I did a pretty long interview on my cyber-friend Sherrinda’s blog today.
http://sherrindak.blogspot.com/2009/08/interview-with-lynnette-bonner-rocky.html
Posts Tagged ‘Christian Fiction’
Today I’m happy to introduce you to my friend and blogging partner from over at AuthorCulture, K. M. Weiland. I’m excited to have her here today. I’ve always loved books about knights and the crusades, so I was especially excited to learn a little more about Behold the Dawn. A lot of research went into creating an authentic atmosphere for this book.
What is one practice that was very common in Annan’s day that you are ever so thankful no longer exists?
Oh gosh, can I check “all of the above”? Much as I love the Middle Ages, I’m exceedingly happy I don’t have to live in them! The horrific ignorance and corruption of the church, including the prevalence of “holy hermits” (some of whom thought they best served God by livingi n the desert on top of a pole!), flagellation as a form of worship, the belief in the power of saints and shrines and pilgrimages… yep, I’m glad all those things aren’t with us anymore!
In researching weapons, was there one in particular that made you cringe in horror at the harm it could do?
Warfare at that time wasn’t about precision; it was all strength and fury—and as a result the victim wasn’t likely to die quick and easy. Injuries were often horrific, and, of course, medicine at that time was completely unable to minister to sufferers. People died long and slow and messy. Maces, claymores, flails, war hammers, crossbows—they’re all horrifying in the damage they’re capable of. One weapon that particularly stuck with was the caltrop, a predecessor of the land mind in some ways. Basically, it was a giant jack (the old children’s toy) that was thrown onto the field of battle. Men or horses running across the field would step on the caltrop and cripple themselves.
What one practice was in vogue back then that you kind of wish we still had around today?
I don’t know if I’d want it around all the time, but I wouldn’t mind the occasional opportunity to get all duded up in the costumes of the period.
Was there a bit of research that first brought Annan to life for you? Or did you have his character in mind and then anchor him in the center of your research?
I didn’t officially begin researching until I had the entire story outlined. But it was a bit of inadvertent research that inspired his character. I happened to glance at a children’s book about William Marshall, the “greatest knight who ever lived,” one of the most famous fighters in the condemned tourney competitions. He fought his way to glory and ended up as an English statesmen. I was captivated by the whole idea of the bloody, brutal tourney games—and Marshall’s eventual journey to the Holy Land to seek absolution.
Tell us a little bit about the lady of the story.
Lady Mairead enters the story as the wife of Lord William, Earl of Keaton, an old friend of Annan’s. He married her to save her from her enemies, and she flees with him to the Crusade, where he is mortally wounded. Despite the tragedies she’s suffered, Mairead holds fast to a simple faith and a natural optimism. But she has struggled with prejudices all her life and tends to make hasty judgments about others.
Which one character in the book would you say is most like you? Least?
None of the characters are based on me, but I suppose I identify most with Annan: his disapproval of naïveté, his deep but often hidden emotional core, his sense of justice. I hope the villainous Norman Hugh de Guerrant is least like me!
The Tournaments were very dangerous. What made knights choose to fight in the Tourneys? And particularly Annan – why has he chosen that lifestyle?
Fighting was like breathing for men in the Middle Ages. At that time, a man’s education was warfare. Reading and writing were considered extraneous; fighting was vital. The tourneys were a natural extension of the social immersion in violence. If everyone was going to fight anyway, why not fight for money and glory? For second-born sons like Annan, who would receive no inheritance from their families, the tourneys were an opportunity to make their own fortunes. However, Annan’s personal decision to join the tourneys was largely an attempt to flee from the sins of his past. He thought he could go out in a blaze of glory in the tournaments; he never expected to live for sixteen more years.
What was your favorite part of writing this story? Least?
The beginning was torture—as beginnings usually are for me. I must have written it half a dozen times, pulling my hair out and shoving back overwhelming doubts the whole way. But once I got past about the fifty-page mark, everything fell into place. The story just flew from that point on—and I was just along for the ride!
What message did you feel God was speaking to you while you were writing and editing this book?
