Remember When . . . Day Turned to Night?

by | Apr 21, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized

Giveaway – Sarah Sundin’s fantabulous A Distant Melody!

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In re-reading Herodotus’s History (how many of you can say you’ve done that? LOL.) about the Greco-Persian war, I keep stumbling upon fantastic little tidbits that I don’t remember from my first read-through. Perhaps because we had to read so stinkin’ much of it for each class that little details didn’t really have time to stick. But wow! I’m finding some real gems for this new book!

One thing I’m still trying to figure out how to work in . . . at one point, Xerxes and his massive army are ready to finally, officially launch their campaign against Greece and cross the formidable river, Hellespont. They’d spent years first preparing and then bridging it. A storm collapsed their efforts, which led to Xerxes’ infamous command to have the river lashed. They bridge it again and are finally ready to cross, when . . .

Day turns to night. Literally, according to Herodotus. Middle of the day, and POW! No clouds, no eclipse, just DARK. What do y’all make of that?

Now, the Ancient Greeks knew their astronomy–they would have known had it been a predictable phenomenon. And the Persians? They studied this stuff like nobody’s business. Remember Daniel in Babylon, excelling at all their maths and sciences? Same empire.

But this . . . this defied explanation. So when Xerxes looked to his magi and said, “Yo, dudes, what’s up with this?” they had no natural explanation.

“Obviously,” they replied, “it’s an omen.”

“No, really? Brilliant, guys. Brilliant. How about telling me what it’s an omen of?”

Insert the magi scratching their heads. Then one says, “Oo, oo, I know, I know! You know how Greece is represented by the day? And us, we’re the night? Well obviously this is an omen of the night overtaking the day and Persia gaining a victory over Greece! Eh? Eh??”

Xerxes liked this (I mean, why wouldn’t he??) but it still struck fear into a lot of the other people. See, even in 483 A.D., people knew spin when they heard it. And whether or not night was supposed to be them, it was darn scary when it overtook them twelve hours ahead of schedule.

Now, am I mixing this story with other memory, or is there some Old Testament account of something like this happening? I know there was an occasion where one of the prophets commanded the sun reverse, but was there a darkness thing? (Other than the plague?) If so, I’d love a refresher on where that is. If not . . . yeah, then I’m just confusing this one with other thoughts. =)

The real question, though, is how I can use this is my novel. Oh, the endless possibilities. Hmm . . . .

Story Time . . . HIGHLAND BLESSINGS by Jennifer Taylor

Story Time . . . HIGHLAND BLESSINGS by Jennifer Taylor

by | Apr 20, 2010 | Uncategorized


Don’t forget to enter Friday’s giveaway for A Distant Melody.

And I’m sure y’all were just so bored yesterday without a post from me (ha ha), but I was too sick to care. Feeling mostly better this morning, though with a headache . . .

Anyway. Today you’re getting a sneak peak of a book whose author I’ll soon be posting an interview with and which I’ll be doing a giveaway of. Enjoy!

Highland Blessings
by Jennifer Taylor

It’s supposed to be her wedding day. But first Akira MacKenzie’s groom gives his regrets, and then the MacPhearson warriors swoop down on them. Akira knows they’ve come for her–in spite of the fact that the chief of the MacPhearsons sent a missive breaking their engagement, he has obviously changed his mind and will not let her wed another. Except . . . why is it Evan’s younger brother, Bryce, that comes for her instead of The MacPhearson himself?

Bryce is determined to honor his last promise to his dying father–that he would see peace with the MacKenzie’s through Evan’s engagement with the clan chief’s daughter, Akira. His brother may not agree, but Bryce will not let one man’s stubborness lead to more war. He steals Akira away and knows within moments of spending time with her that Evan will change his mind once he meets her and wed her as he should. How could he not? This is no ordinary woman, and such fire as she has will surely make a strong marriage and strong sons to bind the two clans together. Now if only he can keep his own thoughts off the woman destined to be The MacPhearson’s wife.

Highland Blessings combined the charm of medieval Scotland with intrigue, adventure, and a love that battles the odds. The story takes the readers through twists and turns brought about by treachery, misunderstanding, and the misguided hatred of one clan for another. But through it all is the deep-seated love of family and the soul-deep connection of two people who don’t quite understand why they feel these things for each other but cannot long deny them.

I was glad to see a book with this setting and look forward to more from Jennifer!

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.

My Friend Sarah – Interview & Giveaway

My Friend Sarah – Interview & Giveaway

by | Apr 16, 2010 | Uncategorized

Today I’m super-excited to welcome Sarah Sundin to talk about her fabulous debut novel, A Distant Melody. I just reviewed this book on Tuesday, so feel free to check that out to see how awesome a book it is. =)

Sarah has graciously offered a signed copy, so as usual, leave your comments below with a way I can reach you!

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About Sarah

Sarah Sundin’s first novel, A Distant Melody, was released in March 2010 by Revell. She 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 and women’s Bible studies.

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About A Distant Melody

Never pretty enough to please her gorgeous mother, Allie will do anything to gain her approval—even marry a man she doesn’t love. Lt. Walter Novak—fearless in the cockpit but hopeless with women—takes his last furlough at home in California before being shipped overseas. Walt and Allie meet at a wedding and their love of music draws them together, prompting them to begin a correspondence that will change their lives. As letters fly between Walt’s muddy bomber base in England and Allie’s mansion in an orange grove, their friendship binds them together. But can they untangle the secrets, commitments, and expectations that keep them apart?

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What’s your latest book?

A Distant Melody, Revell, March 2010.

Which was soooooooo good. Check out my review. What was the hardest part to write?

