writing

I love summer! For three or four months out of the year, our family grills and eats outside whenever possible, until cold weather puts an end to it all. But when it comes to writing fiction, grilling is always in season, and it’s guaranteed to add a depth of flavor to your characters and a sizzle to your plot. Let me explain. You may have heard it’s a good idea to interview your characters before you write your story. I say grill ‘em. Turn up the heat and make them sweat. In addition to getting their basic bio information and physical description down, you’ll want to dig deeper by grilling your main characters with these questions. You may be surprised by the flavorful blends their responses will give you! 1. The question: What do you want more than anything? What’s your goal right now? The purpose: Her goal will be what she’s striving for throughout the book. This is what you need to place in jeopardy the entire time through a variety of obstacles. How to use it: It should be clear in the first chapter what the character’s goal is. (Yes, goals can change during the course of the story, too.) When you grill another character and learn what his goal is, you can put these two goals at odds with each other. For example, in my novel Wedded to War, Charlotte Waverly’s goal of being a nurse for the Union army conflicts with Phineas Hastings’ goal to keep her in New York City and marry her. Charlotte is also at odds with her mother Caroline’s goal to keep her safe. 2. The question: What would happen if you didn’t reach the goal? The purpose: This helps you figure out if her goal is big enough to carry a novel. If it wouldn’t be a big deal  for her goal to be unmet, she needs a bigger goal. The stakes must be high—life or death, even. This could be a literal life or death situation, or a professional, emotional, or spiritual death. How to use it: You’re going to have to disappoint your characters by blocking their goals at least a few times in the course of the novel. Will she back down or try harder? Will his heart bleed or turn to stone? Watch how Phineas reacts to the obstacle to his goal in this scene: Phineas should never have let her go. He crumpled Charlotte’s latest letter and jammed it into his pocket, nearly popping the stitches with the force. He should never have let her out of this city, out of his sight. The evening’s chorus of chirping crickets seemed to be laughing at him incessantly. His breath came faster, his legs propelled him farther down Twenty-first Street in a blind fury. He kept his head down so no one would see his eyes under the brim of his black bowler.   He had written to Charlotte begging her to come home now that disaster had befallen so near to her. He had been kind. Romantic, even. At least he had thought so. But firm. And she had written back—but not for days—and said no.   She said no to him.   She had defied him, like his mother had always defied his father. The thought made him sick. Then we get into what’s really bothering Phineas—the fear that he’ll either lose Charlotte before he can marry her, or end up a hen-pecked cowardly husband like his father had been. How far will Phineas go to keep that from happening? 3. The question: What are you really good at? What do people like about you? The purpose: Find her strengths. Readers will not find your character like-able unless there are things to like or love about her. How to use it: Use her strengths to set her up as a sympathetic character. But later in the book, make her fail at the very thing she thought she was really good at. This will bring her to a dark moment, or a crossroads, where she has to decide what to do. A choice that may have previously seemed out of character for her would now be believable. 4. The question: What do you hate about yourself? The purpose: Learn her flaws. It could be a body part she isn’t satisfied with or a single or habitual sin. A follow-up question would be: What’s your biggest secret? How to use it: If she hates something about her appearance, it will color how she carries herself, or the clothes she wears. If it’s something deeper, it may cause her shame, guilt, or an inability to form close relationships with others.  Whatever she hates about herself must come out in the open at some point. Then what will happen? When we meet Irish immigrant Ruby O’Flannery, in Wedded to War, we see immediately what she hates about herself: her posture deformed by needlework. Later in the book, she hates something else—her new biggest secret—and this drives the rest of her storyline. Here we see her weighing her options: Ruby couldn’t sleep.   The same mattress that had once cradled her body in softness now felt like a bed of nails, the sheets like weights pressing the air out of her lungs.   Like a body. Hot and heavy.   Ruby threw off the covers and jumped out of bed, gasping for air. Her racing pulse sounded loudly in her ears as she knelt down on the cool hardwood floor for the seventh night in a row, unshed tears swelling thickly in her throat. Would she ever be able to sleep in a bed again without being haunted by an unforgiving memory?   . . . Now, when each night’s blackness rendered her blind on a bed again, her mind reeled her back to the very moments she wanted most to forget. What had she done to deserve that?   If Matthew found out, he would kill her.   If Mrs. Hatch found out, she would fire her.   If the American Moral Reform Society found out, they would turn their backs on her.   God already knew, and could never forgive her. He had turned His back on her already.   She was on her own now more than ever before. 5. The question: What is the most dramatic event that has happened in your life, and how has it shaped you and your beliefs? The purpose: First, it gives you more backstory to help you understand her. Second, you’ll get to see if her faith and beliefs are shaken by circumstances, or if trials make her stronger. How to use it: This will help you understand her motivations as she navigates life throughout the book. If you want her to change how she responds to hardship, you will want to introduce another character or event that will change her mind. The most dramatic event for the Waverly family was the death of Charlotte’s father in a cholera epidemic. The memory of his kindness to the patients in the hospital prompts her to apply to be a nurse. The memory of his death from exposure to disease fuels Caroline’s desire to keep Charlotte away from hospitals. One is motivated by mercy and service, the other by self-preservation. 6. The question: What is your biggest fear? The purpose: This will tell you how to rock her world. How to use it: Your characters must face their biggest fears in the book. How far will they go to stay away from what terrifies them? It depends on the intensity of their fear. 7. The question: What is your most treasured possession and why? The purpose: This will tell you what’s important to her, both materially and nostalgically, since most objects are made more valuable by the memories attached to them. How to use it: If the object is small enough, use it in a mannerism, or see what happens if this object is lost or stolen. Better yet, what would cause your character to willing part with it? In Wedded to War, Phineas has a gold pocket watch from his father which he holds whenever he feels insecure. Readers can tell he’s feeling threatened when he grips onto his watch. Obviously, if you’re going to really grill your characters, you’ll need to ask all the pointed follow-up questions you can think of, and then some. But these will certainly get you started. Grill your characters with questions like these and your plot will go from flat and bland to spicy and robust. Conflicted and well-drawn characters make a story sizzle.

Recently a writer friend emailed me with this: “I noticed on your Facebook post this morning that you said you had ideas ‘again.’ Does that mean that for a while you didn’t?” She was feeling such pressure to be inspired and write another book, and it just wasn’t coming together for her. Do you ever feel this way? Yes? Welcome to the club of Almost All Writers Almost Everywhere! Inspiration is a slippery thing. Sometimes I have way too much of it to be practical, and other times, I am bone dry. Here’s what I shared in response to my writer buddy’s email: “Yes, friend, yes, for a while I did not have any ideas. I was completely burned out, and the pressure to perform also sucks the creativity from me. In fact, my publisher sat me down for dinner last year in Chicago and asked what I wanted to write next—anything was fine—and I could not come up with a single solitary answer. I had nothing. Also, I’ll tell you that I’ve had some false starts on my way to my current ideasthat are totally pumping me up. I spent lots of time researching a couple of topics that just fizzled out because I couldn’t get passionate about them. So if you’re having half-hearted ideas, keep looking for something that captures your FULL heart. You might not find it right away. And remember that reading good books is part of your process. Fiction and nonfiction. Just read. Sooner or later you’ll find something that snags you, and you should just pull on that thread and see where it leads. But try not to put pressure on yourself to find that gem right away, because then it isn’t fun anymore. Just explore.” This is not just what I told my friend, and what I’m telling you right now—it’s what I tell myself, many times. For those of you who have a fondness for lists, as I do, perhaps this will be helpful for you as well: Seven Steps on the Journey to Inspiration Read. As I mentioned earlier, this includes fiction and nonfiction. I was inspired to write my Heroines Behind the Lines Civil War series when I was reading dusty archival materials in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. But the ideas I have brewing right now hatched because I read the little cards next to displays at a museum my family visited. Read books on writing. Read good books. Read. Ask questions. My favorite question to ask while plotting always begins with “What if…”. If you’ve got your story and characters lined up but it all lacks a certain spark, interview your characters. (It’s OK. You’re a writer. Having conversations