A Christmas Pause

If you hadn't noticed, it's Christmas. There isn't snow on the ground, but the wrapping of too many gifts and the baking of too many goodies and the hustle of shopping for last minute forgotten items tells me the season is really here. Busyness is trying to war with my worship today. I need to remember what this is all about. I need to focus on the entire reason this season is so special. The BEST gift. 

Without this gift, I'd be nothing, have nothing, possess no hope for the future. I'd be swallowed up and eaten alive by anxiety. I'd be no good at all to my family and friends. I'd have nothing to write about.

In Jesus, I have everything. I have peace, anticipation of future promises, strength for today, joy in the simplicity of everything this life can be. 

I'm sharing a scene from my latest biblical fiction novel. I hope it gives you a moment to pause and consider in a new way the age-old message of Christmas. 

EXCERPT FROM MY BROTHER THE KING...

***

“Daughters, come near,” Yosef said weakly from his pallet on the floor. He had been thrashing back and forth all evening. The girls had been huddled in the corner together, watching his face grow white and his desperate breathing become a tell-tale rattle in his chest. They knew death, and they knew their father was close to it.

They came to him and kneeled beside him. Talia buried her head in Yosef’s tunic, crying.

“Save your tears for mourning, little Talia. I want to go to Sheol with the memories of your beautiful smiles.”

“Please don’t go, Abba,” Talia begged as she tried to stop her tears. Her sobs only grew deeper.

“Be silent so I can speak,” Abba said tenderly, lifting a trembling hand to Talia’s cheek. When she quieted, he spoke again. “When I am gone, little lambs, you must do something for me.”

“Anything, Abba,” Hannah leaned over him and squeezed his arm. “Just say the words.”

Yosef smiled at her and reached a hand to smooth back the hair from her face. “Little Hannah. Only eight years on this earth and you wish to be a grown woman. Don’t be in such a hurry. Womanhood will come all too soon.”

“Amen,” Hannah said without thinking. She took his other hand. “May you be there to see me as a woman.”

“I will not be there,” Yosef said decidedly. “I want my daughters to be strong. Help your Ama in her grief.”

They hesitated, exchanging glances, then nodded.

“Whatever happens, you must both follow Yeshue. Not only in matters relating to the family, for he will be the head of this house, but in all things. He is the M’sheekha, and you must follow him.”

Yosef’s voice became urgent, almost as a plea, as the spirit ebbed away behind his warm brown eyes. “I have told your brothers the same.”

“Yes, Abba,” they both said in unison.

“If only I had the time to tell you…” Yosef’s voice faded and Hannah thought he had died. A cold chill spread over her.

“I must speak to Yeshue,” he said suddenly, squeezing their hands with his little remaining strength. “Send in the one they call my son.”

They sprang up from his pallet, crying as they descended the ladder and ran to find Yeshue. Hannah found him in the courtyard, sitting against the wall, his head in his hands. She was not sure if he was praying, or crying, or both.

“Abba asks for you,” she said. He jumped at the sound of her voice, as if he’d been surprised by her voice. Very rarely did anyone surprise Yeshue. He must have been deep in thought.

He stood and motioned for her to come to him. He kissed her head. “Go to your sister, Hannah. She will need you to hold her while she grieves.”

Hannah nodded, a lump in her throat.

“You are a strong one. A brave girl.” He squeezed her shoulders before he went to Yosef.

Instead of going to Talia, Hannah followed Yeshue back into the house. She sat in the doorway and listened to their words. She had to strain her ears to hear Abba’s words over Ama’s sniffling.

“Son, my time has come,” Yosef said. 

Yeshue said nothing. After a moment, he nodded.

“I know we haven’t spoken of it in a long time, but I want to remind you of your birth. Make sure you understand.”

Hannah would have laughed if it had been any other circumstance. Yosef and Maryam had talked often of Yeshue’s birth. Sometimes Hannah wondered if they could speak of anything else.

“I understand, Abba.” Hannah heard Yeshue’s soft answer.

“Ah, let an old man speak his memories,” Yosef chuckled, which made him cough.

“If he must,” Yeshue sat down on the stool made by Yosef’s own hands. “I will be glad to listen.”

