by Roseanna White | Jul 29, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I remember thinking, sometime between ages 12 and 14, that I could never write a story that took place before Christ. Or which dealt with people after Christ who never heard his message. “I just couldn’t do it,” I recall thinking. “I’d be wondering about their salvation the whole time.”
Well, I stuck by that for a long time. And when I began writing Jewel of Persia, that aspect didn’t really occur to me–until my husband, reading along as I wrote, said, “There’s just one thing that concerns me–you’re targeting Christian readers with a book that isn’t going to mention Jesus once.”
Too true. Kinda hard to mention someone still 450 years away from being born. But as I studied the books of the Old Testament I was appealing to, it struck me: salvation isn’t a theme unique to the New Testament. The people in the OT prayed constantly for salvation–duh, right? Read the Psalms. Yes, most of the time it was for immediate salvation–the saving of life, or even of the nation, so that it be preserved for future generations.
Last night at Bible study (I had recommended this topic months ago, and love that we got to it the week after I finished Jewel of Persia, LOL), the most awesome example we found, though, was how Moses crafts the bronze serpent and holds it up, so that anyone bitten by a poisonous snake can look at it and be saved. Then in John 3, Jesus references that to say (in the Roseanna-paraphrase version) “Just like Moses lifted that snake up, so is the Son of Man being lifted up. The people were already bitten, already dying. They had to have faith to look up and be saved, and it’s the faith that saved them. Well, people, you’re already bitten. But God loves you so much that he sent his son–and just like that bronze snake, if you believe enough to look toward Me, you’ll be saved. I’m not condemning y’all–you’re already condemned. Already bitten. But I’m here for your salvation.”
Oo, I love that. Love that Jesus himself took this Old Testament idea of salvation and moved it into New Testament, eternal realms. Awesome, isn’t it?
In my book, I’m constantly tossing my poor heroine into situations she needs saved from. Each and every time, she cries out to the Lord her God, and Jehovah comes through. Then at the end, the whole people of Israel are calling out for salvation from the scheming of Haman. It’s a theme for me–more of one, strangely, than it’s been in A.D. books, perhaps because I was so aware of it. And you know, even though they’re still looking forward to Jesus, they don’t know his name, they don’t know when he’ll come, it’s still a matter of faith. Kasia must have faith that the Lord will preserve her, and that she’s where she needs to be. Faith that her God can use her love to move the mountain of a stubborn man. And Esther, of course. Esther must have faith that this is her purpose, and that even if she dies, God will still use her to save her people.
My last sentence has the word “salvation” in it. I end on that note hoping it’ll leave people thinking about it and moving naturally in their thoughts to the ultimate salvation, the One who came and updated our definition of the word, who offered it to our souls. “Jesus” is never in my book. But the Spirit is–and just as He speaks to us now, he spoke to my characters. (Maybe not exactly like, but He did.) It’s the same spirit, the same God. Which means the same Jesus was there, waiting. Waiting, ready to offer himself for these people.
Some things transcend time.
by Roseanna White | Jul 22, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
For the past month or so, I have been in the “Whatever” stage when it comes to publishing. This isn’t a negative place, though it might sound like it, given the name. But that’s an abbreviation. Really, it’s the “Whatever You Want for Me, Lord” stage.
See, the industry has always been tough. Right now it’s nearly impossible. Yes, there are still successes, and I rejoice with every single one of them. But they never seem to come my way. I’m still getting those “this is solid, she writes well, but . . .” rejections. Or, more often, nothing at all. My agent is understandably frustrated with the lack of responses. There are projects we submitted nearly a year ago upon request that we’ve still hear nothing on.
And I’m okay with that. The optimist in me still thinks, “Something’s going to click with one of those. I feel it.” And the realist says, “But if it doesn’t, then whatever, Lord. Whatever.”
Because I’m promoting a book I love. A Stray Drop of Blood is such a huge part of me that I love dedicating myself to it, to getting it out in the world. And I’m working on a book I love. Not since Stray Drop has a book demanded so much of my mind as Jewel of Persia, perhaps because it’s on the same epic scale. I’m loving what I’m doing, which is something I couldn’t do for a major publishing house.
With my agent’s go-ahead, I’m going to focus on my projects for WhiteFire while we wait for the incredibly slow wheels of the major publishers to turn toward the proposals and manuscripts I submitted to them. And I’ve got this incredible peace and excitement about that. This feeling that “Whatever, Lord,” has led us to a place where WhiteFire can grow and expand and start helping others’ dreams come true.
Writers, you might want to check out WFP’s new and improved site. There’s some fun news on the Submissions page. We also just started a blog with one whole post, LOL. For news as we have it, you can check out that or subscribe to the newsletter on the main site.
Because “Whatever, Lord” is leading to new things these days. Though in some ways the changes in the publishing industry are terrifying for unestablished authors, in other ways they’re freeing and fun. I, for one, am going to focus on that side of things.
by Roseanna White | Jul 8, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Don’t forget you have a chance to win Stray Drop at www.ShannonVannatter.com!
The last time my family took a vacation was September ’08, when Rowyn was 7 months old. Last summer we just couldn’t take the time–and this summer we expected to be crammed full of travel for book promotion.
But since the Life & Faith Tour was canceled because of the extreme weather this summer, my hubby looked at me two weeks ago and said, “So when are we going to the beach?” In an act of semi-spontaneity, we scheduled a vacation 10 days before said vacation would start. Which is now only two days away. Woo hoo!
