by Roseanna White | May 31, 2011 | Uncategorized
I’m tickled to be able to feature
Dance of the Dandelion by
Dina L. Sleiman today. Our latest title from WhiteFire,
Dandelion will make her official debut tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see what she does. =)
First, let’s all admire the awesome cover. George of
Tekeme Studios did it again, and somehow managed to capture the essence of the book and the author without more information than a questionnaire. The lovely maiden dancing on the cover is Dina’s own daughter, on whom she modeled the heroine. Perfect, isn’t it?
Now, curious about the book yet? You oughta be. 😉 I’ll give you the official description, then chat about it a bit.
Love’s quest leads her the world over.
Dandelion Dering was born a peasant in the English village of Arun, but her soul yearned for another life, another world. One filled with color and music, with adventure and passion . . . with more. Haunted by childhood memories, Dandelion determines to find a better existence than the life every peasant in the village contents themselves with. Even if her sweetheart William’s predictions prove true, and her journey leads straight to heartache.
From her sleepy hamlet to the intrigue of castle life, from the heart of London to the adventurous seas, Dandelion flees from the mistakes of her past, always seeking that something, that someone who will satisfy her longings.
Will Dandelion ever find the rhythm to her life’s dance . . . or did she leave her chance for true love at home in Arun Village?
At this point I’ve read Dance of the Dandelion about three and a half times (some spot reading along the way), so I feel like I know it backward, forward, and inside out. =) But here’s what I remember from my first time reading it:
Dina has a way of writing about life with passion. Passion for her setting, for her topic, and most of all for the Lord. In the course of the story, Dandelion makes some good decisions, some bad decisions, some smart, some stupid. I didn’t always agree with her and there were moments I didn’t much like her. But through it all, Dandelion was searching for love, and for God. And that’s what propelled me through the story, scrolling through madly. That’s what made me love the book and the title character.
This is one of those rare stories that makes you question what you want for the character, makes you wonder what you’d do in her shoes. It’s one of those novels that leads you to a deeper understanding of faith and God, of love and self-identity.
It’s a book that makes you want to dance your way through life.
I’m really excited to have Dina and
Dandelion in the WhiteFire family, and I’m confident that anyone who likes my books or
Christine Lindsay’s Shadowed in Silk will fall in love with
Dance of the Dandelion too. Dina has written with panache and poetic brilliance a book that perfectly fits WhiteFire’s motto: Where Spirit Meets the Page.
I hope you all check it out!
(Digital release is 1 June and print release is 1 October.)
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 25, 2011 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
I’m always amazed by how long counterfeiting has been around. Don’t know why it surprises me, but yeah. Pretty much ever since there was paper money, there have been counterfeiting.
The big counterfeiting rings, however, often seem to be official. Ever heard the story about how Hitler had a massive operation set up to counterfeit British pounds and American dollars? Well, he sure wasn’t the first leader who decided that was another way to fight a war. The British did it to the Americans too.
During the Revolution, the British began counterfeiting Congressional dollars pretty much as soon as Congress started printing them. The result? Well, a dollar was, shall we say, not off to a great start. In many parts of the young country prices had already risen to absurd numbers because of the boycott. In New York, they had the opposite problem–imported goods were still reasonably priced, but they couldn’t get staples. The price of a pound of beef raised something like 800% in three years. And if you tried to pay with dollars? Ha!
They were, literally, using the dollars as wallpaper.
The British were so set on this plan to undermine the new American economy that they set up a counterfeiting headquarters on a ship the New York governor used as a floating state house. They’d sprung a forger from jail and put him to work. Nice, eh? The one flaw–their paper was too thick.
Until, that is, they stole several reams of paper from the press in Philadelphia.
