Tag Archives: Canadian authors

Friday Friends: Author Sandra Orchard

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Sandra Orchard is a Canadian author whose debut novel, Deep Cover, releases in early September from Love Inspired Suspense.

Janet: Welcome, Sandra, and thanks for taking time to join us. Was it only last year you were a finalist in American Christian Fiction Writers’ Genesis contest for unpublished novels?

Sandra: That was actually in 2008. It led to a number of requests by editors, but no sale. 

Janet: It’s a pretty prestigious contest. Well done! And congratulations on your first novel! Tell us a bit about Deep Cover.

Sandra: Maintaining his cover cost undercover cop Rick Gray the woman he loved. Sweet Ginny Bryson never really knew Rick–he never gave her the chance. Not then, and not now, when he’s back with a new alias to gather evidence against Ginny’s uncle. The man’s crimes led to Rick’s partner’s death, and Rick wants justice to be served. But his investigation is stirring up trouble, and Ginny is in the middle of it. Someone wants Ginny to pay the price for what her uncle has done. But how can Rick protect her without blowing his cover, jeopardizing his assignment…and risking both their lives?

Janet: Where did the story idea come from?

Sandra: I wanted to explore the complexities of trying to make a relationship work while living a dual life, compounded by the dangers the undercover life poses to real relationships, as well as to explore the question: Is it possible to be a man of honour and live a life of lies? The Bible says, do not lie. Undercover cops play a vital role in bringing criminals to justice yet they’re faced with the need to lie day in and day out. How does a believer reconcile the two? The original title for the story was Shades of Gray, because Ginny is a black and white kind of person, while Rick lives in shades of gray. But if he’s going to win the girl, he has to realize that there’s no room for shades of gray in his heart.

Janet: The cover’s very attractive—looks like an ocean shoreline. What’s the setting?

Sandra: The series takes place in a fictional town called Miller’s Bay on the shores of Lake Erie in the heart of the Niagara Region of Ontario Canada. The view of the lake is used a number of times in the story to deepen the emotions of the characters. I love the mix of ominous looking clouds and rough waters, with rays of light reaching down. And if you look closely, you’ll see a dove. The dove is a recurring symbol in the book of God watching over them.

Janet: I see the dove now, and I’ll be watching for it when I read Deep Cover. The next title in your Undercover Cops series is Shades of Truth, due out in March 2012. Are you already hard at work on that?

Sandra: I handed in revisions on that manuscript June 1st and am now hard at work on revisions to the third book in the series. That one’s tentatively called Dose of Deception, and it will release later in 2012.

Janet: Good, more books to come…. The Novels page on your website gives sneak peeks at your upcoming Undercover Cops novels, but it also lists two unpublished manuscripts: Escape to Terror won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier (unpublished) award, and Murder by Marigolds which is looking for a publisher. They’re all intriguing, and I hope we’ll get the chance to read them some day.

I’m impressed by the endorsements you’ve received from respected writers in the Christian fiction field. What’s the path to publication been like for you?

Sandra: Writing is an emotional rollercoaster ride, from the thrills of editor requests and contest wins to the disappointment of rejections and criticisms from readers. But God always gave me just enough encouragement to persevere. I have met so many wonderful people, made dear friends, learned tons about writing, people, and life. While in the throes of wondering if I’d ever sell a manuscript, I longed for validation for the tremendous time and effort I was pouring into my novels. But I am so glad that God made me wait for that first coveted contract. I still have much to learn, but I am far better equipped to meet the challenges of writing to a deadline now than I would’ve been if I’d sold my first manuscript.

Janet: That encourages me as I continue waiting for a publisher. God’s timing is everything, and there’s definitely lots to learn. Back to Deep Cover, what do you want readers to take away when they’ve finished the book?

Sandra: Everyone is in a different place physically, emotionally and spiritually and what each of us get from any book we read will be as different as we each are. What drew me to inspirational fiction was the hope I felt in seeing characters grapple with a lot of the same kind of issues I was facing in my life and experience victory. Some stories cause me to rethink how I look at things, or give me hope that circumstances will improve, and some prompt me to make changes in my life, while some are simply a few hours of pleasant escape. I would be thrilled to know that in some small way my readers are touched by the experiences of Rick and Ginny.

Janet: Are you a writer who likes to immerse herself in details of the setting while incubating the story idea?

