by Roseanna White | May 24, 2011 | Uncategorized
Last Wednesday, Russel Moore, a prominent minister,
posted this. It’s a blog entitled “Can Romance Novels Hurt Your Heart?” and quotes a study expounded on in the book
A Billion Wicked Thoughts. In short, this book explains that just like pornography appeals to a man’s visual predisposition and creates in him an idea of women that’s unrealistic and so harmful to his real-life relationships, so do romance novels appeal to a woman’s emotional predisposition and creates in her an idea of men that’s unrealistic (because they’re based on alpha men who are rich, gorgeous, wild-but-tamed-by-heroine, and emotionally sensitive) and so damages relationships.
Mr. Moore takes this study and applies it to
Christian Romance and asks if the women who keep a Christian romance on their bedside table are hurting their marriages.
After 164 replies, most opinions on this subject have been made known, LOL. But it’s a subject that upsets me, so I’d like to discuss it here.
This is what I grant Mr. Moore. Some women do indeed battle feelings of dissatisfaction with their love lives, their marriages, and their husbands when they see other romances. They feel their spouses don’t add up, and being shown that really doesn’t help. So yes, it’s great to bring that to the attention of said women and say, “So, well, maybe you oughta steer clear of romantic stuff. Books, movies, etc.”
Of course, as one commenter pointed out, those same women might be struck by this same comparison when they see Mr. Smith open the door for his wife at church and exchange a special smile with her.
So–I grant this is a valid point, and I hope every woman, if she feels dissatisfied with her relationships, stops to really examine why and to either steer clear of the catalysts or to take the time to work on this within herself (or both). Several women spoke up on this blog who readily admit that this is something they have to deal with. I applaud them.
But here’s where this post really hurt my heart. Mr. Moore wrote a long article about how romance and pornography are alike. Then he made an assumption that
Christian Romance is built on the same principles as the mainstream erotica that this book studied. THEN he said that he wasn’t equating
Christian Romance with the soul-destroying pornography, but we must ask ourselves if these books are building marriages and promoting unity or if they’re causing harm.
Well, my answer is that they’re building marriages, promoting unity, and saving souls. And frankly, it hurts that a prominent pastor not only calls our ministry into question, but asks his entire readership to do the same. We have enough to battle within the world–why are we attacking each other within the Church?
The nicest thing this blog did was grant that not all Christian romances were necessarily evil. I contend that that’s like saying that all pastors are “not necessarily evil” since they don’t all cheat on their wives or lead people into cults. That’s like saying that not all Christians are evil, since they don’t all use the Bible to dominate and abuse. But some do!
Yes. Some do. But when someone points out that stuff, I cry out, “No, no no! Why would you judge an entire ministry based on a few? What about all the souls pastors save? What about all the relationships they build? What about all the many ways they strengthen our faith?”
I have to cry out the same thing here. “No, no, no! Why would you judge the entire ministry of Christian fiction because of how it affects some? What about all those letters we get saying readers were led to the Lord through our stories? What about the ones who say they were inspired to save their crumbling marriages? What about the ones who come to a deeper faith because of these books?”
Because THOSE are the majority. And that’s the case because
Christian Romance is NOT built upon the same principles as mainstream romance, and we don’t just gussy it up with prayer instead of sex. That anyone would claim we do is so insulting. More, it’s disheartening. After years and years, Christian fiction is finally gaining a foothold in the industry, and then our own leaders prejudge us (because you bet these guys haven’t read any of today’s Christian romance–that’s pretty obvious by the assumptions) and not only question that we are in ministry, but equate us to pornographers.
As you can see, I’m still fired up about this. I don’t just read
Christian Romance, I don’t just write
Christian Romance, I edit it and publish it. It’s my entire professional life. Now, do I like to break molds with it? Absolutely. Do I chafe against some of the guidelines of traditional romance that were held over in
Christian Romance? Yes, I do. But I believe in its principles, in its goals, in its very real ministry to many people who otherwise may dismiss the messages that come through so naturally in fiction.
And I’d love to chat about it, explore both sides with others. So what’s your take?
by Roseanna White | May 23, 2011 | Word of the Week
This week’s word comes to us courtesy of Dictionary.com‘s Word of the Day. =) It’s my homepage, and occasionally I so love the words they highlight that I just have to share.
So, longueur. Ever heard of it? I hadn’t, I confess. It’s pronounced long-GUR, and here’s the definition:
“A dull and tedious passage in a book, play, musical composition, or the like.”
