The Perfect Man

Most novels have them, and I suppose most of us look for them. Those handsome heroes with gorgeous blue eyes, wind swept hair, and a perfect body. Yes, they are often broken and scarred to add depth to their character, but typically it's the handsome prince and not the geek who plays the part of the hero in our stories. Granted, since most romance novel are read by women that makes sense, but what about your ‘average Joe’ or the belief that true beauty comes from the inside? 

I recently chatted with a male reader of my books who has some legitimate questions. He recently read Blood Covenant where I have a ‘geeky’ guy as one of the characters. I don’t want to give out any spoilers here, he doesn’t get the girl as my reader had hoped. Here is what he said. (With his permission)

“It always frustrates me that in all romantic novels that I end up reading by Christians, the girls are always incredibly beautiful and the guys seem to be out of GQ complete with sparkling blue eyes. As one of the geeky guys in the world – and there are far more of us than the type usually characterized in novels such as yours – I wish that there were more of a place for us types to be found attractive, even if its not for our physical “hotness.” 

  

He continues to say:

“If you gotta have a  romantic angle, then can’t you at least have more “ordinary” people falling in love and not people who look like celebrities straight out of People magazine?”

He also mentioned the familiar story of Beauty and the beast.

“Here we have a beautiful heroine finding love in a beast, not because of his outward lack of beauty but his inner beauty. Then, at the last instant, she kisses him and he turns into a handsome prince – who she ends up marrying. It’s as though even a fairy tale can’t end without the beautiful princess only marrying the handsome prince, and not some ugly dude. It seemed to communicate that you have to be beautiful on the outside to be loved by someone who is beautiful on the outside.”

Personally, I think he has an interesting point that has made me think about my own hero/heroines. In a romance, physical attraction is important, but have you noticed an over abundance of perfect people? (At least on the outside)

As both an author and a reader, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.

Readers, have you read any books lately that don’t have heroes and heroines who seem perfect--at least on the outside. Is this something you’d like to see more of or, because this is fiction, do you enjoy more a stunningly beautiful hero and heroine?

Authors, have you written a book with a hero/heroine who are more like the “geeky guys in the world?”

Leave a comment below and happy reading!

Lisa

Visit Lisa's website for more
information on her books and life in Africa!

Introducing the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance (ACRBA)

by Narelle Atkins and Jenny Blake (aka Ausjenny)

We are excited to announce the launch of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance (ACRBA), the first blog alliance to cater for the Australian Christian book market. We will feature Christian fiction, non-fiction and children’s books in blog tours starting in November 2012.

If you blog regularly, have a love of books and are interested in writing book reviews, please check out our blog and consider joining our alliance. Membership is free and we welcome both Australian and overseas members, although overseas members may only have the option of electronic review copies of books.

We welcome book submissions from Australian and overseas authors and publishers, although we may give first preference to books by Australian authors. We will also consider high quality self-published books that are well edited.

We are touring fiction books during the first week of the month and non-fiction or children’s books during the third week of the month. Below is our Blog Schedule for November and December.

November 2012
Fiction 5th - 9th: Return to Baragula by Mary Hawkins (ICFW blog member)
Non-fiction 19th - 24th: Bethlehem's Warrior (31 Day Devotional) by Ray Hawkins (ICFW blog member)

December 2012
Fiction 3rd - 7th: Back to Resolution by Rose Dee
Non-fiction 17th - 21th: Strength Renewed: Meditations for Your Journey through Breast Cancer by Shirley Corder (ICFW blog member)

For more information, please visit http://acrba.blogspot.com

SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

Narelle Atkins and Jenny Blake: Introducing the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance (ACRBA)

Tuesday

Lisa Harris

Wednesday

Melanie N. Brasher

Thursday

Grace Bridges

Friday Devotion

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Contest News

Christine Lindsay's book, Shadowed in Silk (Whitefire) is a finalist in the Christian Historical category of the 2012 Readers Favorite Awards - Congratulations Christine!

Jeanette Windle's book, Freedom's Stand (Tyndale) is a finalist in the Suspense/Thriller category of the 2012 Carol Awards (ACFW) - Congratulations Jeanette!

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News

Donna Fletcher Crow's book, The Shadow of Reality, Book 1 in The Elizabeth and Richard Mysteries, is FREE on Amazon Kindle for a limited time.

http://www.amazon.com/Reality-Elizabeth-Richard-Mystery-ebook/dp/B003OYIGFU/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1343522156&sr=8-7&keywords=donna+fletcher+crow

Word Writers Getaway will be held on October 12-14, 2012 at the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Two full days of Workshops, Panels, Seminars, Masterclasses and an Editing Room.

Mary Hawkins, Jo-Anne Berthelsen and Paula Vince are presenting workshops. Mary Hawkins will also be available to help attendees in the Editing Room.

For more information, please visit http://www.thewordwriters.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Book Releases

Donna Fletcher Crow's historical epic set in England, Glastonbury: A Novel of The Holy Grail, is a 2012 release from Greenbrier Books.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upcoming Book Releases

Kathi Macias' book set in San Diego and Mexico, The Deliverer, Book Three in her Freedom series involving human trafficking, will be an August 2012 release from New Hope Publishers.

Sandra Orchard's romantic suspense set in Canada, Critical Condition, will be an October 2012 release from Love Inspired Suspense.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen's non-fiction memoir, Soul Friend: The story of a shared spiritual journey, will be an October 2012 release from Even Before Publishing.

Shirley Corder's book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for Your Journey through Breast Cancer, will be an October 2012 release from Revell.

