Erica Vetsch's Blog, page 76

Sunday Scripture & Prayer Requests

James Tissot, The Beatitudes Sermon, c. 1890,
Brooklyn Museum. [PD-US]

 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,

and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 

He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you

and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Matthew 5:1-12a

Dear Friends, please pray for our country and the upcoming election. Pray for calm and peace and for healing to cover our nation.

God bless the USA!

The Seekerville blog community is praying for your needs. Leave any special prayer requests in a comment so we can pray with you and for you.

Thank you for your support!

Weekend Edition

 

  



If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes.  Note our new email address and please send your emails to Seekerville2@gmail.com







Monday: Shannon Vannatter was our guest! She unveiled a pair of brand new writing contests, and she gave away a book! Shannon's winner is: Jeanne Takenaka!
Wednesday: Cate Nolan shared about where she got her story ideas.
Friday: Kathy Bailey shared about writing epic stories. The winner of her New England basket is Sandy Smith and the winner of a copy of Westward Hope is Gynis!


Monday:  Mary Connealy is talking about Launching the current series...revising the next series...creating the new series. Mary will choose among commenters to give away an Amazon Gift Card for $20.20
Wednesday:  Mindy Obenhaus will share some tips on working smarter, not harder.  Friday: Cynthia Herron is our guest today! She'll be sharing "Using Our Voice to Share Powerful Stories." Be sure to stop by to also catch up on her new release, His Love Revealed . Cynthia will be giving away a print copy to one commenter.






It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
Okay, work with me here. :) Halloween and Thanksgiving
have their most WONDERFUL place,
but it's never too early to start thinking about CHRISTMAS,
especially BOOKS set during Christmas!
Pam's happy to share her latest novella, Destination Christmas!
Click here to check it out on Amazon

Missy Tippens has devotionals included in another collection from Guideposts! The new 2021 All God's Creatures Daily devotions for Animal Lovers is up for pre-order now! Animals are God's gift to humans. They are instruments of His Grace blessed with a special gift for comforting us when we are down, filling us with joy at just the right moment, and encouraging us on our walk of faith. In this collection you'll be blessed by daily true stories shared in devotionals by different authors.


For more info on the formats available and to purchase All God's Creatures , click here.





Head over to https://www.facebook.com/groups/2568745689914759 for someexciting news coming November 1st! You won't want to miss out on the fun!




The 7 Graphic Images You Need for Your Book Pre-Release by LA Sartor at Book Brush Blog
Does Reading More Make You a Better Writer? by Elaine Mead at Writers Edit
The Grateful Heart of a Writer by Cindy Sproles at Blue Ridge Conference
Thawing the Frozen Writer by Peter Leavell at Learn How To Write A Novel 
5 Reasons Why All Indie Authors Should Produce Audiobooks by Nana Malone at Book Bub Partners
Why You Should Write a Skeleton Draft by Lewis at The Novel Smithy
Using a Kanban Board for Organization by guest Hallee Bridgeman at Learn How to Write a Novel
Preptober: Setting Yourself Up for NaNoWriMo Success by Hannah Bauman at Between the Lines Editorial
Writing Light Doesn't Have to Mean Writing Fluffy by Kassandra Lamb at Fiction University
Writer's Edition October 2020 is available now! Go sign up for Tina Radcliffe's newsletter and find out all the inside scoop of up coming contests, publishers, Twitter pitches and more!

9 Tips for Writing an Epic Novel by Guest Kathleen D. Bailey

  By Guest Kathleen D. Bailey

 

            Two distinct sets of villains. Two orphaned children. A man without a country and a woman with too much past. And a rambunctious young country where anything went, especially in the West. What could possibly go wrong?

            When I began drafting “Redemption’s Hope,” the third book in my “Western Dreams” series, I knew it had to be different from the first two. “Westward Hope” and “Settler’s Hope” were traditional romances, with a “him” and a “her” battling forces that would keep them apart. While the first book takes place on the Oregon Trail, the external conflict comes from how the hero and heroine respond to the challenges of the trail and how their relationship plays out against it. It’s still the Oregon Trail, but it’s all about them. The second book, “Settler’s Hope,” takes place in one small Oregon Country settlement, a raw hamlet the Irish-immigrant heroine isn’t all sure she wants to make her home. Still the Oregon Country, but all about her.