Sandra: Setting is one of the most difficult things for me to write so I probably don’t do this enough. But I did go sit by the lake to watch and listen and inhale the scents, while brainstorming metaphors that related the setting to the characters emotions. Restaurants are another great place where I find myself absorbing story ideas. People do a lot of quirky things in restaurants. <grin>

Janet: In your research, what’s the weirdest bit of trivia you’ve picked up?

Sandra: I’m not sure it qualifies as weird, but while doing research for my murder mysteries I discovered a lot of cool ways to kill people that are difficult to trace. Hee, hee, hee.

Janet: I’ll try to stay on your good side! Is there a particular song or Scripture verse that’s made a big difference for you?

Sandra: Hebrews 10:35-36 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

Janet: Definitely a good verse for perseverance! What do you like best about the writing life?

Sandra: I don’t have to drive to work.

Janet: What do you like least?

Sandra: The criticisms.

Janet: What do your family think of your writing?

Sandra: They are incredibly supportive. My youngest daughter (18) is a writer, too, already published in magazine articles and short stories. She’s a wonderful critiquer. My eldest daughter helps me with my website. And my son and hubby don’t complain about the dust bunnies or late dinners when I get caught up writing a scene. In fact, when my hubby is home during the day, he’ll always make me lunch, and when I’m really caught up in writing, he’ll offer to order a pizza for supper. <grin>

Janet: Writers are told to read widely and voraciously. I think that’s one of the perks of the deal. What are you reading these days?

Sandra: I got a Kindle last year for Christmas and I love to read books on it. At 44 my eyes aren’t reading the small print in books as well as they used to. Every week I download the latest “free” offerings that appeal to me so I’ve found myself reading a much wider variety of novels than I used to. I do love the fast pace of Love Inspired Suspense, and am thoroughly enjoying the historical line. Generally, I like to read novels that have a little more going on than just a straight romance.

Janet: What are you listening to?

Sandra: I can’t write with music playing in the background so I don’t listen to much. The one exception is a Robert Alexander CD I picked up called Happiness. It has easy-to-listen-to piano solos that I don’t associate with any lyrics so they don’t distract me. I find them very soothing.

Janet: What do you like to do to get away from it all?

Sandra: I love to go to the lake. There’s something about the smell of the air and the sound of the waves lapping on the shore that soothes the soul.

Janet: What’s the most surprising/ zany thing you’ve ever done?

Sandra: At university, my roommate and I snuck into the room of one of the men in the same dorm as my now-husband and magic-markered tops on a poster he had on the wall of women riding bikes topless. He was so not impressed!

Janet: Not “deep cover” but cover of a sort! Thanks so much for taking time to let us get to know you a bit, Sandra. May the LORD continue to bless you and make you a blessing to others—in every area of your life.

===

I caught up with Sandra for a chat at Write! Canada this June. Thank you to Ray Wiseman for taking our photo. Stop by Sandra Orchard’s website to learn more about the author. You can also find Sandra at her blog, Conversations About Characters, or on Facebook.

Review: Abundant Rain, by Marcia Lee Laycock

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Abundant Rain, by Marcia Lee Laycock (Smashwords, 2011)

The subtitle of this ebook is “Inspiring words for writers of faith.” It’s an 110-page collection of short pieces designed to encourage and sustain writers (and perhaps to help their loved ones understand them).

The articles in this collection have appeared as Marcia’s weekly devotional posts on the popular Novel Journey blog.

Topics cover perseverance, pride, writing about life’s ugly bits and hard questions, self-promotion versus bragging, art and perfectionism, praising God, and what happens when we compare ourselves with other writers.

One of the selections, “Little Songs,” particularly warmed my heart. In it, Marcia describes a string of emails in an online writing group, all on the theme of “whatever our circumstances, bless the Lord.” I’m part of the same group—InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship—and I remember that conversation thread well. In fact, one of the quoted prayers may well be mine.

Writers, like any other group of people following a particular passion, are a misunderstood lot. It takes one of our own to know which words will encourage us. Abundant Rain is a book designed to bless writers. It’s one to read and then read again, in small sections, as needed.

Look for the free ebook, “A Small Patch of Blue,” on the author’s Smashwords profile page if you’d like to preview an excerpt from Abundant Rain. Abundant Rain is available from Smashwords in various ebook formats.

Marcia Lee Laycock is an award-winning Canadian author of non-fiction and fiction. Her work has been published in numerous anthologies (most recently in A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider) and she has written two devotional compilations, Spur of the Moment and Focused Reflections, as well as the novel One Smooth Stone. A Tumbled Stone, the novel’s sequel, is due to release soon.

