Hosanna in the Highest!

by | Mar 29, 2010 | Uncategorized

It’s Holy Week–by far my favorite week of the year. I always enjoyed Easter, always looked forward to Palm Sunday, but in high school I began to see the importance of the entire week when my church started holding a Maundy Thursday dinner and special prayer services and fasting on Good Friday.


But of course, it became really special when I was 15 and got the inspiration for A Stray Drop of Blood. Since then . . . this is a week that I claim, a week when I focus more on Him than any other time, a week when He inevitably reveals something to me. I can’t wait to see what He has in store for me this year!

So we’re deviating from the norm this week. Monday through Thursday I’m going to go through the events recorded in the Gospels, from Palm Sunday throughout the week. On Friday I have a giveaway/interview scheduled, but have no fear! I’ve already written two posts that will be featured on other blogs that day. =) I’ll give you links to those. (Cuz I’m sure you were SO worried about missing a day of my oh-so-brilliant insight, right? LOL)

Okay, Palm Sunday. I’m sure most of us are aware of what went down. Jesus had his disciples loose a donkey colt, which the owners graciously allowed them to do as soon as they said, “The Lord has need of it.” Prophecy fulfilled. He rode into Jerusalem on it, where the multitudes waved palm branches and tossed their clothes into the streets for him to ride across. Most anyone with footnotes in their Bibles will also know that this was standard practice when a prince visited on a mission of peace. Pretty cool, eh?

So. Prince of Peace enters Jerusalem. And what does he do? He promptly goes to the temple and overturns the money-changers’ tables, quoting the “house of prayer/den of thieves” stuff. (I know, I’m SO quoting word for word. Bear with me, I don’t want this to be so long it bores you, ha ha.) Now, I have heard many a person–myself included–use this section of the Bible to talk about Righteous Indignation, i.e. a kind of anger that is Godly.

My hubby pointed out years and years ago that that’s stretching it. See, he struggles with temper, so I suspect that’s why the idea of it ever being okay struck him as a little dangerous. Wanna know what he said? “It never says Jesus was angry. It never says he went into a rage. We’re told when he feels other emotions, but not here. He just does it. And wouldn’t that be even more powerful? That he didn’t go in and do this out of anger, righteous or not. He did it to prove a point ONLY. We’re told that he weeps over the city, being moved to sorrow. We’re not told that he sees this and just snaps, roars out his fury, and wreaks havoc.”

Well, huh. Every . . . single . . . person I’ve ever heard talk about this passage has done the righteous anger take. Until David. But each and every time he’s presented his point of view to a group, the leaders have ended up reconsidering. My husband has struck on a truth. The Prince of Peace did not immediately snap and go on a rampage. The Prince of Peace threw down a gauntlet.

Every single step he took while in Jerusalem for the Passover had a purpose. No, make that A Purpose. I highly doubt this first one was to say, “It’s okay to lose your temper, y’all, so long as it’s when someone’s doing something bad.” I think maybe instead he was saying, “Don’t suffer it when they turn the house of God into something it shouldn’t be. Change it.” And then what does he do? He heals the lame and blind, and the children start singing about him. Doesn’t exactly sound like someone who just scared the daylights out of someone with the flashing rage in their eyes, does it? Especially because the next day he’s talking about forgiveness.

I’m going to close out each day with a snippet from Stray Drop, simply because it’s stuff I’ve already written and thought through and put a lot of prayer into. I debated how big a part to make Palm Sunday and decided it would best be only hinted at. Here’s my only mention of it, as witnessed by two Roman centurions:

Outside, they discovered quickly that the streets leading from the northern gate were not sympathetic to their plan. They were clogged with people, townspeople who usually moved far out of their way to avoid the Roman soldiers. Today, they ignored their existence.

“Are those palm branches?” Menelaus looked in disbelief at the street over a woman’s shoulder. “What, is there some prince visiting today that we have not heard of?”

“It is Messiah!” a woman proclaimed as if in answer to his question, pointing in the distance at a point he could not make out. “Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Lord! Hosanna!”