 

            But I knew a one-horse town or even a wagon train tour wouldn’t offer enough scope for my third book, the story of Jenny Thatcher. Gun-toting, swaggering, pants-wearing, horse-stealing but now God-serving Jenny. A girl who was larger than life even in someone else’s book. And her love interest White Bear, a Native man who didn’t feel at home in either world, his or hers, and was larger than life in his own way.

            They had been apart for three years, so the story had to involve a search for each other.  And cruel forces to keep them apart. 

Jenny and White Bear needed a bigger stage for their story to play out from. I found it in the epic format. 

Jenny and White Bear would roam what was then the known world, from Taos to San Antonio to New Orleans to St. Joseph, and through places that didn’t yet have names. They would come together briefly for three glorious days in New Orleans, then be separated by the powers of evil. (See above, two sets of villains!) They would spend the remainder of the book trying to get back together, until a final showdown on the snow-covered plain where it all started three years before. And they would do it with a slew of secondary and minor characters, some real historical figures, some that should have been. 

            Here’s how I made it work.

1.     While I often write my books piecemeal, doing scenes as they occur to me and patching the whole thing together like a quilt, I knew that wouldn’t work for “Redemption’s Hope.” Too many moving pieces, too much risk of losing one or several threads. So I wrote this one in linear fashion. I made notes for things I might want to include in subsequent chapters, but the general progression was chapter by chapter.

 

2.    Details do matter, and in the big book it’s more than just mistaking hazel eyes for blue. With two separate sets of villains, I had to distinguish them not only from each other, but from the other set of bad guys.  I stressed their physical appearance, and also gave one of Jenny’s pursuers an extra interest in abusing her sexually. It never happens, I wouldn’t do that to Jenny, but it gave her pursuers another level of complexity, and gave her one more thing to fear.

3.    I also had to pay attention to timelines, both real and fictional. I printed out a couple of lists of events in my period, 1849 and 1850, and sprinkled them liberally through the novel.

 

4.    I really wanted a couple of real historical characters, and I settled on Christopher “Kit” Carson and Mrs. Susannah Dickinson, the wife of Alamo hero Almaron Dickinson. I researched both heavily until I knew what they might have said to Jenny. But every word and interaction has to move the story forward, even in an epic. I had to not only have them do cameos, but to interact with Jenny in a meaningful way. Carson helps her escape from two killers who’ve tracked her to Taos. Mrs. Dickinson’s influence isn’t so dramatic, but in chatting with Jenny, she influences Jenny to wonder if she would be as brave as Mrs. Dickinson, and stay with White Bear through something like the Alamo. Modern writers don’t have the luxury of a Charles Dickens, or even the 20th-century’s James Michener. Everything has to count in some way.

5.    I also wanted to show the entire scope of the West at the time, so I threw in some fictional characters such as Jenny’s friend Noonday Smith, the would-be gold miner. The same rule went for these as it did for the real characters: they needed to interact with Jenny and her situation, and not just be window dressing. I’ve been fascinated for years – and appalled – by the Creole custom of powerful men taking on “quadroons,” pretty mixed-race women, as mistresses. The process was institutionalized, sanitized and sanctioned in 19th-century New Orleans. I wanted to have Jenny meet a quadroon, and found it in Dominique. But Dominique had to be more than an interesting sidetrack. I found her purpose in having Jenny reflect on her own past as a saloon girl, and fear exposing that part of her life again. She wants Dominique to find God, so she tells her own story as she explains the plan of salvation. It gives insight into Dominique—and Jenny.

6.    At some point I also had to decide what to leave out, and that’s hard with something as vast as the West. The American West was not only physically big, but had a range of characters and potential experiences. As my word count crept up and my characters careened toward their final battle, I knew I couldn’t fit in a cattle drive or a barroom brawl. But that’s all right. There are other Western books to be written, and I can put my stamp on those two classics in another story.

7.    With two sets of villains and Jenny and White Bear spending so much time apart, it was also crucial that I establish Where Everyone Was At A Certain Time. I printed a special copy of my chapter outline and color-coordinated Jenny’s enemies, White Bear’s enemies, Jenny and White Bear as to where they were in a given chapter.  A map of the United States also helped, with color-coordinated push pins guiding me through. Color-coordination is my fallback position for most organizing.

