Growing Stories

I’ve been penning fiction for nearly twenty years and have learned a trio of essentials. One: don’t quit your day job. Two: Write something, anything, everyday. Don’t edit, don’t second guess, and don’t stop. Three: Back away from the computer sometimes, and experience life.

It’s the third essential that has me pondering today, as I consider the parallels between germinating stories and digging in the dirt. I think writing novels and tending gardens share some similarities. For example, both enjoy their day in the sun, both require weeding, and both endure criticisms.

You see, I’m gaga about gardening. It’s late May and my wild cottage garden is exploding with cooler and growth. Decaying spring bulbs, shooting ornamental grasses and early blossoming perennials scuffle for light and water.

It’s a gardener’s finest season. To me, the late spring garden is a like a polished third draft: the words flow, the characters pop, and the plots mature seamlessly. The writer lounges in the soft glow of the computer screen and hallucinates about success. Of course, edits and changes are inevitable, but they will be minor and effortless. Just like the snip or two, or the tug or three necessary outdoors to keep the early floral kaleidoscope flourishing.

You may think that the hot, heady days of midsummer are the pinnacle in a garden, but you would be as misplaced as a tendril of bindweed. Oh yes, summer plants are showstoppers, but they carry an air of impending loss. One blossom fades after another and another, in an inexorable, downward spiral of death. The promise of glory is spent, and with it, the anticipation of new life. Only drudgery remains for the plant lover. Hours ahead of deadheading, staking, watering and pest squashing.

A novelist’s existence echoes this slow descent into the mundane. The published final manuscript blossoms vividly, but often quickly fades, overtaken by brighter, newer titles. The writer’s fantasies of topping best-seller lists fizzle, and her spirit buckles under the dreaded humiliation and hassle of promotion.

Fortunately, all is not aphids and manure. As every day changes in the garden, there is always a glimmer of hope to catch the author’s eye. A glimpse of a fresh idea noticed on a soft autumn day. The germ of a kernel of a seed that begs perusal and hints at a novel world. It is the time to disappear into the slumbering garden, to dig and whack and transform, plotting and planting and praying for another, better season.

Followed by a trip to the computer to fertilize the seedlings of the next great novel.

Nicola Furlong pens mystery and inspirational novels, creates interactive books for the iPad, podcasts about genre writing (The Novel Experience), and teaches electronic publishing, when she's not playing Old-Timer’s hockey, growing blossoms and bamboo or eating chocolate fudge.

Her first contemporary women's series, the Sisterhood of Shepherds, debuted with HEARTSONG in May 2014 (MantleRockPublishing). Nicola's swinging whodunit, TEED OFF! (republished in February 2014 by OakTreePress), features professional golfer and coroner Riley Quinn.

Her other novels include a psychological thriller (A HEMORRHAGING OF SOULS), six novels in The Church Choir Mysteries series and a multimedia online thriller, UNNATURALSTATES.

In addition, Nicola has published two writing e-book primers, YOUDUNIT WHODUNIT! HOW TO WRITE MYSTERIES & SELF-PUBLISH YOUR E-BOOK IN MINUTES!, and a gardening guide. She's recently released her first musical interactive children's book for the iPad, SAVING GRAPE-JELLY CHEEKS.

Nicola lives in a small seaside town on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Hummingbird: an image of giving and receiving grace

Forced to commit a crime, Lexa flees south of the Border—and a vindictive bounty hunter follows her. Will she escape? Find redemption? David Stearman’s novel Hummingbird is a page-turner set in a Mexican paradise where wandering hummingbirds rest their wings and where Lexa just might discover her true identity.

The multiple viewpoints in the first couple chapters made it hard for me to settle in, but once Lexa got to Mexico I was hooked by the beautiful setting and endearing people. These are characters the author clearly knows and loves. Lexa’s nightmare of the monster called Chupacabra by the locals brought home the reality of Satan’s evil intent.

“... you’re mine, all mine,” [he says.]

Lexa forced herself to stand taller. “I’ll never belong to anyone.”

