by Roseanna White | Sep 2, 2011 | Uncategorized
Well, my first revised giveaway/feature month has drawn to a close, and it’s time to announce the winner of my four-book package:
And the winner is . . .
Emma! (augustlily06@ . . .)
Congrats, Emma! I’m sending you an email now. Come back next week to see what new giveaway I have in store, and what friends I’m featuring!
by Roseanna White | Sep 1, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
WhiteFire Publishing has had the privilege of putting together four different covers now–and I have to say, they have all been amazing. We’re getting ready to put our fifth out, Walks Alone by Sandi Rog, and I’m totally psyched. Why? Because whereas before the photoshoot for the cover models was done too far away for me to have a hand in it, this time my niece Jayna got to play the part, and I got to direct the shoot. =)
We started with an amazing costume created for us by Jordan of the
Heavenly Princess blog. This an 1870 traveling dress, made from some of the most exquisite wool I’ve ever touched. Jordan did a truly awe-inspiring job–check out those pleats! And the piping!! And the detail!!
So after she sent us instructions on how in the world to put all this stuff on (complete with Victorian undergarments, of course), we set to work on my beautiful niece, Jayna.
I’d like to say what a great sport Jayna was. Though she seemed rather dubious about the very idea of a corset, she let us lace her into one and sat there placidly in it while we did her hair and makeup. My sister Jennifer played makeup artist, but getting her hair up was a two-person job. (Just for the record, we didn’t cinch her waist that small–she’s just tiny, LOL.)
After her beautiful face was perfect, we went about the process of getting the dress on her–quite the process! In the make-up shot she’s in chemise and corset. Yet to come was bustle pad, petticoat, jacket, and skirt. NOT a quick process! LOL. Then we chose some accessories, all there courtesy of my vintage-collecting mother-in-law. We were all fully in love with this hat, and boy am I glad I remembered to have my MIL bring over some gloves! The carpet bag, an important part of the story, was also the perfect touch, and matched the dress so beautifully!
We had a blast with the shoot, getting 700 shots, 500 of which were pure gold. You can view a selection of 10 of them in my
Facebook gallery. (That’s a public link to it, so you can view it even if you’re not my friend on Facebook.)
The results were stunning, we had a blast doing it, and now comes the next fun part–the creation of the cover itself. Here’s our first mock-up. Fonts of title etc. might change, but we’re loving the basic design. And it was so fun getting to see it all come together!
by Roseanna White | Aug 31, 2011 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
For those of you who write historicals, you’re going to know exactly what I’m talking about in this post. And for anyone who doesn’t, you’re about to learn one of the things that most frustrates the historical fiction writer. 😉 It’s really kinda funny–that thing that is our best friend, that thing around which we shape our stories, can sometimes turn into our adversary.
I’m talking about those facts that just get in your way. While writing
Jewel of Persia I had quite a number of them–mostly the monstrosity of the man supposed to be my
hero. In my current work-in-progress, the very timeline is the problem. Okay, not a
problem, but . . . well, I’m writing a story with a lot of suspense. But you know, it’s hard to sustain the suspense through 11 months of story. But that’s when things happened in history, so . . .
I mentioned this to my agent in Oregon, and she said, “Luckily, it’s fiction. You can bend things where needed.”
Well, those of us who are die-hard historical lovers don’t like to bend it too much, lest die-hard history lovers throw our books against a wall, LOL. To my agent I laughed and said, “Some of the little things that no one else knows, sure–but my next big event is the defection of Benedict Arnold. Can’t really mess with the timing of that.” (Which she readily granted, of course.)
For me, I have rules about what I’ll let myself change and what I won’t. Motivation I usually don’t mind messing with–it’s rarely recorded anyway, just speculated on. And when it is recorded, who’s to say it’s totally honest? 😉 So motivation I will change at will for the purposes of my stories.
Historical facts are a different story. Obviously the big things I’m not going to mess with. So even though it would have been much more convenient for Arnold to defect in July, it happened in late September in my book, just like it did for real. Similarly with most of the small things–if it’s recorded, I honor it. Now, with some obscure historical figures whose actions are only recorded in one source, I take some liberties when it comes to when letters are sent, etc. But only where absolutely necessary, and I try not to contradict much.