8.    For my epic, I also had to break with the conventions of the romance novel. White Bear and Jenny don’t meet or reunite in the first chapter, because the body of the story is about their search for each other. So I had to establish early on who White Bear was to Jenny, who Jenny was to White Bear, and that they had never forgotten each other. And I had to ramp up the anticipation of their reunion. Flashbacks are a powerful tool. Don’t overuse.

9.    Most of all, I needed to make their quest matter, especially for Jenny. Jenny, my former saloon girl, so tough on the outside, but hurting on the inside, so deeply even she doesn’t realize it. Jenny has accepted the Lord as her Savior, gone her way and sinned no more. But she still bears the load of guilt from all the years she didn’t serve Him. She buries her past in hard work at her horse farm and good times with her friends. But when she finally breaks away to look for White Bear, she also breaks away from the conventions that were holding her guilt at bay. As she roams the West she comes face to face with what she was, who she is now, and the full scope of the Father’s redeeming love. I had to make the journey matter for White Bear too, as he learns that Jenny is strong enough, and then some, to be married to a Native man. They needed to find not only each other, but themselves. 

This is what needs to happen in an epic. I could have just concentrated on the plot, the twists and turns, mixing suspense with a travelogue and tying it up with a big bow of narrow escapes for its paper-doll characters. Some writers have done that. Some readers don’t mind. But Jenny and White Bear deserved more: an internal journey to match their external one. I hope I gave it to them.

Now it’s your turn. What do you like/dislike about the epic form? Writers, how do you make it work, or why don’t you write them? Readers, do you enjoy reading epics?

 

Kathy is generously offering giveaways today to three commenters! Let us know in the comments if you’d like to be entered for either a paper copy of "Westward Hope," an e-copy of "Settler's Hope," or a New England gift pack.

 

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.

            Bailey’s work includes both historical and contemporary fiction, with an underlying thread of men and women finding their way home, to Christ and each other. Her first Pelican book, ‘‘Westward Hope,” was published in September 2019. This was followed by a novella, “The Logger’s Christmas Bride,” in December 2019. Her second full-length novel, “Settler’s Hope,” was released July 17, 2020. She has a Christmas novella, “The Widow’s Christmas Miracle,” scheduled for this December as part of Pelican’s “Christmas Extravaganza,” and is completing “Redemption’s Hope,” the third and final book in the Western Dreams series.

She lives in New Hampshire with her husband David. They have two grown daughters.

            For more information, contact her at ampie86@comcast.net; @piechick1 on Twitter; Kathleen D. Bailey on Facebook and LinkedIn; or at www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com.

            

 

Where Do You Get Your Ideas???

 Supposedly this is the question authors are most frequently asked.

Where Do You Get Your Ideas???

My answer to that is --- EVERYWHERE.

I am blessed.

I have no shortage of ideas. I have notebooks with ideas, computer files with ideas. I've learned to write them down when they hit, so I don't forget. That image of the writer scribbling on a scrap of napkin is all too true!

It's sort of magical, because when I go back and look through those ideas, the excitement for that story builds all over again.

When Harlequin announced the Killer Voices contest, I needed a suspense story. I remembered an idea that had come to me one night. I'd been standing at my kitchen sink washing dishes, and I could hear a block party on the next street over. That suspense writer brain kicked in and I thought WHAT IF...  Ultimately the story changed so that original idea wasn't even recognizable, but it got me started. Christmas in Hiding was the result.

A few years ago, I was sitting having coffee with my editor at RWA, and we were talking about the popularity of Amish fiction. RWA's conference that year was in Times Square. I live in NYC, but normally I avoid Times Square like the plague. I remember at the end of the conference thinking that I got the appeal of Amish life - simple, calm, as far removed from Times Square as your imagination could take you.

That got me curious to learn more about the Amish. A few weeks later, I was chatting with an author friend about her editor wanting both books set in Texas and Amish books. I joked that she should do Amish in Texas.

I was joking, but the idea stuck, so I Googled. What I found intrigued me SO much that I knew I had to use it in a story. (More about that in a minute.)

When I started writing Texas Witness Threat, I had one idea in mind. It was a question I'd thought of a few years ago. What would it feel like if you were someone who suffered anxiety and then you witnessed a murder, but no one believed you because there was no body? I have no idea where the idea came from. I was walking along the street when it popped into my mind. But I wrote it down.

When I actually started to write the story, I had no idea where the story was going - and then I remembered the result of my Google search. 

