Being a Prolific Writer

The word 'prolific' is one I'd love to be labelled with... Oh look, she's turned out another bestseller book! What a prolific writer she is...

I've aimed at ridiculous wordcounts per day, I've pantsed and plotted and settled into a happy combination of both. I've changed my sleeping habits, tried NaNoWriMo, read a ton of blogs from writers I love and respect and so on and so on. 

The sad, dismal truth fact I'm currently facing, is that if you give me an hour a day, or a few uninterrupted hours in a day, my output will probably be about the same.

Maybe that will change, I live in hope.

In the meantime, I'm borrowing a lesson from my middle child's induction ceremony into High School a few years back. They start the event with a single torch burning on stage. All the new Grade 8's lead in in the dark. As you can see from the gallery above, the prefects start by lighting their candles and passing on the flame. The transition from a deeply dark hall to one lit by many individual lights was moving to say the least. The message was clear - your individual contribution counts.

How does that make me a more prolific writer? It doesn't. But what it does do, is make me value each word that willingly joins the ranks of the little army of words that make up my story. I only need 75 000 of them to show up at the the right time, and I'm done. 

Do I cringe at 500 word days? Nope. Do I cringe at the 23 words I manage to string together before I'm called to go see my 10's handstand against the cupboard / latest cartwheel / back bend  - AGAIN? Not any more.

All that matters is that I'm adding words. I will not waste energy on beating myself up for not being prolific. Maybe, just maybe... prolificacy (yes, I did just make that up) will creep up on me as I quietly grow my word count. Until then, I'll soldier on, adding each precious word as it shows up.

If you have found any magic formula for upping your daily count, I'd love to hear about it. It probably won't work on me, but go ahead and share anyway!

Dianne J. Wilson writes novels from her hometown in East London, South Africa, where she lives with her husband and three daughters. She is writing a three book YA series, Spirit Walker, with Pelican / Harbourlight. Affinity (book 1), releases on the 8th of June 2018.

Finding Mia is available from Amazon, Pelican / Harbourlight, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.

Shackles is available as a free ebook from Amazon & Smashwords.

Find her on Facebook, Twitter and her sporadic blog Doodles.

NaNoWriMo...For Better or Worse

It's again that time of the year when writers start to look forward to National Novel Writing Month. For those who aren't familiar with it, it is the month where the goal is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. Fun, right?

Here are a few of the things I don't like, and a few of the things I love about NaNoWriMo:

Things I don't like (so we can end on a positive note):

1. The forums! I lose so much writing time because there are so many fun groups to be a part of. It's easy to get caught up in reading other people's goal and achievements, that you forget about your own.  
2. Easy to get discouraged by other writers' successes. Especially with all those forums and social media groups. They start posting about the easy five thousand words they wrote today, and you wonder what's wrong with you and your struggle to get five hundred words down. 
3. Makes me feel like I should pick a new writing project, when what I need to be doing is editing. 

All right, some things I like:

1. All those fun forums and social media groups that offer encouragement and motivation. (Yep, it's a double edged sword).
2. Having a goal you share with a bunch of writers--again, great for motivation!
3. Free word counting and goal making apps to help and document your journey. 
4. An excuse to explain to your spouse or roommates why you will be a hopeless slob for one month. :)

This is how I make NaNoWriMo work for me:

1. I explain to my spouse that I will be a hopeless slob for one month. 
2. I try to get my editing done so I can write a new manuscript in November....but that doesn't always happen, so...
3. I make the goal fit my writing needs. Right now I don't need to write a new book. (I just finished one last Saturday!) I have two manuscripts that need reworking and editing. So I will change the goal from words written, to words reworked, or chapter's edited. I'll still push myself, but in the direction I need to go.
4. I set a limit and stay (or try to stay) within it. I enjoy visiting forums, but it's better as a reward for after I meet my daily goal. Either way, I try to keep to a small time frame for my visits. 
5. I have fun encouraging other writers in their goals. :)

So how about you? What do you like or dislike about NaNoWriMo and how do you make it work for you? 

A Century Old Estate

I love starting work on a new novel, mostly because for me it’s an exciting journey with God. My latest novel has been no different.

