Keepers by Author NLB Horton

I love the Protestant Reformation (keep reading because it gets better), partially for non-theological reasons.

My devotion exceeds Luther, Calvin, Knox, or Tyndale. I include da Vinci, Galileo, and Copernicus as well, men whose revolutionary ideas enriched a sixteenth-century world barreling from the restrictions of the Middle Ages into the light of the Renaissance. 

Courage and intellect created counter-cultural heroes then. And those traits define my protagonist, archaeologist Grace Madison, in the first two books of the Parched series: When Camels Fly (May 2014) and The Brothers’ Keepers (November 2014).

When I began percolating about The Brothers’ Keepers, Grace’s character, and the seminary backgrounds of the troupe of octogenarian theologians who assist her and her family, led my thoughts to the Reformation. I admit that I went willingly.

The Brothers’ Keepers is a tale of international suspense: theologically sound and scientifically correct. It is liberally sprinkled with Grace’s warped humor and slight sarcasm, and extolls contemporary family dynamics—in a family not unfamiliar with espionage and danger. 

It opens in Brussels, when Grace learns that her beloved daughter Maggie has disappeared in France, and that her son’s bride has been attacked in Switzerland. In a five-star review of When Camels Fly, one reader described Grace as a Mama Bear protecting her cubs. Her growl from Belgium in the opening chapter of The Brothers’ Keepers resonates around the globe, attracting family and friends to Paris to begin the search for Maggie. 

Grace inspires that kind of devotion as a vigorous, joyful woman trying to live fully in the image of Christ. 

Maggie inspires devotion of a different sort. As the object of affection from two very dissimilar young men, her professional success as a hydrologist balances her epic failure as a sweetheart. Will she accept the repeated proposals of the all-American who is as loyal as a drooling golden retriever? Or will the handsome sayan (helper) for Mossad break through her Herculean defense mechanisms to win her heart? And where in the world is she, anyway?

“The nut didn’t fall far from the tree,” Grace’s husband Mark says of the mother and daughter, and Grace has heart issues of her own. She and Mark are working to rebuild a thirty-year marriage after growing apart. The healing process complicates life-threatening situations in When Camels Fly and The Brothers Keepers, but reveals the devotion they still share.

Using clues Maggie has left at the American Church in Paris, where she was last seen, the Madisons pick up the trail of an ancient relic that they hope will save her life. The desperate journey crosses four centuries and three continents. Difficult choices endanger everyone the family and their friends love, and compromise nearly every belief they hold dear. 

And in the end, they discover that to save themselves, they must first rescue an old friend who deceived them.

If he’ll let them.

As with When Camels Fly before it, The Brothers Keepers is all about doing the right thing. Because sometimes, doing what’s right is all that’s left.

A member of the venerable Explorers Club, NLB Horton returned to writing fiction after an award-winning career in marketing and a graduate degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. She has surveyed archaeological digs under Syrian and Lebanese heavy artillery fire in Israel and Jordan, explored the Amazon River and Machu Picchu after training with an Incan shaman, and consumed tea on five continents—and while crossing the North Atlantic.

http://nlbhorton.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NLB-Horton/289059931145461

https://twitter.com/NLBHorton

Read More

Deleted Scenes—The Pitfalls, The Upside by Author Beth WIseman

Is there anything more painful for an author than to hit the ‘Delete’ button?  We’ve given life to our characters, created scenes that we know are perfect, and bled onto the pages.  How in the world can an editor see what we can’t and insist that some pages—maybe even entire scenes—need to go? The horror.

But if you’re in the game long enough, it will eventually happen.  My latest release, The Promise, was a literary endeavor that was way out of the box for me, and as such, my editor set the bar really high.  I was crossing genres, and she wanted a really tight story that popped on every page.  But I initially had a mental block while writing the book.

The Promise is inspired by a true story, and I knew that once my character got on a plane to head to Pakistan, all of the real-life events would come hurdling back at me, taking me back to a time that was painful and scary.  So, I prolonged putting my character on the plane.  Instead, I sent a secondary character cross-country, filled the pages with a bit of fluff, and basically wrote about a hundred pages that didn’t help to further the story, but caused it do drag.  In the end, it was delete, delete, delete.  

