WIPpet Wednesday: "A Deadly Combination"

     Happy June 12! It's been a good week here with my JuNoWriMo project. I've hit a few roadblocks
and also a few huge milestones. I'm especially thankful for the people who prayed me through a real sluggish morning yesterday. I went on to have my most productive writing day so far!

     My new WIP still doesn't have a title, but here are twelve words from JuNoWriMo draft 1 in honor of the 12th of June.

***

Poverty and beauty were a deadly combination for someone like his sister.

***

     I'll tell you more about my WIP as it gets more solidified in the next few weeks. Maybe by the time it's finished I'll actually have a title for it!

     Happy WIPpet Wednesday, and be sure to check out My Random Muse to link up. And for you WIPpeters who also follow Kate Frost, check back here Monday to see her interview about The Butterfly Storm. Happy launch day, Kate!

JuNoWriMo Update

     Today I decided to cut out a character who turned out to be superfluous. Maybe I'll give her a novel of her own one day. For now, out she goes.

     I also spent a huge chunk of time outside today and absolutely no time writing. I'm hoping to get an hour or two in tonight before bed.

Praises:

* The pace is still moving really fast. I still feel very encouraged and motivated. I've had a lot of fun doing word wars with other JuNoWriMo folks on Twitter.

* I've actually had more time with the kids, since I'm so protective of the time I spend away from my writing. When they're awake, I try to only spend half an hour or so behind my computer desk.

Prayer Requests:

* Continued momentum. So far, it's been great, but I always feel like I'm just one frustration away from having to fight the temptation to give up.

* Wisdom for the story to pull together well, both in terms of the plot and the characterization.

WIPpet Wednesday: "Kick Me Again"

     Just popping in to say hi. JuNoWriMo is going great. I really got into a groove last night, maybe
the biggest writer's high I've ever had. Story is chugging away, and I'm excited about where it's going!

     I'm being very protective of my non-writing time, so I won't be as social on Wednesdays as normal, but in honor of June 5, here are my first five sentences of JuNoWriMo draft 1 (it's a working title, don't worry). I guess it's kind of gross, not in a I'm-getting-eaten-by-a-vampire sort of way, but it at least gets a PG-13 for "thematic elements."

     Oh, and speaking of June 5, it's my anniversary! Nine years and counting!

***

“Kick me again, and I swear I’ll kill you.” Mee-Kyong looked up in time to see Pang's boot as it snapped back her head. Thrown off balance, Mee-Kyong fell backwards, exposing the small swell of her abdomen.

Pang didn’t miss his opportunity.

 
As soon as his boot connected with the underside of her belly, Mee-Kyong felt a gush of liquid stream down her leg.

JuNoWriMo Update

     I'm almost ready to wrap up the opening section of my book. I've also decided that I'm not going to ascribe to the whole never-edit-as-you-go rule. So tomorrow I'll probably read through what I've done so far and add bits and pieces - a super quick touch up to make my life that much easier down the line.

Quick praises:

• A lot more writing time than I expected. A whole bunch of adrenaline to dive right into this project.

Quick prayer requests:

• Protection from discouragement and lethargy during my non-writing times.
• Peaceful and positive marriage interactions.
• Freedom from carpal tunnel complications.

JuNoWriMo Update

Quick check in - We're 25 1/2 hours into JuNoWriMo (June Novel Writing Month). I'm just shy of the 5,000-word landmark. I felt a little timid and rusty at the beginning, but the pace is picking up. For the praying types out there, or those who just want to stay more personally up to date:

Praises:

• Saturdays are especially busy since our family works all day at the local Saturday market, but I still got some time to write in and definitely feel more excited and less nervous than I was before I started.

Prayer Points:

• More level emotions now that I'm actually writing and not just fretting over what I'll write.
• Good balance between writing time and family time.

Literary Things: On Faith and Literature

     I've been thinking a lot about author branding lately. Mainly, what kind of author do I want to be? Suspense author? International author? Author of international suspense? And where do my Hallmark drama-esque book ideas like Saving Natalie fit into the mix?

