by Roseanna White | Jan 11, 2011 | Uncategorized
It started for me in high school. My hubby–then my boyfriend–was a diehard Orson Scott Card fan, and he told me, more or less, that if I didn’t read Ender’s Game, he may not ever speak to me again. (Okay, jokingly.) So I read it. And I loved it. So I read the rest of the Ender’s series. Which I didn’t love as well as Ender’s Game, but which was good enough that I steadily borrowed every other book Orson Scott Card had written by that time that David owned, and between us we bought the slew of new ones he put out during our high school years.
One year for Christmas, after we were married, my gift to my honey was to buy him a copy of every title by OSC that we didn’t already own. So naturally, as new books come out, we buy them. I do believe that there are more books by him on our shelves than any single other author. And for good reason. He has a great sense of humor, a great skill with writing, and imagination that makes me sit back in awe.
Pathfinder caught my hubby’s eye when we were out Christmas shopping, so guess what he got for Christmas? After hearing him chuckle all through the reading of it, I decided I’d take some time out of my busy reading schedule and share in the joke.
I’m glad I did.
Pathfinder is the story of a world about to be colonized by humans . . . and of a world where humans have counted down from year 11,191, past Year Zero, and are now counting upward again. In all this time of human history, people and animals have walked the various forms the earth has taken.
And Rigg can see their paths. They hover in the air, varying in color and intensity and texture, and as he tramps through the upland woods with his Father, learning lessons in politics and astronomy and physics and everything else a trapper has no need of, Rigg uses his gift to find the animals they need to make a living. But when an accident leaves him fatherless, with one last order from him to find a sister Rigg didn’t know he had, his ability to see paths becomes necessary for more than animals. It leads him to a boy about to plummet over a waterfall . . . and into the past? He has no other explanation for the man that appeared out of nowhere and disappeared as quickly, except that when Rigg focused on his path, it became him.
A quandry that matters litter when the boy falls to his death anyway, and Rigg is left to run for his life to keep from being hunted by the boy’s family, who thinks him responsible. He has one friend who comes with him–Umbo, a boy with a talent as unique as his own, who was really responsible for the leap through time–and an unexpected inheritance from Father. Nineteen jewels, and a letter stating that Rigg is in fact a prince.
Not such a great thing when the royal family has been overthrown.
In a story of adventure, coming of age, and more twists and bends and redefinitions of physics and time than a brain can handle all at once, Pathfinder is one of those stories that you have to read once you start, otherwise you spend your entire day going, “But how did that happen?” until you can go back, read more, and find the answer.
In his usual fashion, Card has created characters that made me laugh and shake my head, smile in pride and nod in agreement. In other words, extraordinary talents or not, they were real. I can always count on OSC for fabulous characters. And the plot of this one . . . wow. In his note at the end, he describes Pathfinder as madness, and it is that. The beautiful, fun madness that comes hand-in-hand with genius.
Pathfinder is being marketed as a young adult novel, and as I stretched my mind to try to understand all the intricacies of the story, I had my doubts that it was properly labeled. Then I remembered that I read similar stories by him as a teen and had no issue–perhaps because I didn’t know all the laws and rules that make it so hard to fathom what goes beyond them. One thing’s for sure–had I read this at 16, it would have involved staying up into the wee sma’s several nights in a row, and continually saying, “I’ll do it later, Mom,” until I’d turned the last page.
For those concerned about what their kids read, I’ll say that if OSC has any place in your house, you’ll find that this fits his usual standards. There are one or two mildly questionable words, a few references to bodily functions that don’t bother me and are undoubtedly in the vocabulary of any teen boy anyway (not obscene, just, you know. Functions, LOL), and otherwise nothing I wouldn’t want my kids to read when they’re round about high school age.
My final word–if you want a gripping, amazing fantasy novel that will steal your thoughts at odd moments throughout your busy day and make you wonder what in the world these crazy kids are going to do now, then Pathfinder is a book you have to get your hands on. You’ll laugh, you’ll scratch your head, you’ll wonder if maybe you could do some of these things if you could stretch yourself just a little more . . . but you won’t regret it.
by Roseanna White | Jan 10, 2011 | Uncategorized
So the other night as hubby and I were flipping through the TV while the kids were staying with their grandmother, we came across one of those movies. You know the ones–threat of the end of the world (or at least humanity) through weird and/or crazy source. You’ve got your main characters, at least one of which you assume will live through the movie, and then a slew of secondary characters that you just assume will die in some horrible, unexpected way.
