Missing Thea James by Author Cathy Elliott

As I celebrate the recent release of my new cozy mystery, A Stitch in Crime, I find myself missing someone. Missing my plucky protagonist, Thea James, even amid much mention of her exploits. Once, her thoughts and movements and loves and concerns filled my head. They kept me company as I wrote recorded her adventures in the daytime and later, when I teetered on the edge of dreams, I’d plan what she might do tomorrow. 

I was so drawn into Thea’s story, often I didn’t notice certain things. Important things. Like the night I rushed into the kitchen, cut up my favorite veggies – broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage – and arranged them in the steamer. I turned on the heat, covered the pot, and hurried back to my computer. To Thea. She was in the middle of a very bad situation, in need of immediate rescue. No one could help her except me. I had to write her out of that wrong. And be quick about it.

It took about forty-five minutes to move the story past that terrible part, allowing Thea a chance to escape, but I was focused. Determined. Single-minded, if you will. And finally managed to bring Thea through without real harm. Whew. 

I sat back in my chair, happy, relaxed, breathing deep sighs of satisfaction. But wait. What was that smell? Straightening up, I did the head-cock thing. The veggies!

Like a rocket, I zoomed back into the kitchen and turned off the heat. Picking up the pot with the steamer inside, I noticed it seemed extra light. When I took off the lid, I saw why. No water. I’d forgotten to fill the bottom of the pot with water for steaming. And forgotten to set the timer. Thea’s dilemma had consumed my thoughts so much that now I had no dinner to consume.

Turning on the water, I allowed some to accumulate in the bottom of the pot. It sizzled resentfully. Steam rose up through the vegetables, moistening them. Hey, they didn’t look all that bad. I forked through and realized they weren’t burned. True, they had a curious smoked fragrance, but I didn’t see any burned broccoli. Of course, the pot was black as soot. I sent up a “thank You” that I’d used one of my heavy-duty, All-Clad pots that I love so much just for this reason. To accommodate my absent-minded, culinary skills. Especially on deadline.

What a relief. I’d saved Thea and the pots had saved dinner. A little butter, sprinkle of lemon pepper (my new favorite seasoning), a bit o'cheese, and it became a blackened feast. Okay, in truth, only the pot was blackened, but the dish had the hint of the old campfire about it, without the roasted marshmallows. Not bad.

Thea and I had many such side trips. Where her world seemed more real at times than mine. It certainly invaded most everything I did, everywhere I went, and every conversation. At Bible study, I’d admire the quilt on the back of a sofa and think, “I bet that would be a good quilt to put in the Blocks on the Walk Quilt Show.” I’d find out the details and make a note to self. At dinner with friends, someone would tell a funny story about a relative or say something in a way I’d never heard before. “Do you mind if I use that in the book?” I’d ask, writing it down. 

Thea and I had a close relationship for some time and I enjoyed every companionable moment. Not thinking about her is an adjustment. It feels a bit like empty-nest-syndrome. And maybe I’m taking too much time to say “goodbye.” I need to do so pretty soon. Once she is settled in the hearts of new readers, living out her story, maybe then. 

After all, many other characters are waiting, vying for their worlds to be created. For their stories to be told. I think it’s almost time to open the door and welcome them inside. I’ll wave to Thea as she goes and give her a high-five, knowing she’ll be okay.

Cathy Elliott is a full-time writer in northern California whose cozy mysteries reflect her personal interests from quilting and antique collecting to playing her fiddle with friends. She also leads music at church and cherishes time with her grandchildren. Cathy’s other plot-twisting works include Medals in the Attic and A Vase of Mistaken Identity.

Website & Occasional Blog - www.cathyelliottbooks.com

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/cathyelliott10/

Facebook – Author Cathy Elliott cathyelliottbooks.com

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"We Never Write in a Vacuum, Do We?" by Author Kathryn Springer

I’m sure my friend, Beth, didn’t know her question would end up in a blog when she sent me an email last week! She also didn’t know that the emergency room doctor had found a blood clot in my mother-in-law’s lung so I had been dividing my time between the computer and the hospital. She didn’t know that my emotional seams were beginning to unravel a bit. 

What a nice, “writerly” way of saying I was about to lose it! 

When I sit down at the computer every morning, I bring with me all the things, big and small and in-between, that are on my mind and in my heart. Prayer requests from friends and family. The items on my to-do list.

