by Roseanna White | Apr 16, 2012 | Word of the Week
There are so many fun phrases involving the word “hand” that I decided it was time to share some. =) I remember several years ago looking up “to know something like the back of one’s hand.” I had a hard time finding it but eventually discovered that it’s from the 1900s, which surprised me. So I had to take that out of the Victorian story . . .
But there are lots of “hand” phrases from way back in the day. It’s had the meaning of “worker” (as in, someone who uses their hands) since the 1580s, and a hired worker since the 1630s. The clock and watch sense is from 1570s.
Yet we didn’t give someone a hand, as in a a round of applause, until 1838.
It was used for the playing cards one person held, and a round in a card game, since 1620.
First hand and second hand information is from the 15th century, following the idea of literally handing information over. On the one hand . . . on the other hand followed by the 1600s, with a notion of weighing something in your hand, or holding two separate things.
Winning something hands down, though, is from the 1830s and is thanks to horse racing–jockeys would release the reins after an easy victory, you see.
Yep, you’ve got to hand it to the word hand (c. 1906 on that one, LOL)–it sure gets around!
On a side note, my first newsletter went out on Friday. If you missed it, you can view it here. And to be sure not to miss it in the future, sign up on my website!
by Roseanna White | Apr 12, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
As long as I’ve been writing, I’ve been drawing. Back in primary school, whenever I wrote a story I’d illustrate it. Princesses and bunnies and unicorns, singing flowers . . . yep. The norm. 😉 When I started on novels in middle school, I always tried to draw my characters and would play around with sketching book cover designs.
I’m not the artist my sister is, but it wasn’t about that–it was about making a visual for myself. Something to look at, something to inspire me. It’s why I’m liking Pinterest, and it’s also why I’ve been playing a lot over the last year or two with digital design. Am I a rock star at it? No. But I’m learning. And I’m having so much fun!
I’ve started handling the covers for WhiteFire titles, and it’s been like a treat. Gives a break to the word-crafting part of my brain but still lets me be creative. Everyone by now probably knows I designed Sandi Rog’s Walks Alone. I’m also doing Christine Lindsay’s second British Raj (can’t show ya yet because we haven’t done the photo shoot, but plugging in the perfect model shot will be a breeze). And I just tossed together one for our first contemporary that turned out really well. (Haven’t bought the images yet, so no sharing that one either, LOL.)
So last week when Harvest House sent me a cover questionnaire for
Ring of Secrets, I was pretty giddy. I
love this stuff! I got to answer questions about what my characters look like and provide links to images that match what I had in mind. I got to explain the fashion of the day, the setting, the time period. I even got to give them ideas for cover design!! Will they use those ideas? Eh, who knows. But I certainly had fun sharing my thoughts, and my editor had fun reading them and browsing the fashion sites I’d linked to. =)
Yep, in my mind this cover stuff, the images, the sketches are as enjoyable as writing. Well, for the hour or two they take, LOL. I wouldn’t want to do it all day, but I’ve discovered that it fulfills a need for me. Lets me flex my little brain in new ways and create something that I can see, right away. So much fun. And it leads to a book cover. Which is, hands down, one of the best moments of publishing. Opening up that file for the first time and going, “Wow. There she is. My baby. And oh, isn’t she lovely!”
Eagerly awaiting that moment with
Ring of Secrets. Must be patient, must be patient, must be patient . . . =)
by Roseanna White | Apr 11, 2012 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Last week I was chatting with a mother and daughter who had read and loved Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland, and they mentioned how much they love Wiley. Which, of course, made me realize I’d better finish up that proposal for a sequel wherein he’d be the hero so my agent can get it out to my editor. See if we can get the publisher to agree that a story about Wiley would just be perfect. 😉
Thinking about that so soon after trying to figure out an actor to represent Thad, hero from my second Culper Ring book, made me realize that one of my potential Thads would in fact be the perfect Wiley. So sorry, all you fans of James Paul Marsden–he’s out of the running for Thad and gets the distinction of being my fun-loving, fiercely loving Wiley Benton. =)
For those of you who have read
Annapolis, you know Wiley pretty well. On the whole, he’s a fun fellow. He himself says in Lark’s story that he detests being in a foul mood–it doesn’t suit him. Wiley would much rather be laughing, teasing, joking . . . but when someone he loves is threatened or hurt, then you’d better watch out. Because underneath the smiles, Wiley is a warrior who knows how to fight to win.
Also in
Annapolis, Emerson accuses Lark of being like her brother, ready to charge into battle like a hothead, not caring about the consequences. Well obviously, I couldn’t let that go ignored when plotting out Wiley’s story. We’re going to see plenty of his fun-loving, gentle side. And we’re also going to see Lieutenant Benton charge into action–and nearly lose all he was fighting for because of it.
The funny thing is that while I was searching for some historical events to anchor this story around, I realized that
nothing . . . happened in the year 1784, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Nothing happened in 1785. Or in ’86. Or . . . you get the idea, LOL. There were things, of course, just not that could reasonably have a part in a story set in Williamsburg. And given how history played a HUGE role in
Annapolis, that was kinda frustrating.
But then I stumbled across some fun little tidbits. Like, did you know that Virginia passed an act in ’83 freeing any slaves who had served in the Revolution on their masters’ behalf? But some were denied because they were in intelligence and not just regular soldiers. Hmm . . . I can work with that. Not that Wiley’s slaves could have gone in his place, as he was there himself, but still . . . I can work with that.
