by Roseanna White | Apr 22, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Giveaway – Last day to enter for Sarah Sundin’s A Distant Melody
Giveaway of Stray Drop – at the fabulous Jennifer Taylor’s blog
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First, a funny story. Over the weekend we went to the big St. John’s vs. Naval Academy Croquet Tournament . . . yeah, only Johnnies or Annapolitans have a clue what that is, LOL. Suffice it to say that the entire front campus is covered with picnic blankets and lawn chairs, people dressed in fun hats and dresses and suits, and a generally fun day.
Anyway. At one point I look over at Xoe, who is standing in the middle of our picnic blanket and facing . . . no one. Nothing. Except an older woman who’s standing a few feet away, watching the game. Now, picture my little golden-haired girl here–hip cocked out, hand on it, other hand in that classic “posing” gesture down her leg. And she just stood there, waiting, until the older woman finally looked down at her, smiled, and commented on how pretty she looked. And which point she simpered, grinned, waved, and ran back to me. It was all I could do not to laugh out loud. Amazing how a girl so impatient about everything else can stand so still for so long to await some praise. LOL.
On other topics, I’m happy to report that after a rather nasty relapse of the flu symptoms yesterday (totally blame those spicy green beans I should have known better than to eat on Tuesday!), I’m feeling quite the thing today. Of course, my diet is going to stay bland for the next few days. No question.
In that brief stretch of time when I was feeling well this week, I was debating titles for my new book. A few people mentioned Just Another Wife sounded too modern, which is a thought I’d had before too, though some others thought it perfect. I’m going for 100% “WOW!” here, though, so I’ve been thinking of new ones.
I came up with quite a few, but the one to lead the way with my critique partners is . . . Jewel of Persia. What’s everyone think?
by Roseanna White | Apr 15, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Today’s the last day to
enter to win Jill Williamson’s
To Darkness Fled!!
~*~
So it’s been an interesting week. As I’ve considered what would be a good followup to A Stray Drop of Blood, I got an idea for another Biblical Fiction that would be a new twist on the familiar Esther story. I wrote four and a half chapters of it a while back when the idea blossomed, and this past week I hammered out a synopsis and a blurb, polished up the first three chapters.
My thought? I’d run the idea past my agent and see what she thought about the possibility of trying to get a big CBA publisher interested. Meanwhile, my hubby/publisher of Stray Drop read it and loved what I was doing with it. Being the fabulous supporter he is, he told me to go ahead and get my agent’s take on the big houses, but that he thought it would be a good title for WhiteFire to do too.
My agent’s response was quick–given my proposals that are under consideration at the big houses right now, she didn’t think it was a good idea to toss a Bib-Fic out there right now. They’re a dubious sell in CBA, and unrelated to what I’m already trying to sell. She advised that I write it–but that I write it for WhiteFire.
I’ll confess–my initial reaction was a rather long, “Oooohhhhhhhh. Siiiiiiggggghhhh.” But then what this meant began to sink in. It means I can write this story in its full scope, without concern for keeping it under 100K. I’ll keep a lot of control over it. And I don’t have to wait who-knows-how-long to gain an editor’s eye. Instead, my husband and I sat down and soon had a plan of attack.
Which means that my second novel, Just Another Wife, will be releasing in summer 2011 from WhiteFire Publishing! My editor’s a real slave-driver, so I have to have the manuscript finished in the next few months (that’s a joke–I decided on this deadline, LOL). And boy-howdy, it feels good to have something I now HAVE to get done! I love direction!
For those of you who might now be wondering what this story’s all about, here’s the blurb I was working on earlier this week:
Kasia thinks she’ll lose herself when she is taken to the palace to wed Xerxes–instead she finds an unexpected love with the king who is regarded as a god by his people. She, of all his wives, is the only one who loves him for the man beneath the crown. She, of all his wives, is the only one to threaten the careful balance of the world’s largest empire. When the king’s advisers realize how much sway this mere Jewish girl has over Xerxes, an intrigue springs up to rival the war with Greece. Kasia knows she will never take the place of the dethroned Amestris, but when she discovers that her best friend from childhood has arrived at the House of Women, she determines to use her influence to work for God’s people. Esther will be crowned–and though Kasia inadvertently turned Persia against the Jews, she knows Esther can save them.
In a combination of the familiar story of Esther told in the Bible and the history of Xerxes as told by Herodotus, Just Another Wife is a story of a love that nearly tears an empire apart, and the friendship that knits it back together.
by Roseanna White | Apr 8, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Don’t forget the giveaway of Ann Shorey’s The Promise of Morning!
~*~
Today’s a pretty cool day in my history. It’s my husband’s and mine dating anniversary–twelve years that we’ve been together! Woo hoo! I was 15 when he became my boyfriend, and we’ve been going strong ever since, never so much as a passing breakup to mar our record. =) David’s the only guy I’ve ever kissed, the only guy I ever loved, and I’m so blessed to have found him so early in life.
