by Roseanna White | May 5, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Happy Cinqo de Mayo, everyone! We’ll be having enchiladas and arroz con leche tonight. (Homeschool, you know. It’s educational, LOL.) Now onto the actual blog. š
Last night I had the honor of visiting the women’s group at Trinity Assembly of God in Midlothian, Maryland to chat about being an author and a little about my books. One of my mother-in-law’s good friends belongs to this group and put a bug in the leader’s ear about inviting me, and I’m so glad she did.
I’ve spoken at libraries twice, and in some ways this was a lot like those. But in a few key ways, it wasn’t. Because though I’d never met these women before, it was like meeting friends. Chatting with them was like chatting with family you hadn’t seen in a while. We had so much fun, they made me feel so welcome, and as I tried to pinpoint why, I came to the conclusion that it’s because we know from the get-go we have a lot in common, starting with that most basic thing–our faith.
At the Library talks I certainly didn’t sidestep the fact that I write Biblical fiction, but the questions people asked tended to point in other directions. At Trinity last night, so much conversation either led back to the Lord or reflected Him. Not always overtly, but it was there. Always there, because He is always in us.
It really hammered home why Paul tells us not to forsake the fellowship of other believers. That fellowship, that communion is so awesome, and so important. Not just in church itself–which is also awesome and important, don’t get me wrong–but in those after-church meetings. Those times when like-minded folks get together for fun and just let the Lord
Shine through them.
This is the same reason I so enjoy going to Christian writers conferences, now that I think about it. It’s a chance to talk to other people who are like-minded. And hence why I’m so looking forward to going to Hagerstown, Maryland on Saturday for the Washington County Reading Day at the Valley Mall. There I’ll get to chat with a couple other fellow Christian writers, and I’m really looking forward to that (whether I sell any books or not, LOL).
So what’s your favorite time of fellowship? At church? A Bible study? A writers group? Perhaps at a Jane Austen readers group? A homeschool group? Where is it you feel most at home and can have fun that fills you up inside?
by Roseanna White | May 4, 2011 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
This past Saturday saw me in Annapolis, back on the campus of my alma mater, St. John’s College. The last time I was in this beautiful Chesapeake town was to play sight-seer to research Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland, which I was still writing back in December. It was pretty fun to be there again, knowing the book is only a few months from reality.
We came back for the annual croquet tournament between St. John’s and the Naval Academy. The what, you say? Yeah, that’s right. Croquet. Big deal. Fun stuff. š
Here’s how the tradition got started.
Annapolis has long been a college town, home to two very different schools. St. John’s is liberal arts, small, and very academic . . . but also prone to hippies and free spirits who sit down right beside the New Englander in the three-piece suit. Contrasted with that is the Naval Academy, which is strict, huge, and gives equal billing to physical things as academic. So naturally, we’re rivals. Friendly rivals, kinda like a giant might be theoretically a rival with a pygmy of a cousin, LOL. But back in 1983, apparently some Johnnies and some Middies (Midshipmen) were at a pub downtown and got into a tiff about how Johnnies had no athletic prowess. The Middie said, “We can beat you at any sport, any day of the week. Just name one.” And the Johnnie said, “Okay. Croquet. Last Saturday in April.”
Now, neither group actually knew how to play croquet at that point, but both quickly learned, and the
Annapolis Cup was born. For the last 28 years the two teams have been meeting on the front campus of St. John’s on the last Saturday in April, and this event has grown so huge that the campus is literally packed, wall to wall, with people. Some Johnnies, some Middies, some Townies (Annapolitans), and a whole lot of alumni from both. And St. John’s has won all but 2 or 3 of those years. (OH YEAH!)
It was so cool this year. We spread our blanket right where the Liberty Tree used to tower, and I thought, “Wow, it was still here when Lark would have been here. Though the only building here was McDowell Hall, right there. And of course, St. John’s didn’t exist yet, it was still King William’s School. Where Emerson and Wiley had attended. And the Naval Academy was still 50 years away . . .”
Yeah, I had a lot of fun thinking of my story while watching the event. There were hats there to rival those at the royal wedding (slight exaggeration, but only slight–note in the picture that even Xoe has an adorable pink hat on!), people love to dress in turn-of-the-century attire, everyone brings a champagne picnic, and it just feels so . . . nostalgic. Nothing beats it.
Croquet . . . who knew? LOL.
by Roseanna White | May 3, 2011 | Uncategorized
Today I’m thrilled to welcome the amazing Angela Hunt over to chat about her newest release, The Fine Art of Insincerity. You can read the Christian Review of Books’ review of the book here. (Written by my pal Dina Sleiman.)
