Bookish Tuesday: Literary Libraries

by Jeanette O'Hagan @jeanetteohagan

What book-dragon doesn't love a library?

Libraries are heavenly places, crammed full of books to get in lost in. I'm a frequent visitor to our local library and have found many treasures there - including books by Karen Kingsbury, Dee Hendersen, Stephen Lawhead, Ted Dekker, Rosanne Hawke and Adele Jones.  And I have many wonderful memories as a child raiding the school library, the Nkana Mines club library, the local council library or any library that would let me through its doors for my next favourite read.

It recently occurred to me that I've included a few different libraries in my stories. It got me thinking about the fantastic fictional libraries other writers include in their books.


There are certainly some great libraries in what might be deemed secular fiction -- Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose revolves around the labyrinthine abbey library at an Italian monastery, some heart-warming scenes occurred between Edward and the Dashwood girls in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, the Hogwarts library looms large in J K Rowling's Harry Potter novels, while in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 future hope resides in the living libraries,  and then there's the Beast's library that captured Belle's heart in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

Here is a list of some more, if you want to check them out.

Libraries in Christian fiction

And what about Christian fiction? Is it devoid of libraries? It took a while and the help of a few friends to track them down, but they are there.

Fantasy and Science Fiction

My imagination conjures up visions of Bilbo Baggins the hobbit spending his last days in the library at Rivendell full of ancient books and scrolls. Though apparently, this scene is not in the book -J R R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings -  Gandalf does search through the archives of Gondor to confirm his theories about the One Ring.

From memory, in Stephen Lawhead's Bright Empire series, the society of ley travellers keep a depository of unique and strange books in the house at Damascus, including a mysterious book which provides a clue to the disastrous shrinking universe and strange, out-of-time events.

And there is the faerie library in George MacDonald's Fantasies. Anados, the hero in this allegorical tale, discovers that the books pull the reader into their pages, to experience the events with all five senses, a truly immersive experience.

In C S Lewis' The Great Divorce, departed authors congregate "about public libraries to see if anyone’s still reading their books." A somewhat depressing thought. Though the people in the Great Divorce are those who have failed to move on and accept in full the gift of God's grace.

Christian author Steve Rzasa is a librarian and a library makes an appearance in For Us Humans, a sci-fi where a human cop and an alien investigator need to team up to track down a missing artifact and prevent dire, world-threatening consequences, while dialoging about Jesus.

Romance, Historical and Biblical Fiction

And it's not just speculative fiction that contain delightful libraries.

Bodie Thoene’s Jerusalem Scrolls  The Zion Legacy Series No 4 references a library of ancient scrolls under Jerusalem.

And in sync with the times, Carolyn Miller's regency romances often feature libraries. Manor house libraries in The Eluisive Miss Ellison and The Captivating Lady Charlotte, and borrowing libraries in The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey and Winning Miss Winthrop while both The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey and Carolyn's lastest release, A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh, have some scenes where the heroine meets significant people at the (public) libraries of Regency England.

Carolyn Miller is clearly an author after my own heart.

Paula Vince, in her post Stories with Libraries and Librarians, mentions at lease three other occurrences of libraries in Christian Fiction.

Elizabeth Camden's Beyond All Dreams features a a research librarian named Anna, who archives maps, and in the process, discovers an explosive and dangerous secret.

In Lynn Austin's Wonderland Creek, a shy librarian is pressured to become a mobile librarian to a hillbilly community, with some dangerous and life-changing results.

And in Julie Klasson's The Ladies of Ivy Hill,  Miss Rachel Ashcroft inherits her father's books even though she doesn't like reading, so she sets up a small lending library with wonderful consequences.

Libraries in Nardva

And there there are my fictional libraries.

The Palace Library in Tarka

The Great Library of the Golden Place features in Akrad's Children. A large area that takes almost one wing and two levels with a mezzanine floor and a domed skylight over the reading tables, it is the hero, Dinnis' favourite refuge. Dinnis curries favour with the cranky librarian, Ralton, so he can spend more time there and earn a little metal. Prince Mannok on the other hand, caused havoc inside the library as a young boy, and would rather be anywhere else as a young man who loves riding and hunting.

In my short story Lakwi's Lament, young Lakwi loves books and wishes she was allowed in the library, but her father has banned girls from entering. Her big brother, Prince Rokkan gives her books and the ideas and stories she drinks in help her when she does find herself in deep trouble. A story about a girl, a library and a puppy (among other things).

The Library of Alexgaia

In a short sci-fi 'space opera' story, Rendezvous at Alexgaia, Dana and Avonis have to get into the hidden library at Alexgaia, run by the technomonks, to find a clue for a code. Getting in is one thing, getting out is another thing altogether as they dodge lethal autobots among the library stacks. 

And in a short story A Rookie Mistake, time traveller, Sandria is in a private library looking for precious artifacts to save from the 1666 Fire of London when her mission goes badly wrong - or maybe right, depending on how you look at it. (As Time Goes By: Mixed Blessings. Breath of Fresh Air Press.)

Both stories have been republished in Ruhanna's Flight and Other Stories.

And my latest library creation?