 

     Then there's the faith element. Do I want to be a Christian author, or an author who is a Christian? In case you've never thought about it, there's a huge difference. If I'm a Christian author, then I'll always have in the back of my mind that sensitive religious readers might be offended if I allude to something brutal, scandalous, or extra-Biblical. Do I really want those restraints? Or do I just want to write books that will probably reflect my faith in some way but aren't bound to preconceived notions about what Christian fiction is or isn't? And have I already worked myself into the Christian fiction box by publishing The Beloved Daughter?

     With these questions in mind, I decided to turn to Reba Ponder Weiss, one of my Twitter writing pals, whose apocalyptic suspense novel Sarah's Confession: This I Know does a great job shattering Christian fiction stereotypes. Enter the giveaway below!

Interview with Reba Ponder Weiss, Author of Sarah's Confession: This I Know

What is your religious background, and how did that influence your novel?

I was raised in an ultra-conservative Southern Christian household.  Biblical principals were a part of my everyday life.  This influence caused me to ask hidden questions within my books.  Why do we believe what we believe?  At what point, if ever, do we question or “go up against” what we believe?

 

In your opinion, what is the difference between an author who is a Christian and an author of Christian books? 

People always say, “Write about what you know.” I know about Christianity.  It has been a part of my life—my whole my life.  Sometimes I welcomed it.  Sometimes I ran.  I think my personal journey is similar to a lot of people who struggle with Faith and life in this broken world. 

I also become frustrated by people who want “Christian Literature” to fit inside some little, pretty box, with a safe, satin bow.  Christianity and our relationship with Jesus Christ, seldom if ever, fit inside a nice little package.  We struggle, fall, sin, doubt and deceive ourselves.  In other words, my Non-Fiction Christian Life doesn’t follow a formula and therefore my Christianity Fiction Thrillers reflect that messy life.  

Oh, and just a personal note to all my Christian brothers and sisters out there in the book world. The next time you hear yourself saying the words, “She is not a Christian writer,” “That man calls himself a Christian and then he writes about the paranormal,” or “They didn’t have a person falling to their knees and asking Jesus to be their personal Savior.” Please, please, please…do not judge others. There is enough secular stuff out there to go around the world, if a person cares about the Christian market, don’t discourage it. Only God knows a person’s heart and when you presume you can decide if a person is a Christian or not…well, let’s just say…God is God, and you are not Him.

How is your book different than the "typical" Christian novel?

I want my readers to go beyond the comfortable feeling of, “I have everything figured out.” I want them to test what they believe and ask some hard questions. 

We go through life saying things like, “I would NEVER do that,” or “I believe this or that,” but we rarely get an opportunity to test these statements under duress.  We never really know what we would do, until we find ourselves in a situation that separates the men from the boys.  I have one personal experience to share.  When I was a very young girl, one of our neighbors had a husband who beat her daily.  I made the arrogant statement, “I would NEVER live with a man that beat me!”  Guess what?  I lived in an abusive situation for almost 20 years! When people say grandiose things like, “Oh, I would never eat English Peas—I hate them.” Really? If you were without food for three days, and someone gave you English Peas, you would turn up your nose and go hungry? I think not.  Be careful what you say, one day you may be tested.  At the end of my book I want the reader to ask themselves, “What would I have done?”

  

What kind of audience were you writing for?

My target audience is women over the age of 35 who are tired of reading their grandma’s romance novels.  They are a little cutting edge, want to be challenged and like feeling a little disturbed.  Maybe they loved reading Thrillers or Horror Stories as teenagers and want the same books without all the vulgar language and sexual details. 


Want to brag to us about Sarah's Confession? I know it's won some awards, so give us your best stats!