It’s a wonder our economy ever recovered, isn’t it? Well, I’ll now leave you hanging as to what happened and get to writing the novel about what happened. 😉 Happy Wednesday, everyone!
by Roseanna White | May 24, 2011 | Uncategorized
Last Wednesday, Russel Moore, a prominent minister,
posted this. It’s a blog entitled “Can Romance Novels Hurt Your Heart?” and quotes a study expounded on in the book
A Billion Wicked Thoughts. In short, this book explains that just like pornography appeals to a man’s visual predisposition and creates in him an idea of women that’s unrealistic and so harmful to his real-life relationships, so do romance novels appeal to a woman’s emotional predisposition and creates in her an idea of men that’s unrealistic (because they’re based on alpha men who are rich, gorgeous, wild-but-tamed-by-heroine, and emotionally sensitive) and so damages relationships.
Mr. Moore takes this study and applies it to
Christian Romance and asks if the women who keep a Christian romance on their bedside table are hurting their marriages.
After 164 replies, most opinions on this subject have been made known, LOL. But it’s a subject that upsets me, so I’d like to discuss it here.
This is what I grant Mr. Moore. Some women do indeed battle feelings of dissatisfaction with their love lives, their marriages, and their husbands when they see other romances. They feel their spouses don’t add up, and being shown that really doesn’t help. So yes, it’s great to bring that to the attention of said women and say, “So, well, maybe you oughta steer clear of romantic stuff. Books, movies, etc.”
Of course, as one commenter pointed out, those same women might be struck by this same comparison when they see Mr. Smith open the door for his wife at church and exchange a special smile with her.
So–I grant this is a valid point, and I hope every woman, if she feels dissatisfied with her relationships, stops to really examine why and to either steer clear of the catalysts or to take the time to work on this within herself (or both). Several women spoke up on this blog who readily admit that this is something they have to deal with. I applaud them.
But here’s where this post really hurt my heart. Mr. Moore wrote a long article about how romance and pornography are alike. Then he made an assumption that
Christian Romance is built on the same principles as the mainstream erotica that this book studied. THEN he said that he wasn’t equating
Christian Romance with the soul-destroying pornography, but we must ask ourselves if these books are building marriages and promoting unity or if they’re causing harm.
Well, my answer is that they’re building marriages, promoting unity, and saving souls. And frankly, it hurts that a prominent pastor not only calls our ministry into question, but asks his entire readership to do the same. We have enough to battle within the world–why are we attacking each other within the Church?
The nicest thing this blog did was grant that not all Christian romances were necessarily evil. I contend that that’s like saying that all pastors are “not necessarily evil” since they don’t all cheat on their wives or lead people into cults. That’s like saying that not all Christians are evil, since they don’t all use the Bible to dominate and abuse. But some do!
Yes. Some do. But when someone points out that stuff, I cry out, “No, no no! Why would you judge an entire ministry based on a few? What about all the souls pastors save? What about all the relationships they build? What about all the many ways they strengthen our faith?”
I have to cry out the same thing here. “No, no, no! Why would you judge the entire ministry of Christian fiction because of how it affects some? What about all those letters we get saying readers were led to the Lord through our stories? What about the ones who say they were inspired to save their crumbling marriages? What about the ones who come to a deeper faith because of these books?”
Because THOSE are the majority. And that’s the case because
Christian Romance is NOT built upon the same principles as mainstream romance, and we don’t just gussy it up with prayer instead of sex. That anyone would claim we do is so insulting. More, it’s disheartening. After years and years, Christian fiction is finally gaining a foothold in the industry, and then our own leaders prejudge us (because you bet these guys haven’t read any of today’s Christian romance–that’s pretty obvious by the assumptions) and not only question that we are in ministry, but equate us to pornographers.
As you can see, I’m still fired up about this. I don’t just read
Christian Romance, I don’t just write
Christian Romance, I edit it and publish it. It’s my entire professional life. Now, do I like to break molds with it? Absolutely. Do I chafe against some of the guidelines of traditional romance that were held over in
Christian Romance? Yes, I do. But I believe in its principles, in its goals, in its very real ministry to many people who otherwise may dismiss the messages that come through so naturally in fiction.
