Sitting in a Lifeboat, Surrounded by the Drowning

This week, my friend Jennifer Slattery, hosted me on her blog. Jen recently returned from an amazing missions trip to a home for abused girls in El Salvador. On her blog, she and I talked about God's work through us to reach children across the world. Here is a portion of the post:

Several summers ago, I took a missions trip to Romania with a team from my church. We went to conduct a Vacation Bible School in a local church for the children in the city of Oradea. Several days before VBS kicked off, we visited a massive city park where hundreds of poverty-stricken children played. Read More...

Setting--less is more

It's Reflections Wednesday!

-setting 1a : the time, place, and circumstances in which something occurs or develops

Abracadabra. Poof. You’re in a forest.

You’ve already imagined the trees, haven’t you? Towering pines, maybe?

An eagle shrieked. Look up and see if you can find him. His wing span is impressive. Did you catch the scent of pine with that sharp intake of wonder? What other details do you notice? Swatches of blue sky? Swaying treetops?

Your boot’s untied. Best fix that before you trip. Do you feel the soft forest floor shift beneath your weight as you squatted to collect your laces? Do you hear the dead needles crunch under your soles?

Read More...

So Many Places To Go

Guest post by Gail Pallotta

How relaxing to sit on a beach and watch the waves roll onto shore. No, maybe to plop down in a rocking chair and overlook distant mountains. 

 How about a day shopping in Paris? Oh yeah, that’d be nice. It might be fun to browse at an open market on a Caribbean Island or go to a Luau in Hawaii. What about walking where our ancestors walked? Find out more about ourselves. Or better yet, walk where Jesus walked. 

Even the most seasoned traveler can find new places to go. Thanks to all the writers who transport us to sites we’ve never seen or show us something different at the ones we have. We hear so much about a book’s plot and characters and rightly so, but the characters need to live in interesting surroundings.
 If a writer’s plotting a scuba diving expedition, the diver needs to see clear water, coral reefs and exotic fish and know all about boats and dive equipment. If a character is in the kitchen cooking grits while looking out a window at blue tinted mountains, that person’s in the south in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A character walking on a crowded street surrounded by high rise buildings with Times Square in the distance is in New York City. The setting also can make characters seem real when they smell newly mowed grass, watch a sunset, listen to the wind howl or feel the onset of a sudden shower.

It’s fun to sit back in a favorite easy chair or curl up on the sofa with a cup of coffee or tea with visions of new places to go and read until the heart’s content. If the character in the novel sees something the reader’s never seen, that’s traveling by book.

Do you have a favorite setting for a novel? The Civil War? The beach? Paris? Do share!

Gail’s husband, Rick, says she’s the only person he knows who can go in the grocery for a loaf of bread and come out with someone’s life story. That’s probably because she inherited her mother’s love of people and enjoys talking to them. Working as an editor and freelance writer, Gail published a couple hundred articles. While some of them are in anthologies, two ended up in museums. In 2004, the American Christian Writers Association named Gail a regional writer of the year. She recently published her first romance, Love Turns the Tide. When she isn’t writing she likes reading, swimming, and getting together with friends and family. Gail wants to write books of faith that show God’s love. She and Rick live in Georgia.

Contact Gail at pallotta[at]gailpallotta[dot]com. Visit her Web site at http://www.gailpallotta.com or her blog at http://www.gailpallotta.blogspot.com

Celebrating Freedom and the Book Launch of Montezuma Intrigue

Guest Post by Author Linda Weaver Clark

In celebration of our country’s “Freedom” and my Official Book Launch for Montezuma Intrigue, I’m having a Book Give-Away from June 27 – July 7: Win a mystery/adventure novel with a touch of romance, at http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com.

Adventure...Suspense...Romance...Intrigue...Humor! The search for Montezuma's treasure, mysterious events, family secrets, and a good-looking rogue!

When a leather parchment of Montezuma’s map is found in great-grandfather Evans’ old chest, April and the twins know this summer is going to be a memorable one. The girls want to search for it but their father is against it for some mysterious reason. With Julia’s help, she and the girls convince John to go on a treasure hunt. Is Montezuma’s treasure a legend or reality? Whatever the case, John insists on keeping their little treasure hunt a secret. If certain people find out about it, the family could be in danger.

But that’s not all! I have more gifts for you! I will be having a drawing for 2 children’s books: The Magic Word by Sherrill S. Cannon and The Donkey and the King by Lorilyn Roberts. If you have already bought Montezuma Intrigue, I will email you 4 free e-books (pdf):

1. The Treasure of Isian by Serena Clarke. This is a fantasy/adventure novel with a touch of romance. This story is full of intrigue as you watch Garin and Elani search for the treasure of Isian.
2. Reflections of the Heart, which has 13 chapters of inspirational writings such as: The secret of Happiness, Laughter is the Best Medicine, Parenthood – A Great Responsibility, Equal Partners in Marriage, and Music Soothes the Soul.
3. Writing Your Family Legacy, in which I teach you how to write your family history or autobiography. I travel all over the U.S., teaching this class.
4. The Donkey and the King by Lorilyn Roberts, a beautifully illustrated children’s book about a donkey named Baruch who longs for an easier life beyond the stable.

Don't forget to check out my site and win a mystery/adventure novel with a touch of romance, at http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com.