The Seven-Tiered library of Sillantis

In my latest release, Shadow Crystals, the fourth and penultimate novella in the Under the Mountain series, the heroes spend some of their time shifting through the scrolls and codices of the Library in Siltanis, search for the clue to breaking the bond of a soul-stone. Of course, when the rebel ebed invade the city, things become rather fraught and dangerous, but those days in the library are not wasted.

Do you love spending time in a library? And what fictional libraries would you long to visit? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks to Paula Vince, Susan Bruce, Adam Collings and Mazzy Adams for some great suggestions to add to the list :)

Giveaway

And as a bonus, I'm giving away to one commenter an e-book from the Under the Mountain series (a choice of either Heart of the Mountain, Blood Crystal, Stone of the Sea or Shadow Crystals).

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Jeanette spun tales in the world of Nardva from the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. Many involve courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic. Others, are set in Nardva’s future and include space stations, plasma rifles, bio-tech, and/or cyborgs.

She has published numerous short stories, poems, four novellas in the Under the Mountain series, her debut novel, Akrad's Children and Ruhanna's Flight and other stories.

Her latest release is Shadow Crystals, the penultimate novella in the Under the Mountain series with Caverns of the Deep due in April/May.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.


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Bookish Tuesday & Giveaway: Delving Deep

by Jeanette O'Hagan

Delving Deep

Heart of the Mountain, the first novella in the Under the Mountain series started out as a short story exploring the ideas of an underground realm deep beneath the mountains. It was a realm that had shut itself off from the outside world for over two hundred years. Over time, things begin failing, but the people have all but forgotten that there is life beyond their tunnels - until a young stranger, a shapeshifter,  arrives and begins stirring things up. 

In Heart of the Mountain, Blood Crystal - and the prequel, Shadows of the Deep, I enjoyed exploring what it would be like to live totally underground, how it would affect the society, how they would find food, what things they would value. And when the taboo to leave the caverns is finally broken by two brave youngwuns, how things that are familiar to us would appear to them, things we might take for granted. Like the stars, moons (two in this world) and sun. Like the openness of the sky and the unpredictability of the weather. Like the swings in temperature from hot to freezing.

In Stone of the Sea, the story ranges wider and, in part, explores another 'deep' - the ocean. I'd recently written Before the Wind (in Ruhanna's Flight and Other Stories) in which the winds, the waves, the ocean are integral to the plot. When the Bible speaks of the Deep (Tehom, the abyss), it refers mostly to the deep ocean and to the waters of creation. In many ways, the ocean is the most untamed space on earth (and Nardva - the imaginary world on which my stories are set), yet even such a seemingly chaotic force is under God's control (e.g. Ex 15:8). 

The final 'deep' in the Under the Mountain series, is the human heart. The people under the mountain find themselves in a desperate circumstances. There are different ideas about how their problems may be solved and who should pay the cost. Ultimately, the stories are about who we should trust (the Maker or the Dark Ones or some other force), what (or who) we are prepared to sacrifice to cling to life, and who we become by the choices we make.  This is explored even further in the remaining two novellas - Shadow Crystals and Caverns of the Deep.

The Under the Mountain series have young protagonists - I won't say teen because they come from longer-living races and age differently - but adolescents. Yet the challenges they face, the decisions they have to make have, I think, relevance to us all. I write for the general market, yet God's love and grace and providence is like a scarlet thread woven through the pattern of everything I write.

I hope you take the opportunity to read this series. Commenting on this post and the October new releases post, gives you a chance of winning one of the books in the series.  And for the next two weeks,  Heart of the Mountain and Blood Crystal ebooks are on special at 99c USD, to give readers a chance to catch up with the latest release Stone of the Sea.

Enjoy the Read!

Stone of the Sea by Jeanette O'Hagan

A desperate journey into the unknown

Food is scarce, the Glittering realms in chaos and solutions fast disappearing. Twins Delvina and Retza have always stood shoulder to shoulder. Will new challenges pull the twins apart? Will they, and their shapeshifter friend, Zadeki, find food before the people under the mountain starve?

Join Delvina, Retza and Zadeki as once again they face their fears and rescue a realm. Stone of the Sea is the third novella in the Under the Mountain Series. 

Giveaway

Jeanette O'Hagan is giving away a copy of your choice of Heart of the Mountain or Blood Crystal or Stone of the Sea (the first two are available as both print and ebooks, Stone of the Sea as ebook).

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post and/or October 2018 New Releases post. Receive two entries in the drawing by commenting on both posts.  Entry will open for a week (until midnight Monday, 5 November), with the winner to be announced in a comment on both blog posts.

Available at Amazon.com

Jeanette started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic users. She has published numerous short stories, poems, two novellas and her debut novel, Akrad's Children and Ruhanna's Flight and other stories.

Her latest release, Stone of the Sea, is currently on preorder for 31 October release. Also available on other retailers.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.

To keep up to date with latest news and blogs, sign-up to her newsletter - and receive the short story Ruhanna's Flight.