Like, you know, a lawnmower. That’s all I’m saying.
Anyway. Starring in this particular movie (which had a few hilarious lines, just FYI) was Mark Wahlberg. He’s in a ton of movies from the last few years that dominate our television for long stretches, and when one of the networks was on an The Italian Job kick, I was trying to put a face to one of my characters. I saw good ol’ Mark E. and thought, “Yeah, sure. He could be my Smith.” And matching a face to my leading man really helped me, for once, feel like I knew him a little better.
I shared as much with my hubby the other night, and he said, “Seriously? I always pictured someone more like Dolph Lungren for Smith.” Me: “Seriously??”
LOL. Hubby and I have this problem frequently. But which I mean, 95% of the time. He will form an image of my characters that bear little or no resemblance to my idea of my characters, and will argue his opinion to the point of accusing me of describing them incorrectly in the pages of my books. (“I know you say on page 23 that she has blond hair, but you were wrong. I’m sorry, honey, but she’s a brunette. She just is.” LOL)
Which really just goes to show that the beauty of books is that everyone puts whatever face they want on the main characters, regardless of what book covers or comparisons within the novel tell us. My Smith is a strong guy, a SEAL, and the heroine describes his face as more angular than she is used to, and so European. Hubby’s mind jumped to as-angular-as-you-can-get, which makes a certain kind of sense. Not what I pictured though, ha ha.
Authors, do you usually pick famous folk (or spot regular folk) to pair up with your characters? Of do they remain nebulous in your mind? Readers, do you enjoy visualizing them yourself, or do you prefer when an author gives you a comparison within the novel? I’m always curious about how we visualize this sort of thing . . .
by Roseanna White | Jan 7, 2011 | Uncategorized
Today I’m mixing things up. After exchanging a couple emails with Karen Kingsbury’s publicist, we’ve set up a giveaway of Karen Kingsbury’s 2-in-1 collection both here and at the Christian Review of Books. Want two entries? Hop on over to the CRoB!
Please leave a comment to enter, and include an email address where you can be reached if you win.
Now, onto the good stuff!
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About Karen
USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America’s #1 inspirational novelist. There are more than 15 million copies of her award-winning books in print, including several million copies sold in the past year. Karen has written more than 40 novels, ten of which have hit #1 on national lists.
Karen has a true love for her readers, and she has nearly 100,000 friends on Facebook along with more than 7,500 followers on Twitter. The popular social networking sites have allowed Karen daily interaction with her reader friends.
Karen is best known for her Life-Changing Fiction (TM) and for creating unforgettable characters. When speaking before women’s groups – some with more than 10,000 in attendance – Karen makes audiences laugh and cry with her compelling story-telling. She likes to tell attendees they have, “One chance to write the story of their lives,” and her talk focuses on reminding women to live every day loving well, laughing often, and finding true life in Jesus Christ. Karen routinely speaks before more than 100,000 women each year.
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About the omnibus
A Thousand Tomorrows
Cody Gunner is a nationally renowned bull rider-cocky, brash, a legend among his peers. On track to the top, Cody has rejected everything about his past-his famous father, his hurting mother, and every woman who ever came along. His heart has room only for his young handicapped brother. Ali Daniels is the most recognized horsewoman in her sport. She embraces life, making the most of every moment and risking everything for her passion. Along the way, Ali seeks to fulfill the dreams of her little sister, a girl who died before she had a chance to live. And so competing is all she needs until the day Cody discovers what Ali has been hiding so well. Reluctantly Ali allows Cody into her private world. Despite their fears, they bare their souls and love finds them in a way that it seldom finds anyone. In a breathless race for time, their love becomes the one part of them that will never fail, never die. In the end they find something brilliant and brief – a thousand tomorrows.
Just Beyond the Clouds
Still aching over his wife’s death, Cody Gunner can’t bear the thought of also letting go of his Down’s Syndrome brother, Carl Joseph. Cody wants his brother home, where he will be safe and cared for, not out on his own in a world that Cody knows all too well can be heartless and insecure. So when Carl Joseph’s teacher, Elle, begins championing his independence, she finds herself at odds with Cody. But even as these two battle it out, they can’t deny the instinctive connection they share, and Cody faces a crisis of the heart. What if Elle is the one woman who can teach Cody that love is still possible? If Cody can let go of his lingering anger, he might just see that sometimes the brightest hope of all lies just beyond the clouds.