with fictional people is part of the job.) Watch your favorite movies. Write down what you love about them. Characters’ virtues or flaws? Story line? Plot twist? Dialogue? What makes that story great? Can you do that in your own writing? Pay attention. People watch. Listen when people tell stories about their lives. Read newspaper headlines, and the buried articles, too. Watch human nature react to different situations. All of this is ripe with possibility. Think hard, without distractions. This means separating yourself from email, Facebook, Twitter, phone calls. Shut it down, writer. Interruptions are not conducive to creative genius. Some of my best thinking has been with a notebook and pen in hand. Take care of your brain. Brains function best when we get enough sleep, eat the right kinds of food, and get a moderate amount of exercise. Many writers go for walks, bike rides, or jogs to rev up their creativity. Me? I watch my kids try to do a pilates video while I sit on the couch. That counts, right? No, seriously, I only did that once. I actually do break a sweat a few times a week now just in case it will make me think better. Pray. We should all be praying every step of the way that God will guide us to the stories He wants us to tell, and then guide us as we tell them. And now: repeat. Ironically enough, inspiration is not something I can guarantee with “seven easy steps” after all. You may have to go back and repeat this entire thing, and perhaps more than once. But if you invest in the process, you’ll find your inspiration. Be ready to grab hold!

With Valentine's Day soon upon us, let's talk about love. Many of you know that I had the honor and privilege of co-authoring The 5 Love Languages Military Edition with Dr. Gary Chapman a while ago. Working on that book helped me invest in my own marriage in ways that I hadn't before. It also improved my writing when it came to developing characters and relationships. Now, I am not a romance novelist, but there is love in my books: between spouses, sweethearts, parents and children, siblings. So what I'm about to share can be applied to every loving relationship in your books, too. The love language concept is simple but profound: what feels loving to one person doesn't necessarily feel loving to another person. Dr. Chapman has identified five basic "languages" in which we express and receive love: Words of Affirmation Quality Time Receiving Gifts Acts of Service Physical Touch As you develop your characters, determine which of the above is their primary love language, and be consistent with that. If her main love language is Words of Affirmation, we should see her really respond when someone verbally affirms, encourages, and supports her. By the same token, harsh words will hurt her very deeply. If a heroine's love language is Acts of Service, for example, a bouquet of roses at the end of a hard day will not impress her nearly as much as if the hero would pitch in and clean the kitchen instead.  Love languages can spark romance or conflict, depending on how you pair them. Use them to ramp up the tension between two people. Conflict happens when two people do not express and receive love in the same way. In my book Yankee in Atlanta, Edward's love language is Physical Touch, but his wife has been abused in the past, which makes it nearly impossible for her to bestow physical affection upon him. Worse, when he tries to show her his love in the same way he wants to receive it (touch), it triggers negative feelings in her. Edward feels shunned and unloved, which erases his motivation to treat her lovingly. It's a vicious cycle. When a person feels unloved, it's very difficult to want to behave in a loving way, especially if that particular love language doesn't come naturally. In Spy of Richmond, my character Bella Jamison wonders how her husband feels about her anymore because their most recent conversation---months ago---was clipped and short. His deployment has thrust a gaping silence between them which grates on her more than it would if her love language were not Words of Affirmation. So when she sneaks into Richmond to find him a prisoner at Libby Prison, she longs to speak and hear words that will bond them together again. Here's an excerpt from their first meeting outside the prison where he is chopping wood: Light and shadow fought within Abraham's eyes, and he breathed in deeply. Bella could almost see the wheels in his mind grinding laboriously. Until finally, "I didn't ask you to come."   Bella tried not to stiffen. "I got things I need to say to you."   He picked up his axe, scanned the perimeter, but did not look at her directly. Nodded, and she understood that she was to speak, and quickly.   