Kathi Macias' book, Unexpected Christmas Hero, will be an October 2012 release from New Hope Publishers.

Paula Vince's book, The Greenfield Legacy, a collaboration with Aussie authors Rose Dee, Amanda Deed and Meredith Resce, will be a November 2012 release from Even Before Publishing.

Jennifer Rogers Spinola's women's fiction book, 'Till Grits Do Us Part, Book Three in the Southern Fried Sushi series, will be a November 2012 release from Barbour.

Donna Fletcher Crow's Victorian true-crime set in England, A Tincture of Murder, Book 4 in The Lord Danvers Mysteries series, will be a Winter 2012 release from Greenbrier Books.

Donna Fletcher Crow's Clerical mystery set in England, An Unholy Communion, Book 3 in The Monastery Murders series, will be a January 2013 release from Monarch Books.

Donna Fletcher Crow's romantic suspense set in England, A Jane Austen Encounter, Book 3 in The Elizabeth and Richard Mysteries series, will be a Winter 2013 release from Stonehouse Ink.

To find more International Christian Fiction books, please visit our Recent Releases page, Backlist Titles page and our International Christian Fiction wiki.

DEVOTION: Travel Light by Marion Stroud

Women’s magazines make it sound so easy don’t they?  You just toss  a few skimpy outfits into a tiny bag, and with the flick of a scarf, or a dress that can be worn three ways, you can be the belle of the beach.


How are you with packing? I hate it. I put everything onto the spare bed and I dither. How hot will it be -- or cold? It can rain, even in hot climates, so do I pack a waterproof?

My heart is always in my mouth as I head for the check-in. Even though I’ve weighed my case before we’ve left home, I can’t be sure that the scales will agree and the rules are rigid: one case to go in the hold and one to ‘carry on’. If you have the wrong weight or the wrong-sized bag, there is a special area for unpacking and discarding things. How embarrassing … and where do the unwanted items go?

I had a nightmare before my last trip! I dreamed that I was at a familiar Conference Centre and it was time to go home, but my belongings had mysteriously multiplied during the week and it was obvious that there was no way I could jam it all into the suitcase and carry–on that I had brought with me.

‘I need another case’ I muttered frantically, but I realised, even as I said it that I couldn’t carry another case, and the lift to the ground floor was small, so I’d never get my new bag downstairs.

‘You don’t need another case’ God whispered. You just need a rucksack. Travel light!”

Jesus definitely belonged to the ‘travel light’ school of thought. When he sent the 12 apostles out on their first Mission trip he gave them very precise instructions.
‘Go to this group but not that one. Spend time with this kind of person but don’t fight to be popular. Don’t weigh yourself down with a lot of ‘stuff’. Don’t worry about money. Allow others to support and help you, and to supply your needs where it is necessary.’ Matt. 10.

How would you interpret travelling light as a writer? Why not consider some of these:

Know your audience – they call them tribes these days – and write for them: don’t flit from blog to blog or topic to topic.

Know where God has put you and fulfil his calling to you there.

Support others but allow them to minister to you in their turn.

Don’t let money be your prime motivation. You don’t need every electronic gadget known to man!

And be sure that you are carrying one underlying message – which can be expressed in a thousand different ways. ‘The Kingdom of God is near.’

Marion Stroud lives in Bedford, England. She is an established and popular author and sought-after speaker whose books have been translated into 14 languages. Visit her website or search for her name on Amazon.com for further information.

The fine art of genre switching

Not long after my fifth novel, Heléna’s Legacy, was released last August, I submitted my sixth, The Inheritance, to the same publisher and it was duly accepted for publication. In the meantime, I had begun writing my first full length non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey, an account of my relationship with a dear, older mentor and spiritual friend over the past fifteen years.

After a few months, however, my publishers decided not to proceed with my sixth novel, opting to focus more on non-fiction. Determined not to give in, I sent this same novel off to another Christian publisher here in Australia. This new publisher soon responded, saying she really liked the manuscript, but pointing out various changes she would want made before she would consider publishing it. I agreed to tackle these, but mentioned I also had a non-fiction work I would like her to see. To my surprise, soon I found myself signing not one but two contracts – one for my non-fiction work and the other for my sixth novel again.

But all of this genre switching can become a little confusing, I’ve discovered. While working through all the final edits of Soul Friend over recent weeks, in preparation for its release in October, I found myself thinking at times how a fiction author often has to. Were my characters coming across as ‘real’ enough? Was the plot believable? Did the story have a good ‘arc’? Was the first person point of view used throughout too boring? Had I somehow swapped to omniscient point of view at times? Had I handled direct speech well throughout the manuscript? Were there too many taglines?

Now since my non-fiction work is essentially a story of my own spiritual journey and the impact my friend has had in my life, I realised I still needed to apply many things I had learnt as a fiction author, in order to touch the hearts and grip the attention of my readers. But I soon discovered there are differences as well. For starters, I didn’t have to create my characters – they already exist! Yes, I had to work out how best to portray them, but I couldn’t change who they are. And I couldn’t change the basic storyline. Admittedly, I did have to decide at times what needed to be included and what might be better left out. But the story had to unfold as it happened in real life – my friend and I could not be portrayed as doing things we hadn’t. At times, when I could not remember the exact words we had said to each other and found nothing in my journal entries or emails about the issue at hand, I knew I needed to call on my fiction experience and imagine the words we might have said. But I could not let my imagination run away with me, as I had the luxury to do in my novels. After all, I wanted my non-fiction book to have complete honesty and integrity.