It’s ironic (or maybe not!) how often God takes the themes I’m writing about and puts them to work in my own life at that same time. The theme of Behold the Dawn is finding the new beginning in each day. Life was a bit chaotic while I was writing Behold and I really did have to learn to take each day as it came. At one point, I was even questioning whether writing was something I was supposed to be pursuing at all. I just had to keep giving my writing to Him on a daily basis. And, day by day, He kept giving it back to me!
So, what now? Next project? Published when?
I have several projects in the works. I have a completed fantasy, Dreamers Come (about a man who discovers that his dreams are really memories of another world) waiting for another round of edits. I also just started outlining my next project, a historical novel called The Deepest Breath about the passion, betrayal, and vengeance that dog two men and the woman they both love through the trenches of World War I, corruption in colonial Kenya, and the criminal underbelly of London. And I’m also working on a fun co-writing project that asks, “What if Robin Hood met Sleeping Beauty?” Dreamers is on deck for publication, but it’ll be a year or two yet before it’s released.
Thanks so much Katie for visiting with us today. 
Do you have any questions of your own for Katie? Feel free to ask them in the comments. I know she’ll be dropping by and can answer them for you.
So with Rocky Mountain Oasis set to debut mid-August, I’ve been busy contacting people to set up a blog tour.
This honestly has to be one of my least favorite parts of being a writer. The laying your soul at someone else’s feet and asking them for help with promotion. But… you have to do what you have to do, right? Perhaps the Lord is teaching me a lesson about pride in this?
So many of my friends have been more than generous in offering to host me on their blogs for this upcoming tour and I’m so greatful for their generous hearts!
I’ll be posting each day of the tour to let you know where you can find me that day.
And if you’d like to participate and I haven’t contacted you yet, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email. I’d love the opportunity to be featured on your blog. And would be more than happy to return the favor sometime.
I’d love the opportunity to be featured on your blog. And would be more than happy to return the favor sometime. What I’ve done so far is to create a calendar and each person I’ve emailed, Ive asked them if they’d be willing to host me on a certain day and then I’ve penciled them into the calendar with a “?” by it. As they respond, I’ve put them into the calendar permanently and marked down their blog address so that I will have all that information in one handy spot when I need it for reference later on.
In my email I offered to make the tour very simple for people by indicating that I would be willing to just send them a blurb and the cover of the book if they wanted. I also indicated that I’d be willing to do an interview, or just about anything they’d like me to do.
Anyhow, so far, everyone who’s responded has said yes that they’d be willing to help me. Which is a wonderful encouragement.
I’m sure there are other things I could do for this tour. Do you have ideas for me? Let me know, I’d love some outside inspiration!
Blessings on your day!
So there it is! The cover for my upcoming summer release. I’d love to hear what you think.
Just click on the cover to find out more about the book. You’ll also be able to read the first few chapters.
Ever wonder how an unknown prophet gets in to see the King for the first time?
I had never thought about that. Surely the prophets of old were people just like you and I. Never heard of, initially, by kings and counsels.
What if God gave you a message for the President? Would you trust him to get you into the White House?
In this book, Jonah has a philosophy: You can’t steer a donkey unless it is moving. So he moves. Towards Samaria and the King’s palace, accompanied by his friend and accomplished warrior, Elihu.
Along the way they are attacked by brigands, encounter assassins and constantly have their faith tested.
Bruce Judisch does a great job of putting you in Jonah’s shoes. The story starts off a little slow, as everything is set up, but once it gets rolling you will be pulled in.
The author has great descriptive abilities. He has an ability to word-paint a landscape that makes the reader feel like they are right there.
If you like biblical fiction, I think you will enjoy this book. Give it a try and let me know what you think of it.
T. L. Hines writes a captivating story.
In this book Lucas, the main character, remembers living in an orphanage as a young boy, but doesn’t remember much else from his past. He’s grown up with no intimate ties and connections. He’s made a past time of hiding in ceilings and crawl spaces to spy on unsuspecting people. If he feels a ‘connection’ with them, he will take a Totem - a picture, scarf, or other personal item - from them to carry with him.
Then one day he discovers there are others like him. A group of people who call themselves the Creep Club. Only they go a little farther than Lucas has ever gone. They go into peoples homes, and video tape them.
