The Tradition of Storytelling by Marianne Evans

Marianne Evans

I host Christmas Eve festivities for my extended family each year. What that means is, as you read this post, I’m frantically performing ‘white glove’ inspections of guest sleeping quarters, I’m decorating, I’m gift wrapping, I’m baking, and…I’m thinking, as always, about storytelling.

In the midst of what I affectionately refer to as my own version of ‘Christmas Cray-cray’ I stretched out in bed and read a devotional that stilled me and left me thinking about the tradition of sharing history, circumstance, and experience via the art of storytelling.

When I thought about it, I realized: This happens most especially at Christmas.

The most ancient and beautiful custom we have is that of sharing our stories and history with those we love who gather around us, sharing food, fellowship, and love. In my home, we assemble at a table overflowing with the favorite dishes we simply couldn’t do without each year: Grandma DeCou’s sugar cookies, Grandma DeSantis’ artichoke hearts following a traditional Italian feast of pasta, meatballs and salad.

Around this table, there’s reminiscence of growing up, lessons learned, people present, people passed; each moment forms the tapestry of our family table cloth, each story forms a piece of our shared lives. Christmas is a time rife with the exchange of not just gifts, but family history, some of it sweet, tender, and funny, some of it bitter-sweet.

Through it all, storytelling sparks continuity. Storytelling sparks a desire in the hearts of those who follow in our footsteps to carry on those precious traditions—not out of obligation but out of love and joyful remembrance. Out of respect for all the ways we stay connected even if logistical and heavenly distance keeps us apart.

I wonder if that isn’t how Jesus’ ministry not only built but sustained. He shared table with his disciples, and that table his disciples followed that tradition, moving Christianity from home to home, heart to heart, neighbor to neighbor, nation to nation, until nothing could stand in its way. So much like our own lives and families, right?

Nothing can stand in our way this holiday season. Share the laughter, share the tears and joys, share the victories and close-calls with those you love the most. My encouragement this month, my hope and prayer, is to share the truth that, even if you’ve heard Uncle Homer’s story a hundred times before’, maybe you can hear it for a hundred and one times. After that, remember to share it. To keep that flickering candle flame moving from taper to taper. Such is how legacies are not just born, but enriched, and passed on to the next generation.

This Christmas, light the world. Share your history, your light and never doubt its impact to shine for decades to come.

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CLICK TO TWEET!

Share your history, your light. Never doubt its impact.

The most ancient and beautiful custom we have is sharing stories and history.

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            Dustin Farrell is expected to succeed. He’s gifted with the means and ability to take the world of business development by storm…and he’s doing just that, right on plan.

As Christmas approaches, he’s called home, to Hope Creek, Tennessee. He’s been given a slam-dunk objective from his investors: Take a small, local art shop and expand it into the retail mainstream.

Lillianna Bennett, Dustin’s former high school classmate, is part owner of Purple Door Art Market. Long ago, her shy sweetness captured his imagination, but nothing came of the affectionate flame between them.

Until a reunion at Christmas Inn. Dustin presents his offer, realizing the wallflower of his youth has bloomed into a confident, talented woman with the kind of free-spirited heart for which he always longed. And he wonders: Is a life of expectation, and ‘more’ what he really wants? Will his professional quest end up compromising Lillianna if her gifts and business become part of a wider view?

Most of all, will love be lovelier...the second time around?

*****

Marianne Evans is an award-winning author of faith-affirming fiction who has won acclaim from critics and readers. RT Book Reviews named her book Forgiveness a 4.5-Star Top Pick and readers laude her books as ‘riveting’ and ‘true to heart.’ She’s a life-long resident of Michigan who calls suburban Detroit home.

Watching a Fire by Marie Wells Coutu

Marie Wells Coutu

NOTE: This was originally posted on Marie Well’s Coutu’s site, July 25, 2016, but I thought it was a great reminder for writers during the week before Mother’s Day: never lose an opportunity to share stories with your family. I hope you like it as much as I did. — Angie

They call it “Bush TV.”

In remote parts of Africa, far from modern civilization, people still gather around a roaring fire before and after dinner. They sit and gaze into the flames, conversation rising and falling with the fingers of fire. Topics range over the day’s events, plans for tomorrow, the sounds of lions, how many kinds of flies there are, and philosophies of life.

