by Roseanna White | Sep 1, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Book VII of Herodotus’s
Histories ends with a story included solely for its coolness-factor. (Unlike modern historians, Herodotus was all about telling us things solely for coolness–he obviously wasn’t concerned about word count.)
See, we hear a little bit about a former king of Sparta who was exiled from his country when he recommended they align themselves with Persia’s King Darius. So when he peeps kicked him out, he naturally fled to Persia. When Xerxes launched the campaign against Greece, ex-kingy came along as an adviser.
Now, here’s the cool story. Herodotus heard that before the troops left Persia, Damaratus (ex-kingy) sent a message of warning home to Sparta. Kinda irrelevant since it didn’t come to anything, and no one claimed he included anything but, basically, and “I told you so” in the note. But Herodotus told us about it because it was so clever.
See, Damaratus took a typical message tablet–hinged wooden box that opens kinda like a book; inside are two wax surfaces, on which the message is pressed with a stylus. Close it up, and voila–your message is protected for the journey. But not exactly secure. Damaratus, though, did something never before recorded. He peeled off the wax and scratched his true message into the wood, then put the wax back on and pressed a benign one into the wax.
Of course, he peeps back in Sparta had no clue why exiled-dude was writing them with something so useless and thought long and hard on it until finally someone said, “Hey, let’s look underneath the wax.” Took them months to figure this out, apparently.
This was such a fun story, but there was absolutely no way I could work it into Jewel of Persia. So I stole it instead. 😉 I took the cleverness of the idea and made it the standard way two of my bad guys communicate when they’re apart.
Gotta love poetic license.
Hope everyone has a happy Wednesday!
by Roseanna White | Aug 31, 2010 | Uncategorized
Wow, this is the first time in a while I’ve had a Tuesday not scheduled with an interview or giveaway! I love giving exposure to my author friends, but I’m also glad to get to chat books again. =) And hey, chatting books is exposure for my author friends!
Lately I’ve been doing something I’ve never done before in my life–reading multiple books at once. Mostly because I’ve been reading one digitally on my hubby’s tablet. =) But the one I’ve been reading in book form is Cara Putman’s Stars in the Night.
I had Cara on here for a giveaway in July, and her book sounded so awesome that I–Miss Why Buy a Book When I Get More Than I Can Read From Publishers Anyway–ordered a copy. That’s saying a lot right there.
And it was money well spent. Though I (embarrassingly) haven’t finished it yet (I can count on one hand the minutes of spare time I’ve had this last month . . .), it’s soooooo good.
Stars in the Night has it all–the glamor of ’40s Hollywood, the mystery of who killed the heroine’s sister, the sweet, faithful, but terribly shaken Audra out for justice at any cost, and the troubled but smooth Robert who’s trying to decide how far he can go to make his acting career soar.
When Audra lands a job chaperoning the second Hollywood Victory Caravan, which is touring the country to sell war bonds, she knows that somewhere on that train is her sister’s murderer. But she knows that mystery and murder aren’t the only dangers awaiting her–if she can’t keep her emotions toward Robert in check, the consequences don’t bear thinking about.
Doesn’t it just sound fabulous? I love how Cara transports us to another era, one where the beautiful and the ugly coexist in the same skin, where the careful picture Hollywood creates reveals the knotted stitches holding its costume in place. And where two people have to determine where faith forces them to draw the line. In a world of ambition and lies, can love ever find a foothold? Can it survive the deadly secrets crashing down around it?
I’m really looking forward to the conclusion of this book, and you can rest assured that I’ll take the time to exclaim some more about it once I carve out the necessary hours to finish it.
by Roseanna White | Aug 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
It’s an interesting dichotomy. In historicals, we’re told we have to stick to recorded facts where we can, but anything not recorded we’re free to play with. I’m mostly cool with that. But in contemporaries, it’s a little different, right? History’s being recorded as we speak, and there’s very little these days that goes unnoticed. But still we novelists need room to work. So . . .
More often than not, we create within the bounds of our world but take liberties. Like, oh, towns. This is one that comes up often on the ACFW loop. Rather than set a book in a real life town and risk getting it wrong, we often choose fictional settings near real places. That gives us the freedom to put a coffeeshop wherever we please but still describe landscape and climate with accuracy.
There are exceptions to this, of course. If you want to set a book in a place you know very well, the risk of “getting it wrong” is far, far less. So go for it. And cities are also an exception, since they generally encompass more of what we need for a story.
I’ve done both in my books. Note to Self I set in Annapolis and Arnold, MD–a place I lived for six years. For that story I could work very well within the confines of reality, and I had fun sending my characters on short-cuts I’d driven and to restaurants I’d walked past daily while in college. In Yesterday’s Tides, I wanted an authentic Outer Banks town, but things down there change so rapidly I knew I’d better create one. So I named a town after the island (Bodie) and nestled it in the dunes between Southern Shores and Duck where really there’s a stretch of nothing. Then I was free to plop down whatever church I pleased, have a restaurant wherever I needed it, place an inn there, etc.
