by Roseanna White | May 22, 2017 | Word of the Week
This isn’t one of those words I expected to be surprised by–but I was.
So. Waaaay back in the day, in the 1300s, the word boss was in English. But it was a noun meaning “a protuberance, a button.” It came from the French boce, which meant “something swollen or protruding.”
For nearly 350 years, that was the only boss in the English language…until American English adopted the same word in imitation of the Dutch baas, which means “overseer.” Americans, you see, had an interest in a word other than “master” for someone in charge of a workplace, especially to distinguish between slave and paid labor. So around 1640, boss became the American term for an overseer, especially on a ship.
It wasn’t until 1856 that boss is recorded as a verb. And not until 1882 that bossy became a word. (Though back in the Middle Ages, bossy was used to mean “something decorated with buttons.” Wee bit different meaning there!) So all in all, a much newer word than I thought, with a far different meaning before the familiar one came about!
~*~
D O N ‘ T F O R G E T !
TONIGHT –
I’m going live on Facebook at 7 p.m. EDT to talk about
A Soft Breath of Wind. Which has some of my all-time favorite elements and characters in it, and I’m so excited to chat with you about Zipporah and Samuel and Benjamin and Dara!
TOMORROW –
The 2nd Annual British Books and Blooms will go live!
by Roseanna White | May 18, 2017 | Thoughtful Thursdays
Last weekend, my dad preached on a rather familiar passage in Philippians 4. His sermon was great, focusing on how God can conquer any of our weaknesses and enable us to do the work He calls us to. It was a message full of things you just want to shout “Amen!” to. (You can watch it here if you need this reminder right now.)
But something struck me as he just read the passage at the start of the sermon. Something that hadn’t quite ever struck me this way before. Let’s look at Phil 4:11-13.
I’ve read this verse in context countless times. But before, every time I reached verse 13, I defaulted to “Oh, I’ve memorized this one!” So I just recite to myself as that mantra, that motto, that reminder that with Christ, I can conquer anything the world throws at me.
True.
But last weekend, I read it differently. Because this verse isn’t just about conquering and coming out on top, right? It’s about withstanding. It’s about existing in ways we might not deem good.
It’s not just about Jesus helping you find food.
It’s about Him sustaining you through times of hunger.
It’s not just about Jesus helping you defeat your enemies.
It’s about Him holding you close when they win.
It’s not just about Jesus giving you enough.
It’s about Him giving you strength when there isn’t enough.
Paul says time and again how much he’s suffered for the sake of the cross, and for the first time, as I read this I realized it was another example of it. Another way that Paul says, “Listen, friends. Sometimes we have and sometimes we don’t. But in all times, He’s there. And through Him, we can learn to thrive even in those bad times. We can be content without ‘enough.’ We can be content in pain. We can be content when the world hates us.”
Yes, He does also give us the strength to do. To fight, to be brave, to overcome our limitations and be used by Him. He enables us to answer the call He puts on our lives.
But sometimes, He also just gives us the strength to be, when we don’t feel like it. He fills us when by rights we should be drained. He teaches us how to greet with peace a tumultuous, bitter world that will abuse us.
Sometimes the only victory we can cling to is that Christ is in us.
And that’s enough.
by Roseanna White | May 17, 2017 | Book News, Remember When Wednesdays
It’s always an exciting day when the first copy of a book arrives in the mail. For A Name Unknown, that day came over a week ago–a shocking two months before release. Not only did it make my day, it was a complete surprise.
Some things are always just a bit different than expected when you hold the final copy in your hands. The back cover copy may have been tweaked slightly, for instance…
It’s a bit blurrier than I wanted in this image, but here’s what it says:
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.
Then there’s the spine–I had no idea what that would look like, but I LOVE it. They used Big Ben’s clock tower for the series, and that London icon plays an especially important role in book 3 (which I’m writing now), so it’s awesome to see it there!
The editors at Bethany House always include a little note with the first copy as well. I have 4 of these cards now, and I always keep them in that book, put it on a shelf, and treasure it. My previous three cards were all written by Karen Schurrer, who has since retired from Bethany House. Dave Long is now my main editor, so this one had a new script, a new personality. So fun to see his well wishes and add them to my collection!
And then there are those interior pages. There’s nothing in the world like flipping through them in a bound book!
And there we have it. =) I’m so excited for the release of this book, which is SO much fun. I pray you guys all enjoy it!
