Serena B. Miller's Blog, page 11
April 15, 2013
April 8, 2013
New Book! Hidden Mercies
Tomorrow Hidden Mercies is officially released!
Good news! My publisher says that Sam’s Club has purchased several thousand copies, and it will also be available at Amazon, B&N, CBD, Simon & Schuster, and Christian Book Stores everywhere!
April 2, 2013
An Awesome Classroom!
A few weeks ago I was in Arkansas visiting my sister when a friend asked me to come speak to her class for their career studies.
(Jake – Write what’s on your heart, and it’ll be okay!)
It was raining that morning and on the way to the school my car got rear-ended while I was waiting at a traffic light. (It was totaled.) When I arrived at the school, I was shaken up, wet, miserable, and the last thing I wanted to do was teach a class.
(Alaina – It’s A LOT harder than it looks… but it’s a lot of FUN too!)Then the kids came! Bright, eager, kind. Forgiving and attentive even when I lost my train of thought. Those precious children even took notes as I stumbled through my presentation.
(Heidi – Never give up on your dreams either!)
When I invited them to be part of a real-life “brainstorming session” about a nutshell idea I had about writing a historical romance based on research I’d done about the Ohio River in the 1700′s, they participated with enthusiasm and creativity.
(Scarlett – I’ll most definitely let your teacher know!)
Sometimes magic happens when a group of people, young or old, get together. That was what it felt like to me as the students helped me plot my next historical novel. Magic. I forgot all about wrecked cars and insurance issues as we entered into the 1700′s world of Primrose and John (the names they chose for my heroine and hero.) A class period I had worried about having enough material to fill ended up going way over-time as they helped me brainstorm. Their next-period teacher was even gracious enough to allow us to finish.
(Kendra – Have fun exploring your writing!)
This week I received some notes from that classroom, which I’m posting for the enjoyment of the kids who absolutely made my day.
(Caleb – I love your cartoons! A professional cartoonist once told me, he drew on every piece of paper he could find when he was your age!)
For the kid’s privacy, I’m deliberately not naming the school or using anyone’s last names, but I thought they would enjoy seeing their notes here on my website. 
(Teacher Debbie – May the Lord bless you, and your excellent students!)
February 22, 2013
An Amish Wedding Invitation: New eShort!
Sometimes people ask me to describe the mental process I go through in order to come up with the stories I write. I never know how to answer. Frankly, if someone could step inside my head, they would probably be as confused about the process as I am. However, one thing I can say that there is always an incident that causes the writer-synapses inside my brain to start flashing like a fire engine. When that happens, I know I have a story.
My latest Amish novel, HIDDEN MERCIES, which will come out April 9–opens with an Amish wedding scene in which the groom has not shown up and the bride is beside herself with humiliation and worry. That scene began to percolate as I sat through three hours of Amish preachers speaking in German during a real-life Amish wedding. Since I could not understand more than two words, I began to wonder if Amish brides ever get left at the altar, and if so, what would happen. The rest of those three hours just flew by.
My publisher thought it would be fun for readers to get a peak behind the scenes of HIDDEN MERCIES, and experience with me the real Amish wedding that I actually attended.
This e-short, which was published a couple days ago, should be interesting to anyone who would enjoy a glimpse of the work, thought, and planning that goes into celebrating a marriage among the Old Order Amish.
January 25, 2013
Aunt Mary
I received a very special gift this week. My first cousin, Eva Gleim, sent me a picture of her mother, my aunt, reading my first book not long before she passed away. This picture especially grips my heart because back when I thought I would never, ever, make it as a writer, Aunt Mary was one of my biggest encouragers.
Mary worked terribly hard. Raising six children, feeding them out of a huge garden, taking care of everything from stray cats to little nieces and nephews, but somehow in the middle of all that work, she still found time to play the piano, sing, dream…..and read love stories. As she once told me when she was well into her eighties, “I like a little kissin’ in a book I’m a-reading.”
I’m so grateful that she got to hold the first love story I ever published. Because of her, I’m always mindful to put a little kissin’ in every story.
January 15, 2013
Miliary Contracting–good pay, dangerous job.
For those wondering how in the world my son ended up working as a military contractor in Afghanistan, or for those who are interested in a great-paying (albeit dangerous) job, my son just published an easy-to-read book that crystallizes his years of working as an Human Resource manager in Afghanistan. In it he explains the why, how, and how-to of getting various jobs overseas. Everything he wished he had known before he went there. It is an important book for those ex-military personnel who are struggling to find good-paying jobs here in the states. I was surprised that in some places it reads like an adventure novel–and I found myself chewing my fingernails, amazed at how much he had never told me. For paperback or kindle edition click here.
January 11, 2013
Real Life Heroes
The following is a recent post from my son’s face book. He is working as a military contract worker in Afghanistan. Missing him today after getting to see him for a few days over Christmas.