She was not the only one calling out, shouting with Joy at the approach of whomever it was they called Messiah. “Jesus!” another cried nearby.

Menelaus rolled his eyes. “Not him again. Come, let us take the alley.”

Titus made no argument. They bypassed the congestion and made their way silently to the house.

Winner!

by | Mar 26, 2010 | Uncategorized

And the winner of the e-book of Meander Scar is . . .

Deborah M! (debbiejeanm@ . . .)

Just sent you an email, Deborah!

My Friend Laurie Alice – Interview

My Friend Laurie Alice – Interview

by | Mar 26, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized

Today I am tickled pink to welcome the awesome Laurie Alice Eakes to my blog. I know her from a historical group I belong to, and let me assure you all that she is just amazing. Always full of insight, willing to help the rest of us with our questions, and a fabulous writer to boot.

Laurie Alice has a great thing going on at her blog right now–hop over to http://seizethechance.blogspot.com/ regularly and leave a comment on the post, because on post 500, Laurie Alice is giving away a gift to EVERY commentor! When will that be? Well, that’s the thing–we don’t know. =) But sometime in the next little while, and I assure you her blog’s worth reading of itself.

For now, have fun getting to know this wonderful lady and her latest book, The Glassblower!

~*~

About Laurie Alice

Award-winning author Laurie Alice Eakes does not remember a time when books did not play a part in her life; thus, no one was surprised when she decided to be a writer. Her first hardcover was an October, 2006 Regency historical from Avalon Books and won the National Readers Choice Award for Best Regency, as well as being a finalist for Best First Book. After selling her first book in the inspirational market, she also wrote articles and essays for Christian publications. A brief hiatus in publishing climaxed with her selling thirteen books in thirteen months, to publishers such as Barbour, Avalon, and Baker/Revell.

She is an active member of RWA and ACFW, and started the Avalon Authors group blog. A graduate of the Seton Hill University Master of Arts Degree in Writing Popular Fiction, And a Bachelor of Arts graduate in English and French from Asbury College, she is an experienced speaker, and has made presentations at local and national RWA conferences, as well as local universities and libraries.

Until recently, she lived in Northern Virginia, then her husband’s law career took them and their dogs and cats, to southern Texas, where she writes full-time and enjoys the beach whenever possible.

~*~

About The Glassblower

Now that Colin Grassick, a master glass-blower from Scotland, has arrived to help at the Jordan glassworks, Meg Jordan’s dreams of teaching the poor, local children are coming true. Finally, someone will have time to make windows for the rural New Jersey schoolhouse, to keep out the cold – and vandals. To Joseph Pyle, the wealthy, arrogant man to whom Meg will soon be betrothed, the destruction of Meg’s new windows is inconsequential – as his wife, she will be forbidden from teaching. Why would Meg’s father insist she marry a man like Joseph and stay away from the endearing Colin?

~*~

What’s your latest book?

My most recently released book is The Glassblower, which was released to the Heartsong book club in December of 2009 and is now on christianbook.com and listed on Amazon, though apparently they don’t have their copies yet. And we stand on the verge of my next release The Heiress, the second book in the series.

And what a fabulous book it was! You can read my review of it here. What’s your favorite part of the story?

There’s a scene at a wedding. It’s winter and snowing and the heroine and hero encounter one another outside—he’s not a guest. They have an intense dialogue and their first kiss. Sometimes I write a scene and just know I got it right. That’s one of them.

Oh yes, that was a great scene. You definitely got it right! What was the hardest part to write?

The beginning. Beginnings are always difficult for me.

Is there a theme to this book?

Yes, trust God for your future. Don’t try to force it. You’ll just mess things up.

Hmm, too true. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?

My favorite genre to write is historical romance. I am such a romantic and love history. And that’s what I like to read, too, but when I’m working, I actually love something quite opposite like a thriller or at least a romantic-suspense.

And with all the upcoming releases you’ve got on your plate, you’re undoubtedly working most of the time! What’s one of the oddest or most interesting things someone has ever said about you?