For quite some time I’ve wanted to write a story set in the winelands of South Africa, but hadn’t given much thought to a story idea. Getting dressed for work one March morning this year, as per usual I mused my way through mascara and blush, thinking up story lines (and discarding them as fast as the next color applied to my face). This particular Tuesday morning, however, an idea stuck and I realized it had the potential for a great novel. Soon my story world emerged. The winelands, at last, would be perfect.

Weltevrede vineyards



As I had recently completed writing my Nano 2012 novel and am still in the editing phase, I didn’t feel up to beginning work on another manuscript. I decided, however, that I’d do Nano 2013 differently. Being a Pantser, I determined to use the time between March and November to be more of a Plotter on this story—eight months to plan, plot, research, do character sketches . . . whatever it is that Plotters do. When I told my sister the idea for my next Nano novel, her immediate response was: “I can’t wait so long for you to write that story. You have to write it now.”

 

I told her I’d think about it. By that evening I’d discovered Speedbo 2013—set your own writing target for the month of March. Suddenly I had the perfect excuse to begin work immediately on my winelands story. I, like my sister, couldn’t wait till November. By the end of March, I’d have 31,000 words written.

 

Three days later we visited my sister and her husband on their farm, ninety minutes from where we live. Her husband kept asking me when I was going to publish my books, that I couldn’t keep writing good stories and not doing anything with them. I tried to explain to him that it wasn’t so simple, that writing the book was the easy part. We were still chatting about my writing and my new novel, when suddenly he disappeared. Minutes later he returned with the Landbouweekblad magazine—the Afrikaans equivalent of Farmers Weekly—that had been published that same day. He opened to an article titled “Moving Diary of a Strike.” The piece was an emotive glimpse into the diary of wine farmer, Philip Jonker, and how, based on Christian principles and a belief in relationships, he tried to solve the problems of the farm laborer strikes that had led to great uncertainty and fear in the Western Cape in November last year.

 

I was so moved by his story, that I went to the Weltevrede website, got his email address and wrote to him. I admitted to not being quite finished reading the article because it was slow going for me as it was written in Afrikaans. Philip immediately wrote back and sent me his entire journal of this experience . . . in English. It was a fascinating read—a real David and Goliath story of this humble wine farmer’s unshakeable faith as, led by God’s Spirit, he walked into an angry, emotionally swept-up mob of more than five hundred armed with  pangas, machetes and clubs. He shook the leader’s hand and asked to speak to the people. He spoke hope and encouragement to the crowds that day and in the days to come.

 

Philip and Lindelize Jonker

 

That was when I decided I had to make a trip to Cape Town in May and spend a night in one of the cottages on Weltevrede. As I shared on my previous blog, this trip was brought forward a month. Unfortunately, being the Easter weekend and school holidays when we went down, their cottages were already booked. I determined not to return home before paying Weltevrede a visit. So my husband, son and I made a day trip to the Robertson valley. Not only did my visit to Weltevrede, meaning ‘Well Satisfied’, yield contact with Philip Jonker and his lovely wife, Lindelize, I also discovered two intriguing things on their wine estate.

 

 

You’ll have to wait till my next blog on Monday, 29th April though to read about what we discovered at this hundred year old wine estate.

 

If you’re interested in reading Philip’s journal of the farmworker strikes, please send a request with your email address in a comment below.

 

 

 

Marion Ueckermann’s passion for writing was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then she has published devotional articles in Winners (2009) and The One Year Book of Joy and Laughter (published August 2011 by Tyndale House Publishers). She blogs for International Christian Fiction Writers and belongs to Christian Writers of South Africa and American Christian Fiction Writers. She now lives in Pretoria East, South Africa in an empty nest with her husband and their crazy black Scottie, Wally.



A Month to Remember

November in South Africa, and worldwide, is a month full of wonderful, unusual and fun events that raise funds for worthy causes.

Each morning I wake to the sounds of Radio Jacaranda, synonymous with the beautiful capital city I live in and its purple blossomed trees that flower around this time of the year. In November, 'Sisters with Blisters'  (http://www.sisterswithblisters.co.za), a Radio Jacaranda initiative, is heavily advertised. This annual South African event, aimed at raising much needed awareness on women and child abuse in our country, marks the start of 16 days of Activism internationally for No Violence Against Women, a United Nations campaign.