Of course, I’ve yet to start packing, though I’ve started making lists. And I’ve been trying to get done all the stuff I need to (including blog posts for next week, since I already had two interviews scheduled). Plus, I’ve been getting back on the writing horse. Yesterday I managed 4,800 words, and I feel like I’m finally in that place where finishing the book’s going to be like falling down the stairs–a series of boom, bang, booms, all downhill from here. There’s still a lot of story to get through, don’t get me wrong, but it’s all action. Yay!
I’m one of those nuts who hopes for lots of writing time on vacation (the beach is just so inspiring!). Granted, I also want lots of nothing-time, lots of beach-time, some shopping-time, walking-time . . .
Naturally, it’s calling for rain all week. Isolated, so it could totally miss us. And even if it doesn’t . . . well, it’s true what they say. “A bad day at the beach beats a good day anywhere else.” =)
by Roseanna White | Jul 1, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Yesterday, while the rest of the country’s newspapers probably had headlines about Russian spies, oil spills, or presidents, the Cumberland Times-News dedicated its front page to prayer. Oh, it might not have known that’s what it was doing. But we did.
See, the front page story yesterday was about how one of our own was coming home from Johns Hopkins hospital.
Those of you who know me fairly well have heard about Vanessa. She’s 16, the daughter of my sister’s dear friend, and a country girl through and through. Well, a couple months ago she was roping a steer and got dragged and trampled. They rushed her to hospital and she was soon heading for Baltimore. The initial fears were about internal organ damage.
The people took to their knees. Everyone I know around here contacted everyone we know elsewhere to get people praying. The doctors weren’t sure she’d live through the night.
She did.
The next concern was brain damage. Vanessa was in a coma, and everyone knows brain injuries are unpredictable. For weeks she lay there, sleeping. We prayed that God would use that time of rest to rebuild her from the inside out.
During this time my sister made countless trips down the road to visit Vanessa and her mom. She came back with updates, prayer requests, and an assurance. “I prayed before I went back to see her,” my sister said, “and I got the feeling that she’s going to be okay. Might take awhile, but she’s going to be okay.”
Vanessa started coming out of the coma. It was a slow process, and an MRI revealed separation of the hemispheres of her brain. She would squeeze a hand but couldn’t open her eyes. Then she could sit up, but not open her eyes.
We kept praying. My mom prayed, “Let her next hurdle be speech. Let her say, ‘Mom,’ Lord.”
Two days later we got the report that Vanessa said “Mom.” The next day she was singing the Barney song. The day after that, a country tune. She was recognizing people and greeting them by name. Still, the doctors were worried. Some of her behaviors indicated severe brain damage, the kind people don’t recover from.
When has that ever stopped the Lord?
A couple weeks ago, we got the report that Vanessa was eating, out shopping, learning to walk again, doing art projects, and stealing her mom’s cell phone to call her brother and beg to be taken home.
Yesterday, she came. And Cumberland praised God.
There are times I miss the culture and opportunities available in Annapolis or other larger areas, but you know, in times like these I’m so very glad to live in a small town. I love that everyone here knows that we’re praying for a teen named Vanessa. I love that her recovery has made the front page.
Most of all, though, I love my God, who hears our cries and responds.
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 24, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
A couple weeks ago in one my daughter’s Famous Fits of Four-Year-Old Frustration, she tossed out that she hates being alone in her room (and tacked on that I don’t care because I’m mean). Which made a strange idea click into me head. Me, the queen of One Child Per Room, thought “Huh. I wonder if it could work to move them into one room.”
The other day we did it. Stacked their bunk beds up (not that Xoe will sleep on the top yet–she’s been camping on the floor for the past two nights) and turned the nursery into a school room.
And you know, I gotta say–I love it.
See, I’d been kinda panicking at the thought of getting started with home schooling this year, even though I knew it was what I wanted to do. Much of it was apparently rooted in the fact that I had no good place to DO this schooling. But as soon as I considered making the nursery into a school room . . . wow. I was actually excited.
So on Tuesday I put Xoe’s new desk together (all by myself), moved a bookshelf in, organized the bedroom into a mish-mash of boy/girl kid stuff (other than the pink curtains, it was fairly neutral anyway–being very Pooh-ish), and Xoe and I had our first day of school.
It was so much fun. I decided to start with the Five in a Row system and got the book that will take us through kindergarten, and which I can also use with Rowyn. FIAR basically guides you through using actual kids books as your basis for subject-learning, by reading the same book each day for a week and looking at different aspects of it. So, for instance, you’d read a book about a panda–Monday you’d then study bears, Tuesday you’d study China, Wednesday you’d look at vocabulary words, etc.
At the pre-school/kindergarten age, it’s not so much academic as just looking at different aspects like patterns and rhymes, and then trying to incorporate it into your day. We’re also doing some basic letter/number stuff, Bible stories, coloring . . .
My highlight thus far was when we were reading about Adam and Eve eating the apple and sinning, and I explained how that meant they couldn’t talk to God like they had before, because they’d disobeyed him. And she piped in with, “But now we can again, because Jesus died and took the punishment.” A close second is that the American flag is important “because it reminds us of our country and Jesus, because he and God made the world and gave us our country.”
I’m having a blast gettin
g a peek into the mind of my sweet little girl. And my adorable little boy loves being in what was formerly Xoe’s room, and also loves the school room, where he plops down on his belly with paper and a pencil and goes to town. Overall, a great solution–and a new adventure.
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.