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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 1/14/11. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.
by Roseanna White | Jan 6, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays
Last Thursday I mentioned that I was asking the Lord for a word for 2011, both for me and our small church. A word that is either something to live up to and strive toward, a goal, or a promise from our Father.
Saturday morning (we’re Sabbath keepers) I was making bulletins for church and choosing the songs to sing. My usual method of doing so is to consider time of year, sermon topic, and otherwise just do a quick prayer and flip and pick whatever catches my eye. Said method resulted in our opening hymn being “Shine, Jesus, Shine.” I typed the page number and title without thinking much about it.
Then in church, as we sang it, I got that shiver of awareness all through me, and my voice wobbled. My heart welled up inside. I could barely sing, barely play the organ. Because I knew the Lord had just given me my word: Shine.
Still playing, still singing, I started to pray. Was this a private word, just for me, or did it go for the church too? I’d been praying that whatever He gave us for the church, He give to several of us for confirmation. So I asked Him to make clear who all this word was intended for.
After we sang the chorus the final time, my mom (the worship leader) raised her hand and said she wanted us to sing that chorus again. And more, she wanted us to make it our prayer for the year. That the light of the Lord would shine through us, and that we would be the mirror to reflect Christ and his love. My dad (the pastor) added that the words “set our hearts on fire” struck him, and that we ought to pray for that too. And so I also added what I’d been praying for, and how this leaped out as an answer.
I get shivers again remembering. We’re a small church, a tiny congregation of mostly-family. Yet in this little body of believers, I’ve grown closer to the Lord, I’ve heard from Him more, and I’ve felt the moving of the Spirit more than in all my life before, combined. And on Saturday, I latched onto this newest whisper of my God.
Shine.
Shining isn’t easy. It means being bright when you feel dull. It means projecting out when you want to huddle in. It means being filled with light and heat when you might want to crawl into a cool, dark corner and sleep for a century or two.
And not just that–because we are not light in ourselves, because we are, on our own, empty vessels, it means, like my mom said, being that mirror for Christ. Not just when we’re “on,” not just when we’re trying, but always. It means, like my Dad pointed out, having hearts on fire for our Lord and Savior.
I’m not going to claim that already I’m this brilliant, shining creature, enjoying the success of the Lord’s word. But I’m sharing it with you all because I want to be accountable, and because I think it’s a word we can all share. If ever you see me stuck in a shadow, remind me to Shine. And if ever I see you in one, I’ll point my mirror your way and try to share what light I’ve got with you.
That’s the beauty of being a mirror–we can reflect on others without losing anything. So come on, friends. Shine with me. Let’s fill the land with the awesomeness of His presence.
by Roseanna White | Jan 5, 2011 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
I’m at an interesting point in my work-in-progress right now–see, it’s the same time of year there as it is for real. Pretty neat, and it doesn’t often work that way for me. Oh, I’m a few days behind in Annapolis (it’s currently the 27th of December), but I’m about to skip a few days, so I’ll soon overtake myself. 😉
There’s something really fun about writing about the season you’re currently in, and about reflecting on it what your characters would be doing on this day in their year. I just got through Christmas with them, and my heroine received a leather bound journal–much like the two hard-cover journals I got. 😉 The kids in the family were playing with toy soldiers (which will be made either of wood or metal, though I haven’t figured out which) while mine are dashing around with Matchbox cars and My Little Ponies.
New Years celebrations are actually very similar. I don’t know that they stayed up to greet the New Year like our culture does, and certainly they didn’t watch the ball drop on TV (ha ha) but the first day of the new year was still a big celebration. Families pulled out all the stops and put on a huge feast, often entertaining friends and neighbors. And resolutions have been a tradition since Ancient Roman days, so don’t think that’s a modern concept!
Most fun in my story right now, though, is that “tomorrow” in the story, my hero figures out where my heroine has run off to and chases after her. Meanwhile, heroine reads a letter from her brother saying how sorry hero is for his dastardly behavior, but she renews her decision to sever all ties with him–yes, even as he’s hitching the carriage to the horses and galloping her way. =) Should be fun! I can’t wait to get these two in the same city again!!
Hope everyone’s having a great Wednesday thus far! And don’t forget to check out the two current stops on the Jewel of Persia blog tour for your chance to win–another’s coming on Friday, too! =)
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.