“You indulge me,” Yosef said, and Yeshue chuckled in response.

“Your mother was the most beautiful girl in town. Have I told you that? Long dark hair, shiny brown eyes full of innocence…”

“You describe every young woman I can think of, Abba,” Yeshue teased him mildly.

 Yosef reached a hand to lightly slap Yeshue’s arm. “You are employed here only as a listener.”

Yeshue nodded and bowed his head in deference.

“I was taken with her from the moment I arrived in town. You know I came from Bethlehem, but our family had come to Nazareth for the wedding of my cousin. We ended up staying for several weeks, and I wanted her for my wife, if her father could be convinced to let her marry an old bachelor.”

“An old bachelor at twenty-four. You wound me. I hadn’t realized at twenty-five I was useless and elderly.”

Yosef wheezed a short laugh. “Well, I seemed an old bachelor to Maryam. She was barely thirteen. But there was something about her. Wisdom beyond her years. She wasn’t flighty or silly as the other young women. She had a peace about her I found very attractive.”

“As you should have.” Yeshue looked at his mother across Yosef’s pallet and nodded.

“I decided not to ask for her, though. Surely she deserved better than a poor carpenter.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“In the end I didn’t need to. Her father’s olive crop was destroyed by flies and they had no money to pay the tax. He would have had to sell her to save the little ones, so I paid the bride price. He asked me to wait a year before I took her to my home because she was so young, and I agreed.

“Not two months after this, Maryam was visited by the angel.”

“Gabriel,” Yeshue said with a nod. Almost like he spoke of an old friend.

“Imagine my shock when she came to me with wild stories of angels and heavenly messages. I pulled her aside to hear what nonsense she had dreamed up. When she told me she was going to have a baby, my blood ran cold.”

Hannah sneaked into the animal shelter underneath the floor. She watched them through a small hole in the floor of the upper story. She knew her parents would make her leave if they knew she was listening to such a conversation. But she was intensely curious about the part of the story no one would speak about when she was around. Her brother Y’hud played nearby, banging on a pot with all his strength. She glared at him, and he gave her a toothy smile.

“You did well to hear her out,” Yeshue said.

“I was like one possessed,” Yosef continued, his voice softer and weaker. “I wanted to rage and find the man who had defiled her. I would give him justice. But she went on about how the baby would be born of the Spirit of Alaha. He would be the M’sheekha.”

“Did you believe her?”

“Yeshue, surely you know every woman who has come to be with child in the last four hundred years has claimed to be carrying the M’sheekha.”

Yeshue smiled. “Ah, but it is true.”

“Well, I marched her right back to her father’s home and left her there, too angry to say a word. Then I paced the rest of the day, trying to decide what to do.”

“You did well not to have her publicly shamed.”

“I did not want to run ahead of Adonai.” Yosef closed his eyes, his words slurring as he tried to gather strength to finish the tale. Yeshue put his hand on the older man’s arm, and the gesture gave Yosef strength to continue.

“I was going to put her away from me without anyone knowing. I wanted her life to be spared, at least. I thought maybe the father was a Roman soldier that had cornered her and taken advantage of her innocence. Maybe she’d come up with the angel story to cover the horror of what had happened.”

“You were a man of integrity, thinking the best of her.”

Yosef shook his head. “A good man would have stood by her and believed her story. Alaha had to send an angel to me before I would accept it.”

“You did, though. You didn’t question after that.”

“No, I didn’t. How could I question the word of Adonai?”

Yosef was quiet for a long time. When Hannah thought maybe he had died, he suddenly spoke again. “I am going to die.”

Hannah expected Yeshue to disagree—to urge Yosef to fight the illness and stay with them. After all, he had eight children and other relatives to care for. What would their family be without him?

“I know.” Hannah heard the catch in Yeshue’s voice and imagined the tears swimming in his eyes.

“You will be head of this house.”

“I understand.”

“Do you have any questions? Do you know what to do for the girls when they come of age? Do you understand how to balance family and the business, and still have time for your studies?”

“I think so,” Yeshue said simply. 

Yosef nodded, visibly relaxing in the quiet confidence of his eldest son. “Don’t misunderstand me. I know you are here for a higher purpose than looking after the poor family of a tekton. You must be about your Father’s business, as you have reminded me.”

