I have my cup of morning coffee. I’m ready to jump into my story and write the perfect ending. A happy ending, almost as satisfying as that first sip of freshly-brewed coffee. I ignore several pings on my phone, because I know they’re email pings. Not going to be pulled away from the story to check the email.
How could you say no to this face?
But then…I get that text ping. It feels like a needle prick that deftly separates my attention from the words on my computer screen. Who is texting me at this hour of the morning? It has to be work, or one of the kids is sick and needs a place to stay for the day. Grandma works at home.
The story is placed on hold, and my coffee is cold.
So how does an author deal with interruptions? When you’re in the “zone” and your writing seems inspired–it flows–it’s energetic. Then poof! Life happens.
Recently, I read a meme that pictured a harried female writer staring at the computer screen. The caption said something like, “If your house is neat and clean, you’ve probably never finished writing a book.”
The problem is real, especially if you’re a writer on a deadline. You’ll be burning the midnight oil. The family has to see to their own meals and laundry. Even when you’re with them, you’re not really with them. You’re constructing scenes in your head. Jotting notes on napkins, dictating conversations to your phone. Because we all know, you get the best conversations at times like those, amid the cacophony of a carload of quarreling children.
You finish writing your book. Time for a break, right? Ha ha ha! What a crazy dream. No. The work has only just begun. Now you have to get it ready. It has to be edited and sent here and there. Then the whole marketing scheme needs to be planned and put into motion, well ahead of the release. And then the release! You get a break, right?
No! Now the real work begins. You have to sell! Sell! Sell! You have to talk about yourself in third-person, like you’re the greatest thing since peanut butter.
But it’s still not over. Even after all the hoopla, now it’s time to move on. Write another one. Make it better than the one before. Dream up a brilliant story idea, preferably a series. Then it’s research, hunker down and write.
It never stops. Kind of like cleaning house. The work is never really done.
Allow me to introduce you to my latest effort:
Sutter’s Landing, Book 2 Kinsman Redeemer series
Any day now, you’ll be able to preorder it from Amazon.
My featured author this month is another native Kentuckian, though she spends part of her time in Utah. Virginia “Ginny” Smith was my first real writer friend. We met at the Kentucky Christian Writers Conference when I “happened into” one of her classes. Though there by mistake, I was so entertained I decided to stay, then returned for the repeat of the class. I wrote pages of notes. I not only learned a great deal that day, but also gained one of the most important things you can receive at a writer’s conference–friendship.
I think a good story begins in the author’s heart. It grows and matures there, nourished by love and imagination, until it is strong enough to emerge into the world through a skillful pen. When others read the story, it seeps into their hearts and settles for a while. That’s what I strive to do – tell stories that connect us heart to heart. Stories that slip from my heart to yours. The styles of my books vary, just like my tastes as a reader – some are funny, some thoughtful, some suspenseful, some deeply moving. In every one you will meet new friends so real you’ll miss them when they’re gone.–from her website here.
She has certainly succeeded in doing that. Her characters are well-grounded and real, and her stories are varied. Whatever your preferred genre, you’re likely to find it among the books she’s authored.
Her newest release is The Amish Widower, (The Men of Lancaster County, Book 4).
Is It Time for This Widower to Give Love One More Chance?
After the devastating loss of his second wife, Seth Hostetler believes a lasting love is beyond all hope. A year has passed, and his mamm and sister are determined to see him happily married once again. But how can he open his heart to another woman when their relationship could end in tragedy?
On an outing with his family, Seth comes across an Amish potter hard at work and jumps at the chance to take a seat at the wheel. He takes quickly to this creative outlet, pouring his long-buried emotions into each piece he shapes. Unfortunately, the fancy nature of his art draws the disapproval of his district’s leadership.
His work puts him in the path of Leah, an Englisch woman employed by the Amish to sell their wares to tourists. Despite her aloofness, something about her speaks to Seth’s wounded soul. But what is he to do when the things he wants most threaten to pull him away from the life he’s committed to live?
A compelling novel of second chances and the power of God to redeem hearts and dreams, set in the inviting Amish community of Lancaster County.
One reviewer said about The Amish Widower–“Master storyteller, Virginia Smith, weaves a painful and poignant tale of twice-widowed Seth. On a whim, Seth takes a free pottery lesson from a local Amish artisan and discovers a measure of peace–and finds he has a talent for the craft. I appreciate an author who does her research–in this case, in the art of throwing pottery–and guides us through the eyes, make that the hands, of her characters. So tactile are Smith’s descriptions, my own fingers twitched to feel the clay…”
Ginny and me at the 2016 ACFW Conference
VIRGINIA SMITH is the bestselling author of thirty-one novels (and counting!), an illustrated children’s book, and over fifty articles and short stories. An avid reader with eclectic tastes in fiction, Ginny writes in a variety of styles, from lighthearted relationship stories to breath-snatching suspense. Her books have been finalists in many prestigious awards, and two of her novels received the Holt Medallion Award of Merit. Learn more about Ginny and her books at www.VirginiaSmith.org.