[The monster] cackled louder. “You’ve been my slave all your life. That’s why you do the dark things you do.”

It made me think of Romans 6. To whom am I a slave? The Chupacabra is an image of evil crouching at the door throughout the book while the hummingbirds who pause in their migration through the area are a beautiful image of giving and receiving grace.

I'd like to welcome author David Stearman to ICFW today. David, you currently live in Kentucky in the southern part of the US. Has that always been home? If not, where else have you lived?

DS: I was brought up in Kentucky, but have also lived in Southern California, Florida, and Oklahoma. But the story’s not finished. I’m beginning to miss the ocean again…

LH: Hmm. That shows in your book! Tell us about the first time you traveled overseas. What were your impressions?

DS: My first overseas trip was to the Philippines, and it’s still one of my favorite places. What amazed me most about it was the sweet-spirited, open-hearted people. And of course the ocean. But I’ve already mentioned that.

LH: :-) Yes, you have! Did anything funny or exciting happen on that trip?

DS: I was young and inexperienced then, and went there with a lot of enthusiasm, but not quite enough funds to cover my expenses. I was the singer for a huge crusade being held by an evangelist, so every evening after the service I’d rush back to the book table to see if I’d sold enough music albums to pay for my meals the next day. And I always did!

LH: God is good. Your new novel, Hummingbird,is about an illegal immigrant to the US—a young woman who arrived as a child, has grown up in the US, and knows no other life. How did you get interested in the problems of illegal immigrants?

DS: I learned a lot about illegal immigration from living in Southern California, but I learned a lot more about the situation from interviewing friends down in Mexico, where I currently do a lot of missions work. And I can certainly tell you this: the situation is much more complex than it appears to be on the surface.

LH: I'm sure it is! Your topic shows compassion for the plight of economic refugees. What motivates that compassion? Do you ever get flack for it?

DS: Seeing lots of people in desperate need gives me compassion for them. But I don’t talk much about immigration issues in public, since I usually get flack from people on both sides of the political aisle when I do. But the bottom line in all this is that people--especially those in financial ruin--need the Lord’s help. That’s something upon which all believers can agree.

LH: Amen. Did you have this story in mind when you last went to Mexico? What did you do to research the setting?

DS: Most of my “research” consisted of working with real people in a real missionary environment. But I did have to study about growing marijuana (for a chapter in the book), since I’ve definitely never done that myself.

LH: Good to know. We don't usually promote marijuana growers on this blog! Do you surf? Your descriptions of the sport are very convincing.

DS: I used to surf when I was a teenager, but I wasn’t very good at it. Still, I’ve always loved the sea and have spent lots of time in and around it. I feel as if I were born with an interest in sea creatures, wave-lore, and a love of water sports. There’s salt water in my veins.

LS: (I'm detecting a love of the sea here ...) It's obvious that the people and places in Mexico are dear to your heart. Tell us about your experience there.

DS: Mexico is my favorite place on earth. Repeated trips there over the years have blessed me with many friends and co-laborers in places like Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo. And the food there is the best food in the world. Mix seafood with salsa, tortillas, and frijoles and you’re set to go.

LH: Sounds delicious. The story has a theme of reaping what you sow, but with the twist that salvation gives you a fresh start. Tell us more about the spiritual truths you wanted to communicate in Hummingbird DS: Lexa starts out as a “taker” butlearns to be a “giver,” and her fortunes change as she makes these changes in her life. But this story is primarily about grace. As the Apostle Paul once said, “Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of which I am the chief.” Paul accepted Christ and turned out pretty well in the end. That’s Lexa’s story too ;-) I want readers to know that God is merciful, forgiving, and generous. That he’ll do anything to help anyone who trusts in Jesus’ name.

LH: You are a musician, songwriter and a missionary. How do you fit in writing?

DS: By doing less of the other things I need to do, lol!

LH: How do you see writing fitting into God's call on your life?