So, is there an upside when this happens?  At the time, it’s hard to see one.  But looking back, there was a silver lining.  Perhaps the reader didn’t need those hundred pages, but I did.  It was an opportunity to get to know my characters.   In that regard, I can’t consider it wasted time and effort.  

Have you ever written a letter and not sent it?  Maybe it was just for you, a way to vent, part of a healing process, or an incentive to forgive.  Sometimes, deleted scenes end up in the same ‘File 13’ as other projects that weren’t really for anyone else’s benefit, except our own.  

In the scene that never made it into The Promise, I felt like I was sitting in the backseat while my character drove to New York City.  I learned a lot about him, his motivations, hopes, and dreams.  I was a silent player in my own book, watching and learning.  In hindsight, these tidbits weren’t anything that the reader needed to know, but the journey enabled me to incorporate the emotions my character was feeling through other ways that drove the story forward.  

At the end of that trip to New York City, Tate and I parted ways, and I returned to my computer to hit the delete button.  But, we had that time together, and I returned from the adventure with a much better understanding about who Tate really is.  

As authors, we must realize that even the deleted scenes serve a purpose.  As readers, we appreciate when an editor or author has gone the extra mile to keep any unnecessary filler out of the book.

As a reader, how many times have you skimmed sections of books that really should have been deleted or shortened?  And author friends, as painful as the deleting process is, has it benefitted you in ways that I mentioned?

Beth Wiseman is the best-selling author of the Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan series.  Wiseman has a deep affection for the Amish and their simpler way of life, and while she plans to continue writing Amish love stories, she is also branching out into other areas. In her daring new novel, Wiseman jumps way outside the box. The Promise will take readers far away from Amish country and the small Texas towns of her previous releases to a dangerous place on the other side of the world.  Inspired by actual events, Wiseman believes this is the book she’s been working toward for a long time.  

Wiseman can be found at Fans of Beth Wiseman on Facebook where she interacts with readers. Learn more about the author and her books at bethwiseman.com and on Twitter (@bethwiseman).

Read More

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. 

Read More

Writing About the Tough Issues by Author H.L. Wegley

Three years ago, I searched for a plot for book two in the Pure Genius Series. Then a neighbor asked my wife and me to attend a human-trafficking awareness meeting. There we met Dr. Cyndi Romine, who has rescued women around the globe from human traffickers. We also heard from law enforcement agencies tasked with stopping human trafficking. The statistics horrified us. Our county is the worst place in the entire nation for child prostitution. 

When we learned that children were lured from street corners in our neighborhood, from food courts in local malls, anywhere kids gather, I wanted to do something. Using my hero and heroine from Hide and Seek, book one in the series, I plotted a story about the rescue of some girls from an international human-trafficking ring.

You might still wonder, “How bad is this problem, really?” I’ll let my heroine, Jennifer, tell you in her own words, words taken from an impassioned speech she delivers to an audience of high-school students and parents:

There is an epidemic, no, a pandemic of child trafficking. Its dark, evil thread has become deeply woven into the fabric of our society. First came ethical quandary, then a loss of our moral compass, followed by the proliferation of pornography and the view that prostitution is a victimless crime, perhaps no crime at all.

Now we have children being lured by predators into a life they would never voluntarily choose, while others are snatched literally from their own front yards.

The average lifespan of a young girl sold into sexual slavery is less than four years. If she is properly marketed in the right location, she will make four to five million dollars for her owner before she dies. Sex trafficking is so profitable that arms and drug dealers are incorporating it into their highly organized operations.

The average age of girls entering prostitution is thirteen, but it drops every year. Next year it will probably be twelve. For every eighteen year old, how many nine-, ten-, and eleven-year-old girls are required to produce that average? You can do the math. The numbers paint an incredibly evil, ugly, perverted picture …

Can you imagine what it feels like when a young girl who is helpless and hopeless catches a glimpse of what’s in store for her? A sixteen-year-old girl hanged herself with her own shoestrings rather than let the traffickers sell her.