Find her on:

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Bookish Tuesday: All At Sea

by Jeanette O'Hagan @jeanetteohagan

I was born in far inland, in semi-arid outback Queensland. Water was scarce until first one and then two big dams were built. Each year we would spend time on the coast, and, when I was on the verge of ten years, we sailed on an ocean liner across the Indian Ocean from Melbourne to Durban, part of our journey to another inland abode, Kitwe Zambia. Two years later we repeated the journey.

A visit to the beach is one thing. Two weeks on the southern ocean something else altogether. At the beach the ocean is (mostly) tamed, It comes in and breaks upon the shore in curly waves. Okay, not altogether tame, it has a limit to it. In fact, ancient sailors (before compasses, and sextants) often sailed within sight of the land so as not to get lost in the vast trackless wilds of the ocean. Even so, sailors in the Pacific Island used wind, currents, birds and other signs to venture out into the wild, blue deep.

For me, those two weeks swaying, slipping and staggering on the ship's deck, fighting nausea, was still a magical time. The sparkling blue-black waves stretched as far as my eye could see in every direction. Albatross and gulls followed the wake of the ship. Flying fish, dolphins, jelly-fish brought wonder and fired the imagination.

In a few of my recent stories, I've recaptured something of that wonder of the ocean. It got me thinking about books set at sea.

Jonah and Paul

In the Bible, the ocean is often a symbol of chaotic, unruly forces arrayed against God, forces that he has subdued and tamed. We can see this in the story of Jonah in the Old Testament and Paul in the New - where a disastrous storm brings fear and devastation - yet also God's sovereign control, as a great fish swallows Jonah, while Paul and all his companions lives are saved despite shipwreck. On the Sea of Galilee, Jesus both calms the storm and walks upon the waves. However fierce the ocean may be, God is stronger. After all, He created it.

The Classics

A number of classic books are set at sea. Books like Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe,  Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, Moby Dick by Herman Melville or The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway to name a few.

Migration stories

In Australia - many early historical stories (both fictional and non-fictional) start with the First Fleet (the perilous journey, and the arrival and establishment of the convict colony in Jackson Bay, Sydney) or later ship arrivals in the eighteen century. Carol Preston's Mary's Guardian or Kate Grenville's The Secret River are examples.

No doubt there are also a great many stories surrounding the Pilgrim Fathers a couple of centuries earlier, stories which also include the privation and dangers of the voyage, as well as the challenges of settling in a new land and encounters with the original inhabitants. Mercy Clifton: Pilgrim Girl by Peter Marshall and David Manuel is a charming example aimed at young adult readers.

 The Light Between the Ocean

The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman is set on a lighthouse on remote (fictional) Janus island situated off the coast of West Australia and between the Indian and Great Southern Oceans. While technically land, this small rock is at the mercy of the might waves and wind. The beautiful, wild, remote setting is integral to the dramatic ethical dilemma that confronts the main characters, Tom and Isabel and Stedman's descriptions are exquisite.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader 

C S Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is part of his Narnia series and is almost wholly set at sea. King Caspian sails to the end of the world in search of the banished seven lords, friends of his father. He is joined by the youngest Pevensie children and their insufferable cousin, Eustace. The ship's company face dangers and stop by on a number of strange and perilous islands on the way. From Eustace's transformation, to the albatross that leads them out of danger, to the Far Country and Aslan appearing as a lamb, there are numerous biblical and spiritual allusions woven into a delightful adventure story.

Rose of Admirias

I loved Charis Joy Jackson's floating kingdom in her Beauty of the Beast adaption Rose of Admirias. This story is rich in imagery and has an allegorical undertone. It is a story of betrayal, of bitterness, revenge and forgiveness with great characters in Averie, the Beast, the Elderpine Bryce and others.

Jewel of the Stars

Adam David Collings first episode of his Jewel of the Stars series, Earth's Remnant introduces us to a crew and passengers of a cruise ship - with two main differences. The ocean this 'ship' sails on is between the stars (or space) and, early on in the cruise,  it becomes clear that earth is under devastating attack by an alien force. The Jewel of the Stars is on its own and must flee earth space to survive. Earth's Remnant kept me flipping the pages, and I'm looking forward to the next instalment.

On my to-read list

While many stories are set at or by the beach, an ocean is setting is less common.  With a bit of searching, I found some other Christian Fiction with a marine setting such as Forsaken Dreams by MaryLu Tyndall - a voyage to Brazil to establish a utopia in 1866  -  or My Enemy My Heart by Laurie Alice Eakes - with heroine facing the capture of her father's ship in 1812 by a privateer on the high seas.

In the world of Nardva

Earlier this year, I wrote Before the Wind for a collection of my stories  Ruhanna's Flight and Other Stories (released in March 2018). Tamrak leads his people across the ocean to search of safety after his island is attacked. Researching and writing the effects of the winds and waves, the type of sailing crafts, ancient ways of navigation was both challenging and exhilarating, but most of all, I love immersing myself in my characters.