We got some raised eyebrows when we became a couple. I was the epitome of a good girl–top of the class, never got in a whiff of trouble. David . . . in a conventional sense, he wasn’t a rebel. But he just didn’t care to bend to the (seriously) over-inflated power-grabbing of our school’s then-principal, so he came off as one to the rest of us. Didn’t take long for people to lose interest in us–until we got engaged during senior year, which just isn’t done these days without incentive, if you know what I mean. 😉
All these years later, people are finally willing to grant that, yes, we knew what we were doing. Yes, sometimes these days teens are responsible enough to handle a serious relationship. Sometimes it really is the Lord’s will to defy convention. (And don’t get me started on how new that no-teen-romances-last thing really is.)
Now onto my other guy, the 2-year-old one. =) Anyone who saw yesterday’s blog or my Facebook stuff knows he was having some breathing issues, wheezing–probably RSV. He’s doing much better now, no wheezing thus far today.
Gotta say, though, dealing with this on Tuesday really took me back–and not in a good way. When Rowyn was born, he had pneumo-thorax–gas outside the lung that kept the lungs from fully expanding, which means fast, shallow respirations. He spend the first day of his life under an oxygen hood in the NICU, while Mommy prayed they wouldn’t have to get rid of the gas manually as the oxygen would work. (It did.) Hearing him breathing fast and shallow again on Tuesday catapulted me back to that NICU, even though I knew this couldn’t be related. This time, at least, his blood-oxygen levels were fine.
Yesterday he was still wheezing a bit in the morning, but he was happy as a clam all day long and high-energy. Unlike me, who was sleep deprived and showing it before my two-hour nap. =) He’s even better today, so I’ve got no qualms with pawning him and Xoe off on a grandparent this evening so David and I can go out to dinner. =)
Hope everyone has a great April 8th!
by Roseanna White | Mar 25, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Today’s the last day to enter my giveaway of Meander Scar and Carman’s giveaway of A Stray Drop of Blood. Still have time on The Character Therapist‘s of Stray Drop, though!
~*~
So I’ve been thinking about characters lately. Probably because all of the new reviews have mentioned mine. I confess I was a little nervous when I realized that Jeannie at The Character Therapist was going to dissect them. “Yikes!” I said. “What if she tells me I got them ALL WRONG?” LOL.
You see, there are Methods for creating characters. Charts. Seminars. Whole books written about it. You can interview your characters. You can determine their type. You’re supposed to know their goals, their desires, their fears. We’re told to map out the black moment in the story, to make them do what they would never do, to figure out what the worst thing is for them and then make it happen.
Um . . . I never do that. When I sit down with all the lovely, organized charts and the pretty, detailed questionnaires, I inevitably come up with something profound like, “Derrrrrrrrrrrr. I dunno.” If you ask me what my heroine’s black moment is going to be, I’d probably say something like, “Well, you know. When she, um . . . gets all upset and stuff.”
In some ways, I just can’t plot this stuff out ahead of time. My characters generally just are to me. I don’t want to analyze them, I just want them to give them their voice. My hubby has always said characters are my strong point, but, you know, he’s biased. According to the Experts, my way of doing things is totally Not It.
Or maybe it’s just Not Teachable. (My way, that is.) When you come up with an ordered, well-behaved way of developing characters, it’s something you can share. The methods that aren’t so methodical don’t lend themselves to classes or seminars. Which eventually brings me to the conclusion that I’m doing okay. Even though I don’t tend to research stages of grief or read articles on how people cope with tragedy, I do what I do–put myself in their shoes.
This week my friend turned me onto journaling through your characters, and I’m having fun with that because it’s what I do anyway–just being them. What I really love about this is that it helps me not only know my characters better, but myself as well. Through their logic I can reason through topics I’d never consider. I’ve had characters change my mind on some important matters.
Does my non-method and the intimacy inherent in it make for better characters? For me, yes. For other writers, undoubtedly not. But contemplating has helped me to see yet again that there is no right way, no wrong way to craft a good story. There is just the way that works for you. And I’m so, so grateful to the readers who have verified that it works just fine. Thank you!!
by Roseanna White | Mar 18, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Today’s the last day to enter to win Once in a Blue Moon!
~*~
I never thought I’d sink so low as to write about laundry, but there you have it. I’m writing about laundry. Perhaps this wouldn’t be odd for some, but I
hate doing laundry. Even more than I hate doing dishes. More than vacuuming, dusting, or scrubbing. Or maybe that’s
why it makes sense for me to write about it . . .
Anyway. The last week has been gorgeous, sunny, and warm. Which means the last of The Snow has finally melted, and has thereby turned my world into one giant mud puddle. Since I have two small children, that naturally means that the mud puddle has worked its way into the house. And onto what feels like their entire wardrobes.
Now, I’m not usually the type to fuss too much about stains. My good friend Karlene once said, “I decided that kids’ clothes aren’t sacred and just assume they’ll get ruined.” I’ve embraced that because, well, it takes a lot of stinkin’ effort to keep their clothes spotless!