Sell her. That’s an understatement. Children are sold not once, but a dozen times a night for as long as they live. And every thirty seconds, somewhere in the world, another girl is victimized by traffickers. In the United States, every two minutes someone’s daughter falls victim.

Without light and hope, this could be a dark story. But On the Pineapple Express is a thoroughly uplifting story of faith, courage, and love. On Thursday I’ll share with you my approach to writing about dark subjects without letting the darkness overshadow the light.

H. L. Wegley served in the USAF as an Intelligence Analyst and a Weather Officer. In civilian life, he was a weather forecaster and a research scientist in atmospheric physics. After earning an MS in Computer Science, he developed computing systems for Boeing before retiring in the Seattle area, where he and his wife of 47 years enjoy small-group ministry, grandchildren, hiking Olympic Peninsula beaches, snorkeling Maui whenever they can, and where he writes inspirational thrillers and romantic-suspense novels. 

Links:

Web site: HLWegley.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HLWegley

 Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/10hubj8

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hlw154th

On the Pineapple Express: http://amzn.to/1bZxiJ4

Blog: The Weather Scribe

Read More

3 Steps to Publication--Guaranteed! by Author Lillian Duncan

All stories have a beginning, a middle, and end. If you want to get published you need to write the BEST BEGINNINGS, MARVELOUS MIDDLES, and EXPLOSIVE ENDINGS. 

Succeed with these three easy steps and you’ll have a contract before you know it. OK—maybe they aren’t all that easy to master. It took me years to learn the writing craft and I’m still learning! 

BEST BEGINNINGS for any novel, but especially mystery/suspense starts with action—action—and more action! Today’s mystery/suspense readers don’t have time or patience for characters sitting and pondering life’s heavy questions. They want action! 

Best beginnings have someone doing something interesting and it can’t be a dream or a nightmare. Why not? Two reasons—first, it’s tricking the reader into believing something is happening that’s not. And more importantly, many editors/publishers list novels starting with a dream as one of their pet peeves. 

Why risk irritating them on the very first page.

So, the writer’s first task is to hook the reader. The key is to arouse the reader’s curiosity so they will want to turn the page to see what happens next. In Betrayed, I started with a prologue that shows my main character, Maria as she struggles to stay alive in order to keep her daughter safe. No back story, no introduction, no pondering. She’s on a yacht and her terrorist husband is out to kill her. Here’s a brief excerpt from it, let’s see if it piques the readers’ curiosity: 

No way off. No way to escape. No way to get to her daughter. Why had she ever thought a yacht was a good idea for a benefit? Maria Hammond pushed her way through the throngs of partygoers towards the exit. She had to get off this yacht and get to Layla before Raymond did.

So, is that enough to pique the reader’s curiosity?

Once you’ve written your best beginning, it’s time to tackle the hard part—avoiding the sagging middle syndrome. But how? Here’s a few ways to ensure MARVELOUS MIDDLES. 

Introduce a new character. If they have a secret—even better! In BETRAYED, I have a police officer, who obviously has a secret, but I keep the reader guessing until the last third of the book what the secret is.  

Add a ticking time bomb to the original problem. By a ticking time bomb, I mean add a time limit to whatever’s going on, such as not only is the child missing but she needs her medicine.

Add a red herring, give the reader several choices for the murderer. This one is crucial as far as I’m concerned for mystery/suspense readers. We love to figure out who the bad guy is. It makes us feel smart!

Avoid all that back story you are dying to write. No matter how much you love it—it doesn’t move the story forward. Readers want to know what’s happening now, not what happened in the past!

Whew! Now you’ve got your best beginning and a marvelous middle, so on to that EXPLOSIVE ENDING that will wow that editor and have them clamoring for your manuscript. 

One of the keys to creating an explosive ending is to resolve all the story plots, not only the major one. Readers have invested time and emotion in your story. Don’t cheat them by leaving them hanging.

Many books actually have two endings—mine usually do. Often the crucial resolution scene (stopping the murderer—rescuing the damsel in distress) happens in the next to the last chapter and the final chapter is used to tie up all the other story lines with a happy little bow. Nothing wrong with that. It’s a good plan. 