I’ll be highlighting different aspects of the book in the weeks leading up to release. For now though, I just wanted to share some images from the very first, fresh-off-the-presses copy!
by Roseanna White | May 15, 2017 | Word of the Week
So last weekend when we were still in Charleston, WV after watching one of the last shows of Ringling Bros and Barnum & Baily (AWESOME), we had the news on in the hotel room. A reporter was interviewing two basketball players after they’d gotten in a fight. Here’s the abbreviated form of the report
Reporter: So do you have anything to say about last night’s kerfuffle?
Player 1: That is a word right there. Say that again.
Reporter: Kerfuffle?
Player 2: Kerfuffle. I like that. Good job, dude.
Insert me and my children rolling in laughter. And Xoe exclaiming, “There’s your next Word of the Week!”
So, here we go. Kerfuffle.
At first glance, this word that means “a fuss or commotion” is really new. As in, from 1970. Which really shocked me. But as it happens, that’s just that particular spelling. The original spelling of the word was curfuffle, and it dates to 1813, first appearing in works by Scottish writers. Still newer than I thought, but that’s because it’s taken from a Scottish word.
Fuffle is a Scottish verb dating from the 1500s (muuuuch better!), which means “to throw into disorder.” The ker/cur was added to make it a noun in the same way that we see it on words like kersplat and kersplash–an onomatopoeia prefix meant to imitate the sound of something having fallen.
So there you have it, combative sports players–kerfuffle.
by Roseanna White | May 14, 2017 | Holidays
I remember throwing a tantrum when I was about 3, and my mother coming and scooping up my kicking, screaming form from the hallway floor. I remember thinking, “Yes! I got her attention!” And then being depositing on the bed in my room and told not to come out again until I could behave myself. *Fail*
I just wanted my mommy . . . and I got a lesson in life and love.
I remember being sick in school one day and holding it together pretty darn well while I told the teacher I didn’t feel well, while I told the nurse. But when she called my mom and handed me the phone, and I heard that most precious voice in the world on the other end saying, “What’s wrong, sweetie?” I just burst into tears.
I just wanted my mommy . . . and I knew she’d come the minute I called and make it all better.
I remember in middle school, I had some friends who tended to make irresponsible decisions, let’s say, and I took to reminding them of consequences. Of checking on them. I tried not to be nagging, but I also didn’t compromise.
I just wanted to be like my mommy . . . full of love, full of teaching, full of Christ. And one of them starting calling me Mommy–not mockingly, but with affection. I was so proud to answer to that.
I remember in high school, there were quite a lot of kids who didn’t want their parents going on field/band trips. Me? I loved having one or both of my parents along. Because I knew no one cheered, no one commiserated, no one took better care than my mom and dad.
I just wanted my mommy to be around . . . and she always, always was.
I remember in college, there was a day when a few students in my class got into a comical argument about whose mother was the BEST mother. And I won. Because my mom taught me not only how to care (I’d brought brownies in that day for the class, and they couldn’t argue with such an overt proof of taught generosity, LOL), but how to fight for what I believe in. 😉
I just wanted to live the lessons my mommy taught me.
I remember when my daughter was only a few weeks old and we were still living in Annapolis. It was Thanksgiving, and the roads were icy, so we had to delay coming home by a day. I cried–and I don’t cry. Because I was a new mommy myself . . . and I just wanted to be home with my family on that day.
I just wanted my mommy . . . even while I knew I had to protect the life of my new baby and not take undue risks on icy roads.
I remember one day when my son was throwing a temper tantrum on the floor. And I scooped up his kicking-and-screaming form and deposited him in his bed and said, “You can come out when you can behave.”
And I thought, I must be doing something right. I’m acting just like my mom.
In many ways, we’re so very different. But in the ways that count, I hope I’m just like you, Mom. That I’ve learned the lessons you’ve taught by example all my life–to love, to care, to be generous, to always put my family first, below only God. To live my faith and love those put in my life. You taught me how to be a mommy, and a wife, and a friend.
Happy Mother’s Day to my amazing mother, and to all the mothers in my life.
Happy Mother’s Day to all my friends and readers and editors and agents and acquaintances.
And a big thank you to our Lord, who somehow created us so that we can each say, in perfect honesty and certainty, “I have the best mother in the world.” But don’t get into an argument with me about whose really is–I’ll win. 😉
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.