Sunday Devotional

Believe it or not, Max is one heck of a sheep dog. I mean cow dog. I mean. . .

Okay, let me explain. Our neighbors have several cows, and one very large, very mean, very intimidating bull. Every now and then one of the cows manages to jump the cattle guard and winds up happily munching on my grass and eating my landscaping. Seeing one of them destroying a crepe myrtle, I rushed outside, arms waving to shoo it back across the cattle guard into the pasture. I hadn’t gotten far since the cow was a lot faster than me, when suddenly, a brown blur that slightly resembled my dog went rocketing past.

“Ma—” I didn’t get anything else out. Max started barking, weaving back and forth until he herded the cow close enough to the gate to get it to jump across.

“Wow,” I said, huffing, my hands on my knees. “Max, come here.”

Max immediately quit chasing the cow and ran back to me, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

“Good boy, Max!” I said, rubbing his sides enthusiastically to show him I approved. Problem was he took that as a sign. Seconds later, he shot off into the pasture, straight for the bull’s pen.

“Max, no!” I shouted. Too late. Max once again maneuvered back and forth, barking at the bull, snapping and biting until that huge, black animal lumbered off toward the barn. I blinked, unable to believe my eyes. Undaunted by the size of the bull, my tiny, eight pound dog had somehow managed to get that thing moving, and he ran back to me, tail wagging waiting for his praise.

Which got me to thinking.

Many times, we put off doing what God wants us to do because we are intimidated by the size of the task. Daunted by what we view as an impossible obstacle, we decide it’s better not to try and we slink to our corners, ashamed to be doing nothing for God, but too afraid to step out in faith.

Maybe if our desire was simply to please God, we’d find the courage we need to tackle the job, no matter the size, and maybe we’d feel empowered, emboldened. . .everything that God said a child of His should be.

Exodus 4:1-17 (New International Version)

Signs for Moses

1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”

2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,” he replied.

3 The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

6 Then the LORD said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous[a]—it had become as white as snow.

7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.

8 Then the LORD said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”

10 Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

14 Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

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Winners!!

It's always so much fun to give away great books!! Congratulations to this week's lucky winners:

gail golden - Love Finds You in Tombstone, Arizona by Miralee Ferrell

Merry (worthy2bpraised)- Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren

Winners of this week's books, please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address so I can forward your information to the authors. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book and thank you, Miralee Ferrell and Lisa T. Bergren, for your generosity in providing books!

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Weekly Drawing

Entering our weekly drawing is easy:

1. Leave a comment on Fridays or...

2. Sign up to follow The Borrowed Book. Followers will automatically be entered for a chance to win that week's drawing!

This week, The Borrowed Book is giving away:

Love Finds You in Tombstone, Arizona by Miralee Ferrell ~ Love and second chances aren’t easy to come by in a town named Tombstone. When Christy Grey receives an urgent summons to Tombstone, Arizona, she reluctantly leaves her new life in California. The trip goes from bad to worse when three masked men hold up Christy’s stage. She finally arrives in Tombstone to find her mother ill and her brother trapped in a life of gambling. Desperate for money to support her family, will Christy bow to pressure from the local saloon owners and return to the life she thought she’d given up for good?

Nevada Keene has problems of his own. He’s been dodging bullets for years and wants nothing more than to settle down and get married. But he’s on the run from outlaws bent on revenge, and the one woman who captures his interest recognizes him from the stagecoach holdup. Will Christy turn Nevada in to the authorities, or will the outlaws on his trail catch him first?

Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren ~ Gabriella has never spent a summer in Italy like this one. Remaining means giving up all she’s known and loved…and leaving means forfeiting what she’s come to know…and love itself.

Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Bentarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscan scholars, among the romantic hills. Stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, dusty archeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds… until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

And thus does she come to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcello Falassi, who takes her back to his father’s castle—a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

Winners will be announced on Saturday, 03/05/11.

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Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to us as Dr. Seuss, celebrated his 107th birthday yesterday. The man who did so much for children’s literature was born on March 2, 1904. Each year educators hold celebrations in classrooms all across America to honor the renowned author. For years the National Education Association has been a sponsor of this event in hopes that every child on that day will be able to read in the presence of a caring adult.