So after October this year, when Soul Friend is released, I will find myself both a fiction and non-fiction author. Have I succeeded in crossing that genre boundary on this occasion? Time will tell – but I hope so, with all my heart. I love writing both and pray I have managed to honour God well in both.

How about you? Have any of you had interesting experiences in changing genre, even if temporarily?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen grew up in Brisbane and holds an Arts degree from Queensland University. She has also studied Education and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher and editor, as well as in local church ministry in Sydney. Jo-Anne loves communicating through both the written and spoken word and currently has five published novels – ‘Heléna’, ‘All the Days of My Life’, ‘Laura’, ‘Jenna’ and ‘Heléna’s Legacy’.  She is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information or to contact Jo-Anne, please visit her website, www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

We are Lost; Can We Ever Go Home?

Middle Earth is not the US, so I figure LOTR counts as international fiction. J. R. R. Tolkien was a devout Catholic. In fact, a friend of mine used to require a paper on the trilogy as an allegory of missions in his Biblical Basis of Missions class. (Wrap your mind around that for some creative thinking!) So I have good precedent for writing about some of my favorite books on this International Christian Fiction blog.

The first DVD my husband and I ever bought was The Lord of the Rings extended version, boxed set. I listen to the audio-book at least once a year (usually starting with The Hobbit and moving on through the trilogy). I have the soundtrack music to all three films on my ipod. The other day at the ice rink “Gollum’s Song” from the ending of the second movie, The Two Towers, came on. You may remember that Andy Serkis, the actor who voiced Gollum, won awards for his role that became far more than a voice-over of a computer-generated character.

Gollum was the slimy creature lurking in a goblin cave who lost the One Ring that was picked up by Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit. Throughout the trilogy Gollum follows the company, trying to get it back. In The Two Towers Frodo calls him by his old name, Sméagol, reminding him of the life he had before the coming of the Ring. Frodo’s kindness almost wins him over. In a moving scene a schizophrenic Gollum argues with his other nature, seduced by the Ring, over how to respond to Frodo’s kindness. The facial expressions alternate pitiful and crafty. Later Frodo lures Gollum into a trap and, in Gollum’s eyes, betrays him (even though Frodo did it to save Gollum's life), breaking the fragile trust that might have turned Gollum's corrupt and unnaturally-long life around.

Gollum is a pathetic creature. That second film ends with Gollum leading Frodo and his faithful companion Samwise toward what readers of the books know will be a trap. The song that runs through the credits is slow and anguished.

Where once was light,
Now darkness falls;
Where once was love,
Love is no more.
Don't say goodbye;
Don't say I didn't try.

Gollum thinks his feeble efforts to break out of his isolation and addiction should have been enough, but they weren't. As he closes the door to any sincere human compassion, he blames Frodo for his failures.

These tears we cry
Are falling rain
For all the lies you told us,
The hurt, the blame!
And we will weep to be so alone.
We are lost;
We can never go home.

As someone who has moved around A LOT! that’s the line that tears me apart the most. “We are lost; we can never go home.” I find myself comparing Gollum to the human condition. “We are lost; we can never go home.” To use the old religious language, sin has separated us from God. The relationship our heavenly Father planned for us in Eden was broken, not just by Adam’s sin, but by my own selfish choices. Much as I would like to blame my pride, my thoughtlessness, my resentments and my ingratitude on someone else, I can’t. As the Apostle Paul said, “I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway.... Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.” (Romans 7, The Message)

Gollum is tragic. He has suffered so much from years of isolation. He was tortured by the orcs of Sauron for information about Bilbo. The power of the Ring has created in him (as it does in Frodo) an overwhelming addiction to its possession, which has corrupted his very soul.

It’s not his fault! I want to say.

And yet Gollum is not innocent. His possession of the Ring began with murder. Across the years he has committed many terrible deeds without pity. He had choices, as Frodo has choices, . . . as I have choices. Sam is right to call Gollum vile ... as God is right to call my sin vile. And yet God didn’t turn away from my vileness. When he found me like an abandoned baby tossed on the rubbish heap, covered with blood and filth (Ezekiel 16), he didn’t reject me.

Jesus tells the story of a young man who told his father he wished he was dead, took his inheritance and squandered it (Luke 15:11-22). But when he came to his senses and returned home, his father had been waiting for him and ran to meet him.

Without Christ we are like Gollum:

And you will weep
When you face the end alone.
You are lost;
You can never go home.
You are lost;
You can never go home.

 In Christ, I can go home.

.

___

When LeAnne Hardy has lived in six countries on four continents. Home is wherever her family is together. Her books for children and young people come out of her passion for stories that will stay with them throughout their lives. Find out more on her website. (This post is reprinted from her blog, My Not-so-ordinary World.)

We might be incubating

Like baby chickens encased in the shells of warm eggs, we writers go through times of incubation. The process is also like seeds buried deep in the ground. Nobody can see anything visible happening, yet our minds are rife with energy, ticking away on something great that might not come into being for a long time.

I had my idea for an amnesia story way back in 2000 when I'd finished writing my first draft of another novel, Picking up the Pieces. I found the new idea intriguing and fully intended to get stuck straight into it. I even wrote several chapters and phoned a friend in the police force to quiz him for several details I'd need to know for my plot, especially how they set about discovering the identities of people who don't know who they are. Even though I devoted a few months to this book at the time, I finished up putting it aside. For some reason, it wasn't gripping me as much another sudden new idea to write a young adult trilogy entitled Quenarden. When I finished work on those three books, I re-wrote The Risky Way Home, the first book I'd ever written. Then I had an idea about combining two of my contemporary romances into a sequel, which became A Design of Gold. When I'd almost finished writing that, this amnesia idea suddenly bobbed up in my consciousness again. After eight years of being pushed to the back burner, my enthusiasm to work on it was brimming again.