When I searched Amish in Texas, I discovered there had actually been a number of settlements, but none of them lasted very long. Oh well. 

But then I found this article, and I was so intrigued. You can go read it, but the gist is that after Ike devastated parts of south Texas, a group of Amish from Indiana came down to help rescue the animals and rebuild the fences and homes.

Amish Volunteers Help Gulf Coast Ranches Rebuild After Ike.

In that moment, a story was born because my brain started playing What if? What if they came to help, liked it, and stayed?

The result was the book with the snake cover. 

My box of books arrived last week, and I have to say, snake not withstanding, I like the cover. The art department did a fabulous job with the colors. The book glows.

I had to laugh though.  When Christmas in Hiding arrived, I took a photo of Fenway with the book. 

When I tried to replicate that for his book, he shied away from the book as if the snake was real! Oh, Fenway.

I could go on and on with where I got various story ideas, but enough about me. Where do you get your ideas? 

When we teach children to keep a writer's notebook, we tell them to fill it with seed ideas, so they'll never have to say they have nothing to write about. 

Do you have a notebook full of writing seeds or a folder full of napkin scribbles? Tell me what inspires your stories.

Guest Post with Shannon Vannatter - and a Contest!

Erica here: I am thrilled to have Shannon Vannatter as my guest today. She's got exciting news for aspiring authors! Take it away, Shannon!

In August, Missy let me share about my latest venture into editing/publishing with my business partner, Linda Fulkerson. (You can read more about that HERE.)  Since then, we’ve released five books, two speculative, one romantic suspense, one contemporary romance, and one historical romance. All four books were contracted by the previous owners, but Linda and I actually did the editing on these. And readers are snapping them up. We’re excited and recently got to attend our debut author’s launch party.

Our publishing schedule is currently full through 2021 with only a handful of slots left available in 2022. How did that happen so fast? Today, Erica invited me to share about two contests we’re hosting. One winner will receive a publishing contract and we’ve held a June 2021 slot for our winner. And even if you don’t win, all entries get thorough constructive critiques by Linda or me to improve your manuscript.

 If you’ve hung around Seekerville for long, I’m sure you know, the original members started out on Unpubbed Island. They shared what they learned from entering contests and within three years, they’d all made it off the island. After discovering Seekerville, back in the day, I started entering contests. Within a few years, I had a contract.

 So, let me say it again, we’re giving away a publishing contract with a guaranteed publishing date of June 2021. Will the winner by you? Here are the details:

GET PUBBED CONTEST

 

Get Pubbed Grand Prize — The Grand Prize winner of the Get Pubbed contest will receive a publishing contract with Scrivenings Press; paid registration for our annual author retreat, with Keynote speaker Deb Raney, to be held April 2021 in Hannibal, Missouri (boyhood home of Mark Twain) PLUS a thorough critique of up to 25 pages* of your manuscript by our senior editor – Shannon Taylor Vannatter, a multi-published, award-winning novelist; AND a $50 Amazon gift card.

 GET PUBBED CONTEST PRIZES

Genre Winners — The entry with the highest score in each genre will receive a critique of up to 25 pages* of your manuscript by our senior editor – Shannon Taylor Vannatter, a multi-published, award-winning novelist, plus a $25 Amazon gift card. The Grand Prize winner’s genre will not have a separate genre winner, as that entrant will be awarded the grand prize package.

 ALL ENTRIES will receive feedback from contest judges with tips to strengthen your writing. Guidelines: https://scriveningspress.com/get-pubbed/

 

What if your book isn’t finished? What if you have no idea if you’re doing this writing thing right? We’ve got a contest for you too with feedback for all and a free in-depth video course for the winner.

NOVEL STARTS CONTEST

NOVEL STARTS CONTEST PRIZES

Novel Starts Grand Prize — Access to the soon-to-be-released (coming December 2020) Scrivenings Press video-based novel writing course; an invitation to submit your novel for consideration by Scrivenings Press once it is finished; a thorough critique of up to 25 pages* of your manuscript by our line editor/marketing director – Linda Fulkerson, a multi-published author in both fiction and nonfiction; and a $50 Amazon gift card.