It was Beth’s question that helped me reset my perspective. Because life happens and we write about. . .well. . .life, right? 

And when life gets difficult. . .so can writing.

One piece of advice writers hear over and over is, “write what you know.” It makes sense, doesn’t it? When I write what I know, it gives me credibility. I can create a town like Banister Falls in The Dandelion Field because I’m a small-town, Midwestern girl. When I describe the changing seasons or a sunrise over a northern Wisconsin lake or an eagle in flight, the reader can see it because I’ve seen it. 

Those kind of details make for a good story, but I think a great story is the one where I’m not afraid to wade into the deep emotional waters with my characters instead of standing on the shoreline, taking notes. The books on my keeper shelf have one thing in common—they didn’t just entertain me for a few hours, they burrowed right into my heart because I felt a strong connection with the characters. It might be because we share a common experience or dream the same dream. Struggle with the same things. 

And that’s where the “life” part comes in! 

When life—and writing—get difficult, I take this a step further. “Write what I know” becomes, “Write what I know about God.” 

So. . .what do I know about God? 

I know He is faithful. I know He is kind. I know He gives beauty for ashes. I know He heals. Restores. Blesses. 

I know these things because I’ve experienced them over the years. I experience them every time I remember to look at Him instead of my circumstances.

In The Dandelion Field, Ginevieve Lightly is a single mom who finds out her teenage daughter is pregnant. She doesn’t know God, doesn’t know His character. . .but she meets someone who does and it changes her. Gin discovers that God can take the pieces of a broken past and turn it into a beautiful beginning. 

He did that for me, too. 

    What I know about God becomes the spiritual thread that runs through the pages. And the really amazing thing? While I’m writing my character’s story—stories of grace and courage and restoration and hope—He is weaving those things into my story, too. 

No, we never write in a vacuum. 

Thank you, God.

USA Today bestselling author Kathryn Springer grew up in a small town in northern Wisconsin, where her parents published a weekly newspaper. As a child she spent hours at her mother’s typewriter, plunking out stories about horses that her older brother “published” (he had the stapler) for a nominal fee. Kathryn loves writing about imperfect people, small towns and a great big God. When she isn’t at the computer, you’ll find her curled up (in the sun!) with a good book, spending time with her family and friends or walking the trails near her country home. 

Please visit my website at kathrynspringer.com and sign up to receive my free newsletter, or find me on Facebook at kathrynspringerauthor! 

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Unearthing Buried Memories by Author Lynne Gentry

Historical writers love it when their research reveals a truth that is stranger than fiction…unless the truth they discover is one of their own buried secrets. 

A few months ago, I was deep into the edits of Return to Exile, the second book in my Carthage Chronicles series. The plague in third-century Carthage was ramping up. People were dying. My frantic heroine, Dr. Lisbeth Hastings, didn’t know what to do. 

I was editing a paragraph about measles (the mysterious malady I’d chosen to inflict upon the inhabitants of this series and had researched meticulously) when it suddenly hit me. Staring at the computer screen, I broke out in a sweat.

I was writing about a virus I’d had as a child … and I had almost died. How could I have forgotten?

Suddenly, I was eight years old, lying on the couch and burning up with fever in our drafty old Kansas farmhouse. The sights, sounds, smells, even the foul, wet-chicken-feather taste of my blister-coated tongue came rushing back. Every lost detail was now painfully vivid.  

It was Christmas Eve. In the corner the blue lights of the tree twinkled. My mother and grandmother hovered around me. They placed a cool cloth on my forehead and tried to coerce me into drinking hot tea. Deep racking coughs ripped from my raw throat. I struggled for air but couldn’t catch my breath. Mom plastered menthol rub all over my chest while my grandmother constructed a breathing tent she made from an old sheet draped over some stretched-out coat hangers. All night my family boiled water on the stove, carried the hot pot to my bedside, and fanned the steam toward me. I could hear the adults discussing whether or not I should be taken to the hospital. I remember my mother’s frantic voice. I remember being very afraid.

How could I have blocked this memory from my mind? Even more unsettling: how could I have written nearly 300,000 words about this deadly virus and NOT remember something this traumatic? The implications left me shaking. What other memories or feelings were buried deep inside of me?