That said, I get really excited when I find a book–historical or contemporary–set in my neck of the woods. Sometimes they name places I know, which is awesome, and sometimes I get to try to figure out where their fictional town is in relation to the places I know so well. Always fun when an author does it well.
by Roseanna White | Aug 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
Y’all a
re in for a treat today! I had so much fun with Sarah Sundin when she visited the blog a few months ago to talk about A Distant Melody that I couldn’t resist having her back to talk about its sequel, A Memory Between Us. It releases is just a couple days, so consider this a sneak peak. You’re not going to want to miss this one!
Sarah’s graciously offered a copy of A Memory Between Us to one lucky reader, so leave your comments below with an email address. (You must be a follower to enter.)
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About A Memory Between Us
Major Jack Novak has never failed to meet a challenge—until he meets army nurse Lieutenant Ruth Doherty. When Jack lands in the army hospital after a plane crash, he makes winning Ruth’s heart a top-priority mission. But he has his work cut out for him. Not only is Ruth focused on her work in order to support her orphaned siblings back home, she also is determined not to give her heart to any man.
As the danger and tension of World War II rise to a fever pitch, Jack and Ruth will need each other more than ever. Can Jack break down her defenses? Or are they destined to go their separate ways?
From the English countryside to the perilous skies over France, A Memory Between Us takes you on a journey through love, forgiveness, and sacrifice.
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About Sarah
Sarah Sundin lives in northern California with her husband and three children. When she isn’t ferrying kids to soccer and karate, she works on-call as a hospital pharmacist and teaches Sunday school. Her first novel, A Distant Melody, published by Revell in March 2010.
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What’s your latest book?
A Memory Between Us releases 1 September 2010 from Revell.
And can I just say how excited I am to read this?? Come on, Revell, send me my copy! 😉 What’s your favorite part of the story?
So much of this story wrote itself. Any time I put Jack and Ruth in the same room, the banter flew. I just transcribed their dialogue. It was a lot of fun.
Don’t you love it when that happens? But it’s never ALL fun and witty banter–what was the hardest part to write?
Near the end when Ruth had to face her great ordeal. The poor thing had been through so much in the story so far, and I found myself wanting to back off and resolve the scene early. But I couldn’t. I had to keep pushing the scene and pushing Ruth to the brink, because I knew only when she faced her darkest moment would she see the truth she needed. Argh. I think the Lord must have similar feelings when we go through trials. He knows the lessons we’ll learn, which is why He lets us stay there, but it must grieve Him.
That is a truly great analogy. What do you hope your readers will get out of the story?
I never write a novel with a message in mind, but I do hope my readers will learn from my characters’ experiences. Shame serves a purpose—to bring you to ask God’s forgiveness—but when it persists after forgiveness, that’s not God talking. Shame burdens so many people and holds them back from the wonderful plans God has for them. I hope my readers will learn to truly accept forgiveness, shove off shame, and allow God to use them. I also hope they see the insidious nature of pride and learn to trust in the Lord a bit more each day.
Beautiful. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?
I wrote two contemporary romances. Really bad ones. Those were my “starter” books. Lately I’ve been drawn to writing historical fiction/romance, and I don’t see that changing for a while. As a reader, I gravitate toward the classics, women’s fiction, and contemporary or historical fiction—preferably with a strong romantic thread. I also love a good suspense novel and anything with humor.
Three cheers for romantic threads! =) What are you reading right now—and what do you want to read next?
I just finished Lost Mission by Athol Dickson (amazing!) and started Courting Morrow Little by Laura Frantz (which is beautiful so far). My To Be Read pile overfloweth. And I like it that way.
You want to talk overflowing, you should get a load of the 250 books awaiting reviews on MY shelves, LOL. And speaking of shelves . . . what would your dream office look like—and what does your REAL writing environment look like?
This is fun! I’m in the process of carving out my own office right now. Our den has served as guest room/sewing room/husband’s office for years, but I rarely sew any more, and our oldest son is going away to college in September. His room will now be the guest room when he’s away. We’re putting in a lovely large L-shaped desk with a hutch and a tackboard, an extra bookcase for all my research books, and a cushy, ergonomic chair. I’m so excited. It’ll be much more efficient than working at the dining room table.
Ooooo, that sounds sweet! Hopefully your son doesn’t feel replaced by your writing. And that is my brilliant segue into the next question. Any funny family stories about living with a writer?
Real conversation overheard during carpool between my fourteen-year-old daughter and her BFF. BFF was complaining about walking in on her dad, who was talking to the bunny. BFF was horribly embarrassed. My teen: “You think that’s bad? My mom talks to her computer! To her characters! And they’re not even real!” BFF: “Okay. You win.”
That made me chuckle. My daughter’s still young enough that she also talks about my characters as if they’re real. Not looking forward to the day when she realizes her mom’s just a nut. Anyway. What are you writing right now?
I just turned the third book in the Wings of Glory series in to my editor, and now I’m working on another series, also set during World War II.
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Thanks so much for coming by again, Sarah!! Everybody, be sure to check out her website and blog. You can find A Memory Between Us at Amazon, ChristianBook, B&N, and Borders.
Void where prohibited. Entry into the contest is considered verification of eligibility based on your local laws. Contest ends 9/2/10. Winners will have two weeks to claim prizes.
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.