Unbelievable Real Life, Believable Fiction: Author Dianna T. Benson, EMT

Have you ever thought: “That’s so unrealistic,” while watching a movie or reading a book? The following will sound like unbelievable fiction yet it’s actually what occurred to my young family of five.

Spring 2009, an off-duty cop barreled into our car, injuring our oldest daughter, our son, and myself. My husband and our youngest daughter escaped uninjured. The two kids (ages 15 and 12 at the time) quickly healed; I suffered shoulder and cervical injuries.

A few months following the car accident, my husband’s biopsy on an enlarged lymph node in his neck was negative, but a few months later he was diagnosed with head and neck cancer (the biopsy results were wrong). In 2009 and 2010 he endured two surgeries and radiation. During this same time, our son battled a mysterious illness, Lyme disease was suspected. For the love of playing hockey as a goalie, our son fought the pain and continued to play. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder separation during a game. In a sling for that injury, he had a MRI on a cyst the size of an orange; thankfully, it tested benign. After numerous appointments with various MDs, an infectious disease MD diagnosed him with Lyme’s and treated him for the disease. Also in 2010, I finally had surgery to repair the labral tear in my shoulder.

Fall 2011, our son suffered a severe concussion from head trauma in a hockey game. Fall 2012, he suffered a second concussion. Spring 2013, he suffered a third, yet this one in a car accident (another car hit the car he was a passenger in while being driven to school). December 2013, his neurologist cleared him to return to sporting activities. While snowboarding, he suffered his fourth concussion, yet this time he didn’t even hit his head. Simple jostling of his brain now causes a concussion, which ended his hockey career (he was drafted into Junior Hockey). It’s unknown how long he’ll suffer post-concussion syndrome.

Our oldest daughter was diagnosed with scoliosis in fifth grade and wore a full body brace for years. While swimming for Virginia Tech under a full scholarship, her scoliosis worsened. May 2012 she endured a five-hour surgery (13-inch spinal incision). Due to the rotation of her curvature, her rib cage was concaved in four inches (think: thoracic spine curved to the side and twisted inward). Two titanium rods and twelve screws now hold her spine straight in-line. Unbelievably (many patients are still in bed seven weeks post this surgery) she swam in the 2012 US Olympic Swim Team Trials for a spot on the US Olympic Swim Team that competed in London at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Understandably, she was unable to swim anywhere near her best at Trials and didn’t make the team. During the 2012-2013 college swim season, she pushed herself, especially at ACC and NCAA Championships—she won two ACC Championship Titles. Nerve damage, unfortunately, ended her swim career.

In August 2014, on our oldest daughter’s 21st birthday, I was bicycling in a crosswalk with a stop sign when a car ran the stop sign, failed to stop in the crosswalk, and struck me on my bicycle. I suffered injuries head to toe and I’m still healing.

Our youngest daughter was only nine years old in 2009, so young to watch all this happen to her family during her elementary and middle school years. During what seemed like endless years of medical battles, I called the five of us: “As the Bensons Turn” – it just all seemed so ridiculously unbelievable. Laughter, a positive attitude, and our faith, plus the love and support of family and friends sustained our strength. More than anything, God carried the five of us; He reminded me and my husband, Leo, we are well practiced in dealing with life’s mountains. When I was a junior in high school, my dad was killed in a bicycle accident and from that day on I was on my own. Leo’s brother committed suicide when I was pregnant with our oldest daughter; I went into labor at the funeral. Leo and I have lost three babies.

All that said (whew), next time you think something is unrealistic in fiction, ask yourself – “Is it really?” I weed what I see in EMS and what all I’ve experienced in life into my fiction, giving those trials purpose as well as turning them into a positive. The way I see it, our struggles in life strengthen our endurance and better our souls; I believe that is God’s point.
   

Dianna T. Benson is the award-winning and international bestselling author of The Hidden Son and Final Trimester. Persephone’s Fugitive is her third release. An EMT and a HazMat and FEMA Operative since 2005, Dianna authentically implements her medical and rescue experience and knowledge into all her suspense novels. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three children. 

Learn more about Dianna at www.diannatbenson.com.

Her latest release, Persephone's Fugitive, is available at Amazon, Books-A-Million, and Barnes and Noble.

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These Happy Golden Years by Elizabeth Ludwig

My father said something to me recently. Upon learning that he had been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, he bitterly decried the latter half of his life as “golden”.

 “Golden for the doctors, maybe,” he said. “Is this what I’ve worked and saved for? To have all of my money go to pay for doctors and tests?”

That question stung, and I have pondered it many times over the past few months. Yes, I do believe that part of his outburst sprang from the fear. I also believe that deep down, my father regrets the choices that led to his condition. But mostly, I think he just wishes he could have what we all yearn for—to spend our last years in peace and comfort, relaxing on some sunny beach.