DS: I believe we go from phase to phase (glory to glory) as we grow in the Lord in ministry. My ministry call has evolved over time. As a teenager, I wanted to share Jesus with others. Period. I was a singer/songwriter, so I decided to do it that way. But as I began to travel and hold concerts, the desire to preach grew inside me. After I'd done that for a time, I began to realize that preaching and singing in other countries was the same as doing those things in my home country, the US, so I began to travel overseas, which technically makes me a missionary. Only recently have I felt the urge to write novels and other books, and now it's my primary passion to share God's love via the written word. But I really consider all of these things to be expressions of my same original calling, which is to share Jesus by any and all means possible. BTW--we hear a lot about "callings" and "being called" these days, but when you think about it, we've all been "called" to share Christ with the world. That's what the Great Commission is all about, right? And when you think about it, that's kind of liberating. Folks can feel free to share Jesus with anyone, in any way, they like.

LH: Have any other places you have ministered inspired novels? What do we have to look forward to?

DS: I’ve done missions work in Amazonian,Peru, and am working on a story called “Deep Selva” that’s set in that location. I’ve also, as mentioned earlier, been to the Philippines a couple times, and have a seriously-needs-editing manuscript called “Moth Orchid” about that. But what I’m most excited about right now is a new novel coming out soon which is set in, of all places, the music business. Fame is a strange country, and that’s what that story’s all about. Oh, and I’ve also written several 30-day devotionals: “Encouraging Word” “More encouraging Words,” and “Faith Pumper.”