"... he dropped like an anchor-stone beneath the foaming surface.
       Cold gripped him and the roar and thunder of waves and winds, the hoarse shouts and cries from the other wakans were doused in a sudden muffled silence.
      The currents tossed him this way then that like a strand of dried seaweed in a high wind. Trails of silvery bubbles tracked their way to the surface, joining the foam of the crashing wave and collecting along the bottom of the hulls.
      He had to surface before he ran out of breath and the ocean claimed him. Clamping his mouth shut and tightening his chest muscles, he held what air he still had and kicked upwards.
      Something jerked him backward."

Before the Wind in Ruhanna's Flight and Other Stories

With my near release Stone of the Sea (release date, end of the month; novella 3 in the Under the Mountain series), Delvina and Zadeki continue their efforts to save the under the mountain realm, including a sea voyage of a crystal powered White Ship into unknown dangers. 

And earlier this year, I wrote a short story for an anthology (due release later this year). My story, Maroon's Sanctuary, is set deep in the ocean beneath the icebound surface of a frozen moon.  The story required another foray into pressures, depths, moons, breathing underwater, and cloning, as I explored the depths of the ocean. While the other two stories are epic fantasy, this one has a more futuristic slant. 

The ocean can be both mysterious and dangerous. Sometimes we need to leave the safety of the shore, to risk the storms and unseen perils.  But even in the storms of life, we know our Lord is with us.

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Jeanette started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic users. She has published numerous short stories, poems, two novellas and her debut novel, Akrad's Children and new release Ruhanna's Flight and other stories.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.

To keep up to date with latest news and blogs, sign-up to my newsletter - and receive the short story Ruhanna's Flight.

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Short Reads

by Jeanette O'Hagan @JeanetteOHagan

I love immersing myself in a thick novel with a large cast of characters, a stunning out-of-this-world setting, a convoluted twisty plot. But I will confess to a growing love and appreciation short fiction, stories that can often be enjoyed in a single sitting. Many classic and well-know tales fall into this category, from Aesops' fables to biblical parables to Grimm's fairly tales. Other memorable short stories include O Henry's heartbreaking Gift of the Magi, Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl or (novella size), Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol.

With the constraints of busy modern lives and the ease of publishing them online, short fiction is making a comeback. There are a number of Christian writers who have written shorter works.

Types of short fiction:

1. Mirco-Fiction - up to 100 words.

Though hard to write well, these are becoming increasingly popular with mobile phones and texting and Twitter (280 characters). Clearly, every word must count. 

Ernest Hemingway's famous example of a six-word story is as follows 'For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.'

2. Flash Fiction - between 100-1000 words.

These stories can be used as 'palate cleansers' between longer stories in magazines or may be included in collections and anthologies.   Breath of Fresh Air Press  publishes the top ten entries for the  Faith Writers Challenge (750 words on a weekly theme) including Genre-lly Speaking (each week focused on a different genre) or As Time Goes By (the themes all revolve around time). 

These are great to dip into when you have a few spare minutes to be refreshed and inspired.

3. Short Story - between 1,000 - 10,000 words

This is often what we think of as a short story. Many competitions, periodical, 'zines and anthologies require this length - often around 2000 to 3000 words.  Speculative fiction (sci-fi and fantasy) have bigger words counts of between 7000-10,000 words.

A good short story can be like a short black, a shot of imagery, emotion, life. It may enjoyed over a cuppa, but leave you pondering for hours afterwards. 

These days, short stories can be published as stand alone works as ebooks (for instance, my The Herbalist's Daughter or Lakwi's Lament)

4. Novellettes and Novellas - 10,000 - 50,000 words

There is confusion with the term 'novellette'. For some, it means a novella while for others it is a short piece that falls in between a long short story and a novella. While a novella is often 20,000 words or more up to 50,000.

A novella (and to some extent a novellette) allows more complexity, with perhaps more characters and twists and  develops over a longer period of time, though there is generally not room for subplots (as there may be in a full-sized novel).

While novellas are not generally popular with publishers, with the advent of ebooks and Indie publishing, novellas have become much more popular.

A novella may be a prequel.  Depending on the size, it might take two to three hours to read and might be enjoyed over a long lunch or a lazy afternoon. A novella can be a stand alone (e.g. Meredith Resce's romance Where There is Smoke), part of a series (my Under the Mountain series starting with Heart of the Mountain) or a serial with episodes and seasons (Adam David Collings Jewel of the Stars), or a prequel to a novel series.

Novellas and short stories can also be included in anthologies with multiple contributors (eg Glimpses of Light or  Noblebright's Still Waters), as a collection (as in  my Ruhanna's Flight and other stories) or as a boxed set of novellas usually with different contributing authors, (e.g. an Aussie Summer Christmas boxed set).

Why read short stories

They:

• Often can be read and enjoyed in one sitting or over a short period of time, so are great when you are busy or have limited time or mind-space for reading.
• Can provide a nice transition between enjoying longer works.
• May fill the story gaps in larger well-loved tales (as prequels or sequels or tell the story of secondary characters), and thus expand on a story universe.
• Can be a great introduction to a new authors or genres. A short story usually are lower in price and take less time to read. With an anthology or boxed set you can sample a variety of authors, some you might know and love, others that are new to you. 

A well-written short story can be memorable and satisfying and stay with your for a long time.