Now doesn’t that just make you go, “Oh, that’s what I should call those?? Sweet! I have a name for it! And it sounds so close to “longer” that it makes a ton of sense, because that’s what it makes said books, plays, or music feel like!” LOL.
So rest assured that my compositions will make every attempt to avoid any longueur. And on that note . . .
by Roseanna White | May 20, 2011 | Uncategorized
Today I’m happy to welcome Susan Page David back to my blog to talk about her novella in the collection Wyoming Weddings. Glad to talk to you again, Susan!
Readers, Susan has generously offered a copy of the collection to one lucky winner–to be entered, leave a comment below with an email address where I can reach you.
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About Wyoming Weddings
Wyoming Weddings includes three complete novels. through the challenges of life and love in Wyoming. Saddle up with Ruby on an endurance horseback ride that bonds her with the local veterinarian and leads to crime-solving adventure in Trail to Justice (by Susan Page Davis). Ride along with Randi who drives a truck throughout the state. She befriends a traveling minister at a time when she longs to be home with her niece in Hearts on the Road (by Diana Brandmeyer). Sympathize with Bethany and her family as their guest ranch is threatened just when a city slicker arrives with a bunch of teens in A Wagonload of Trouble (by Vickie McDonough). Can these women surmount their troubles to pursue romance with the new men in their lives?
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About Susan
Susan Page Davis is the award-winning author of more than thirty novels, including the Ladies’ Shooting Club series and Frasier Island Series. A native of Maine, she now lives in Kentucky.
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What’s your latest book?
Wyoming Weddings, from Barbour, released May 1. It’s a collection of three contemporary romances set in Wyoming. My story, Trail to Justice, comes first in the book. It’s followed by Diana Brandmeyer’s Hearts on the Road and Vickie McDonough’s A Wagonload of Trouble.
The sport of endurance riding has interested me for many years. I wrote a book for young people about it (Sarah’s Long Ride) and also did several nonfiction articles on the sport. I decided to put some adults in the saddle for this book that I wrote for Heartsong Presents. In Trail to Justice, Ruby Dale is a police dispatcher who likes to trail ride on weekends. She’s helped with endurance rides, but never had the chance to compete. Now she has the opportunity, and to make it even better, veterinarian Chuck Sullivan is also entered in the 100-mile race. When the defending champion takes a Shine to them and pushes Ruby and Chuck to try to finish in the top three with him, they find adventures they never expected.
What fun! I took riding lessons for about a year when I was 10. I like to remember myself as being better at it than I really was, LOL. What’s your favorite part of the story?
I love the way Ruby relies on God to help her complete the most difficult task she’s ever faced—and I’m not talking about the trail ride, but I don’t want to spill the beans.
Teasing us, are you? Crafty. 😉 What was the hardest part to write?
Blending the romance with the action and the mystery.
I bet you did a stellar job! What do you hope your readers will get out of the story?
Even when you think you’ve made a huge mess of things, God is still in control. Let Him work it out!
Amen to that! Thank heavens He can see it all clearly, eh? So let’s talk nitty-gritty. Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?
For this book, the American Endurance Riding Conference’s Website was a big help. English Through the Ages is indispensable when I’m writing historicals.
And what are you writing right now?
I’m writing Lady Anne’s Quest, which will be the second book in my new Prairie Dreams series. The first book, The Lady’s Maid, will release in October. In it, Lady Anne Stone and her maid leave England in 1855 to look for Anne’s uncle, who has disappeared into the American West.
Ah, sounds wonderful! Any upcoming releases we should keep our eye out for?
Yes. Next week I’ll receive my editor’s suggestions for revisions on Captive Trail. This book is part of the new Texas Trails series from Moody, and I’m very excited about it. In 1857 Texas, a stagecoach driver finds an unconscious woman lying in the road—a white woman dressed as a Comanche. He’s determined to find out who she is and reunite her with her family. Captive Trail releases September 1.
We’ll keep our eye out for the Prairie Dreams ones too!
~*~
Thanks so much for visiting again, Susan! Readers, check out her website at www.susanpagedavis.com. You can purchase Wyoming Weddings at Amazon or ChristianBook.
