by Roseanna White | Oct 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
Since last week we talked about beautiful characters, I figured I’d continue in a similar vein and talk about the particulars of a character’s looks. I remember someone once complaining about all these gorgeous blond heroines. Then someone more recently added feisty redheads to their list of overdone descriptions. I figure next they’ll take issue with the brunettes, right? LOL.
The problem is that there are only so many options, and that we have to use the same words to describe innumerable people. We’re all either blond, brunette, or redhead. Sure, there are a gazillion shades, but if an author describes them too much, it gets into purple prose–or else we revert to words that people might not even know. Tell me, what’s the difference between someone with chestnut hair and someone with auburn? Or raven versus ebony? Where’s the line between golden blond and platinum?
I ran into an interesting problem with this recently. Years and years ago I wrote a contemporary aimed at the secular market which I knew when I finished it would probably never be published. It was too long, not a strict romance . . . but I liked my characters. The heroine was kinda Snow White-ish–black hair, fairest skin, rosy lips, and gray eyes. Right after finishing it, I started another book, this one aimed at CBA. For some reason I cannot now recall, I decided to make this heroine also have darkest-brown hair and silver eyes. Now, that is where the similarities end. The first was petite and curvy, the second tall and willowy, one and artist, the other a scientist. One talkative, the other all but a mute. I never expected this to be an issue, because I knew I’d never do anything with the first book.
Then last year I had the brilliant idea to snitch the characters from it and plop them down in a totally different plot with a Christian theme. The characters took to it well. No problems. And since I was now not doing anything with the other book with a similar heroine, it didn’t much matter.
Except that a few weeks ago I decided to revive it. One of the first groans I encountered was that this heroine has the same description as the other. Which may not have been a huge problem had I not been targeting the same publisher. LOL. I tweaked her appearance so she didn’t sound so stinkin’ close to the other, but still it gave me pause.
Descriptions are tough things, and we writers give them a ridiculous amount of thought. Have I already had a blond heroine in this trilogy? Are my brunettes too similar? Should I give him brown eyes or blue? This one was tall and this one short, so should she be of middling height?
Does anyone really care? LOL. We go to great lengths to paint our readers a picture of our characters, but what it comes down to is imagination. My husband once argued with me about what one of my characters looked like. “She’s brunette,” I told him, pointing at the page. “See? Sarah’s the blond one.”
He just shook his head and said, “You might have written it that way, but you got it all wrong. Sarah’s a redhead. Cadence is blond.”
At some point, I just rolled my eyes and let him think that. =)
by Roseanna White | Oct 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
There are a lot of books that give me a chuckle. Sometimes a good chuckle. It’s a rare piece of fiction that makes me literally laugh out loud enough to get my husband’s attention. But when I first got
Trish Perry‘s
The Guy I’m Not Dating in the mail, I was laughing so much with the first four pages that my husband demanded, “
What is so funny?”
I totally fell in love with Trish’s first book, and when I emailed her with my review, I quickly saw that the fabulous book’s author was just as fabulous as her book. We emailed a few times, she participated in a few promotional games that I ran, and she was one of the first authors I worked closely with through the Christian Review of Books. The result? An author I get a real kick out of calling my friend.
Trish has a sense of humor that will keep you in stitches, and it’s combined with a giving spirit and a healthy dose of sweetness. We’ve emailed quite a bit over the years, and I always get a big smile on my face when I get a message from her.
When her second book came out, Too Good to Be True, I was ecstatic because (a) I couldn’t wait to read it and (b) my review of her first book was on the “praise page.” I had been so looking forward to the arrival of this book (just ask the publicist at Harvest House, who got a couple emails from me checking on its progress) that when it arrived, my indulgent hubby burst into the bathroom to show it to me while I was in the shower. I let out a squeal that came dangerously close to waking up the sleeping baby.
I checked in with Trish after reading it and asked about her future projects. I was thrilled
for her when she told me that the publisher asked her to write books for their popular Beach House series. Her second two books took place at this quirky and fun location, the first with characters from the chick lit Guy and True, the second with a whole new cast. I loved how she transitioned from one genre to the other, preserving her voice while offering the reader something new.
I can’t wait to see what Trish Perry has in store for us next. After meeting her at the ’07 ACFW conference and e-laughing with her for years now, I know she’s an author with a lot of great stories to keep me roaring in the future.
As usual, click on the book pics for my reviews. (I received all of these as complementary review copies from the publisher.)
by Roseanna White | Oct 15, 2009 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Ever since I can remember, I loved fall. I love the colors on the trees, I love the bite in the air, I love the smell. I love that last hoorah of harvest before the doldrums of winter sets in. Here in the mountains of Maryland, we don’t get a ton of snow, so winter is pretty bleak and dreary. Autumn though . . . we do autumn up right.
When I was a little girl, my love for this season was pure and untainted. As was my love for winter with its surprise snow days, summer with its lazy hours by the pool and world of adventure in my imagination, and my absolute favorite spring, with all that new life poking through and washing the world in bright new green. Then I grew up. Things–and opinions–began to change.
