Word of the Week – Handsome

by | Mar 14, 2011 | Word of the Week

I don’t often pause to examine the etymology of words like “handsome,” which have meant what they mean for centuries, and so I can use freely in all my manuscripts.
But once in a while, it’s fun to see how it came to mean what we know all those hundreds of years ago. =) “Handsome” is a good example. When we break it down, it’s “hand” and “some.” Now how in the world did that come to mean “good looking”??
Well, first it meant “ready at hand or easy to handle” in the 1400s. Literally hand + some. By the mid/late 1500s the meaning had been extended to mean “considerable, of fair size.” And then within ten years, that became “of fine form,” which easily becomes “good-looking.” Then it extended further to mean “generous” (i.e. a handsome reward) a hundred years after that, in 1680.
Fun, eh? Who knew?
My Friend Liz – Interview & Giveaway

My Friend Liz – Interview & Giveaway

by | Mar 11, 2011 | Uncategorized

Today I’m happy to welcome Liz Johnson to the blog to talk about her release from Love Inspired Suspence, Code of Justice. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the peek into Liz’s world!

Liz has been gracious enough to offer a copy of Code of Justice to one lucky reader, so please leave a comment below for a chance to win!

~*~

About Code of Justice

“Follow the drugs.”

Her sister’s last words shake FBI agent Heather Sloan to the core. They also convince her that the helicopter crash only Heather survived wasn’t an accident. Sheriff’s deputy Jeremy Latham is assigned the case—he’s the one who can help Heather find the person responsible…once she convinces him they should work together. As they dig for the truth, they learn to trust and care for each other. Will they lose it all when the killer targets Heather? She’s willing to risk her life to find her sister’s killer—but her code of justice could cost her the chance to win Jeremy’s love.

~*~

About Liz

 Liz Johnson grew up reading Christian fiction, and always dreamed of being part of the publishing industry. In 2006 she got her wish when she accepted a publicity position at a major trade book publisher. While working as a publicist in the industry, she decided to pursue her other dream-becoming an author. Liz makes her home in Nashville, TN , where she enjoys theater, exploring the local music scene, and making frequent trips to Arizona to dote on her two nephews and three nieces. She loves stories of true love with happy endings.

~*~

What’s your latest book?

Code of Justice, from Love Inspired Suspense, just released March 1, 2011

It sounds great! What’s your favorite part of the story?

Code of Justice is a story about sisters, and I loved getting to explore what one sister would do to find justice when the other is killed. Writing it helped me really think through how I show affection and love for my sister and sister-in-law. I think it’ll be one of my favorites for a long time.

Funny how novels can make us better understand ourselves, isn’t it? =) Other than the Bible, what’s your favorite of all the books you’ve ever read?

My favorite novel of all time is The Witch of Blackbird Pond Elizabeth George Speare. It’s a Newberry Award winner from the 1950s and tells the story of Kit, a young woman who must move in with her only relatives, Puritans in New England. I love the way this book make history come alive for me and how I would reread it over and over again as a child. I fell in love with Nat Eaton (probably my first literary crush), the sailor who not only rescues Hannah, the Quaker woman called a witch, but also wins the heart of Kit.

Oooo, I read that back in 6th grade and LOVED it!! Such an awesome book, for sure. But back to YOUR books. Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?

I’m never far from a thesaurus no matter what I’m working on. While I was writing Code of Justice, I kept several aircraft/helicopter websites open at all times, learning what I could about their anatomy and what might actually bring one down. 

Neat! What writing goal have you set for yourself that would be the hardest (or unlikeliest) but most rewarding to achieve?

When I turned 29 last summer, I wrote a 30 by 30 list. On there is to sign a 3-book series contract before my 30thbirthday. I thought it was really achievable when I wrote it, but I’ve discovered it’s not as easy as I thought. I can’t seem to get my proposal together. But I would really love to sign a 3-book deal this year.

He he, you’ve got a year on me. 😉 And I’d love to achieve that as well! Do you remember where you were when you got your first or most important call about a book contract?

I know exactly where I was when I got the call on my first book. It was July 15, 2008, and I was at the International Christian Retail Show in Orlando, FL. I was working as a publicist for a Christian publisher at the time, and I had an entire day of escorting one of my favorite authors from interview to interview. He had to stop to take a phone call, so I checked my phone as well, discovering that I’d missed a call from the 212 area code. The message was from the editor who I’d been going back and forth with on my manuscript for nearly 9 months. She asked me to call her back as soon as possible. Of course, I was busy working, so I had the rest of the day to talk myself into believing she was calling to let me down gently. In fact I was in such upheaval by the end of that day that I had to call my dad to calm myself down before I could call my editor back. Sitting on the floor outside my company’s hospitality suite, I got the best news of my life. Love Inspired Suspense offered me my very first contract for The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn.