The fun, of course, comes in filling in the blanks. The frustration, of course, comes when there are blanks that you wish weren’t blanks, or times you wish it were blank and it’s not. 😉 For instance, I can’t always discover where a particular major was at a particular juncture, because the lives of majors aren’t generally recorded day by day in sources available outside private collections. I’m willing to dig to get my facts–but I’m still on a time schedule myself here, so can only dig so long. So if I have you in New York when you were in Philly, Major, I’m really sorry! 😉
I think it’s a matter of engendering trust with my readers, so I’ll work hard to stick to fact wherever I can. But there are sometimes when I really, really wish I could revise history a bit. How rude of it not to have happened exactly how I need it to for my novels! LOL
Hope everyone’s having a happy Wednesday!
by Roseanna White | Aug 30, 2011 | Uncategorized
A couple weeks ago I gave y’all a sneak peek of Sandi Rog’s upcoming release, Yahshua’s Bridge. I finished reading it while in Oregon, so now you get a full review. =) I’ll start by giving you the back cover copy.
An amethyst stone draws him to his past. An elusive maiden draws him to his future.
Alexander is born into slavery under an abusive master: a master of his own flesh and blood . . . a man he will never call father. Determined to break away from his master’s hold, Alexander devises a plan to purchase his freedom. but what’s he to do when he finds himself shipped off in shackles to Egypt, disappearing from the of lives of everyone he knows and loves?
My official endorsement:
“Stupefying, stunning, and stirring–Yahshua’s Bridge is a tale that takes the reader from the darkest valley to the highest pinnacle of hope. For anyone yearning to go deeper, this story of hearts broken and promises kept will take you there, and leave you astounded by the beauty of our Savior.”
I don’t give words like “stupefying, stunning and stirring” lightly. It takes real skill as a writer and superb story to earn those words from me–and Sandi deserves them all. This was a story unafraid to show us the ugliness of the world, the injustices that can destroy our lives, the cruelties that might plague us. All these are written with what I can only term bravery. It would have been so much easier to tell a story with simpler conflict and a happily-ever-after for everyone involved–but as Sandi said to me, that would have been unfair to all the early Christians and what they went through for their faith.
But she did a truly amazing thing with this story–she showed all that ugliness and depravity, made me growl and cry at what befell her characters . . . and then used it to direct both the characters and the reader to the awe-inspiring glory of God. For every point of pain, there is one of hope. For every stroke of ugliness, there is eclipsing beauty.
Alexander and Elianna have a story of losing all you have at the hands of the world . . . and finding all you need through the provision of the Lord. In this breathtaking sequel to The Master’s Wall you will learn how great is the power of forgiveness, how over-reaching is the hand of our Lord, how unshakable is the bond of true love, and how magnificent are the arms of our Savior.
Weeks after I’ve finished reading, this is the thing that sticks with me most: that whatever happens to me here, my ultimate goal is to cross over that beautiful bridge of light, to escape the shackles of my earthly bondage, and to finally glimpse the face that has twisted in agony for me, to finally put my hand in the ones pierced for my sake.
Wow, this makes it sound like the story is all message, LOL. The message is there, delivered in a masterful way–through a compelling story. The places Alexander and Elianna take us . . . the fun they have, the adventure they find, the direction their lives take . . . WOW. It’s a journey you don’t want to miss. A book you don’t want to miss.
Yahshua’s Bridge releases is a couple months, and as soon as I notice it’s available either for pre-order or order, I’ll be giving a link. Because seriously–you don’t want to miss it!!
by Roseanna White | Aug 29, 2011 | Word of the Week
I know, I know–you probably see my word of the week and wonder, “Why in the world is she talking about shacks?” Well see . . . um . . . LOL. Mostly because I needed to describe some ramshackle dwellings in my book a few weeks ago and was surprised to learn how very new the word shack is. And upon looking a little further, the newness gets even more interesting.
What
www.etymonline.com knows is that the word “shack” appeared in American and Canadian English in 1878. But its origins are mysterious. One quoted possibility is that it’s an Americanization of the Mexican-Spanish
jacal, from Nahuatl
xacall. But that’s pretty much just a guess. Another possibility is that it’s one of those fun back-formations, either of “shackly” (shaky, rickety-1843) or of “ramshackle,” which is from 1830.
I’m always intrigued by words that are back-formations. So often language starts with the words for things, with nouns, and then adjectives come of them. I love finding words that began as adjectives and then got turned into nouns.
And for reference, the only word accurate to 1780 I could find for the idea of “shack” is hovel. Which got a little redundant when describing a whole village of them, LOL. So if anyone knows of any words of similar meaning, let me know! 😉
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. 
