Roseanna White - Roseanna M. White

My New Cover!!

by Roseanna White | Oct 18, 2010 | Uncategorized

I’m far too excited about my new cover design to talk about anything else today. =) Many of my friends have already seen it on Facebook, but in case you missed it . . .

Isn’t it just awesome?? I am so stinking impressed with Tekeme Studios. For good reason, eh?

Story behind the cover–George of Tekeme couldn’t exactly find any images of Ancient Persia that he could use that were anything but ruins or museum exhibits, so he took what he could find, added an image of a fireplace mantel to serve as the entryway, and then went in and added all that color by hand. Isn’t he just above and beyond?? (Oh, and the dark spots you see on her arm is just the texture, which will be removed–I just didn’t want to wait for the next version to share with you, LOL.)

On a similar note, I’m in the process of constructing the Companion Guide for Jewel of Persia over at my website. If you hop over there, you can not only learn a bit about the culture and my sources, but you can see some of the other images of the cover model and some cool pics and paintings of Persia (for those of you who have already read my musings about the ancients on here). Let me know what you think! (And no, the guide is not complete yet–only the colored links are actually active. But the rest will be up today!)

Getting excited over here! This book is going to happen!!!

My Friend Jill – Interview & Giveaway

by Roseanna White | Oct 15, 2010 | Uncategorized

Today Jill Elizabeth Nelson’s with us again, this time to talk about her latest book, Legacy of Lies. Hope you’re a fan of romantic suspense! (I mean, really–who isn’t??)

Jill has offered a signed copy to one lucky reader, so leave your comments below with an email address. And be sure you’re a follower!

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About Jill

Jill Elizabeth Nelson writes what she likes to read—tales of adventure seasoned with romance, humor, and faith, earning her the tagline: Endless Adventure, Timeless Truth. She was delightfully astonished this year to receive the prestigious Carol Award in the Short Contemporary Suspense category for her 2009 release, Evidence of Murder. Jill speaks regularly at conferences, writer’s groups, Library associations, and civic and church groups. When teaching classes for writers, she thrills to bring the Ahah! moment to her students as they make a new skill their own. Jill and her husband live in rural Minnesota where they raised four children and are currently enjoying their first grandchild. Visit Jill on the web at http://www.jillelizabethnelson.com.

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About Legacy of Lies

Secrets Buried Deep!

Evidence from a decades-old murder is the last thing Nicole Keller-Mattson expected to find in her grandmother’s back yard, but the finger-pointing and accusations leveled at her family came as no surprise. Everyone in Ellington is eager to blame the Kellers—but after an attack leaves Nicole’s grandmother in a coma, only Nicole can clear the family name. With the assistance of police chief Rich Hendricks, she stands a chance of solving the mystery . . . if she’s willing to accept Rich’s help. Nicole lost her policeman husband in the line of duty—getting close to another cop is too painful. But keeping her distance could be deadly.

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What’s your latest book?

Legacy of Lies released in September from Steeple Hill. I had a blast writing this story, because it gave me the opportunity to explore the politics of small-town life. As a life-long resident of a variety of rural communities, I had loads of personal experience and observation to draw from when crafting the story.

Oh, fun! I’ve always lived in smaller areas too, but I try to avoid the politics. =) What’s your favorite part of the story?

I really enjoyed writing the elderly characters in Legacy of Lies. Since the initial crime occurred half a century ago, the plot offered lots of interaction with a senior generation of characters. I’ve worked for nearly 20 years now in an elder-care setting—both assisted living and nursing home. Older folks constantly amaze me, some by their strength and maturity, and some by their behaviors in line with a second childhood.

What a unique twist to the story! Love it. Is there a theme to this book?

In Legacy of Lies, I was particularly interested to explore the affects past sins and secrets can have on a tight-knit community and how the illusion of power is always trumped by the immutable laws of God. We do reap what we sow, no matter how grand and invincible we imagine ourselves to be.

The scripture I used at the front of the book was Psalm 37: 10 – 11 from the NIV version of the Bible: A little while and the wicked will be no more; Though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace. I comfort myself with these words quite often when I see the injustices in the world.

Very cool. And I recall interviewing you about the “generational curse” idea many, many moons ago. I love this new twist. Not exactly generational, but still the idea of sin being unable to escape its consequences. Okay, next question. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?

I’m writing in my favorite genre to read and write. The first novel I ever wrote was a mystery. That was in the sixth grade, and the world is grateful that not a shred of the manuscript yet exists. LOL. I’m a fan of puzzles of all sorts, so that tendency translates into my taste in reading material. I’ll lay a book down, though, if I can figure out “who dunnit” within the first few chapters. When I write, I’m a stickler about making the mystery aspect of my plot a challenge to figure out beforehand, and yet quite clear in hindsight once the truth is revealed. I leave my readers to tell me if I’ve succeeded.

What writing goal have you set for yourself that would be the hardest (or unlikeliest) but most rewarding to achieve?

Ever since a goal-setting session at an American Christian Fiction Writers conference a couple of years ago, I’ve carried in my purse a blue, 3 X 5 index card bearing a list entitled, “Five ‘Impossible’ Goals for God to Make Possible.” One of those “impossibilities” came to pass a month ago when, Evidence of Murder, one of my 2009 releases won the ACFW Carol Award in the short romantic suspense category. Wha-hoo! I had considered that goal to be somewhere in the nebulous cloud of my long-term future. God sure worked fast!

(Roseanna interjecting a hearty “Congrats!!”)

One of the other items on my “impossible” list is the publication of a manuscript I wrote nearly a decade ago. The story remains near and dear to my heart, and I see vast ministry possibilities for it. Many have told me this story has a lot of strikes against it for traditional publication. Well, then, perhaps the Lord will do something untraditional. Hah!

