by Roseanna White | Jun 20, 2013 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
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| The Child Handel by Margaret Isabel Dicksee |
Now, I’ll be honest. I didn’t really want to blog today. I’m ten days out from my deadline, still have 10,000 words to cut from
Circle of Spies, plus another read-through to check for typos, and I’m feeling the pressure. Not to mention that I still need to design a map for the front. And a family tree. Oh, and take care of a lot of WhiteFire business that I’m trying not to neglect.
Yeah. No pressure.
But let’s, again be honest. When am I not pressed for time? LOL. So I tell myself to get over it. And I wonder what to muse on today. Slowly, the realization comes.
Reactions. This here, my blogging when I’d rather keep my nose to the manuscript-grindstone, is a reaction. A thought-out response to an internal debate. Not that big a deal, to be sure, but it’s an indicator of how I react to the stressors in my life. Generally speaking, I moan and groan a little, then I get to work. One thing I thankfully inherited from my family is a strong work ethic. Maybe I’m not out in the fields planting crops or putting in long days at a job site, but from dawn to bedtime, I’m at my computer every moment I can be. Working on one or the other of my many projects. My hubby frequently walks by, sees me still at it, and says, “I wish I loved my job as much as you do!”
When it comes to work, I know my reactions are usually what they need to be. But life, now…those can be harder, can’t they? But the more I pause to consider it, the more I realize that it’s not just our actions that define us, that judge us–it’s our reactions.
It’s not just whether I set out to deal fairly–it’s how I respond when someone deals unfairly with me.
It’s not just that I teach my kids to obey–it’s how I respond when they don’t.
It’s not just that I reach out in love–it’s how I respond when someone lashes back at me.
My hubby has some hard business decisions before him (not for the publishing biz), and we were talking about it yesterday. Talking about how, if it were solely a business decision, the answer would be simple. But being us, we can’t separate business decisions from moral decisions. We need to make sure we’re doing what the Lord wants us to do.
Because when it comes down to it, we’re not judged on how people treat us–we’re judged on how we react to them. Sometimes, that goes against our ideas of “fair.” And we want to think that the world will recognize that. Truth? They don’t. They don’t often care how long we’re beaten up or snarled out. They only care whether we fight or forgive.
Now, God never instructed us to be doormats. So sometimes He’ll call us to fight. To chastise. To punish. But other times, He calls us to relent. And knowing which is right in a given situation requires communication with Him.
As I’m in this time of looming deadlines, it’s so easy to respond poorly. To yell when I should smile, to sigh when I should laugh, to growl when I should get up. But I’m challenging myself today to guard my every reaction, to treat it as if it were an action, deliberated and decided upon. To squelch the off-the-cuff and focus on the from-the-heart.
Because I know it matters. I know that’s what defines me. And I know who I want to be.
by Roseanna White | Jun 19, 2013 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
It’s time. Nearly. Time for my brain to move on to a different time, a different era, a different story. I have another week of work on
Circle of Spies, and then that baby needs turned in. There will be edits yet from Harvest House, but then…
That’s it. The completion of a book. The completion of a series. The Culpers will rest. (In my brain at least, though obviously these books still need to hit the shelves. 😉 And I have another novella to write this summer about them, but still. You get my point.)
My little mind has to start working on the next one, the next series. To England of the Regency, then of the Romantic era. Then…well…I haven’t actually figured out the plot of the third book in my next series yet, LOL. I might set it in Italy while Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning were there for the sake of her health. Maybe. Who knows.
But as I was contemplating it yesterday, wondering where I might go and who my characters might meet, I just had to smile. Because it’s so fun to explore history in all its obscurity. I’m going to miss my Culper characters a lot…but I get to meet new ones. And they’ll get to interact with some new snippets from the past.
Who knows what they might be? Pirates, lords, outcasts…writers, artists, inventors…revolutionaries, leaders, critics.