As I writer, my job is to go deep into the minds and memories of my characters; to discover their secrets and capitalize upon their fears. This incident, however, taught me an important lesson: all of my characters carry a little part of me. My fears, my dreams, my flaws show up as various traits in them. For example, in Return to Exile, Dr. Lisbeth Hastings is desperate to save those dying of measles. As I was writing, I could hear the panic in her voice. Without access to modern medicine, what could she do? In a last ditch effort, Lisbeth and her mother built vaporizer tents and placed warm poultices on the chests of those struggling to breathe. Now I know where I got the idea to research homespun medical remedies. I know why I could see the little vaporizer tents in my head.

Curious if I’d plagiarized any other memories from my past, I carefully searched my Return to Exile manuscript. I discovered the bull chase scene is fraught with the exact same terror I experienced growing up on a dairy farm. The one animal I knew to avoid was the bull. Holstein bulls have dangerous temperaments and a reputation for causing serious injuries. One day I went to the pasture to herd the cows in for milking.  Less than a hundred yards away, our bull issued a deep, braying bellow that scattered the herd. His head went down and in a split second 2,000 pounds of pure aggression charged straight at me.

I turned and scrambled toward the fence. I don’t remember how I did it but I managed to shinny up those wooden slates and hurl myself over the top board. I fell to the other side a split second before the bull’s massive head hit the fence with the force of a freight train. I stood totally paralyzed and unable to move as he rammed the fence again and again. 

An author’s experiences and memories can’t help but show up in their stories. We bring our pasts with us. This revelation into my past has taught me two important writing lessons. First, as a writer I must dig deep into my past and discover the secrets buried in my memories. Second, I can’t be afraid to live and experience new things. They are exciting fodder for future characters.

Lynne Gentry has written for numerous publications and is a professional acting coach and playwright with several full-length musicals to her credit. She likes to write stories that launch modern women into ancient adventures, such as Healer of Carthage (2014), which was the first in The Carthage Chronicles series. Return to Exile is the second, and Valley of Decision is expected September 22, 2015. Gentry loves spending time with her family and medical therapy dog.

To keep up with Lynne Gentry, visit www.lynnegentry.com, become a fan on Facebook (Author-Lynne-Gentry) or follow her on Twitter (@Lynne_Gentry), YouTube and Pinterest (lynnegentry7).

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The Most Famous and Widely Accepted Author in Our States by Author Sandra Hart

Robert Louis Stevenson and Mark Twain once sat on a bench in Washington Square to enjoy an hour's conversation. 

"Can you name the American author whose fame and acceptance stretch widest and furthest in the States?" Stevenson posed the question to the famous author at his side.

Twain believed he knew, but modesty prevented him from answering.

Stevenson quickly burst Twain's bubble, for it wasn't the beloved author. Stevenson then explained how he discovered the most famous author at a bookshop in Albany that displayed a large number of little books written by the same author, Davis. (Twain didn't recall the first name of the author.) All the books were compilations with a brief chapter of introduction written by Davis. Such titles as Davis's Selected Poetry and Davis's Selected Speeches were cheaply yet neatly bound. 

Not recognizing the author, Stevenson asked the bookseller about him. It astonished the well-known author to find that the books sold so well that it required freight trains rather than baskets to carry them.

Stevenson's lack of knowledge about the multi-published author didn't surprise the shopkeeper. He explained that no one had heard of Davis for his name didn't appear in print or advertisement as such publicity didn't appeal to him. Davis's books would never rise to the top; one must put on diving gear and plunge to starvation wages where the compilations were found by millions of readers. The author who sells to that market will make his fortune for these readers remain loyal. According to the bookseller, once a writer becomes a favorite in this market, his or her books will always be preferred for the fans pay little attention to reviews. They simply know what they love.

On the other hand, well-known authors must worry about reviews and the weather on the top, for winds of slander may blow and hammer away at their good name.

Stevenson and Twain discussed this kind of submerged fame and decided to call it submerged renown. Authors with submerged renown affect a great number of people they never meet or speak to, but who read their books and develop a fondness for the writers. These readers don't criticize or listen to the criticism of others for the author has found a place in their hearts.

This pair of famous, well-loved authors agreed that this type of fame was best of all. 

In this day of social media, where publishers insist on authors building a platform and getting their name into the public arena, many may feel this is no longer valid. It is frequently stated that no one will find an author's book without publicity.