Right?

Except…where do we get this image of the ideal retirement? What word or revelation has led us to believe that we are deserving, or I daresay, even entitled, to a peace-filled, pain-free end?

 Now, before I go further, let me just say that I despise the fact that there is dread and disease and dying in the world. I HATE that my dad is sick, and I break down in tears just about every time I think about the possibility of a world without him in it.

Thankfully, I have the comfort of knowing I have a Heavenly Father who sees and understands my heartache. God does not delight in the afflictions of His people—quite the contrary. He is waiting for us to call upon Him, waiting to supply our every need, to soothe our every fear, calm our every doubt. He told us we would have trouble in this world…did we think those years after retirement wouldn’t count?

I think God wants to prove Himself able…not just in the big things of everyday life, but in the secret things. The fearsome things. The things we dare not voice.

 I hate liver disease. But praise God and hallelujah…so does He! And I can pray peace and comfort for my father. I can lift him up in faith, believing that my God is able and eager to meet his needs. I can look to Jesus, who said we would have trouble in this world, but then also boldly proclaimed,

“But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

To this, I can only add…even so, Lord Jesus. Even so!

Elizabeth Ludwig

BIO: Elizabeth Ludwig is the bestselling author of Christmas Comes to Bethlehem, Maine and the highly successful EDGE OF FREEDOM series from Bethany House Publishers. 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 children, she makes her home in the great state of Texas. To learn more, visit her on the web at:

Website: ElizabethLudwig.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethludwig102
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ELudwig_Author

Or contact Elizabeth: HERE

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Devotional: He Was Led

So, what did Pilate, Herod, and the Jewish religious leaders do after exhausting their questions and accusations?

Take the bruised, bloodied, and tattered Man, remove the beautiful purple robe and replace his own humble garments, then lead him out for crucifixion.

And that itself should give one pause.

He was led.

He went willingly.

Why would He do this? Why? I’ve asked this question here, before. We know it was for love. Love of fallen humanity.

“And He, bearing His cross ...” (John 19:17)

Wait a minute. We see in the other three accounts, as they came out, Jesus must have faltered. The Roman soldiers seized a man who was there “from the country,” a Jew from Cyrene, a city in eastern Libya, to carry the cross for Jesus. A stranger who was just in town for the great feast of the Passover, co-opted to carry the instrument of death for the ultimate sacrifice.

Did he know anything about what had been going on with this Jesus dude? Or was he just caught in the press, in the wrong place at the wrong time?

He too was led away.

Did he watch the bloody footprints of this man whose face was more marred than anyone else’s had ever been, and wonder if he’d be crucified as well? Did he feel a sense of relief when it turned out he wasn’t?

Do we all only feel a sense of relief when we escape some terrible fate?

I wonder too, are we willing to walk the road to the Cross, regardless of what awaits us at the end?

⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth. (Isaiah 53)

²⁰ And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. (Mark 15, all NKJV)

(This post first appeared March 30, 2014)

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Author Elizabeth Maddrey Acts Out — Scenes, That Is

Authors are a funny bunch. I’m not sure if you know that (if you are one, well, you know it. But if you’re mostly a reader, this might be news.) 

One of the things I do (and I know I’m not alone in doing it) when I get stuck trying to figure out the physical actions of my characters is... act it out. Now, as I generally write romance, I usually need a second person for my scenes. Enter my very understanding husband, who is an incredibly good sport.

Usually it goes something like this: we’re hanging out in the evening, each doing our own thing. I’m writing, he’s reading or playing a game. I hit a snag. First, I set the laptop aside and try to figure out how whatever I’m trying to write should work. (Honestly, I have the worst time figuring out if the people are sitting or standing in such a way that they can comfortably hold hands. You’d think that’d be pretty straightforward, but for whatever reason, I struggle.) After a few frustrating minutes, I say, “Hey. Can I borrow you a second?”

He usually shrugs and says, “Sure.”

So I set the scene, going over the dialog leading up to the point and what’s going on. And then there are a million awkward attempts to hold hands reminiscent of first dates in high school. Eventually I figure it out after moving us around and trying out various things (and sometimes he even has some good suggestions – though usually he just rolls his eyes at me.) Then I pick up the laptop and get back to work.

It’s helpful though – and so if you’re a writer, I heartily recommend acting out the scenes that are giving you fits. And sometimes, if you’re having your husband help out, go ahead and act out those kisses, because even if that’s not what’s causing a struggle, it’ll make him less hesitant about helping out the next time.