Marcia can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and on her website, which also has links to her various blog presences.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Friday Friends: Interview with the Characters of Shadowed in Silk

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Interview of characters from Historical Romance Shadowed in Silk by Christine Lindsay. EBook is available now, paper version Sept. 2011.

Leave a comment and your name will be put into the hat to win a free E-copy of Shadowed in Silk. [Draw is now closed, Stephanie is our winner, and I hope she enjoys the novel as much as I did. Thank you to everyone who commented!]

Christine Lindsay, author of Shadowed in Silk: First of all, on behalf of Major Geoff Richards and Abby Fraser, I’d like to thank you, Janet, for inviting all 5 of us, real and fictional. We brought along Eshana, Abby’s maid, and of course, Abby’s little 3-year-old son, Cam.

Christine:  So Abby, let’s start with you. Why did you decide to sail to India in Dec. 1918?

Abby: The war in Europe was over at last. I’d waited 4 years, so it was time for my husband, Nick Fraser, and I to be reunited. He’s a soldier in the British army and served the entire war here in India. We had a whirlwind romance at the beginning of the war, and unfortunately don’t know each other very well.

Christine: I’ll bet Nick was thrilled to see you at the pier in Bombay after such a long separation.

Abby: I wish that were so. But Nick didn’t meet me when my ship docked. With Geoff’s help I found my own way to the bungalow that Nick rented for me. Since then my relationship with my husband has been . . . well he’s hardly ever home.

Christine:  Oh, that must be terribly disappointing.

Eshana:  If I may say a word, it has been most upsetting for my dear friend, Abby. Perhaps we should talk of something more cheerful. Her husband, Lieutenant Fraser, is no longer even at home with her. He has been banished to a station in the wilds of Waziristan.

Christine:  You don’t say. Do I smell a bit of mystery?

Geoff:  If I may interject as this is upsetting the ladies. Nick Fraser’s commanding officer transferred him to a non-family station due to ah . . . improprieties on Nick’s part.

Christine:  Of course, Major. Let’s chat instead about you and your career as a Cavalry officer in His Majesty’s army in colonial India.

Geoff:  Be pleased to. My Indian troops and I have just been demobilized after the war in Europe. I can’t be more proud of them than I am. It is my prayer that England will keep her promise to India and grant them independence that was promised a few years ago.

Christine: I hear revolution is in the wind—all this talk of Gandhi and his peaceful rebellion.

Eshana: But the revolution might not be peaceful. There are many Indian people who wish the British to leave, and they will resort to violence to make this happen. It is the same sort of people who show violence to Christians in India. What is worse, the British are terrified and they will retaliate. We are living in fearful days.

Christine:  You are an Indian Christian, Eshana? Not a Hindu?

Eshana: I was born into a Hindu family, but when I was 13 the boy I was married to died of cholera and I was sent away to live in poverty as a child widow. But I became a follower of Christ. Now I am trying to show Abby that it is only Christ who can lift the veil of sin from us, so that God can look upon us face-to-face.

Geoff: Yes, my dear little sister-in-Christ, Eshana, has been a great help to Abby and Cam.

Christine:  I hear that you, Geoff, are also a great help to Abby and Cam. It’s hard on a little boy when his father is not a loving parent.

Geoff:  Well . . . ahem . . . I take Cam out for rides on my charger. The child does get lonely.

Christine: Cam, how do you like the rides on Major Geoff’s horse?

Three-year-old Cam (smiling):  I like Geoff’s horse. His name is Sampson. And Major Geoff is my best friend.

Christine:  But, Cam, don’t you miss your daddy?

Cam: Nope. I’m glad my dad is far away. He’s not very nice, and he smells funny when he drinks that brown stuff.

Christine: Abby, tell me more about you and Nick. Have things been difficult since you were reunited?

Abby: It is not easy for me to talk about this. I suppose . . . well I think Nick married me only to further his career. My father was a famous general . . . and well it’s Nick’s drinking and his gambling. And he can be rather nasty. Once . . . well once . . . he became abusive. I gave him an ultimatum—if he ever strikes me again, or hurts Cam . . . well I don’t believe a wife should put up with that sort of thing.

Geoff:  Abby is in a tough spot. I’ve encouraged her to befriend other Christian women. She needs the friendship of Godly women to help her through this unhappy situation, women such as Eshana. But I agree, a wife should not subject herself to abuse like that. I pray for Nick—only God can change him though.

Christine: And you, Geoff, are you Abby’s friend, like you are Cam’s friend?

