by Roseanna White | May 9, 2011 | Word of the Week
Today I’m tickled pink to announce the debut of a new group blog called Colonial Quills. About, you guessed it, authors and books focused on early American history! I’m proud to be a contributor to the blog thanks to my upcoming Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland that’s set in 1783, and in awe of the beautiful site Carla Olsen Gade put together for us. Stop on by and have some tea, get to know the ladies, and admire the beautiful artwork!
And in honor of this fabulous event, I thought I’d explore the word “debut” for this week’s word. I think we all know it’s French, right? And Fowler (the grammar expert associated with the OED) says:
“Début can only be pronounced as French, and should not be used by anyone who shrinks from the necessary effort.”
Tee hee hee. So don’t try to say it day-BUTT. Interestingly, debut came to us from France in 1751 to mean “first appearance” as a shortened form of “debuter,” which means to make the first stroke at billiards. I don’t know about you, but I had no clue it was a billiards term! The verb didn’t come to be until 1830. Pretty neat, huh?
So hop on over to http://colonialquills.blogspot.com and celebrate this particular debut with us!
by Roseanna White | May 6, 2011 | Uncategorized
Today we’re bringing you a different kind of book, and talking with its author about it. Ready for a scare? 😉 Give a big, hearty welcome to Thomas Smith, and leave a comment with email address below for a chance to win his Christian horror novel,
Something Stirs. (Which isn’t about coffee, by the way.)
~*~
About Something Stirs
Some houses are only haunted … this one is worse.
Ben Chalmers is a successful novelist. His wife, Rachel, is a fledgling artist with a promising career, and their daughter Stacy is the
Joy of their life. His novels have made enough money for him to provide a dream home for his family. But there is a force at work in their lives. A dark, chilling, ruthless force that has become part of the very fabric of their new home.
A malevolent entity becomes trapped in the wood and stone of the house and it will do whatever it takes, to find a way to complete its bloody transference to our world.
Local Sheriff, Elizabeth Cantrell, and former pastor-turned-cabinetmaker, Jim Perry are drawn into the family’s life as the entity manipulates the house with devastating results. And it won’t stop until it gets what it wants. Even if it costs them their faith, their sanity, and their lives.
~*~
About Thomas
Thomas is award winning writer, newspaper reporter, TV news producer, playwright and essayist. He writes The Writing Life column for The Christian Communicator magazine and was named the American Christian Writers Association Writer of the Year in 2004, 2005, and again in 2006. He is a regular faculty member at American Christian Writers Association conferences and also teaches at other writers’ conferences. He was on the writing team (with Rick Warren Rob Bell, Chuck Colson, Lee Strobel, and Ravi Zacharias) responsible for Zondervan’s New Men’s Devotional Bible.
~*~
What’s your latest book?
My novel, Something Stirs, is scheduled to be released early this summer from Sonfire Media. It’s a Christian horror novel. I started out calling it supernatural suspense, but I have to be honest … it is what it is.
Can’t say as I’ve read many Christian horrors (and only a few supernatural thrillers), but I’m in favor of them! What was the hardest part to write?
Tippy’s death was the hardest to write. I can’t say much more than that without giving away an event that really starts things rolling, but that was one tough scene to write. In fact, I had to go back and tweak it again in the second round of edits and it was just as hard the second time. Poor Tippy.
Is there a theme to this book?
There are actually multiple themes. One has to do with how God can heal our brokenness and restore us to what He originally intended if we open ourselves up to Him. Another theme is less spiritual but just as valid. Our choices carry consequences.
They do, at that. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?
I really like writing what is finally being called Christian horror. Some folks still call it supernatural suspense, but regardless of what you call it, I like the challenge of making people suspend their disbelief long enough to get caught up in the story to the point they flinch when the characters flinch.
As far as reading, I real a wide range of stuff. Horror, suspense, biographies, cowboy poetry, theology and just about anything dealing with Christmas.
Nice. What are you reading right now—and what do you want to read next?
Currently I’m reading Dean Koontz’s
What the Night Knows. After I finish that one I am going to read
The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1.
Gotta love Samuel Clemens. =) Other than the Bible, what’s your favorite of all the books you’ve ever read?
When the Water Smokes by Bob Simpson
What’s one of the oddest or most interesting things someone has ever said about you?
I was introduced at a writer’s conference once with this line: “He’s the only writer you’ll ever meet who worked on projects with Stephen King and Rev. Rick Warren at the same time.”
LOL. That’s quite a badge of honor! What would your dream office look like—and what does your REAL writing environment look like?