You have such a great voice, you should be on radio. I think this is odd because I am not particularly fond of my voice. Too much of my Mid West roots twangs through despite my efforts to smooth it out. But several people have told me this over the years. In college, when I’d answer the dorm hall phone, sometimes guys would just talk to me if the girl they were calling wasn’t available. They liked my voice. I don’t get it.

LOL, well you apparently sound great to everyone else. I’d comment on my opinion, but I’ve only read your voice, never heard it. 😉 What would your dream office look like—and what does your REAL writing environment look like?

My dream office would have at least a gas fireplace at one end and a coffee bar at the other, with big windows interspersed with bookshelves in-between. I’d have a great old-fashioned secretary kind of desk and big comfortable chairs, too. My real office is pretty basic, but at least I have one.

Oh, that sounds fabulous! I sort of set up an office attached to my bedroom, but I never use it. Instead I’m always at the table in our family room. Sigh. Wouldn’t be so bad if I had shelves! Speaking of which (or things you put on them, anyway), 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 my primary resource on glassmaking available, The Glassmakers by Leonard Everett Fisher, but references vary from book to book.

What lessons have you learned through the publication process that you wouldn’t have guessed as a pre-published writer?

Here the author just laughs. You could do a whole blog on this. To make it simple: Getting the sale is the easy part.

Then comes all the little sales, right? Whole different ball game! Aside from writing, what takes up most of your time?

My family, which right now means my husband and our sundry animals.

If someone were to give you $5,000 to spend on anything you wanted, what would you buy? (No saving of gifts to charities allowed!)

A trip to London.

You might find me stowed away in your luggage. =) Do you remember where you were when you got your first or most important call about a book contract?

Oh, yes. It wasn’t my first or even second; it was my third.

I was in New Jersey doing some training when I got the call that my new Jersey series had sold to Barbour. This was important because I thought my career had come to an end with the two books. What was even more fun than being in NJ when learning about NJ, my hero in The Glassblower is a Scot and we had a Scottish man In the class with the same name as the hero—Colin. I spent a lot of time talking to him to get the cadence of his speech right for my hero without resorting to a lot of dialect and weird spellings.

I remember when you told our historical group about that. So cool! What are you writing right now?

I am writing the first book in my Regency series for Baker/Revell, which is due out in the autumn of 2011.

Any upcoming releases we should keep our eye out for?

Lots, thanks be to God. The Heiress and The Newcomer from Heartsong Presents, and When the Snow Flies from Avalon Books. I have two books from Revell coming out next year. And also this year is the large print edition of my first book for the CBA, Better than Gold. The Lord certainly took me from famine to feast.

Hence my constant motto of “I want to be Laurie Alice when I grow up.” =) Is there another author who has greatly influenced your writing?

I can’t point to just one. Patricia Veryan, Georgette Heyer, Jo Beverley, Laura Kinsale… Yes, those are all secular authors, and I read secular fiction exclusively for so long my writing voice was established before I started writing for the CBA.

Thanks for stopping by, Laurie Alice! Readers, don’t forget to swing over to her blog regularly so that you don’t miss Lucky Post 500!!

Thoughtful About . . . Building Character(s)

by | Mar 25, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized

Today’s the last day to enter my giveaway of Meander Scar and Carman’s giveaway of A Stray Drop of Blood. Still have time on The Character Therapist‘s of Stray Drop, though!

~*~

So I’ve been thinking about characters lately. Probably because all of the new reviews have mentioned mine. I confess I was a little nervous when I realized that Jeannie at The Character Therapist was going to dissect them. “Yikes!” I said. “What if she tells me I got them ALL WRONG?” LOL.

You see, there are Methods for creating characters. Charts. Seminars. Whole books written about it. You can interview your characters. You can determine their type. You’re supposed to know their goals, their desires, their fears. We’re told to map out the black moment in the story, to make them do what they would never do, to figure out what the worst thing is for them and then make it happen.

Um . . . I never do that. When I sit down with all the lovely, organized charts and the pretty, detailed questionnaires, I inevitably come up with something profound like, “Derrrrrrrrrrrr. I dunno.” If you ask me what my heroine’s black moment is going to be, I’d probably say something like, “Well, you know. When she, um . . . gets all upset and stuff.”