I wouldn’t put it past him! =)

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Thanks for visiting, Jill! Readers, you can check out her website at http://www.jillelizabethnelson.com and find her books at Amazon.

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 10/21/10. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.

Thoughtful About . . . Seasons, Holidays, and Halloween

by Roseanna White | Oct 14, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized

(First, a sidenote–I’m featured today at Stepping Stones Magazine for Readers, so go check out the letter I wrote you!)

Now that I have a school-age kiddo, I’ve found that an awful lot of focus in our house in on the season and holidays coming up. Kind of amazing how they go from clueless to completely into celebrating over the course of a few years, isn’t it?

I’ve put a lot of thought into the way we celebrate things, and it inevitably comes up for me this time of year. All the kids’ shows (and I mean ALL) are focused on Halloween. I can see why they like to be–to the politically-correct way of thought, this is a safe holiday. There’s no religious attachment to worry about ignoring or getting in trouble for not ignoring. It’s just costumes and candy, right? And boy do my kids get excited about it!

Then I inevitably come across something that expounds on the evils of Halloween and how it’s the most un-Christian holiday you ever could see. I have friends who avoid anything Halloween at all costs. I’m still trying to figure out my own stance, and maybe y’all can help me.

See, here’s the thing. The history of it dates back to the days when Christians and pagans were still butting heads in the British isles. Halloween is the night before All Hollow’s Day (aka All Saints Day), the day on the Catholic calender that is devoted to honoring all the saints not already honored on their own days. A holy day. Halloween is kind of . . . almost like a Mardi Gras before lent for the pagans. A day of black magic, sorcery, and spells. So yeah, I get the evil thing. But our traditions? Those come from people attempting to stay apart from it. Jack o’ lanterns, for example, were first carved into scary faces to frighten away the evil spirits–and those who would bring them to a house. I’ve heard that trick or treating is a terrible thing, but it actually has similar roots. It can be viewed negatively, but . . .

Well, but so can the Christmas tree. So can the Easter egg. And if we’re on that subject, um, hello–“Easter” is named after the Roman goddess for spring, not for the resurrection. If we’re taking issue with holidays . . . But seriously. How many of our Christmas traditions, so beloved, are rooted in paganism? A lot.

And you know what? I’m okay with all that–because the whole point is that Christians integrated what was not sacred into their traditions and made it sacred by stripping it of old meaning and giving it new. I don’t believe that things, all by themselves, carry particular meaning (generally speaking, of course–there are exceptions)–it’s a matter of the meaning we give it.

So I keep coming back to the fact that I can’t have a problem with Halloween if I’m not going to have one with Christmas trees, Easter eggs, and who-knows-what-else. Why not have fun with costumes and candy, so long as my kids are taught the difference between good and evil, the dangers people once faced on that day, and the importance of recognizing the saints, like All Hollow’s Day is meant to do?

On that theory, I looked up some Catholic Halloween sites, thinking to get a good grounding for ways to make the holiday line up with a moral code. Interestingly, I found their suggestions way scarier than any Halloween party I wanted to go to! (It involved taking your kids through a graveyard to talk about those who have gone before, and having someone jump out from behind a tombstone to frighten them–fright is apparently a crucial part of the sacred holiday, too!)

So anyway. I know people get really upset by Halloween, and I’m happy to hear their points of view. I would, in fact, welcome any corrections, since I know many of these folks have done their homework on the subject better than I have. Or if you do celebrate it, I’d love to hear why. All I know if that if I wanted to keep my kids away from it, I’d have to cut off all TV, Story Time, and keep them out of public for the entire month of October.

All in all, I think my favorite way of someone making this day sacred was my friend Karlene’s family, who took her kids out trick-or-treating, yes–and together the family stopped and prayed at each house they visited, covering each and every place they went with the Lord’s blessing. Cool, huh? A trick-or-treating prayer walk!

Remember When . . . Everything Had a Story?

by Roseanna White | Oct 13, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized

In our homeschooling, we read one children’s book each of the school days and discuss a different aspect of it each day. This week we’re reading The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills, which takes place in turn-of-the-century Appalachia, in a coal-mining town. The premise is that the character, Minna, is too poor to afford a coat, so all the mothers of the community pool their scraps and quilt her a multi-colored coat that she says is like Joseph’s coat of many colors. She loves it because each scrap is a story, and now she carries a piece of each of her friends with her to keep her warm.

Being from the Appalachians ourselves, I’m loving this book. It’s so cool to see visuals of that era-gone-by, and I’ve been amazed at how much Xoe actually knows about it. I can point to any of the old-fashioned things in the illustrations, and she’ll say, “Oh, that’s the thing that blows out air on the fire” (a bellows) and “that’s the tub with the stick in it that you make butter with” and “that’s an oil lamp, silly–it looks like the one on our shelf! Remember, you got it from Gran-nan!”

I love this because as she identifies everything, she puts a story to it–just like Minna with her coat. It was all “Nonna has one of those” and “That was in that story you read to us before, about the pancake.” Our assignment for the story yesterday involved that storytelling aspect, and it recommended we get down a quilt and recall the stories in the squares. But, alas, we don’t have a quilt quite like that.

It was in casting around for something similar, though, that I realized my daughter does this already, with everything. There’s no such thing as as simple answer with her. Everything’s a story. It’s never just, “Look at my new sparkly red shoes.” It’s “Look at my new sparkly red shoes–they’re like that girl’s from the Oz movie, with the wizard and the lion and the man made of metal, and she clicked them together . . . ” =)

I love that about my sweet little girl. And I love the storytelling tendency in general. Do you have a memento or heirloom that’s your favorite, not because of monetary worth, but because of the story attached? I’d love to hear it!