And I’d love to chat about it, explore both sides with others. So what’s your take?
by Roseanna White | May 20, 2011 | Uncategorized
Today I’m happy to welcome Susan Page David back to my blog to talk about her novella in the collection Wyoming Weddings. Glad to talk to you again, Susan!
Readers, Susan has generously offered a copy of the collection to one lucky winner–to be entered, leave a comment below with an email address where I can reach you.
~*~
About Wyoming Weddings
Wyoming Weddings includes three complete novels. through the challenges of life and love in Wyoming. Saddle up with Ruby on an endurance horseback ride that bonds her with the local veterinarian and leads to crime-solving adventure in Trail to Justice (by Susan Page Davis). Ride along with Randi who drives a truck throughout the state. She befriends a traveling minister at a time when she longs to be home with her niece in Hearts on the Road (by Diana Brandmeyer). Sympathize with Bethany and her family as their guest ranch is threatened just when a city slicker arrives with a bunch of teens in A Wagonload of Trouble (by Vickie McDonough). Can these women surmount their troubles to pursue romance with the new men in their lives?
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About Susan
Susan Page Davis is the award-winning author of more than thirty novels, including the Ladies’ Shooting Club series and Frasier Island Series. A native of Maine, she now lives in Kentucky.
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What’s your latest book?
Wyoming Weddings, from Barbour, released May 1. It’s a collection of three contemporary romances set in Wyoming. My story, Trail to Justice, comes first in the book. It’s followed by Diana Brandmeyer’s Hearts on the Road and Vickie McDonough’s A Wagonload of Trouble.
The sport of endurance riding has interested me for many years. I wrote a book for young people about it (Sarah’s Long Ride) and also did several nonfiction articles on the sport. I decided to put some adults in the saddle for this book that I wrote for Heartsong Presents. In Trail to Justice, Ruby Dale is a police dispatcher who likes to trail ride on weekends. She’s helped with endurance rides, but never had the chance to compete. Now she has the opportunity, and to make it even better, veterinarian Chuck Sullivan is also entered in the 100-mile race. When the defending champion takes a Shine to them and pushes Ruby and Chuck to try to finish in the top three with him, they find adventures they never expected.
What fun! I took riding lessons for about a year when I was 10. I like to remember myself as being better at it than I really was, LOL. What’s your favorite part of the story?
I love the way Ruby relies on God to help her complete the most difficult task she’s ever faced—and I’m not talking about the trail ride, but I don’t want to spill the beans.
Teasing us, are you? Crafty. 😉 What was the hardest part to write?
Blending the romance with the action and the mystery.
I bet you did a stellar job! What do you hope your readers will get out of the story?
Even when you think you’ve made a huge mess of things, God is still in control. Let Him work it out!
Amen to that! Thank heavens He can see it all clearly, eh? So let’s talk nitty-gritty. Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?
For this book, the American Endurance Riding Conference’s Website was a big help. English Through the Ages is indispensable when I’m writing historicals.
And what are you writing right now?
I’m writing Lady Anne’s Quest, which will be the second book in my new Prairie Dreams series. The first book, The Lady’s Maid, will release in October. In it, Lady Anne Stone and her maid leave England in 1855 to look for Anne’s uncle, who has disappeared into the American West.
Ah, sounds wonderful! Any upcoming releases we should keep our eye out for?
Yes. Next week I’ll receive my editor’s suggestions for revisions on Captive Trail. This book is part of the new Texas Trails series from Moody, and I’m very excited about it. In 1857 Texas, a stagecoach driver finds an unconscious woman lying in the road—a white woman dressed as a Comanche. He’s determined to find out who she is and reunite her with her family. Captive Trail releases September 1.
We’ll keep our eye out for the Prairie Dreams ones too!
~*~
Thanks so much for visiting again, Susan! Readers, check out her website at www.susanpagedavis.com. You can purchase Wyoming Weddings at Amazon or ChristianBook.
Void where prohibited. Entry into the contest is considered verification of eligibility based on your local laws. Chance of winning depends on number of entries. Contest ends 5/27/11. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.
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?
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.