Story Styles and Themes by Marianne Evans

Marianne Evans

So, it seems 2018 will see the release of my 30^th book. Wow – no wonder I’m so tired! LOL! I bring up this milestone because, as is often the case when I go all introspective, a realization struck home when I reviewed my book history.

This time the realization centered on themes and styles and how, over the course of my publishing career, my storytelling has tended toward recurring themes as well as the development of characters and circumstances that capture my ever-changing heart and I hope and pray capture the interest of my readers as well.

I noticed many of the books I’ve written tended to include redemption as an overriding arc. My characters grew from a return to—or confrontation of—life circumstances that had led them to a chasm they needed God’s help to bridge. The stories were all unique, but the message remained universal: Homecoming. No matter what had tripped them up, God’s door never closed.

Several other books I created featured settings, occupations, lifestyles, that appear glamorous (being a personal shopper for high-end clients at Harrods, being the crown-princess of a fairytale land, or being a country music legend).  I’m a total fairytale/princess girl, so it was fun to take those worlds and view them through a different lens. Certainly, there was glamour, and I loved writing about tiaras, ball gowns, and State dinners as well as my favorite spots in London and Florence…but digging deep revealed something entirely different, and challenging. The fantasy worlds we might dream of are far from perfect, and my characters learn to live and love within that truth.

Themes, settings, and characters that appeal to me make their way into my books, and this upcoming milestone book release has made me wonder. What are some of your favorite book themes? What characters appeal to you the most? What settings? Let’s talk about it, because, at the end of the day, we’re not just writers, we’re readers as well!

Blessings, friends, until next month!

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Amy Monarch is a tireless volunteer at the Dupont Rescue and Recovery Center, an establishment for the destitute founded by her mother. There, Amy has kept her identity a carefully guarded secret. She is actually Princess Amelia Marguerite Louise DeLaGrande of Remeth. Working at Dupont offers the opportunity to serve in blessed disguise.

Fresh into a promising career in commercial real estate brokerage, Patrick Sawyer returns to the picturesque isle of Remeth intending to reconnect with his collegiate study abroad friends and figure out ‘what’s next’ in his life. Since his father’s passing, the world he knows leaves him uninspired. He volunteers at Dupont during his visit, and becomes enchanted by Amy.

But Amelia is trapped within a silken web. When she reveals who she is, Patrick pulls back. He’s not interested in royalty—at all—but how can she ever break free? How can she find a way to service and God’s plan for her life? Most of all, how can she reconcile the call she feels toward a remarkable man who may be ‘common,’ yet is ‘uncommon’ when it comes to matters of the heart?

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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. Readers laude her work as “Riveting,” “Realistic and true to heart,” “Compelling.”

Her Christian fiction debut, Devotion, earned the Bookseller’s Best Award as well as the Heart of Excellence Award. Her follow-up novel, Forgiveness, earned Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year honors as did her book Hearts Communion. She is also a two-time recipient of the Selah Award for her books Then & Now and Finding Home. 

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. You can connect with Marianne at www.marianneevans.com.

How to Survive Rejection by Georgiana Daniels

Georgiana Daniels

Rejection is part of the publishing business—it just is. So, how can we best handle disappointing and/or painful news? Author Georgiana Daniels shares tips that will help us soar again after being temporarily grounded. ~ Dawn

How to Survive Rejection

Euphoria and despair—highly charged emotions that most writers experience when they see a return email from an editor or agent who then declines a project. Sound familiar?

Rejection stinks! Take it from someone who’s been there more times than she cares to count. I’m sorry to report that I’ve had so much practice that I’ve developed tips to cope. The good news is, maybe it’ll help you.

You’ve probably heard all the practical steps to take, such as focusing on different projects for a while, researching other places to submit and/or going indie. But in my vast experience with rejection, there’s something even more important—focusing on your emotional health.

My first several rejections were actually painless, and I didn’t get what the big hairy fuss was about. I thought, all we have to do is put on our big girl pants and move on. And that’s true—to some extent.