 

Video course lessons will include:

 

Creating Compelling Characters – their goals/motivations/conflicts and stakes

From Premise to Plot – the must-haves in every great story

Understanding Scenes – how to develop and write a scene

Mastering the Craft – taking your writing from good to great

Settings – creating a story world your readers can see, feel, hear, touch, and smell

Themes – how to weave life lessons into your novel without being preachy

And more …

 

Genre Winners — The entry with the highest score in each genre will receive a critique of up to 25 pages* of your manuscript by our line editor/marketing director – Linda Fulkerson, a multi-published author in both fiction and nonfiction, plus a $25 Amazon gift card. The Grand Prize winner’s genre will not have a separate genre winner, as that entrant will be awarded the grand prize package.

ALL ENTRIES will receive feedback from contest judges with tips to strengthen your writing. Guidelines: https://scriveningspress.com/novel-st...

The deadline for both contests is November 30th. The entry fee is only $25.00, a mere drop in the bucket for guaranteed critiques from published authors/editors. And possibly more. So, what are you waiting for?

 

 

Linda Fulkerson is the owner of DLF Digital Services LLC (founded in 2013) and has nearly 20 years of experience in digital marketing. She comes from a newspaper background and has been a copyeditor, sportswriter, and online editor. Linda has been an indie publisher for several years and is the author of two novels and several nonfiction books. Her role in the new company will be business management, graphic designer, and line editor. You can learn more about Linda by visiting her page: Linda Fulkerson

 Shannon Taylor Vannatter is an award-winning, traditionally multi-published author. She is highly sought after for giving thorough manuscript critiques at conferences. Throughout Shannon’s writing career, she has worked with multiple editors, publishing companies, and agents. Her role in the new company is acquisitions/content editor and author career development. She recently completed the process of becoming a credentialed editor through the Christian PEN Institute.

Both Linda and Shannon will work with authors on marketing their books. You can learn more about them at: https://scriveningspress.com/

 

Sweetheart Reunion blurb:

 

Reuniting with the Cowboy by Shannon Taylor Vannatter: A charming cowboy moving in next door shouldn't be bad news. But veterinarian Ally Curtis knows Cody Warren—she'd never forget the boy who left her when she needed him most. Cody is doing everything he can to show his beautiful neighbor he's not the wild bull rider he once was, from helping her find homes for her beloved strays, to protecting her when her business is threatened. But Cody has a secret that keeps him from fully reaching out. Yet as they continue to work together to promote her shelter, he can't keep himself from hoping that Ally might have a home for him…in her heart.

Rocky Mountain Cowboy by Tina Radcliffe: The last person cowboy Joe Gallagher thought he’d see on his ranch was high school sweetheart Rebecca Anshaw Simpson. Twelve years after she married another man, she’s back as his physical therapist. But healing his body is nothing compared to guarding his heart from the woman he never forgot. There’s much the single mom would rather forget, but Becca won’t let regret and a surly rancher get in the way of her job and the chance to start over with her little girl. She has only a few weeks to make peace with her past. But Becca never expected she’d fall all over again for her first love.

 

I ’m giving away 1 print copy of my two in one with Tina Radcliffe, Sweetheart Reunion. Answer these questions to enter: Have you ever entered a writing contest? If so, what did you learn from the experience? If not, why not?

Many thanks to Shannon for visiting today, and wow, what a great opportunity for an aspiring writer! Be sure to comment today and get your conversation with these editors going, and polish up that manuscript and get it sent in by the deadline!!

Sunday Scripture & Prayer Requests

Moses holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments.
Eastern Orthodox icon from the 1590s. [PD-US]

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" 
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

Matthew 22:34-40

The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

Please join us in praying for the United States--and the world--during this Coronavirus outbreak. Also please pray for calm to be restored to our country and for peace to reign.
We are so grateful for all of you—for your friendship and your support! 

May the Lord bless you and your families and keep you safe.   

Weekend Edition

 

  



If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes.  Note our new email address and please send your emails to Seekerville2@gmail.com







Monday: Weaving the Spiritual Thread Into Your Story was Jan Drexler's inspiring post today. The winner of her new book, Softly Blows the Bugle, is Tina! Congratulations!
Wednesday: Bestselling Author Debby Giusti talked about Pinecraft, FL, and Warm Springs, GA, in her blogpost,  "Dual Settings for Amish Christmas Search." Debby held two drawings with each winner receiving a AMISH CHRISTMAS SEARCH, and a two-in-one of Debby's book, AMISH CHRISTMAS SECRETS, and Vanetta Chapman's story, THE AMISH CHRISTMAS MATCHMAKER. The winners are Kathy Bailey and Emma! Congrats, ladies. Please contact the WE with your contact info!
Friday: Pam Hillman offered great suggestions for Mining Story Ideas.


