by Roseanna White | Aug 11, 2017 | Fridays from the Archives
Today we’re glancing back in time a mere four years…and yet far more. Four years ago, you see, I was reminiscing about a day when I was maybe 10 or 11. One of those golden summer afternoons in the sanctuary of my church…where I had a run in with faith. And a fly.
I was a kid. I don’t even remember how old, probably about ten. My parents were in charge of the youth at our church, which meant I spent a lot of time there. My favorite thing to do? Slip into the quiet sanctuary and just be there. With no milling congregation, no dozens of conversations, no laughter, no music, no mothers calling for the little ones to come to their pew.
Just me. And that certain feeling that this was holy ground.
I grew up in church, I said my prayer for salvation along with the other kids in a children’s church service was I was, oh, five or six. And I meant it. Sure, it took me a lot of years to figure out what it was I had meant, ha ha, but there was never doubt. There was never turning away. There was never backsliding.
There were, instead, these quiet little moments when I brushed up against the divine and realized how much He loved me, in all the wackiest little things.
On this day, I’d meandered to the front of the sanctuary, where the much-disputed red velvet curtain hung on the back wall, a subject of heated debate among the board. My parents were also on the board, so I was aware of this debate. I found it so trivial that I just laughed over it. Take the curtain down, leave it up, what did it matter? Adults, I thought, got hung up on the weirdest things.
Me, I thought about more important things, ahem. Like the next story I would write, whether my mom would let me have Brittney over that weekend, and if my teacher would rearrange our desks soon because I was so tired of sitting beside those stupid boys who thought it was funny to mock everything everyone said. I made it a point never to laugh at them. Eventually they noticed and asked why. My answer? “Because you’re not funny.” Oh yes, brutal honesty from the tweener Roseanna, LOL.
The church was washed with the golden light of a summer evening. Kinda stuffy, as the air was turned off, but not too bad. It was only Sunday night, after all, it hadn’t had a chance to get really hot yet. I meandered to the front of the sanctuary, past the alter railings. Maybe I’d intended to go to the piano, who knew—I was known to trill out Für Elise any time I could.
But a buzzing of a fly disturbed my quiet. Have you ever noticed how loud one little fly sounds in a room with no other noise? So annoying. So there. And my first instinct, when it comes to a fly, is to swat at it.
That afternoon, though, I had a thought of, “No, I’m not going to kill a fly in church.” (Let it be noted I’ve never felt that particular conviction since, LOL.) Instead, I watched it buzz around the vaulted ceilings and land, eventually, on the alter table
I remember creeping closer, wondering how close I could get before it saw my movement and took off. One step nearer, two. At some point, I recall a strange series of thoughts running through my head. Something that mixed wonder with prayer. Something that made me stretch out in faith. Something that wasn’t exactly Peter walking on water, but which was stepping out nonetheless. I determined that God would hold the fly still, and I could touch it. Pet it. Stroke its wing.
And so I walked up to the table. I reached out. And I stroked its wing.
It’s a small thing. A simple thing. A silly thing. And yet as greater struggles of faith arise in my life, I sometimes think back on that fly. On a child who acted on faith, and who proved that her God heard the smallest, silliest thoughts in her head. And who didn’t mind touching His finger to a pesky little fly so that she could touch hers to it too.
Life is full of flies as well as hurricanes. Bumps as well as canyons. And oh, how nice it is to know that the God who cares about the one also cares about the other. That no matter my words, He listens.
Thank you, Lord.
by Roseanna White | Aug 9, 2017 | Books, Cover Designs
Are you a member of the Band of Booksters yet?
If so, you get to vote today on new cover choices. If not . . . sign up here, request to be added to our Facebook group so you can chat with this amazing team of book lovers. THEN cast your vote. 😉
Today’s survey is deciding between two new styles for WhiteFire’s first series. When Shadowed in Silk first released, thumbnail images weren’t quite the King of Sales they are now (or at least, we didn’t realize they were). Now that we know how important it is for title and author to be legible in that small size, we’re giving the books in the series a facelift.
Remember these award-winning books?
We’ve come up with two new options for them. The first keeps the same models, but fades their face only into an Indian background.
The second version doesn’t use photographs at all, but rather goes with a graphic style that focuses on the title and the color–choosing colors to correlate with the originals.
I won’t be posting much more from the Band of Booksters on my blog, but as it’s still so new, I want to give you a peek at what sort of thing you can expect, if you haven’t signed up already. 😉 And if you have but didn’t receive our newsletters last week, then check your spam folders and add us to your approved list! We’d love to have you join us on Facebook, where the discussions are already great.
Already a member, or have just requested to join? Then cast your vote for the covers!
by Roseanna White | Aug 7, 2017 | Word of the Week
Yesterday, my family and I went hiking at Seneca Rocks. On our way there, we passed a sign that said Watch for West Virginia Wild Life. “I’ve already seen it,” I said. “I saw that groundhog galumphing along.”
Later last night, my husband was finishing up the first draft of An Hour Unspent (Shadows Over England, Book 3) and started laughing. I looked over at him from the pages of The Sign of The Four (Sherlock Holmes–I’m finally reading some!) and asked what was funny. “Galumph,” he said. “You just had an elephant galumphing in here. That’s twice in a day. It needs to be your word of the week.”
And so, here we are!
If you consult Merriam-Webster on the meaning of galumph, it reports “to move with a clumsy or heavy tread.” Which is certainly how I was using it. But did you know that it originally meant something far different?
