by Roseanna White | Jul 4, 2017 | Announcements, Book News
It’s my book’s birthday! Just wanted to pop onto the blog real quick to say
“Welcome to the world, A Name Unknown!”
She’s Out to Steal His Name.
Will He Steal Her Heart Instead?
Rosemary Gresham has no family beyond the band of former urchins that
helped her survive as a girl in the mean streets of London. Grown now,
they are no longer pickpockets–instead they focus on high-value items
and have learned how to
blend into upper-class society. Rosemary is beginning to questions
whether she can continue in this life when she’s offered the challenge
of a lifetime–determine whether
a certain wealthy gentleman is loyal to Britain or to Germany. After
all how does one steal a family’s
history, their very name?
As Europe moves ever closer to World War I, rumors swirl around Peter
Holstein. Awkward and solitary, but with access to the king, many fear
his influence. But Peter can’t help his German last name and wants to
prove his loyalty to the Crown–so he can go back to anonymously writing
a series of popular adventure novels. When Rosemary arrives on his
doorstep pretending to be a well-credentialed historian, peter believes
she’s the right person to help him dig through his family’s past.
When danger and suspicion continue to mount, both realize they’re in a
race against time to discover the truth–about Peter’s past and about
the undeniable attraction kindling between them.
DIRECT FROM ME (Signed)
AMAZON
BARNES AND NOBLE
CBD
PARABLE
LIFEWAY
TARGET
She’s Out to Steal His Name.
Will He Steal Her Heart Instead?
Rosemary Gresham has no family beyond the band of former urchins that
helped her survive as a girl in the mean streets of London. Grown now,
they are no longer pickpockets–instead they focus on high-value items
and have learned how to
blend into upper-class society. Rosemary is beginning to questions
whether she can continue in this life when she’s offered the challenge
of a lifetime–determine whether
a certain wealthy gentleman is loyal to Britain or to Germany. After
all how does one steal a family’s
history, their very name?
As Europe moves ever closer to World War I, rumors swirl around Peter
Holstein. Awkward and solitary, but with access to the king, many fear
his influence. But Peter can’t help his German last name and wants to
prove his loyalty to the Crown–so he can go back to anonymously writing
a series of popular adventure novels. When Rosemary arrives on his
doorstep pretending to be a well-credentialed historian, peter believes
she’s the right person to help him dig through his family’s past.
When danger and suspicion continue to mount, both realize they’re in a
race against time to discover the truth–about Peter’s past and about
the undeniable attraction kindling between them.
by Roseanna White | Jul 3, 2017 | Word of the Week
You may have seen last week that I posted the video of my recent sermon on blessings and gifts. I figured that, since not everyone has the time to watch a half-hour video, I’d also give you the super-brief summary of what I learned.
The English word blessing comes from the Latin benedicere, which carries the same meaning as the Greek eulogia and the Hebrew barak–all these words, as used in the Bible and even today in other languages’ translations, mean “a praise, a good word.” This why we “bless the Lord,” and why a father’s blessing was so important–it was a spoken word, a promise.
English, however, has an interesting history of its version. Bless and blessing began to take on the meaning of “a gift, something given to make one happy” in the 14th century.
Why?
Because bless sounds and looks like bliss. People therefore began to confuse a praise to or from God with a thing meant for our happiness. And what makes us happy? GIFTS. Isn’t that crazy? So for the last 700 years, English has been using the word and teaching the Biblical concept in a way that has absolutely no basis in the actual idea.
A blessing isn’t the thing given–it’s the word of promise. A blessing isn’t something meant to make us happy. It’s something said to invoke holiness.
I for one will never look at this word the same way again!
by Roseanna White | Jun 30, 2017 | Announcements, Book News
After a very long wait, I’m thrilled to announce that The Reluctant Duchess is finally available in audio format!
I’ve had SO MANY inquiries about this from fans who prefer audio books and were confused by the fact that books 1 and 3 of the Ladies of the Manor were available, but 2 wasn’t. Happy to report that my publisher prevailed, the long wait is over, and you can now hear Liz Pearce putting on a Scottish burr. 😉
Thus far I haven’t located it in any other retailers, but I’ll update the post if I find other listings. =)
by Roseanna White | Jun 29, 2017 | Thoughtful Thursdays
Last weekend I had the honor of filling in in our church’s pulpit. I sat down to write my sermon thinking I’d base it on a blog post from last August . . . but was in for a surprise as I did some more research.
Did you know that the English definition of blessing carries a physical meaning that no other language reflects? I didn’t either! And the reasons are quite interesting. You can watch to find out what the historical meaning is, how English has changed it over time, and what God really promises us.
Sermon – The Gift of a Blessing from WhiteFire TV on Vimeo.
by Roseanna White | Jun 28, 2017 | 20th Century, Remember When Wednesdays
Y’all, A Name Unknown releases in six short days. Less than a week. It’s all getting so close! Yesterday I was packing up the pre-orders that had come into my shop for signed versions, which really brings the excitement home.
So today, I wanted to share with you guys a bit of the setting of the book. I’m sure I talked about it last autumn after I’d had the immense pleasure of visiting Cornwall, but some of my experiences actually came at home too. =)
First, taste. While there, we had to eat some famous Cornish pasties–handheld meat pies. And let me just tell you, they were good enough that I came home and immediately set about finding a recipe to get me as close as possible to the actual experience. I tried out several crust recipes before I found this one, and then watched video tutorials on how to crimp the edges (when I learn something, I’m determined to learn it well! LOL). The filling doesn’t require a recipe, per se, but to create an authentic, original Cornish pasty (for any American reader not familiar with the word, it’s pronounced with a short a, like in pat, not a long one like in pastry) you’re supposed to include only beef, potato, turnip, onion, a dab of butter, and salt and pepper. It’s amazing how those simple ingredients combine!
And for dessert, how about some ginger fairings? These cookies are so named because they were a favorite at fairs–and quickly became a favorite in my house too. I researched a few recipes and determined that they were quite similar, involving a few ingredients not exactly common in the US–I actually ordered the spice mix and the golden syrup from Amazon so I could make them, and they were well worth the investment! A bit like a gingersnap but with a hint of toffee flavor, a bit like gingerbread but minus the distinct molasses flavor, these became an instant success in my house. I used this recipe–and had invested a couple months ago in a gram scale because an increasing number of my recipes use weight instead of volume.
Curious about these? Well, stay tuned next week for my big A Name Unknown inspired giveaway, because a tin of cookies, handmade by me, will be one of the prizes!
Some other experiences I found to be unique to Cornwall were the so-dubbed “Cornish palms”–a tree that is actually a cabbage tree, but which looks distinctly like a palm tree. These things dot the Cornish landscape and give you a feel of being somewhere tropical…though the weather doesn’t agree. 😉
And of course, those famous Cornish cliffs.
All of these I enjoyed so very much. Then there were the harrowing sunken roads. My husband insists he loved driving on them, but I recall only the terror of praying we didn’t meet a tour bus or something… (Because yes, that pretty ribbon in the picture below is meant for two-way traffic. Somehow.)
All of these have made Cornwall come alive for me, and I pray it will also bring this beautiful countryside alive for you, through the eyes of Rosemary, who’s seeing it all for the first time, and Peter, who has to fight to keep his place in it.
Both of whom you’ll have the chance to meet in LESS THAN A WEEK! Squee!
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.