And it occurs to me that that is what I love about writing historicals. That discovery, that exploration. I love finding pieces of the past I didn’t know about, or hadn’t learned fully, and finding the life within them. I love putting people I’ve created into the world of a given era and figuring out how they would survive.
But then, you know what? I hear about other people’s stories, and I go, “Wow! I’d never thought about that portion of history!” So much out there, and so little of it that I’ve considered!
So I thought it would be fun today to pause and think about some what ifs. Some but thens. Some there was a time ideas.
I absolutely love it when friends and readers send me challenges, like “You should write a book about modern-day pirates” or “Have you considered writing a Civil War novel set in the South?” So let’s play!
I’ll start. I have no story idea for this, but I would love to read a book following modern-day missionaries to China, where the underground church is expanding so quickly.
What about you? What fun bit of obscurity would you like to see or write a story about?? Do share!
by Roseanna White | Jun 10, 2013 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
I’m on vacation this week at the gorgeous beach with my awesome family, and I didn’t have time to schedule posts last week. So you’ll just have to get along without me for a few days. 😉 But if you haven’t stopped by for a while, here are some recent posts you don’t want to miss!
It’s time for me to build my list of influencers for Whispers from the Shadows! If you can help me spread the word, let me know–but hurry! I only have a couple spots left! Read the Full Article
~*~
I’m so very blessed to have a husband who chases dreams with me. If you don’t know the story of how we started a small press, come by to read about how we meshed our dreams! Read the Full Article
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I got to research outside my norm for the setting of Fairchild’s Lady (which is still free! Find all the links here!). Come learn a tidbit about those early days of the French Revolution! Read the Full Article
See y’all back here next week!
by Roseanna White | Jun 6, 2013 | Uncategorized
It’s that time again! With only weeks left before Whispers from the Shadows starts appearing, it’s time for me to build my list of influencers!
What, you may ask, is an influencer? Quite simply, it’s someone who agrees
that, in exchange for the publisher sending them a free copy of a book,
they will (assuming they like it) do some or all of the following:
- Post reviews on retailer sites
- Buy a copy for everyone they see in the grocery line
- Blog about it (assuming they have a blog)
- Have the cover tattooed across their forehead
- Talk it up to all their friends
- Take out an airplane banner ad for it
- Request their Library stock it
- Invest in a giant blinking sign for their roof that says “Buy Whispers from the Shadows!””
- Request their bookstores stock it
- Leave some bookmarks/postcards with libraries or stores or in waiting rooms
😉 Okay, so I doubt anyone would do all of those, LOL. But if
you’re interested in taking on some influencer tasks, email me at
roseanna at roseannawhite dot com with your address and what you’ll be
able to do to help with the influencing. (I have a limited number of
spots left, so hurry!)
“The characters’
Christian faith is artfully integrated into their personalities, words,
and actions. The combination of romantic tension, spiritual contention,
and wartime intrigue makes for an engrossing, entertaining read.”
Which, yes, totally made my day on Friday when I saw their very-positive review. 😉 (My first review in any publication as big as that!!) And in case you’ve missed the blurb…
I Love
Her…Can I Trust Her?
I
Love Him…Is He Safe?
1814—England and
America are again at war. Sudden and implacable treachery causes
Gwyneth Fairchild’s world to crumble in a moment’s time. The
daughter of a British general, she barely saves her life by fleeing
London aboard a ship bound for America. Her goal is to find refuge
with the Lane family in Maryland. Yet after meeting the Lanes’ son,
Thaddeus, Gwyn wonders how safe she is. For she discovers that this
family trades in a dangerous commodity—espionage.
Thad Lane is a
prominent citizen in the city of Baltimore. He has the ear of
everyone, and he is in a unique position to pass on to leaders of
government exactly what he hears. Not long after the beautiful and
British Gwyneth Fairchild finds safe haven in his community, he
experiences the tug of love, though he fears it may blur lines of
loyalty. With family playing the part of enemies and enemies proving
themselves friends, a future with Gwyn is more than uncertain—it
could be life threatening.