Monday:  Shannon Vannatter is our guest, and she's got BIG NEWS for aspiring authors! Stop by and learn more and enter to win a book!
Wednesday:  Cate Nolan is chatting about the inspiration for her new novel from Love Inspired Suspense.  Friday: Kathleen D. Bailey is our guest today. She'll be posting about "9 Tips for Writing an Epic Novel." Don't miss her giveaway, which includes copies of Westward Hope and  Settler's Hope as well as a New England gift pack!






Erica Vetsch has a brand new release! Joy to the World, A Regency Christmas Collection is out now! You can find your copy at:amazonChristianbookChristos Bookcenter (Christos is a local bookstore that will ship directly to you!)

Debby Giusti sends her thanks to her wonderful readers. Because of your support, AMISH CHRISTMAS SECRETS, came out on the Publishers Weekly Bestseller List!










Use Scrivener to Plan A Novel by Lewis at The Novel Smithy
Compassion Fatigue: Is It Relevant for Your Characters? by Becca Puglisi at Writers In The Storm
How to Avoid the Curse of Knowledge by James L. Rubart at Learn How To Write A Novel
How to Write When the World has Broken Your Heart by Nancy Stohlman at Live Write Thrive
An Easy Way to Find Your Protagonist's Goal by Janice Hardy at Fiction University

Writing About Painful Times by Lucinda Secrest McDowell at The Write Conversation
11 Top Tips for Smashing It During NaNoWriMo by Jodie Woodward at Writers Edit

How To Sell Books: 2020 Pandemic Edition by David Gaughran
5 Tips for Designing Author Newsletters by Teresa Conner at Book Brush Blog
3 Tips for Cutting Your Word Count (Without Giving Your Whole Story The Ax) by Leslie Vedder at Jane Friedman

Mining Story Ideas

by Pam Hillman

How many times have you read the headlines in a newspaper or from an online source and thought, “well, that was interesting?”

But how many times were you able to take that small snippet in a headline or an event and turn it into a full-fledged story? Can every incident become a novel?

Maybe, maybe not.

Pssst… in the hands of a Mary Connealy or a Ruth Logan Herne, I’d say that just about any heading or topic could be turned into a full-fledged novel. :)

So, just for fun, I browsed some topics online. So many of them are extremely boring and don’t even warrant reading the article.

Okay, let’s mostly take all the cooking and recipe articles off the table. Sure, some of us write and read about cooks and cooking, but it’s doubtful that an article or recipe is going to send us running to our laptops to pound out a story about a French chef trained in Paris and a road-kill country cook from backwoods Mississippi. But, such a story would be quite interesting.

Now this subject heading caught my eye. But is there anything of substance to be found? (Sorry, this article turned out to be LONG, but I still included it.) If interested, read/skim it here.

Yes, this article had my mind thinking of characters who speak different languages trying to learn to communicate with each other; or two scientists who cannot agree on anything, but have to work together. Or a group of anthropologists who find an entire tribe of seemingly color-blind natives. Lots of possibilities here, but still it's a stretch because it's very broad and there isn't anything to really make you sit up and say "aha"!

Link to article

Well, this article was kind of interesting, but ideas for stories just didn’t JUMP out at me when I read it. Sure, it might be a good article to read to help with character development, but not necessarily for those big picture ideas. Moving on...

As I pondered why I was having a hard time finding just the right headings that would make us as authors sit up and take notice, I realized that I was looking in the wrong places, and my focus was too broad.

What I needed was human interest stories. Yes, we’re cooking now! I took screenshots of just the headlines for several human interest stories from People Magazine and every one of them jumpstarted my thoughts in several directions for story ideas.

All of these headings are about somebody, or a group of people. All of them jumped out at me with potential for story ideas. I especially liked the one about kids interrupting Zoom meetings. Oh, the fun someone could have writing a Rom Com where the hero is suddenly thrust into Zoom meetings and needs a nanny for his kids or nieces and nephews. I can see the chaos now, as well as the "KISS" Zoomed to the entire office. lol

So, yeah, reading recipes, or political squabbling, or the top ten ways to grow your investment portfolio won’t necessarily generate compelling stories. But delve into the headlines of human interest stories and you’ll have more ideas than you can shake a stick at!

