Today I'm blogging At the Well about
the price I pay for doing my Bible reading during my 'business hours' as a homeschool mom. I'd love to have you stop by and let me know if you think it's worth the price. =)
Thanks for being with us, Roseanna.
Tell us about your epiphany moment when you decided you were going to seriously pursue writing and eventually publication. By the end of first grade, my life's goals were to be a doctor, a beautician, a teacher, and a writer. By the end of second grade, it was just writer and teacher. By third grade, archaeologist and writer. Fourth grade I thought maybe I could teach archaeology and write. By middle school I said, “Ah, forget it. I just want to write.” So I did. I finished my first novel at age 13 (and what a stunning piece of literature THAT was! LOL), wrote a second in high school with David, now my hubby, and warned him from the get-go that a future with me would involve him having a real job to support my habit—until I got rich and famous from it, of course, in which case I'd buy us a beach house and he could live off my millions. Thus far, we're still in the him-supporting-me stage, which he does in every possible way—emotional, physical, monetary, you name it. Since I've always, always known that this is what I want to do, there wasn't an epiphanic moment per se. Just a growing determination to make it work.
Which of your books (published or upcoming) has been the most fun for you to write and which character is your favorite? The most fun would have to be
Love Finds You in Peculiar, Missouri, which is about a quirky art-gallery-owner determined to scare away the man of her dreams with weirdness to keep from having her heart broken again. It was full of gags and quirky turns of phrase that made it a total blast to write.
What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it? Time. I have a preschooler and toddler, so finding time to write is quite a challenge. But the less time I have, the better I make use of it. I write in the morning before they wake up (on a good day—my son wakes up waaaaaay too early for this normally), during nap times, and occasionally after I put them to bed. Sometimes one of the grandparents will take them for a morning or afternoon to give me some extra time, which is a special treat for me. Whenever I have the time, I sit down and just write. In a lot of ways, it works better than when I had nothing but time. Now I know I have to use it!
What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done? I once piled seven college-aged girls into a car that seats five so we could go lingerie shopping.
Are there things you put off doing because you dread them? Dinner. Every night. I exist in a state of denial until 4:00, when I look up and say, “Oh, man. I have to feed these people again.” To make it worse, my sister and best friends are all these uber-organized sorts that plan a weekly schedule of meals and have everything defrosted and ready . . . meanwhile I'm going, “What do I have? Do I have any pasta? Do I have any sauce? Would it be terrible to get takeout again?”
What would a perfect day for you look like? I would rise at 6, but the kids would sleep until 8. That would give me two hours of bliss, in which I could catch up on email, post my blog, and write. I'd enjoy a leisurely two cups of coffee, without anyone tugging at my arms. Then I'd joyfully get the kids up when they awoke, feed 'em, dress 'em, and we'd go out for the morning. Maybe visit my mom. Eat lunch there, then come home. Put the little one to bed, set the bigger one up with coloring or something, and get another couple hours of writing in. In the afternoon we'd play outside, until dinner magically appeared on my table. After that we'd go for a nice family walk, put the kids to bed when we came home. My hubby and I would snuggle up on the couch, and I'd read a fantastic book while he watches television. Ahh . . . perfection.
Which character in your new release most interested you while you wrote? That would definitely be my heroine, Abigail. It's primarily her story—though we see the points of view of many other characters, where she goes, we go. When I first came up with the idea for this, she wasn't such a complicated person. But then the more I wrote, the more I realized that she has a heart hurt so early in life that her reactions to the stories of Jesus can't help but be colored by them. Orphaned and sold into slavery, she has this way of clinging to humility out of pride—God put her in the position, so she figures she's a slave to him above all. Never would it enter her mind that there isn't a God in heaven . . . she knows he's there, because she feels his heavy hand on her and thinks of it as tyranny. Throughout the story, she comes to see that the Lord does not forsake his own, even when it may feel like it.
Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading. My favorites are romance. Historical, contemporary, doesn't matter. And it doesn't have to be traditional romance, it's just gotta have a love story to make me sigh. I love suspense and thrillers too; some mysteries, but it's gotta be the kind where I'm not totally lost, jumping into a story with a character who's already been in twelve books I haven't read. I love classics, I like certain sci-fi authors (hello, Orson Scott Card!), and since my critique partner is a Young Adult writer, I'm getting into that too. And of course, as a nod to the kids, we can't forget Dr. Seuss. Sometimes I feel like I read more of him than anything, LOL.
Are there certain foods or snacks keeps the words flowing for you? Chocolate never hurts. I'm a sucker for chips too. But I think my morning coffee has to be my staple. If I could, I'd sit and drink coffee all day. But alas, if I do that I end up with sores in my mouth from the acid and jittery hands if I do it with caffeinated coffee.
Are there spiritual themes you like to write about? I've noticed that I tend toward stories of second chances and redemption—which is kind of odd, because I'm one of those people that accepted Christ at age 5 and never significantly faltered in my walk. I think it comes, though, of sticking with my first loves, both in faith and in romance. I married the guy I started dating at 15, I never questioned my dedication to Jesus. I think that's given me a special place in my heart for those stories of returning to what you knew way-back-when.
What lesson is the Lord teaching you right now or recently taught you? To seek him in everything. This is ongoing lesson for me, but recently I studied a verse from I Corinthians that talks about how we build on the foundation of salvation with either precious things that stand up to the fire, or flimsy things that burn away. I don't want my life's work to go up in flames, so I need to seek him in every moment to make sure I'm following his blueprints for my life.
When is your next book due out and can you tell us about it? I have a deal in the works, but I'm not at liberty to talk about it yet. Stay posted, though!
You can purchase
A Stray Drop of Blood from Amazon:
Roseanna is giving away a copy of
A Stray Drop of Blood. To be entered in the book giveaway, leave a comment and check back on Sunday, December 6th to see if you've won.
You can enter twice--once on each post in this spotlight. If you want to guarantee that you're notified if you win, then leave your email address in the comment, otherwise, you can just check back and email me through the button in my sidebar.
**Annoying little disclaimer: This giveaway is void where prohibited; open only to U.S. addresses, odds of winning depend on number of entrants. No purchase necessary. By clicking on the Amazon link above or in the sidebar and purchasing I will receive a small percentage of the sale. Don't forget to enter the drawing for the book that was in the spotlight yesterday by
Shirley Kiger Connolly.