Do you like reading short fiction? What short stories or anthologies have you enjoyed and could recommend to other readers?

Jeanette O’Hagan first spun tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fantasy, science fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories include a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance, and/or shapeshifters.

Recent publications include Akrad's Children—a Young Adult kingdom fantasy; Heart of the Mountain and Blood Crystal— the first two novellas from the Under the Mountain series; plus Ruhanna’s Flight and Other Stories. She has stories and poems in seventeen other anthologies, including The Quantum Soul, Tales From the Underground, Like a Woman and Futurevision.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.

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Bookish Tuesday: Food, Glorious Food

by Jeanette O'Hagan

I WANT TO EAT MAIZE-BREAD!
But seriously, everyone in Akrad’s Children eats it and it sounds delicious.  

Michael, Goodreads review.

I had to chuckle when I saw this review on Akrad's Children - not because seeing new reviews brings a smile of pure happiness to my face (mostly); okay not only because I love seeing new reviews, but because it was such a great way to start a review. And it got me thinking about memorable mentions of food in books I love.

After all, food tells us so much about the characters, the setting, the occasion. It grounds us in the story, gives us warm feelings and makes our mouth water (or our stomach curdle).

One of my short stories starts this way:

Dana snatched a food packet and shoved it into the rehydrator, keying in the sequence.

Not a mouth-watering meal perhaps, but in one sentence we've learnt something about Dana, about where she is likely to be, about the genre of the story.

Are you surprised to learn the title is Space Junk* and that this is a science-fiction story?

So what are some memorable food moments in literature that you remember?  Here are some of mine.

Blueberries in The Palace Thief, Ruhanna's Flight and other stories

Oliver Twist 

Who can forget in the book and the film, when Oliver draws the short straw.

"Please, sir, I want some more."

With only three small bowlfuls of oatmeal gruel per day, an onion twice a week and a bread roll on Sunday, the boys in the workhouse are ravenous. The empty bowl; Oliver's pale, wane face; the outrage on the well-fed master's face says it all. We feel Oliver's hungry and wonder how anyone could treat children this way. (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens) 

Anne of Green Gables

Do you remember Marilla's famous raspberry cordial which poor Anne (unaware that it's alcoholic) gives to her best friend Diane in a wonderful tea party full of cake and cherry preserves. The results are catastrophic. Diane greedily guzzles three glasses and goes home tipsy. Her mother is rightly incensed and bans her daughter from ever seeing Anne again. Anne learns a hard lesson, but luckily for the bosom friends, Mrs Barry eventually relents. (Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery)

Lucy Pevensie in Narnia

Two food scenes stays with me in C S Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe  - one is Lucy's brother Edmond gobbling down the wicked White Witch's enchanted Turkish Delight. Her flattering words, false promises, his own jealousies, and the addictive sweetmeat all lure him into betraying Aslan, his siblings and all of Narnia.

In contrast, there is the cosy meal Tumnus the fawn offers Lucy- lightly boiled eggs, sardines of toast, honey on toast, sugar-topped cake. While this did seem a bit ordinary to my seven-year old self (but probably not to war-torn rationed Brits), I loved the homeliness of the meal. For sure, Tumnus was attempting to lull Lucy to sleep so he could hand her over to the White Witch, but he repents and he risks his life to save hers.

Two meals, two temptations, two different outcomes.

Hobbits and Elves

As a teen devouring J R R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, I loved the idea of Lembas - the Elven waybread (a gift to Frodo and his companions from the Lady of Lothlorien). It was wrapped in leaves, nutritious, long-lasting, and delicious - and sustained Frodo and Sam on their epic journey into the horrors of Mordor in their quest to save the world. The gifts of friendship and fellowship make their heroic deeds possible.

And then there is the feast Bilbo unwillingly provided to his unexpected guests of twelve dwarves and Gandalf at the start of The Hobbit. Bilbo's pantry seemed endless, full of cakes, and cold meats, and tasty delights, though by the end of the night, it was pretty much empty - and Bilbo found himself going on an adventure into the unknown. The hilarious scenes tells us a lot about dwarves - and hobbits - and the need at times to let go of our familiar comforts.

Mina Improvises

In Stephen Lawhead's Skin Map (Bright Empire series), Mina is separated from Kit Livingstone and is lost in an alternative earth, in seventeenth century Bohemia. Fortunate for her, she meets up with a baker and together they create the best (and only) coffee shop in Prague with delectable pasties. While her talents languish in the ordinary world, the new situation brings out her ingenuity and grit.

Ruhanna's Flight

And before I leave, I'd love to share another food scenes from my recent release Ruhanna's Flight and other stories.

In the first story Ruhanna's Flight* - Ruhanna prepares for her father's homecoming with a gift - and a special meal.

From the little kitchen came tantalising smells fit for the palace in Silantis. Mariam had surpassed herself with Baba’s favourite dishes—turtle and seaweed soup, baked fish, baby tomatoes and sea-sage, oysters and rock crays with a creamy dill sauce, stuffed quails and fresh wave-berries with yarma cheese to finish off. Everything was ready by late morning.

Ruhanna sank down on a cushion in the reception room, stroking the carved albatross on Baba’s box, and waited.