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 5/27/11. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.
by Roseanna White | May 19, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, I think many of us get to connect with old friends we otherwise wouldn’t see, right? It can be super awesome to exchange even a few lines with a buddy from high school you haven’t spoken to in a decade. It is for me, anyway. =)
Yesterday was Brittney’s birthday–Brittney was my absolutely-without-a-doubt-best-friend from age 5 through about 14. We drifted apart a bit in high school–stayed friendly, but not inseparable by any means. Still, May 18th can’t roll around without me thinking of her. Thinking of all the fun we had over the years. The fashion showed, the magazine we made from photos glued with the decorative, neon-colored paints so popular in the late ’80s, the games of make-believe that kept us entertained for days on end.
I also just touched base with another girl from our middle school group, Melissa. Melissa took to calling me “Mom” in 8th grade, and my nickname for her was Mylissa. When I finished my first novel, she was at my house. And when I came into school the following Monday, she’d made me a card that said, “So proud of you, Mommy.”
These are a few of the girls that grew with me, whose friendships shaped me. Girls I rarely talk to, more rarely still manage to see . . . but who are often in my prayers.
As someone who married her high school sweetheart, it’s sometimes really sad to realize I never talk to my high school friends. For someone who emails her best friend (who she’s only met twice) several times a day, it’s baffling why I can’t keep in touch with these others.
It’s strange how different our lives are.
Brittney’s lived in New York, is now in Pittsburgh. She’s in marketing and is, when last I saw her, one of those statuesque, model-esque women who always look gorgeous with their yoga-inspired figures and impeccable fashion sense. Needless to say, I felt a bit dowdy when I last hugged her–I was six months pregnant with Rowyn and carrying Xoe on my hip.
Melissa, on the other hand, lives out in the country, within driving distance of me, but I couldn’t tell you how to get to her house, LOL. She has four kids and helps her husband run his construction company. One of the last times I saw her was at her wedding, when she and her husband (each having a daughter already), pledged their lives and joined their families. It’s the only wedding I ever cried at, so beautiful was it when her little girl pointed at the bride coming up the aisle and declared happily, “Mama!”
Ever wonder what these old friends see if they look at you? I do. Yes, I’ve fulfilled my goal of being an author–more or less, LOL. I have books out . . . on a small scale. I have a big(ish) contract . . . but it’s not out. And even when it is, it’s just one book. I’m not a household name. I doubt I’ll ever be a household name. My house is old and not exactly breathtaking. I could probably make it nicer, but I choose to spend my energy writing. And homeschooling. I like to think I put myself together pretty well, but let’s be honest–no flat, yoga bellies here. I generally come to the conclusion that “slender” is good enough, since I don’t have to work for it. “Fit” just takes too much work, LOL.
But most of all, I hope that when I see these old friends again, they see the Annie they loved. They see a girl who chased her dreams. They see a woman glad she made the decisions she made, who loves her life even when it isn’t glamorous or hugely successful. I hope they see the same thing I do–a woman who has been shaped by great childhood friends into an adult worth knowing.
How about you guys? Do you still keep in touch with your very first best friends?
by Roseanna White | May 18, 2011 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Last week I told everyone how I created my own invisible ink from household items like lemon juice, honey water, etc. A super-fun experiment, I gotta say. Of course, then I learned that those heat-developed inks were seldom used by the 18th century because they were so easy to develop. Anyone could just hold any letter to a flame and see if a message appeared. I can still use it in my story for not-crucial correspondence, but the actual letters of espionage to General Washington during the war used something very different.
Something called “the sympathetic stain.” Historians still don’t know exactly what it was, though they have a pretty good guess, based on the clues left to us as to where they had to procure the ingredients. Interestingly, it was John Jay and his brother who came up with this stain–and the first time it was used was when said brother wrote a letter of warning from England when that nation was gearing up for war.
The awesome thing about this stain is that is can be developed only by a very particular reagent, which only the folks corresponding regularly had in their possession. You couldn’t just stumble upon it. And because of that, letters written in the stain were very secure.
And the stain was very precious. So precious, in fact, that a few of the folks in possession of it were afraid of running out and so did not use it on some key correspondence–and got wrist-slapped by Washington for it, LOL.
The stain was nonetheless difficult to use. You needed high quality paper for it to work well on, and just the right amount of reagent to develop it. Too much would wash away the ink, too little just wouldn’t make it reveal. Apparently they took to using a paint brush to apply it.
The code name for this stain was “medicine,” and the Jays shipped it to Washington in a medical supply box. Had anyone intercepted it, it would have looked like any other vial of liquid medication.
But it wasn’t. It was the agent that allowed key information to pass to the Patriot army. Information that may have saved us from becoming British colonists again.
Hooray for the Sympathetic Stain! =)
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.