by Roseanna White | Aug 1, 2013 | Uncategorized
Today, in case you’ve misplaced any time this week, is August 1st. Do you know what that means? That it’s the official release date for Whispers from the Shadows!
I don’t know about you, but I’m excited. đ July has been a blast with the loooooong giveaways, and now I’m looking forward to basking with my newest book-baby.
You can read the official blurb here, but since you may have already done that, I thought I’d write something fresh today. Some behind the scenes. =)
Ring of Secrets includes the first chapter of this one in the back, so it’s not exactly a spoiler to share that the book begins with the murder of my heroine’s father. She’s British, and given that they are once again at war with America, I needed a really good reason to send my heroine to the U.S. At first I’d planned for her father to have died in a rather typical way–illness–and she went to Maryland to obey his dying wish.
Which, yeah. Isn’t much motivation. Not enough to send her through a blockade and all that. Plus, there was no urgency. So I thought to myself, “Okay…what if he sends her to keep her safe? And what if instead of illness, he’s murdered??”
Muuuuch more interesting. =)
Still. When I sent that chapter to my editor for inclusion in Ring of Secrets, I believe her response was something along the lines of “What? YOU KILL FAIRCHILD? You’re kidding, right? He’s not really dead, is he? He comes back later? RIGHT??” đ
It’s a suggestion she made several times, in several ways, LOL. But hey, starting with such a sad ending for Fairchild is what inspired me to write Fairchild’s Lady, so readers would know he’d been happy between the books. =)
So here we are with Gwyneth, daughter of Isaac Fairchild, and Thaddeus Lane, son of Winter and Bennet. Thad was an interesting hero because he’s so stinking good. He’s nice, he’s personable, everybody loves him, and he’s a man of rather staggering faith. I mean, this guy can hear the Spirit’s whisper so clearly… How was I to make him likable then?? LOL. Well, he has a few secrets that come halfway through, tied to his first wife. He also has a bit of a hero-complex. He has to save the day. Every day. So what happens when he can’t?
Gwyn was a lot of fun to write too. She’s suffering from some severe post-traumatic stress, which results in extreme insomnia. Nothing livens up a book like hallucinations and a heroine that might just fall over asleep in the middle of a conversation, right? đ
And of course, a cast of secondary characters that I just adore. You should totally rush to get a copy and get to know them. đ (Subtle, right?)
So Happy Birthday, Gwyn, Thad, and the rest of the Whispers crew! I’m so happy to welcome you officially into the world, where I pray you’ll engage, enthuse, and most of all, make people stop for a moment and wonder if the Spirit whispers in their ear like He does in Thad’s.
I guess I’ll close today with something that still makes me giddy. =)
In this second installment of the Culper Ring series, Thad Lane gathers
information for the American government during the War of 1812. When
Gywneth Fairchildâdaughter of a British generalâescapes London after
witnessing her fatherâs murder, she finds refuge with the Lane family,
whom her father had assured her were friends despite the war between
their countries. Gwyn then battles a crippling despair that threatens
her health and her budding feelings for Thad, who is likewise drawn to
her. As the British menace Washington and Baltimore, Gwyn and Thadâs
relationship must reckon with family secrets and forces both spiritual
and military. White (Ring of Secrets) skillfully illustrates depression
and PTSD in the traumatized Gwyn. Secondary characters shineânew readers
will likely seek the first installment to acquaint themselves further.
The charactersâ Christian faith is artfully integrated into their
personalities, words, and actions. The combination of romantic tension,
spiritual contention, and wartime intrigue makes for an engrossing,
entertaining read.
~ Publisher’s Weekly
by Roseanna White | Jul 31, 2013 | Uncategorized
And we have our final two winners! The winner of the last Ring of Secrets is:
Kathy Walton!
And the winner of the Puritan prayers, Valley of Vision, is…
Emma! (augustlily)
Big congratulations to all our winners of July, and again my biggest, heartiest thanks for joining me for this month of celebration, reflection, and becoming acquainted.
I can’t tell you all how awesome it’s been to get to know everyone a bit and see such energy and enthusiasm around here. Though I can’t promise continual giveaways anymore, I do hope you keep stopping by regularly for conversation. =) After today, I’ll be going back to my standard Monday~Wednesday~Thursday routine, with special featured like reviews and interviews appearing occasionally on Tuesdays and Fridays.