Bella wanted to be smooth and eloquent, when her nature was to be practical and straightforward. Perhaps a little too sharp. She wanted her words to sing to him, draw a smile from his lips. She wanted them to be a tender caress, a balm to his wounds of both body and spirit. But they were standing in an alley outside a Confederate prison, with the clatter of horses and merchants and shoppers rattling the very air about them. As the guard's voice raised itself over Peter's, Bella's speech was chopped to bits by Abraham's swinging axe, and he did not look at her as she, dressed as the slave she had once been, dropped pieces of her heart from her lips. Knowing Bella's love language helped me understand how excruciating this interaction would have been for her. As you develop the primary and secondary love languages of your characters, think about whether there is a specific reason those languages are meaningful to them. Many times, we long for the expression of love that we have gone without. Edward's longing for Physical Touch relates to the fact that his mother died when he was too young to remember her, and he was raised by a succession of nannies who didn't touch him any more than they had to. In the example from Spy of Richmond, we get the idea that Bella may not have spoken Words of Affirmation much under normal circumstances ("her nature was to be practical and straightforward"), but the fact that so few words had passed between her and Abraham during the war brought that need to the surface for her.  Perhaps a character who grew up with barely enough food on the table really appreciates the love language of Receiving Gifts now. Not every character's love language needs to be born from their personal history. My love language is Quality Time, and I can't imagine a particular reason for that. But as you get to know your characters, perhaps you'll make some connections that add to their three-dimensionality. To further explore the love languages, check out www.5lovelanguages.com or find a copy of the book The 5 Love Languages. You'll be able to draw your own connections to the characters you're developing--and your own relationships will benefit, too, I'm sure! 

Whenever writers/ aspiring authors ask me what they can be doing right now to achieve their goals, one of the things I tell them is to attend every writers conference they can afford (assuming the conference is high quality). Actually, attending writers conferences is also wonderful for published authors. Earlier this month, I attended my favorite: Breathe Christian Writers Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It's an eight-hour drive for me each way, but totally worth it. I know times are tight, and writers are not wealthy people as a general rule. But a high-caliber writers conference will pay for itself in the long run with time saved, network broadened, skills gained, inspiration gleaned, etc. [Tweet "A quality writers conference pays for itself. Here's how."] Using my recent experience at Breathe as an example, here are my top ten reasons to take the plunge (yes, even if you are an introvert and would rather just sit at home and read Writer's Digest): One-on-one meetings with authors, speakers, editors, agents Where else can you find the opportunity to sit down for 15 minutes and ask a published author anything you want to know, or pitch your book to an agent face to face, or ask an editor what to expect from the publishing process? At Breathe, and at many other writers conferences, attendees can sign up for one-on-one appointments and do exactly that. Amazing. Do not miss it. [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1038", "attributes":{"class":"media-image size-full wp-image-2088", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"500", "height":"600", "alt":"During the conference, my friend Susie Finkbeiner signed a contract with Kregel for her third novel, A Cup of Dust! And the crowd went wild! (Well, we clapped and cheered. I went wild on the inside.) Note: When conference attendees grow in their craft and sign contracts, it is a very good sign!"}}]] During the conference, my friend Susie Finkbeiner signed a contract with Kregel for her third novel, A Cup of Dust! And the crowd went wild! (Well, we clapped and cheered. I went wild on the inside.) Note: When conference attendees grow in their craft and sign contracts, it is a very good sign!   The workshops Ah, the workshops! Breathe has tracks for fiction, nonfiction, publishing, blogging, marketing & publicity and more. (My advice: make sure the conference you're considering attending has different tracks so you can choose exactly what you're interested in.) Very often, one terrific workshop will be worth the entire cost of the conference. Here are the ones I attended or presented: Is There a Doctor in the House? Using Psychology to Enhance Characterization—Dave Beach Therapist/writer Dave Beach helps you explore characters and character arcs using insights from psychology.  