The words didn’t make sense to Hannah.

“I will do what I have come to do,” Yeshue promised.

“No man has ever left his family in better care. That I should be so blessed…”

Her father’s voice trailed off, and moments later, she heard the wails of her mother begin. Yeshue gathered his mother in his arms and wept with her.

***

This has been an excerpt from my novel "My Brother the King." I pray it allows your heart space to think and worship this Christmas on the wonder of everything our Savior was - even a simple son and a brother.

Whiter Than Snow - Coming May 1!

I can't describe how excited I am to share this story with you. This story began with the question "How far could God's love really reach into the darkness of our lives?" and the more practical "What could I do to help people know the Father wants them to come home?"

Kathleen's quest to know who she is leads her on a road that reveals her stubborn nature. She speaks to those of us who have gone too far, who have strayed far from home. We don't think there's a chance our Father will forgive us for the paths we chose and the sin we embraced. We can only fear his rightful judgment.

On the other hand, Joshua whispers to those of us who have known redemption and forgiveness. We find ourselves on a mission to protect ourselves from those who would hurt us with their messy lives. We are determined to arrange our lives to have perfect outcomes, forgetting this world is not our ultimate home.

Essentially, Joshua and Kathleen are the older and younger brother in the story of the Prodigal Son. Is there a way through these stubborn hearts to find answers for the needs of their souls? How far is God willing to go to get us to the place where we are able to see him lavishing his love and blessing on us?

Get ready to be encouraged, wherever you find yourself, by this inspirational historical romance, WHITER THAN SNOW, the sequel to WHERE WE BELONG and the second book in the series "Midwest Maidens." WHITER THAN SNOW is due out May 1 on Amazon for print and kindle.

It's amazing to me how long an author can work on a story, get to know her characters, spend quiet but exhilarating moments with them until a story has been crafted . . . but still not know that story the way they come to know it when others join with the story and make it their own.

I don't know if there's a more artistic way to say it, but this new process of taking something that was private and making it something that belongs to the world has been both terrifying and one of the best experiences of my life. (Terrifying in that I've received threats promising to egg my house if the story did not end up the way the reader hoped!)

This book was released a month ago, but it needed a few tweaks. I can now say, with relative confidence, that it is free of typos, that the cover art is what we envisioned, and that I am ready to continue in the wonderful and amazing process of discovering the readers for whom God intended this story be written.

Check it out. You don't need to worry that it's one of "those" self-published books. You're dealing with a perfectionist who found a perfectionist editor, who spent plenty of time researching the art of publishing and with much time on her knees in preparation. If you like Christian historical romance, and if you like interesting protagonists that tend to fall in love with flawed, but equally interesting men, and if you like that love story to point to a deeper love story that every one of us is in the process of either avoiding or building with our Savior, then this book is for you. If you like twists and turns and not exactly knowing what might happen on the next page, this book is for you. If you like all of this with a reminder of the beauty of the Gospel, it's for you.

So check it out. And spread the word. And let me know what you think.

Find it here!

Advanced Quick Tips for Writers

If you know that glorious moment when you write THE END on the final page of your novel, you know that after the high wears off, you have more work to do.

Writing the rough draft is an act of complete creativity. All of your soul should be poured into those 70,000 - 100,000 words you've typed into your computer. Now it's time to take a surgical knife to your soul.

This isn't as scary as it sounds. You're not trimming the parts that will someday make you an example of genius in literature. You're cutting the stuff that distracts people from really experiencing your unique voice.

The greatest writer in the world will still have these problems in a rough draft. Even though I've noticed I have less to edit as the years go by, I still have plenty. And if I'm not convinced it's there, my editor is always happy to point it out! :)

These are four tips with examples that will give you a polished, professional edge with your manuscript:

1. DON'T BE PASSIVE
2. LOOK FOR "WAS"
3. NO CLICHES!
4. GIVE A POSITIVE SPIN

Look at the examples in the illustration for more info. Remember, you aren't cutting your genius moments. But you do want to edit out the parts that whisper of amateur. And you want to cut anything that doesn't change or define the plot or characters.