I have fun thinking up food appropriate for the different people and places in my fiction.

What meals do you remember in your favourite books? I'd love you to share them in the comments.

* Space Junk - first published in Mixed Blessings: Genre-lly Speaking (Breath of Fresh Air Press, 2016), also included in Ruhanna's Flight and other stories.
* Ruhanna's Flight first published in Glimpes of Light (edited by Jeanette O'Hagan and Nola Passmore: By the Light Books, 2015), and also included in Ruhanna's Flight and other stories.

Giveaway  Ruhanna's Flight and other stories

Ruhanna's Flight and other stories by Jeanette O'Hagan (By the Light Books, 6 March 2018)

Tales of wonder, romance, adventure - dip into the world of Nardva with this exciting collection of stories. It includes Ruhanna's Flight,  Before the Wind, Heart of the Mountain, The Herbalist's Daughter, Moonflame, Rendezvous at Alexgaia and many other stories. A delightful introduction to Jeanette O'Hagan's fantasy world of engaging characters and stirring adventures.

Available from amazon.com

Jeanette O'Hagan is giving away a e-book copy of Ruhanna's Flight and other stories. To enter the giveaway, on this post and/or ICFW's March New Releases post on March 19. Receive two entries in the drawing by commenting on both posts. I'll draw a winner from the comments on Saturday, March 30.

Jeanette recently published a collection of fantasy and sci-fi Nardvan stories, Ruhanna's Flight and other stories. She started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing.

Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic users. She has published numerous short stories, poems, two novellas and her debut novel, Akrad's Children.

Connect with her: website | facebook | pinterest | twitter

International Christian Fiction - New Releases | March 2018 #giveaways

We have TWO giveaways for our readers in March:

Winning Miss Winthrop by Carolyn Miller

Catherine Winthrop has cried out to God too many times to count. Years ago, the man who stole her heart rejected her--and she's never recovered. Now tragedy has brought him back into her life. This time it isn't her heart he's taking, it's her home and her family's good name--and she has no one to share her grief.

Jonathan Carlew's life may look enviable from the outside--wealthy, handsome, landed--but the mystery surrounding his birth has shadowed his entire life. Now as he ascends to the barony, fresh challenges await, including a scheming mama who wants him to embrace power, even at the cost of losing love. How can he remain the kind, honorable man he strives to be and still meet the demands of his new society responsibilities?

These two broken hearts must decide whether their painful past and bitter present will be all they can share, or if forgiveness can provide a path to freedom for the future.

Set in the sumptuous salons of Bath, Regency England's royal breeding ground for gossip, Winning Miss Winthrop is the first volume in Carolyn Miller's new series. Fans of the wholesome and richly drawn first series won’t want to miss this new set of characters.

Giveaway #1 - Winning Miss Winthrop (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

Carolyn Miller is giving away a print or ebook copy (winner's choice) of Winning Miss Winthrop. To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post and/or Carolyn's Wandering Wednesday post on March 14. Receive two entries in the drawing by commenting on both posts. Please specify which giveaways you're entering in your comment on this post.

Check out Carolyn's post last Wednesday for more information on the giveaway and Carolyn's journey in Bath - the English setting for her regency romances.

Available from Amazon.com

Ruhanna's Flight and other stories by Jeanette O'Hagan

Tales of wonder, romance, adventure - dip into the world of Nardva with this collection of stories.

Ruhanna's Flight - Ruhanna's father is coming for a rare visit. In a flurry of excitement, she prepares for his arrival, when suddenly everything goes wrong and her life is in danger.

Ruhanna's Flight and other stories included stories previously published in a range of anthologies plus never before published. While mostly set in the Southern Hemisphere of Nardva, it ranges across the ages - from early days of the Lonely Isles to the space age. A great introduction to this fantasy world of engaging characters and stirring adventures.

Giveaway #2 - Ruhanna's Flight

Jeanette O'Hagan is giving away a copy of Ruhanna's Flight. To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post and/or Jeanette's upcoming Bookish Tuesday post on March 27. Receive two entries in the drawing by commenting on both posts. Check out Jeanette's upcoming Bookish Tuesday post on March 27 for more information on the giveaway. Please specify which giveaways you're entering in your comment on this post.

Available from Amazon.com

The Heart's Appeal by Jennifer Delamere

Strong-minded and independent Julia Bernay comes to London to study medicine and become a doctor--a profession that has only just opened up to women. She witnesses a serious accident, and through her quick actions saves the life of an ambitious young barrister named Michael Stephenson.

Coming from a family that long ago lost its money and its respectability, Michael Stephenson has achieved what many would have thought was impossible. Hard work and an aptitude for the law have enabled him to rise above his family's stigma and set him on the path to wealth and recognition. But his well-laid plans are upended when the accident brings Julia into his life.

Michael soon discovers he's met a woman every bit as stubborn and determined to make her mark on the world as he is. Sparks fly--but will they find common ground?