In some ways, I just can’t plot this stuff out ahead of time. My characters generally just are to me. I don’t want to analyze them, I just want them to give them their voice. My hubby has always said characters are my strong point, but, you know, he’s biased. According to the Experts, my way of doing things is totally Not It.

Or maybe it’s just Not Teachable. (My way, that is.) When you come up with an ordered, well-behaved way of developing characters, it’s something you can share. The methods that aren’t so methodical don’t lend themselves to classes or seminars. Which eventually brings me to the conclusion that I’m doing okay. Even though I don’t tend to research stages of grief or read articles on how people cope with tragedy, I do what I do–put myself in their shoes.

This week my friend turned me onto journaling through your characters, and I’m having fun with that because it’s what I do anyway–just being them. What I really love about this is that it helps me not only know my characters better, but myself as well. Through their logic I can reason through topics I’d never consider. I’ve had characters change my mind on some important matters.

Does my non-method and the intimacy inherent in it make for better characters? For me, yes. For other writers, undoubtedly not. But contemplating has helped me to see yet again that there is no right way, no wrong way to craft a good story. There is just the way that works for you. And I’m so, so grateful to the readers who have verified that it works just fine. Thank you!!

Remember When . . . You-Know-What Went Out of Fashion?

by | Mar 24, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays

Things you might want to know: two more days to enter the giveaway for Lisa’s Meander Scar. Ditto for Stray Drop at Continuous Delights. Five more days to enter for it at The Character Therapist. New review of Stray Drop up at Tiffany’s Bookshelf, which gives an opinion on the book from someone who doesn’t always read Christian fiction. My guest post is still up at Chocolate Contemplations on achieving your dreams.

~*~

So, on a blog dedicated mostly to Christian fiction, am I allowed to talk about (casting a furtive glance around) S-E-X? (Did you catch the whisper? LOL) Well, I hope so, because I’m gonna.

In the interview about A Stray Drop of Blood that’s up on A Sequence on Continuous Delights (linked above), the blog owner asks for a rating on the romance. I understand why she wanted this and applaud her, actually, for providing the information her readers want to know. But it got me thinking.

In Stray Drop, sex is a huge factor. It just IS. The whole book revolves around it because Abigail’s beauty led her into a situation where she was forced to a man’s bed. She’s a slave, so historically speaking, this is nearly a given. (Nearly.) But as Jeannie (licensed therapist) points out at The Character Therapist (also linked above), Abigail then had to go through the feelings any rape victim today goes through. And she had to do it all under the watchful eye of her loving masters without letting them in on the secret.

Obviously, I had to actually mention what was going on to deal with it, LOL. So I was very relieved when the first review came in from Dina Sleiman and thoughtfully answered my question about how well I handled it. She liked how each moment of passion was answered with realistic, Bible-based lessons and consequences.

I find it interesting, though, how history deals with the topic through the ages. There have been times (Ancient Rome among them) when people talked about it as openly as we do today. Then there are the times in history when women are taught that it’s a terrible, terrible thing good only for making children, and that no proper lady would ever dare enjoy it. In my Victorian trilogy, I had to take into account this mindset, and yet somehow still make it understandable to women today. I chose to bridge that gap by making my heroine raised along the Med, where the British view on the subject was not shared so much.

It’s a topic that needs to be addressed, I think, especially in Christian writing. Sex may just be the most universal subject out there. Everyone, from Adam and Eve down to the youngest among us today, will have to deal with it in some way or another at some point in their lives. You show me a person who has never faced sexual temptation and I’ll show you a cardboard cutout. How we deal with it profoundly affects who we are–and because it’s so crucial, so important, God has a lot to say about it.

Can I write a historical that doesn’t deal with sexual temptation/sin and the consequences of it? Well, maybe I could . . . but I haven’t yet, LOL. It’s not always a driving force as it is in A Stray Drop of Blood, but it’s going to come up, however understated it may be in some stories. Because I don’t know about you, but I deal with people. And people deal with sex. QED.

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