Happy writing!

Where We Belong is available now in print!

Where We Belong is available in print or Kindle
amazon.com

I'll let you in on a little secret, Where We Belong is available TODAY in print! (Official release is September 1, 2015.) You can order your copy today for 12.99 or preorder your Kindle version for 4.99.

Enjoy!

Are You Reading the Wrong Christian Fiction?

Recently, I was listening to a group of women discuss fiction. Christian fiction, specifically. Being an author of Christian historical romance, my ears perked up. The general consensus? They had a hard time reading romance novels, not because they didn't enjoy reading fiction, but because the stories and specifically the male protagonist caused them feelings of dissatisfaction in their own relationships.

It struck me as odd, because I don't think that way. If anything, the hero in a well-told romance causes me to see the good in my husband. It makes me feel closer to him.

I learned long ago my personality type is rare, so maybe it's because I'm weird. But I tend to think, since problems with Christian fiction seemed common to all of the women who were talking, that it's something with an easier fix. 

I think women are reading the wrong books. I think the faults in the publishing world have caused an unproductive catch-22. Somehow we got into the mode of buying the books that are thrown in our faces. Who has time to scour the bookshelves for something more meaningful? Maybe the general public doesn't know more meaningful is there. But somehow, the popular books have became generalized, syrupy, cookie-cutter copies of a what a story is meant to be.

I observe. I've looked at the books on the shelf. I've listened to women talk about authors they like. I've considered every bit of insider advice I've received from agents and editors. I've come to a conclusion. There's something wrong with what's in demand.

I'm picky about my fiction. I will only read something that is unique, and something that resonates. Most of the time I can tell whether it's worth reading by page 50. (Sometimes the first paragraph reveals all you need.) I want characters thoughtfully developed and intricately designed, as near to real people as you can get. I want a plot to surprise me, intrigue me, make me mad, make me think, and make me see something in myself I didn't know I needed to take a good hard look at. Authors such as Francine Rivers and Lynn Austin have this down. I know whatever book they come up with I will not regret picking up. This is why, years ago when my calling was new, I asked God to make me a writer like those two women.

The problem for readers is the catch-22 of "same old, same old" books on the shelf, but it's also due to the extreme pressure on writers. Authors put countless hours of emotionally draining effort into their stories. They are rewarded with, if they are very fortunate, around a dollar for every book sold. (Generally, this number is fewer than 5,000 total.) Mid-list authors (most of the authors out there) get very little attention even if they manage to snag an agent or publisher. They do most of their marketing work, try to please by the standards set before them, and generally, as I have observed, their unique voice fades away. They are not able to devote the time to their books required for something to be special, to mean something to a reader on an intellectual or spiritual level.

It's why I decided to Indie-publish. I don't think I can accomplish what God has called me to do with sales statistics in control of what the stories say. Popular books with lots of marketing, unless they come with a name tag like Francine Rivers or Lynn Austin, don't tend to be books that will change your life. And the whole point of art is to change our perspective and our thinking.

So how is this practical for the average Christian wife and mom or hardworking career woman with no time to read, but a desire to do so anyway? How do you find books that are worth the sacrifice you make for them? How do you decide before you begin if an author will be able to surprise you and make you think, and will avoid giving you false perceptions of what your reality should be?

Here are a few practical things I do when I'm looking for something new to read:

1. Skip the author who publishes more than 1 book a year. 

I just can't think of any authors who have started to over-publish (though I can understand why they would considering the little money they make off of any one book) who have been presenting masterpieces. Personally, it would be impossible for me to have more than one book ready in a year's time. Stories with meaning HAVE to cure. There's no way around it.

One caveat! If the author is new, they may have been working on several projects for years, so in the first year of self-publishing, an author might have more than one ready. I mean here that I suggest you generally skip the author that is an established, published author and has been for years, and is coming out with 2 or 3 books a year. In my reading experience, it's just not a great sign.

2. Read the descriptions on the back cover.

Did you know the author writes that description? It's his or her way of telling you what to expect from the book without giving the story away. It's a delicate process that takes FOREVER to write, believe me, so don't just grab a book because everyone else is reading it. Read that description and ask yourself if it grabs you and appeals to your interests. If you can't get through the description, you probably shouldn't read the book.