And there you have it, three steps to publication—guaranteed! BEST BEGINNINGS + MARVELOUS MIDDLES + EXPLOSIVE ENDINGS = Great Story (and a book contract). Now, get busy writing.

Lillian is a multi-published writer who writes the type of books she loves to read—suspense with a touch of romance. Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.

To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net.  She also has a devotional blog at: www.PowerUpWithGod.com  as well as her personal blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com 

Come back Friday for a chance to win a copy of Lillian's newest book, right here at The Borrowed Book.

AND

To celebrate the release of BETRAYED, Lillian is giving away a virtual gift basket at Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com. The virtual gift basket includes a copy of my books, SERENITY SPRINGS, OHIO; DARK ALLEYS; and GEESE MATE FOR LIFE.  Along with the books, a $25 Amazon gift card is included plus a few books from some of her writer friends. To enter the contest, simply hop on over to Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com , leave a comment on the post titled CELEBRATION! Winner will be chosen and announced on February 14.

Read More

Research, The Engine for Story by Author Colleen Coble

Research is a super important part of the writing process. I always want to make sure I get the details right. Seems simple, right? Just ask the right people. Ahem. My first experience of how challenging this might be was when I needed to find out how to down a small plane. Now ordinarily this shouldn’t have been difficult. A friend of my husband owned a small plane. But here was the problem: it was the week after the planes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. No one wanted to answer such a question, not even Dave’s friend. I finally found a plane forum and explained what I needed. I listed my website and assured them it was for a book. Finally, one brave soul told me what I needed to know, and I was ready to bow down and kiss his feet.  

My next major foray into this research was for Alaska Twilight. One of the pharmacists at my local Walgreens had been a good source for me so I went to see her. I asked what drug would leave my victim unable to fight if someone threw her into the water. As my friend was giving me the information, the other pharmacist on duty came flying around the shelves with a horrified expression on her face. I held up my hands and assured her it was for a book. I’m not completely sure she believed me!

My newest book, Rosemary Cottage, was no exception, but I had to research something that was a little out of my comfort zone—cold water surfing. A little background first. I’m a health nut. I’d been hearing about the benefits of cold thermogenesis. That’s immersion in cold water for those who don’t know.  And bonus! I’d heard it would help sculpt your body, so I tried getting in my daughter’s pool in the winter to see if it would help me lose weight in my thighs. Oh what we women will do for vanity! Now before you faint, let me assure you this was Arizona so the water temperature was about forty-five to fifty, not freezing. But it was still mighty cold. After a few minutes, it was rather comfortable though. 

Unfortunately it didn’t work for weight loss. LOL But that health research led me to an article about cold water surfing. Like at Lake Superior in the winter (wrote about that in Rock Harbor Search and Rescue too) and in Maine in the winter. Now that’s cold! I got a book about cold water surfing, and I decided Edith, one of the supporting characters in Rosemary Cottage would be a cold water surfer. I had to figure out lots of things about that too, like what kind of wetsuit and other gear.

By the way, Edith is based on my real Aunt Edith. You should have seen Ede’s face when I told her I had her surfing the North Carolina shore in November.  I don’t think she was totally onboard with the idea. . .

I also had to research surfing in general. If you knew me well, you’d know my nickname is “Grace” and not because I’m graceful. I’ve been a klutz my whole life. So I wasn’t going to try to surf myself. I made the ultimate sacrifice and went to Hawaii to watch surfers. I learned a bit of the lingo and wished I had that kind of grace. It was enough though. I researched sharks too since Amy’s brother was killed by a shark while surfing (or so she’s been told) and what I learned made me almost too afraid to go snorkeling. Almost!  

Research is what keeps writing fun and fresh. And the really terrific thing about it is how one snippet of information can take you in a completely new direction. I decided I wanted Amy to do something with natural medicine since I’m such a big fan myself, but what? Then I ran across an article about herbs used in childbirth, and that led me to midwifery. Perfect! And that’s how it goes with every book. Research is what drives the idea for me. Give it a try!

Return Friday for a chance to win a copy of Colleen's latest release, Rosemary Cottage.

Best-selling author Colleen Coble's novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers' Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has over 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana. 

Visit her website at www.colleencoble.com and connect at Facebook at www.facebook.com/colleencoblebooks. 