For me, the hardest part to write is always the first chapter—you have to do so much in so few pages. One scene that was emotionally difficult to write was late in the book when Walt receives bad news similar to bad news I once received. My first draft of that chapter was short and flat. I realized I didn’t want to delve into his emotions, but I had to—for Walt’s sake and for the story—and for myself.

Well, there was no flatness in those late bad-news scenes, so you obviously dug your toes in, gritted your teeth, and poured those emotions out! Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?

I keep my whole bookcase handy when I write. I have three five-inch binders filled with research notes (yes, sick), plus another binder with story notes, character charts, and plot outlines. For this particular book I kept going back to my reference books on Army Air Force uniforms, Eighth Air Force history and procedures, and the B-17 pilot’s manual.

Well, that explains your expertise! I was struck time and again with the knowledge you effortlessly imparted. And speaking of knowledge . . . what lessons have you learned through the publication process that you wouldn’t have guessed as a pre-published writer?

I knew about the editing process and how much publicity needed to be done, but I didn’t know about the random assignments, often with short deadlines: title & cover questionnaires, catalog copy, influencer lists, marketing plans, etc. Also I didn’t realize how much juggling I would do. Currently I’m doing publicity for A Distant Melody, I just finished Revell’s edits for Book 2, I’m polishing Book 3 before I turn it in, and I’m preparing a proposal for another series.

Well, if you decide to branch out as a circus clown, you’ll have your juggling act down! (Hmm, a circus of writers. I think we’re onto something here! I know some hilarious characters in the writing world, LOL.) Anyway. Are there any people (family, writing group, editors) who you rely on when writing?

So many! First of all, I run my early chapters through my writers group, and then I have several good writer friends who read the whole manuscript. My mother and sister always see an early draft—they’re fantastic at picking out punctuation and grammar issues. I also ran this series through a pilot friend to make sure I didn’t make any major errors in the flying scenes. The first two novels in this series were also read by about two dozen reading friends in three-ring binder format when I’d given up hope of publication. A side benefit of this was I had two dozen friends encouraging me and praying for me, and now they’re wonderful cheerleaders. Love them.

Yep, they’re priceless. Aside from writing, what takes up most of your time?

Driving. My kids are 11, 14, and 17, so I spend lots of time carting them to soccer, baseball, choir, karate, and youth group. And a big, furry demand on my time is our yellow lab. Daisy wants to play. All the time. And if I don’t play with her, she snatches papers, pens, and eating utensils from the counter. With all the chasing I do, I should be a lot skinnier.

I think your dog and my son are on the same wavelength . . . LOL. Any upcoming releases we should keep our eye out for?

The second book in the Wings of Glory series, A Memory Between Us, releases in September 2010, and the third book in August 2011.

~*~

Thanks so much for visiting with us, Sarah! Everybody, you gotta check out her blog at http://www.sarahsundin.blogspot.com and her fun website at http://www.sarahsundin.com. You can find A Distant Melody at Amazon, ChristianBook, B&N, Borders, and CrossPurposes.

Void where prohibited. Contest ends 4/22/10. Winner will have two weeks to claim book before another is selected.

Thoughtful About . . . News!

by | Apr 15, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized

Today’s the last day to enter to win Jill Williamson’s To Darkness Fled!!

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So it’s been an interesting week. As I’ve considered what would be a good followup to A Stray Drop of Blood, I got an idea for another Biblical Fiction that would be a new twist on the familiar Esther story. I wrote four and a half chapters of it a while back when the idea blossomed, and this past week I hammered out a synopsis and a blurb, polished up the first three chapters.

My thought? I’d run the idea past my agent and see what she thought about the possibility of trying to get a big CBA publisher interested. Meanwhile, my hubby/publisher of Stray Drop read it and loved what I was doing with it. Being the fabulous supporter he is, he told me to go ahead and get my agent’s take on the big houses, but that he thought it would be a good title for WhiteFire to do too.

My agent’s response was quick–given my proposals that are under consideration at the big houses right now, she didn’t think it was a good idea to toss a Bib-Fic out there right now. They’re a dubious sell in CBA, and unrelated to what I’m already trying to sell. She advised that I write it–but that I write it for WhiteFire.

I’ll confess–my initial reaction was a rather long, “Oooohhhhhhhh. Siiiiiiggggghhhh.” But then what this meant began to sink in. It means I can write this story in its full scope, without concern for keeping it under 100K. I’ll keep a lot of control over it. And I don’t have to wait who-knows-how-long to gain an editor’s eye. Instead, my husband and I sat down and soon had a plan of attack.

Which means that my second novel, Just Another Wife, will be releasing in summer 2011 from WhiteFire Publishing! My editor’s a real slave-driver, so I have to have the manuscript finished in the next few months (that’s a joke–I decided on this deadline, LOL). And boy-howdy, it feels good to have something I now HAVE to get done! I love direction!

For those of you who might now be wondering what this story’s all about, here’s the blurb I was working on earlier this week:

Kasia thinks she’ll lose herself when she is taken to the palace to wed Xerxes–instead she finds an unexpected love with the king who is regarded as a god by his people. She, of all his wives, is the only one who loves him for the man beneath the crown. She, of all his wives, is the only one to threaten the careful balance of the world’s largest empire. When the king’s advisers realize how much sway this mere Jewish girl has over Xerxes, an intrigue springs up to rival the war with Greece. Kasia knows she will never take the place of the dethroned Amestris, but when she discovers that her best friend from childhood has arrived at the House of Women, she determines to use her influence to work for God’s people. Esther will be crowned–and though Kasia inadvertently turned Persia against the Jews, she knows Esther can save them.

In a combination of the familiar story of Esther told in the Bible and the history of Xerxes as told by Herodotus, Just Another Wife is a story of a love that nearly tears an empire apart, and the friendship that knits it back together.

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