by Roseanna White | Aug 4, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Okay, trick question–people are still nice, which is what inspired the title. 😉
In Jewel of Persia, there’s a piece of jewelry that plays a pivotal role in the story. It’s an open bracelet (called a torc) with lions’ heads on the terminals. Much like this. My heroine receives it in the first chapter, and it maintains its importance through much of the book.
It’s crucial enough that I want it to be on the cover, perhaps even worked into the chapter headings. So Roseanna went in search of images last week. After some fruitless exploring of Google images, I find the one above. Excited to see something so perfect (though originally the one in JoP was gold), I went to the site of the jeweler, Greek Jewelry Shop.
I’ve discovered that I love Greek jewelry, and these folks have been specializing in ancient designs since 1928. Based in Athens, they’re in their 4th generation of jewelers now and still holding fast to the quality and excellence that has earned Vaphiadis Jewelery (the name of their physical store) an impressive reputation in Europe. (See, even this is historical, so totally fits my theme for the day!)
My thoughts went something like, “I’d really like to use the image of one of their bracelets . . . and can’t without permission. I’ll email them. Worth a shot, right?”
To my utter surprise, on Saturday afternoon I got an email in reply saying that, yes, my request was very unexpected, but they would be delighted if I used their design in my book cover and that he would be happy to work with the designer if the pictures online weren’t of high enough quality. He also offered the gift of whichever bracelet I used, which left me blubbering in stupefaction. People are still that generous? Really?? I am so changing the description of the bracelet in the book to be silver like this one instead of gold!
Given that I was expecting my out-of-the-blue email to these folks to be overlooked and/or ignored, I was thrilled to strike up a conversation with this very talented–and very, very nice–jeweler. It just goes to show you that no matter the century, no matter the political or economic climate, people are still people at heart. And I’m just praising the Lord because while sometimes it feels like nothing works right, even the tiniest things, at other times He leads it all perfectly into place. Little things like permission to use an image–or like finding the right cover model for the book (which my friend Dina also accomplished for me this weekend–go, Dina!) can do wonders for showing you that, yes, you’re in the Lord’s will.
In Jewel of Persia, the torc pictured above is a symbol of the hero’s love. When Kasia takes it off at one point, it’s a rejection of him. When she puts it back on, it’s a sign of forgiveness. The very act of giving it to her spurs the conflict that fuels half the story.
Although, there’s a certain irony to using a Greek design from a jeweler in Athens when it’s given by Xerxes, whose set goal in the first half of the book is burning Athens to the ground . . . hmmm. Ah, well. A Greek wrote the history, so we all know how that turned out. =)
Special thanks to Aris Vaphiadis for his generous spirit and inspired designs. I’m looking forward to working his artistry into all my promotions and pointing the appreciative back his way for that special gift of Greek jewelry. Check him out, y’all!
by Roseanna White | Jul 28, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Most of you have probably already seen me post this elsewhere–or gathered it from my previous blogs this week–but it’s official. I am done-done-diggity-done Jewel of Persia!
Okay, so I finished the story. I’m not exactly done with it. There will yet be tweaking, trimming, and editing. Still. Always a heady feeling to realize you’ve reached that final point in a book. I did that at 10:45 p.m. last Friday.
Saturday, I proceeded to type up a cast of characters, as recommended by friend and critique partner Dina. My hubby scoffed at this and said, “Oh, it’s not hard to keep them all straight.” I hope he’s right. Especially because as I started making my list, it soon swelled to fifty–50!–characters.
Now, I cannot be blamed for this. It’s history’s fault. Herodotus–and even the writer of the book of Esther–name so many stinking people. Had they not, I would have clumped several figures into one. I mean, how many brothers does one king need? But alas. In the interest of accuracy . . . my compromise was to not name anyone with whom I could get away with it. So though my heroine had seven servants, we only know the names of three. Though she had nine siblings, we only know the names of four. I tried to keep it reasonable, really I did! LOL
Another kinda grump I’ve had since finishing it is considering what comes afterward. My hubby (and publisher) wants to know what happened to Esther and the other wives and children after Xerxes is assassinated 8 years after the close of my book (and the Biblical book). A quick perusal online told me one thing, so I sat down with my Bible . . . and quickly decided the online sources were dead wrong. Which is annoying, because I mentioned something in my Author’s Note at the end of the book that I’m not sure holds. Grrrr.
Oddly, this again comes back to names. My online source was crediting something to Artaxerxes I that actually belongs to Artaxerxes II. Which wouldn’t be an issue if these people used more than three or four names. What’s up with royalty anyway? That cast of characters proves there were plenty of names in the ancient world, so why was everyone in the Achamenid dynasty named Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, or Artaxerxes?? I mean really. 😉
Grumps aside, I’m still floating on the sensation of being finished . . . and actually looking forward to diving into edits and trims next week!
by Roseanna White | Jul 21, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Sometimes when we’re just reading through a short-ish book of the Bible like Esther, we tend to ignore little things like “and in the third year of the reign of Xerxes” verses “in the seventh year . . .” right? I know I do. But now that I’m concluding Jewel of Persia and am hence digging into Esther, I’m reminded again of all this fun stuff.
