Modern . . . Age

by | Nov 16, 2009 | Uncategorized

Age of characters is something I think a lot about. Probably because my own love story happened pretty early in life by today’s standards, I pay attention to how old the characters are in both contemporaries and historicals.

And I confess: I get a little frustrated with all of these historicals with heroines who are late twenties or thirties yet don’t really give the proper due to how ODD it would be for a woman in that era to still be unmarried. For that matter, I get a little frustrated with all the contemporaries that seem to say you can’t find true love until you’re over 25, given that I’ve been with my honey since I was 15.

I just find it so interesting how ideas about appropriate age for romance has changed so drastically in the last half century. I was genuinely shocked when I realized that Mary would have been about 13-14 or so when she had Jesus. But when I was writing A Stray Drop of Blood, I had to take into account that my heroine, who was just of age to be wed, would be that age too. I had to wrap my head around the fact that this was not young at the time, not like we see it. That back then, they still thought that you ought to act while the hormones are hot (so to speak, LOL) since you didn’t know how long life might be. Being pretty darn young when I wrote it, I enjoyed showing how mature a teenager could be. Keep in mind I was Abigail’s age when I got the idea for the story. Only 18 when I started writing it. So I don’t want to hear any complaints about the un-age-appropriate thing;-)

In my contemporaries, it’s sometimes I struggle for me to make all my characters the “right” age by today’s ideas. Easier now that I’m the “right” age, but I’ve been married for 8 years, so I’m not exactly in that “finding love” stage. I’m in that “enjoying the comfort of being with the one who completes you” stage. But maybe that’s why most of my heroines have critical backstories with the heroes–many of them have been in love since they were “too young,” and it just took them a while to get to the point where the right thing comes of it.

Sometimes it’s annoying to be one of the “weird” people who knew as a teen who I wanted to marry and then married him after our freshman year of college, solely because people judge us for it. Or used to. At this point, most people are willing to grant that we in fact had listened to the Lord and made the right choice.

And I was truly touched by a lady I met at conference in September. Our conversation somehow turned to when we got married, and I said I dated my hubby through high school and married him when we were still 18. I was expecting the usual, “Oh . . . okay. I guess that’s working okay for you.” Instead, I got a dreamy sigh and “I think that’s wonderful. I didn’t get married for the first time until my 50s, and I so wish I had taken the time for it early in life. I can’t think of anything better than having spent all those years with the one I love. You got it right.”

It just goes to show–love knows no age, and the Lord knows no boundaries. Be it 2000 years ago like in Stray Drop or here and now like in my contemporaries, love hits whenever it hits. We just have to be willing to take it when it comes.

Character Spotlight — Abigail

by | Nov 13, 2009 | Uncategorized

From A Stray Drop of Blood

ABIGAIL


Abigail was orphaned at the age of eight. Her father had died the year before, and, with no other male relatives and a lot of debt, her mother was forced to marry their neighbor, though he already had a family. When her mother died as well, Abigail was sold to Cleopas Visibullis, the prefect of the Tenth Legion. She was to serve as a handmaiden to his Hebrew wife, Ester, who made it clear from the get-go that she was more interested in having a daughter than a servant.

After 6 years in the Visibullis house, Abigail has been well educated, her sharp, inquisitive mind finely hewn. She loves her master and mistress, appreciates their loving treatment, but still feels strongly that Jehovah wills she be a slave, that this is her lot in life. She clings to that humility with determined pride, refusing all of Ester’s attempts to raise her above her station.

Abigail has grown into a lovely young woman. Her hair falls in a cascade of glossy, darkest brown to her waist, and her eyes are a warm sienna. She has a face that her master’s Roman friends liken unto sculptures of Venus, and a curvy figure that draws more attention than she would like.

Though Abigail thinks of herself as the lowest of people, she is best summed up by an observation a minor character makes, which others later repeat.

“She was born free, and a soul does not forget that feeling.”

When I picture Abigail, I think of a young Monica Bellucci. It’s kind of tough, because she’s very young in the story by modern definitions, but wouldn’t have been deemed so at the time. Still, I hesitate to find a photo of a 15-year-old, so I chose one of not-a-minor Monica and will just say, “Use your imagination to make her younger.”

Thoughtful About . . . Gearing Up

Thoughtful About . . . Gearing Up

by | Nov 12, 2009 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized

With the official release of A Stray Drop of Blood only two and a half weeks out, I’m getting pretty darn anxious and excited. And it occurs to me that I have lots of stuff to announce to my three faithful readers! 😉

First, Stray Drop is available for pre-order at CrossPurposes Books. Waiting to put it up on Amazon until we have the cover finalized. For all your crazy cats out there that have mentioned your plans to buy it, feel free to go ahead. =) And if you want it signed, just shoot me an email at roseanna [at] roseannawhite [dot] com and let me know, and I’ll sign it before it gets shipped out. (Sometimes it’s really handy to live with the publisher . . .)

Next up, cover should be finalized within a few days, and I am soooooo excited! Photographer David Schrott will be taking the photos, and the fabulous George Weis of Tekeme Studios will be turning those sure-to-be-amazing photos into a cover. There’s a story behind that, actually. Wanna hear it? If not, read no further, LOL.