Angela has been gracious enough to offer a giveaway to one lucky reader, so to be entered to win, please leave a comment below with an email address where you can be reached. You can also leave a comment at the Christian Review of Books for a second entry.
~*~
About The Fine Art of Insincerity
Three grown Southern sisters have nine marriages between themāand more looming on the horizonāwhen Ginger, the eldest, wonders if sheās the only one who hasnāt inherited what their family calls āthe Grandma Geneā: the tendency to like the casualness of courtship better than the intimacy of marriage. Could it be that her two sisters are fated to serially marry, just like their seven-times wed grandmother, Mrs. Lillian Irene Harper Winslow Goldstein Carey James Bobrinski Gordon George? It takes a āgirls onlyā weekend, closing up Grandmaās treasured beach house for the last time, for the sisters to really unpack their family baggage, examine their relationship DNA, and discover the true legacy their much-marrying grandmother left behind . . .
~*~
About Angela
With nearly 4 million copies of her books sold worldwide, ANGELA ELWELL HUNT is the bestselling author of more than one hundred books, including The Tale of Three Trees, Don’t Bet Against Me!, The Note, and The Nativity Story. Hunt is one of the most sought-after collaborators in the publishing industry. Her nonfiction book Don’t Bet Against Me!, written with Deanna Favre, spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Angela’s novel The Note was filmed as the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movie for 2007 and proved to be the highest rated television movie in the channel’s history. She often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers’ conferences. She and her husband make their home in Florida. Check out her website at http://www.angelahuntbooks.com.
~*~
What’s your latest book?
The Fine Art of Insincerity just released from Howard Publishing on May 1, 2011.
What’s your favorite part of the story?
The ending. The ending is always my favorite.
=) Nothing beats a good ending! What was the hardest part to write?
The ending. Once I get my characters into a muddle, Iām not always sure how to get them out of it!
LOL. Fitting, since it’s also your favorite. What do you hope your readers will get out of the story?
I hope they will think about their family relationships, about love, and about responsibility.
Is there a theme to this book?
Of course: insincerity. All three sisters are false with each other, smiling on the surface, hiding secret resentments. Only when they open up and let the truth out are they free to really love and understand each other.
Hmm, I should have known that from the title alone, right? And I gotta say, it’s a title that grabs me and sticks with me! What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?
I really donāt have a favorite. I enjoy reading and writing just about everything.
Well, that we must test. š What are you reading right nowāand what do you want to read next?
Iām currently reading LITTLE BEE by Chris Cleaver in fiction; and Iām researching near death experiences in nonfiction. Iām working on my dissertation for my Th. D.
Okay, I believe you, LOL. So other than the Bible, what’s your favorite of all the books you’ve ever read?
The Nunās Story, by Katherine Hulme. I read it as a young girl, and the protatonistās devotion to God really impacted me.
What’s one of the oddest or most interesting things someone has ever said about you?
I donāt think I want to know . . .
Tee hee. What would your dream office look likeāand what does your REAL writing environment look like?
My dream office would have a fireplace and be a bit more spacious than my present office . . . but only because my present office is always occupied by myself and two 200-pound dogs, and I have to constantly step over them! Iāve actually tripped and ended up on the floor with them.
400 pounds of dog?? Wow. I must confess I love those big ones. Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?
For this book I kept photos of St. Simons Island nearby . . . itās a lovely place. I wouldnāt mind living there.
What lessons have you learned through the publication process that you wouldn’t have guessed as a pre-published writer?
I can barely remember my pre-published days, but I think new writers are amazed to discover how economics impacts this business.
Aside from writing, what takes up most of your time?
Writing takes up more time than youād thinkābecause when youāre not actually writing, youāre thinking about writing, or reading about writing, or dreaming about writing. I do get on ākicksā that pique my interest. My current kick is cupcakes. Iāve been buying cupcake cookbooks and trying out recipes on my book club. (And I think Iām going to write cupcakes into my next book).
Oo, cupcakes! Yum! Do you remember where you were when you got your first or most important call about a book contract?
I received a call saying that I had won a contestāand first prize was publicationāback in 1987. That was my first book, a picture book called IF I HAD LONG, LONG HAIR. I stayed awake that night for a long time, not because I was too excited to sleep, but because I kept thinking about the responsibility that had just fallen onto my shoulders. Books have the power to change livesāso I prayed that my books would always change lives for the better.
If you could take your family on a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Italy, particularly Florence. Iāve been studying Italian Renaissance art, and Florence is where the action is . . . or was.