Though incredibly short, this book of the Bible spans quite a few years. First of all, the time between Vashti being deposed and Esther arriving at the palace is three years. Three years! You wouldn’t really think that when you read it, unless you pay attention to those “year of the reign” things. It reads like “So Xerxes got mad, took care of business. When his temper had cooled, he remembered Vashti and all his dudes said, ‘Hey, kingy, time to find a new queen.'”
Apparently it took his temper three years to cool. Which actually makes so much sense if you accept that the king mentioned in Esther is in fact Xerxes I, who was away preparing for war with Greece for those exact years of his reign. Cool stuff, eh? Especially since non-Biblical history then records that he “returned to Persia and dedicated himself to the intrigues of the harem.” !!!
I’ve probably shared bits and pieces of this before, but given that last night I just typed “The seventh year of the reign of Xerxes” under my next chapter’s heading, it hit home anew. And now I’m going to get writing.
Hope y’all have an awesome day!
by Roseanna White | Jul 7, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
(Note: I’m telling our wedding story today at
Shannon Vannatter’s blog, and will be sharing a romantic excerpt from
A Stray Drop of Blood on Friday. Comment on either day for a chance to win a copy of my book!)
One of the most interesting aspects of my work in progress is the fact that my heroine is a member of a harem. She’s the favorite wife, and in many respects that makes her relationship with her husband much like any monogamous marriage.
But in other ways–wow. A lot different.
I have no firsthand experience with this sort of thing (thank the good Lord!), but trying to put myself into her shoes, into her mind and heart . . . it’s really intriguing.
For instance, she’s a concubine. Now, so far as I can dig up, historians aren’t totally sure what the legal differences were between a full wife and concubine, but they think it has to do with the provisions included in the marriage contract and would be decided by whether or not a woman brings a dowry to the marraige. If so, you’re a wife. If not, only a concubine. I’m taking a wild guess (okay, an educated guess) and stating in my book that what you’re given either at divorce or your husband’s death is determined by whether you’re a wife or concubine.
Kasia arrives at the palace poor and doesn’t much care whether she leaves it in the same state–she loves Xerxes, that’s all. And since when she arrives there’s already a slew of other wives and concubines well above her in seniority and rank, she adopts a place of humility, even though her husband would have raised her up. It takes a lot of prayer, but she manages to avoid jealousy for years . . . until the part I’m about to write.
See, she’s cool with the other wives. (Mostly.) But when her husband continues his habit of seducing other men’s wives, she loses it. Makes sense to us, right? But she’s married to a king, and kings do this all the time.
So how to strike the balance between realism and romance? How to lead her through the hardships and into forgiveness without making her a doormat?
And some people might think writing novels is easy. 😉
by Roseanna White | Jun 30, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
“Whatever the condition–be it snowing, raining, blazing hot, or dark–they never fail to complete their assigned journey in the fastest possible time.”
Post Office motto? Well, not the one you’re thinking. That’s actually what Herodotus says of the Persian post system. It’s actually really cool, and might put you Americana folks in mind of the Pony Express.
See, the kings had had outposts built at precise intervals along major thoroughfares. At these outposts waited fresh horses and riders. Whenever messages or mail was sent, these riders set out as quickly as they could to the next outpost. Handed off their message to the next guy, etc.
The result? “There is nothing mortal faster than the system the Persians have devised for sending messages,” says Herodotus.
This comes up at the end of the war. When Xerxes burned Athens, he sent a message of his victory. The folks at home in Susa were so overcome with Joy that they strewed myrtle in the streets, burnt perfume, held feasts, and pretty much declared it a holiday. Then, well, just a few days later came the news of defeat at Salamis. Joy turned to mourning, clothes were ripped and weeping and moaning could be heard in the streets. They were especially worried about Xerxes–apparently the news didn’t include how he fared, and the people were terrified something had happened to their king.
Goes to show how loved he was, eh?
Anyway. I love that this system of theirs is so renowned for its efficiency that it has influenced our own postal system. Just goes to show ya that it doesn’t have to be digital to have virtual wings.
by Roseanna White | Jun 23, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
One of the things my critique partners and I have been discussing as I work through
Jewel of Persia is how the Spirit works in the Old Testament world. Under the new covenant, we know how it goes–you are saved by grace, then the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you and (if you let him) will guide you and whisper Truth into your ear any day, any time.
But back in Esther’s day . . . ?
I find it really intriguing to look at how the Spirit moved back then. In certain cases we see him moving almost forcefully. Like when King Saul was overcome by the distressing Spirit and prophesied.
I’ve mostly been looking to Daniel for my examples, since it’s the same century and empire as Esther. Most of the mentions of a/the spirit in the book of Daniel is someone noticing the excellent spirit in Daniel. But we also see in Daniel a lot of examples of the physical side of the spiritual–like when Gabriel arrives and says, “Hey, God sent me as soon as you started praying. I know that was three weeks ago, but dude! I got waylaid by some spiritual bad guys and had to wait for backup.” Isn’t that cool? I mean, not cool for Gabriel. But I was so struck the first time I read that and realized that that is sometimes why an answer to prayer isn’t instantaneous–God’s messengers travel through space, and they can be held up.
One of my recent scenes in Jewel of Persia is the Spirit coming upon my heroine–she has the impression that she must pray for a certain someone, but she’s mad at him. So instead she prays for her family.
Doesn’t cut it. The Spirit whips away and leaves her. Today’s scene is where she learns why she was to pray that day. Gonna be fun stuff.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, 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. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.