I knew its time was right. The details about an antique shop background were clearer in my head and characters motivations were falling into place, while they had been strained all that time ago. It was as if the fruit had taken eight years to ripen in my subconscious mind. I went through those old chapters I'd written and found lots of waffle that could be deleted. Better still, I'd learned some extra skills as a writer which the experience of five extra books had taught me. And best of all, my kids had grown up a bit and real life experience had taught me my hero's lesson - that our thoughts shape our world and what we choose to focus on grows in our outer worlds. I'm sure I wouldn't have been as well-equipped to write that eight years earlier. The book ended up being called Best Forgotten.

I am incubating a few other ideas which will require some scientific research while I'm working on something that I'd been incubating while I wrote Best Forgotten. There are also ideas knocking each other around in my brain about a book of reflections to encourage fellow writers. I like the way Madeleine L'Engle expressed this incubation process in her reflective book, Walking on Water, in which she likened her creative process to having several pots bubbling away on the stove's hot plates at once. She sprinkles and stirs ingredients into each of them as they occur to her, and eventually the one which becomes complete in her mind and enthusiasm first gets taken off and worked on while the others continue to simmer.

Are any of you being incubators at the moment? I wonder what invisible germs of wonderful books are already simmering among us.

Paula Vince is a homeschooling mother and award winning author who live in the beautiful Adelaide Hills of South Australia. She writes mostly contemporary drama/romances with elements of mystery and suspense.

Hidden Treasure

50 000 words into my novel, I ran out of ideas. How was I ever going to find a way for my heroine and hero to get out of their dilemma? Was there even a resolution to the situation? My novel languished in my laptop files as I wondered what would happen next in the storyline.

Then I read a blog post by Laurie Schnebly about Plotting via Motivation. I signed up for her next workshop and planned to take Gina and Riaan, my lead characters, with me. Perhaps I could find a way to finish my story.

Laurie suggested that I use a new "just for practice" story idea to learn her plotting method. Afterwards I could go back to Gina and Riaan’s story and apply the tools I learnt during the workshop. So my characters headed back to the laptop and I cast round for new ideas.

The new "just for practice" story idea was easy to find. My friend Amy and I had discovered a new hobby—geocaching. This a quest to hide and seek treasure outdoors in weatherproof containers called geocaches. The geographical co-ordinates of the geocaches are posted on www.geocaching.com and treasure seekers download them onto a GPS (global positioning systems) device to find the treasure. However the co-ordinates do not always lead to the exact spot so once you are in the area you have to search and find the geocache. Often it is camouflaged to blend with the environment eg a nut on a pole may actually be a little magnetic container. Another friend circled the area of a geocache for quite a while before she found it—it was fashioned to look like doggie poop! The owner of a geocache will often include a clue on the website to help seekers find the container.

Geocaches may contain little trinkets or other items which can be taken if replaced with an item of similar value.

So I decided to name my new character Abigail and to send her geocaching. It was great fun to use settings Amy and I experienced as we learned how to find geocaches. Our first attempt was unsuccessful as a high wall interfered with our GPS reading, but a second attempt uncovered the geocache in the photo below.

One of our first finds

We laughed in amazement as Amy’s GPS found hundreds of satellites to navigate by, until we realized it was actually recording the number of seconds that it had searched for satellites!

In a busy parking lot I didn’t want passers-by to see me retrieve a geocache, so I pretended to have a long conversation on my cell phone as an excuse to loiter without attacting attention. Several car thefts had occurred in the vicinity and we realized we looked somewhat suspicious as we hunted among the cars. Immediately a scene sprang to mind in which Abigail was taken in for questioning by a security guard in a parking area and had a hard time convincing him that she was not planning to commit a crime.

One of my favorite finds was in a nature reserve when Amy and I took a detour from a bird walk. This is where the hero came into being—he was a bird photographer and none too happy to find Abigail in the way as he tried to capture a shot of a rare bird. Abigail of course was frustrated as she couldn’t retrieve the geocache until the photographer left.

On another occasion Amy’s sandal strap broke. We ended up in a shoe-shop so that she could buy a new pair of sandals. Aha, Abigail's strap could also break, but she could injure her foot and the only person nearby to come to the rescue would, of course, be the photographer.

With further real-life geocaching adventures and Laurie’s enthusiastic comments and encouragement, my “just-for-practice” story grew. A twist developed when Abigail inadvertently left a small family heirloom in a geocache. When she realized what had happened, she went back to recover it, only to find it was no longer there. As she searched for her lost trinket, she discovered a more important and unexpected treasure in her relationship with God.

Today my geocaching skills are much improved, my “just-for-practice” story is an outline for a new novel, and I have the tools to rescue Riaan and Gina and complete their story.

If the idea of geocaching interests you, you’ll enjoy this post by fellow ICFW blogger Valerie Comer and her novella in the Rainbow’s End anthology.

And if you have any interesting or funny geocaching experiences, I would love to read about them in the comments section below.

SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

Ruth Ann Dell

Tuesday

Paula Vince

Wednesday

LeAnne Hardy: We are Lost - Can We Ever Go Home?