Radio Jacaranda, wanting to participate in this movement in a unique way that captured listeners' attention, came up with the concept: Shoes! They believe that women are willing to do more for this irrational fetish than one could imagine. The Sex in the City character, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) once said she spent $40,000 on shoes and had no place to stay. “I will literally be the old women who lived in her shoes!” she said.

Jacaranda believed women would take up the challenge of walking in their stilettoes, allowing their feet to do the talking to break the silence—'heel to heal'. Even men participate ... and dogs (without the heels of course). Starting with 600 participants in 2006, Sisters with Blisters 2011 was supported by 5000 women, men and kids!

Another great initiative which has just recently come to my knowledge is Movember.

Hot on the heels of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness month, the gents, not willing to be forgotten or outdone, throw away their razors (or at least in part) and don their new handlebars. Movember is responsible for thousands of men worldwide sprouting mustaches, or moustaches as the British would write it. At first I was confused what all this MO stuff had to do with MUstaches, till I recognized the habit of writing in American English coming out in me. I soon made the MOnnection.

A worldwide initiative, during November, or should I say Movember, Mo Bros become walking, talking billboards raising funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate and testicular cancer. It’s grown since its humble beginnings in Melbourne, Australia thirteen years ago to be a global movement inspiring more than 1.9 million Mo Bros, and even Mo Sistas, and raising millions. This is certainly an initiative that will have a lasting impact on the face of men’s health.

http://movember.org/ claim to be the MOriginal and MOfficial Movember and accept no iMOtations! Check out their website.

More importantly, check out the South African website http://za.movember.com/ – it’s really fun with offered advice like how to grow a Mo, and what foods to approach with caution when sporting a Mo, eg. cappuccino, milk, Irish Cream, Ale, Guinness or any brew served with a fine creamy mousse, Fairyfloss, Toffee Apples, Spaghetti Carbonara, to name a few.

And they’ve rolled out the red carpet for the MOscars where Mo’s try their creativity with a camera. Budding scriptwriters and aspiring Spielbergs! It was here that I discovered this hilarious You Tube video, "The Movember Song", created by South African comedy-pop duo Derick Watts & The Sunday Blues - home grown Mo’s – as they take viewers on a journey fraught with trials and tribulations as they seek to grow the perfect Movember moustache.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bbKQvdLDAic

The doctor in this video is none other than our very own Dr. Michael Mol, South Africa’s first Mr. South Africa, and now host of The Dr. Mol Show (the SA version of Dr. Oz). Dr. Mol just happens to be the son of one of our church elders, Dr. Arnold Mol, who is a published non-fiction author. http://www.arnoldmol.co.za/

I even discovered that here at Volkswagen Group Parts where I work, our guys have banded together, got a group together on the website, http://za.movember.com/team/705517, and even made themselves a little Movember Mascot, complete with his own handlebar Mo,  all out of car parts except his Mo. Their team motivation is to change the face of Group Parts.

I don’t know if they raised any money, but they did give a great outward display of their support for this worthy initiative. Perhaps they need to apply some of their winning marketing strategies to their stiff upper lips.

Even my son in Cape Town took part, which took me totally by surprise.

Most of the Mo Bros I know couldn’t wait for 1 December and the permission to shave off those tickly mustaches.

But the cause I love the most in during November is NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month—Thirty Days and Nights of Literary Abandon. If you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend it, although it’s not for the fainthearted.

WriMos, as those who partake of this crazy event are known, have something akin to the two causes I mentioned earlier. Sisters with Blisters: because we writers walk a good couple of miles in other people's shoes—many times not comfortable ones either. The only difference is that our blisters are formed on our fingertips, not our heels. Movember: because even in our name, WriMos have their own special Mo. And what a special MOnth November is. Also, due to the frenzied nature of NaNo, November becomes a really hairy month for WriMos, as they seek to reach that 50,000 word count at all costs before midnight on 30 November. Mo Bros and Mo Sistas of the writing world.

And this year, WriMos worldwide manage to clock a whopping 3,288,976,325 total collective word count.