At the ACFW conference, I got out the SuperShuttle at the hotel and saw a girl a little younger than me, who I’d spotted at BWI, sitting right across from me. So naturally, I said, “Hey, we were at the airport together!” As it turns out, we also had the same flight home, so we agreed to meet up and have someone to sit with and talk to. This girl is Ashley Weis, and as we got talking, she told me about her husband’s design company. I was at the moment trying to figure out how to get a new cover, so I asked her whether he did book designs, and she assured me he did. I had a gut feeling then and there that the Lord was answering my cover-prayers!

I’m very excited at how Ashley’s husband got the vision for the book; the design he proposed is exactly what I was hoping for, and I know the execution will be stunning. Interestingly, Ashley herself will be the model, and I know she’ll be a fantastic Abigail.

Anyway. Rest assured I’ll be posting the cover as soon as I have the file!

Moving on. In the weeks leading up to release and through the month of December, instead of My Friend Fridays featuring my author buds, I’m going to be featuring the characters from Stray Drop, starting tomorrow with Abigail. I hope y’all tune in to get a sneak peek at these guys!

Remember When . . . The Heavens and Earth Reacted?

by | Nov 11, 2009 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized

One thing I always found interesting when reading ancient histories is the records of nature’s response to someone important. We all know the stories surrounding Jesus–the Christmas star, the earthquake at his death. Accounts like that are actually pretty normal for ancient men of import.


When writing A Stray Drop of Blood, I had fun incorporating some of the phenomena that happened at the crucifixion. The sky turning dark, the earth quaking, the graves opening. (Don’t recall ever reading about that one in any other history!) And since writing it, I’ve done some Christmas research that piqued my interest in the star that led the wise men and the unique fulfillment of prophecy. It fit in rather perfectly with histories by ancient historians like Herodotus and Thucididies. They, too, tell about phenomena in the heavens and earth that herald the arrival of someone important.

As Christians, I think sometimes we jump up and down in excitement over the accounts in the Bible and then snarl at the other histories that say the same things happened for other people. But not me–I love seeing how God has his hand in ALL history. And since we firmly believe our heavenly Father has ordained every single event–since we firmly believe our heavenly Father put the earth on its axis and set the heavens in their orbits–why wouldn’t we believe that He, in His divine foresight set it up so that those two coincided, to shout the glory of His plans?

I especially love reading how His nature responded to His Son’s death. And so I had tons of fun finding ways to incorporate those events into my story. I hope everyone enjoys reading my take on it, too!

Story Time . . . ESCAPING THE VAMPIRE by Kimberly Powers

Story Time . . . ESCAPING THE VAMPIRE by Kimberly Powers

by | Nov 10, 2009 | Uncategorized

I found it somewhat ironic that while I was reading (and loving) the firs two TWILIGHT books, I got a Christian book in the mail to review called Escaping the Vampire. I had agreed to review this book before I’d cracked the cover of Twilight, but now that I had a more vested interest, I was terribly afraid that this was going to be one of those books that says, “Yes, this thing is popular, but don’t let your teens read it!” If that was the case, I was fully prepared to fight tooth and nail.

It didn’t look promising when I opened this non-fiction book up and saw that her introduction was that she was watching the movie, not reading the book. (I hadn’t yet seen the movie, though I just did the other night.) Especially since the first question the author asks is answered right away in the book. I was already groaning, but I kept flipping through. And with each page, my groan eased, turned into a sigh, and then a nod. This wasn’t an “answer book.” By which I mean, “The Christian answer to the Twilight series.” It didn’t condemn. Instead, it examined the appeal the Twilight books have, pinpointed the things that young girls dream about, and expounded on how Jesus meets and exceeds every single one of them. I got no beef with that, LOL.

The author, Kimberly Powers, is a well-established speaker to teen girls, so in a lot of ways this book is just an expansion of the ministry she already has. She takes those qualities of Edward Cullen from Twilight that has girls going ga-ga and goes through a step-by-step study of why we want it, where we often look for it, and how we’re generally disappointed. In a way it struck me as an argument I’d heard before concerning romance novels in general–not that we shouldn’t read them, but that we need to understand the appeal and recognize where reality and fiction diverge. Powers does a great job of examining that, of encouraging her readers to ask questions of themselves, to try to understand their own thoughts, feelings, and motivations, and then to extent their realizations outward.

What the book comes down to is a really good analogy. That, just like in Twilight, we are all somewhat awkward girls who want to belong, want to be loved. And just like in Twilight, there is evil out there hunting us–Satan, whom she calls the Ultimate Vampire. But, just like in Twilight, an immortal hero waits to rescue us. One who is stronger than us, without our frailties and limitations, one who would sacrifice himself for us and love us unconditionally. Jesus.

This strikes me more as a book that parents would pick up for their daughters than that teens would pick up themselves, but the truths within are well set up and presented. It appeals to what they already love instead off attacking it, and takes a frank and fresh approach to an age-old dilemma.

(As mentioned above, I received this book as a free review copy.)

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