That’s so cool!! But let’s delve toward the personal now. Have you ever taken someone in your family on a vacation? Where did you go?

My mom introduced me to Anne of Green Gables when I was a girl, and I fell instantly in love. So when I started writing seriously, I told my mom I would take her to Prince Edward Island when I sold my first book. Of course, no one tells first-time authors that they won’t make much money on the first book. So I told my mom we’d have to go after I sold my second. Sure enough, just a month after my second novel released, we flew to PEI and spent almost a week exploring the most beautiful island I’ve ever seen. It was incredible to walk where L.M. Montgomery had walked and stand on the beaches that inspired her words. We had an amazing time, and I can’t wait to go back again. 

Liz, we are kindred spirits! I’ve never been to PE Island, but L.M. Montgomery remains one of my all-time favorite authors. Oh, the Emily series!! But, again, back to you, LOL. Any upcoming releases we should keep our eye out for?

I’m really excited about A Star in the Night, a Christmas novella that I wrote as part of A Log Cabin Christmas collection, which comes out in September. I had so much fun researching the late Civil War era story set about 20 miles from my home in Nashville in historic Franklin, Tennessee.

~*~

Thanks so much for visiting, Liz! Readers, be sure to check out her website at www.lizjohnsonbooks.com. You can find Code of Justice at Amazon.

Void where prohibited. Entry into the contest is considered verification of eligibility based on your local laws. Chance of winning depends on number of entries. Contest ends 3/18/11. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.

Thoughtful About . . . Waiting and Fear

by | Mar 10, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized

As many of you know, about four weeks ago I pressed “send” on a manuscript submission. Exhaling a major sigh of relief, I then focused on my son’s birthday. Went to church the next day. Got sick that evening. For the next three weeks, I battled infection and flu and who knows what else, throat blazing with pain and nose a veritable facet. Fun stuff.
But you know, it kept my mind off things, LOL.
This week I’ve felt so great that I’m daily praising the Lord for renewed health. Sure, the nose still has a little gunk, but I can breathe through it. I can taste and smell again. My stomach isn’t revolting, I have no fever. My eyes are back to full strength after the bizarre swelling, so I can read. I can edit.
I can check my email every five minutes to see if there’s anything from a certain editor yet . . . 😉

See, this is going to be a relatively quick turnaround one way or another. I’ll have a yes or no pretty soon. I think. (Unless, my imagination points out, I just never hear and they let me assume a no . . . aaaaggghhhh!) Which means that every single day, I’m praying and praying and praying, giving God not only my fears but my hopes. Turning the whole thing over to him, to his will, his dreams for me, because my little brain is stuck between “It’s finally going to happen” and “It’s never going to happen.”

I’m an optimist–this is no secret, LOL. But there’s still that niggling Doubt Monster who whispers, “Every time you hope about something like this, you’re disappointed. Your hope jinxes you.” Stupid Doubt Monster! But what are my choices? To not hope? I can’t do that. It’s not in my nature. So instead, I hope, but give it to God. I trust him with it.
Last Friday I had a great moment. I was sitting at my desk, glanced over at my email, and thought, “If an email came in from the editor right now, I would be terrified to open it. Terrified. Lord, I’m so stinking afraid about all of this!”
My Bible lay open on the corner of my desk, still at the Psalms where I’d left off the day before. I pulled it over and glanced down at the next chapter. Here’s what it said:
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid? . . .
One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I see:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
I had a real “Wow” moment from that. Literally two seconds after whispering the words, “I’m afraid,” God directed my gaze toward those verses. And reminded me that my goal in life is not a contract with a major publisher. It’s dwelling in the house of the Lord. It’s beholding his beauty. It’s being his, doing his will.
God is so cool. =) Sure, waiting still stinks. But I’m waiting with the Lord. I’m doing his work while I do so.
In other awesome news (which is some of that work I’ve been doing), our publishing company, WhiteFire Publishing, is tickled to welcome Dina Sleiman to the family. Her medieval love story, Dance of the Dandelion, will make its debut this summer, right on the heels of Christine Lindsay’s romance during the British Raj in India, Shadowed in Silk. I’m so excited to be working with these awesome ladies! =) (And not just because it keeps me busy while waiting to hear from another editor myself, LOL.)
Thanks to all who prayed for me while I was sick. You guys are the best!