But what’s a good cause if the funds aren’t raised? This year I decided to start donating each year that I take part in NaNo. I even earned myself a cool little halo on my NaNo profile pic.

The organizers of NaNoWriMo reckon that if every WriMo donated just $10, they would reach their fund raising target. Donations help bring free creative writing programs to nearly 350,000 kids and adults in approximately 100 countries, 2,000 classrooms, 200 libraries, and 500 NaNoWriMo regions every year.

Why don’t you think of joining this creative revolution next year?

I had not planned to take part in NaNo this year, yet, somehow, on 1 November, I found myself thinking about a story on the way to work, and signing up before the morning was over. I validated on 29 November at just over 50,000 words. I have an almost complete first draft of what has turned out to be a really great story titled The Piano.

Although NaNo is over, for me it’s not over yet. I decided to personally extend my NaNo month another few weeks and push through until I have finished the story, setting myself the same daily word count targets as NaNo. At that pace, I should finish my novel within the next two weeks.

It’s been an amazing month of writing … one that has truly gotten me back into the writer’s seat and one that has formed some good writing habits. I just love being back upstairs in my writing loft working alongside my characters.

One thing that is great to see in worthy causes is the camaraderie that exists between fellow participants. I myself had so much encouragement during NaNoWriMo from family, friends, and fellow writers and I hope to share more about my NaNo month on my next blog.

MARION UECKERMANN’s writing passion was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then Marion has has published some devotional articles in Winners at Work and The One Year Book of Joy and Laughter (published August 2011), as well as inspirational poetry online and in a poetry journal. Marion, who loves to multitask, has written her first Christian Women’s novel (unpublished) and is currently working on the sequel as well as a Historical Romance novel. Marion now lives in Pretoria East, South Africa in an empty nest with her husband and a crazy black ‘Scottie’. Marion is a member of the Christian Writers of South Africa and can be contacted via email on marion(dot)ueckermann(at)gmail(dot)com.

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Keep Going

by Marion Ueckermann

Every year in South Africa a cherished national treasure takes place. The Comrades Marathon attracts thousands of participants from all over the world, spectators and television viewers.

Before the sun has even risen, thousands converge outside the Durban Post Office or the Pietermaritzburg Town Hall for what is arguably the greatest ultra marathon in the world. The race alternates each year between the two cities —an uphill run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, and downhill from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

The event was the result of one man’s vision. World War 1 veteran, Vic Clapham, wanted the Comrades Marathon to become a living memorial to the spirit of the soldiers of the Great War. On 24 May 1921, the first Comrades took place with 34 runners. Entries for the 2011 up run have already closed with 18,000 runners signed up for the event.

The up run starts at sea level, and finishes at an altitude of 650 meters. En route, runners will encounter 5 major hills, known as the “Big Five”: Cowies hill, the first, then Fields Hill, Botha’s Hill, Inchanga, and finally the ultimate in heartbreak hills, Polly Shortts.

A sea of faces crowds the cold winter morning streets—participants and those there to cheer them on alike. The atmosphere is electric, buzzing with excitement of those eager to run this race they have spent months training for. A few minutes before the start, the South African national anthem is sung.

A shot rings out in the dark and the runners slowly start to move forward—I say slowly because it’s several minutes into the race before the back runners can finally make a start.

Muscle, sinew and mental strength are required to conquer the 90 gruelling kilometres (56 miles) within just eleven hours. But the hopefuls set off, striving for one common goal—the finish line!

Unbelievably, the first runners enter the stadium and head for the finish line in little more than five hours. This picture is of my late brother-in-law crossing that same line. He ran the Comrades seven times before he had an accident that severed his big toe and the next two toes. After he finally recovered, he went on to run another two Comrades with his handicap and was just short of running his tenth—which would have given him his green number—when he gave it up.

It was dark too when I set off on my month long marathon. Midnight, November 1 and I was off, along with an untold number of unseen writers—amateurs and professionals—worldwide. NaNoWriMo, the time of the year when writers throw caution to the wind, and everything else that gets in their way, and set about to write a 50,000 word novel from scratch.