When Lucas discovers that one of their ’subjects’ is about to be murdered (they have video footage of two people planning the deed) he tries to warn the man. This sets off a series of events that will keep you turning pages to find out what is really going on.
While I felt like this book bogged down in the middle, I was glad I kept reading. The end of the book ties all the separate lines of the story together.
The story itself is good, but I kept waiting for the spiritual message. There is a very subtle theme about recognizing our own weaknesses in others and being careful how we look down on them. But that is about the strongest message you will find in this book. A little disappointing for a mainstream Christian publisher.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
I recently learned from my publisher, OakTara, that my novel, Rocky Mountain Oasis, is to be released in the spring of 2009. I was pretty excited to get that news! I immediately began trying to remember what the first day of summer was. LOL.
BookTour is self titled “Where Authors and Audiences Meet.”
You can sign up for an account there and post information about your books and any events (like booksignings) that you are going to be hosting or participating in. You can also indicate that you are available to speak at an event and people or organizations can contact you if they would like you to speak for a meeting.
A clip from their FAQs page:
Why join BookTour?
BookTour lets your fans—and potential fans—see when you’re going to be in their area. And if you’re planning a tour, you can find individuals, bookstores, libraries, and organizations in cities and towns on your route. Tour information in our database is also syndicated to our strategic partners (social networks, newspaper event calendars, and more) allowing your event data to reach hundreds of thousands of potential readers. And best of all, you only have to enter it once!
It’s free and one more way to get your name out to the public.
~ Best to you! ~
Okay, so you have your pictures and have a pretty good idea of where you are headed.
Now, I suggest that you sit down and write out the short synopsis of your book that you will use in making the trailer. Remember to keep it short! Your trailer should not exceed 3 minutes in length.
What is the tone of your novel? If it is humorous, try to highlight that in your synopsis. If it is literary then stay in that genre. In other words, no comedic trailers for a book with a serious tone and vsv.
You will need music to match the tone you want to set. Music, again, is many times copyrighted. However, here are a few sites that offer free music and/or sound bites. Also check out Stonewashed and Incompetech which both have some great music. If you come across any other sites that offer free music, please feel free to post a comment.
So, write your synopsis and download your music (to the same folder as you downloaded your pictures earlier) and next time we’ll put it all together.
Okay, so hopefully you’ve had time to view a few book trailers and now have an idea of what you would like yours to look like. To see what mine looks like you can go here.
It will be helpful to you if you have a specific idea of what you are looking for. So take a few minutes to plan out your trailer.
The next step in creating your book trailer is to find the pictures. When looking for pictures keep in mind that many of the pictures on the Internet are copyrighted. There are several sites where you can sign up for an account and buy pictures for a fairly reasonable fee. There are also several sites where you can get free pictures - but many of them you have to sign up for an account. Just do a google search for ‘free pictures’ or something along that line and you will get plenty of returns.
The site I like to use is Flickr. You’ll notice that the link takes you to the ‘Creative Commons’ section of that site. Many of the photos on Flickr are copyrighted, however the ones in the Creative Commons area have user-friendly licenses associated with them. I only used the ‘Attribution License’ photos. These photos are denoted with the word ‘By:’ in a circle. You can use these pictures freely, and even make changes to them, as long as you give the author credit.
Click the ‘See More’ link under the Attribution License section. Then you will be able to search for specific types of pictures. Here I should put a caveat - you may run into some offensive pictures.
When you find a picture that you think you may use, click into it and you will be given the option of different sizes that are available for download. Select the size you want (I went for larger sizes, though not always the largest) and click download. (It will help you later if you have all your pictures in the same folder, so I suggest that you make a specific folder on your computer to put all your pictures into. Mine was called, “Book Trailer Images”.) Don’t forget to keep a log of the photostream names for the pictures you want to use - later you will need these in order to credit the authors.
Alright, you are ready to go! Have fun downloading your pictures. I recommend that you download more than you think you will use.
If any of you have links to royalty-and-copyright-free picture sites, please comment with the url.
Next time we will talk about finding music.
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