3. Trust an author you like, but pay attention over time.

I'm ultra-loyal to an author who has taken me on a memorable journey. But unfortunately, sometimes authors seem to only have one good story in them. Or they start giving into the pressures of publishing and lose their special voice. If you notice the stories aren't what they used to be, don't be afraid to move on.

4. Look for the hidden gems.

This is tricky and can be time-consuming, because as flawed as traditional publishing is, independent authors are hard to find in the murky waters of all the badly-written books available due to the ease of self-publishing. You have to be willing to take a chance on someone you've never heard of. If you read on a Kindle, look for authors that offer a sample for free, because as I said before, you can usually tell in the first paragraph. Between that back-cover description, the first page or so, and checking to see how often an author is putting out a book, you can get a pretty good idea of what the story will be like. 

5. If you find an author who is worthy of it, it is ESSENTIAL that you do a few things that will take you five or ten minutes but mean everything to the author.

> Do a (positive) review on Amazon.(I say positive because there's never a reason to slam someone's art. Your opinion might not be someone else's. If you don't have anything nice to say about it or more than three stars to give it, just let it go. You don't realize how critical these reviews can be.)

> Share the link on social media. 

> Let that poor, (quite literally!) struggling author know that his or her words made a difference, because that is what any true author is really hoping to accomplish.

What about you? How do you find great books and new authors? Do you know of any lesser known gems you'd like to share in the comments? Support your Indie authors!

You can also follow my Book Love board on Pinterest. I only pin books that have been worth the time to read, and I include all genres. Here's the link: Pinterest: Book Love

Get reading!

Why I Don't do NaNoWriMo

If you're not a writer or you haven't ever contemplated writing, you probably have no idea what NaNoWriMo is. You are excused from reading further.

If you are contemplating it or are busy getting ready for it, the purpose of this article is not to discourage you. I do not believe NaNoWriMo is evil or even bad. If it helps you get writing, and you are supposed to be writing, then it's a good thing for you. 

I'm only here to tell you why I've never done it or seriously considered it. You will probably be in one of two camps reading this. Either you will stridently agree (less likely) or you will be indignant with disagreement. I've never been the type of writer who fits the norm. I'm not the diligent and organized fiction writer who sits down with my neatly typed outline and writes my daily 500-2,000 words without a moment of angst or indifference.

I'm the writer who, even if she writes an outline, will almost always deviate so far from it that it's ridiculous to even attempt one. I'm the writer who has a mess of hurriedly scribbled notes and thoughts and research piled on the desk and beside it and littered around the rest of the house. I'm the writer who will stare desperately at the screen for two hours without writing a word, and the next day will feverishly write 10,000 words or more. I'm the writer who eats, sleeps, and dreams stories and words and adventures and aches to get them recorded so other people can share them. I'm the writer who hates the details, the business, the money. I would rather just write every waking moment.

And that is probably why the idea of a month to write one novel goes against my grain. To me, a novel begins in the recesses of my imagination where some image of a piece of art or words of a song or another story I read or saw causes some spark that ignites. It simmers for months or years. It slowly takes shape as I consider the characters and their desires and fears. Only when I am sure of who they are do I dare to begin to write. And from there, I may indeed write their story in a month or two. But it is far from done. That is where the real work begins of shaping and molding the words into something pleasing and good.

That's the problem I have with the extreme excess of published books we have available. They're written too fast, they follow the same formula and lose the precious tone of the true writer's voice. They may be neat and orderly and follow all the rules, but they don't pose any questions, they don't spark any imagination or inspire any beauty.

If you have a burning desire within you to release the pressure of your exploding imagination through the avenue of a novel, you should. But do it the way you need to in order for it to be your true work of greatness. Don't just follow the rules, do your duty for November and then never think of it again. If you CAN do that, I would question why you are even doing it in the first place.

Not everyone needs to write. If you don't need to, why clutter up an already congested world of books? Let's make sure we aren't wasting our lives doing something that is someone else's job. Find your passion, find what makes you soar, and do THAT. You'll never regret it.

For me, it's writing. And for me, it could never be contained by a month or a plan.