Like the Comrades, NaNoWriMo this year was an uphill race against time for me. Perhaps it was the genre I chose, perhaps the busyness of life, perhaps being a year older … whatever the reason, I found NaNoWriMo 2010 an extremely difficult challenge. 1667 words per day doesn’t seem that much to write, but from day one I fell behind in my word count and just couldn’t catch up. I would make good headway one day, and the next I’d have a day filled with interruptions or commitments, falling into bed with nothing written and losing the ground (or should I say words) I had gained the previous day. Halfway through NaNo, I was already more than 11,000 words behind. The only time my NaNo graph finally touched the purple goal line, was on the last day.

Many a time I just wanted to give up, thinking there wasn’t a chance I was going to make it. My laptop crashed, I had to relocate my son from Cape Town to Pretoria, and I was struggling with Bronchial Pneumonia. But with my family, my writers group (CWG-SA), my NaNo buddies, and Facebook friends standing on the sidelines cheering me on, encouraging me to believe in myself that I could do this, I pressed on. Slowly I gained ground, reminding myself that with every word I wrote, I was one word closer to the finish line. “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! How do you make it through NaNo? One word at a time!” I kept myself going with this little chant (that, and of course, tons of chocolate combined with many, many cups of coffee).

Writing an average of 3000 words per day from early in the morning till way past midnight, my Polly Shortts came after midnight on Sunday when I had to complete just over 5000 words in practically one day. I only had the evenings to write because I was back at work. My internet cap was also finished, so I had to verify my manuscript on the NaNoWriMo website before leaving work at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, 30 November.

When I did the verification at 3.30 p.m. with a 50,252 word count, I was horrified to see the verification come back with a 49,937 word count– 63 words short. I didn’t realize that while Word counts elipses and EM dashes as words, the NaNoWriMo verification process rightfully discards them. So I frantically dashed off another paragraph, and verified again.

What a privilege it is to have my 50,042 words counted as part of the 2,799,499,947 total collective word count for 2010.

Hungry, my current NaNoWriMo novel, is a Christian Historical Romance set in Ireland around 1848 during the Great Famine. I got my storyline idea from the Biblical love triangle of David, Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite. I’ve had endless fun over the past month living the lives of Devan Barrington-Jones, Breanna Kelly and Uilliam O’Hea and I look forward to finishing the story in the not too distant future. Then it will be time to get out my editor’s red pen. Maybe I’ll sign up for NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editing Month) in 88 days time and join the rest of the crazy writers/ editors for 50 hours of novel editing in March.

And maybe, just maybe, one day soon I’ll be ready to submit Hungry for publishing.

The going was tough for NaNoWriMo 2010, but the tough just kept on writing!

MARION UECKERMANN’s writing passion was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then Marion has been honing her skills and has published some devotional articles in Winners at Work as well as inspirational poetry online and in a poetry journal. She has written her first Christian Women’s novel (unpublished) and is currently completing the sequel. Marion now lives in Pretoria East, South Africa with her husband, sons and a crazy black ‘Scottie’. A member and moderator of the South African Christian Writers Group, Marion can be contacted via email on marionu(at)telkomsa(dot)net.

Another Time, Another Place

Book giveaway, Here Burns My Candle (Liz Curtis Higgs)

by Marion Ueckermann

I’ve always thought it would be great to write a book using biblical characters set in a modern day Story World. This was before I had discovered writers like Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury and Liz Curtis Higgs. They’ve all done this successfully with numerous works. Francine Rivers’ best-selling Redeeming Love, based on the story of Hosea and Gomer, is set in California’s gold country in the 1850’s; Divine from Karen Kingsbury is a modern-day retelling of Mary Magdalene's story; and Liz Curtis Higgs’ fourfold epic saga powerfully retells the stories of Jacob and Esau, Rachel and Leah, Dinah and Shechem. Now Liz has done it again with her fifth historical novel, Here Burns My Candle, the story of Naomi and Ruth. She is currently working on the sequel, Mine is the Night, Boaz and Ruth’s love story.

When I discovered Liz Curtis Higgs’ books—Thorn in My Heart, Fair is the Rose, Whence Came a Prince and Grace in Thine Eyes—I was blown away by her ingenious ideas and talented writing as she “modernized” these age-old stories. Picture it ... familiar biblical characters transported from the late 1700’s BC to the late 1700’s AD; from ancient Canaan to the Lowlands of Scotland.