Ah, I did some Renaissance art-related writing research of Florence too. Looks like a fabulous place to visit! That Tuscan countryside . . . but back to business. š What are you writing right now?
Iām beginning a new book called FIVE MILES SOUTH OF PECULIAR. Whatās it about? Too soon to tell. =)
~*~
Thanks so much for visiting with us, Angela! Readers, be sure and check out her website at http://www.angelahuntbooks.com and her blog at http://alifeinpages.blogspot.com. You can find The Fine Art of Insincerity at Amazon and CrossPurposes!
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 6/1/11. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.
by Roseanna White | Apr 29, 2011 | Uncategorized
Today I’m happy to welcome Karen Witemeyer to my blog to talk about her latest book, To Win Her Heart. She’s been generous enough to offer a copy to one lucky reader, so to be entered to win, please leave a comment below with your email address.
~*~
About To Win Her Heart
Having completed his sentence for the unintentional crime that derailed his youthful plans for fame and fortune, Levi Grant looks to start over in the town of Spencer, Texas. Spencer needs a blacksmith, a trade he learned at his fatherās knee, and he needs a place where no one knows his past. But small towns leave little room for secrets. . . .
Eden Spencer has sworn off men, choosing instead to devote her time to the lending Library she runs. When a mountain-sized stranger walks through her door and asks to borrow a book, she steels herself against the attraction he provokes. His halting speech and hesitant manner leave her doubting his intelligence. Yet as the mysteries of the townās new blacksmith unfold, Eden discovers hidden depths in him that tempt her heart.
Leviās renewed commitment to his faith leads Eden to believe sheās finally found a man of honor and integrity, a man worthy of her love. But when the truth about his prodigal past comes to light, can this tarnished hero find a way to win back the librarianās affections?
~*~
About Karen
Karen Witemeyer is a deacon’s wife who believes the world needs more happily-ever-afters. To that end, she combines her love of bygone eras with her passion for helping women mature in Christ to craft historical romance novels that lift the spirit and nurture the soul. Her debut novel, A Tailor-Made Bride, recently claimed honorable mention in the 2010 Best Western Romance contest. Karen makes her home in Abilene, TX with her husband and three children.
~*~
What’s your latest book?
To Win Her Heart (Bethany House, May 2010) pairs a blacksmith with a criminal past with an uppity librarian who holds lofty ideals. But attraction definitely sparks between these two opposites.
Oh, an unlikely pair is so much fun! What inspired you to write this book?
Have you ever wished there was an epilogue to Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son? I have. When I decided to write To Win Her Heart, one question prompted the plot development: What happens after the father welcomes the prodigal son home? So often we focus on the wonderful homecoming the lost son received, but have you ever asked what life was like for him after the celebration was over? How did he relate to his bitter older brother or the servants and townspeople who were only too aware of his past arrogance and wild living? My story plays on those very questions.
You know, I hadn’t really considered that question, but it’s an awesome one to fuel your book! What do you hope your readers will get out of the story?
The underlying theme of this book is one of forgiveness and of learning to view others through God’s lens instead of our own. Just as Jesus encouraged the Pharisees to only cast a stone if they were without sin, we must learn to set aside our self-righteous pride in favor of mercy and forgiveness. It is human nature to keep records of wrongs and to view others through our own hurts and prejudices. And while our God is certainly concerned with justice, when one of his children repents, his mercy and forgiveness know no bounds. We must learn to exhibit the same grace to our brothers and sisters in Christ, extending them the mercy we ourselves would wish to receive. After all, love keeps no record of wrongs.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
(1 Peter 4:8)
Beautiful. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?
I’m an historical romance gal, through and through. It’s all I read and all I write. I like to think of myself as focused, though others might consider it stuck in a rut. However, within the historical romance genre, I’m open to all types of stories and settingsāmedieval Scottish warriors, dashing earls in regency ballrooms, rugged cowboys riding the rangeāgive me a manly, historic hero, and I’m there. Oh . . .umm . . .a feisty heroine is nice, too.
Now, come on. It’s the hero all the way. š I share your love of all things historical romance, that’s for sure. Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?
My two favorite resources for To Win Her Heartcame from books that gave me greater insight into the personal lives of my characters. Levi Grant is a blacksmith, and Aldren Watson’s book The Blacksmith: Ironworker & Farrier gave me wonderful information from how to set up a forge to which tools to use for which job, to common blacksmithing tasks. I couldn’t have written Levi’s story without it. And for Eden, creating art out of pressed flowers is her hobby and an expression of her personality, so I bought a copy of Sandy Puckett’s Fragile Beauty: The Victorian Art of Pressed Flowers. The fabulous pictures and instructions in this book gave life to Eden’s passion.