Or perhaps those readers Stevenson and Twain determined to strive for will find the best of authors and books anyway.

It's definitely food for thought.

Sandra Merville Hart loves to find unusual facts in her historical research to use in her stories. She and her husband enjoy traveling to many of the sites in her books to explore the history. She serves as Assistant Editor for DevoKids.com and is a contributor for a collection of stories about answered prayer in Jesus Encounters, (Spring, 2015.) She has written for several publications and websites.

Find Sandra here:

http://devokids.com/category/stories/adventures-in-history/

http://www.barndoorbookloft.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandra.m.hart.7

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sandramhart7/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com

 You may purchase the book at:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-My-Land-Sandra-Hart/dp/1941103278/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405606746&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Stranger+on+my+land.

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-stranger-on-my-land-sandra-merville-hart/1120155194?ean=9781941103272.

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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

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A Recipe for Writing by Author Stephanie Reed

Christmas is coming. It’s a great time to share a cherished recipe. This recipe won’t replace green bean casserole or orange cranberry relish, but it’s helped me become a better writer and it can help you, too. My goal for each novel is that it should be better than the one before. That’s why I hope you will read my latest novel, The Bachelor, book two in my Plain City Peace series. 

 

Before I write, I work up an appetite by reading. Read many styles of writing, not just your favorites. You can learn great techniques from other authors. If you read library books, you can brush up on reading free of charge, yet the payoff will be huge. I believe reading is the single most important ingredient in this recipe, aside from trusting the Lord. Reading helps you soak up grammar, spelling, style, flow, dialogue, and setting. 

Write the kind of book that makes you smack your lips and beg for seconds. I love to read stories based on real people, so that’s the kind of books I write. As a Christian, I believe the Lord inspires me to write the way I do and He will inspire you to write in a certain way, too. Look at the Bible; there are many writers, many styles, and many subjects, yet the Lord inspired every one. The Lord has planned your writing career since the beginning of time, and He’s been leading you by enriching you as a reader.

As you write, remember the most important person: your hungry reader. Do you like it when a mystery writer holds back on clues? Or how about when you find a mistake in a non-fiction book? When a novel is filled with boring characters, do you keep reading? How disappointing to sit down for a feast and then leave the table hungry. Good writing is not throwing together random ingredients like you’re trying to get food on the table by 6 o’ clock sharp. It is assembling all the best ingredients with love and improving your work by fixing mistakes, like timeline problems or character eye color. Trim away the fat! When you revise your writing, you show that you care about your reader. Your writing is not done until it’s well done.

Don’t invite company over when you try out a new dish. Before you serve up your writing, do a taste test. Trade your work with a trusted writer friend or two. Don’t be shy. Critique partners can make helpful suggestions on how to fix something you may have missed (and trust me—you missed something). If you trade with someone who seems harsh, pray for wisdom on how to proceed. I have two critique partners who read my manuscripts, and I do the same for them. For you writers who aren’t published yet, revising can take as long as you like, and it can even be fun. Once you have a contract, however, edits take on a time element. Revising according to an editor’s suggestions by deadline can be stressful, like unexpected company’s coming and you need dinner on the table ASAP. Ultimately, it’s your recipe, your story, but sometimes it’s nice to have a little help. Try to think of your editor as a sous chef who makes sure all the ingredients are prepped and ready to add at the critical moment.  

Feel free to take my suggestions to your test kitchen and try them out. And don’t forget—all the best cooks add their own flourishes to tried and true recipes. One last tip: ask the blessing before you serve your readers. It won’t be long before readers will relish what you write.

  

Stephanie Reed lives on the outskirts of Plain City, Ohio, site of a once-thriving Amish community. She gleans ideas for her novels from signs glimpsed along the byways of Ohio, as she did for her previous books, Across the Wide River, The Light Across the River, and The Bargain. The Bachelor is the second book in the Plain City Peace series.  

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Tales of Shakespeare Retold by Author Leslie Gould

I love a good retelling, so much so that my entire series, The Courtships of Lancaster County, is inspired by four of Shakespeare’s plays. Becoming Bea, inspired by Much Ado About Nothing and the fourth in the series, releases this month. 

Did I have any qualms about writing retellings? Not at all! 