“I work with Heroes. Today started horrifically. Large truck/car bomb went off at one of my subcontractor’s compound less than a mile away. It was so loud and shook so hard I thought we were hit again like on May 2 and I kissed the floor. Multiple injuries, building destroyed etc. at their location. Within seconds we had guns cocked and loaded. Within minutes we had medkits ready, combat medics, food, shelter, etc. This was our “family” and we were bringing them to safety and care. The attached shows real life superhero’s. I consider these guys friends and family. The guy on the far left has saved my life more times than I’d like to admit. The dude with the purple gloves is someone I trash talk with everyday but seeing him jump into action was amazing. In fact everyone on my team today was amazing. Normally I don’t like to post things for OpSec reasons but this pic was on a public news site.”
December 20, 2012
Unexpected Present
In A Promise To Love, there is a scene where my heroine, Ingrid, uses Swedish pastry to bribe her way into a house where her youngest stepchild is being kept. A friend and reader saw an advertisement for this Swedish Tea Ring in a magazine after reading that scene and was hungry for it. She immediately ordered one for herself and her daughters, and one for me. This is a picture of what I saw when I opened the package. No dieting for me or my family from that point on until it was GONE! Absolutely delicious. Have I mentioned before that people who read Christian fiction are some of the nicest people in the world? Thanks Ruth Morris for your thoughtfulness!
December 9, 2012
Anxiety and the Amish
I have a lot of friends from many different walks of life. It’s been interesting watching the various reactions over the outcome of our last election. Some were elated. Some were thrown into deep despair. Those who were thrown into despair now talk of stockpiling ammunition, stocking up on food, and battening down the hatches. The constant talk of a “fiscal cliff” isn’t doing anyone’s nerves any good.
Frankly, our family’s hatches have always been battened down–whatever that phrase means. We have our own water filtration system, we have a wood burning stove and plenty of firewood. I’m almost always well stocked on beans and rice. I’m not a fan of shooting Bambi, but I would do so if it was necessary to feed my family. ( There’s usually a herd of deer in my garden every morning anyway.) Our decision to do this was not based on any political climate. We just like living in the country and are willing to sacrifice convenience and gasoline to do so.
But that isn’t really what I mean by battening down the hatches. One of the great benefits of having a Christian mindset is the reassurance that this world is not our home. The Lord is in charge, and we don’t have to be. If the world happens to be going to hell in a hand basket, that doesn’t mean that we have to go along.
A lot of people don’t realize that the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah has a twist. Those two cities were not destroyed because of the evil of their citizenry alone. They were destroyed because of the lack of TEN righteous people. That’s right. Just ten. God promised Abraham that He wouldn’t destroy the cities if He could find ten righteous people.
For those who are concerned about the moral decay of our country, I think this Biblical story has great significance. The only person anyone has control over is themselves. Attempting to live a life of true personal integrity and faith is one way to fight back against the darkness. .
I’ve been told that although the Amish do not bear arms, and are rarely political or evangelistic, they believe they are helping protect our country by simple, righteous living–of being part of that righteous “ten” who were missing when God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Perhaps they are right. I certainly like to think so. One of my favorite things is to meditate on all the people whom I personally know who are living quiet, prayerful, Godly, lives. They give me hope, lift my spirits, and I have a suspicion that they might be our true first line of defense.
Anxiety
I have a lot of friends from many different walks of life. It’s been interesting watching the various reactions over the outcome of our last election. Some were elated. Some were thrown into deep despair. Those who were thrown into despair now talk of stockpiling ammunition, stocking up on food, and battening down the hatches. The constant talk of a “fiscal cliff” isn’t doing anyone’s nerves any good.
Frankly, our family’s hatches have always been battened down–whatever that phrase means. We have our own water filtration system, we have a wood burning stove and plenty of firewood. I’m almost always well stocked on beans and rice. I’m not a fan of shooting Bambi, but I would do so if it was necessary to feed my family. ( There’s usually a herd of deer in my garden every morning anyway.) Our decision to do this was not based on any political climate. We just like living in the country and are willing to sacrifice convenience and gasoline to do so.
But that isn’t really what I mean by battening down the hatches. One of the great benefits of having a Christian mindset is the reassurance that this world is not our home. The Lord is in charge, and we don’t have to be. If the world happens to be going to hell in a hand basket, that doesn’t mean that we have to go along.
A lot of people don’t realize that the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah has a twist. Those two cities were not destroyed because of the evil of their citizenry alone. They were destroyed because of the lack of TEN righteous people. That’s right. Just ten. God promised Abraham that He wouldn’t destroy the cities if He could find ten righteous people.
For those who are concerned about the moral decay of our country, I think this Biblical story has great significance. The only person anyone has control over is themselves. Attempting to live a life of true personal integrity and faith is one way to fight back against the darkness. .
I’ve been told that although the Amish do not bear arms, and are rarely political or evangelistic, they believe they are helping protect our country by simple, righteous living–of being part of that righteous “ten” who were missing when God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Perhaps they are right. I certainly like to think so. One of my favorite things is to meditate on all the people whom I personally know who are living quiet, prayerful, Godly, lives. They give me hope, lift my spirits, and I have a suspicion that they might be our true first line of defense.