I’ve still to find and read her fifth historical novel, but over 2000 pages of literary intrigue, author’s notes, reader’s guides and Scottish glossaries in the first four books kept me captivated for weeks. Liz’s writing is sheer brilliance!

You may wonder why she chose Scotland for her characters. Liz explains, “It is simply the most beautiful place on earth. My first visit there in 1996 convinced me that the Scottish books I had been reading and the lovely calendars hanging on my walls only hinted at the green glory of Scotland. Soon I found the people—with their love for history, wry sense of humor, and gentle, honest manner—even more delightful. With each visit that followed, the truth became apparent: Scotland had stolen my heart forever.”

Being of Scottish decent and having visited the country twice, biased or not, I have to agree with Liz.

You will be astounded to learn what has equipped Liz to pen these stories:

• A BA degree in English Literature

• A passion for centuries past

• Twelve detailed historical research trips to the UK

• A personal library of eight hundred books on Scotland’s history and culture

• The study of fourteen translations of the biblical accounts and more than one hundred nonfiction books and commentaries on Genesis and Ruth

• A member of the Eighteenth-Century Scottish Studies Society and the Dumfries & Galloway Family History Society

• She supports Historic Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland, and the National Museums of Scotland

Liz Curtis Higgs is definitely an expert to write her stories in this chosen setting.

I can’t resist giving you a taste of what to expect, so indulge me as I take you on a whirlwind tour of her six historical novels.

THORN IN MY HEART

In the autumn of 1788, amid the moors and glens of the Scottish Lowlands, two brothers fight to claim one father's blessing, two sisters long to claim one man's heart.

Jamie and Evan McKie both want their father Alec's flocks and lands, yet only one brother will inherit Glentrool. Leana and Rose McBride both yearn to catch the eye of the same handsome lad, yet only one sister will be his bride.

A thorny love triangle emerges, plagued by lies and deception, jealousy and desire, betrayal and broken promises.

FAIR IS THE ROSE

Can a sister's love endure the ultimate betrayal?

A year has come and gone since Jamie McKie fled for his life and arrived at Auchengray in search of sanctuary and a bonny wife. Young Rose McBride, as fair as any lass in Scotland, dearly loves her handsome cousin, Jamie McKie—but so does her older sister, Leana.

Desperate to have Jamie all to herself, Rose is unwittingly aided by Lillias Brown, a wise woman—a wutch, some say—still keen on the old ways. Leana cherishes her newborn son and clings to her hard-won sense of peace by a slender thread of faith. Jamie, meanwhile, longs to return home to Glentrool, yet is thwarted at every turn by his uncle Lachlan’s deceitful ways.

All three points of this thorny triangle soon grow as sharp as a Scottish dirk. Och, such heartache! And yet, amid the conflicts, hope burns bright.

WHENCE CAME A PRINCE (2006 Christy Award for Best Historical Fiction)

A journey of the heart across the Lowlands of Scotland.
 
A prodigal hero returns ... Jamie McKie's long-awaited return to his ancestral home of Glentrool tests the depth of his courage, the strength of his sword, and the tenacity of his vow to honor the Almighty, no matter the cost.

To claim his inheritance, Jamie must first outwit his devious uncle, Lachlan, then confront the two men he fears most: Evan, the brother whose blessing he stole, and Alec, the father he once deceived.

Jamie faces a perilous journey of the heart as well: The two women in his life, Leana and Rose McBride, each stake a tender claim on his affections. Quiet, gentle Leana is the mother of his firstborn, Ian. And Rose, her spirited younger sister, is expecting his second child. Honor and duty prevail but not without heartache.

GRACE IN THINE EYES (a stand-alone novel, Christy Award finalist)

A young woman trapped by shame. Two brothers bent on revenge. Can her father rescue her? Or is there only One who can set her free?

Davina McKie is a bonny lass of seventeen, mute since childhood and fiercely guarded by her belligerent twin brothers, Will and Sandy. When the lads are forced to depart the glen, Jamie McKie escorts Davina to the Isle of Arran, where her lively cousins, Catherine and Abigail, make her welcome at the manse.