Rosslyn Elliot--Newest COTT Champion!

-guest post by April W Gardner


Rosslyn Elliot--Winner of the 

Best Protagonist Clash

Fairer Than Morning was voted as having the best protagonist description by Clash of the Titles readers. Her worthy competitor was Pamela Thibodeaux's Tempered Hearts.

A snapshot of her winning excerpt:

Will groaned. His eyes still would not focus, though the barn’s spinning was slowing.

The barn door rattled as Master Good left. Will raised his fingers to the side of his head, where he could feel a huge lump already forming. A sharp sting revealed a break in the skin. His fingers were slick and red when he held them up close enough to focus on them.

He would live. Tom’s head had bled worse than this, when the master hit him with the poker two weeks ago. He thought vaguely that he would have to wash the blood off before dinner, or he would get another thrashing. Read full blurb here

A couple reader comments:

• Tom's scene gave vivid picture of the protagonist was, and the dream of who he might become. I wonder what angel of mercy found him in such a state...
• Taking on slavery from a historic and spiritual perspective seems really important and challenging. I liked the way you allow your protagonist to experience fear.

Rosslyn says:

For me, a good protagonist is admirable but also real, which means he must have sympathetic traits and also flaws. I find the most sympathetic traits to be courage, compassion, faith, sincerity, and loyalty. I want the protagonist’s weakness to be a significant problem, not just a cosmetic story device. Read full interview here:

Want to get in on the voting action? Head over to Clash of the Titles now and cast your ballot for this week's Clash!

PLEASE CHECK 

OUT OUR EXCITING NEW VENTURE:

Join us in June as we premier COTT's book club! Karen Witemeyer and her COTT winning novel, A Tailor-Made Bride is up as our first read . More details and to vote for July's book, CLICK HERE. 

--April W Gardner is the senior editor at the literary site,

 Clash of the Titles. She is also the award-winning author of Wounded Spirits.

A Tapestry of Grace--Weaving Christ into your novel

Weave- 1a. to form by interlacing strands.

                   1b. to produce by elaborately combining elements.

 When I was a senior in high school, my English teacher showed the class a photograph of a tapestry. It was called Unicorn in Captivity. She asked us to write a short story about the picture, and it was that story that spawned my love of creative writing.

While in Scotland several years back, I stopped at Stirling Castle. It’s a massive, old place and rich with history, but the main element that stands out in my mind is the tapestry exhibit. And you’ll never guess which one they had hanging on their walls. That’s right. My unicorn.

It was a lovely surprise, but what was better was the Japanese artist who had spent the last year weaving an exact replica right there on the castle grounds. She planned to be there a couple years longer.

To weave a tapestry, it takes years of planning and executing and countless threads in a multitude of tones. The result, though, is worth every painstaking hour of labor.

It takes the same level of expertise to craft a Christ-centered story with just the right balance of “Christ” and “story.” But how does a writer go about it? I put the question to several authors, and I know you’ll benefit from their answers.  READ MORE

Favorite Protags: Saying Goodbye

Guest post by Amanda Flower


When you finish reading a novel, are you ever sad to see the protagonist go? Does it feel like you’re saying good-bye to a good friend? Those are signs of well-crafted main characters, like the ones in our excerpts this week.
There are many protagonists whom I’ve met in my life who have felt like old friends, and I miss them at the end of the book.
Here are eight of my favorite protagonists and their characteristics which I found most endearing as a young reader and still admire to this day:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird- Scout Finch’s imagination
2. Pride and Prejudice- Elizabeth Bennet’s wit
3. Mouse and the Motorcycle- Ralph S. Mouse’s sense of adventure
4. Charlotte’s Web- Wilbur’s loyalty
5. The Baby Sitter Club Series- Kristy Thomas’s organization skills
6. Jane Eyre- Jane Eyre’s conscience
7. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- Lucy Penvensie’s bravery
8. Mandie Series- Madie Shaw’s crime solving skills

My question for you, who is your favorite protagonist?

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Make sure to hop on over to COTT this week to get to know the authors of our current Clash:

Best Description of a Protagonist!

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Amanda Flower is an academic librarian for a small college in Ohio. Her first novel, Maid of Murder, was released in 2010. When she is not at the library or writing her next mystery, she is an avid traveler, aspiring to visit as much of the globe as she can.
She is the author of Maid of Murder
Contact Amanda: amandaflower(at)gmail(dot)com
Amanda's Site, Blog, Facebook

Protagonists Descriptions--when and how much?

Protagonist [proh-tag-uh-nist] noun 1. the leading character, hero, or heroine of a literary work

Today, we’re talking protags—that hero that carries the plot on his broad shoulders. Specifically, their descriptions, when and how to apply them.

Aragorn--one of my all-time favorite protags

WHEN

Last week, one of my fab crit partners,Michelle Massaro, gave me a much needed reminder of the importance of WHEN in regards to descriptions of our main characters. Around chapter nine, I tossed in a physical attribute that I had, as of yet, failed to mention—hair. Michelle screamed in protest. “What?!” she wrote. “I didnot imagine him with long, wavy hair.” Ouch. Big mistake on my part. Either Phillip needs a trip to the barber, or I need to mention his hair much sooner.

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