This is pretty much my dream office. My wife has her computer and reference books set up on one end and I work from a desk my father gave me on the other end of the office. I am surrounded by reference books, other assorted books, geodes (no special reason other than I think they are neat), various toys, jars of gems we have mined on various gem mining trips, a nativity scene, a poster signed by astronaut Alan Bean, a Batman poster, lots of photos from various trips to the Caribbean and Alaska, a printer/fax/copier, laser printer, a piece of the Berlin Wall, and a singing monkey that my mother gave me for Christmas this past year. There is also a picture of me shaking hands with Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden. Lunch with him was my wife’s anniversary gift to me a few years back
Sounds cool! Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?
I always have a copy of Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers’ Market Guide and The Writer’s Digest Writer’s Market Guide (the online portion is one of the main tabs on my browser) on hand.
Aside from writing, what takes up most of your time?
Spending time with my family. Particularly, traveling with my wife. She has the opportunity to speak all over the country on the subject of treating inpatient Diabetes, and I often get to go with her. But writing takes up the biggest part of my time. I also play lead guitar with our church praise band.
If someone were to give you $5,000 to spend on anything you wanted, what would you buy? (No saving or gifts to charities allowed!)
A Gallagher acoustic guitar and a cruise through the Panama Canal (my wife really wants to go there).
Any funny family stories about living with a writer?
A couple of years ago my wife and I took my parents to Myrtle Beach, SC to see a couple of Christmas shows and do some Christmas shopping. At one point we went into a bookstore in the mall and I saw their A Cup of Comfort for Christmas display. It was placed prominently in the store, and since I was one of the contributors, I asked to see the manager as we were checking out. She showed up, looking a little apprehensive.
“Is there a problem?” she asked, still apprehensive.
I told her there was no problem. Quite the contrary. Their display was so nice I wanted to thank them for the placement because I was one of the contributors and it was really nice to see such a well done display.
She asked which story I wrote, and when I told her, she said, “You won’t believe this, but I just cried when I read that. Do you still have the shirt?” At that point I knew she really had read the story.
Before I could respond, she asked if I would be willing to sign about a dozen copies. Would that be an imposition?
I told her it would be my pleasure. She led me to a chair behind the counter, asked my mother if she would like some coffee, got her a chair and brought the books over. Then she told the people in line that I was there and would be doing an impromptu book signing.
When we left about 20 minutes later, my mother stopped about thirty feet from the store, took me by the elbow and said, “That was really something. Wow.” And before we got to the car she was on her cell phone telling one of her sisters, “I’ll bet you didn’t know your nephew was a celebrity.”
Mama, if you’re seeing this, I didn’t know it either.
What are you writing right now?
The answer to this question.
LOL. Is there another author who has greatly influenced your writing?
Charles L. Grant. Charlie was my literary hero when I was about 15. I always thought it would be a real thrill just to have him autograph a book. Ten years later, through a really odd set of circumstances, I met him, got to know him, and over the years he became my mentor and one of my dearest friends. He had a way with language that bordered on the poetic.
He wrote over 100 books, 200 short stories, edited a number of award winning anthologies (including the Shadows series), and won the Nebula Awards for “A Crowd of Shadows” and “A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn’s Eye.” He also received 3 World Fantasy Awards, the British Fantasy Society’s Special Award for life achievement, Horror Writers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the World Horror Convention’s Grandmaster Award.
Before he died (September of 2006), I was asked to write a tribute for a specialty anthology titled, Quietly Now: A Tribute to Charles L. Grant. It featured writers like Stephen King, Peter Straub, Craig Shaw Gardner, Joe R. Lansdale, and other famous-type folks. In a way I felt things had come full circle. The student was able to give a little something back to the teacher.
That’s so touching–and cool! What an honor to be included in a project like that.
~*~
Thanks so much for visiting, Thomas, and giving the readers a little something out of the ordinary! Readers, check out Thomas online at the following:
Something Stirs will be available (or available for ordering) in your local book store. Or, once the book’s site goes live, additional purchasing links will be on
www.SomethingStirs.com
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 6/10/11. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.
by Roseanna White | May 5, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Happy Cinqo de Mayo, everyone! We’ll be having enchiladas and arroz con leche tonight. (Homeschool, you know. It’s educational, LOL.) Now onto the actual blog. 😉
Last night I had the honor of visiting the women’s group at Trinity Assembly of God in Midlothian, Maryland to chat about being an author and a little about my books. One of my mother-in-law’s good friends belongs to this group and put a bug in the leader’s ear about inviting me, and I’m so glad she did.