In my latest release, A Splash of Substance, I didn’t have very many scenes that I needed to act out until after I got my edits back. When Paige and Jackson hang out and watch the fireworks on the 4th of July early on in the book, I had them sitting next to each other on a picnic blanket. And then there was a hip bump. Now, if you think about it, the last time you bumped someone’s hip with yours, you were probably walking. Go ahead, sit next to someone and bump their hip. (That’s now been fixed, so you won’t get to snicker when you read it and wonder what kind of contortionists I’m writing about.)

You can find A Splash of Substance on Amazon. It’s also available for Nook, on iTunes, and Kobo.

Elizabeth Maddrey began writing stories as soon as she could form the letters properly and has never looked back. Though her practical nature and love of math and organization steered her into computer science for college and graduate school, she has always had one or more stories in progress to occupy her free time. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books and has mastered the art of reading while undertaking just about any other activity. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace.

Elizabeth lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. with her husband and their two incredibly active little boys. She invites you to interact with her at her website www.ElizabethMaddrey.com or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ElizabethMaddrey

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Author Elizabeth Maddrey Talks About Guilt

One of the things I’ve learned about myself is that I have a tendency to assume guilt, even when there’s no need to do so. Before my husband and I had kids, I mostly had that tendency under control. I’d learned not to take things so personally and to evaluate the truth of things in God’s eyes before taking on guilt.

And then we had kids and “mommy guilt” reared its ugly head. Was I doing everything that I should be doing? Was there more, or less, or different? Yet, at the end of the day, I’ve had to realize that the majority of “mommy guilt” I feel isn’t a worthwhile thing, designed to sharpen and mold me into a better mom, but a lie from the Evil One, seeking to rob me of my joy.

Some days though, even knowing it’s not a voice of Truth, the guilt I feel over silly things like choosing to spend a few minutes cleaning the house instead of continuing to play cars with the kids leaves me breathless. And it’s in those moments that I’m learning to step back, take a deep breath, and turn to God. He’s helping me learn to separate worthwhile guilt that leads me into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with my kids and Him from the rest and restoring the joy that the guilt was leeching out of my life.

In my March release, A Splash of Substance, Paige Jackson struggles with feelings of guilt for wanting to strike out on her own and start a catering company instead of going to work for her dad at his restaurant. As with my own guilt, Paige’s guilt is solely based on her perception of other people’s reactions to her decisions rather than their true feelings – and her relationships lose some of their joy because of it. While it’s not the primary focus of the novel, Paige does make some steps in shaking off guilt and reclaiming joy over the course of the story.

You can find A Splash of Substance on Amazon.

It’s also available for Nook, on iTunes, and Kobo.


Elizabeth Maddrey began writing stories as soon as she could form the letters properly and has never looked back. Though her practical nature and love of math and organization steered her into computer science for college and graduate school, she has always had one or more stories in progress to occupy her free time. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books and has mastered the art of reading while undertaking just about any other activity. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace.

Elizabeth lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. with her husband and their two incredibly active little boys. She invites you to interact with her at her website www.ElizabethMaddrey.com or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ElizabethMaddrey

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Devotional: Innocent Man, Stubborn God

... and the seemingly pointless trials continue, as the last day before the Crucifixion plays out.

This time, Jesus is dragged off to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. It’s obvious Pilate is irritated—for starters, Scripture tells us it’s first thing in the morning. From the account in John, we find out the Jews wouldn’t even enter the Praetorium because they didn’t want to be defiled on the Passover, so Pilate takes himself outside to talk to them. Luke’s account is fairly abbreviated—the Jews’ complaints are calculated to ensure that Pilate gets involved: he claims to be king, he forbids to pay taxes to Caesar. (We know this was a lie.)

I can almost hear Pilate heaving a sigh as he marches back inside and orders Jesus brought to him.

Are you the King of the Jews? he asks.

It is as you say, Jesus answers, in the account from Luke.

We know from John that there was much more to it, that Pilate’s curiosity was engaged at some point, and that Jesus takes the time to actually explain things in a way he doesn’t with anyone else during this time.

Are you the King of Jews? Pilate says.

Are you asking this for yourself, Jesus counters, or because others have told you so?

Hey, Pilate answers, I’m not a Jew. Your people and nation brought you here to me. What’s the deal?

My kingdom isn’t of this world, Jesus says. If they were, my servants would fight for me.

Kingdom, huh? Are you a king, then?

So you say, Jesus answers. This is why I was born, to speak the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.

And Pilate delivers that line, What is truth? and goes out to tell the Jews he can’t find anything on which to convict Jesus.

Not only that, but in stronger terms. He is innocent.

Throughout the rising and falling drama of the next hour or two, Pilate says it two more times. He is innocent. I find no fault in Him!