LH: Thank you for being with us today, David. I think many readers will be caught up in the personal change Lexa experiences as God turns evil to her good in this exciting thriller.

 ~~~~~~~~

LeAnne Hardy has lived in six countries on four continents. She is now looking for an excuse to visit Western coastal Mexico and see these hummingbirds David describes so beautifully.  LeAnne's new historical novel Honddu Vale set in sixteenth century England, will be released July 29. Learn more on her website.

A Conversation Across the Water

Donna: My guest today is Claire Dunn from England, a friend I made through the Association of Christian Writers. Congratulations, Claire, on publishing your first novel. Tell us about yourself.

Claire: With a degree in history and a career in specialist education, writing a novel is not so divergent a choice of occupation as it might at first seem. My all-abiding love of history, language and learning came together in my debut novel: Mortal Fire – The Secret of the Journal - the first of a series of romantic thrillers with a twist published by Monarch Books in the UK in May, 2012, and in August in the United States.

Mortal Fire grew out of a desire to weave the sort of story that kept me enthralled – multi-layered, dark, with an evolving tale that packs a punch, but it might never have been written if the predictions of my headmaster at primary school had proved correct. Struggling to learn to read and write, school represented a hurdle to be overcome. I nonetheless loved literature, and it wasn’t until I left school that dyslexia was diagnosed.

Refusing to be daunted, I went on to study history at university. On graduation, and building on my own educational experiences, I established a school for children with dyslexia, autism, and communication difficulties, which I still run.    

Now I divide my time running my school in Kent and writing in the south west of England, a life I can only describe as living between the here-and-now and the never-never.

Donna: And I’ll bet you’re never bored, Claire. Can you share some of your story without giving too much away, of course?

Claire: Mortal Fire follows Emma D’Eresby – a 29 year-old, independent and self-contained professor of history – who leaves her Cambridge college for a post in an exclusive university in Maine, USA. It is meant to be the culmination of her obsession with a curious journal – the diary of a long dead Englishman - a portion of which was left to her by her grandfather; instead the legacy leads her to a head-on collision with history and a secret that should never have been uncovered. But, most diverting and disconcerting of all, is Emma's growing attraction to the strikingly handsome Dr. Matthew Lynes, whose kind but deliberately distant demeanour puzzles her. And the mystery surrounding Matthew only deepens when Emma discovers a link between him and the journal. What is Matthew trying to hide?

Donna: That sounds gripping, indeed. Congratulations on being endorsed by Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse) and Fay Sampson (The Hunted Hare)). Those are two of my favourite authors. Now, tell us how you came to write Mortal Fire.

Claire: Hanging on my bedroom wall is an excerpt from the poem ‘God Knows’ written by Minnie Louise Haskins in the early C20th, and used for King George VI’s Christmas broadcast in 1939. You may know it from the opening lines:

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

It is undoubtedly easier to put this into practice when the way is clear and the light shines brightly on your road ahead. Sometimes, however, your way is not clear until you are on it, and this is the path I found myself treading one spring in 2009. First, a bit of backstory...

Although a career in writing and history had been my ambition from my earliest years, the twin revolutions of finding Christ and a diagnosis of dyslexia took my life in a different direction.  I fully believed – and still do – that the dyslexia was  both a gift (in the way that only God is able to turn a negative into a positive and so much more) and a command to direct my life in service to others with the same condition. The setting up and running of a school for children with a range of specific language difficulties was therefore a straightforward, unquestionable act of obedience. It wasn’t easy, in fact there were many obstacles over a long period of time that threatened to stop the project in its tracks, but not once did I question the validity of what I had been asked to do.

So what has this to do with writing, you might ask? Well, quite a lot really. I had long put aside any desire to write, and the development and running of the school dominated life for a considerable number of years. Content with this, I didn’t look for anything else. It came as something of a surprise, therefore, when a thought became a niggle, and the niggle became an itch. In 2009, I resisted no longer, and scratched the itch until it became a book. But what sort of book and who was I writing it for? Herein lay my dilemma.

Although Mortal Fire is primarily a book about a developing romance and the mystery that surrounds the central characters, I introduced elements of faith because it is important for my heroine, and has a bearing on the unfolding story. Emma is a Christian but in this first book of the Secret of the Journal series her faith is almost dormant as she hides in a bubble created in an attempt to protect herself from her past. Emma is not seen praying on a regular basis, does not attend church – yet faith underlies her life and the choices she makes and, gradually, as she is shaken from her somnolence, she wakes. Nonetheless, I would describe Mortal Fire as a secular book, albeit written from a Christian perspective. How could I justify the amount of time spent writing a story and one not intended to enlighten or comfort, but merely to entertain? Where was this in God’s plan for me? How did it serve Him?

I discussed it with Christian friends, read how other authors and singers juggled secular and non-secular aspects of their work, and, of course, I prayed, bending God’s ear repeatedly over the months it took to complete Mortal Fire. And each time I prayed for clear direction I had the same message to keep going and I would ask ‘but why?’, because I couldn’t quite believe there could be any purpose in it. Non-Christian friends didn’t see the problem – ‘write because you want to’, they said. But it was difficult for me to see how I could serve God through writing this book, whereas the purpose of the school had been abundantly clear from the outset.

There came a point when I had a completed manuscript – well two, but that’s another story – and I set off to find a publisher. To cut a long story short (and what a story) I entered into negotiations with a Christian publisher in the UK. We discussed what they were looking for, I explained my perspective - toning down some elements, and highlighting others - until we had a balance and I had a contract.

I had accepted the directive to write; but I still didn’t understand why? Then a friend said to me “Write for God in the best way you can and He will find a purpose for it”, and someone else said, “It’s not what you do that matters” and at last I understood that it wasn’t up to me to decide God’s purpose in this, all I had to do was to let go.

It came down to trust. The lesson I learned when writing The Secret of the Journal series is echoed by one of the characters who, taking from Isaiah 55:8, quoted:  

 ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.’  (King James 2000 Bible)

Mine is not to reason why; mine is to do and write. Stepping out of our comfort zone is a matter of trust, stepping out into the unknown – at whatever level – is a matter of faith.

Donna: So true, Claire. Obedience is a lesson we just have to keep on learning, isn’t it? Where can we find you on the web?

Claire: The Mortal Fire video is on YouTube at: http://ning.it/MNRTNQ     

            And the book is on AmazonUK at: http://ning.it/MNSSO1

                                                                                                        

The Jihad's Messiah - An Excerpt

By Nick Daniels

With the release of my new thriller this month, The Jihad's Messiah, I've decided to share the trailer and the whole first chapter with you. If you enjoy international fiction, I'm sure you'll enjoy this!



Click here to read the first chapter of The Jihad's Messiah.