Thursday

Jo-Anne Berthelsen: The fine art of genre switching

Friday Devotion

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contest Giveaway Winner

The winner was selected in the good old-fashioned way - by drawing a name from a hat. Thank you all for participating. Linda is the winner of Katia by Bruce Judisch (Tessa Stockton’s post, July 11). Congratulations, Linda! Tessa will contact you this week for your mailing address.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contest News

Christine Lindsay's book, Shadowed in Silk, is a finalist in the Christian Historical category of the 2012 Readers Favorite Awards - Congratulations Christine!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

News

Word Writers Getaway will be held on October 12-14, 2012 at the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Two full days of Workshops, Panels, Seminars, Masterclasses and an Editing Room.

Mary Hawkins, Jo-Anne Berthelsen and Paula Vince are presenting workshops. Mary Hawkins will also be available to help attendees in the Editing Room.

For more information, please visit http://www.thewordwriters.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Book Releases

Donna Fletcher Crow's historical epic set in England, Glastonbury: A Novel of The Holy Grail, is a 2012 release from Greenbrier Books.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upcoming Book Releases

Kathi Macias' book set in San Diego and Mexico, The Deliverer, Book Three in her Freedom series involving human trafficking, will be an August 2012 release from New Hope Publishers.

Sandra Orchard's romantic suspense set in Canada, Critical Condition, will be an October 2012 release from Love Inspired Suspense.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen's non-fiction memoir, Soul Friend: The story of a shared spiritual journey, will be an October 2012 release from Even Before Publishing.

Shirley Corder's book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for Your Journey through Breast Cancer, will be an October 2012 release from Revell.

Kathi Macias' book, Unexpected Christmas Hero, will be an October 2012 release from New Hope Publishers.

Jennifer Rogers Spinola's women's fiction book, 'Till Grits Do Us Part, Book Three in the Southern Fried Sushi series, will be a November 2012 release from Barbour.

Donna Fletcher Crow's Victorian true-crime set in England, A Tincture of Murder, Book 4 in The Lord Danvers Mysteries series, will be a Winter 2012 release from Greenbrier Books.

Donna Fletcher Crow's Clerical mystery set in England, An Unholy Communion, Book 3 in The Monastery Murders series, will be a January 2013 release from Monarch Books.

Donna Fletcher Crow's romantic suspense set in England, A Jane Austen Encounter, Book 3 in The Elizabeth and Richard Mysteries series, will be a Winter 2013 release from Stonehouse Ink.

To find more International Christian Fiction books, please visit our Recent Releases page, Backlist Titles page and our International Christian Fiction wiki.

DEVOTION: A Soliloquy about a Bucket by Ray Hawkins

        A soliloquy is the act of talking to oneself. It comes from two Latin words, solus =alone + loqui = speak.

        My soliloquies are often expressed on paper. They are a constant reminder of a journey taken with the Lord.

        May I share one with you?

It was around 10am in an African village on one of our short term mission trips. From a multitude of experiences the following captured my heart and so I said:

Dear Lord,

        Could you get me a bucket?

        It’s a little thing I know and if I was back home in Australia I guess I wouldn’t be asking. Being here in this village makes little things appear rather huge and beyond reach. I’m not really good at their language and they won’t let me do any of the manual work, I’m a visitor.

        But Lord, I can use a bucket.

        Everyday these people work in the stifling heat. They get hot and weary. Wouldn’t it be great if I could go out to them with a bucket and a cup and offer them some water? Sure, it would mean walking a distance to the stream but that’s no big deal. I remember what you said about giving a cup of cold water to the little ones who are your disciples.

The trouble is, where can I get a bucket? I never thought that such a simple thing would almost seem like a miracle, well, not seem like, but actually would be a miracle. Lord, may I have eyes to see where you are pointing and guiding to answer this prayer?

What’s that Lord?

Are you stirring something in my heart and mind?

       You want me to be more than a bucket carrier? I’m to be your bucket? Have I got that right? As I share the cup of water I’m also to offer the Living Water of your grace?

        That will be a real test. My language skills are extremely limited. Still your Spirit can use my faltering words and love for these people to taste the wonder of your Living Water.

        O Lord, thank you for your Living Water. 

        This one thing I would ask as I close. Don’t let me leak.

Amen.

P.S.  I want to thank you, in faith, for the bucket.

Ray Hawkins is retired after over 40 years as a minister. He is author of three books of Biblical Meditations; for Children, Marriage and the Cross. Check the website he shares with his wife, author Mary Hawkins.

Noise on Hamilton Terrace

Below is the second instalment of a short story I posted in August 2011. It follows the struggles one woman has in dealing with a conniving and manupulative mother-in-law. I hope you enjoy it.

Move now! Move! Osaro mentally implored the train as it sat immobile in between Edgware Road and Paddington tube stations. Osaro shifted in her seat as the man next to her shoved her arm with his elbow, taking up the entire arm rest. She took a deep breath, immediately regretting it as the stench of stale cigarette smoke filled her nostrils.

Fifteen minutes later, Osaro exited Warwick Avenue station and quickened her pace to a fast trot as she hurried home. Please Father let there be peace tonight. Please.

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Hamilton Terrace was home to some of the most expensive houses in London. Tucked between metropolitan Kilburn and slightly bohemian Maida, it was a three-quarter mile long avenue with Victorian mansions and Tulip and Redwood trees on either side. These perennials offered shade during the few London hot days and a sense of privacy from passers-by. Residents tended to avoid getting too close to their neighbours; some called it the paranoia of the very wealthy; not wanting eyes prying into their homes or businesses. On Hamilton Terrace children rarely rode their bicycles along the pavements; they did that in their parent’s compounds instead.