One moonless eve, Davina blithely entertains the gentry of Arran with her grandfather’s fiddle, unaware of the dramatic turn her life is about to take.

A story of passion and revenge, of lost innocence and shattered dreams, Grace in Thine Eyes explores the sorrow of unspeakable shame and the gift of immeasurable grace.

HERE BURNS MY CANDLE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2nPMBA_rgM

A mother who cannot face her future. A daughter who cannot escape her past.

A timeless saga of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Edinburgh. Here Burns My Candle is a historical novel, based on the beloved Old Testament story of Naomi and Ruth, set in another time and place to demonstrate the timelessness of God's Word.

MINE IS THE NIGHT (March 2011)

She lost everything she loved. He had everything she needed.

Reeling from the aftermath of bonny Prince Charlie’s disastrous bid to reclaim the British throne, Marjory Kerr and her daughter-in-law, Elisabeth, have lost everything they hold dear. But they have not lost hope.

Just as Naomi and Ruth once traveled from Moab to Judah, Marjory and Elisabeth move from the crowded streets of Edinburgh to the countryside of the Scottish Borderland for Mine Is the Night.

Marjory Kerr is a widow undone, having buried her husband, her sons, and any hope of grandsons. Her title, property, and fortune are gone as well, yet it's her family alone that matters. When a glimmer of hope appears on the horizon, her faith in God’s loving-kindness is slowly restored, and a new Marjory emerges.

Elisabeth Kerr has also suffered crushing losses in her life. Instead of giving in to melancholy, she places her future firmly in the hands of Almighty God and spends her days helping others, never imagining where her compassionate acts of service will lead her: straight into the arms of her redeemer.

Liz Curtis Higgs is the author of twenty-eight books, with three million copies in print, including her best-selling historical novels, Thorn in My Heart, Fair Is the Rose, Whence Came a Prince, a Christy Award winner, Grace in Thine Eyes, a Christy Award finalist, and Here Burns My Candle. Her best-selling nonfiction books include Bad Girls of the Bible and Really Bad Girls of the Bible; and she has written two contemporary novels: Mixed Signals, a Rita Award finalist; and Bookends, a Christy Award finalist.


All this talk of historical novels has reminded me that I can’t wait for Nanowrimo. I’ve been busy plotting and researching my first historical Christian novel. Maybe one day I’ll be privileged to have you read my rendition of David, Bathsheba and Uriah as Irish beauty Breanna Kelly and her betrothed, Uilliam O’Hea, become the innocent pawns in the hands of their powerful landlord, Devan Barrington-Jones.

During the two years we lived in Ireland, my husband and I had our favorite spot up in the Wicklow mountains overlooking Lough Tay. I have chosen this breathtaking area as the backdrop for this tragic tale of lust, betrayal, collusion and secrecy set during the Great Irish Famine.

So far, it has been an interesting and entertaining road of research.

Liz will be giving away a signed copy of Here Burns My Candle and will post to anywhere in the world. If you would like to win a copy of Here Burns My Candle, please add your email address to your comment, replacing @ with (at) and .com with (dot) com. The winner will be announced in The Sunday Edition November 7th.

"Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws."

MARION UECKERMANN’s writing passion was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then Marion has been honing her skills and has published some devotional articles in Winners at Work as well as inspirational poetry online and in a poetry journal. She has written her first Christian Women’s novel (unpublished) and is currently completing the sequel. Marion now lives in Pretoria East, South Africa with her husband, sons and a crazy black ‘Scottie’. A member and moderator of the South African Christian Writers Group, Marion can be contacted via email on marionu(at)telkomsa(dot)net.

Oranges and Lemons – A Slice of Life

by Marion Ueckermann

(Book giveaway – Thin Places by Mary DeMuth)


As a child one of my favorite games was Oranges and Lemons. Does anyone remember this game? Do children still play it, or am I revealing my age here?

Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St. Clement's
You owe me five farthings, Say the bells of St. Martin's
When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey.
When I grow rich, Say the bells of Shoreditch.
When will that be? Say the bells of Stepney
I do not know, Says the great bell of Bow
Here comes a candle to light you to bed
And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!
(Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead)

According to Wikipedia, this is one of the common modern versions. My childhood one was slightly different with far less bells involved. As we filed through an arch made by two players facing each other with their arms raised in the air and hands clasped together, we chanted something like this . . . in singsong intonation:

 Oranges and lemons
The bells of St. Clemens
You owe me a farthing
When will you pay me?
Tomorrow or the next day
When I grow rich!
Here comes a candle to light you to bed
Here comes a chopper to chop off your head
Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's head is off!

On the last line, squealing players scurried through the arch, hoping not to lose our heads, praying we’d stay “alive” to run the gauntlet again in the next round.

With each round of the game, the arch became longer. Axed players would form successive arches, leaving the last player wondering if he’d ever see light at the end of the tunnel.

Talk about gruesome games for kids! I think The Guillotine Run would have been a more appropriate name than Oranges and Lemons.

Life’s a little like that game—a mixture of bittersweet happenings. Sometimes we’re thrown juicy, sweet oranges that manifest in magic moments. Other times life dishes out lemons—experiences so sour and bitter they’re hard to swallow.

 I recently had one of those “When life throws you lemons . . .” experiences when I fell and broke my wrist. The next day I was due to fly to America with fellow writer, Shirley Corder, to attend the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference. Instead, I landed up in surgery with doctor’s orders of “No flying for two weeks!” As my wrist hit the floor that Saturday morning, I watched nine months of preparation, anticipation and excitement disappear in a single moment. If it hadn’t been for my faith, I would never have been able to say “I don’t understand, but God . . .”

Faith allows us to look at our lemon moments and decide to make cool, refreshing lemonade. It allows us to see Jesus, THE light, at the end of our tunnels because we know that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” [Romans 8:28 – NIV]

When I wrote my Nano novel, The Red Floor (not published), in November last year, based on my mother’s childhood years in an orphanage, I came face to face with many of her lemon days. Oh, I had heard all her stories too many times to tell, but it wasn’t until I wrote her story—until I, the writer, became her—that I really understood the bitterness of her childhood. I felt what it was like to own only two pairs of shoes—one for school, one for church—spending most of the time barefoot, even during cold winter months. I tasted the crudest of sweets made from sugar and molasses that were enjoyed only on monthly pocket money days. But I also felt castor oil run down my throat, experiencing its purging effects as social workers tried to eradicate those brief, sweet moments. I watched as worms crawled through insipid, meager servings that couldn’t be stomached and tasted dirty, dry oranges found abandoned on dusty pavements in an attempt to keep hunger away. I watched with eight-year-old eyes as social workers snuggled under warm blankets not meant for them, and trembled with cold and fear on a train that chugged its way to an unknown future. I watched, I felt, I tasted, I experienced—and at the end I knew . . . my mother had made bucket loads of lemonade during her life.

Great stories abound from orange and lemon moments. Fiction and nonfiction author, Mary DeMuth, has published her lemon moments in a powerful and courageously honest memoir titled “Thin Places” released in January by Zondervan. Bitterness resulting from childhood sexual abuse, the death of her biological father, and years of parental neglect could have soured her life, but the sweet smell of orange blossoms clings to the pages of this book as Mary derives victory through her faith in the God who sees.

Mary will give away a signed copy of Thin Places and will post to a US address. A draw will be held within ten days from comment submissions. Should you wish to be entered in the draw and can supply an American postal address, please add an email address to your comment, replacing @ with (at). I will contact the winner to obtain a postal address.
 Visit Mary on http://www.marydemuth.com/ or http://www.thewritingspa.com/

"Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws."

MARION UECKERMANN’s writing passion was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then Marion has been honing her skills and has published some devotional articles in Winners at Work as well as inspirational poetry online and in a poetry journal. She has written her first Christian Women’s novel (unpublished) and is currently completing the sequel. Marion now lives in Pretoria East, South Africa with her husband, sons and a crazy black ‘Scottie’. A member and moderator of the South African Christian Writers Group, Marion can be contacted via email on marionu(at)telkomsa(dot)net or through her website www.inkslinger.co.cc