In the end, with the
British advancing relentlessly on Baltimore, Thad and Gwyn have to
trust in their shared faith in God to be a shield about them. To give
them a future and a hope.
by Roseanna White | Jun 1, 2013 | Uncategorized
This bonus romantic novella is set in the
intervening years between Ring of Secrets and Whispers from the Shadows
by Roseanna M. White. In 1789 General Isaac Fairchild travels across the
Channel on a very special assignment. After surviving the American
Revolution, he is now gathering information on life at King Louis XVI’s
court. But he must also locate a countess and her grown daughter and
escort them back to England before revolution explodes in France. He
knows danger is in the task set before him, but when he meets the
beautiful Julienne, a new peril beckons him deeper into the intrigue of
Versailles.
I’m really excited about this little story. =) After reading Ring of Secrets, my critique partners and editor all wanted to know what happened to Fairchild in the years between RoS and Whispers from the Shadows, so I was thrilled to be given the chance to write his love story–and to offer it for free!
You can download it at Amazon, CBD, B&N, iTunes, and GooglePlay. (I’ll post other links as they go live!)
And if you really want to make my day (wink, wink), please share about it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc. I hope you enjoy it!
by Roseanna White | May 30, 2013 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
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| The Dance Class by Edgar Degas |
It’s a crazy-busy week around here right now, with everything from kids’ checkups to Xoe’s follow-up at Johns Hopkins on Monday. We have ballet rehearsal, ballet recital, I have a book talk on the free night between those…I’ve got book club and my checkup, dentist appointments and normal stuff for church. Oh, and in the midst of all that, I’ve got to get one title for WhiteFire edited, another laid out for press, final edits prepared on a third, and proof approval on a fourth.
Let’s not even look ahead to next week, when I have to start cutting my behemoth of a manuscript by 35K words. (Insert weeping and gnashing of teeth here.)
I’m a little busy. A little overwhelmed. And I don’t know about you, but when I get busy and overwhelmed, I get this strange sensation…I start to feel alone. Like the world is a sea tossing around me, and I’m all by myself on this little boat, just trying to stay afloat. The more emails I answer, the more I wonder why no one is really writing me…the more alerts I get on Facebook, the more it seems no one is paying attention. The more guest-posts I write for blogs, the more I feel like I’m talking into a vacuum. The more appointments I have, the fewer people I seem to see.
This is nothing but illusion in a lot of ways, a trick of my overwhelmed mind, and I know exactly where it comes from. Because in these times of super-busyness, of overwhelm, everything I usually love just feels like One Thing More. One thing more to do that isn’t helping me do what already needs done. One more decision. One more task. One more tap of the fingers on the keyboard.
As I got up this morning with that cloud of To Dos hanging over me, I said a little prayer for some help through it. And I heard a little reminder in the recesses of my mind. Be still.
I’ve always loved that verse–Be still, and know that I am God. It speaks to so much, doesn’t it? And in context it’s even better.
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
~Psalm 46:8-10
Today, you know what that means to me? That all our strife, all our work, all our mighty deeds are nothing. He makes it nothing. He brings peace where there is none. He wipes out where we build up. But he builds up where we would wipe out. And sometimes, He just wants us to stop so that he can work.
It’s a busy time of year for most of us. So much to do, and not doing it isn’t much of an option. But in this crazy weekend, I’m pausing. For just a breath, just a prayer, just a moment. I’m going to be still and give my heart and all its overwhelm to him. Knowing, trusting that whether I succeed or fail, whether I go or stop, whether I cry or laugh, He is God. He will be exalted among the nations. He will be exalted in the earth.
That means in me, too. I exalt you, Lord. May that remain always the task on the top of my list. My top priority. My anchor on those raging seas. I exalt You.
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.