Abby (flustered):  I must object to the inappropriate tone of your question, Christine. Major Geoff Richards is an honourable man. A friend of our family.  I’m grateful for his interest in my son. A boy needs a man to take an interest in him, especially when his father shows no interest what-so-ever. And there’s enough gossip in this town already. I was warned when I came out to British India that flirtation is the national sport. But Geoff is nothing like that. And neither am I. I’m doing all I can to save my marriage.

Christine:  Oh dear Abby, I didn’t mean to offend. But tell me, Geoff, are you married?

Geoff:  My wife died a year before the war began. No one could ever take my wife’s place.

Christine:  You seem to have suffered greatly during the war. I notice your right hand shakes quite a bit. Can you tell us of your experience during the war?

Geoff (shifting in his chair):  Not really . . . ahem . . . nightmares . . . the men dying . . .

Christine:  I can see this is distressing to you . . .

Eshana:  Yes, it is distressing to my brother in Christ. And I fear for Geoff’s safety and of all the soldiers. If there is going to be war between Britain and Afghanistan many men may lose their lives. But I am praying that in time, Geoff will come to see that there is still goodness in the land of the living. Right now, his heart is too sore to see this.

Christine:  One last question, Geoff, is there any truth to the rumours that there is a Russian spy in our midst, stirring up the Indian people to revolt against British rule in India?

Geoff: My dear lady, it is never wise to listen to rumours. Besides, whatever befalls us here in India, you can be sure everything will be done to protect all our citizens—British and Indian. That is my vow to you, and to the Indian people I love.

Christine: Thank you all of you for coming all the way from India for this interview. I’ll just let our readers know that Shadowed in Silk can be purchased on EBook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and anywhere else EBooks are sold.

A suspenseful, romantic read for less than the price of a couple of coffees.

The printed version comes out Sept. 2011 and can be purchased on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble as well.

Shadowed in Silk

She was invisible to those who should have loved her.

After the Great War, Abby Fraser returns to India with her small son, where her husband is stationed with the British army. She has longed to go home to the land of glittering palaces and veiled women . . . but Nick has become a cruel stranger. It will take more than her American pluck to survive.

Major Geoff Richards, broken over the loss of so many of his men in the trenches of France, returns to his cavalry post in Amritsar. But his faith does little to help him understand the ruthlessness of his British peers toward the Indian people he loves. Nor does it explain how he is to protect Abby Fraser and her child from the husband who mistreats them.

Amid political unrest, inhospitable deserts, and Russian spies, tensions rise in India as the people cry for the freedom espoused by Gandhi. Caught between their own ideals and duty, Geoff and Abby stumble into sinister secrets . . . secrets that will thrust them out of the shadows and straight into the fire of revolution.

An interesting note to readers, the model for the front cover art and in the book trailer is Christine’s birth-daughter—the child she relinquished to adoption when she was 3 days old and was reunited with 20 years later.

Here’s the book trailer for Shadowed in Silk: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV3YX94ntSI]

Review: Chasing the Wind, by Robert White

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Chasing the Wind, by Robert White (Word Alive Press, 2011)

This attractive gift book is subtitled “Finding Meaningful Answers from Ancient Wisdom,” and it’s a look at the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes.

What does a small book written hundreds of years ago have to do with us today? Author Robert White says it looks at a lot of the same issues we face now:

“… the meaninglessness of wisdom, wishes and work; the futility—or chasing the wind—of desire and deeds; and the eternal and temporal curses and joys of toil, treasures and termination. As pessimistic as Ecclesiastes seems, the Teacher leaves us with hope. Only once we’ve chased after the wind and become weary of the meaninglessness found under the sun do we come to the end of the matter.” (p. 10)

The end of the matter, in the words of Ecclesiastes, is to “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” Ecclesiastes 12:13b, NIV*.

As such, the book takes an honest look at some of our questions and struggles, and works them through to a perspective that seeks God first.

Chasing the Wind is a short book, only 100 pages long, and it’s an easy read. I appreciated the references to the song “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas, and I loved the way Robert illustrated Ecclesiastes’ “all is meaningless” lament with a quote from the original Star Trek series. (Bonus for geek readers!)

This is a book for readers of all ages and experiences (the Star Trek illustration is explained, so everyone will get it). Each short chapter ends with a handful of questions for personal reflection. The aim is to leave us with a perspective of hope and a focus on God rather than on self.

The unpublished manuscript of Chasing the Wind won the Word Alive Press 2010 publishing contest in the non-fiction category, and was published in March 2011.