My mother-in-law is an outdoors person, one with Mediterranean blood. She hates winter. I’m talking with-a-passion. My husband does too, though not as bad as his mom. So for them, fall is just a precursor. In every brisk breeze, they see the endless winter looming. In every falling leaf, they see the end of their favorite summer. I once observed how I loved the smell of a forest in the fall, and my scientifically minded honey replied, “You know that’s just rot, right?”
Thanks, dear. Really.
I confess I’m not such a big fan of winter now that there’s no such thing as a day off because of snow. So I now tend to say things like, “I really love fall . . . if only it didn’t end in winter.”
But part of me wishes I could forget the negativity. I could . . . but someone would point it out. And that’s fine, because that’s their opinion. Inside me, though, is that little girl who loves every season the Lord paints on my world. I love watching time roll over the mountains. I love the colors on the trees, even if it does mean they’re dying. I love the smell of that autumnal forest, even if it is rot. I love that cool air, even if it does mean nasty winter gusts are on their way.
It’s just another example of who I am, I guess. I’ll acknowledge your downsides. No point in denying them when they’re true. Just don’t expect me to dwell on it. So long as autumn is blazing across the trees, I’m going to enjoying every breeze.
by Roseanna White | Oct 14, 2009 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
I find this subject intriguing and terrifying: hair care. I was one of those teenagers who had to wash her hair everyday, and by evening it was yucky again. Not anymore, thankfully, but still. The horror! And given that at the time I read more historicals than anything, I was always interested in what in the world people did with their hair before the marvelous invention of shampoo.
There’s apparently some disagreement about this. When I was researching an idea for a Revolutionary War story, I came across a reenactor website that had a seriously in depth section about the hair. There was, of course, the debate about powdering real hair versus a wig, etc., but what I found most interesting was the talk about washing hair in general.
As everyone probably knows, using soap on hair just doesn’t work. It strips it down, removes essential oils. Wash your hair with traditional skin soap and you end up with dry, breaking, nasty hair. So one of the theories is that people would do this, then oil their hair. There are some recipes for hair oil out there to support this.
But this particular reenactor had read something that said people simply washed their hair in water, so her group conducted an experiment. (These people are dedicated!) A handful of people began washing their hair with only water and kept doing it for six months or something. They found that after a week or two, their hair adjusted. It wasn’t oily. It wasn’t dry. It was actually perfectly balanced, glossy, and soft. You know, like we strive to achieve with expensive shampoos, lol. The fact that natural works so well leads me to believe that for most of history, this is probably exactly what people did.
The claim really, really intrigues me . . . though not enough to try it for myself. I’m not that dedicated to history. 😉 But I thought some of you might find that little tidbit interesting too, so I thought I’d pass it along. Now your hair can be one less thing to worry about if you’re ever stranded in the wilderness with water but no shampoo for an extended period of time. =)
by Roseanna White | Oct 13, 2009 | Uncategorized
Mixing things up today because I haven’t read any books this week other than my own, and I’m not narcissistic enough to talk about my own story on Tuesdays, when I’m supposed to talk about other people’s. =) So . . . today we’re going to take a look at some verses that my hubby had us read in church this weekend.
I Corinthians 3:12-15
Now if anyone builds on this foundation [of Christ] with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
If anyone’s work which he had built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; he he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Our church is preparing for a prayer vigil to ask for direction for the church as a whole, as well as bring our individual petitions before the Lord. This struck us as an amazing section for the church . . . and I keep thinking about it for me too.
All of us are building upon our faith with every action. Most of the time, our intentions are good. But if we’re following our plan instead of the Lord’s, chances are we’re layering on our faith with straw, wood, or hay. When the fires come, all that hard work is going to vanish. On the other hand, if we do God’s will for us, build according to His instruction, then the fire will temper us, harden us, remove our impurities and make us better.
I also love that final verse–if we’ve built according to our own desires instead of God’s, if our works don’t properly show our faith or are just misguided, it doesn’t mean God casts us out. It doesn’t mean we lose our salvation. Because that is Christ, and Christ can’t be destroyed by our piddly efforts. We’re still saved . . . we just probably feel pretty frustrated that we wasted all that effort.
It really hammers home for me the importance of seeking God’s will before I do anything–and then LISTENING. That’s the hard part, eh? Stopping to actually get that guidance we request.
When it comes to my writing, God directs me with clicks. When an idea doesn’t click for me, I give up on it or push it aside for a while. When I’m praying about what story to write, or how to write it, I know I’ve found God’s will for it when inspiration that can only be divine starts pouring into my mind. But it’s also really comforting to know that if I keep pushing through the wrong work, God might shake His head (metaphorically speaking of course) and might send a little fire to show me the truth, but He still loves me. He still holds me in His hand.
Sometimes though, He has to clear away the rabble to reveal that strong foundation. How else are we to build the building that He ordains?
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.