As a former educator, I have always appreciated the influence that Dr. Seuss has had on children. If you are a mother as I am, however, I imagine you have had your moments that you dreaded reading a Dr. Seuss book to your child. His wacky characters and rhyming words that appeal to children can drive a parent to distraction because one read-through is never enough. Once through only brings a plea to read it “one more time.” How many times did I read Green Eggs and Ham or The Cat in the Hat only to find myself turning back to the beginning for another romp through Dr. Seuss’s book?

Horton Hatches the Egg, Yertle the Turtle, The Lorax, How the Grinch Stole Christmas—are just a few more of the marvelous books that have captivated generations of children. Not only do the stories appeal to children, but they deliver a message for adults as well.

Where else can we find such a lesson in dedication to duty as Horton the elephant who sits on the Mayzie bird’s nest while she flies off to parts unknown? Or the Grinch’s realization that Christmas is more than gifts? And who can disagree with Dr. Seuss’s reminder in Oh, The Places You’ll Go—“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

Yes, I love Dr. Seuss’s books, and I’m happy that his creative mind gave us characters that seem to grow better with age. The following are a few of his quotes. Although they were written years ago, they still serve as valuable lessons we can teach our children.

“A person's a person, no matter how small.”

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.”

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.”

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way.”

“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

And then there’s my favorite:

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons.
It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

Join me in wishing a happy 107th birthday to an author whose last book published in 1990 still sells over 300,000 copies a year.

I couldn't end this post without asking you about Dr. Seuss. What are your favorite Dr. Seuss books?

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Author Interview ~ Lisa T. Bergren

Lisa T. Bergren is the author of more than 35 books in many genres—children’s picture books, devotionals, women’s nonfiction, fiction of all flavors—that have sold far more than she ever would have imagined. She lives in Colorado Springs with her husband, Tim, and their three children, as well as a dog who stares at her until Lisa takes her for a walk. For more on Lisa, check out her website www.LisaTawnBergren.com, or find her on Facebook as “Lisa Tawn Bergren” and/or “River of Time Series.”

Did you see yourself becoming a writer as a child? If not, what did you dream of being?

I thought I’d be a teacher or a nurse as a child. But my nose was always in a book. And English/writing was really the only subject I tried my best in. Everything else? B’s sufficed.

How long did you write before you sold your first book?

About 12-18 months. But it was a different time and a far more open market than it is now. Christian fiction was just beginning to come into its own.

Many of the people who follow our blog are aspiring writers themselves. Can you share your favorite writing tip with them?

Read Writer’s Digest. Excellent training material for writers in any genre.

Now for the readers…many times, it’s easy for them to connect with the characters in a book, but not so much the authors themselves. Share something about your day-to-day life that might help a reader to feel as though they know you a little better.

Most people are morning people or night owls. I’m a middle of the day person. That’s when I’m most awake!

Now that you are published, do you still experience rejections? If so, how are these rejections different or similar to the ones you received before becoming published?

Sure. I have another kid’s book I’m supposed to deliver to HarperCollins, but eight different proposals have been given the thumbs-down. Sigh. And publishers pass up my proposals frequently; I’ve just been blessed that they all haven’t said no at once, so I can shrug it off. In this tough publishing environment, however, I get nervous.

Tell us a little about your latest release:

Waterfall is a time-travel YA romance about two sisters who go from contemporary times to medieval Italy. And then fall in love. Big time. And then they’re in the Great Quandary: What do you do when your (literal) knight in shining armor lives in a different time? I wanted to write a great love story, but with lots of action—those tales always come easily for me. I loved, loved, loved writing Waterfall, and the other two in the series, Cascade and Torrent. Did you hear me say loved? Seriously. Loved it. I hope that comes through when readers pick it up.

If you could only share one line from Waterfall, which one would you choose and why?

“I hope you’re the good guys.” It’s that tripping point when Gabi finally recognizes she’s really, really far from home and now dependent on others.

Writers often put things in their books that are very personal—like a funny story that happened to them, a spiritual truth they learned through difficulty, or even just a character trait that is uniquely theirs. Is there something in Waterfall that only people close to you know is about you or someone you know?