Robert White is the editor of ChristianWeek Ontario and writes the “A Matter of Faith” column in the Guelph Mercury. You can find Robert on the Great Canadian Authors site, or watch his interview on 100 Huntley Street: part 1 and part 2.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

*THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship

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I joined a writing group because my husband squealed on me. “Janet writes,” he told a new friend at church.

Well… I used to write little stories, until university papers killed them. By this point in my life I’d flitted near burnout in the workplace and found my purpose as an at-home mom to a toddler. Now there was a second child on the way, and the last thing on my mind was writing.

But our friend wanted to start a writing group, so I went along in support. We were a small gathering of published and wanna-bes, interested in poetry, articles and fiction. Eventually I started writing personal experience pieces, and one day the fiction drive kicked back in.

Public use of the Internet was just beginning. Our group learned about magazine markets by sending away for samples and writers’ guidelines. Compared to now with almost everything online, we were really isolated.

And it felt isolated, although we didn’t know what we were missing. Nova Scotia is home to a lot of writers, and the Writers’ Federation of NS has a large base of members. Some are Christians, but the only writers I knew, of faith or otherwise, were the handful in my group.

One night someone in our group brought a little newsletter called Exchange, put out by Audrey Dorsch. I recognized a good thing and subscribed. Exchange was discontinued a few years ago, but I owe Audrey a huge debt for the nuggets of information, market news and encouragement that she shared four times a year. She even published me once or twice in the later years.

One issue included a pamphlet about a group called Alberta Christian Writers’ Fellowship—Canada Wide. Wow! This body of Christian writers in Alberta were willing to accept members from as far away as Nova Scotia, and farther!

I joined.

Before long, the organization changed its name to InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship. And fellowship is what meant the most to me. For the price of my membership I received a quarterly, magazine-length newsletter called FellowScript to teach and encourage me.

More than that, I stumbled into email and the Internet around that time, and connected with InScribe’s member listserv. Suddenly I could communicate with Christian writers from all across Canada.

The lights went on, colour flooded black-and-white, and I was connected.

InScribe was my writing lifeline for a long time. In 2000 I had the privilege of attending the Fall Conference in Edmonton and meeting some of my friends face to face.

I’ve entered InScribe contests over the years, even won a few, and learned from the judges’ comments. One year I gathered courage to apply for the Barnabas Fellowship (“enabling a member of InScribe to further his or her progress in writing”) and my name was chosen. The money let me take an online course on developing characters and gave a good kick-start to my second novel manuscript.

Along the way I’ve added memberships with The Word Guild, the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia and American Christian Fiction Writers, and my online “writing family” has expanded. But InScribe will always be special as my first connection with the wider writing world.

The InScribe listserv and FellowScript newsletter are well worth the price of membership. You can learn a lot more about InScribe and browse its members’ links at the InScribe website.

This month various Inscribers are posting some of their thoughts and stories about ICWF on their blogs.  The tour kicked off on July 4 with a stop at ICWF President Jack Popjes’ blog, INsights & OUTbursts, and will wind up on July 27 at Janice Keats’ blog, The Master’s Path. I’ve had a great time following the tour and getting to know some of my fellow InScribers a bit better.

You can see the full tour schedule on the InScribe blog. The most recent post was at Violet Nesdoly’s Line Upon Line and the next one will be July 25th at Laureen Guenther’s Reenie’s Resources.

Leave a comment here and on the other blog tour posts to be entered in the grand prize draw: an InScribe book bag with a free annual membership and a copy of InScribed: 30 Years of Inspiring Writing. The more blogs you comment on, the more entries you’ll get in the draw—so if you comment on 10 blogs, you’ll get 10 entries in the draw (but one comment per blog, please). Contest is open only to non-InScribe-members (members are encouraged to comment but will not be entered in the draw).

Review: The Kingdom, by Benjamin T. Collier

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The Kingdom, by Benjamin T. Collier (Word Alive Press, 2011)

The Kingdom is a short novella, under 100 pages, but it pulls readers into an intriguing fantasy world of kingdoms, knights, princesses and mythical flying beasts.

The story draws on classic fantasy and fairy tale elements such as the princess enduring endless presentations from eligible-but-boring suitors, the corrupt steward ruling in the good king’s absence, the strong hero and his fantastic animal companion (in this case, a dragon-like creature called a wyvern).

One of the twists: the “strong hero” might be considered a villain. And Princess Nevaeh is no damsel in distress. She’s a strong young woman looking for a partner, not a rescuer.