I’ve spoken at libraries twice, and in some ways this was a lot like those. But in a few key ways, it wasn’t. Because though I’d never met these women before, it was like meeting friends. Chatting with them was like chatting with family you hadn’t seen in a while. We had so much fun, they made me feel so welcome, and as I tried to pinpoint why, I came to the conclusion that it’s because we know from the get-go we have a lot in common, starting with that most basic thing–our faith.
At the Library talks I certainly didn’t sidestep the fact that I write Biblical fiction, but the questions people asked tended to point in other directions. At Trinity last night, so much conversation either led back to the Lord or reflected Him. Not always overtly, but it was there. Always there, because He is always in us.
It really hammered home why Paul tells us not to forsake the fellowship of other believers. That fellowship, that communion is so awesome, and so important. Not just in church itself–which is also awesome and important, don’t get me wrong–but in those after-church meetings. Those times when like-minded folks get together for fun and just let the Lord
Shine through them.
This is the same reason I so enjoy going to Christian writers conferences, now that I think about it. It’s a chance to talk to other people who are like-minded. And hence why I’m so looking forward to going to Hagerstown, Maryland on Saturday for the Washington County Reading Day at the Valley Mall. There I’ll get to chat with a couple other fellow Christian writers, and I’m really looking forward to that (whether I sell any books or not, LOL).
So what’s your favorite time of fellowship? At church? A Bible study? A writers group? Perhaps at a Jane Austen readers group? A homeschool group? Where is it you feel most at home and can have fun that fills you up inside?
by Roseanna White | May 4, 2011 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
This past Saturday saw me in Annapolis, back on the campus of my alma mater, St. John’s College. The last time I was in this beautiful Chesapeake town was to play sight-seer to research Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland, which I was still writing back in December. It was pretty fun to be there again, knowing the book is only a few months from reality.
We came back for the annual croquet tournament between St. John’s and the Naval Academy. The what, you say? Yeah, that’s right. Croquet. Big deal. Fun stuff. 😉
Here’s how the tradition got started.
Annapolis has long been a college town, home to two very different schools. St. John’s is liberal arts, small, and very academic . . . but also prone to hippies and free spirits who sit down right beside the New Englander in the three-piece suit. Contrasted with that is the Naval Academy, which is strict, huge, and gives equal billing to physical things as academic. So naturally, we’re rivals. Friendly rivals, kinda like a giant might be theoretically a rival with a pygmy of a cousin, LOL. But back in 1983, apparently some Johnnies and some Middies (Midshipmen) were at a pub downtown and got into a tiff about how Johnnies had no athletic prowess. The Middie said, “We can beat you at any sport, any day of the week. Just name one.” And the Johnnie said, “Okay. Croquet. Last Saturday in April.”
Now, neither group actually knew how to play croquet at that point, but both quickly learned, and the
Annapolis Cup was born. For the last 28 years the two teams have been meeting on the front campus of St. John’s on the last Saturday in April, and this event has grown so huge that the campus is literally packed, wall to wall, with people. Some Johnnies, some Middies, some Townies (Annapolitans), and a whole lot of alumni from both. And St. John’s has won all but 2 or 3 of those years. (OH YEAH!)
It was so cool this year. We spread our blanket right where the Liberty Tree used to tower, and I thought, “Wow, it was still here when Lark would have been here. Though the only building here was McDowell Hall, right there. And of course, St. John’s didn’t exist yet, it was still King William’s School. Where Emerson and Wiley had attended. And the Naval Academy was still 50 years away . . .”
Yeah, I had a lot of fun thinking of my story while watching the event. There were hats there to rival those at the royal wedding (slight exaggeration, but only slight–note in the picture that even Xoe has an adorable pink hat on!), people love to dress in turn-of-the-century attire, everyone brings a champagne picnic, and it just feels so . . . nostalgic. Nothing beats it.
Croquet . . . who knew? LOL.
by Roseanna White | May 3, 2011 | Uncategorized
Today I’m thrilled to welcome the amazing Angela Hunt over to chat about her newest release, The Fine Art of Insincerity. You can read the Christian Review of Books’ review of the book here. (Written by my pal Dina Sleiman.)
Angela has been gracious enough to offer a giveaway to one lucky reader, so to be entered to win, please leave a comment below with an email address where you can be reached. You can also leave a comment at the Christian Review of Books for a second entry.