Available from Amazon.com

The Innkeeper's Daughter by Michelle Griep

A London officer goes undercover to expose a plot against the Crown

Dover, England, 1808: Officer Alexander Moore goes undercover as a gambling gentleman to expose a high-stakes plot against the king—and he’s a master of disguise, for Johanna Langley believes him to be quite the rogue. . .until she can no longer fight against his unrelenting charm.

All Johanna wants is to keep the family inn afloat, but when the rent and the hearth payment are due at the same time, where will she find the extra funds? If she doesn’t come up with the money, there will be nowhere to go other than the workhouse—where she’ll be separated from her ailing mother and ten-year-old brother.

Alex desperately wants to help Johanna, especially when she confides in him, but his mission—finding and bringing to justice a traitor to the crown—must come first, or they could all end up dead.

Available from Amazon.com

The Heart Between Us by Lindsay Harrel

Megan Jacobs always wished for a different heart. Her entire childhood was spent in and out of hospitals, sitting on the sidelines while her twin sister Crystal played all the sports, got all the guys, and had all the fun. But even a heart transplant three years ago wasn’t enough to propel Megan’s life forward. She’s still working as a library aide in her small Minnesota hometown and living with her parents, dreaming of the adventure she plans to take “once she’s well enough.” Meanwhile, her sister is a successful architect with a handsome husband and the perfect life—or so Megan thinks.

When her heart donor’s parents give Megan their teenage daughter’s journal—complete with an unfulfilled bucket list—Megan connects with the girl she meets between the pages and is inspired to venture out and check off each item. Caleb—a friend from her years in and out of the hospital—reenters her life and pushes her to find the courage to take the leap and begin her journey. She’s thrown for a loop when Crystal offers to join her for reasons of her own, but she welcomes the company and the opportunity to mend their tenuous relationship.

As Megan and Crystal check items off the bucket list, Megan fights the fears that have been instilled in her after a lifetime of illness. She must choose between safety and adventure and learn to embrace the heart she’s been given so that she can finally share it with the people she loves most.

Available from Amazon.com

Fierian by Ronie Kendig

Abiassa’s people fall. Her Deliverers wait as Poired Dyrth marches unchecked through the Nine Kingdoms. He’s taken the Embers of countless Accelerants. He’s taken Zaethien and Hetaera, the mightiest cities of the Nine. He’s taken the blood of the royal family. Now Dyrth is after Haegan’s power—the Fierian’s power. And after that, he wants the world.

But Dyrth will not take it unopposed. Battered and outnumbered, the remnant of the Nine forge new alliances, make friends of enemies, and prepare to stand against the last great press of evil. In faith, they wait. The Fierian will come.

While war rages without and within, Abiassa’s people face their greatest need. But before the Fierian can fulfill his destiny, he has to defeat the enemy in his own mind.

Available from Amazon.com

The Golden Vial by Thomas Locke

Lady Shona, the newly crowned queen of the realm, is a leader without a throne. Pursued relentlessly by a dark force, her small contingent of loyal followers must make a difficult choice--flee or fight. Determined to save her land from nefarious threats, Lady Shona decides that she must seek out the enemy and attack them head on--a strategy that leads back to the region of the Three Valleys where Hyam was born.

Alas, Hyam has been struck by a mysterious illness that is silently sweeping through the realm. Known as the wasting disease, the sickness has no cure. But there is one shred of hope for Lady Shona and the realm--and it comes in the most unlikely of forms. A young orphan, untested and untrained, could well mean the difference between victory and total defeat.

Thomas Locke concludes his epic trilogy with a gripping tale of courage that will inspire readers to persevere even when all seems lost.

Available from Amazon.com

A Most Noble Heir by Susan Mason

When stable hand Nolan Price learns from his dying mother that he is actually the son of the Earl of Stainsby, his plans for a future with kitchen maid Hannah Burnham are shattered. Once he is officially acknowledged as the earl's heir, Nolan will be forbidden to marry beneath his station.

Unwilling to give up the girl he loves, he devises a plan to elope--believing that once their marriage is sanctioned by God, Lord Stainsby will be forced to accept their union. However, as Nolan struggles to learn the ways of the aristocracy, he finds himself caught between pleasing Hannah and living up to his father's demanding expectations.

At every turn, forces work to keep the couple apart, and a solution to remain together seems further and further away. With Nolan's new life pulling him irrevocably away from the woman he loves, it seems only a miracle will bring them back together.

Available from Amazon.com

Reclaiming Shilo Snow by Mary Weber

She was far more capable than Earth’s leaders had accounted for—and they had no idea what she’d do next.

Known as a brilliant mind that could hack humanity’s darkest secrets, seventeen-year-old Sofi Snow is the most wanted teenager alive. She found her way to the icy, technologically brilliant planet of Delon to find Shilo, the brother everyone but Sofi believes is dead.

But as she and Ambassador Miguel partner to find her brother and warn those on Earth of Delon’s dark designs on humanity, Sofi’s memories threaten to overtake her, distorting everything she holds true. She knows the Delonese kept her in a dark, deceptive place . . . and destroyed a portion of her life. Now, the more they discover of Sofi’s past, the more Sofi feels herself unraveling—as each new revelation has her questioning the very existence of reality.

