by Roseanna White | Mar 24, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I’ve been reading through the Psalms lately, which is my go-to place in the Bible when I’ve finished up another book and am not sure where I want to head next. I know they’re a go-to for many other people too, and the one I read today hammered home why.
David (and the other psalmists too, I’m sure, though I’ve been in his lately) is so real in the psalms. You can feel his heartache. You can hear the tremor of pain in his voice. You can smell the incense he sends wafting up in prayer. But more, you can taste the hope on his tongue.
Here’s a bit from Psalm 41, which I just read. (starting at verse 9)
Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.
But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up,
That I may repay them.
By this I know that You are well pleased with me,
Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And set me before Your face forever.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
This is but one of many examples of what appeals to me about these songs. David had real, honest-to-goodness problems he’s dealing with here. A best friend that has turned against him. People trying to sully his name. In the verses above these, he says how his enemies want him to die and his name be blotted out forever–which gave me a big “Ha!” since he’s one of the most well-known men of all times!
David isn’t afraid to let loose those negative feelings, to cry out to God with the hurt and pain he feels. He utters words that could be considered whining, complaining, and bellyaching. I mean, yeah, sure, people were actually trying to kill him, LOL, but just looking at the words above–who hasn’t been in a position where a friend has turned against him? Who hasn’t felt as though his heart has been totally crushed by it?
It’s okay to share those feelings with God. He knows, He’s been there, and He cares. Go ahead, pour out all your aching complaints to Him! He won’t call you a whiner. 😉
But what I love about this psalmist is that he always, always, always goes back to the hope that’s to be found in the Lord. Always. He knew that no matter how bleak things seemed, God had his back. God blazed the path before him. God protected his flank. Sometimes the battle probably looked pretty dire, with the enemy closing in, but David knew that victory didn’t lie in telling his adversaries off–it lay in embracing the Lord.
He upholds our integrity. He sets us before His face. Who cares what the backstabbers are doing when the glory of the Lord’s before us?
I’m an eternal optimist, forever hopeful that good will come from bad. This is why I kept writing, writing, writing even when I kept getting rejection after rejection. I have twenty finished manuscripts in my computer. Twenty. Trust me, I came across some nay-sayers over the years. I heard from people who said it should only take so many years, or so many finished books . . . I even heard that the industry was in lockdown, and I simply wouldn’t sell, not because I wasn’t good enough, but because it just wasn’t going to happen.
But I hope in the Lord, trusting in him. And now I have a new contract that should be arriving any day, as well as a small company of our own that’s suddenly growing in amazing ways. Have I “made it”? Um . . . do you ever? LOL. But it’s reassurance that I am indeed on the right path. Right where He wants me to be.
God is good. He has set me before His face. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and amen.
by Roseanna White | Mar 23, 2011 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
One of those crazy mornings (both kids had their check-ups this morning), following one of those crazy days yesterday when I was too sleep deprived to do something as logical as schedule a post. So you can Remember When with me next week. =) For now, I’m going to get tomorrow’s post ready so I don’t make y’all wonder if I’m alive again. 😉
by Roseanna White | Mar 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
For those who pay lots of attention, you know that Shadowed in Silk is the next title due out from our publishing company, WhiteFire Publishing. I’ve probably even shared a bit about it. But now that we’re about five or six weeks away from digital release and have the full cover in our possession, I’m thrilled to get to talk about it in more depth.
She was invisible to those who should have loved her.
After the Great War, Abby Fraser returns to India with her small son, where her husband is stationed with the British army. She has longed to go home to the land of glittering palaces and veiled women . . . but Nick has become a cruel stranger. It will take more than her American pluck to survive.
Major Geoff Richards, broken over the loss of so many of his men in the trenches of France, returns to his cavalry post in Amritsar. But his faith does little to help him understand the ruthlessness of his British peers toward the Indian people he loves. Nor does it explain how he is to protect Abby Fraser and her child from the husband who mistreats them.
Amid political unrest, inhospitable deserts, and Russian spies, tensions rise in India as the people cry for the freedom espoused by Gandhi. Caught between their own ideals and duty, Geoff and Abby stumble into sinister secrets . . . secrets that will thrust them out of the shadows and straight into the fire of revolution.
~*~
Usually I share my own summary of the story rather than back cover copy, but given that Christine and I wrote the back cover copy . . . =)
This isn’t going to be a typical review, but I’m going to share with y’all what caught our attention about this book, and why I’m loving it more, the more times I read it.
First and foremost, Christine researched the Indian culture for years, and that comes through brilliantly. Within the first few pages, the reader is plunged directly into the India of the British Raj. She describes in amazing (but never overwhelming) detail the sights, the smells, the feel of this land that she and her characters adore. You can feel the pain of the Indian people, the disdain of the British memsahibs, the hope and dread of the officer and American/British heroine who only want fairness for the people of their hearts. You can smell the bazaar, feel the brassy sun upon your head, and taste the fear when your realize there’s a Russian spy underfoot.
It’s brilliant.
I’m nearly done edits on it, and many of my last few comments have been “This scene is amazing.” “Another perfect scene.” “My favorite line in the whole book.”
And how did she achieve it? By being passionate about her subject. I know Christine through a historical list, and I know that she has a special place in her heart for India, where her own British forefathers served in the cavalry. This story is, in its abstract anyway, her family’s story. And that connection comes through and excites the reader. As does Christine’s love for the Christian ministry trying to win over the souls of the great sub-continent.