Deepen your characters and discover dynamics that intensify conflicts and drive your stories with sophisticated, true-to-life tensions. By experiencing a few characters “in treatment,” attendees will understand how to use the Character Doctor tool and finish by applying the tool to a character of their own. Writing the Column: Find Your Voice and Mean What You Say—Charles Honey Charles Honey, longtime religion columnist for The Grand Rapids Press, will talk with participants about the elements of a viewpoint column that connects with readers, including a distinctive voice, authentic conviction, and attitude without arrogance. Honey will lead writing activities that encourage participants to explore their column personality, play with different styles and be honest and vulnerable in their views. The Art of Conversation: Writing True-to-Life Dialogue in Fiction—Susie Finkbeiner Strong dialogue is essential to engaging fiction. As important as it is, often writers struggle to make it authentic and true to life. In this workshop, attendees will not only learn tools to writing dialogue that rings true, they will have time to practice these skills in an interactive, fun session. Be sure to bring extra paper and a pen or pencil. 9 Ways to Bolster Your Historical Fiction Research—Jocelyn Green If you’re writing historical fiction, getting the story world right can be challenging. Learn seven ways –aside from the Internet—to bolster your research and ramp up the immersive quality of your book. Attendees will walk away with several fresh ways to approach their historical research, including National Archives, site visits (real and virtual), museum staffers, paper dolls and coloring books, specialty experts (fire arms, medicine, war, etc.), and far-flung friends. They’ll also come away with template emails and tips for how to approach a stranger for help. [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1039", "attributes":{"class":"media-image size-full wp-image-2098", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"236", "height":"286", "alt":"Hee hee. One of the cartoons I included in my presentation on what to expect. :)"}}]] Hee hee. One of the cartoons I included in my presentation on what to expect. :)   What to Expect From Your Book’s First Year—Jocelyn Green What happens once your first book baby is born? If you’re a pre-published author, come hear what you can expect from your release day and the weeks and months beyond.  Attendees will walk away with a realistic view of the launch day, and a healthy view of customer reviews. We’ll talk about the pros and cons of launch parties, book signings, blog tours, and give-aways. They will also learn several forms of promotion authors can do for free to bolster their platforms, and what to expect in terms of the first year’s sales. The emotional roller coaster of an author will also be addressed. The devotional insights Usually at a Christian writers conference, there will be at least one optional devotional morning session, which I love. At Breathe, the bottom line I took away was the reminder that "Who I am is who I am in Jesus." I am not defined by how many books I publish or how many rejections I get. Neither am I defined by reviews or book sales (or lack thereof) or anything else, but who I am in Christ. Friends, this is absolutely liberating.NOTE: For those of you looking for secular writing conferences. I found this article on WritersDigest.com, which lists a bunch of them. I haven't attended any of these, but thought I'd share the resource for those who are interested. Julie Cantrell   The keynote speaker This year at Breathe we were blessed to hear from Julie Cantrell, NY Times bestseller, Christy Award and Carol Award winner for her books Into the Free and When Mountains Move. Her plenary session talks were so inspiring. She shared with us that when she wrote her first novel (the bestselling, award-winning Into the Free) she did it basically in secret, just to see if she could write and finish a novel in three months. So she got up and wrote from 3-5am every day (3-5am every day, people!) for three months. And she did it. In my book, anyone who is willing to lose that much sleep deserves all the accolades she receives. I think the moral of the story is this: don't let the lack of time stop you from writing. Make time. Find time. Steal time if you must, even if you have to steal it from the night. (sniff, sniff. I love my sleep.) Meeting and reuniting with other writer friends Writers are a special breed of people, don't you think? But guess what? At a writers conference, everyone will "get" you. Some of the best friends I have, I met at Breathe years ago. Seeing them again at the conference is such a treat. Writer friend support is mission critical! [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1040", "attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-2087 size-full", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"500", "height":"373", "alt":"Sharing a coffee break with my author friend Amelia Rhodes! She wrote the book on this, you know. :)"}}]] Sharing a coffee break with my author friend Amelia Rhodes! She wrote the book on this you know. ;)   [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1041", "attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-2096 size-full", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"433", "height":"373", "alt":"Susie and me!"}}]] Susie Finkbeiner and me!   