For variety, one might gaze up at the stars or out at the surrounding bush. Before dark, the waterhole in the valley below may attract impala, wildebeest, kudu, baboons, or even elephants.

It’s the evening news, Nature Channel, Discovery Channel, and History Channel all rolled into one.

Even better, it brings people together and stimulates thought, provides insights about human nature and builds friendships. Who needs television when you have a fire?

Even in the U.S., we enjoy our campfires during the summer. Roasting hot dogs or marshmallows, making S’mores, stirring up the coals. Sharing, wishing, dreaming, laughing. We just don’t do enough of it (at least our family doesn’t these days).
These times bring joy, and Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine.” 

When did watching TV bring that same kind of joy, or help me get to know a friend or understand my family better?

I’ve been fortunate this past week to enjoy “Bush TV” every night. The memories will remain with me for a long time. And so will the urge to sit by a fire and talk.

What about you? What customs does your family have that bring you closer together, and give you a joyful heart?

About the Author

Marie Wells Coutu’s novels often deal with characters who suffer from Imposter Syndrome. At least, they worry that if their secrets are discovered, their lives will change drastically.

Her latest release, The Secret Heart, is a modern reimagining of Bathsheba and David’s story, featuring the governor and first lady of Tennessee. Keeping their secret is destroying their marriage, but revealing it could mean the end of any political career. Find out more at myBook.to/TheSecretHeart, visit Marie’s website at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com where she shares devotional thoughts regularly, or follow her on Facebook at Marie Wells Coutu, Author.


The Secret Heart


The Secret Heart
by Marie Wells Coutu

Beautiful Shawna Moore married Hunter Wilson, the governor of Tennessee, after a whirlwind romance, only six weeks following her first husband’s death in Iraq. Now, she wonders if the governor loved her at all or only hoped to avoid a scandal.

An investigative reporter—and friend of Shawna’s—is asking questions. If he discovers the truth about Shawna’s baby, Hunter’s chances for reelection could be ruined. But keeping the secret is destroying their marriage. Will Shawna convince Hunter to choose his family and drop out of politics, or will he continue to put his career first?

For a sneak peek, download the first chapter here.

With Many Such Parables... By Marianne Evans

Marianne Evans

With many such parables, He spoke the word to them as they were able

to understand it. ~ Mark 4:33

Know what I love? I love the truth of Jesus being a storyteller. Isn’t it an awesome image? As authors of Christ-centered books, we assume the same daunting but blessed task of the earliest disciples. We are the word-weavers, the scribes, the storytellers of our modern world. We are the keepers, and crafters, of our era’s parables.

Wow. Think about that—not in a prideful, self-righteous way, but in the context of a Christ-centered legacy. I read a devotional recently that shined a spotlight on that fact and left me thinking long and hard about applying it to my writing craft and ministry. Jesus’s favorite teaching technique was the use of short, fictional stories that illustrate a spiritual lesson or truth. He shared his mission, his ministry, through stories. Sound like a familiar occupation?

Taking a page from the lesson plan of the Great Teacher, I find myself looking at each book I create as a message. Not a sermon, nothing preachy or lofty, but something real and relatable that just might touch people’s lives and hearts. Affirm faith, as I like to say. That’s what Jesus did when he shared the Parable of the Talents, The Widow’s Mite, The Prodigal. As authors, we entertain. As authors, we illuminate by using our words, the story ideas given to us by Divine inspiration. As authors, we carry on that legacy.

May I repeat? Wow. 

Now, let’s take that a step further. What is the basic ‘teaching’ of your work? What is the theme of your writing and/or ministry as an author? What is God prompting you to share? What ways is He challenging you to move from familiar pathways and explore other avenues, whether writing or life related?

Give it some thought, and prayer, and trust the Spirit nudges and replies you receive in the silence of that meditation. God bless, friends, and write-on!! 

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Click to Tweet!

Christian authors: The crafters and keepers of modern-day parables.

Christian authors: The word-weavers and scribes of Christ's legacy.

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Marianne Evans is an award-winning author of Christian romance and fiction. Her hope is to spread the faith-affirming message of God’s love through the stories He prompts her to create. Devotion, earned the Bookseller’s Best Award as well as the Heart of Excellence Award. Hearts Communion earned a win for Best Romance from the Christian Small Publisher's Association. She is also a two-time recipient of the Selah Award, Then & Now for Best Contemporary Romance and Finding Home for Best Novella. Marianne is a lifelong resident of Michigan and an active member of Romance Writers of America, most notably the Greater Detroit Chapter where she served two terms as President.