~*~
About The Fine Art of Insincerity
Three grown Southern sisters have nine marriages between them—and more looming on the horizon—when Ginger, the eldest, wonders if she’s the only one who hasn’t inherited what their family calls “the Grandma Gene”: the tendency to like the casualness of courtship better than the intimacy of marriage. Could it be that her two sisters are fated to serially marry, just like their seven-times wed grandmother, Mrs. Lillian Irene Harper Winslow Goldstein Carey James Bobrinski Gordon George? It takes a “girls only” weekend, closing up Grandma’s treasured beach house for the last time, for the sisters to really unpack their family baggage, examine their relationship DNA, and discover the true legacy their much-marrying grandmother left behind . . .
~*~
About Angela
With nearly 4 million copies of her books sold worldwide, ANGELA ELWELL HUNT is the bestselling author of more than one hundred books, including The Tale of Three Trees, Don’t Bet Against Me!, The Note, and The Nativity Story. Hunt is one of the most sought-after collaborators in the publishing industry. Her nonfiction book Don’t Bet Against Me!, written with Deanna Favre, spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Angela’s novel The Note was filmed as the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movie for 2007 and proved to be the highest rated television movie in the channel’s history. She often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers’ conferences. She and her husband make their home in Florida. Check out her website at http://www.angelahuntbooks.com.
~*~
What’s your latest book?
The Fine Art of Insincerity just released from Howard Publishing on May 1, 2011.
What’s your favorite part of the story?
The ending. The ending is always my favorite.
=) Nothing beats a good ending! What was the hardest part to write?
The ending. Once I get my characters into a muddle, I’m not always sure how to get them out of it!
LOL. Fitting, since it’s also your favorite. What do you hope your readers will get out of the story?
I hope they will think about their family relationships, about love, and about responsibility.
Is there a theme to this book?
Of course: insincerity. All three sisters are false with each other, smiling on the surface, hiding secret resentments. Only when they open up and let the truth out are they free to really love and understand each other.
Hmm, I should have known that from the title alone, right? And I gotta say, it’s a title that grabs me and sticks with me! What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?
I really don’t have a favorite. I enjoy reading and writing just about everything.
Well, that we must test. 😉 What are you reading right now—and what do you want to read next?
I’m currently reading LITTLE BEE by Chris Cleaver in fiction; and I’m researching near death experiences in nonfiction. I’m working on my dissertation for my Th. D.
Okay, I believe you, LOL. So other than the Bible, what’s your favorite of all the books you’ve ever read?
The Nun’s Story, by Katherine Hulme. I read it as a young girl, and the protatonist’s devotion to God really impacted me.
What’s one of the oddest or most interesting things someone has ever said about you?
I don’t think I want to know . . .
Tee hee. What would your dream office look like—and what does your REAL writing environment look like?
My dream office would have a fireplace and be a bit more spacious than my present office . . . but only because my present office is always occupied by myself and two 200-pound dogs, and I have to constantly step over them! I’ve actually tripped and ended up on the floor with them.
400 pounds of dog?? Wow. I must confess I love those big ones. Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?
For this book I kept photos of St. Simons Island nearby . . . it’s a lovely place. I wouldn’t mind living there.
What lessons have you learned through the publication process that you wouldn’t have guessed as a pre-published writer?
I can barely remember my pre-published days, but I think new writers are amazed to discover how economics impacts this business.
Aside from writing, what takes up most of your time?
Writing takes up more time than you’d think—because when you’re not actually writing, you’re thinking about writing, or reading about writing, or dreaming about writing. I do get on “kicks” that pique my interest. My current kick is cupcakes. I’ve been buying cupcake cookbooks and trying out recipes on my book club. (And I think I’m going to write cupcakes into my next book).
Oo, cupcakes! Yum! Do you remember where you were when you got your first or most important call about a book contract?
I received a call saying that I had won a contest—and first prize was publication—back in 1987. That was my first book, a picture book called IF I HAD LONG, LONG HAIR. I stayed awake that night for a long time, not because I was too excited to sleep, but because I kept thinking about the responsibility that had just fallen onto my shoulders. Books have the power to change lives—so I prayed that my books would always change lives for the better.
If you could take your family on a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Italy, particularly Florence. I’ve been studying Italian Renaissance art, and Florence is where the action is . . . or was.
Ah, I did some Renaissance art-related writing research of Florence too. Looks like a fabulous place to visit! That Tuscan countryside . . . but back to business. 😉 What are you writing right now?
I’m beginning a new book called FIVE MILES SOUTH OF PECULIAR. What’s it about? Too soon to tell. =)
~*~
Thanks so much for visiting with us, Angela! Readers, be sure and check out her website at http://www.angelahuntbooks.com and her blog at http://alifeinpages.blogspot.com. You can find The Fine Art of Insincerity at Amazon and CrossPurposes!
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 6/1/11. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.
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.