Nevaeh and the villain/hero, Roy, are each looking for someone who’ll love them for who they are—and neither is looking for a person like the other. Behind the romance is another kind of love and trust as Nevaeh waits confidently for her father, the good king, to return as promised, when the rest of the kingdom considers him lost at sea.

Canadian author Benjamin T. Collier writes with vivid description and humour. In contrast with epic fantasy and its multiple plot threads, he keeps a tight focus on Nevaeh’s story. The world he’s envisioned could support a more complex weaving of plots, and if he decides to revisit it in the future there would be plenty to explore.

You can find Benjamin at his blog, and you might want to check out my interview with him.

Canada’s Top Christian Writing Awards for 2011

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On June 15, 2011, The Word Guild will present the Canadian Christian Writing Awards for work published during 2010. Contest Administrator Jane Twohey reports a record 260 submissions in the 35 award categories that include non-fiction books, novels, articles, columns, blogs, poems, and song lyrics.

Some of the books up for awards have been reviewed on this blog (see category list on the right-hand side of this page) and I’m pleased to have met many of the finalists through The Word Guild, Write! Canada and InScribe. Check out the complete shortlist of finalists for The Word Guild 2010 Writing Awards.

Finalists are distributed across eight provinces. British Columbia writers account for 8 finalist placements; Alberta 6; Saskatchewan 6; Manitoba 7; Ontario 51; Quebec 1; New Brunswick 2 and Nova Scotia 2. Canadians living in the U.S. and Africa are also represented among the finalists. Each winner will be presented with a cash prize, a certificate and a specially designed lapel pin to mark his or her achievement.

The judges looked for underlying evidence that the writer’s Christian worldview informed and influenced the writing. Entries were judged according to excellence of writing; impact (the inspirational or informational value); fulfillment of stated purpose; suitability to target audience; originality and freshness of style.

The awards are sponsored by The Word Guild, a national association with the mandate of connecting, developing and promoting Canadian writers and editors who are Christian. Formerly known as The God Uses Ink Awards, these writing prizes have been awarded annually since 1988. The Word Guild assumed responsibility for the awards in 2002, revamping and expanding the program from its original eight categories to the current 35.

The Word Guild Canadian Christian Writing Awards gala in Toronto is open to the general public. (Get more details here.)

[Adapted from the original press release from The Word Guild.]

Write! Canada 2011

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Are you a Christian who feels called to write?  Or one who writes as an offering to the Lord? Or who writes just for the love of it–or because you can’t not write?

Write! Canada 2011 will be held June 16-18 in Guelph, Ontario.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkmtb-SxnbY]

I look forward to attending Write! Canada each June. The year I missed, I was ridiculously homesick for my writing friends I’ve made through the conference.

Why go to Write! Canada? The link will take you to a list of good reasons and to some background on Canada’s largest writers’ conference for Christians.

For me, Write! Canada provides professional development, spiritual renewal, and a chance to make new friends and visit older ones. I don’t have to be a pro at this; I just go and listen and learn. Actually, I wish I’d started attending sooner. Beginners can learn so much at a conference, and find the encouragement they need to persevere.

I’m a shy introvert, and I don’t enjoy large gatherings of strangers. I attended the first time because the Lord prodded me quite clearly from a number of sources, including an email from a stranger-soon-to-become-friend, Mary Waind of Beech Croft Tales.

Another stranger-to-become-friend, Elma Schemenauer of Elma’s Almanac, picked me up at the airport.

Way out of my comfort zone, I arrived at the beautiful Guelph Bible Conference Centre for the conference and immediately felt like I belonged.

That’s not something that happens often. But everyone was excited, accepting, eager and welcoming. We were all on some great adventure together, and there was room for me.

Visit the Write! Canada website and check out the various pages listed across the top menu. There’s room for you too!

Friday Friends: Author Sara Davison (part 2)

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Last Friday we chatted with Canadian author Sara Davison, whose novel, The Watcher, released in March 2011. [You can read part one of the interview here.]

Janet: Welcome back, Sara. You’ve persevered a long time on the road to publication. What hope can you share with those of us still slogging?

