by Roseanna White | Jun 16, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Yesterday started like any other. Namely, with the kids calling, “Mommy! Mooooommmmmyyyyyy! I ready to get uuuuuupppppp!” Followed by getting them each what felt like 10 breakfasts, blogging, torturing myself with exercise . . . you know, the norm.
When I finally got down to writing business, it was to an email from a friend of mine with some awesome news of a contract. (Can’t tell you who because it’s still on the down-low.) She was one of the loudest squealers when I announced my deal with Summerside for Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland, so I naturally squealed pretty loudly for her, too. In the course of our frantic back-and-forth emails, she asked me how some of my other proposals were faring.
Which, naturally, reminded me of one I hadn’t sent out that I really felt I should before the weekend. So, while chewing on what needed to change in a scene of Annapolis, I went into this other proposal and made a few changes. Debated a few recommended changes that I just couldn’t come up with a good way to include, and finally tossed my hands in the air and said, “Phooey! I’m sending it.”
And I did. Thinking something along the lines of, “I’ll work more on it later before sending it elsewhere. This editor probably won’t have time to read it for a while anyway, I know she’s busy . . .”
Meanwhile (amid getting the kids 10 lunches each–I swear that’s how it feels sometimes, LOL) I worked on my edits. Made some decent progress, and I feel good about where I am on those right now. So when, an hour later, I got an email asking me to call this editor, I was a little surprised. Okay, a lot surprised. And when I was on the phone with her and heard how much she loved this proposal I’d just sent, I was more than surprised. I was floored. Delighted. Thrilled. Ecstatic.
Now, this isn’t a contract or anything, but it was an amazing way to get my energy up, lemme just tell you! What writer doesn’t like to hear that someone loves her work? And if that someone’s an editor . . .?? Well. Yeah. Awesome.
More craziness ensued that I won’t get into here and now, but let’s just say that by the end of the day, I looked back and thought, “Wow, really? Can’t say as I expected all that when I woke up this morning!” It was a day of encouragement and promise. A day of Joy and a bittersweet ending/new beginning (the other craziness). A day that really showed me that I’m doing what I need to be doing, and that the Lord is ever guiding me exactly where I need to go.
I’m so overwhelmed by all He’s given me. And so I give it back to Him, and pray He use it for His will, above all.
Hope everyone’s having a great week!
by Roseanna White | Jun 9, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
How many times in life do we get do-overs? Do we get to fix the things we’ve done wrong and make them better? How many times do we have the chance to rebuild, to repair, to refine before anyone sees our first attempt?
I know there are many times I wish we could do this more. Wish we could un-say, un-watch, un-hear something. Times I wish we could tweak a few details of ourselves, of our decisions, of our pasts to make things just a little better, a little more considerate, a little more lovely.
The other day I got my first round of edits on
Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland, and as I read through the comments of my awesome editor, I find myself thinking, “Thank you, Lord, for the chance to improve this.” The story certainly has its merits, the writing’s mostly solid . . . but thank heavens I get to incorporate the advice of a team before it hits the shelves. Thank you, God, for letting me alter a few things. Tighten here, shift there, add, delete, reword.
And yet as I add a new dimension to my heroine’s relationship with her family, as I open her eyes a little more to the realities of her world, it makes me realize that in life, it’s not usually so simple. It’s not just a matter of hitting the backspace key a few times. We can never hit Edit / Undo. We can’t make our inconsistencies just go away with a few keystrokes, a few thoughts. Three weeks of work doesn’t make any of us ready for the world to view us (even taking into account the need yet for polish and
Shine).
But you know what? We’ve still got our second chance. We can never undo, we can never erase. We’ll always have to deal with consequences for our words and actions. But we have that blank page waiting. A clean slate. A chance to start anew. We have a Savior who can cover our blemishes with His perfection. Will others still notice the flaws? Oh, they’re good at that–just like I’m sure someone will always find the errors in my books and call me on them.
But just like it’s a huge blessing to have an editor, and the chance to edit, so is it an amazing thought to consider that in life we have a Savior, and the chance to be cleansed of our sin. And just as now that I know what she’s looking for I’ll be sure to incorporate as much as I can of it into each new work, so do we fashion ourselves after what the Lord wants once we’ve accepted His precious grace.
I hope everyone is having a great week!
by Roseanna White | Jun 2, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
You know how it goes. You’re going through your day, probably thinking about the twelve things you’re juggling at that particular moment. In the back of your mind you’ve been turning something over. And over. And over. Not exactly worrying, not exactly fretting (or maybe you are, LOL), but it’s there. Always there.