Let’s move onto a fun question. =) If you could take your family on a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?
If money was no object, I would love to tour the castles of Germany. I love mountain settings, romance, and fairy tales. What could be more romantic than the castle that inspired the home of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty situated in the Bavarian mountains? I get dreamy-eyed just looking at pictures of Neuschwanstein. I’d also like to see elegant Eltz Castle and historic Wartburg Castle. Wartburg is one of the oldest preserved castles as well as a place where church reformer Martin Luther lived and translated the Bible into German. How awesome would that be to see? My daughter would love touring the castles and my husband would dutifully ooh and aah, but I might have to bribe my boys with a ski trip or something to get them to tour the castles with me.
You’re speaking my language there! What are you writing right now?
I’m currently working on my fourth historical romance for Bethany House. The working title is Short-Straw Bride. Four brothers draw straws to see who will marry the heroine in this twist on a marriage of convenience story. Here’s the tagline: All heās ever cared about is his brothers and his land. But when a good deed goes awry, heās stuck with a bride who endangers both.
One fun tidbit about the brothers in this story ā they are all named for heroes from the Alamo. Travis is the main character, the next oldest is Crockett, the kid brother is Neill (for the Alamo’s commander who missed being at the fight because of a family illness that called him away), and the third brother’s given name is Bowie, but he refuses to answer to anything except Jim. I don’t blame him. Poor guy. What we authors do to torture our characters.
Oh, that’s a fabulous premise!!
~*~
Thanks so much for visiting, Karen! Readers, be sure to check out her website at
http://www.karenwitemeyer.com. You can find her book at ChristianBook.comChristianbook.com.
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 5/6/11. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.
by Roseanna White | Apr 28, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I’m not a worrier. I am, in fact, convinced there’s a worry gene, and that my sister got it double strength, leaving me with a lack. And sometimes it definitely feels like a bad thing, this no-worrying. It makes me lax about things I should be on top of. I occasionally wonder if a serious issue would go too long without being noticed by laid-back me. Yeah, that’s right–sometimes I worry about not worrying. š
Last night I discovered something I do worry about, and worry about in spades. Brace yourself: the weather.
Yeah. (Sigh.) I get really worried about weather. To be precise, severe thunder storms.
Now, here’s the history. I was probably always a little scared of storms and such as a kid, but it got really bad when I turned six. There was a fire on the hill next door, on my birthday, and it gave me a real phobia about fire. And since I knew lightning strikes could cause fire . . .
I got over that. I even enjoy a healthy thunderstorm these days. Really, truly enjoy them. But now, apparently, I get pretty upset when they throw tornado warning/watches into the mix. At night. When I’m supposed to be sleeping, on the top floor of my house, with my kids on the main floor. (This fear started in high school, when graduation was canceled because of tornadoes that sent us all into the auditorium for a couple hours.)
For the second night in a row, we had those warnings. On Tuesday night when we switched over to the emergency broadcast thingy, a nice computerized voice was warning us that a system that “could” spawn tornadoes was spotted in Frostburg, moving east. Ahem–that would be toward my town, about fifteen miles away. The warning included “take cover immediately.”
Apparently those are magic words to make my latent worry-gene activate. Because I don’t think I relaxed until the warning expired at 9:37, and if David hadn’t stopped me, I would have had the kids out of bed and downstairs with us.
Now, that was for Tuesday, when the forecast just said “thunder storms,” no “severe” tacked on. Because they had reserved the “severe” warning for last night. And of course, the news was filled with man-killing tornadoes. We barely had clouds by the time we put the kids to bed last night, but yet again my TV was interrupted with tornado warnings. No rain or anything by the time I went to bed at 11, but I woke up when it started at 1:30.
And the worry kicked in. What if a tornado came while we were in bed? What warning would we have? Would the fire-siren go off? Was that it there?? No, wind. Just the wind. The really strong, gusty wind. And the thunder. And lightning. (Well, hey, at least I’m not scared of that anymore!) The kids were sleeping through it, which was good. But if there was a tornado, and we somehow had enough warning to get out of the top floor, would we have enough time to wake the kids? Could I run fast enough on my still-sore ankle?
Maybe we should all just camp out on the pull-out couch in the basement . . .
I prayed. And I prayed. I repeated like a mantra, “I trust you, Lord, I trust you, Lord, I trust you, Lord to take care of my family.” I listened to the thunder (which really wasn’t that bad. It’s kinda embarrassing how not severe this system was around here, considering my middle-night worry) and strained to hear the tell-tale signs of trouble.