Sara: It is a difficult journey, and a tough business that is only getting tougher as a result of uncertain economic times and on-going developments in technology. When this book was rejected yet again a year and a half ago I launched a blog called Choose to Press On, emphasizing the fact that if you believe in your story, and believe that God gave you this gift and this calling (and you really, really have to believe that or I would strongly recommend looking into other career options) then you have to just keep going and not give up. The stories are given for a purpose, and that purpose will be fulfilled in God’s time and in his way, not ours. In the meantime, keep working on your craft, honing it to  continually become a better and stronger writer. To get published now, work can’t just be good, it has to be excellent which, as writers working for the glory of God, should be our objective anyway. After that, we have to leave the results up to God.

Janet: Sound advice. Thank you. Are you working on a sequel?

Sara: Good question Janet. And the answer is maybe. When the book was UnBroken, I had a sequel written. Now that it has all been changed I’m not sure if the sequel still works or is needed. However, people have been asking about one, so I am taking a hard look at the other book to see if it can be rewritten to follow The Watcher or not. I will have to keep you posted on that. I do have another suspense novel written, The Child-Snatchers, which was short-listed in the Word Alive contest, so I am currently looking into publishing options for that one as well, but that one is the first in a completely different series.

Janet: Is there a particular song or Scripture verse that’s made a big difference for you?

Sara: The song “Praise You in the Storm” by Casting Crowns has had a big impact on me. The first time I heard it, a girl from our church was singing it at the funeral for her twenty-year old brother who had died suddenly in a car crash. Praising God is always powerful, but I was overwhelmed by how powerful it was that someone could be in the midst of devastation and heartbreak, and still praise God. I often thought of this song, and of the moment I first heard it, when I was writing about how Kathryn dealt with what happened to her in The Watcher. 

Janet: I think the choice to praise God in the hard times and in the pain is very powerful. And it’s something we all need to do at times. Next question: Are you a writer who likes to immerse herself in details of the setting while incubating the story idea?

Sara: Actually, that depends on what I am writing. The Child-Snatchers is set in a diner in Toronto, so I have spent a lot of time in diners in my town, trying to capture the feel, sounds, smells etc. Other than my husband questioning why I am suddenly spending so much more money on coffee and breakfast, I love being surrounded by everything my characters see and experience in the book. In The Watcher, the setting doesn’t play as big a role as the actions and interactions of the characters, so I did not end up spending extra time on a ranch, or travelling out to British Columbia. I do immerse myself in the dialogue, internal and verbal, of the characters whenever I write, however. I don’t tell this to many people, but I do act out a lot of the scenes, holding up both (or more) ends of the conversation and really putting myself into the action so that I can feel and think everything the character would be feeling and thinking. Like most writers, I find my characters become very real to me. In fact, I realize they are becoming too real to me when my poor husband says something to me and I find myself thinking “Nick would never say that to Kathryn!” That’s when I have to stop and remind myself that Nick is a fictional character and it’s not really a fair comparison.  

Janet: What do your family think of your writing?

Sara: Well, other than moments like that, they are unbelievably supportive. It’s not an easy thing to live with a writer, and to go through all the emotional ups and downs that come with that calling. It would be extremely difficult to pursue that vocation if your spouse and children (and, in my case, grandmother, parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephew, aunts, uncles, cousins etc.) didn’t support you and encourage you daily not to give up. My husband Michael is my biggest encourager, and tells everyone about the novel, whether they want to hear about it or not J. My kids think it’s pretty cool that I’ve written a book, and they seem to be impressed. My older two anyway. My youngest son, who is seven, recently said to me, “I’m glad you stay home with us and don’t work. Well, except for writing books, but that’s easy!” They make me laugh, anyway, and that goes a long way toward keeping me sane and keeping me going.

Janet: Writers are told to read widely and voraciously. I think that’s one of the perks of the deal. What are you reading these days?

Sara: At the moment I am reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle for a book club I attend and it is a beautifully written book. I am also reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, another beautiful, poetic book that is teaching me to live with a perpetual attitude of gratitude, and an awareness of the grace of God in the ordinary and everyday things of life. I also recently read In the Company of Others by Jan Karon, as enjoyable as the rest of the series, and Rescued by Donna Dawson is next on my list. I try to read a variety of books and authors, and to expand my horizons beyond what is familiar and, sometimes, even comfortable, in a desperate attempt to learn how great writers tell a story that has a powerful effect on their readers.

Janet: What do you like to do to get away from it all?

Sara: Is that an option? It’s pretty tricky for me to get away from it all these days, as I have three kids and have moved away from my family and don’t know very many people in town yet. Mostly I escape up to my room with a book, and I walk every morning with a friend down to the lake or on one of the many trails around here. Now that my kids are a little older, my husband and I do actually get out for a meal or a movie once in a while, and an hour or two of uninterrupted conversation is pretty much as close to a getaway as we’re taking these days.