Networking opportunities The people you sit next to at a meal or a workshop or a plenary session might play a role in your writing career later. At Breathe, I have connected with writers who I later invited to contribute to a book I was writing, I've met people who later agreed to endorse one of my books, or be an influencer. Even swapping blog posts with another writer who blogs is a great form of networking. And networking is a beautiful thing. Time to THINK Sometimes, the best thing about a conference is that I sat still with paper and pen, and had some focused time to think about what I wanted to write. Some of my best ideas were born at writers conferences, simply because I had the time to dream a little. You will not cook a meal. They feed you. Or you can buy food. You will love it. You will not do the laundry. Or the dishes. You will take a break from the tyranny of the urgent to invest in your calling. Ahhhh.....writers conferences! You will have space to LISTEN. Take some time in a quiet place to pray and ask God what He wants for your writing. Every writers conference I've been to has a designated room for quiet reflection and prayer. Even if you don't use this specific space, you can pray anywhere. The important thing is that you'll have time and space to intentionally listen. If you have the opportunity to attend a good writers conference, take it! You will be so glad you did. [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1042", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-2092", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"600", "height":"450", "alt":"dont be writer"}}]]   Bonus: This year I was privileged to join four other novelists at Baker Book House (incredible bookstore) for a book reading and signing event before the conference began. It was wonderful to get to know the other authors better, and meeting readers--some of whom I'd connected with on Facebook already--was a thrill! [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1043", "attributes":{"class":"media-image size-full wp-image-2089", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"600", "height":"360", "alt":"So much fun. Left to right: Jocelyn Green, Susie Finkbeiner, Julie Cantrell, Sharon Brown, Tracy Groot. Each author is so talented, it was an honor to share the platform with them!"}}]] So much fun. Left to right: Jocelyn Green, Susie Finkbeiner, Julie Cantrell, Sharon Brown, Tracy Groot. Each author is so talented, it was an honor to share the platform with them!  

I've been invited to participate in the Writer's World Blog Tour by friend and fellow author Karen Whiting! Karen was my co-author for the book Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front (which inspired my Heroines Behind the Lines Civil War series of novels.) Her blog post went up last week at: http://karenwhiting.blogspot.com/2014/07/world-wide-blog-tour.html  Before I answer just four questions, allow me to share a little more about Karen. (Then stay tuned after my brief interview to meet two more dear friends and fabulous writers you simply must check out!) [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1018", "attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-2028", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"150", "height":"227", "alt":"KarenWhiting"}}]] Karen Whiting   Karen Whiting is an international speaker and award-winning author of seventeen books. She’s the former television host of Puppets On Parade. Her newest books are Nature Girl: a guide to caring for God’s creation and The One Year My Princess Devotions. Her upcoming releases are The One Year Devotions for Active Boys and Hope From His Heart (a devotional for women). Karen loves to let creativity splash across the pages of her writing as she encourages families to thrive, treasure one another, and connect to God. Connect with Karen! Blog  http://karenwhiting.blogspot.com/ Facebook www.facebook.com/KarenHWhiting Website www.karenwhiting.com Twitter  www.twitter.com/KarenHWhiting Pinterest www.twitter.com/KarenHWhiting Interview with Jocelyn For this blog post, I was given the following questions to answer. [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1019", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignright size-full wp-image-2014", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"125", "height":"193", "alt":"125Spycover"}}]]What are you working on? At the moment, I am basking in the glow of having recently turned in to the publisher Spy of Richmond, which is the fourth and final novel in the Heroines Behind the Lines series. You can read more about it here. Now I'm devouring my stack of books that have been waiting so patiently in my to-be-read pile, and filtering through a bunch of ideas that are percolating for future book ideas. How does your work differ from others in its genre? I write both nonfiction and fiction, but I'll answer this question from the fiction angle. My historical fiction novels really are born from history itself. By that I mean, rather than coming up with a plot and characters and then checking to make sure the history matches, I scour through all kinds of historical sources first, and the story emerges from there. Historical integrity is very important to me, so I include a bibliography in the back of each novel, along with a section which explains The History behind the Story so readers know what is fact and what I made up. One observation I keep hearing from readers about my work is that I don't gloss over the ugliness of war, but that they still feel infused with hope from the stories. That's exactly what I want.