Read More

Writing and Research by Author Elizabeth Ludwig

I never realized when I started out writing historical romance that I would need to develop an archeologist’s skill when combing the internet. On top of crafting a good story, writing anything with historical significance requires a general knowledge and level of accuracy that readers of the genre have grown to expect. 

My latest novel, Dark Road Home, for example, definitely required more research than anything I’ve published so far. Set in and around New York City with key scenes taking place on Ellis Island, I knew early on that I would need to conduct careful study on the more than twelve million immigrants who entered the United States through Ellis Island from 1892 to 1954. It wasn’t enough to know how they came, however. I wanted to figure out why, so beginning at the Ellis Island Foundation’s website, I began looking for letters, pictures, anything I could find that would give insight into the motivation behind so many peoples’ journey. This in turn led me to other sites, like Ancestory.com and the National Park Service website, which were full of information regarding not only the history of the island, but of the people who passed through on their way to a new life in America.

Along with filling the story with facts about our nation’s history, Dark Road Home is about an Irish girl running from her past and a man with dangerous political affiliations, so on top of all of the historical facts I could dig up about New York in 1897, I had to research Ireland and everything that was occurring during the same time period there. That meant learning what I could about the conflict in Ireland—its origins and history. Once again, I tackled the internet, beginning with a simple Google search on “why Ireland is divided”. This led me to a number of sites, including ibiblio.org and encyclopedia.com. Remember those research papers your English teacher made you do in high school and college? Researching my book was a lot like that!

While it would have been easy to pack all kinds of historical facts into my novel, I had to keep in mind that this was a work of fiction, and that it needed a strong romantic thread. That meant finding a careful balance between what was true, and what was meant to entertain. Too much of one, and the reader would get board. Too little of another, and the work became less of a historical. In the end, I discovered that sorting out tidbits of information and dropping them into a fictional tale is a lot like digging treasures from the earth—it requires patience and a good deal of dedication. Hopefully, the end result is something the reader not only enjoys, but learns from as well.

BOOK BLURB: Lured by a handful of scribbled words across a faded letter, Cara Hamilton sets off from 1896 Ireland on a quest to find the brother she'd thought dead. Her search lands her in America, amidst a houseful of strangers and one man who claims to be a friend--Rourke Walsh.

Despite her brother's warning, Cara decides to trust Rourke and reveals the truth about her purpose in America. But he is not who he claims to be, and as rumors begin to circulate about an underground group of dangerous revolutionaries, Cara's desperation grows. Her questions lead her ever closer to her brother, but they also bring her closer to destruction as Rourke's true intentions come to light.

Also, be sure to check out Book Two in the Edge of Freedom Series, Dark Road Home: 

Ana Kavanagh's only memories of home are of fire and pain. As a girl she was the only survivor of a terrible blaze, and years later she still struggles with her anger at God for letting it happen.

At a nearby parish she meets and finds a kindred spirit in Eoghan Hamilton, who is struggling with his own anger--his sister, Cara, betrayed him by falling in love with one of his enemies. Cast aside by everyone, Eoghan longs to rejoin the Fenians, a shadowy organization pushing for change back in Ireland. But gaining their trust requires doing some favors--all of which seem to lead back to Ana. Who is she and who is searching for her? As dark secrets from Ana's past begin to come to light, Eoghan must choose which road to follow--and where to finally place his trust.

For your enjoyment, return Friday for a chance to win Elizabeth's new release, Dark Road Home!

Elizabeth Ludwig is the award-winning author of No Safe Harbor and Dark Road Home, Books One and Two in the Edge of Freedom series. Her work has also been featured on Novel Rocket, the Christian Authors Network, and The Christian Pulse. Elizabeth’s debut novel, Where the Truth Lies (coauthored with Janelle Mowery), earned her the IWA Writer of the Year Award. Her first historical novel, Love Finds You in Calico, California, was given four stars from Romantic Times. And her popular literary blog, The Borrowed Book, enjoys a wide readership. Elizabeth is an accomplished speaker and teacher, often attending conferences and seminars where she lectures on editing for fiction writers, crafting effective novel proposals, and conducting successful editor/agent interviews. Along with her husband and two grown children, she makes her home in the great state of Texas. To learn more, visit ElizabethLudwig.com.