 My Southern Book Tour 2012 was featured in Elk Valley Times (Fayetteville, TN) and The Cullman Times (Cullman, AL), along with television interviews on Channel Two (Cullman, AL) and The Morning Show WCQT-TV Channel 27 (Cullman, AL). Several websites have featured “This I Know – Sarah’s Confession” on blogs and book reviews.  Recently, it was awarded “Suspense Thriller Author 2012” from Checkeditout.  The Video Book Trailer was awarded “#1 Best Book Video March 2013” by Yougottaread.com.  My social networks have exploded in the last six months with over 10,000 followers on Twitter and over 2500 views of the Video Book Trailer, on YouTube. Not bad for a little country girl from the rural fields of Alabama.

***

Get In Touch: If you want more information about Reba, see www.rebaponderweiss.com
facebook.com/reba.weiss
twitter.com/rebaponderweiss

Get The Book: Reba's novel is available as an ebook or paperback.

Enter The Giveaway: Sign up below to win a free (gently read once by me!) copy of Sarah's Confession. (Shipping to USA only. Sorry!)

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Inspiration: Big Fat Guy in the Art Gallery

     I've been depressed for a little while now. I've self-diagnosed myself with post-publishing blues. The Beloved Daughter was published in early April, and I've been on a rollercoaster ever since. First there was the horrible insecurities that no one would buy my book. Then sales picked up, so I turned my fretting over to the awful reviews I was afraid I'd get. Then, when reviews came back mostly positive, I really freaked out. What if my next book isn't as well received?

     I'm sure in six months I'll look back and laugh at all my petty anxieties. But right now I'm living through them, and it's been difficult. I want to make June a big writing blitz month, but I've changed my mind 325 times when I try to decide what I'm going to write next.

     Tonight, I knew I just needed some quiet time to reflect and pray. But my mind has been racing so fast since April that I sort of forgot how to be still. So I pulled up my favorite online art gallery and looked up some of my favorite artists. When I am trying to quiet my mind, I sometimes use paintings to help me focus. Tonight I looked at an 1866 work by Russian artist Vasily Perov, Arrival of a New Governess in a Merchant House. 

Arrival of a New Governess in a Merchant House, Vasily Perov

     It took less than a second for me to project myself into the painting. The young woman is timid, afraid, shy. Rejection is her greatest fear. The shadowy figures in the doorway on the left are the ones she's afraid are going to ruin her life with their rascally antics. The wide-eyed girl in the pink skirt is already enthralled by her, but all that trust only makes the hapless governess fear letting the child down. The father of the house stands stoic, deciding if he'll accept the new governess or not. As he looms, barring the entrance, do you think he understands how much one kind glance might mean to this woman? And what about the odd-looking young man standing by the father? Do you detect something a little sinister in his eyes? Does the hopeful girl know that if she puts herself in the position of a governess that's she's not only inviting attack and ridicule, but she's loosing some of her privacy to individuals who might prove less than savory?

     Unfortunately, Vasily Perov only gives us this single snapshot. What happens to the girl in the painting? Is she turned away? Hired on the spot? Does she integrate perfectly into the family, or does some shameful harm befall her before her stint as governess comes to an end?

     I can't tell her story. But I can tell mine. Mine is the story of a young writer terrified of rejection, afraid of critics, longing for acceptance, and wondering if the path stands open before her or not. But in spite of her fears, in spite of her post-publication blues, she prays for guidance, weighs her literary options, and decides what she's going to write next. She resolves not to let previous successes or failures in her writing career dictate her next novel, she lets the blogosphere know that she's taking the month of June off to focus on her first draft, and then she sits before a blank screen with an anticipation she hasn't known in years.

Blog Love: The Thursday's Children blog hop is a chance for authors to write about what inspires them. Thanks again to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez for hosting!

Random Fact: I had a professor in college who insinuated in front of our entire class that I was clearly not a gifted writer. And this after I poured my soul into a creative writing montage about the difficulties of being an artistic mind trapped in a pre-med student's body.

Blog Notice: Since I'll be first-drafting it during June, I probably won't keep up with the Thursday's Children blog hop, but I may be posting brief updates as I delve into novel number 2. Feel free to follow my blog if you'd like to give me some support, or if you'd just like to hear about what's been going on in my drafting. And if you haven't read The Beloved Daughter yet, I'd be honored if you did!