Plenty of experts have written about how setting can be a character–that’s definitely the case in Shadowed in Silk, and through this book I have fallen in love with India as surely I have with plucky Abby and honorable Geoff. I am so, so thrilled to get to help bring this amazing book to life and get it into the hands of readers, and so, so thrilled to be a fellow-author with Christine on WhiteFire’s list.
The digital version of Shadowed in Silk will be out May 1, and the print September 1. Rest assured I’ll remind everyone when it’s available! =)
by Roseanna White | Mar 21, 2011 | Word of the Week
Can’t say as I’ve ever looked up the etymology of “giddy” before, but since I’ve been using it to describe my emotional state all week, I decided it would be an appropriate Word today. =) (For any who haven’t yet heard why I’m giddy, check out my “Woo Hoo!” post.)
In Old English, the word that’s very close to giddy meant “insane, mad, stupid, possessed by a spirit.” But for whatever reason, that questionable madness, by the 1540s, had come to describe the happy, elated feeling we associate with the word today. I suppose those who are insane can demonstrate it, which would account for the move of meaning, but I sure hope my behavior this past week didn’t make anyone think “Is she possessed?” LOL.
Honestly, I find it pretty surprising that a bunch of other meanings haven’t sprung up in that amount of time, but I consider this one of those words that gets to keep its nearly-original meaning because it sounds like it means. Giddy–doesn’t it just perfectly convey the happy, bubbling euphoria of its meaning with those quick syllables? (Contrast with “quagmire,” which is so long and sluggish in sound, much like the marshy mire of its meaning . . .)
Here’s to continued giddiness all week!
by Roseanna White | Mar 18, 2011 | Uncategorized
Special announcement bringing me out in the evening! I wanted so badly to share this yesterday, but I had to wait until things were official. And official they are!
That
Annapolis story I’ve been working on? Summerside Press bought it!
Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland will be coming out this December, and I am honored and thrilled to be joining the illustrious ranks of Summerside authors.
So here’s the dish on getting the Call. My kids had spent Monday night at their grandmother’s, and she brought them home just in time for me to pack them up for Story Time at the Library. I had them buckled in and realized I’d forgotten my car keys. Ran down to the house . . . where the door was locked. So I ran back up, grabbed my house keys, and ran back down. Just as I grabbed the keys, the phone rang. My husband had heard me trying to get back in and emerged from his office to unlock the door, so he grabbed the phone. “It’s Janet,” he said.
Now, my agent doesn’t call me just to talk about the weather, but I was standing there with keys in hand and kids in the car, and my thoughts were a little scattered. So I answered, my heart thudding, but not with the single-minded clarity I would have expected.
“Are you sitting down?” she asked.
My mind flashed the kids in the car, who were hopefully not screaming, LOL. “No,” I said. “Should I be?”
She chuckled. “Yes. Sit down.” Once I was–on the step stool, mind you–she said, “We’ve got a sale! Summerside is buying
Annapolis.””
Me: “Oh, glory hallelujah!”
David made some positive kind of gesture–I couldn’t tell you what–and hugged me. Janet’s going on to talk deal points, I’m trying to crane to see if the kids have killed each other in the car, and David’s going, “What do you want me to do?”
So I send him out with the kids–one worry down–and then sink back down onto my step-stool to try to take it all in. Advance numbers. Royalty rates. Publication dates, dates the manuscript is due . . .
And inside, the Hallelujah Chorus is still gaining in volume. After getting the gist of the offer, I promise to talk to my agent later and squeal my way out the door. The kiddos–who don’t quite grasp the importance of a book deal with a big house–think Mommy has lost her mind as I sing and steering-wheel-thump my way to the Library. My mom was going to be there with my niece, so I knew I’d get to tell her in person. So I called my best friend and crit partner, Stephanie, totally not caring that it wasn’t even 9:00 in her time zone. Gave her a good start to her morning!
Now, let me just say that it’s hard to sit still through kids’ St. Patrick’s Day books when you’re buzzing with this kind of news. I managed it–barely–and then while they were chowing down on green cupcakes, Mom and I and the librarian let the glow
Shine and indulged in a few squeals and bounces.
Naturally I had to share with my friends right away, but it wasn’t until Friday that I was given leave to share with the world. So share I am!
It’s hard to believe that after a year of waiting for an answer, this is going to happen so fast! Nine months, in December, and my book will be out. On shelves. In stores. EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! (Still a little giddy, LOL.) And this release date is just perfect for the story, which is set in the winter, from November through February. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
I’ve done a lot of praising over here these last few days. It was a twisty, turning path a lot of the way, but the Lord has brought me right here, right now, leading me firmly each step of the way. I’m so thrilled to be able to join the Summerside family, and to add this story of early American history to my roster list of books–a departure from the Biblical, but a fun one.
Now, here’s a little one-paragraph blurb about
Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland:
In 1784 peace has been declared, but war still rages in the heart of Lark Benton. Never did she think she’d want to escape Emerson Fielding, the man she’s loved all her life, but then he betrays her with her cousin. She
flees to
Annapolis, Maryland, the country’s capital, and throws herself into a new social circle with new friends–-ones that force her to examine all she believes. Emerson follows, determined to reclaim his bride. But he soon comes to realize that in this new country he calls his own, duty is no longer enough. He must learn to open his heart and soul to something greater . . . before he loses all he should have been fighting to hold.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. Having successfully launched two homeschool grads, she now spends her time writing fiction, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years, as well as a fantasy series and contemporary mysteries and romances. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.