Something New for Me

As autumn dons her golden garb and temperatures begin their decline toward winter, I'm transitioning, also. 
       After publishing my first middle-grade novel, Up a Rutted Road, as an e-book, I spent the summer revising my second novel, The Second Cellar, an MG historical fantasy. Now, even as I seek a home for Cellar, I'm embarking on two new projects at once. One is another MG novel entitled The Daddy Letters, and the other is an historical romance, The Sun Catcher.
       Never before have I tried working on two manuscripts at the same time, but I couldn't decide which one to write first, since both are plotted. Other writers have multiple projects going at once, so I decided to give it a try. If one begins to take over the spotlight, then so be it. In God's timing, they'll both be completed. 
       What beckons me today? Yesterday, I got a strong start on Daddy, but on this first day of October 2013, I'm drawn to The Sun Catcher. The main character in that story, Irene Delacroix, keeps tapping me on the shoulder.

Your turn! If you're a writer, please share your experience with tackling multiple book-length WIPs (works in progress) at once. How do you juggle them? Is it something you commonly do? I look forward to your comments.

News, Reviews & Interviews

Book Review:
Stolen Woman by Kimberly Rae
Stollen series, Book 1
Copyright 2011 by Kimberly Rae
Published January 2012, South Carolina, USA
264 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1461098938
ISBN-10: 1461068932


Back Copy:
Asha knew nothing about it before meeting 16-year-old Rani, stolen from her home and sold into sexual slavery in Kolkata, India. Asha must help this girl escape, but Mark, a third-generation missionary, keeps warning her away from the red-light district and its workers. Will she ever discover why? And will they ever stop their intense arguments long enough to admit their even more intense feelings for one another?
     When Asha sneaks out one last time in a desperate attempt to rescue her friend, someone follows her through the night. Is freedom possible? Or will she, too, be taken?

Author Brief:
Kimberly Rae has lived in Bangladesh, Uganda, Kosovo, and Indonesia. She now writes from her home in Lenoir, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband and two young children. She has been published over 100 times in Christian books, magazines, and periodicals.  

Stolen Woman is her debut novel. Number 2 in the series, Stolen Child, is now available. 


My Review:
In her debut novel, Rae, leads readers through the bustling marketplace, among the open-air vendors and the ever-present beggars, and into the nefarious slime pit of human trafficking: the red-light district of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India. Yet at the heart of  suffering, degradation, and corruption, Rae skillfully weaves a story of love and faith. Among the hopeless there is Hope.


I was hooked early in the prologue. Heavy with mystery and intrigue, it flashes forward, hinting at the climax, and stands in sharp contrast to the first few chapters, which are blithe by comparison. 

The main character, Asha, leaves her North Carolina home to serve as a summer missionary at an orphan compound in Kolkata. Asha's especially excited at the summer's prospects since she was born in nearby Bangladesh, and many Bangladeshis live in Kolkata. Given up for adoption at birth and adopted by a loving family in the U.S., she wants to know more about her native land. 

At the compound, she quickly comes to love the orphans and the staff, with one exception: Mark Stephens, whose grandparents founded the mission. Mark, who is assigned as her mentor, counters her at every turn, or so it seems to Asha. One moment they're friends; the next, they're butting heads.


When Asha goes wandering and gets lost in the red-light district, she encounters a young prostitute named Rani. Asha believes God wants her to rescue Rani, but when Mark learns of her plans, he orders her to forget it. It's obvious he's hiding something. But what? And he's not the only one. Why do the other missionaries become upset when they learn of her desire to help Rani escape sexual slavery? Mark tells Asha there are things she doesn't know, doesn't understand, things he can't disclose. Yet.


Stolen Woman deals with an ugly subject, one we'd rather not think about, one we've neglected far too long. When a light is turned on in a dark room, every corner is flooded with light. With this novel, Rae is flipping the switch to "on." At the back of the book, she provides a way readers can become proactive in helping to rescue women and girls like Rani through Women at Risk International (W.A.R.).


Coming next week, an interview with Stolen Woman author Kimberly Rae.


Read on!
Because of Christ,
Sharon
  

A Chat with Jennifer Hudson Taylor

An interview with the author of Highland Blessings

1. What intrigued you about fifteenth century Scotland so that you chose it as the setting for Highland Blessings?

I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed history, but there is something romantically intriguing about the late Medieval period and the clan system of the highlands. I’m amazed at how the clans can fight among themselves, and yet, fiercely defend each other against the English and any outsiders.

2. How did you choose the setting?

The setting of the loch where Akira nearly drowns is from an area in a park where I used to practice running. I was on the Cross Country team in high school and ran several miles a day. The rest of the scenes were a combination of my research of Scotland and castles and my imagination.

3. Does the story line of this novel parallel a particular Biblical account?

No, if there is a biblical parallel, it was not a conscious decision on my part. I originally wrote Highland Blessings as a secular novel in 1998. I didn’t convert it to Christian fiction until 2006 after I discovered Kathleen Morgan’s novel, Embrace the Dawn. Once I realized there was such a thing as a Christian fiction Scottish Medieval, I was elated and determined to try and get mine published.

4. Which comes first, the plot, the place, or the people? Why?

The people. I can’t write a story unless I’ve created a character sketch of the main characters. I can create a plot around the characters, but I think it is the people that make the story. I think that is why I tend to love character driven novels like Jane Austen’s stories.

5. Which novel was the more difficult to research, Highland Blessings or Beloved Liberty, your book set in early nineteenth century South Carolina?

Beloved Liberty required the most research. The story idea is loosely based on my real family history from the actual genealogy research I conducted on my Hudson line. Then I had to research slavery laws for 1810. It takes place during the Regency period of England, but the setting is on a rural plantation in SC. Most of my southern plantation knowledge is either during the colonial period before 1800 or much later in the Victorian period between 1840-1865, so I had to do extensive research for 1810.