A lot of quotes the girls remember from their dad are things that resonate with me. “No way through, but through.” “It is what it is.” Through their memories of their dad, they find wisdom that gets them through the moment. They denote acceptance of hard facts and decisions to forge ahead, one step at a time.

Readers often talk a lot about the hero and heroine of a story, but today I’d like to know something about your villain. Does he or she have a redeeming quality? Why or why not?

Cosmo Paratore is Marcello Forelli’s rival, and they are frequently in battle, because they represent the border line between two enemy provinces in Italy, and both are young lords of their respective castles. Because my book is in first person POV (Gabi’s), we don’t really see him more than as the arch-enemy who threatens everything she loves. But I see that he’s fighting for his land and his “rights” just as clearly as Marcello is. He’s just on the other side.

Lady Romana Rossi is also an antagonist, since she has been long-promised as Marcello’s bride. And if you’re in love with Marcello, then she represents a serious obstacle. But Gabi tends to feel for Romana—she recognizes that she’s caught between familial and social responsibilities and expectations—and therefore feels some sympathy for her.

What kind of research did you have to do for this book? Can you share some articles or website links you found particularly helpful?

Fortunately I had done a ton of research for this era and this region for a previous series called The Gifted (The Begotten, The Betrayed, The Blessed). There is one couple anyone writing medieval needs to study—Joseph and France Gies—they’ve written a number of very accessible books on life in medieval society. A full bibliography appears in the back of Waterfall, which might be helpful to other writers wanting to concentrate on the medieval period.

And I love Italy so of course I HAD to go with my husband to make sure I had details—sights, sounds, smells—ready to go into the books. We had a fabulous week in Tuscany last year. It was great for us as a couple to get away, as well as for the books. I got a lot of research done that ended up in the series—stuff that would be hard to discover in just researching/reading.

Tell us what new projects you’re working on.

The rewrite (third draft) of Torrent (book 3 in River of Time Series) and then diving into research for my next series—books about a group of young people on the Grand Tour of Europe.

The most common thing I hear when people learned I’ve published a book is, “I’ve always wanted to do that.” Faced with this statement, what advice would you give to someone just starting out in this business?

Study what it takes. Study the craft. Then invest the time and energy to get better at it. Critique groups, writers’ conferences, subscription to Writer’s Digest you actually read. It’s like anything…if you want it, really want it, you have to work for it. And I mean work. It’s way more challenging than when I started. Not impossible.

What is the one question you were afraid I would ask…and how would you answer?

I’m pretty brave, so that’s hard to answer. Bring it on, is what I’m thinking. I’ve got Nordic blood in my veins. That’s why I write heroines the way I do. They are feminine and clearly women—but they’re not waiting on their heroes to save them. They wade into the fight beside them.
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Lisa is giving away a copy of her book, Waterfall. Be sure to stop by The Borrowed Book on Friday for your chance to win!

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Writing 101: Why they're not called LIFElines

We’ve all heard about them. At least you have if you are familiar with the writing industry. DEADlines are those little things that are a big deal. Your editor gives you a deadline for a project so she can schedule copy editors, content editors, the printer, those in charge of cover art, etc. Do editors tack in some extra days in case the writer has a melt down and asks (read: begs) for more time? Probably, but I don’t advise living your writing life on the constant edge of every deadlines you are assigned. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth of your editor and, my friends, it's also the reason they're aren't called LIFElines.

Have I ever been late?

Yes.

Once.

It will be my first and last time.

It was a simple accident, really. An oversight, but I was mortified. My editor emails me on the second of the month and asks, in a conversational tone, where’s your manuscript?

Huh?

It was due. Yesterday.

It was? (freaking out now)

I grabbed my contract sure I had the correct date in mind (the 15th) only to find out I was wrong. Dead. Wrong. Total OOPS!

In my contract for my seventh book, there is a new penalty clause. For authors who are late they are applying a 10% penalty. I think it’s more than fair and am really surprised they haven’t explored doing this before.

What’s your take on deadlines? Do you think it’s fair for a publisher to penalize an author for going over deadline?