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Country music bad boy Chase Bradington is on the comeback trail. Fresh from rehab for alcohol addiction, and transformed by the power of Christ, Chase is battling to rediscover the music he loves and a career he nearly ruined. Then he meets up and comer, Pyper Brock, and instantly sparks ignite.

Pyper knows of Chase’s reputation, so despite a rampant attraction to the handsome and talented icon, she soundly dismisses his romantic overtures. Decades ago, her father, in a drunken rage, tossed her and her mother onto the streets. No way will Pyper make the mistake of falling for a man whose done battle with the bottle.

What happens when Chase’s quest to win Pyper’s love breaks down chains of resentment and eases the long buried wounds of her childhood? And what happens when Pyper’s father shows up in Nashville, clean, sober and seeking a chance to apologize?

Can Pyper follow a pathway to peace when it comes to her father? Can she fully trust Chase? Above all, can a sin damaged past be released in favor of forgiveness?

Available in print and e-book formats:

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Christian Book ~ Pelican Book Group

Give Us A Villain!

Peter Leavell

Adversity coaxes out a hero’s character. I spend more time devising deviltry for my novels than I do working on morals and quotable lines. Why?

Because a story hinges on villains. Your scalawag, your blackguard, your varlet is just as important as your hero.

Credit: PhotoDune.net

Gone are the days when a Zane Grey, black hatted, thin lipped, beady-eyed man with evil intent carries the role of anti-hero. Readers need the knave’s motives. In a strange twist, they want to see themselves in the bad guy, and when they do, they’re terrified. Can a hero overcome the evil? If the hero can succeed, the reader can. The reader is filled with hope that they can overcome what they see in the desperado.

The hero is only as good as the villain is evil. That’s when the hero’s character is tested. Your hero can be the most amazing person ever known, but if he has nothing to test his limits, then the reader doesn’t know his or her full character.

How evil should the monster be? How about so evil that people call him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, as is Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series? Can a boy overcome such evil? That level of nastiness makes Harry Potter and his friends look all the more amazing. And many a teacher has heard children say if Harry could overcome evil, so can I.

Does Atticus Finch fight a physical villain in To Kill a Mockingbird?  No. The rapscallion in this case is social injustice that's so overpowering it crushes a small family. And Atticus’s character development comes through, and he teaches generations of readers “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” Without evil, we wouldn’t know Atticus Finch.

In my novel, Gideon’s Call, real life character Laura Towne, a cosmopolitan girl in the Civil War North, gives up everything she owns to teach freed slaves in the South. She battles discouragement and frustration as she weighs whether to stay and continue to teach or return home. Despite the hardships around her, she is her own enemy. Pride and Prejudice carries a similar vein, where each of the characters must overcome themselves and societal norms to find happiness. Both are rascals, and enemies to each other, in a non life-threatening way.

Credit: PhotoDune.net

In Gary Paulsen’s book, Hatchet, a boy crashes in the Alaskan wilderness. What can one boy, alone and hopeless, do to survive? The miscreant in this case is nature. As it attacks, the boy’s character shows. And if the lad can do it, so can we.

Many names for villains abound—because wrongdoers come is many forms. Without a good villain, you can’t coax out the hero’s character. Spend time forming a malefactor, and see what you’re champion can do. Because your reader is looking for hope. And the worse your villain is, the more hope you bring.

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Peter Leavell is an award winning historical fiction author. He and his family research together, creating magnificent adventures. Catch up with him on his website at www.peterleavell.com, or friend him on Facebook: Peter R. Leavell. 

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Coming in April

Philip Anderson keeps his past close to the vest. Haunted by the murder of his parents as they traveled West in their covered wagon, his many unanswered questions about that night still torment him. 

His only desire is to live quietly on his homestead and raise horses. He meets Anna, a beautiful young woman with secrets of her own. Falling in love was not part of his plan. Can Philip tell her how he feels before it’s too late?
With Anna a pawn in the corrupt schemes brewing in the nearby Dakota town, Philip is forced to become a reluctant gunslinger. Will Philip’s uncannily trained horses and unsurpassed sharpshooting skills help him free Anna and find out what really happened to his family in the wilderness? April 2015