Like, you know, this proposal I’m going to submit soon.
In the weeks you’ve been turning and churning and considering this thing, whatever it may be, a certain number of options have presented themselves. You’re not sure any will work out, but you’re going to try. Because, well, what else do you?
Then out of the blue, it hits. It. That realization that there is another option, a better option. An option that seems to have come from nowhere in your brain, since you already dismissed it through your awesome logic (ahem).
I had one of those moments yesterday concerning that soon-to-be-submitted proposal, where I realized an option I thought not an option might in fact be the best option. So I sent an email. Got an encouraging response. The kind that left me going, “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that from the get-go?”
Those are the moments that remind me of why it’s awesome to be in communion with our Lord. I seldom get answers while I’m praying, but they come at those odd moments during the day. Those whispers, those sudden realizations. I know there are those out there who don’t attribute them to God, and certainly I have those bolts of inspiration that I don’t consider divine. But when they come with a peace beyond which my own mind tends to fabricate, that’s when I know.
As sure when my husband makes a great suggestion I hadn’t thought of, God has given me a nudge. And obedience never tastes as sweet as in those moments, either, because I know only good will come of it. Maybe not the good I envision, but good nonetheless. =)
So . . . have you had any God moments lately?
by Roseanna White | May 26, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
First, yesterday two boxes of
Jewel of Persia arrived on my porch! Yay! That means that I can take off the “pre-order” designation from the listing on our store and actually sign and send any books ordered. =) So if you’ve been waiting (ahem), you can now
go to CrossPurposes Books to order! Then just email me with personalization requests. (Instructions are in the product description.) Or if you aren’t into shipping but will be at ACFW in September, you can get one there. =)
Also, if you’re an influencer or have won a copy on the blog tour, I’ll be signing and packing those up in the next day or two, so the wait is over for you guys too!
Now, onto my real topic. 😉
Hard as it is to believe, my hubby and I are about to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I can still remember our beautiful beach wedding like it was yesterday, but time has sprinted by (time’s quite the athlete, isn’t it?) and here we are. Ten years, five moves, and two kids later.
We’re trying to figure out the perfect trip for the occasion. We’ve long discussed taking a an extended weekend somewhere, just the two of us, for this. But not that it’s decision time, we can’t decide where to go. We’ve considered Maryland’s Eastern Shore. We’ve talked about New York City. We’ve toyed with something Caribbean. Then David pointed out that for the same price, the family could take a week-long vacation in the Outer Banks.
One mark in the favor of that plan is that it’s where we got married. I’m a big fan of symmetry and poetic stuff like that. 😉 Of course, if we went a whole week, we’d take the kids, and likely one or both of our parental units would join us. Which would mean that, at least, someone could babysit the kids on our anniversary and we could go out for a nice dinner.
Another part of me says, “But that’s not the couple trip we talked about.”
Advice is welcome! Any brilliant ideas on where we should go, or if we should opt for the family vacation? Keeping in mind we’re not made of money. 😉
by Roseanna White | May 19, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, I think many of us get to connect with old friends we otherwise wouldn’t see, right? It can be super awesome to exchange even a few lines with a buddy from high school you haven’t spoken to in a decade. It is for me, anyway. =)
Yesterday was Brittney’s birthday–Brittney was my absolutely-without-a-doubt-best-friend from age 5 through about 14. We drifted apart a bit in high school–stayed friendly, but not inseparable by any means. Still, May 18th can’t roll around without me thinking of her. Thinking of all the fun we had over the years. The fashion showed, the magazine we made from photos glued with the decorative, neon-colored paints so popular in the late ’80s, the games of make-believe that kept us entertained for days on end.
I also just touched base with another girl from our middle school group, Melissa. Melissa took to calling me “Mom” in 8th grade, and my nickname for her was Mylissa. When I finished my first novel, she was at my house. And when I came into school the following Monday, she’d made me a card that said, “So proud of you, Mommy.”
These are a few of the girls that grew with me, whose friendships shaped me. Girls I rarely talk to, more rarely still manage to see . . . but who are often in my prayers.
As someone who married her high school sweetheart, it’s sometimes really sad to realize I never talk to my high school friends. For someone who emails her best friend (who she’s only met twice) several times a day, it’s baffling why I can’t keep in touch with these others.
It’s strange how different our lives are.