In this harrowing sequel to The Evaporation of Sofi Snow, Sofi and Miguel must trust each other and discover the secrets locked inside Sofi’s mind as the line between what’s real and what they imagine begins to slip away . . . threatening to take humanity with it.

Available from Amazon.com

Creating Worlds - Jeanette O'Hagan

By Jeanette O'Hagan

For me one of the joys of reading —and writing— is being transported to another place and time. Maybe to encounter ancient or not so ancient societies and cultures (Medieval, Egyptian or Incan). It might be to a strange dystopian future or across the universe in a FTL spaceship. Or it might be the streets of New York or Sydney, the vast Australian Outback or the green hills of England. Books have whisked me away to all these places – and fired my imagination.

Creating Nardva

I changed schools in the middle of grade one, the first of many such shifts. The playground became a lonely place until I discovered the school library. My imagination was already fired up as each night my parents read from the pages of Narnia. Enriched by story-worlds, I began creating my own and this world grew and grew and grew. The result was Nardva – a planet in many ways like our own, but with two moons, strange cultures, shape-shifters, special magical gifts and epic and every-day challenges.

As a teen, I moved from recording my world-building (maps, languages, genealogies, customs, art, images) to writing down the stories. Most of my fiction, from the underground adventure of Heart of the Mountain, to courtly the intrigue of Akrad’s Children to my futuristic cyborg story in Project Chameleon (Quantum Soul anthology), happens within this fictional world.

Worlds with Depth

Even the most fantastical world draws inspiration from our world. As writers, we walk in the steps of our own Maker who spoke the cosmos into being. I find this thought both inspiring and very, very humbling.

Setting is important. Stories without sense of place result in ‘white space’ and ‘talking heads’ — boring, paper-thin worlds and characters. Just as we are shaped by our environment, our ‘where’ and ‘when’, so too are our characters and so are their motivations and the challenges they face. For me, the best stories have a sense of history, the sense that the world stretches to the horizon, the sense that if you peeked behind you’d find more than two-dimensional set pieces of plyboard and badly applied paint. A fictional world should be complex, dynamic and interactive. History, geography, ecology, economics, cultures all interact, yet are rarely monolithic, and are always changing. A fictional fantasy world, even more than the real world, needs to be consistent and coherent, with believable conflicts and power struggles.

Engaging Worlds

On the other hand, as my editor reminds me, I need be careful not to clutter my story-telling with too much detail, too much back-story, too much description, too much history and legend. I’ve spun and woven my world into existence over many decades and, as a result, my Nardvan stories are interconnected and occur in different time periods, geographical locales and among different Nardvan peoples. Writing whole scenes of tangential backstory or lengthy description of customs and architecture is a temptation that must be resisted.

We live in an age where readers become inpatient with huge slabs of description or information dumps. Our fictional worlds can be woven in through telling details in the narrative, fused with the point of view of our character, through their thoughts and reactions, through their interaction with the world, and through their speech. We need to make descriptive detail work for us.

Here Ruhanna (from Ruhanna’s Flight, in Glimpses of Light anthology), waits for her father to arrive at her island home.

From the little kitchen came tantalising smells fit for the palace in Silantis. Mariam had surpassed herself with Baba’s favourite dishes—turtle and seaweed soup, baked fish, baby tomatoes and sea-sage, oysters and rock crays with a creamy dill sauce, stuffed quails and fresh wave-berries with yarma cheese to finish off. Everything was ready by late morning. Ruhanna sank down on a cushion in the reception room, stroking the carved albatross on Baba’s box, and waited.

In contrast, the twins Retza and Delvina (from the novellas Heart of the Mountain and Blood Crystal) live deep under the mountain, their diet and perception of the world is very different from Ruhanna’s or indeed, Zadeki, a young shapeshifer whose people live in the forests.

Though Delvina’s stomach grumbled with hunger at the savoury fragrance, her fingers hovered over each bowl offered to her. Some looked like cooked leaves or roots, others held rolled up balls of white stuff sprinkled with seeds. Only when she saw the snails in a green tinted broth and a bowl of fried mushrooms, did the tension release in her shoulders. At last, something she understood in this strange land.

Whereas, Dana (features in Space Junk, Mixed Blessings: Genre-lly speaking, and Rendezvous at Alexgaia, Futurevision anthology) lives in Nardva’s space-age.

Dana snatched a food packet and shoved it into the rehydrator, keying in the sequence. Red lights flashed as the mechanism whined. She gave it a brisk shake. A sharp hiccough, it hummed, green lights winking on.

A close point of view and telling details help conjure world setting even in a few words.

I firmly believe that desire to create reflects the image of our Maker and Saviour. Writing immersive fictional worlds with stories of hope can fire the imaginations of our readers and open their minds to His grace.

Jeanette O’Hagan first started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fantasy, science fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures.

Recent publications include her debut Novel Akrad’s Children and novellas Heart of the Mountain and Blood Crystal. She also has over a dozen stories and poems published in different anthologies such as Glimpses of Light, Futurevision, and Quantum Soul.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life and communicating God’s great love. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.

Find her at her Facebook Page, Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon or on her website Jeanette O'Hagan Writes.