Welcome to my blog, fellow Write Integrity Press author, Joan Deneve. I’m excited about Joan’s new release, Freeing Ellie, the second book in The Redeemed Side of Broken Series. I so enjoyed her first book, award-winning Saving Eric.
Betty: Joan, when did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
Joan: It was crazy! Writing came to me, I didn’t go seeking it. Over twenty years ago, I had an idea for a story, but I never ever planned to write it.
Then, four years ago, during my summer break from teaching, I was sitting on my back porch reading a really good book. When I finished it, I read on the back cover that it was the author’s debut novel.
Just for fun, I decided to grab a composition notebook and a pen and play around with that story idea. From then on, it took on a life of its own. I wrote like a possessed woman, barely stopping to eat or sleep. My poor husband indulged my obsession, and even massaged my hand when it throbbed and cramped. Six weeks later my debut novel, Saving Eric, was born.
Betty: Wonderful story! What is the most surprising thing you learned while writing one of your books?
Joan: This is going to sound crazy, but I learned that the characters will actually talk to me and kind of tell me which way the plot should go. I’m a pantster, which means I don’t plot out the entire novel before I start writing.
In my first novel, something happened to the main character that I really didn’t want to happen, but the character seemed to be telling me he had to go through it. Weird, huh?
And I’m ashamed to admit this one, but one big surprise was how much I had to learn about the craft of writing. As a novice writer, I wrote the entire book without knowing much about the craft. I knew nothing about deep point of view or the importance of “showing versus telling.” I’m very thankful for the writer friends who took me under their wings to teach me those concepts. The first draft looks nothing like the published novel.
Betty: Most authors will get that, Joan. I, too am very grateful to the many who helped me learn the craft–in process! So, where do you write best?
Joan: Believe it or not, I still write out the entire novel on paper and then type it. I still write best on my back porch where it is quiet and peaceful and the only interruptions are birds and butterflies and buzzing bees.
Betty: Sounds wonderful to me. Tell us about your latest release.
Joan: I’m happy to announce Freeing Ellie was published in May of this year and is available on Amazon.com. http://amzn.to/25fGKza
Back cover blurb:
Life couldn’t be better or sweeter for Eric and Ellie Templeton as they begin their life together as new Christians and a newly married couple. But Ellie enters her marriage with some baggage of her own. What if Eric goes back on another mission? What if she loses this man who has become her life? Even worse, what if God never lets them have a child of their own?
God has some spiritual surgery to perform on Ellie to free her from the deep-seated feelings of guilt and doubt that have bound her soul for years.
God painstakingly and lovingly creates the perfect storm of events designed specifically to bring Ellie to the place where she can “let go” and fully trust God. No. Matter. What.
Betty: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about the book?
Joan: In Saving Eric, the first book in the Redeemed Side of Broken Series, we meet Eric and Ellie, two thirty-something strangers who have some brokenness. God brings them both to a saving faith in Jesus Christ and radically changes their lives. They fall in love and marry… happily ever after, Right? Well, almost.
As the back cover of Freeing Ellie suggests, Ellie struggles with many fears and anxieties. I wanted to show a character that loves God with all her heart but still finds it hard to trust God, especially when something hard comes into her life.
Ellie struggles with self-doubt, guilt from past sins, and most of all, clinical depression that rears its ugly head during times of crisis.
But the book has light moments, too. As newlyweds, Eric and Ellie have some fun banter and some tender moments. They are both learning how to adapt to married life and also to their newfound faith.
It’s my hope that the reader’s faith will be strengthened to trust God with the outcome: No. Matter. What.
Betty: Beautiful. Any fun discoveries while writing these books?
The students in my junior high and senior high English classes are some of my biggest fans. I love chatting over plot ideas with the students, and I’ve gotten some really good tips from them. Nobody knows how to keep it real like a teenager!
One very special student asked if she could please read the manuscript of Freeing Ellie because she didn’t want to wait until it was published. I caved and let her. She even did an oral book report on the book without giving away the ending. In the conclusion of her report she added, “I loved the characters and consider Ellie to be one of my best friends.” Needless to say, that student received an A+. 🙂
Another gratifying moment was discovering that my best friend in Texas named her new puppy Eric T. after my character, and my daughter named her new puppy Ellie.
But probably my best discovery was this whole world that opened up when I became a serious writer. I go to conferences and meet people just like me, who spend a lot of time thinking, and planning, and talking to imaginary characters. I’ve made new life-long friends who are really cool people whom I never knew existed. What fun!
Betty: Yes, writers are wonderful and fun. I’ve made so many friends since beginning this journey–including you. 🙂 So, Joan, what’s next for you?