Maybe you have all the ideas you'll ever need tucked into your folders, so this isn't necessarily about searching for stories, but about those that just JUMP out at you when you're not even actively looking. So, where do your ideas come from? The news? A snippet of something on Facebook or Twitter? A sermon? A phrase in another book? Something a friend or family member says in passing?

CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn't afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn't mind raking. Raking hay doesn't take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that's the kind of life every girl should dream of. www.pamhillman.com

Dual Settings for Amish Christmas Search

By Debby Giusti

Readers love story trivia. I find book backstory to be interesting as well. How did an author decide on a certain theme or overarching problem that needs to be solved? How were characters with flaws and complexities created? How was a setting selected and why?

Amish Christmas Search, my latest book from Love Inspired Suspense, released this month and highlights two interesting locales that were fun to research and include in the story. The book opens in Pinecraft, Florida, a winter vacation destination for Amish folks who want to escape the cold northern winters for a few weeks of sunshine and salt air. Pinecraft was established in the 1920s as a tourist camp in a rural area north of Sarasota. Over the years the city has expanded and now surrounds the 178-acre Amish vacation oasis.

County initiatives to ensure Pinecraft retains its historic charm are featured in this
Sarasota Herald Tribune article, from Feb 24, 2015, written by Josh Salman.

From December to April some 5,000 plain folks—both Amish and Mennonite—travel to and from Florida on charter buses. A crowd of onlookers is always on hand to welcome the new arrivals and to farewell those returning home. Vacationers rent cottages and bungalows that include conveniences not found in typical Amish homes, such as air conditioning and central heat, as well as televisions and dish washers. Two-wheel bicycles and three-wheel adult tricycles are favorite modes of transportation within Pinecraft, while city buses or taxis are used to ferry the Amish to the beautiful beaches of nearby Siesta Key.

Shuffleboard and bocce ball are favorite pastimes. Amish restaurants, handcrafted furniture and knick-knack shops and fresh produce stands attract tourists to the area. Big Olaf’s ice cream parlor does as well.

Pinecraft has a laidback feel that draws folks from all walks of life, both plain and fancy. In my story, it also attracts trouble that sends my heroine, Lizzie Kauffman, on the run along with Amish woodcarver Caleb Zook.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Little White House, Warm Springs, GA.

Searching for their missing friend leads Lizzie and Caleb north to another interesting locale—Warm Springs, Georgia. Situated a little more than an hour from Atlanta, the historic town is the site of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Little White House. The president first came to Warm Springs in 1924 in hopes of finding a curative treatment for his polio. His condition improved after soaking in the mineral waters, and a few years later, he established a rehabilitation center in Warm Springs that attracted polio patients from around the world. After the Sabin and Salk polio vaccines stemmed the disease in the 1950s, the center switched its focus from infantile paralysis to the treatment of persons with other types of disabilities and remains one of Georgia’s finest rehab centers.

A wax replica of FDR in the Little White House.

The town of Warm Springs features 100-year-old restored shops as well as the Hotel Warm Springs Bed & Breakfast Inn where journalists rented rooms when FDR stayed at the Little White House. It was at the Little White House on April 12, 1945, that the president suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while sitting for his portrait. Newsmen covering the president raced to the hotel phone—which remains in the lobby today—to call their papers and file stories about Roosevelt’s death.

When FDR died, journalists called their newsrooms from the
phone booth at Hotel Warm Springs (seen at the rear of the photo). 

I’ve written magazine articles about Warm Springs and its history for a number of publications and love spending time in the charming town. I hope readers will enjoy learning more about Warm Springs and Pinecraft when they read Amish Christmas Search.

The chapel on the Warm Springs Rehabilitation Center
campus where FDR worshiped the Sunday prior to his death.

Do you enjoy learning about interesting towns in the stories you read? Share information about any towns in your area of the country that would make unique settings for a book. Leave a comment to be entered in dual drawings for Amish Christmas Search and a two-in-one also out this month that includes my story, Amish Christmas Secrets, and Vannetta Chapman’s story, The Amish Christmas Matchmaker.

Happy reading! Happy writing!

Wishing you abundant blessings,

Debby Giusti

www.DebbyGiusti.com

Amish Christmas Search

An Amish girl’s disappearance is a mystery…

and the clues lead straight into danger at Christmas.