He knows the Jews want Jesus killed, and he’s trying hard to get out of it. He even tries sloughing off the job onto Herod, who’s at first excited to see Jesus, since he’s hoping to get some kind of magic show out of it. In this case, Jesus answers not a word. Disappointed, Herod joins in with his guard in mocking and abusing Jesus, and they send Jesus back to Pilate, dressed in a kingly robe designed to further mock Jesus’ claims.

Look, Pilate tells the Jews, ready to riot. Not even Herod found anything worthy of death. Let me punish him and then let him go.

No! Crucify him, they cried.

This is when Pilate orders the scourging. Even then, you can hear the exasperation in his pronouncement, Behold the man.

Look at Him.

By now He’s endured spitting and smacking and punching. Lies, malice, and mockery. All in silence, except for his cryptic statements to one Roman governor.

And Pilate caves to the crowd. Since when is Rome a democracy? Or swayed by the threat of riots?

By now I think Pilate was scared spitless. Caught between the under-rulers of a conquered nations and the appeal of a wife who begs him not to have anything to do with sentencing Jesus, himself arrested by the otherworldliness of this Man who wouldn’t even plead for his own life—indeed, who said  you would have no power at all over me if it hadn’t been granted you—who wouldn’t be spooked by that?

Astonishing, though. A hardened Roman official, who made it his business to clear out anyone stirring up trouble in this little province. Wouldn’t he have jumped at the chance to make an example of Jesus?

Yet, he doesn’t. Very strange.

And the Untame Lion continues walking the road toward His destiny as the ultimate Passover Lamb ...

¹³ Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; ¹⁵ no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. (Luke 23, NKJV)

(first posted March 23, 2014)

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An Interview with Author Debra Clopton

1) How long were you writing before your first publication? How many manuscripts had you written

by that time? Have you published any of your early works since? Do you plan to?

It took me 13 years to get published. But for 3 of those years, I wasn’t writing, instead I took a break to enjoy time with my 2 sons and my first husband. So technically it was 10 years of writing and submitting. During that time I finished 7 novels and have never gone back and revised them to sell—I thought about it but then realized I had too many new stories waiting to write to go back.

Tweet: Betting on Hope with author, Debra Clopton.

2) Are you a morning person? A night owl? How do you arrange your schedule to allow the most efficient, productive time for writing?

I’m BOTH! I love early morning and am almost always up and working by 6:30. But I love nighttime, too, and usually work past midnight. The truth is, I don’t actually sleep a lot and not by choice always. Five hours is a lot for me—I’ve always had a mind that just doesn’t like to shut down and so I have trouble sleeping. When I’m really hard on a deadline, it’s even harder for me to sleep so you never know what hours I’ll be sitting in my laptop working. 

3) What aspect of being a writer is the most challenging for you? Why is this difficult, and what steps have you taken to overcome this hurdle?

Most challenging is when your heart is heavy with sorrow for something in my own life or my family’s or friends’ I still have to get up and write. That is really hard to do.

4) Do you read your reviews? Have you ever replied to one? Do you find they influence your writing when you work on subsequent books?

Yes, I do read them! I hear a lot of authors talk about not reading them but I can’t seem to help myself J. But I don’t let them get me down if they aren’t what I hoped for—I know everyone has their own opinion. I try really hard to write the best book that I can and I pray as I’m working on the story that God will lead me to write the words that someone needs. If I feel like I’ve done the best of my ability then I’m satisfied that is all I could have done. I can truly say that I’ve been blessed with far more happy reader reviews than unhappy. 

5) If you’re a plotter, have you ever tried pantsing it? If you’re a pantser, have you ever given plotting a try? Can you swing both ways, or are you a confirmed devotee of one of these methods?

I’m a combination of both though I’m heavier on the pantser side. I create a very loose synopsis but never hold myself tightly to the proposed book. I have found that the best most creative aspects of my stories happen as my fingers are on the keys. I see true plotters doing these intricate synopsis and I think that is so cool and their work is amazing, but it would drive me crazy and my books would be far less interesting because it just doesn’t work that way. It is so wonderful how God created each of us uniquely; I find it fascinating. 

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

My writing NEVER flows… is there such a thing? I always, always suffer through a book and always about two thirds of the way through, I am convinced that it is the worst book ever and what was I thinking! My husband ignores me now but I truly believe it when I’m in that spot. It makes me cling to God more and really seek His guidance. I’ve come to accept it as part of my process. In the end if the book makes someone smile then I’m happy. When it truly helps someone in a deeper way, I feel completely humbled and blessed that God led me and was able to use me through my words. And that is why I do what I do.

Debra Clopton is a multi-award winning novelist and has written more than 22 novels. Along with writing, Debra helps her husband teach the youth at their local Cowboy Church. Debra's goal is to shine a light toward God while she entertains readers with her words.

Learn more about Debra on her blog, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Purchase her latest release, Betting on Hope, on Amazon.

 

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