Remember When . . . Science and Religion Started Fighting?

by | Mar 9, 2011 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized

It was about a hundred and fifty years ago. Society was still Victorian, complete with strict morals, expectations, and a rising influence of middle class prosperity and individualism. Younger sons of gentry were still expected to go into the church whether they felt a call or not, and scientists had made such amazing leaps and bounds in understanding the invisible forces of the world that in consequence, that world was changing.

People still cried out for faith in something. They still wanted to believe. But science told them they must have proof. Fashionable people were making a whole culture around questioning one’s faith. And the church . . . well, it was still more about lip-service in a lot of places. How can lip-service possibly fight against scientific evidence?

And so Spiritualism was born, along with two types of people involved in it–the spiritualists, who were masters at suspending their disbelief in the face of even the most outlandish claims, and the psychical researchers, who approached this new quasi-science-faith with what they told themselves were scientific principles, though often they thoroughly messed them up.

The goal of Spiritualism? To prove scientifically that there is life after death, and so a God. They wanted to prove faith. They wanted to communicate and ask questions of those who had gone before them. They wanted to question, and to find answers.

I’ve undoubtedly mentioned this movement on here before at some point, because I have a story idea that revolves around this bizarre, oh-so-popular Victorian trend. Strangely, I keep thinking of this story as something that exists–something I ought to be able to talk to people about. Yet all I’ve written in it is 10 pages, LOL.

So I broke out a rather intimidating tome I bought three years ago to research Spiritualism and figure I’ll do my homework on the story while finishing up a few other projects. I have a feeling I’m going to be coming across some really interesting things to share with y’all, and thought I’d first remind everyone of what in the world this strange movement was all about.

So brace yourself–the war between science and religion is underway in research world, and it spawned some truly bizarre little battles. Careful of flying shrapnel–in this particular war it was reputed to take the form of moving chairs and knocking on walls. 😉

Story Time . . . The Read and Share Bible – Full Review & Giveaway

Story Time . . . The Read and Share Bible – Full Review & Giveaway

by | Mar 8, 2011 | Uncategorized

A while back, I posted about a great book of Bible stories for kids, but I’d only read the first few stories in it. Well, we have since finished the book and start ed over, so I though I’d share my full review. =)
The Read and Share Bible is a collection of over 200 stories from both Old and New Testaments, each one broken down into short snippets with brightly colored pictures to hold your little one’s attention. So the story of Joseph, for instance, is actually 13 stories starting with the coat of many colors and stretching through when Jacob brings the whole family to Egypt.
Here’s what I adore about this book–my kids adore it. Each night I let each child pick which book they want me to read, and each night my five-year-old daughter says, “The Bible stories.” She loves discovering these stories, loves when she already knows one, loves asking questions about them . . . and loves that when she asks, “Really? That happened for real?” Mommy answers, “Yes, it really did.” (Unlike with all the other books and TV shows she watches that aren’t ‘real.’)
I also love that this book has so many stories in it, the familiar ones along with some of the more obscure. Most of the bloody or violent ones have been left out (or seriously) downplayed, but they still get a full view of the hand of God through many generations. The stories are accurate if abridged, and when we finished it up, I knew my kids had just gotten a great foundation–one we could talk about and build on. And best of all, when we read the last story, my daughter said, “Yay! Now we get to start over tomorrow night!” Is there any better recommendation for a children’s book??
Here’s what I don’t love about it–in an effort to make the stories child-friendly, some facts I deemed key were left out. I’m not a big fan of dumbing down language to the degree they did (like only calling Pharaoh “the king.” Teach them a new word, it’s okay.), and the biggest complaint I have is that it tells about Moses getting the Ten Commandments but doesn’t tell us what they were. I was looking forward to a kid-friendly list and was seriously disappointed when it wasn’t there. My kids wanted to know them, too–so I explained them in my own words, as I did in several places where the explanation stopped just a bit too short for her.
But complaints aside, this is by far the best collection of kids’ Bible stories I’ve found. It’s engaging, it’s compelling, it has lead-in/follow-up questions for each story that are natural and fun, and it’s now a part of our nightly ritual. It’s also a semi-regular part of our Children’s Church, and the other kids  love it too.
And because our family loves it so much, I’m thrilled to be able to offer a copy for giveaway. This contest will run both here and at the Christian Review of Books, and you can enter both places for two chances to win. To enter, please leave a comment below with an email address.
Void where prohibited. Entry into the contest is considered verification of eligibility based on your local laws. Chance of winning depends on number of entries. Contest ends 3/22/11. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.
Cart
Checkout - $0.00
  • 0
  • 1