It was on this tony street that Kola and Osaro Williams started their married life 2 years ago. The house was a surprise wedding gift from Osaro’s parents and boasted vaulted high ceilings, 5 bedrooms, a swimming pool and some of the most fabulous furnishings and accessories that money could buy. Osaro was grateful and delighted, but Kola was less so.

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“Good evening Mama.”
Osaro knelt in greeting to her mother-in-law. The older woman, pretending to be engrossed in whatever was being broadcast on the telly, ignored Osaro. Osaro was solely tempted to get off her knees and walk away, but she had learned the painful lesson many months ago not to leave the room until Mama dismissed her.
“Mama, I hope you’ve had a good day. Have you had your dinner yet?” Osaro did her best to look and sound as docile as possible. As she looked closely at Mama she noticed the older woman was wearing Osaro’s diamond earrings! The very earrings she bought on her honeymoon!
Mama turned to Osaro, with a sneer on her face, as though daring Osaro to say anything. She turned back to the telly.
“Get up! Why are you pretending? I know you don’t want me in this house, but this is my son’s house and everything in it belongs to his family.”
Tears pooled in Osaro’s eyes. She was tired. Tired of her mother-in-law’s unwarranted insults. Tired of living like a guest in her own home. She had bent over backwards to win over her in-laws, but it seemed that the more she did, the more they hated her and tried to make her life unbearable. She slowly rose from her knees and walked towards the hallway.
“Where are you going? Useless woman!”
Osaro stopped in her tracks, her fists clenched. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She opened her mouth to tell Mama just what she thought of her, when Risi walked in with baby Jessica. One look at her eight month old daughter and Osaro felt calm wash all over her. She quickly crossed the room and took her baby from the house-girl.
“Welcome Madam.”
“Thank you Risi. Has she eaten?” Osaro was referring to her daughter.
“No oh! Mama say she go wait for Oga before she chop. But I don cook Efo riro with plenty stock fish.”
“I was talking about the baby –wait! Where did you get stock fish? How many times have I told you not to cook stock fish in my house? The smell upsets my husband and please stop calling him ‘Oga’, call him 'Mr Williams'.”
“I am the one who told her to cook stock fish!” Osaro jumped at Mama’s sudden outburst. She didn’t realise that the old woman had crept up behind her. She instinctively held Jessica tighter as though to obtain succour from her child.
“Who told you that stock fish upsets my son? Isn’t that what he has been eating all his life? You think all the Oyinbo mede medes that you are feeding him can fill him up? No wonder the poor man is losing weight!” With that she shoved into Osaro, causing Jessica to cry.
Osaro shook her head. No I will not give her the satisfaction! She walked out of the room.

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“My daughter you did well.” Mama patted the side of her bed, inviting Risi to sit next to her. Risi tightened the wrapper she’d tied over her chest and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Mama, I no know oh! I dey sorry for Madam.”
Mama rolled her eyes. Stupid girl. She better not spoil my plans.
“Ah no oh! Don’t you want to be the madam of this house? Don’t worry, very soon my son’s eyes will be opened and he drive that woman away.”
Risi scratched her head, a question in her eyes as she looked at Mama.
Mama took off the diamond earrings she had on and placed them in Risi’s hands. Risi’s eyes widened.
“Mama, Madam go kill me o! She go think say I thief her earring.”
“Don’t worry. Who do you think buys all the jewelry that woman wears? My son! Don’t worry my dear! My son wants a son and all that woman could produce was another useless girl like her!”
“But Mama I know say Oga love Madam true true.”
“Love! Please!” Mama hissed as she tightened her head scarf. She drew closer to Risi and whispered conspiratorially. “I know my son. He does not love that woman. He is only confused because of all the juju she has used! But it will not work!” Her voice had reason a few octaves.
Risi visibly flinched. “But Madam dey go church. She be big Christian.”
Mama shook her head.
“Church?! You think say everybody wey dey go church na Christian? I beg! Listen, my friend. You will get pregnant and give me a grandson, and then my son will marry you.”
Mama squared her shoulders, a self-satisfied smirk on her weathered face.

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Kola took another sip of his now tepid orange juice. He grimaced and pushed the glass away.
“Bro you need to go home.” Kola turned around to look at his friend Derek. Derek took a seat at the other side of the chipped table.
Kola pursed his lips. He placed his head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do. Those women are driving me crazy.”
“You know this is your fault, don’t you?”
Kola’s head shot up so fast he felt dizzy. “My fault? How?”
Derek raised his eyebrows, daring Kola to disagree. He got up to switch off the whistling kettle in his tiny studio flat. He took his time making a cup of tea as Kola stewed, waiting for some insight from the 78 year old Polish man.
Derek returned to the table, stirring his tea as he blew on to the tendrils of steam wafting from his cup.
“You married ‘Saro so you need to let your mother go. Or at least stand up to her. What were you thinking moving her into your home, when you’ve barely had time to establish your marriage?”
Seconds ticked away, with only the sound of the men breathing filling the space.
“What was I supposed to do? My mother needed treatment.”
“And they don’t have doctors in Nigeria?”
Kola looked at his watch. He should have known Derek wouldn’t understand. He stood up.
“Thanks for the juice.”
Derek nodded.

Kola took the three steps to the door. He opened the door and walked through. As he closed the door the door behind him, Derek shouted, “And get that house maid out of your house. She’s trouble!”