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Author Interview ~ Miralee Ferrell

Miralee serves as president of the Portland, Oregon, chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers and speaks to women, libraries, and historical groups about her writing journey. Published first in magazine articles and two anthologies, Miralee moved on to women’s fiction with two contemporary titles. It wasn’t long before she discovered a love for writing historical romance, and her third historical with Summerside Press releases February, 2011.

Miralee and her husband Allen have been married 37 yrs and have two married children. They live on 11 acres in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge in Washington State, where they love to garden, play with their dogs, take walks, ride horses, and go sailing. You can learn more about Miralee and her books by visiting http://www.miraleeferrell.com/ or her Facebook profile at www.facebook.com/miralee.

Did you see yourself becoming a writer as a child? If not, what did you dream of being?

I don’t think the idea of writing ever crossed my mind as child. My older sister and our two best friends played many make-believe games, including creating story worlds we lived in, but it didn’t translate in my thoughts into the writing arena. I didn’t have any aspiration until I hit my early teens when I decided I wanted to be an airline stewardess, as they were called then. Little did I know (having never flown) that I would NOT enjoy flying—especially the take-off and landing—in the big jets, LOL!

How long did you write before you sold your first book?

I started writing short stories based on real events in my life during the summer of 2005, and sold those within a few months. That fall I wrote my debut novel, The Other Daughter, and started shopping it (after revising several times) the following spring (2006). It sold to Kregel that fall, and released one year later in Oct. 2007. It’s been pretty much non-stop since then, with four more novels following that one, and another later this year.

Many of the people who follow our blog are aspiring writers themselves. Can you share your favorite writing tip with them?

It’s so important to hone your skills by working with others. Yes, research, craft books, and conferences are important, but learning from other writers more advanced than you is invaluable. If you aren’t already in a strong critique group, do your best to get plugged into one. I’ve learned so much from my crit partners, and hopefully, I’ve also added to their knowledge and helped polish their writing as well.

Now for the readers…many times, it’s easy for them to connect with the characters in a book, but not so much the authors themselves. Share something about your day-to-day life that might help a reader to feel as though they know you a little better.

We’ve always owned animals…dogs, cats, horses, and for a number of years, two cougars (my husband’s project—read more details on my website). The dogs have always been larger breeds, particularly German Shepherds, Australian Shepherds, and a couple of Lab crosses. I never thought I’d want a small breed. But guess what’s asleep on my lap as I write this—a 6 lb Chihuhua—a medium haired, fluffy little thing that I absolutely LOVE. Her name is Lacey, she’s not yappy or high-strung, she’s loving, cute and FUN! And of course, she thinks she’s pretty much in charge of the house, LOL!

Now that you are published, do you still experience rejections? If so, how are these rejections different or similar to the ones you received before becoming published?

Yes, I do, and I assume that will be an ongoing event, but it is different from when I started. Those rejections were based on my writing—it wasn’t strong enough or polished enough, even though the story caught editors’ attention. Now, the writing is rarely the issue—rather it’s typically that they’ve filled their quota for the type of story I’ve sent, it doesn’t fit their needs, or they don’t see it selling well enough to take the risk. They can love your writing or voice but still turn a proposal down—being multi published doesn’t assure you of a contract, unfortunately!

Tell us a little about your latest release:

Love Finds You in Tombstone, Arizona is my favorite so far of my historical romances, and I’d have to say it’s due to the theme of God’s redeeming love woven through the book, as well as the strong characters that bring the story to life. I was thrilled to get to use a secondary character from Love Finds You in Last Chance, California, Christy Grey, and give Christy her own book. It’s set in the old west in a town many of us are familiar with due to the movie of that name, Tombstone, made famous by Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell. Here’s what the reader will see on the back of the book.

Love and second chances aren’t easy to come by in a town named Tombstone.
When Christy Grey receives an urgent summons to Tombstone, Arizona, she reluctantly leaves her new life in California. The trip goes from bad to worse when masked men hold up Christy’s stage. She finally arrives in Tombstone to find her mother ill and her brother trapped in a life of gambling. Desperate for money to support her family, will Christy bow to pressure from the local saloon owners and return to the life she thought she’d given up for good?