But I did try to get the mud out this past week. I have soaked in OxiClean. I have pretreated with Shout and Resolve and used super-strength detergent. I have used hot water, cold water, washed things multiple times. And still some of those stains just won’t come out.
On Monday (laundry day in the White household) as I rubbed stain remover into yet ANOTHER mud splatter, I thought, “This really stinks. I’ve got a whole arsenal of things specifically designed to do this with no effort, and what am I doing? Scrubbing clothes by hand.”
And that was when epiphany struck. (Do you hear the angels in the background singing that “Ahhhhh!” chime thingy?”) How, I wonder, did people keep their clothes clean before OxiClean and Resolve and Shout and Tide and whatever else I have in there? Because they did. I have proof, in the form of a lot of vintage clothing. Then the answer came: “They used lye, you dummy.”
Oh . . . right. Now, I have no desire–none whatsoever–to use lye soap. Nope. That temptation has never struck. It’ll ruin your hands even as it saves your clothes, and I’m just way too vain for that. 😉
But, wait. Lye . . . pretty strong stuff, right? Sure, the soap form isn’t as nasty as straight lye, but still. It’s harsh. It’s strong. It works. Whereas this stuff that doesn’t destroy my soft skin . . . it also doesn’t always take the stains out of my kids’ clothes.
And that got me wondering. How often do we do the same thing in life? How often to we take Truth or Lessons and say, “Well, that’s havoc on the emotional manicure. And it doesn’t smell very nice, metaphorically speaking. Let’s try this instead.” It’s sweeter. It’s gentler. It has a prettier label.
But it just–doesn’t–work.
I’m fine with being a sissy about lye and laundry. Sure, some of the stains will persist, but they’ll grow out of the clothes in about two minutes anyway, so whatever. But life . . . I don’t want to be a sissy about life. I don’t want to turn my eyes away from the truth because it’s too harsh, too strong, too blinding. I don’t want to shrug and say, “Well, the stain didn’t come out, but I did the best I could with what I have.” That’s just not good enough. Not when it comes to my heart, my soul.
I’m not allowed to be lazy about that.
Why knew that laundry could teach me something so valuable?
by Roseanna White | Mar 11, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for Love’s Winding Path that posted on Tuesday, or the one for Amanda Cabot’s Scattered Petals from Friday–last day for that one. And for those who are eager for a copy of A Stray Drop of Blood, today’s your last chance to enter the giveaway on Michelle V.’s blog.
~*~
I intended to call this blog “Thoughtful About My Book Talk” but then decided to make it more general, because I woke up to this. It’s a review of A Stray Drop of Blood by a reviewer who contacted me to ask for a copy a few months ago. I didn’t know her at all at the time, but in the intervening weeks we’ve become friends as we connect on Facebook and our blogs, and Molly is such a sweetheart. Still, she isn’t the kind of friend that pre-dates my book, so I wouldn’t consider her a biased source. Which makes it both humbling and exhilarating to read comments like “Roseanna M. White is a 5 star author with a definite 5 star debut novel and deserves the highest of praises for the best book I have ever read to date (and I have read LOTS of great books!)!!!”
Please check out her full, oh-so-flattering review and leave a comment telling her how awesome she is. 😉
Now, my Book Talk. We had 15 people there, which filled out the little meeting room nicely. While most of the peop
le were family or friends, 1/3 of the crowd I didn’t know, so that was a nice balance. Everyone said they really enjoyed it and could see my passion for the story and setting, that I did a great job presenting. (Thanks for that, cuz I wasn’t too sure, LOL.)
I got a few laughs, especially at the end when I was telling them about the food and my next events, so that’s always good. The food included apples, oranges, grapes, and figs-
-which were a treat for everyone, since most had never tried figs. Cheese. Sweet unleavened bread, which also got a few comments, and honey cake with either honey to drizzle over it or orange-flavored whipped cream. Got lots of compliments on the cake, too. =) Also had pomegranate juice and apple juice, then coffee and chamomile.
It was really cool to get to chat about the inspiration and research for the book, and interesting to hear people’s opinions on reading and that time period afterward.
Gotta say, though, the crowning moment of the night was when my oldest friend showed up. She’d driven an hour, after she got off work, and got there right after the talk finished. She was bummed to miss that part, but I was just thrilled to see her! I haven’t gotten to hug her since before Rowyn was born, so that was just . . . just . . . awesome. (Love you, Jennifer!!)
Everyone was really impressed with the sketches I’d done of the characters–and they actually came in very handy. I was telling everyone how each of the characters represented a philosophy of the era, and I coul
d just point to them as I talked. (I knew there was a reason I spent all my spare time doing those during the snows!)
It was a fun night all around, and several of the guests said they intended to come to my book signing in a few weeks, so that’s cool.
Thanks, all, for your prayers and encouragement leading up to this!!
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.