Brittney’s lived in New York, is now in Pittsburgh. She’s in marketing and is, when last I saw her, one of those statuesque, model-esque women who always look gorgeous with their yoga-inspired figures and impeccable fashion sense. Needless to say, I felt a bit dowdy when I last hugged her–I was six months pregnant with Rowyn and carrying Xoe on my hip.
Melissa, on the other hand, lives out in the country, within driving distance of me, but I couldn’t tell you how to get to her house, LOL. She has four kids and helps her husband run his construction company. One of the last times I saw her was at her wedding, when she and her husband (each having a daughter already), pledged their lives and joined their families. It’s the only wedding I ever cried at, so beautiful was it when her little girl pointed at the bride coming up the aisle and declared happily, “Mama!”
Ever wonder what these old friends see if they look at you? I do. Yes, I’ve fulfilled my goal of being an author–more or less, LOL. I have books out . . . on a small scale. I have a big(ish) contract . . . but it’s not out. And even when it is, it’s just one book. I’m not a household name. I doubt I’ll ever be a household name. My house is old and not exactly breathtaking. I could probably make it nicer, but I choose to spend my energy writing. And homeschooling. I like to think I put myself together pretty well, but let’s be honest–no flat, yoga bellies here. I generally come to the conclusion that “slender” is good enough, since I don’t have to work for it. “Fit” just takes too much work, LOL.
But most of all, I hope that when I see these old friends again, they see the Annie they loved. They see a girl who chased her dreams. They see a woman glad she made the decisions she made, who loves her life even when it isn’t glamorous or hugely successful. I hope they see the same thing I do–a woman who has been shaped by great childhood friends into an adult worth knowing.
How about you guys? Do you still keep in touch with your very first best friends?
by Roseanna White | May 12, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
As I’m doing some basic research for a new story idea, I wanted to figure out what my heroine would call the Lord. She comes from a congregationalist, rather Puritan background, so I started by looking up Puritan prayers. And wow, am I glad I did.
These prayers are so beautiful that I copied them into a document and broke them into lines and stanzas as if they were poetry. Reading through them like this . . . it really showcases the perfection of faith, how it combines our weakness with His strength. I was so very blessed by these yesterday that I wanted to share these two with you today.
Also, the Colonial Quill is sharing first lines of stories today, if you want to check it out!
The Deeps
Lord Jesus, give me a deeper repentance,
a horror of sin, a dread of its approach.
Help me chastely to flee it
and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be Thine alone.
Give me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself
to find myself in Thee,
the ground of my rest, the spring of my being.
Give me a deeper knowledge of Thyself
as saviour, master, lord, and king.
Give me deeper power in private prayer,
more sweetness in Thy Word,
more steadfast grip on its truth.
Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action,
and let me not seek moral virtue apart from Thee.
Plough deep in me, great Lord, heavenly husbandman,
that my being may be a tilled field,
the roots of grace spreading far and wide,
until Thou alone art seen in me,
Thy beauty golden like summer harvest,
Thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.
I have no master but Thee, no law but Thy will,
no delight but Thyself, no wealth but that Thou givest,
no good but that Thou blessest, no peace but that Thou bestowest.
I am nothing but that Thou makest me.
I have nothing but that I receive from Thee.
I can be nothing but that grace adorns me.
Quarry me deep, dear Lord, and then fill me
to overflowing with living water.
Devotion
God of my end, it is my greatest, noblest pleasure
to be acquainted with Thee
and with my rational, immortal soul;
it is sweet and entertaining to look into my being
when all my powers and passions
are united and engaged in pursuit of Thee,
when my soul longs and passionately breathes
after conformity to Thee and the full enjoyment of Thee;
no hours pass away with so much pleasure
as those spent in communion with Thee
and with my heart.
O how desirable, how profitable to the Christian life
is a spirit of holy watchfulness and godly jealousy over myself
when my soul is afraid of nothing
except grieving and offending Thee,
the blessed God, my Father and friend,
whom I then love and long to please,
rather than be happy in myself!
Knowing, as I do, that this is the pious temper,
worthy of the highest ambition,
and closest pursuit of intelligent creatures and holy Christians,
may my Joy derive from glorifying and delighting Thee.
I long to fill all my time for Thee,
whether at home or in the way;
to place all my concerns in Thy hands;
to be entirely at Thy disposal,
having no will or interest of my own.
Help me to live to Thee for ever,
to make Thee my last and only end,
so that I may never more in one instance
love my sinful self.
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.