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Ufuoma Daniella Ojo is a Technical Author and Software Trainer. She lives in London. She is editing a manuscript, learning French, working on some new stories about relationships and trusting God for connections leading to publication.

Setting the Scene

Well hello there!  Ok, I'm gonna say it. Could it be hotter out? Seriously? We've had temperatures between 35-40C (100F something) for about three weeks now and absolutely no rain. Which means everyone's front lawn is crunchy sharp prickly not good for barefeet lawn. Except for the die-hards that water all the time and risk the fine. We're doing ok though because we installed soaker hoses in the spring so I water twice a day and my produce looks good.
I am kinda dying to write a certain post about something that I'm going through right now, but I think it might be premature.  Like every devotional/bible verse/children's devotions I am reading for the past two weeks has been on one certain subject so obviously God is trying to tell me something but I am terribly thick-headed and need a harder kick to figure it out, so maybe I'll write about it in August.
After reading Alice's post I knew what I had to write about. Wait, I'd better make sure I haven't written about it yet...dang, I have no idea because I don't tag my posts. Oops. Ah well.
Ok. So.
Alice's post made me think of what... inspires me to write. I think I mentionned delicious phrases before... where you think/read/see a line and you go from there. But I wanna talk about music.

Something that seems to be slowly gaining popularity, is author music compilations. Which is what the author listened to, while writing the book. Cool huh? I love looking up their music and then trying to relate to what they wrote about. Sometimes I jump up and down and yell, 'yah!'. And sometimes I'm like, 'seriously?'. Maybe I love this so much because whenever I hear a song, and fall in love with it, I imagine my own video for it. Best example I can think of is that old famous song, 'Drops of Jupiter' by Train. I looove that song. Probably because he mentions soy lattes. Anyway, you know the song, it was played all the time. So in my head, I imagined a bright sunny day, a faded red pick-up cruising down the deserted highway. Boy singing in the driver's seat, arm out the window. The bed of the truck has a huge duffel bag.  Passenger seat is a girl, long brown hair, asleep - she is exhausted. She's leaning against the headrest. A border collie has his head on her lap, her hand is on his head. Basically the girl has left her life behind to travel and realizes her life is back where she left it. Boyfriend/husband had picked her up from bus station. Sun reflecting on everything. Fun, right?

I looooooove music. I have it on all the time. Except now. Go figure. Probably because I'm about to start writing.  I will literally find music and make compilations to go with what I want to write about. Because I love music that moves me. The lyrics need to be clever or powerful. If you used 'love and dove', I will turn you off. And repeated lyrics. That and anything with grunting, the word 'baby', 'boo', 'lover' and anything to do with innappropriateness. (Sometimes I really miss old school rap... even Vanilla Ice was clever with his words, forgetting his inability to not produce original music. Which then begs the questions that everyone copies everyone else, but we won't get into that right now. Huge fan of Alan Cross and the History of Music)

The music needs softness or a raging crescendo. The singer better be good and they'd better mean what they're singing. I am sorry to say that I don't care for quite a bit of music because I find the singer is... well, whining. Do you know what I mean? And I'm sorry to say, it's usually male singers. High whiny voices that ... well, whine. Am I crazy? Probably. I also can't stomach loud, bleating voices that sound like sheep. Will not mention names.... I am terribly fickle.

So. I have about 10,000 songs on my iTunes thanks to friends and our library and me being careful with what I buy. I listened to acid jazz when I wrote my first book, "Jackson Jones: the Tale of a Boy, an Elf and a Very Stinky Fish." (shameless self-promotion!) and the second book had to be written to the soundtrack of Charlie Brown Christmas. I cannot tell you why. It just did. Even though it was summer.
But now I'm doing a big book. A nooooovel. Over 35,000 words. And it has 'moments'.  Sad moments, happy ones, love moments, angry moments.
So what did I do? I made a huuuuuge compilation of all music that I thought I could use. For example:
Heroine is feeling very vulnerable.
Heroine is hurting.
Heroine is falling in love.
Heroine spurned by love.
Heroine is learning to fight.
Heroine is manipulated.

(Sorry about all the links. You're probably frustrated by now. If I knew how to upload that song thingy where it would just play, I would.)

So I would chunk the different moods together and then hit repeat.

Before I write, I close my eyes, listen to one of the songs a few times, get myself into the heroine's shoes/emotion/state and then write. Time consuming, I know, but it is effective. It also works well if you just carry around your itunes and play where you are: cooking, cleaning, driving, at the gym.

So. Yeah. There ya go. Crazy inspiration to think about. What do you listen to???? Am very very curious....


Warning: finishing your writing with a vulnerable, or sad, or someone just died, or boyfriend just cheated on you? WILL put you in a bad mood. Take a few minutes to listen to happy, upbeat, I'm in love - music before speaking to husband and family.

Jenn Kelly is an author. This is her dog. Yes, that is the front door and yes, that is her ball. I think she wants something.
She is currently researching her 1963 Roget's Thesauraus because it has the best words. Such as jurisprudence, gerrymander, disencumber and iteration.

From Small Beginnings

It started quite by accident. My husband was looking for a small something to add to a gift years ago and he saw a tiny, painted, wooden owl.  He thought it looked cute and bought it for me. I loved it. Since then the collection has grown so I now have over 100 owls. That’s just the owls on the shelves. There are others in the garden, on the walls, on bookmarks, paperclips and jewellery. They are inexpensive but they are a fun thing to collect. Here's a photo of a few of the owls.