Janet: Uninterrupted adult conversation is nothing to sneeze at! What’s the most surprising/fun/zany/scary thing you’ve ever done?

Sara: Wow, after contemplating this question for quite a while, I have come to the conclusion that I mustn’t be a very surprising/fun/zany/scary kind of a person, as nothing significant immediately came to mind. I’m not a huge risk-taker by nature, so this whole journey of putting myself and my work out there has been an on-going process of pushing myself further and further out of my comfort zone, which is always a good thing. Flying is I guess the scariest thing I have done, mostly because I have encountered pretty much everything that can go wrong with a flight short of crashing – being lost in fog, landing in tornadoes and the plane almost tipping over, having the plane searched for a bomb after someone checked in and didn’t get on a flight loaded with Hell’s Angels. I will still do it when necessary, but it does require a leap of faith and trust every time. Oh, and one of the most fun things that ever happened to me was bumping into Donny Osmond – literally – on a sidewalk in Toronto one day when he was there performing in Joseph. 

Janet: Sounds like plenty of things that could work into future novels! Sara, thanks so much for taking time to let us get to know you a bit. May the LORD continue to bless you and make you a blessing to others—in every area of your life.

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Sara Davison blogs at Choose to Press On, and you can also find her on Facebook and on the Great Canadian Authors site. Visit her website, saradavison.org, for information on her current projects, an excerpt from and discussion questions for The Watcher, interviews, reviews and more.


Review: Dark Clouds of the Morning, by Janet C. Burrill

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Dark Clouds of the Morning, by Janet C. Burrill (Word Alive Press, 2011)

It’s 1917, and World War 1 is raging. The residents of the port city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast, fear for the lives of their loved ones serving overseas. They never dream they’re about to experience a disaster that will level part of their city and be felt in tremors hundreds of miles away.

On a clear December morning, two ships collide in the bustling harbour. One, the Mont Blanc, is loaded with explosives. The Halifax Explosion will be “the largest man-made disaster until the atomic age.” [From the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic site.]

Sadly, the explosion is fact. Dark Clouds of the Morning is fiction, the story of Jennie Grayson, and her extended family, as the disaster overthrows their regular lives—and as they struggle to cope with the tragedy.

Jennie is a young woman working a factory job during the war, hoping to resume nursing studies when the soldiers come home. Her father, two brothers and fiancé Carl are all serving in Europe. Jennie’s mother, Helen, disapproves of Carl, and this causes strife at home.

Bert Powell is a young Boston physician who eagerly joins the disaster relief train to bring medical support to the survivors—and who is desperate for news of his grandmother, who lives in the shattered city. His grandmother, Pearl, is alive and well, and Bert is delighted to meet the young woman who’s staying with her after her own home was flattened: Jennie.

Plenty of books have been written about the Halifax Explosion, but this may be the first novel from a Christian perspective. Meticulously researched, it brings out tidbits I hadn’t known despite living in the area all my life.

The novel is written in a gentle, older style than is common today, and it lends a realistic feel for the time period. Terms like nappy (diaper), shirtwaist and middy (types of ladies’ tops) are used, but their meaning is always clear by their context.

Lovers of early 1900-s era history will appreciate this novel, and I think older seniors will especially enjoy it. Readers of any age who like heart-warming dramatic stories with a touch of romance will be satisfied.

The one flaw in the reading experience is the editing. Ordinarily with a self-published book, this suggests an author who hasn’t purchased the publisher’s editing service. In this case, the acknowledgements clearly thank the Word Alive editor for his work.

Most of the issues are simple copy-editing mistakes: punctuation errors or the occasional wrong word (eg. cherry instead of cheery). Good editing would have also addressed the author’s occasional re-telling of details readers have already learned.

The story still flows well, and it’s an inviting read. Canadian author Janet C. Burrill writes with sensitivity and grace, and with compassion for her suffering characters. She also paints detailed word pictures of the era’s decor and customs. Two of her descriptions that struck me most were “smokestacks snapped like carrots (p. 48)” and a pastor’s prayer for the sorrowing that ends with “In the name of your Son who understood grief (p. 123).”

Dark Clouds of the Morning is Janet C. Burrill’s debut novel, and she’s now at work on a sequel. Copies are available on Amazon.ca. Signed copies are available through the Dark Clouds of the Morning website for $20 Canadian plus shipping.

[Review copy from my personal library. Disclosure: The author is a personal friend.]