Lewis Caroll coined the word in 1872, in “The Jabberwocky.” In his version, the word is a combination of gallop and triumph, describing how the vanquisher of the dread Jabberwocky returned home. His contemporary writers apparently quite liked the word and immediately began borrowing it…but in a different way. Etymologists assume that the shift in meaning from “triumphant” to “clumsy or heavy” is simply a reflection of the way the word sounds. Say it a few times. Galumph conjures up an image, doesn’t it? And it isn’t one of triumph. 😉
Here’s hoping there’s minimal galumphing through your day in the new sense, but plenty of it in its original! Have a great week, everyone!
by Roseanna White | Aug 4, 2017 | Fridays from the Archives
This week’s Fridays from the Archives post takes us all the way back to October of 2011. I enjoyed rereading my musing from when my kids were 3 and 5, and the lesson I’d observed then still rings true. When I saw the title of the old post, I thought I was going to have been talking about being abandoned. But no. Not at all. Hope you enjoy the musings of a young mom!
We love to torture our kids. And by
torture I mean tickle them, “eat” them up, chase them around, pretend
our hand is a monster . . . you know. Torture. The sweet kind. I
imagine that’s a fairly universal love of parents the world over, and
it’s no great secret why. We do it because we love to hear that belly
laugh, hear those delighted shrieks of “No, no! Hey, why’d you stop? Do
it again, do it again!” We love to see those huge smiles on their faces.
We love their abandon.
My hubby will tickle me, too,
but we often get a good laugh out of how he does the same “gobble” to me
he does with the kids, and I just look at him. And usually say, “Um . .
. sorry. I’m not as much fun as the kids, am I?” Which yeah, makes us
chuckle. But it’s not a belly laugh. Those same simple things don’t
result in such instant
Joy once we grow up.
Man . . . I sure wish they did!
The abandon of a small child has
its ups and downs. It results in those moments of unbridled bliss, and
it results in equally unbridled fits. Laughter and tears in equal
measures,
Joy and frustration, love and rage. I’m sometimes amazed at
how my kids can go from total contentment in their game with each other
to hitting each other and screaming at the top of their lungs, then
straight back to fun.
It’s something we learn to control as we grow up, something we teach
those kids to do. Self control is important, especially when it comes
to those negatives. And those who never learn it . . . end up with
reality shows on TV??? 😉 Seriously, that control is a must, yes.
But what are some of your best
moments from adulthood? Are they when you’re sitting there, perfectly
controlled? Are they when you don’t react to something? No–our favorite
moments are the ones where we regain a moment of childhood abandon and
embrace the
Joy of life. When we scream our heads off on a roller
coaster. When we laugh until we cry. When we let it all go and just
live.
Sometimes it’s hard to do that,
especially in this stage of my life where I have to keep the Mommy
turned on. Oh, I can laugh with my kids. But I’m also trying to make
sure knees don’t collide with heads as we wrestle, that things tossed up
in
Joy come down in one piece. I’m trying to protect and nurture and so
can’t give my full attention to the game. I
have to do this. I
love to do this.
But sometimes I just wish I could let loose a belly laugh and not care.
And that goes for my prayer life too. That should be the one place I can
let go completely, but even there I’m usually trying to
protect–myself. I find myself praying, “Lord, you know I hope . . . you
know I fear . . . I’m trying not to hope too much because then I fear
I’ll be disappointed . . . I’m trying not to expect disappointment
though because that would be faithless . . . I don’t want to assume your
will . . . I don’t want to miss your will . . .”
But there I need to let go of
the control. With the Lord, I need to be unafraid of the extremes. I
need to show him the highs and the lows. I need to be unafraid of
letting that kid inside me out before my Father.
I need to embrace the abandon.
by Roseanna White | Aug 1, 2017 | Announcements, Books
I’m coming at you today in my role as editor for
WhiteFire Publishing with a fun announcement! WFP is planning to launch its young reader line, and we need submissions! We’re currently seeking:
- Children’s Picture Books (text or with illustrations)
- Illustrators
- Middle grade fiction (both lower and upper)
- Young Adult novels (all genres)
WhiteFire is a small, traditional Christian publisher whose motto is “Where Spirit Meets the Page.” We love books with a strong hook, engaging characters, and where the light of the Lord comes shining through. Faith themes don’t necessarily have to be overt, but all our books must uphold our beliefs.
If you have a story you’d like to submit, please send the following to r.white@whitefire-publishing.com:
A cover letter that includes your contact info, book title, genre,
and word count. PLUS a proposal (Word doc attachment) that includes:
- A 1-sentence hook
- A 1-3 paragraph blurb
- Status of manuscript (completed? completed by?)
- Series info, if applicable
- Full bio, including sales history if any
- Marketing/promotional overview (to whom the book is targeted and
how you’ll appeal to them)
- Comparable titles
- A 2-3 page synopsis (for full length books. Shorter for shorter stories is fine!)
- Sample. For a full length novel, this should be the first three
chapters. For a shorter book, 1-2 chapters. For a picture book, send the
complete text.
If you’re an artist and would like to be on our roster of illustrators, please send the following to r.white@whitefire-publishing.com:
- a sample of your work (however many you feel gives a good sampling of your range)
- your rates, flexibility, and whether or not you’d consider working for royalties or only on a paid-upfront basis.
- contact info
We’re creating a file of illustrators right now that we can reference as needed.
Check out our current titles at
www.WhiteFire-Publishing.com. If you have any questions, feel free to email me with them at roseannamwhite@gmail.com or leave them in the comments below!
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.