Shakespeare’s plays were all inspired by other stories. In fact, I’ve read that most of Western art originates from either the Bible or Greek myths. Shakespeare was no exception. The first written story of the ill-fated lovers who later became Romeo and Juliet goes back to 8 AD when Ovid penned the tale in his Metamorphoses, written in Latin.  The oral story, however, goes back to the Greeks. 

Retellings are as old as time. I compiled the following list of a few modern day ones, both in film and novels.

1. 10 Things I Hate About You (film) (The Taming of the Shrew)
2. Adoring Addie by Leslie Gould (novel) (Romeo and Juliet)*
3. Becoming Bea by Leslie Gould (novel) (Much Ado About Nothing)*
4. Brave New Girl by Louisa Luna (novel) (The Tempest)
5. Clueless (film) (Emma by Jane Austen)
6. Courting Cate by Leslie Gould (novel) (The Taming of the Shrew)*
7. Easy A (film) (The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne)
8. Ever After (film) (Cinderella)
9. Judge by R.H. Larson (novel) (Jonah)*
10. The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson (novel) (Snow White)*
11. The Lion King (film) (Hamlet)
12. Love Amid the Ashes by Mesu Andrews (novel) (Job)*
13. Love in a Broken Vessel by Mesu Andrews (novel) (Hosea)*
14. Loves Sacred Song by Mesu Andrews (novel) (Solomon)*
15. March by Geraldine Brooks (novel) (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)
16. The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson (novel) (Beauty and the Beast)*
17. Minding Molly by Leslie Gould (novel)  (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)*
18. My Fair Lady (film) (Pygmalion)
19. O Brother Where Art Thou (film) (Odyssey)
20. The Proposal (film) (Pygmalion) (The Taming of the Shrew)
21. Scotland, PA (film) (Pygmalion) (Macbeth) 
22. She’s the Man (film) (Pygmalion) (Twelfth Night)
23. A Simple Twist of Fate (film) (Pygmalion) (Silas Marner by George Eliot)
24. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (novel) (Hosea)*
25. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (novel) (King Lear)
26. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (Greek Myth of Cupid and Psyche)
27. Warm Bodies (film) (Pygmalion) (Romeo and Juliet)
28. Westside Story (film) (Pygmalion) (Romeo and Juliet)
29. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (novel and Broadway play) (Oz by L. Frank Baum)

*contemporary inspirational market

I’d love to hear your favorite retellings! Please leave a comment below. 

Leslie Gould is the #1 bestselling and Christy Award winning author of 19 novels. She and her husband, Peter, live in Portland, Oregon and are the revolving-door parents of four children and the owners of three cats. Leslie loves researching church history, seeing Shakespeare plays, and traveling with her hubby, mainly on research trips. Find out more at www.lesliegould.com. 

Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Bea-Courtships-Lancaster-County/dp/0764210343/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413412166&sr=1-1&keywords=becoming+bea+leslie+gould

http://www.lesliegould.com/ 

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What's the Word by Author Yvonne Anderson

At my first writer’s conference (ACFW, Dallas, 2007), I met with Andy Meisenheimer, then acquisitions editor for Zondervan, to discuss a manuscript. The occasion held a number of personal firsts: among other things, my first conference, my first meeting with an editor, and my first foray into writing science fiction.  (Four years later, the book was published as The Story in the Stars, the first in the Gateway to Gannah series.)

By God’s grace, I wasn’t particularly nervous. Considering the experience an educational field trip, I felt no pressure to achieve any specific goal but to learn and enjoy myself. Since I had no expectations, I was surprised that when I explained my story’s premise to Andy, he showed real interest and asked pertinent questions, nodding at my answers as if intrigued. (Possibly he was just being nice, because he seems to be that kind of guy.) 

One of the questions had to do with the languages in my story world. “A lot of writers try creating a language, such as Tolkien did with the elvish language, for instance. But it usually doesn’t hold together logically like a real language does. Do your characters speak another language? And if they do, how did you create it?” When I told him the Gannahan language was ancient Hebrew, his eyes widened and he grinned. “Cool!”

When I first began to sketch out this new world, I thought about God creating our world, and how it all started with a garden. That inspired me to give the planet a garden-related name – but Eden was already taken. What about the word for “garden” itself? I got out my Strong’s Concordance and found the Hebrew word is gannah. Sounded like a good name for a planet. And so it began. 