Convinced her friend didn’t run away as the police

believe, Lizzie Kauffman searches for the truth—but

someone will kill to keep it hidden. Now the Amish

housekeeper and her friend Caleb Zook are on the

run for their lives. And if they want to find their

missing friend, Lizzie and Caleb must figure out

a way to survive the holiday.

Order HERE!

Weaving the Spiritual Thread into Your Story

 

It’s time for a book release! 
Softly Blows the Bugle is the third installment in my Amish of Weaver’s Creek series, stories that are set in an Amish community in Ohio during the American Civil War. 


Since this book is the third in the series, there is a lot going on! Not only do the series-long threads need to be wrapped up, but Elizabeth’s and Aaron’s stories need to be told in full.

How many story threads are there?

First of all, there’s the romance. Boy meets girl, there are problems and fun times, they fall in love, and live happily ever after.

Then there’s the external plot – Boy meets girl, things go wrong, things are fixed, we come to a resolution.

We also have a few secondary plot lines, a secondary romance (or two,) and an antagonist.

By the way, you’re really going to hate this antagonist!

But when you write inspirational romance, there is another thread that can not be forgotten: the spiritual thread.

I like to think of this thread as the foundation fabric that all the other threads are woven upon. Like a piece of even weave fabric in a cross-stitch project or a tapestry, the finished piece – the story – would fall apart without this thread.

 What does the spiritual thread look like? Well, it depends on your characters!

1) Option one is when both the hero and the heroine are believers. In this case, the spiritual thread could be when your characters’ faith is tested, or when they are called to put their faith into action. There are many other ways to keep this type of spiritual thread moving through your story.

2) The second option is when one main character is a believer and the other one isn’t. Many successful books start with this premise. The unbelieving character comes to a saving faith part way through the book and the hero and heroine move on to their Happy Ending.

3) The third option is when neither character is a believer. Each of the characters come to faith separately. You can decide if that happens before or after the romance turns to love.

In “Softly Blows the Bugle,” neither Aaron nor Elizabeth are believers at the beginning of the book, but neither one is a stranger to the gospel

Elizabeth grew up in the Amish church but left it to marry a non-Amish man when she was in her teens. After she became a widow, she joined the church. However, it wasn’t because of her faith, but an effort to erase the years she had been married and return to the ways she had been taught as a child. It is only when she realizes that she can’t relieve the burden of her guilt on her own that she understands the gospel and comes to a saving faith.

Aaron, on the other hand, was never Amish. His mother, who had passed away when he was a young boy, had taken him to church, but he had never attended church since her death. What draws him to faith in Christ? It is the hymns he remembers his mother singing in their home. Hymns like “Rock of Ages” and “Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy.” Hymns that he rediscovered during the war, in the evenings when men would gather to worship. In the smoky campgrounds lit by dozens of campfires, the fragrance of wood smoke drifting in the night air, he would listen to the familiar hymns before the bugle would softly blow taps.

In this story, the spiritual thread is ever-present – guiding, tugging, and calling the characters to a belief in God and His work in their lives. Most of the time it is in the background, like the fabric in a tapestry.

That, I think, is where the spiritual thread is the most effective for the readers. Instead of “preaching” (which is really just telling,) a powerful spiritual element in the story is subtle. Shown, not told.


What do you think about the spiritual thread in inspirational romance stories? Do you have an example of a book where the author handled that thread particularly well?

Share your thoughts with us, and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a copy of “Softly Blows the Bugle!”



Jan Drexler has captivated readers with her heartfelt tales centered around the Civil War. In the final installment of The Amish of Weaver's Creek series, Drexler offers another tender story full of hope, renewal, and love in Softly Blows the Bugle.

When Elizabeth Kaufman received the news of her husband’s death at the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863, she felt only relief. After a disastrous marriage, she is determined that she will never marry again, even if it means she will have to give up her dream of having a family of her own.

Two years later the Civil War has ended and her brother returns home with a visitor. Aaron Zook has lost both his home and his leg during the war. He is ready to put the past behind him and find a new future out West. But, he never imagined that the Amish way of life would be so enticing—especially a certain widow he can’t get out of his mind.

Yet, life has a way of getting complicated even in the simple Amish community of Weaver Creek. Aaron soon finds that he must put Elizabeth’s welfare before his own and risk sacrificing everything if he wants to win her heart.