The problem comes when the rejections have piled up month after month, manuscript after manuscript, and (dare I say) year after excruciating year. The highs and lows of submission and rejection start to take an emotional toll, and one day you find yourself huddled in a corner, crying and rocking back and forth. (Exaggeration? Maybe, maybe not. I’ll never tell!)

Despite numerous rejections, I survived and lived to tell the tale. I’ve also discovered practical tips for emotionally handling rejection. Believe me, it does get easier.

First, pray. This should go without saying, but I’m saying it anyways. Have you taken your heart to the Lord? He wants to share in your pain, polish it up, and use it to form you into the image of Christ. Cry out to Him!

Then feel what you feel. Allow yourself to experience the full range of emotions in a healthy way. Crying is a valid way to handle the rejection. Biting your unsuspecting husband’s head off is not. The point is, don’t shut off the feelings that are working their way to the surface.

Once you’ve pulled yourself back together, reach out to someone who understands. While talking to your loved ones can help, no one understands what you’re going through like another writer. We need the love and support of our people!

After that, recount your past writing successes. If you don’t think you have any, I’m saying you do. If you’ve written an entire book and taken the bold step to submit, you have achieved a level that many people haven’t dared to attempt. Past triumphs can fuel you going forward.

Finally, go for a quick win. Find something you’re super good at other than writing and immerse yourself. Paint, knit, run—whatever it is, jump in and experience success.

There you have it, my best tips for handling the emotional side of rejection. Don’t fear it! Instead, fully experience it as part of the writer’s journey. You’ll be richer for it.

Shadows of Hope

Shadows of Hope

Crisis pregnancy worker Marissa Moreau suspects her husband is cheating, but little does she know how close to home her husband’s infidelity hits. College student Kaitlyn Farrows is floundering after a relationship with her professor leaves her pregnant. Soon she lands a job and a support system at the local pregnancy resource center and things seem to be turning around. 

But when Marissa and Kaitlyn become friends, neither one knows they share a connection—Colin, Marissa’s husband and Kaitlyn’s former professor. 

When their private lives collide, the two women must face the ultimate test of their faith and choose how to move forward as they live in the shadows of hope.

Georgiana Daniels resides in the beautiful mountains of Arizona with her super-generous husband and three talented daughters. She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a bachelor's degree in public relations and now has the privilege of homeschooling by day and wrestling with the keyboard by night. She enjoys sharing God's love through fiction and is exceedingly thankful for her own happily ever after.

You can learn more and connect with Georgiana online here:

Website

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The Ark on our Shoulders by Laurel Thomas

Every writing project is a journey. At the end, we arrive at a destination that depends on every bit of our hard work. There were obstacles we had to leap over and lots of fine-tuning to do.  Our laptops flamed with the rush of inspiration one moment and grew stone cold at the next as we wondered what in the heck we were thinking.

Angst. It gets old. So, we press on anyway. We keep writing, keep working until the final product shines. Or at least we know it’s the best we can do. Even then we join a critique group, hire an editor and get other trained eyes on it, just to be sure.

In my head I knew the Lord was in the process. But one morning I saw proof of it in an obscure passage in I Kings 8. 

Here’s the back story. Construction of Solomon’s temple was complete - down to the tiniest facet of magnificence and order. 

It was time for the Ark of His Presence to arrive. Priests carried it with wooden poles on their shoulders to the inner sanctuary. Everything in that room had been prepared to receive the presence of God. Golden cherubim, crafted especially for the Ark, spread their wings over it. The walls themselves were overlaid with gold and shone with a luminescence. 

It was all dazzling. Except for those wooden poles the priests had used. They stayed in the middle of all that splendor, sticking out from under the Ark. (I Kings 8:8)

Wooden poles sticking out? In a place so glorious and intricate in detail that it’d taken thousands of workmen seven years to complete? 

Surely, they could’ve gotten rid of them. After all, the poles weren’t needed anymore. The Ark was in the temple to stay. No more mobile-home tabernacle to carry it everywhere God’s people went. 

Why were the poles still there?