And also interesting was when I looked up the College of William and Mary, which is in Williamsburg. It has some fun traditions dating back to before the Revolution, including the very first Greek-letter fraternity, a secret society that wanted to take fraternities back to their roots of academic excellence and away from revelry. (Yeah, um . . . whatever happened to that? LOL) Naturally, Wiley has to have been one of the founding members back in ’76, before the war took him away. Fun, eh? Secret handshakes and all that jazz.
And so my Wiley has a face and a story. Not that we have any idea if that story will be snatched up by my publisher, but let’s hope so. Because oh, this guy deserves his love story. And boy, is he going to get one, with the most unlikely of heroines . . . 😉
by Roseanna White | Apr 9, 2012 | Word of the Week
Last Friday I journeyed with the kids, my sister’s family, and my parents to the Pittsburgh zoo. We had a great time seeing all the animals, and even the car ride was fun (over two hours away). On the way home, somehow or another we got talking about food, and Xoe asked me, not for the first time, why hot dogs are called hot dogs.
Hmmm… I promised to look it up, and promptly did so. =)
Firstly, a hot dog is defined as a particular type of sausage, usually served on a split bun. Check. And in the 1890s, sausages were sometimes referred to as “dogs.” Why? Well, ahem, there was apparently a suspicion that some sausages contained dog meat. And while I didn’t see any documentation on it, the articles said this suspicion was “occasionally justified.”
Ewww. Awww. =( I didn’t tell Xoe that justified part. Just that some people accused sausage makers of it.
Anyway. So earning the name “dog” was just because it was in the sausage family. The fact that they were served on buns made them a quick and easy meal when on the go, and apparently a little boy in the 1890s rushed up to a vendor and said, “Give me a hot dog! Quick!” and it stuck. (Yeah, sounds like lure, doesn’t it? LOL) It was popularized by a cartoon that really got the name stuck.
What’s even more interesting is that it only took 6 years from “hot dog” to go from the accepted name of that particular sausage to a verb used when someone’s showing off. By 1906, “Hot dog!” as an expression of approval had gained its place too.
So now that we’re moving toward the season of picnics and cookouts, you’ll know why you’re tossing hot dogs on the grill and not frankfurters or weiners or plain ol’ sausages. 😉
by Roseanna White | Apr 5, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
We’re doing a study of the cross at church, and last week as we discussed how Jesus knew all his life where he was headed, knew that he was to be the Servant talked about in Isaiah 53, the one that would justify the world.
He knew, always knew, that he would have to die. And not just die, but die for out sins.
Today is Maundy Thursday (just looked up Maundy, which means “Last Supper,” go figure), the day Jesus and his disciples gathered in that upper room for the Passover meal. My church will be having a messianic seder this evening, as a matter of fact. Jesus shed new meaning on the old ritual that night, didn’t he? He offered new interpretations of what they’d all done every year forever. He opened their eyes to the fact that he was fulfilling parts of the ceremony that were prophecy.
He washed their feet, showing what a Servant should do. He gave them a new commission, a new commandment.
Then he went out to the garden to pray.
That prayer–wow. It’s the most heart-wrenching, gut-twisting prayer in the gospels to me. He knows exactly what’s coming. He knows why it’s coming. And he dreads it. So much that he asks the Father to take this cup from him, if it’s possible. But above all, he wants the will of God.
Though I’ve dwelt on this prayer a lot, I’d never before questioned why he wanted the cup taken from him. It makes perfect sense, after all. Right? Who would want to go to the cross? Who wouldn’t pray to be saved from such an agonizing death, if there were another way to achieve the same ends?
But a new thought occurred to me this weekend. Was it the death Jesus dreaded so? The physical pain, those terrible hours?
Or was it the sin he dreaded?
See, it wasn’t just that Jesus knew the “what” of what was coming–it had a purpose. And pain with purpose is easier to face. We can go through birth because we know it’s how a baby enters the world. People jump in front of moving cars if it saves the child they push out of the way. So the pain . . . yes, I’m sure it gave Jesus pause.
But what really causes Jesus pain? What makes his heart twist throughout the gospels? What always seems to get to him most?
Sin. Separation from the Father.
Think about it. All his life, Jesus has been blameless. Sinless. Perfect. And that is a big part of why he’s one with God. There’s nothing to separate them. He can approach the throne even from earth, because he has done no wrong to keep him away.
But the cross, to Jesus, wouldn’t just represent false punishment or torture. He knew well that when he took that punishment, he was the sacrificial lamb. He was taking the sins.
And oh, the sins. Can you imagine looking, in a few short hours, at every single sin in history? Every…single…sin. The lies and betrayals, the murders and rapes–piled on his shoulders. The infidelities and idolatries, the outright worship of Satan and demons–all on him. He, who had never once sinned, whose heart grieved whenever he saw a sin in us, would be under that weight. All that weight. Guilty, in that moment, of the most heinous crimes. Guilty of blaspheming the Father he loved above all. Guilty of everything. Everything.
That, I think, is what made him sweat blood in the garden. That is what made him say, “Father, must I? Is there no other way?” That, far more than physical agony, is the pain that Jesus feared. After all, it could have been any kind of death, right? And it would have sufficed. The sacrifice didn’t require a cross.
But I daresay Jesus still would have prayed that prayer, even if facing a lethal injection. Not because of the physical, not because of the death.
Because of the sin.
Thank you, Jesus, for facing that unfathomable, crushing mountain of weight upon your shoulders for me. Thank you for taking my sins on yourself that day so long ago. Thank you for loving me so much that you faced it, even knowing it would mean the agony of separation from your Father. You did it so that I might draw near to Him.
Never can I thank you enough for that. But I’ll spend the rest of my life trying.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, 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. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.