Joan: This summer I will be writing the third and final book in the Redeemed Side of Broken Series. Loving Brock will take place on the mission hospital compound where Brock Whitfield, Ellie’s father and spiritual mentor, faces a personal crisis of his own. This book will address what many Christians experience: How to obey God when He asks us to do something we really don’t want to do.
Betty: Oh, boy, I’m facing that right now. I look forward to reading the next book. God bless your writing journey.
More about Joan Deneve:
Joan Deneve grew up in a small town in Alabama where she and her husband of forty-two years now reside. They have two happily married children and seven phenomenal grandchildren.
Joan teaches English in a Christian school and has a passion to help young people fall in love with Jesus and find His purpose for their lives.
Betty: How can readers connect with you?
Joan: I love to hear from readers! You can email me at cjdeneve@hotmail.com or look me up on Facebook under Joannie Deneve. I also have an author site: www.joandeneve.com
Joan would like to give away an autographed set of her books: Saving Eric and Freeing Ellie (because it would be better to read Saving Eric first). By the way, Saving Eric is a 2015 Grace Award winner!
Betty: If you’d like to receive these two books, leave Joan a comment below. If you have any problems commenting here, use the Contact Me tab to send me an email. In the message, write “Joan Deneve’s giveaway.”
My mother and father had a “meet-cute” — an event that brings a “fated” couple together for the first time, usually in a cute, romantic way. She worked at the candy counter in a movie theater in Seattle. He was a cocky, slightly inebriated sailor, just in from Korea.
He flirted with Mom’s best friend, who already had a steady boyfriend, one who was due to walk through the door at any moment. Mom to the rescue. What are best friends for? She stepped over and distracted the handsome but too happy young sailor. Her mission accomplished, she felt pretty good. When the young sailor sobered up, he came back. Several times. And then they eloped.
They eloped all the way to Biloxi, Mississippi. At the end of Dad’s furlough, he left Mom with his family in West Tennessee. My dad was not totally honest and up front with his young bride (she was only seventeen, he was nineteen). He talked long about his home (as in long, tall tale). He told Mom that his mother and step-dad lived on a ranch in the rolling, green hills of West Tennessee. They had horses and cattle.
In actuality, they were sharecroppers who lived in a rickety house. The cows weren’t theirs, and the horses–work horses that pulled a plow. And that house–no indoor plumbing. A fireplace for heat. Bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Grandma cooked on a wood stove. And they raised cotton and corn and everything they needed to live. They worked hard all day long, every day.
No rolling, green hills either. Flat. Dirty. Muddy. Mosquitoes. Snakes. Yuck.
My Mom was from a broken home. She lived with her Mom in urban Seattle and spent summers at her Dad’s in urban L.A. They were middle class. She dressed well, ate well, and was popular in school.
Culture shock. Dad went back to the Navy. Mom stayed with his eldest sister and her husband and young daughter, in a slightly better abode closer to town. With summer came heat and humidity the likes of which, Mom had never experienced. And she was pregnant.
I’ve wanted to tell this story for a long time. I’ve wanted to write it, but each time I tried, I failed. Not long ago, after I had finished re-reading the Book of Ruth, an idea popped into my head–a “what-if.” What if this happened in more modern times. What if I set it in West Tennessee…in the 1950’s? I could combine the two stories I loved so well.
I talked about it–a lot–to everyone I knew. Mom shared more memories. My older brother (the baby in the above narrative), helped me research it. I got excited about it then sat down and began to write.
Last week, it released. Annabelle’s Ruth is that book of my heart. Inspired by the biblical Book of Ruth, and also by my mother’s early experiences.
But wait–I don’t want to leave you with a negative idea of West Tennessee. Seen through Mom’s young eyes, it was not her favorite place, but she spent most of her life there and ended up loving it. My dad could never be far away from it, especially while his mother lived. And it’s roots are deep in my heart. I don’t live there anymore. I live in Kentucky with my husband of more than forty years. I love it here, but I still like to visit West Tennessee. I have family there, and it holds precious memories of Grandma, and the aunts, and numerous cousins.
It gets under the skin of my heroine in Annabelle’s Ruth, too. She finds a reason to love it, sets down roots, and stays.
I hope you’ll love the story I’ve woven from these two threads.
If you’d like the chance to win a free copy of Annabelle’s Ruth (Kindle or print — winner’s choice), then leave me a comment here, or on my Facebook author page (you can also enter the GoodReads contest on the right).
I have my cup of morning coffee. I’m ready to jump into my story and write the perfect ending. A happy ending, almost as satisfying as that first sip of freshly-brewed coffee. I ignore several pings on my phone, because I know they’re email pings. Not going to be pulled away from the story to check the email.
No! Now the real work begins. You have to sell! Sell! Sell! You have to talk about yourself in third-person, like you’re the greatest thing since peanut butter.
Any day now, you’ll be able to preorder it from Amazon.
Betty Thomason Owens 