6. How did the research between the two differ? The writing?

The writing is very different as the two books contain different cultures, accents in the dialogue, and time periods. The vocabulary for Highland Blessings in 1473 is extremely limited compared to 1810, so in that regard Highland Blessings was harder to write. I had to keep looking up alternative words for those words that were not yet in existence. It was difficult to verify some of the clothing in 15th century Scotland. There are so few authentic references and most date from the late 16th century. For instance, the Scottish kilt as we know it today was not in existence until around 1725, nor wore the family clan tartan colors.

7. How do you develop your characters?

I develop a character sketch that includes physical traits and personality traits. Each character must have at least one spiritual flaw, and one personality flaw, if appropriate, even a physical flaw. In Highland Blessings, Akira MacKenzie is extremely tall for a woman, and she isn’t very fond of her auburn hair. In Beloved Liberty, Catherine Oakes has a mole on her cheek that she thinks is hideous, but the hero views it as a beauty mark. The last thing I establish is their background, their goals, and why they want to achieve them and how they will go about achieving those goals based on their personality and character.

8. How do you name your characters?

Names are very important. I use the Character Naming Sourcebook, and I sound out first and last names aloud. I run them by my husband. I even look up street names and small towns in the areas where the novel is set. I do this because lots of streets and towns are named after the local people and families in the area.

9. What is your writing regimen?

I don’t have a set schedule because I work another full-time job. I squeeze writing in between lunch hours, doctor visits, evenings, weekends, road trips while my husband drives, wherever and whenever I can. Sometimes I fear that my writing won’t be as good as others who have the opportunity to sit down and really concentrate and work on their novels throughout the day. Then I quit feeling sorry for myself and just deal with it.

10. What has surprised you most about the whole process, from inception of the idea to release of your debut novel?

When I first received the contract offer, the release date was a whole year and half away. I’m surprised at how fast that time passed.

11. What have you learned about God through this journey?

I’ve learned that God will help me in ways that I never imagined. He is with me the whole way and He inspires me through loved ones, inspirational verses, and dreams.

12. What advice do you have for unpubbed writers?

Never give up. Persevere and press through.

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat with us today. May God bless you with much writing success. We're really looking forward to your next novel.

Jennifer Hudson Taylor's Novel Debut: HIGHLAND BLESSINGS

Publisher: Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN

Release: May 2010
299 pages; includes discussion guide

Back Cover:

Scotland, 1473. Highland warrior Bryce MacPhearson kidnaps Akira MacKenzie on her wedding day to honor a promise he made to his dying father. When he forces Akira to wed him, hoping to end a half-century feud between their clans, she struggles to overcome her anger and resentment. Yet her strength in the Lord becomes a witness to Bryce. But there is a traitor in their midst. . .and murder is the ultimate weapon.

First Sentence:

Akira MacKenzie willed her knees not to fail her.

I confess to a penchant for tartan historical romances. As I open the cover and turn to the first page of the first chapter, the bagpipes of my imagination begin to play and the bodhrans to pulse in some ancient Gaelic rhythm. And so it was as I opened Highland Blessings, Jennifer Hudson Taylor’s debut novel, and settled in for a good read.
But Taylor gives no quarter for such complacency. While the pipes begin their drone, the bodhran takes over, beating faster and faster until it sounds like the pounding of horses hooves—Bryce MacPhearson’s destrier, to be exact.
Bryce is an uninvited guest who invades the wedding party of spirited Akira MacKenzie and swoops the lass on to the back of his horse, as an eagle might rapture a field mouse. It is not love that inspires Bryce’s kidnapping, however, but a promise forced upon him by his dying father, chieftain of the MacPhearson clan, to fulfill a covenant with Akira’s father, the MacKenzie clan chieftain. The two clans have been locked in a bloody feud for half a century, and the patriarchs hoped that a marriage between the ruling families would quell the fighting.

The journey to the MacPhearson castle is a difficult one for Akira. Bryce’s men show their respect for him and their disdain for her. Bryce himself makes it clear that she is merely a pawn, an unwelcome obligation. Once they arrive at the castle, Akira is treated no better. MacPhearsons consider her presence an intrusion and demonstrate their hatred and distrust at every turn. Seeking solace, she finds her way to the chapel, where she can be alone with God. Even as she prays to return home, she submits to God’s will—whatever that may be.

Bryce, being the middle son, is not the intended bridegroom. Akira is to wed the MacPhearson chieftan, Evan, the oldest son, but when Evan meets an untimely death, the responsibility falls to Bryce. Akira refuses to consent to the marriage, so Bryce exercises his right to marry by proxy. Akira awakens one morning to learn that she is now the lady of the manor. Despite the circumstances of the marriage, Akira pledges her allegiance first to God and then to Bryce as her husband.

Though murder, deception, and betrayal stalk the halls of the castle, and a traitor who is no respecter of clans threatens the hard-won, tenuous peace between the MacPhearsons and the MacKenzies, Akira’s courage builds a bridge between fear and faith and woos Bryce to want to know more about the God she serves. She is a Christ-like figure in that she is willing to sacrifice herself to avoid further bloodshed. At one point, she performs an incredible act of forgiveness when she pleas for the life of one who nearly ended hers.

This fast-paced story left me gasping for air on more than one occasion. Taylor’s authentic descriptions of the highlands and life in the fifteenth century reflect meticulous research.

I thank Jennifer Hudson Taylor and Abingdon Press for the opportunity to review Highland Blessings, and I eagerly await the sequel Highland Sanctuary, slated for release on October 1, 2011.