E.B. Roshan's Blog: This, That and the Other, page 19

Random Writing Tip #9

This one is (alas) not original to me, but too good to pass up: “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” W. Somerset Maugham

War Stories

Shards of Sevia is a romance series, so of course the stories revolve around the relationships of three couples—Anna and Boris, Preen and Rama (and then Kiva) Dunya and Radoslav. But besides love, the other big theme in the series is war, what it’s like to live in the midst of terrifying, unpredictable violence. What it’s like to meet someone in that environment, and give your heart to him or her. I was inspired to write this series with a backdrop of war, or what we used to call, someone tongue-in-cheek, a “low-intensity internal conflict zone” partly because an environment like that tends to strip away superficialities of lifestyle and character. Living with war all around you quickly straightens out your priorities, and leaves you with the things that really matter—faith, hope and love, which is great for strong storytelling. But now that I think about it, the other reason the Shards of Sevia romances are set in an imaginary “low-intensity conflict zone” is because my own love story began in a real one. After all, we’re supposed to write what we know…

Book Spotlight: Gathering up the Stones by Taryn Oakley

In Gathering up the Stones, Taryn Oakley has told a difficult story with skill and grace. Since she used three points of view for the story, Emmaline, the foster mother, Ollie, the little boy who needs a safe home, and Millie, Ollie’s mom, who knows she can’t keep him, we were able to get a fuller picture of all the people involved and the lives affected. The author did a fine job of creating a balance between the pain of a childless mother longing for a child of her own, but also the pain of a mother who knew the right thing to do for her son was give him up. It is a bittersweet story, but also one full of hope and the possibility of redemption.

Click HERE to see more book details.

Books for Book Lovers

Once again, Kimberly Payne has been kind enough to showcase Love Costs on her website, “Books for Book Lovers” where she reviews and promotes a wide variety of Christian fiction. Thank you, Kim! She’s also an author herself. You can check her books out HERE.

What Inspires You to Write?

Today we’ll hear from another young writer, Olivia. You can check out her favorite books, and what she’s currently reading, on her Goodreads page.

“Part of what inspires me to write is my love of making the people around me laugh, and writing short, funny stories is a great way to do so. But I also write because I’m learning that I love doing it more than I ever used to, and it’s so much fun sitting down with my writing notebook and scribbling away. And last but not least, I’m inspired to write because reading is one of my favourite things to do, and it has become a dream of mine to publish my own book.”

Book Deals

Click HERE for some great Christian reads–mystery, romance, adventure and more–all new this year, and all on sale until November 29!

Random Writing Tip #8: Adjectives

Adjectives are like salt. Use them accordingly. If you find yourself frequently writing sentences that contain more than one adjective, you need to stop for a taste test.

A Great Community

Ever since I started my writing and self-publishing adventure, I’ve received nothing but help, encouragement, and great critical support from the online community of writers and book bloggers. I know this isn’t the case for every aspiring author, so I’m truly thankful. Today, two bloggers (one of whom has featured my books in the past) are showcasing my latest books to their readership.

Have a look at Natasha’s here: http://www.nmurray.moonfruit.com/blog/4553650515

And Duffy’s here: https://duffythewriterblog.com/book-blast-shards-of-sevia/

What Inspires You to Write?

Today we’ll here from Gracie, a young (and prolific) author, who finds great ideas just about everywhere.

“What inspires me to write? So many things. I will list them below…

Dreams I have at night, that are so involved, and vivid, and believable. I write them down, and have turned two into books. One a novel (Dystopian), another a novella (Contemporary/Survival). It just seemed wrong to let them slip into eternity.

Other times, random things inspire me. Take, Biology last year. Did you know some viruses look just like giant robot spiders? There were so many other amazing things, that I took them all, and turned them into a Science Fiction.

Yet further, when reading the Bible, a particular story or person, will move me. I’ll feel the urge to tell the story again, from one of the people present’s eyes. It is amazing, and I learn so much about God, and the Bible, because I ask questions I never would have before.

Some movies and radio programs have also sparked my imagination. I take some circumstances, and use them as writing prompts. Upon finishing, the prompt has been changed, whittled, and sometimes obliterated completely, to fit the story that stemmed from it.

My history book has also been a wealth of ideas. So many people inspired and made me think. People I won’t mention, because I fully intend to write Historical Fictions about each of them. They all had strong character despite hardship, or, a lack of character and regretted it.

And then there are games I play with my sister and friends! Barbies, stuffed-animals, ourselves being the players… I got a novella/novel out of a game we played. I remembered the plot, and wrote it down over a few days. (Doing research for historical accuracy as I went, but, that is where it stopped.)

Music too! There is a song that has inspired me to write a story. I have it outlined.

And several comic strips! I have pulled several true stories from each. Chopping out, and pulling in, making them fiction. Adding and cutting, to have another outline, for a story about forgiveness and sacrifice… (I’m kind of excited about it.)

I suppose I’m a sponge, sucking up inspiration wherever it’s possible.”

Book Spotlight: Held Captive by Grace A. Johnson

When Rita’s father dies, she takes over running the family business. Not so unusual—except Rita’s father was a pirate. Fortunately, Rita is a formidable young lady, well over six feet tall, with a penchant for threatening people with sharp objects. She’s determined to continue her father’s pirating legacy and destroy his mortal enemy, and seems quite capable of doing so, until a run-in with an aristocratic merchant ship’s captain leaves her questioning all she thought she knew about herself…

Despite a large cast of characters and frequent, confusing jumps from one first person POV to another, Held Captive is remarkably coherent for such a young author. I enjoyed the freshness of her imagination and her knack for vivid description as she spun out this over-the-top crazy, but still entertaining, tale. While it’s clear she has a lot to learn before she’ll be ready to create a truly mature story, the important things—like passion, dedication, and creativity—are already in place. I look forward to seeing what Grace A. Johnson will come up with in future!

Check out Held Captive on Amazon here.