Then, the other day a lady at writers’ group handed me a little owl button she bought she because when she saw it she thought of me and my love of owls as evidenced by my website, www.daleharcombe.com

That same evening a friend I hadn’t seen for ages came to dinner and presented me with a cute, tin owl with amber eyes. He is now comfortably at home in the rookery with his owlie mates. Here he is. 

But what do owls have to do with writing? When we are writing about characters we might decide to give our character a fascination with some sort of items to collect. In a fiction manuscript I am working on at present the woman has a collection of thimbles, though not from choice but something her daughter thinks she would like. As she is a lover and owner of two cats, she also has a collection of cat ornaments.

When I wrote Streets on a Map I made sure the things Laila surrounded herself with showed different aspects of her character. Her lounge suite for example is tapestry with walnut arms with scratches in them, which shows she’s not a person who replaces things just because they are a bit worn. She goes for comfort and things with meaning to her. However the rest of the room shows her love of books and that money spent on them is an investment in pleasure and learning. Her books include classics by Bronte and Austen, books on philosophy, orchids, prayer, history and contemporary fiction as well as books of poetry both from the past and by contemporary poets. She is also interested in gardening and in particular roses, which is reflected in the flowers and shrubs chosen for the garden of the restaurant. The roses also have a sentimental family significance.

Abby, the other main character in Streets on a Map, likes to collect interesting artworks and crafts though she had no skills in that area herself. Maybe because she doesn’t have those skills. I can relate to that!  You can find out more about Abby In a interview with Abby I did at this site. http://lauries-interviews.blogspot.com.au/search?q=dale+harcombe

Abby’s interests are reflected in the type of music she listens to and sings, mainly old ballads and jazz music, plus in the collection of sheet music she keeps all carefully packed away under the bed. It shows she is almost obsessive about music and singing. She is a person who is not into sports but strictly an indoor person who comes alive at night rather than a morning person. That tells us quite a bit about her.

So back to the owls. One little owl started off a whole collection. Building a character is much the same. Sometimes we start with one little idea - a few lines of dialogue, a face we can’t forget ,  a character trait and from there the writer builds until you end up hopefully with a person that becomes real to the writer and to readers. To me that’s the secret to building a good story.

Streets on a Map, Dale’s latest novel was published by Ark House Press in December 2010. Prior to that Dale has had seven children’s books and Kaleidoscope a collection of poetry published. Many of the poems in Kaleidoscope have been previously published in Australia’s literary magazines. She has won prizes for her poetry and has been published in several anthologies. She has also written bible studies and Sunday school lessons.

More information about Dale can be found at www.daleharcombe.com or on her Write and Read with Dale blog http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale/

Vacation

  The whole world is not on vacation this month, at least half the world is in the middle of winter, but for the purposes of this blog, think summer. Where I live the sun in shining, the ocean is a lazy blue and the smell of fresh cut hay fills the air.  School's out, children are cycling and running on the street.  Neighbours chat over the back fence and shake their heads at the size of the mosquitoes. 

     It is summer time and that means a change in the rhythm of life.  Instead of grocery shopping, I go to my garden and collect the harvest -- and do some weeding and replanting.  Instead of waiting all day for my laundry to dry, I hang the clothes on the line and bring them in after only an hour or two.  Instead of making soup for lunch, I make a salad.  The days are long.  Instead of settling in with a book or needlework after supper, I may play golf or go for a swim, or make jam.  The day job may still be nine-to-five, but the summer pace is different.

    Now, here's my question.  What happens to my writing when I'm literally on vacation?  Sometime over the next two months, we'll be away from home, visiting new locations, connecting with old friends.  What happens to the writing routine in those times? 


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     Plenty of writing gurus proclaim that "to be a writer, you must write everyday."  Julia Cameron insists on "morning pages" every day.   I found the same advice in Becoming a Writer, by Dorothea Brande, copyright 1934.    This same book advocates that to write as a profession, we must be a writer in personality and temperament.  Until we have achieved the state of being a writer, Ms Brande contends, exercises and workshops on craft are a waste of time and money. 
   In her view, the true writer is a split personality, one part child, imaginative, temperamental, tender, undisciplined and creative.  The other part is like the older brother, focussed, determined, organized, tough, and protective.  She emphasises the need for the "artist" personality to have free rein to explore, dream and play.  It is the job of the "older brother" to keep track of royalities, check contracts, deal with rejection slips, set a timetable, send out queries -- all to protect the creative side from harm. 

    If her thesis holds true, I would suggest the older brother needs a vacation now and again.  Even big business knows that employees who have frequent breaks are more productive.
   So, if the "older brother" goes on vacation, what happens to the artist/child?  Should we free ourselves from the discipline of morning pages or daily word counts?  Can we spend time to explore, soak up new landscapes, listen to unfamiliar accents, see stories emerge from the waves on a sandy beach without the requirement to write it down? To use another of Julia Cameron's precepts, is a vacation from writing is just an extended artist's date?

   Or, having spent weeks and months training our unconscious to see and record and imagine, will a vacation put us back to square one, stemming the flow of the unconscious writer, pushing the creative side into inaccessible corners of the mind?

   So, dear readers, I ask you.  Do I take a pen and notebook on vacation, get up early and write morning pages, or do I dance on the beach and weave daydreams in the clouds?

Alice Valdal is usually a disciplined writer, but summer time does bring out the carefree child.  She counters this tendency by rising early but it's hard to stay at the computer when sunshine and birdsong fill the back deck.  Pen and paper or an alphasmart let her keep up the work side of writing while still enjoying the light.

visit her at www.alicevaldal.com