Maybe to remind us that His presence was once carried on the shoulders of people. Those wooden poles weren’t fancy, but they were proof that God chose people to carry Him to a specific destination.  

Maybe you just submitted an article, wrapped up the resolution of your novel or finished a memoir. There was a journey to get there. One that you carried on your shoulders throughout the process. 

It’s true that the Lord was there every step of the way. But our work mattered. Our efforts carried an idea, a story, a poem to completion.  

Carrying that Ark into the temple took work. Teaming up with God takes work. But we can remember those wooden poles. Like them, we might end up in the middle of something beautiful!

A former high school English teacher, Laurel Thomas has written for magazines such as Guideposts, Mysterious Ways and others. In addition to her foray into fiction with her first novel, Laurel has ghosted books and edited others. As general administrator of Write Well, Sell Well OKC, she helps facilitate an annual conference and other opportunities to equip writers.   Laurel holds degrees in English and Counseling. She is a chaplain for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations, as well as being a lay pastor at Church on the Rock, Oklahoma City, OK.  Check out her blog at freefreshbread@wordpress.com and her website at www.laurelannthomas.org. 

Writing Motivators by Glenn Haggerty

Motivation—I think that once you have the writing—storytelling bug, you have to write. Sure there are times I am discouraged, frustrated, and stonewalled. But once the pain wears off, all it takes is a little inspiration and . . .

10 Writing Motivators for Me

1. Reading books that I really like by other authors—Andrew Klavan has had a big impact on me—but there are so many great books out there, I’d leave too many out if I started listing them all!

2. A good night’s sleep.

3. Exercise. I often get some great ideas and insights as I ride my stationary bike.

4. A quiet, comfortable place to let your imagination roam.

5. Turn the phone off, and file the to-do lists for the day.

6. Great coffee is a must, strong and dark roast but with cream and sugar. Our Keurig makes a fast fix, but if I’m desperate, a shot of espresso and hot chocolate in a cup of skim milk will stimulate my creativity or power me through writer’s fatigue.

7. The majesty of creation. A starry night, a quiet forest, waves lapping on the shore and an endless horizon. A trip to the Arboretum, and if they are accessible, mountains, deserts, rivers and streams.

8. Prayer. Definitely.

9. A blank writing pad, or in my case, a blank word document in which to noodle, doodle and brainstorm.

10. And for me, Bible study. This impels me toward God’s perspective and helps me see others from His point of view. I also get excited about the unseen world that we encounter through faith.

I love those creative moments where you are in the character’s head and flying through a scene. I also like cleaning up the creative mess and honing the story into something you like. Don’t you?

Do you have any motivational tips to add to Glenn's?

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Glenn writes inspiring adventures with an edge. No matter how dark the day, finding hope to pursue the prize is the core of all his novels and studies. He is a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), a graduate of Vision Loss Resources and Bethel Seminary, the father of six and grandfather of seven. Glenn likes tandem biking, kayaking, and daydreaming and lives in Minneapolis with his wife. He is also an award-winning author with short stories published in Splickety, Havok, Cadet Quest and Partners. Chase, the third book in his Intense series was released on April 1, 2018.

You can visit him at http://www.glennhaggerty.com  and reach him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GlennHaggertyAuthor, and on Twitter, @grhaggertyjr

Chase, Intense Book 3

Drugs infiltrate Tyler Higgins’ middle school turning ordinary kids into brain dead druggies. When his friend is infected, Tyler decides to cut the small town drug flow by ratting out the dealer before it’s too late.

Shadowing drug runners is risky business. A bow-hunter has already disappeared, and Tyler’s true adversary remains veiled. Soon everything goes sideways, but he doggedly follows the twisting trails, risking his friendships and his own neck. But he isn’t sure who he can trust, or if he can rescue anyone—including himself.

You can pick up your copy of Chase, Intense Book 3 here https://books2read.com/u/3yZOW6

And click here to get Escape, the first book in the Intense Series for FREE!  http://www.glennhaggerty.com/my-books/escape/