Read More

The Evolution of an Idea by Author Erin Healy

Erin Healy writes supernatural suspense novels from a Christian worldview. She is also a career fiction editor and owner of WordWright Editorial Services in Colorado Springs.

People like to ask, “Where did you get the idea for that novel?” I find they’re often looking for the story behind the story, a dinner-party explanation of some adventure or epiphany that causes a writer to say, “You know, I should write a novel about that.”

Whenever this question comes my way, I experience a long and awkward moment of blankness. Because the truth is, I usually can’t remember.

Between the birth of a single-cell idea and the publication of whatever grew from that idea is a profound creative period of growth and transformation, in which the final product hardly ever resembles its starting point. (Yeah, kind of like a human being.)

I do recall the beginnings of my new novel Afloat, because it involved other people. My publisher and editor approached me with the idea that I should write

a “preapocalyptic romance novel,” in which the focus was on a blossoming love between two people in a harrowing and suspenseful crisis. We laid down a list of elements we wanted the story to have, including a setting in which the cast of characters was cut off from the rest of the world.

That last bit about the setting is the only element that survived the novel’s evolution. The rest of it grew, morphed, and expanded—not quite beyond recognition, but almost. Turns out I didn’t write a romance novel—but I wrote a great story about what it means to love others well when survival instincts kick into high gear. I didn’t write anything apocalyptic, pre or post, but the disaster themes served the microcosm of the story better than an end-of-the-world scenario would have. I didn’t dodge these goals because I have a rebellious streak, but because I followed the story where it led me rather than where I might have forced it to go. 

Still, a missed mark is a missed mark.

The frequency with which this happens is one reason why agents and publishers won’t even look at a fiction manuscript before it’s finished. They know how hard it is for writers to “tame the vision to the page,” as Annie Dillard says. Often we deliver something different from what we expected. Sometimes the difference is better, richer. Sometimes it’s not, as when the shift breaks the story’s promises. The powers that be prefer to avoid that kind of surprise.

My shot that went wide of the bull’s-eye might have been a disaster, but I’m fortunate to write for a publishing team that gives me generous creative wiggle-room. Not all of them do. In this case, the team liked the unexpected result. It struck a different kind of target. Our next discussion was about the ways in which the manuscript improved upon the original concept and the direction I should take in revisions to perfect it.

I don’t tell this story to incite a rebellion against your own story synopsis. But if you find the plot and characters taking on a life of their own, try not to be afraid. Turn them loose for a while, see what happens. You can always go back. (This is easier for seat-of-the-pants writers than for outliners. We fear losing control.) 

If you don’t have a publisher yet, allow the evolution of your story to be an exciting creative adventure. At the moment, you’re not locked into anything, not even the plot points you envisioned happening from day one. Those too might change—for the better, if you don’t hold your story in a creative death grip.

What’s the worst thing that can happen?

If you are writing to contract when your story takes an unpredicted turn, tell your agent or your editor what is happening. If you include them in the process, they’ll be more likely to come along for the ride. At the very least, you’ll benefit from their wisdom and won’t have to second-guess their expectations.

For me, where an idea came from is less important than where that idea takes me. Maybe this is one reason why I have so much trouble remembering the starting point. After all, where I end up is what’s most important to the readers’ experience.

Come back on Fun Friday for a chance to win a copy of Erin's latest release, "Afloat."

For more information on Erin Healy's books:

http://www.erinhealy.com

http://www.facebook.com/erinhealybooks

http://www.twitter.com/erinhealybooks

http://www.pinterest.com/erinhealybooks

http://www.goodreads.com/ehealy

Erin Healy at Google+ 

Review of "Afloat" by G. Cline
3.5 stars

Afloat is a story out of my normally read genre, so keep that in mind. For this reviewer, the story dragged in the beginning--so many terrible events happening--but the writing is solid, with good imagery, and Tony and Danielle are very likable characters. The ending was excellent--better than I thought it would be. Very nicely brought together to tie up the spiritual and supernatural/thriller elements. 

Read More