Pepper Basham's Blog, page 23

I Can See Clearly Now

This week my sweet little 8-year old daughter’s world changed….

so to speak.

She got glasses.

Her eyesight was pretty bad too. 20/200 in both eyes, which made me feel like a crummy mom for not noticing before now, but the ophthalmologist told me I was not allowed to harbor ‘mommy guilt’ because I have a very easygoing daughter who adjusted to her vision without a hitch. So she didn’t ‘show’ the symptoms as quickly and changed her environment to meet the needs of her vision on her own.

But, boy, her world took a big turn on Monday when she put those glasses on for the first time. Her cute little mouth dropped open and she said, “Wow. I can see leaves and little grasses (blades of grass).” The entire ride to school, after collecting her glasses, she stared out the window, awestruck, occasionally commenting on the ‘clearness’ of what she saw.

Even now, days afterward, her morning prayer each day has been “Thank you for my glasses.”

There’s such a gratitude there. Of course, she didn’t’ even know how bad her eyesight was until she got her glasses, but once she realized what she was missing, her little heart overflowed with thanksgiving.

You know where I’m going here, don’t you?

The Bible uses ‘blindness’ to refer not only to a physical inability to see clearly, but also spiritual ‘blurred’ vision. We are born with distorted views of ourselves, others, and the world around us.

In a much more convoluted way than my daughter’s eyesight, we see through a ‘dark’ lens of self-focused, Me-centeredness. Our vision is veiled…until God opens our eyes to His truth.

Lots of times we don’t even know we have blurry vision until His grace become apparent to us. Once we truly ‘see’ His love and our brokenness, an amazing thing happens. We become awestruck with the wonder of ‘new vision’. Seeing the world through grace-eyes keeps us in a state of love-marveling!

For the first time…we truly see.

Which should not only fuel our desire to do what’s right, but also encourage us to bring that same grace-wonder into the lives of others around us….with gratitude.

I need to remember this too. Tweet: With great forgiveness comes great gratitude, and with clear vision comes purpose.

What is your purpose? Mine?

If we’re Christians, we are called to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

Kid Conversations: Garlic? Really?

Gonna have to share about a recent twenty minute discussion my kids and I had about garlic.

Why? Well, the inevitable question that pops up when discussing garlic is OF COURSE…. vampires, right?

So the discussion with my 5 kids then moved on to why? Of all the spices…garlic?

Well, from what my older kids seemed to either ‘know’ or ‘deliniate’, garlic has a history of being recognized as a healing spice and well as one that carries supernatural abilities. Not only was it used to find the vampire but destroy them. If someone didn’t eat garlic, they were immediately suspect.

(which makes me wonder about my husband ;-) He does not sparkle in sunlight however, so maybe we’re safe ;-)

This is where I added to the discussion. During the Great Plague in England, posies and herbs (including garlic) were used to ‘ward off’ the plague. (None of the kids were particularly interested in my valuable contribution to the conversation).

So…want to add to the conversation? Anyone in your family a vampire? ;-)

Faith, Friends, and Storytelling

Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Conference. I’ve been going to ACFW for five years now and over that time I’ve developed great connections with remarkable people, met some of my dearest friends (Go, Alleycats!!), and cultivated a deeper understanding of the ‘call’ God’s placed on my heart as a writer.

I am a writer.

My Granny called me one when I was about ten years old, and I joyfully accept the mission. God just happened to sprinkle powdered sugar on top of my life by giving me an amazing group of writers to share the journey.

Tweet: ACFW is so more than meeting editors and making profitable connections. It’s a braided blessing of fellowship, worship, learning, and encouragement.

I’m reminded of this truth every September I’ve joined hundreds of writers, editors, publishers, marketers, daydreamers, and world-weavers.

We are taught great courses. The ones I took in marketing were particularly fantastic this year.

We develop amazing friendships. I absolutely love the camaraderie honed among professional daydreamers who love Jesus.

We worship. At the heart of this calling and these friendships is a bond bound by grace.

We find and give encouragement. Because the writing road has more twists than a pretzel, finding other journey-ers along the way helps the stragglers stay the course and shores up the discouraged.

We create hope-filled stories. And encourage others to spread the endearing truth to the world through words.

What a gift!

Faith, Friends, and Storytellingt

Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Conference. I’ve been going to ACFW for five years now and over that time I’ve developed great connections with remarkable people, met some of my dearest friends (Go, Alleycats!!), and cultivated a deeper understanding of the ‘call’ God’s placed on my heart as a writer.