And now to sum it all up with what this month was about–join me in officially welcoming into the world, my latest, Whispers from the Shadows, available at all the online retailers now, and should be showing up in stores no later than tomorrow!
I Love HerâŚCan I Trust Her?
I Love HimâŚIs He Safe?
1814âEngland and America are again at war. Sudden and implacable
treachery causes Gwyneth Fairchildâs world to crumble in a momentâs
time. The daughter of a British general, she barely saves her life by
fleeing London aboard a ship bound for America. Her goal is to find
refuge with the Lane family in Maryland. Yet after meeting the Lanesâ
son, Thaddeus, Gwyn wonders how safe she is. For she discovers that this
family trades in a dangerous commodityâespionage.
Thad Lane is a prominent citizen in the city of Baltimore. He has the
ear of everyone, and he is in a unique position to pass on to leaders
of government exactly what he hears. Not long after the beautiful and
British Gwyneth Fairchild finds safe haven in his community, he
experiences the tug of love, though he fears it may blur lines of
loyalty. With family playing the part of enemies and enemies proving
themselves friends, a future with Gwyn is more than uncertainâit could
be life threatening.
In the end, with the British advancing relentlessly on Baltimore,
Thad and Gwyn have to trust in their shared faith in God to be a shield
about them. To give them a future and a hope.
Thanks again!! Oh, and did you notice the new header up there? Here are my daily questions:
Whatcha think of the new look (matches my website) or
Where do you usually shop for books?
We have no Christian bookstore in our town, and only one very small BAM whose Christian Fiction section is miniscule, so I’m afraid most of mine is online. How about you?
by Roseanna White | Jul 30, 2013 | Uncategorized
Yesterday’s winner is:
Kay Davis Moorhouse
Wow, it’s been a whole month. Can you believe it? I’ll be doing a wrap-up post tomorrow, announcing the final two winners and sharing my closing thoughts, but on this, the last official day of the giveaways, I just want to say a big…
It’s been so wonderful to make some new friends through this month of giveaways and blog posts. I hope to keep you seeing your around ye olde inter-web. đ
And while I still have your attention, I figured I’d make an announcement about a decision I’ve made. Which ties into:
Story Time Tuesday ~ With Me
Last Thursday, I had the amazing honor of Skyping into a book club that was discussing my first published novel, A Stray Drop of Blood. Hearing these ladies talk about the book and ask me questions got me thinking about it again, and the next day a question of theirs kept plaguing me.
Is there a sequel?
Excellent question. Is there one written? Um, no. But there’s been one planned for years. In fact, I remember at my very first writers conference in 2007, a presenter asked, “If you only had enough time left to live to write one book, what would it be?”
My silent answer: the sequel to Stray Drop.
And yet I’ve written a dozen books since then, none of them this sequel. Largely because I couldn’t figure out how to start the thing, though I’ve got copious notes on the storyline, which burst into my head nearly full-grown six years ago.
Now, I have a biblical penciled into the WhiteFire fall schedule for 2014–over a year from now. I was planning on writing Song of Solace for them, about an Egyptian princess who journeys with the son of Melchizedek to Salem, in the days of Abraham. It’s going to be an amazing story to work on, I know. But after giving it some thought and prayer and discussing it with David (hubby and publisher at WhiteFire), I think that in fall 2014 we’re instead going to release this one:
Set in 58 A.D., just outside of Rome, A Soft Breath of Wind will bring some familiar characters back to the page for those who have read A Stray Drop of Blood–as well as some new ones who take over as main characters. In the first, the blood of Jesus was the pivot of my entire book. In this one, it’s the mighty wind of the Spirit that will take center stage.
I’ve yet to write anything resembling a blurb, but here’s my ten-minute toss-together:
A gift that has branded her for life
Zipporah is thirteen when the Spirit descends upon her, opening her eyes to a world beyond the physical goings-on of the villa outside Rome she has always called home. Within hours, she learns what serving the Lord can cost. Forever scarred after a vicious attack, she knows her call is to use this discernment to protect the Way. She knows she must serve the rest of her life at Tutelos, where the growing Roman church has congregated. She knows her lot is set.
Yet is it so wrong to wish that her master, the kind and handsome young Benjamin Visibullis, will eventually see her as something more than a sister in Christ?