At 2 I got up and checked the weather forecast, just to make sure there were no computerized voices telling me to take cover. The tornado warning was still in effect (is actually still in effect as I write this), but the computer now agreed that this storm wasn’t severe, just a storm. I felt a degree better. I went back to bed, told my hubby the update, and he said something along the lines of “Muh huh. Zzzzzz.”
I seriously don’t know how you midwesterners deal with this so often. Or maybe it’s because here in Maryland it’s not so common that I get so worked up. But as the storm moved off and I was jumping, now, at the silence (seriously, Roseanna? Now the quiet is making you nervous?? What do you think this is, the eye of a hurricane?), I put some consideration into worry and faith.
Here’s what I observed about myself. It’s easy to hide my worry when it doesn’t interfere with normal operations–like during the day, when I can just herd the kids downstairs to watch TV during a warning. And it’s easy to pray the right things, all the things I’ve been taught, in these circumstances. It’s not as easy to let go.
But you know what else? Trusting the Lord through our worry doesn’t always mean that we don’t worry. Sometimes we’re supposed to be worried enough to take care of ourselves and our families. This isn’t fretting, it’s responsibility. It’s okay that I was concerned about getting my kids to safety in the event of a tornado, okay that I was making a plan.
What wasn’t okay was that the worry was just as intense in the silence. But then I remembered that prophet (Elisha maybe?) who was running away from the evil queen, seeking the Lord. And He wasn’t in the tempest, and He wasn’t in the earthquake, and He wasn’t in any other fierce, terrible show . . . but He was in the whisper. As I considered that last night, I listened for the whisper. And my shoulders finally relaxed, I could smile at myself, and sleep took hold again.
This morning I woke up with a sore neck, sleepy eyes, and the conviction that even had an F5 ripped through the area like it did a decade ago, even if the worst had happened, the Lord would have been right there, taking care of us. Instead, He took care of us by doing exactly what I prayed and chasing the storm away. I reminded myself that it isn’t that the Lord isn’t present in the storms, the quakes, the violence . . . it’s more that we can’t hear His still, small voice until we quiet the rage within and listen.
Listen. Listen to the whisper.
I’ll probably always be afraid of tornadoes. That’s probably a fairly healthy fear, as fears go. I’ll probably wake up again when I know there’s a warning and be nervous. But you know what? Next time I don’t want to wait until the storm moves off to hear the whisper.
Next time, I’m going to find the whisper in the storm.
by Roseanna White | Apr 27, 2011 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
I’m toying around with a new story idea. This one would be a Regency, the plot of which I shan’t reveal quite yet. š But the first step for me is solidifying the characters in my mind.
I knew who my hero would be from the get-go, since I’m stealing one of my older ideas and revamping for this. Phillip
Camden can still be Phillip Camden, though I’ve changed the setting on him. But my heroine . . . she was all wrong in that old story (for this setting). So I started by changing her name, which is now Arabelle Denler.
I wasn’t at first sure what was going to make Arabelle so stinkin’ special. I mean, she has to be pretty because of the circumstances of the book, but she made me laugh in the first few pages when I realized she lives in hilarious fear that her beauty’s going to evaporate when she hits 30, just like Aunt Dora’s did (whoever Aunt Dora is . . .).
I haven’t described our fearful beauty, but I’ll have to in the next scene, and I’m still trying to figure out a few basics. You know, like hair color. š I figured I’d base her on a template–my first thought being an actress. Then I thought (looking at the lovely cover of Georgette Heyer’s Friday’s Child that I had sitting beside me) that it would be fun to base her on a painting.
So. In trying to choose between brunette (my first thought) or . . . no, I present to you two pictures to help me choose. =)
The one I first found is for some reason a copyrighted photo, though the painting itself out to be public domain . . . but anyway, she looks somewhat like this other one, though the nose is different. Close enough for a basic description, though. Dark hair and whatnot.
(If you’re curious, the one I was actually thinking of can be viewed here.)
But then I stumbled upon Sir Frank Dicksee’s paintings and fell somewhat in love with his depiction of Miranda from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Not that this was how I at first imagined Arabelle, but oh! the painting!! Gorgeous, isn’t it? I’m inclined toward making Arabelle fairer than I intended solely so I have an excuse to stare at it. =)
But preference of paintings aside, who has an opinion on which would make a better Arabelle Denler, great beauty who’s fearful she’ll sprout a beak of a nose at any moment?
Figure we might as well take a vote, LOL. No promises that I’ll obey the decision, but opinions are definitely welcome!
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, sheās 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 booksā¦to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.