I am a writer.

My Granny called me one when I was about ten years old, and I joyfully accept the mission. God just happened to sprinkle powdered sugar on top of my life by giving me an amazing group of writers to share the journey.

Tweet: ACFW is so more than meeting editors and making profitable connections. It’s a braided blessing of fellowship, worship, learning, and encouragement.

I’m reminded of this truth every September I’ve joined hundreds of writers, editors, publishers, marketers, daydreamers, and world-weavers.

We are taught great courses. The ones I took in marketing were particularly fantastic this year.

We develop amazing friendships. I absolutely love the camaraderie honed among professional daydreamers who love Jesus.

We worship. At the heart of this calling and these friendships is a bond bound by grace.

We find and give encouragement. Because the writing road has more twists than a pretzel, finding other journey-ers along the way helps the stragglers stay the course and shores up the discouraged.

We create hope-filled stories. And encourage others to spread the endearing truth to the world through words.

What a gift!

Awards and Apologies

So…I’ve been remiss in writing over the past month, but I have some pretty valid excuses :-)

School started – which means the crazy part of my life takes on a whole new set of crazy.
Deadline for book 2 in the Penned in Time series, The Thorn Healer
Mental fatigue from #1 & 2

I’m going to try to get more consistent. At least once a week, but I’d love your input. I’d thought about blogging about being a mom of 5 and all the funny to that! I could add a little writing in there too.  What do you think?

In other news… today The Thorn Bearer won its first award!!

The Reader’s Favorite International Contest placed The Thorn Bearer as third in their Christian Fiction category!! I’m thrilled to know that people thought it was at such a level to receive this. You can read their awesome review here.

Thanks for all the wonderful support so far in this journey, and if you’ve read TTB and have a few minutes to write up your thoughts, please share them on Amazon or Goodreads!

Thanks so much!

Now

World Building

 Currently, I’ve been reading about creating a ‘story world’ and what’s involved in the intricate design of a world where readers can lose themselves in a story.

It may sound fairly straight-forward and simple, but it’s really quite complex. Readers need to feel the cohesiveness of feeling like they are really ‘there’ – in your story, during that time period. This not only requires crafting, but research too.

The most well-loved, memorable, and meaningful stories had a distinct time and place which couldn’t have occured as affectively anywhere else. For example, Charles Dickens’ brilliant stories cannot be separated from London. I can’t imagine Frodo living anywhere else, except the Shire and Middle Earth.

In my upcoming December release, I’ve created the town of Ransom, Virginia – a small community that reminds me a lot of the Blue Ridge Mountain town in which I grew up: Small population, close-knit families, quaint downtown, and amazing scenic views. I want readers to walk the streets of Ransom and Mitchells’ Crossroads as they journey along with the characters.

In my historical, The Thorn Bearer, and book two, The Thorn Keeper, I’ve tried to recreate the feel of the World War 1 era. The uncertainty, the change and energy… the small English villages, manor houses, and clothing.

All of those things make a storyworld.

Developing a strong story world helps readers take a trip and never leave their chair.

It gives me a great sense of joy and awe to think that, because of my Christian perspective, the stories and novels I write might give a sense of hope to those who read them. Through the time, place, characters, dialogue, and exposition – readers will sense the beautiful truth of hope in the Lord, no matter the circumstances. What a wonderful goal for which to aspire!

Steadfast – Surprised by Story

I’ve been working feverishly for the past four months to write my second novel in the Penned in Time series, The Thorn Keeper. It was a story I never planned to write.

You see, when I started writing my debut novel, The Thorn Bearer, about fourteen years ago, I created the perfect, unredeemable antagonist. As the story grew, changed, evolved over the years, my plan stayed intact….until my antagonist had something amazing happen to her.

During one of my revisions, the nasty, selfish, manipulative antagonist…met Jesus. He swept right into my storyworld and saved her!

Well, what was I supposed to do with that?

From the embers of such a transforming fire, sparked the second book – The Thorn Keeper, a story that has gripped my heart with a renewed awareness of God’s pursuing, changing, and keeping love.

God’s steadfastness.

It became the heart of this story. The steadfast love of the Lord and the daily reminder of His grace.

I find myself forgetful. Many times lost in my storms or struggles, quick to search for my own solutions, and slow to remember the steadfast love of a faithful Father.

Catherine Dougall was a good reminder to me.

Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,

    for they have been from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

    according to your steadfast love remember me,

    for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

 Good and upright is the Lord;

    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right,

    and teaches the humble his way.

 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

Psalm 25:6-10 (ESV)

The End of Vacation. Beginning of a New Adventure.

Everybody needs one now and again – and as we closed on our first year in Asheville, NC, we definitely needed one. This year has been challenging, exciting, and surprising in so many ways, leaving my emotions like the string of a well-used yoyo. I’m glad to say our family has survived a fairly tough move, with God’s good grace to keep us mentally intact (mostly) and hopeful for what lies in our new year here.

It’s always difficult to leave the safe, known, and beloved world and hurl into the unknown. The beautiful reward of our family is that no matter where we go we have each other. One of my sons and daughters were having discussion with me recently speaking very candidly about wanting to ‘belong’ somewhere again.

That feeling of acceptance and belonging is such a strong drive in us. The need to find ‘home’. Down deep my children recognize, in part, they belong in our family and have an ultimate belonging in God’s. My daughter recently said, “I know God loves me. I’m not doubting that at all. My head ‘gets it’. It’s my heart that needs the encouragement to know He’s working all this out for my good.”

That’s one of the reasons why family is so important. It’s a place of belonging, of having people who love you to help bounce those wacky thoughts and feelings off of, and knowing they’ll still be around when ‘home’ becomes a blurry word with a new door on it. It’s the ‘other’ voice reminding you that you are loved and you’re not alone.

God uses this beautiful example of family to portray his ultimate love. A bride and the bridegroom. A father and his child. A mother and her baby. Wrapped within these word pictures is a beautiful example of care, love, and belonging. If you feel like a wanderer, He gives a place called home.

If you feel rejected, He provides acceptance and compassion.

If you are lost, He will find you.

If you are weeping, He provides comfort.

For His children, there is the perfect peace and a perfect place called Home.

Isaiah 43:

1. But now thus says the Lord,

he who created you, O Jacob,

    he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

    I have called you by name, you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

    and the flame shall not consume you.

3 For I am the Lord your God,

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

In the Kitchen with Marcy Farris

So excited to have fellow Lighthouse author, Kelli Hughett, with me today…along with the main character of her debut, Red Zone. We had the opportunity to meet last year at ACFW and it was such a delight. (Check out her pic right here. She’s GORGEOUS with amazing hair) You can learn more about her at her website – http://www.kellihughett.com/.

You can check out her book here, http://tinyurl.com/on8wzyn. And because she’s SO sweet, she’s added a yummy recipe at the bottom of the post. Now….let’s get cookin’ ;-)

“Hey, Girl!” Marcy licks batter from a finger and wipes her hands on a striped dish towel as she welcomes me into her kitchen. “Come on in.”

As a sport’s reporter, being in a kitchen for an interview feels way foreign. I like the change.

I can’t help grinning at mess on the counters. There’s a yellow bowl with remnants of spaghetti sauce, a cutting board with an array of chopped vegetables in the corner, a bag of chocolate chips, green food coloring, and flour smoothed out across a two foot surface where a rolling pin awaits. A framed picture of Marcy’s kids, Brant and Haley, hangs over the kitchen table in the corner.

I inhale. “Mmm. Smells heavenly.” I get out my camera and snap a candid picture as she closes a drawer with her right hip. “What’s on the menu today?”

Her eyes light up and she tucks a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “Rigatoni and Cheese, Caesar Salad, French bread, and Triple Layer Mint Brownies.” She tosses her dishrag toward the sink. “Sorry about the mess. I should clean up as I go, but I get so into the food that I forget.” She shrugs and pulls a chair out for me.

I pull my notebook from my messenger bag, eager to learn her secrets. And maybe if she’s comfortable, she’ll dish about her relationship with former NFL great, Jack Briggs the NFL’s Gentleman Linebacker. (and one of People’s sexiest men alive) I’d done stories on him in his glory days, but the man evaded interviews with the press like a ghost.

A stream of bright Colorado sunlight warms the wooden table where I rest my hands. “I want to get to know you a little better, so let’s start with you. Tell me about yourself.”

“Now there’s a grand subject.” She smirks in self-depreciation. “I’m a homemaker for now.” She sweeps her hand around the room. “As you can see, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen.”

Do I detect a dream or two in for now? The smells coming from the oven make my mouth water. I smile. “I can tell. So, let’s get down to the food. What are you teaching me today?”

She pops up. “Let’s get started.”

