Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Please Welcome my Friend and Critique Partner, Roseanna White!


I'm thrilled to have Roseanna here on my blog again. Make sure to leave your comments and email addresses for a chance to win her book!

Tell us about your latest release. The cover looks fantastic!

Thanks, Carole! Very pleased with the cover myself, LOL. =) JEWEL OF PERSIA is a combination of the book of Esther and Herodotus's HISTORIES, the Greek account of the Greco-Persian war. I combine the accounts through my fictional heroine, Kasia, a passionate Jewish girl who is the true love of Xerxes, king of Persia and Media. But because of her choices to love her Lord more than her king, she ends up turning the court against her people . . . setting the stage for her childhood friend, Esther.

What was the hardest part to write?

The hardest parts were the historical accounts I really wished I could ignore, LOL. Xerxes was sometimes . . . well, a monster. He did things no CBA hero should ever do, so it was a challenge to write those into his character in a believable way, yet keep him a sympathetic character.

We all have choices of items that help us write. What’s yours? Can you give the readers a glimpse into your writing space? What’s your favorite writing reference tool?

Coffee!!! ;-) When we set up a schoolroom for my daughter this summer, I put my desk in there, right under a shelf that holds homeschool material and beside the window. I adore this space. It's bright and cheerful, and nowhere near a TV, LOL. I've taken to taping a calender of my story to the wall, maybe a character picture, and of course my Jane Austen action figure keeps watch over me. =) My favorite reference tool . . . hmm. Probably, boring as it sounds, the internet. I have a hard time writing when I can't tab over to do searches for simple questions.

If you had to choose one person to go with you for encouragement to a secluded cabin, who would that be?

My hubby, for sure. =) He brainstorms with me, he reads my books as I write them (which often keeps me writing fast, since he demands a new chapter every morning), and he can often give me insights into my characters I may have overlooked.

What are you working on now?

At the moment I'm polishing and trimming my next release, Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland, which will be coming out this December from Summerside Press. It's set in Annapolis of 1783-4, for that brief 6 months when it was the nation's capital and peace with England was still uncertain. When I'm between edits on that, I have several other projects I'm eager to finish up.

What is one of the happiest moments of your life or an accomplishment that you’re especially proud of?

Hmm . . . going through natural childbirth twice, without the aide of drugs? ;-) Can't think of anything more impressive than that, LOL, and of course it came with an awesome reward at the end. =)

How do you choose names for your characters? Do you do a lot of research on them?

I do, yes. Since most of my stories are historical, my choices are limited by what names were actually around in my time period. With my more exotic settings, I'm often tongue-tied by some of the names, so I pick ones I can pronounce, LOL. I'll also choose by meaning, or whether they just sound like my characters. =)

Can you tell us some of your favorite books or characters that you cherish?

Oh my—I am such a book lover! I love the classics, but I'm also a sucker for romances. Some of my favorites include all things Francine Rivers, Julie Klassen's The Silent Governness, Trish Perry's The Guy I'm Not Dating, Orson Scott Card's Enchantment and Pathfinder, Laurie Alice Eakes' Lady in the Mist . . . I could go on. And on. And on. =)

Any fun things about yourself that the readers might enjoy knowing?

Deep dark confession time—though my grandparents own a produce farm, I hate all but a handful of vegetables. And then I wonder why I can't get my kids to eat them, LOL.

Is there one piece of advice that’s been especially valuable to you?

Well, to paraphrase a lot of advice and put it through a recently polished lens, “Give it all to God—hopes as well as fears.” I always try to seek His will, of course, and when I'm afraid of something I give it to him regularly. But recently I realized I also have to entrust him with my hopes, not just my fears.

Please share information where readers can check out and buy your books:

A Stray Drop of Blood and Jewel of Persia are both available from most online retailers and can be ordered through your local stores as well, though they're not likely stocked. (Well, JoP's paperback won't release until June, but . . .) Digitals are available through Kindle for both, and Jewel of Persia is also available through all the other digital retailers. Plus if you want signed copies, you can order (or pre-order as the case may be) through my family's online store, http://www.crosspurposesbooks.com/

You can find links on my website (http://www.roseannamwhite.com/) and my blog (http://roseannamwhite.blogspot.com/)

It's been such fun to have talented Roseanna here this week! You'll not regret reading any of her books. She's that good!

Comments and email addresses, my friends.
Blessings!

21 comments:

Roseanna White said...

So glad to be meandering around Sunnybank again, Carole! Thanks for having me. =) I'll be lurking around waiting for any questions folks want to ask, so feel free, y'all!

Joanne Sher said...