Though the people of Gannah speak a language that’s very much like Hebrew, I don’t; the best I can do is name things based on Hebrew words I find in the concordance. For instance: the colorful forest in the opening scene, in which the foliage is blue, yellow, and red as well as green, is the Ayin Forest, based on the Hebrew word for color. The ruling family’s name is Atarah, which means crown; the Gannahan weapon of choice is called a lahab, meaning blade. But because my knowledge of the language is so limited, I use only a word here and there; I don’t put them together in sentences or write songs or poems, as Tolkien did with the elvish language.

How about the Karkar? (The which? The Karkar. They’re the people from a different planet, and ancient enemies of Gannah.) The Karkar words, what few of them I use, come purely from my warped imagination. And they’re fun. Listen while a character contemplates his job as a researcher on a medical starship: “The assignments were challenging but satisfying, and when he pillowed his head at dimlights, he felt as content as a luglit with a bellyful of well-aged zikzak.

Which brings me to another kind of word I had to create: names for inventions and concepts that don’t currently exist in our world, or are so different as to be unrecognizable. These names, I tried to make self-explanatory. Dimlights in that last example, for instance, refers to the fact that on a starship, there is no night and day, so the lights are dimmed during the hours that would be night if they were on a planet. Instead of a refrigerator, they have a chill cabinet, and rather than a microwave, they warm food in a quickheater. What we might call a snowmobile, Gannahans call a motorsled. On the space station, you’ll find no bellboys to carry your luggage to your room, but a baggage bot. (“Bot” being short for robot.) My favorite gadget is the floor bot. As you might guess, that’s the one that scrubs your floors to a cheery shine while you’re out having fun on your motorsled.

If you’d like to learn more, come visit Gannah; even people who usually avoid space travel enjoy their time there. You might even find a souvenir to bring home.

The first two of the four books in the series are currently available in both print and e-book versions. Book #1, The Story in the Stars (2012 ACFW Carol Award Finalist in Speculative Fiction) on Amazon and Barnes & Noble; Book #2, Words in the Wind on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

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The Case of the Deadly Slow Writing by Author Sandra Ardoin

National Novel Writing Month  is right around the bend. In my mind, I picture writers everywhere sitting at desks with pencils sharpened and held upright in hand, a couple of spares nearby. They stare at the clock. At the stroke of midnight on November 1, they bend over their desks and don’t look up until 11:59 p.m. on November 30. 

**Shiver** It reminds me of thosed timed tests in school.

Now, I’m not putting down anyone’s NaNoWriMo efforts and excitement. Far from it. I think it’s a great exercise in story completion and learning to get that first draft down fast. For some, it’s simply a challenge. For others, it’s a kick in the keister to get them motivated to complete that languishing manuscript. For me, it would be a wide-open Porsche on the Autobahn to an ulcer—a disaster in the making. (The same goes for the 1k/1 hour challenge, although I think I could handle that a little better.) 

You see, I’m a slow writer who can’t seem to shut off the internal editor as I go. I look for just the right word, just the right emotion, just the right … well, whatever … before I continue. I get lost easily and must reread the paragraphs I’ve written in order to move on in the scene.

I sigh every time I read where someone wrote thousands of words in a few measly hours. Sometimes, I want to be just like them; I truly do. It would certainly make my life easier. For one thing, I’d get out in the garden more often. And I wouldn’t need to worry about making my weekly word-count goals. Alas, though, I rarely get in more than 1,200 words in a full day of writing, and it’s usually less.  

For those of you who are like me and suffer from a case of slow writing, take heart. It’s okay. If you keep plugging away at it, your story will get be completed … eventually. 

Just as we each have a desire to write in certain genres, we each go about that writing in a different fashion and at a different speed. We’re pantsers, plotters, hybrids. The key is to accept what you can do and plan accordingly, especially if you have a deadline. If you only write 500 words per day, five days a week, that’s 2,500 words in a week, and an 80,000-word novel in eight months. 

Rejoice! You’re a writer!

Sandra Ardoin is a multi-published author of short fiction who writes inspirational historical romance. Her Christmas novella, The Yuletide Angel, releases October 2014. She’s the married mother of a young adult and lives in North Carolina. 

Visit her at www.sandraardoin.com and on the Seriously Write blog. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, and Pinterest. Sign up for her newsletter.

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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).

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