Nevada King has problems of his own. He’s been dodging bullets for years and wants nothing more than to settle down. But he’s on the run from outlaws bent on revenge, and the one woman who captures his interest recognizes him from the stagecoach holdup. Will Christy turn Nevada in to the authorities, or will the outlaws on his trail catch him first?

If you could only share one line from Love Finds You in Tombstone, Arizona, which one would you choose and why?

I hope it’s ok to go a little beyond one line—it’s tough to take one out of context. This is from Sara, a girl who works in a saloon, talking to our heroine, Christy.

“I’m dirty, like an old dishrag left to mold next to the slop bucket. God won’t take notice of me.”

“But that’s where you’re wrong.” Excitement colored Christy’s voice, and she leaned forward, tucking a strand of hair behind Sara’s ear… (skip forward)….

“Sara, none of us are perfect, but God loves us the way we are. He’s the only one who can change us.” Christy suddenly realized all the words she’d spoken to Sara were actually directed at herself. All these years she’d thought she had to be perfect to accept God’s love.

Writers often put things in their books that are very personal—like a funny story that happened to them, a spiritual truth they learned through difficulty, or even just a character trait that is uniquely theirs. Is there something in Love Finds You in Tombstone, Arizona, that only people close to you know is about you or someone you know?

I’ve done that often in the past—especially in my debut novel, The Other Daughter, and again in Love Finds You in Last Chance, CA (with all the horse details, as I’m a horse person). I think what I included in this book (the redemption thread) has more to do with the type of ministry I’m involved in—praying with and counseling hurting women—and seeing God’s grace and redemption at work in their lives.

Readers often talk a lot about the hero and heroine of a story, but today I’d like to know something about your villain. Does he or she have a redeeming quality? Why or why not?

My books rarely depict redeeming qualities for my villain. Not that they might not have some, but because my books don’t center on the villain, they center on the hero and heroine. Because it’s a love story and not suspense, there’s rarely a need to develop a deeply layered villain. I am working on one now, however, where that will change, but to date, it’s not been the case.

What kind of research did you have to do for this book? Can you share some articles or website links you found particularly helpful?

I love the research phase of my books, as (so far) I’ve been able to visit the town or location where each novel is set. My husband Allen and I traveled to Tombstone in April of 2010 and spent 3 ½ days there. We visited the newspaper office, the Bird Cage Theater, the Crystal Palace, the Oriental Saloon, (both depicted in my book), museums, the old courthouse, jail, sheriff’s office, went on an underground tour of an old silver mine, got to see the boarding house I used, and visited many of the businesses (some of which are the original buildings or close to original). I also found a wall map of the city streets of Tombstone during 1881 that I posted close to my desk and referred to often, to accurately depict street names and business names/locations. I also used the library and checked out a number of books on the history of Tombstone, as well as doing online research.

Tell us what new projects you’re working on.

I have several going right now. An editor requested a proposal for a series of horse novels for girls ages 8-12 and I’m hoping to have an answer on those in the next month or so. I’m in the process of writing two new historical novels, one with an old west theme mixed with romance, the other set in the old west, but with more of a mix of women’s fiction and romance. And my next release is August 1st, Love Finds You in Sundance, WY, with Summerside Press. Set in the late 1880’s, it has a lot of action, adventure, romance, and of course, a handsome cowboy for a hero!

The most common thing I hear when people learned I’ve published a book is, “I’ve always wanted to do that.” Faced with this statement, what advice would you give to someone just starting out in this business?

Never give up if you feel this is what you’re called to do. Don’t let others discourage you with their stories of rejections and struggles. Yes, you’ll have rejections as we all do, but don’t live there. Get connected with other writers who will encourage you, while staying open to constructive criticism from writers who’ve gone down the path ahead of you and can help you avoid pitfalls. Above all else, cover everything in prayer. If God is in it, nothing can stand against you!

What is the one question you were afraid I would ask…and how would you answer?

I think one that I dread the most is ‘if your book was a movie, who would play your characters?’ Sigh. I’d say, sorry….I rarely watch current movies, as I don’t have time, so I don’t have a clue who would fit the role. So I guess whoever wants to play them, LOL!

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Miralee is giving away a copy of her book. Be sure to stop by The Borrowed Book on Friday for your chance to win!

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