SOOO want this book. Please enter me! joanne(at)joannesher(dot)com

Joanne Sher said...

hehe - just have to comment again to tell you that you can take me OUT of the drawing for this. As I scrolled through blogs I read, I found out that I won it at ANOTHER site! WOOO! :)

CAN'T wait to read it, Roseanna!

And a question - who is your favorite character?

Rick Barry said...

Historical writing certainly does add an extra degree (or two, or three!) of burden on a writer. There are people out there who know their history, and if we writers don't know our facts... well, they will let us know! Blessings on your work, Roseanna (and on you, too, Carole)!

Cathy Shouse said...

Fascinating interview, ladies.

I hopped over from the Indiana ACFW loop.
Roseanna, I'm curious as to what helped you the most in learning how to put together a novel? How did you come to write hiistorical fiction?

I guess I'm asking a little about your writing journey and the steps and the time it took.

I'd love to win the book.

cathy underscore shouse and yahoo

Roseanna White said...

Congrats, Joanne! =) My favorite character in Jewel of Persia is undoubtedly my heroine, Kasia. I'm not much like her, but I so admire her prayer life and love how she tackles each moment of life with unbridled passion. It can lead her into trouble, but it also steals the heart of a king. =)

Roseanna White said...

Very true, Rick! I called on some pretty obscure history for this one, but anyone who's read Herodotus should recognize some very infamous events. =)s

Rebecca (RivkaBelle) said...

I love finding your interviews popping up at blogs I read :o) Pretty sure we are def kindred spirits, haha ...

LOVE your bit about working on Xerxes, I kinda sorta laughed out loud ;o)

RivkaBelle
quarterback.girl[at]gmail[dot]com

Kathryn Page Camp said...

An interesting premise, and it'll be interesting to see how Roseanna made Xerxes symathetic.

kcamp1951@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Roseanna, Jewel of Persia sounds like a book I would love to read. I admire folks who write historicals. With all fiction, you have to get your facts right, but with historicals, I would there there is an additional level of fact checking. Best of luck! Sylvia

Roseanna White said...

Thanks, everyone! Rebecca, probably kindred spirits for sure. And we can laugh together about how tricky it was to write Xerxes, now that the bruises from banging forehead to table have faded. ;-)

Cathy, as for your questions . . . I've always been a lover of historicals. I wrote my first book at 13, and it was historical. I didn't actually write anything contemporary until college. Then got back to historicals afterward. My first love. =)

My writing journey . . . well, I had 12 novels finished by the time I was 22, all written without the benefit of knowing a thing about the craft, LOL. At that point I joined ACFW, realized all my mistakes, and started all over. Except that when I look back through those 12 books, I see a definite progression TOWARD the "rules" before I even knew what the rules were. POVs had deepened and stopped shifting, voice became more active, more showing than telling, that sort of thing.

Of course, to save everyone else the need to write a dozen novels before figuring all that out, I highly recommend everyone join a writers association, read up on the craft, and find themselves some awesome critiquers. My critters are invaluable to me (wink, wink, Carole!) and have been a huge help in my growth.

So while I've been writing since 12, I didn't "get serious" until 23 or so, and it's therefore been 5 years since I tossed myself headlong into the industry until I signed my first major contract.

Did I miss anything? =)

Mary Ellis said...

Hi Carole amd Roseanna, I loved this interview! Roseanna, it was such a pleasure to meet you & your family last summer in Richmond. Jewel of Persia sounds wonderful. I look books that combine fiction hero/ines with real life events. If I don't win in Carole's drawing, count on me for a sale. Blessings on you and your writing.
Mary Ellis

karenk said...

i would love to read roseanna's masterpiece...thanks for the opportunity :)

karenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com

Cathy Shouse said...

Roseanna,

Thank you for sharing your journey! I know it took some time, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

You kind of remind me of the nonfiction book "Outliers." It was a hot topic of conversation for awhile, about the fact that extensive practice is a huge factor in success.

Sounds obvious, huh? It was more in-depth. lol

Anyway, congratulations. You have earned your success!

apple blossom said...

please enter me thanks

ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com

Faith said...

Sounds like an great book! Must have been a challenge writing Xerxes for sure!
Thanks Caroline for bring us this interview!
Please enter me

crazi.swans at gmail dot com

Casey said...

The books looks so good! Been wanting to read A Stray Drop of Blood for a long time. And now Jewel of Persia too :)
randomness.is.awesome@gmail.com

Mozi Esme said...

I'd love to read this!

janemaritz at yahoo dot com

Annette W. said...

Hmm...I thought I'd already left a comment.

I have been looking forward to reading Roseanna's books for too long. They're on my wish list!

derekannette at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed the interview. Book sounds great. Carmen sent me

rubynreba said...

I love A Stray Drop of Blood and I would love to read this. Thanks!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

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