Samuel Asinius, adoptive son of a wealthy Roman, has always called Benjamin brother. After Samuel’s wife and child die, he is eager to escape Rome and travel with Ben to visit the brethren in other parts of the world–and to be sure the legal owner of Tutelos comes to no harm before he can marry and produce an heir, ensuring the safety of all the Christians and Jews in Rome.
When their travels take them to Jerusalem for Passover, the last thing he expected was to cross paths with the woman who had sold him into slavery as a child–the mother he had long ago purged from his heart…and the siblings who carry a dark mantel on their shoulders. His sister, Dara, seems determined to learn more about him, going so far as to join them on the return trip to Italy.
But when Dara, a fortune-teller seeking the will of a shadowy master determined to undermine the Way, comes into the path of Zipporah, a whirlwind descends upon Tutelos. Though some would call it jealousy, Zipporah knows the truth of this woman that Benjamin and Samuel have brought among them…and fears it may be the undoing of them all.
Only the soft wind of the Spirit can heal their scars…with a love neither divination nor discernment could foresee.
Yeah, that’s gonna have to be streamlined and rewritten before it’s back-cover worthy, LOL. But you get the idea. If you look closely at the cover, you can even see the scars on Zipporah’s face. I tried to make her nose crooked too, but my Photoshop skills couldn’t pull that one off. đ The model’s a little too pretty, but we’ll forgive her. Because, well, she’s so pretty!! LOL.
And though this blurb has no hint of it, the story is set against the New Testament timeline that will climax with the arrival of Paul in Rome–where the Asiniuses and Visibullises will finally get to meet the apostle with whom they’re been corresponding. =)
So my last question for you this month!
If you could meet one Bible figure
(other than Jesus–that’s a given!),
who would it be?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by Roseanna White | Jul 29, 2013 | Giveaways and Contests, Word of the Week
Weekend winners are:
Chaplain Debbie and Meghan Gorecki
Wowy zowy, it’s hard to believe we only have 2 days left! Which means not a whole lot of time to enter for this truly amazing book of prayers.
And of course, only 2 more drawings for Ring of Secrets! Why? Because then Whispers from the Shadows will officially release!! It’s already in stock in all the online retailers, and it should be showing up in your local bookstores any day, if it’s not there already. If anyone spots it on a shelf and wants to send me a picture, I’d be so grateful! We have no Christian bookstore in my town, and I never seem to make it an hour away to look in one…
But anyway. On with the day. =)
Word of the Week – Moot
Many, many moons ago I got my hubby a little book called The Highly Selective Dictionary of the
Extraordinarily Literate. Yes. We’re just that nerdy. đ So naturally, we flipped through it, and one of the first words I read the definition of was a word I thought I knew.
Moot. Now, we hear this all the time, right? It’s a moot point. And I always took it mean something rather irrelevant, because it was purely hypothetical at that point.
And sure enough, it has come to mean that–but in fact, that meaning came from law circles. Why? Now that’s where it gets interesting.
The primary definition of moot is “debatable, doubtful.” Not what we usually think when a point is moot. Because that would imply we should debate it–right? But people today use moot to indicate that something should be dropped because it has already been decided.
But a moot point–an undecided, debatable point–is in fact something pretty entertaining to an academic crowd who just loves a good debate. They can spend hours–days–weeks–years!–talking about the same thing. So after a while, it becomes purely hypothetical.
And to the rest of the world, something hypothetical becomes…well…moot. đ Something to be dropped. Something about which debate should stop.
Confession: I’ve avoided using this word altogether in the last decade, because I didn’t want to use it incorrectly and knew my point would be missed if I used it as “debatable.” LOL.
My question to you today:
Do you like to debate, or do you shy away from all conflict?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by Roseanna White | Jul 28, 2013 | Uncategorized
There are only 3 days left in the 30 Days of Giveaways! Remember that your bonus prize this week is an engraved copy of The Valley of Vision, a gorgeous and deep collection of Puritan prayers.
Yesterday my church had a community picnic and what we call Saturday Night Alive–a concert series on the last Saturday of each month. We enjoyed the stylings of a local vocalist, and I always so enjoy these concerts. Usually I’m the music at church, so it’s always a blessing to get to sit back and listen. =)
So a simple question for you today:
What’s your favorite kind of music?
I’m a sucker for the Big Bands of the 20s-40s. When not listening to that, it’s usually classical for me. =)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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 booksâŚto offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. 