She tosses me a pale green apron made of well-worn cotton. It smells of flour and Downy.

“I’ve done all the prep work and you’ll be putting it together.” Marcy hands me a crisp piece of paper. “I copied the recipe.” Her eyes twinkle. “Print it with the interview or make it for someone special.”

I see my opening. “So, have you made this meal for anyone special lately?” The look in her eyes and the blush on her cheek says she doesn’t miss my meaning.

“There are a few special people in my life who love this dish.”

Rats, she’s Fort Knox when it comes to Jack, just as I suspected. I don the apron and sit back in the chair at the table while she pulls bowls out of the fridge. All the while, I get the distinct feeling she’s reading my thoughts as plain as if I’d spoken aloud.

She cocks her head and chews her bottom lip as if deciding whether to trust me. “You’re sitting in Jack’s chair, you know.”

I can’t hide my grin as I kick off my shoes, tuck my feet up under me and ready my pen. “I’m assuming you’re talking about Jack Briggs…”

(Want to read more? Red Zone, a romantic suspense featuring Marcy Farris and Jack Briggs is available in paperback or Kindle on Amazon.com)

Marcy’s Rigatoni and Cheese recipe.

8 oz Ground Beef

½ C Chopped white or yellow onion

1 Clove chopped garlic

1 Jar favorite spaghetti sauce

1/8 tsp Pepper

16 oz Cottage Cheese (not non-fat)

½ C Milk

½ tsp Salt

8-10 oz Rigatoni Noodles (Cooked 8 minutes and drained)

1 C Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (More if desired)

2 TBS Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Brown meat, onion and garlic until cooked through. Add spaghetti sauce and pepper. Simmer on low 10 minutes.

While that’s simmering, mix cottage cheese, milk, salt and noodles in a large bowl.

Layer in a glass baking dish: Noodle mix:Meat Mix: Cheese

(should have enough for 2 layers)

Sprinkle with Parm and bake for 20 minutes at 350.

When God Interrupts By D.L. Koontz

So excited to have fellow Lighthouse of the Carolinas’ author, D.L. Koontz. Just the cover of her novel, Crossing Into the Mystic, makes you want to bring the book a little closer and find out what it is about. Come help me welcome her to the blog today!

Do you remember daydreaming when you were a child about what you wanted to be when you grew up? Most of us do. Sadly, many of us lost sight of those dreams as we grew.

I sure did. I always wanted to be a novelist. I wanted to open unknown worlds for readers the way other authors had done for me.

Like Pepper (who came from a long line of oral storytellers in the mountains), I too learned the art of spinning yarns from family storytellers, all while sitting on our front porch in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains in rural Pennsylvania.

But, that dream got lost somewhere along the way as I pursued other paths through college and work.

Perhaps self-doubt kept me from finishing any of the dozens of stories I began through the years. Or, maybe it was fear of starvation that kept me motivated through a master’s degree in a more “practical” field than creative writing. Or, maybe it was pride that kept me collecting business credentials in a collection of states and countries.

In short, I got derailed from my dreams.

But, whatever the reason, I learned those dreams won’t always go away, and we won’t get back on track, until we prayerfully ask God to guide our paths.

Then, as German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, we “must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.”

Wait! That’s not what conventional thinking advises, right? According to pop culture, we’re supposed to set plans and goals, create bucket lists of things to accomplish, and accept that life moves on at a predictable and steady pace.

But it’s often in prayer that we discover that God has other plans, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

And so it was through prayer that I began to write. Earnestly. Finally, finishing one novel after another.

And when God led me to inspirational fiction, I was thrilled, but confused as to why, in the manner of Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker, I was led to approach my stories from the dark side.

I wanted to write safe, not risky; warm and fuzzy, not nail-biting and dramatic. I hoped to make readers relax and enjoy, not sit anxiously on the edges of their seats.

But, again, God interrupted and directed the path.

When you wonder if you’re on the right path or if you’re following what God has planned for you, pray. Here are a few scriptures to give you strength as you move forward:

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when yet turn to the left. ~Isaiah 30:21

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his way. ~Psalms 37:23

In all ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths. ~ Proverbs 3:6

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. ~Psalms 32:8

D.L.Koontz is the author of Crossing into the Mystic and Edging through the Darkness, the first two novels in The Crossings Trilogy. She hails from Pennsylvania, but now lives on a cattle ranch in southeast Georgia where she juggles writing with endlessly going to town for supplies. Find her at www.dlkoontz.com.