[[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1020", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignleft size-medium wp-image-2027", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"240", "height":"300", "alt":"StrengthRequired"}}]] Why do you write what you do? I write about some of the darkest pieces of our nation's history--namely, wars--for a couple of different reasons. First, my husband was in the military, so as a former military wife, I have a heart for military families of every generation, and it's important for me to understand the causes and sacrifices required by war. Second, by shedding some light on these segments of our history, we see that even in this darkness, Jesus has proven to be greater. Over and over I have read diaries and heard testimonies from people who have been through enormous strain, and they point to their faith in God as the source of their strength and courage. My hope and prayer is that readers will also be inspired to faith and courage by these stories. How does your writing process work? I need to read about thirty history books and have a three-ring binder full of notes before I feel comfortable even plotting an outline. Normally, the seed of an idea begins with the true story of an inspiring woman. Then I research everything about what she experienced, or could have gone through. The research portion, which also involves site visits to the historical setting, takes about 9 months. Then I outline, which could take three weeks. The actual writing process then takes about three months. Then of course there are edits with the publisher, but that's a breeze comparatively! Next week, award-winning authors Carrie Turansky and Laura Frantz will answer these same four questions on their own blogs. I hope you'll check them out! In the meantime, here's just a glimpse of who these wonderful women and writers are: Laura Frantz [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1021", "attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-2023 size-full", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"200", "height":"296", "alt":"laura frantz"}}]] Laura Frantz, author of Love's Awakening   [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1022", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignleft size-large wp-image-2020", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"1", "height":"1", "alt":"laura monterey"}}]][[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1023", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignleft size-large wp-image-2020", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"1", "height":"1", "alt":"laura monterey"}}]]Award-winning author Laura Frantz is passionate about all things historical, particularly the 18th-century, and writes her manuscripts in longhand first. Her stories often incorporate Scottish themes that reflect her family heritage. She is a direct descendant of George Hume, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland, who was exiled to the American colonies for his role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, settled in Virginia, and is credited with teaching George Washington surveying in the years 1748-1750. Her family resides in Kentucky and Virginia. According to Publishers Weekly, "Frantz has done her historical homework." With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, she is represented by Janet Kobobel Grant, Literary Agent & Founder, Books & Such Literary Agency of Santa Rosa, California. Readers can find Laura Frantz at www.laurafrantz.net. Read her interview for this tour here: http://laurafrantz.net/writers-world-blog-tour/. Carrie Turansky [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1024", "attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-2021 size-medium", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"193", "height":"300", "alt":"Carrie Turansky, author of The Governess of Highland Hall"}}]] Carrie Turansky, author of The Governess of Highland Hall   Carrie Turansky has loved reading since she first visited the library as a young child and checked out a tall stack of picture books. Her love for writing began when she penned her first novel at age twelve. She is now the award-winning author of thirteen inspirational romance novels and novellas, and she's working on number fourteen. Carrie has been married to Scott form more than thirty-five years, and they make their home in New Jersey. They often together for her writing research, ministry trips, and to visit their five children and four grandchildren. When Carrie's not writing she enjoys working in her flower gardens and cooking healthy meals for friends and family. She loves to connect with friends through her website www.carrieturansky.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Read her interview for this tour here: http://carrieturansky.com/index.php/writers-world-blog-tour/