Guest Blogger Annalisa Daughety

I’m thrilled to stop by the Edit Café to talk about my new release from Barbour! Love is a Battlefield, the first book in the Walk in the Park series released in October. Each book in the series will take place in a different national park. I worked for a time as a park ranger at Shiloh National Military Park, where Love is a Battlefield is set, so the book is particularly close to my heart. I never realized you could fall in love with a place, but that’s exactly what I did while working at Shiloh.

I’ve always been fascinated by history, so the chance to spend my days immersed in the past was very cool. There was only one main drawback--it gets hot in Tennessee, especially in July and August. Believe me, I gained a new appreciation for air conditioning as I stood out in the heat, dressed in head to toe wool in a replica Civil War uniform, talking to visitors about the life of a soldier. I’d top the program off by firing a musket a few times. Despite the heat, that was one of my favorite interpretive programs. So much so, that I’d often volunteer to do it.
It was while I was at Shiloh that I really began to have an appreciation for America’s National Parks. They are each such a treasure. But the idea for a book series using parks as settings didn’t hit me until years later.

In 2007, I entered a partial manuscript titled A Walk in the Park in the ACFW Genesis contest in the “chick lit” category. It was the precursor to Love is a Battlefield—a story about a park ranger at Shiloh. When I received word that I was a finalist, I was elated. I’d never attended a writing conference before and had no idea what to expect.
I’d chosen Becky Germany for my editor appointment, figuring that even though I didn’t have anything to pitch to her, I’d talk to her about a few ideas and maybe see if she could offer me any insight as far as what she might be looking for. I almost canceled the appointment. Would she be mad that I’d taken up her time if I didn’t actually have a story to pitch?

But as I sat in class the first morning of the conference, an idea began to form in my head. What if I re-worked my original idea about a park ranger? At that point, I only had a few chapters written, so it wouldn’t be tough to change. As I jotted down notes, my chick lit story about a park ranger morphed into a contemporary romance series. The characters, settings and stories were so clear to me, it was all I could do to just get it down on paper. (I’m sure whoever was teaching the class thought the blond girl in the back was a wonderful note taker!) Soon, I was in my hotel room frantically typing. Yes, I admit, I skipped the rest of the day’s classes, and the Walk in the Park series was born that day in Dallas, Texas.

The following day, I had my meeting with Becky and was a nervous wreck. I’d come to the conference not really planning to pitch a story to her at all and yet there I was with an idea for a series. She was so nice as I went through each title in the series: Love is a Battlefield, set at Shiloh Battlefield. Love is Monumental at the Washington Monument. Love is Grand at the Grand Canyon. Becky gave me her card and told me to send a full proposal! That took the sting out of not even placing in the Genesis contest.

Fast forward to the 2008 conference. By then, Becky and I had gone back and forth on the manuscript for Love is a Battlefield. It was actually a finalist in the Genesis contest—this time in Contemporary Romance. I received two wonderful surprises at the conference that year. Becky awarded me a surprise contract for the series and Love is a Battlefield took first place in its Genesis category. I think it took a couple of months for my feet to touch the ground again.
And now, two years after the initial idea, Love is a Battlefield has hit the shelves. In September, when Becky held up a “hot off the press” copy at the conference in Denver, it was all I could do not to bounce out of my seat.

I’m as excited about the series today as I was when the idea first began to take shape. It’s my hope that readers will feel like they’ve taken a little mini-vacation to a national park as they read.

Now I’m in the process of writing Love is Grand. In fact, tomorrow I’m headed west—to the Grand Canyon, to spend a few days there exploring and talking to rangers about what it’s like to work at one of the most visited places in the world. If the internet connection works (I’ve read reviews that it can be iffy) I plan to blog (www.princessofpatience.blogspot.com) from the Grand Canyon Wednesday-Saturday. If you want to follow along on my journey, I’d love to hear from you! In fact, I’ll give away three copies of Love is a Battlefield when I return—I’ll pull from the names of those who comment on my travel posts!

Feedback Friday

My favorite pieces of feedback this week are from a teenage girl in Kansas and a woman in Japan.

The teenager in Kansas wrote of Susan Page Davis’ A New Joy, “You really pulled me into the story you wrote. It felt like I was really there, living in that time. I even now have started including ‘aye’ and ‘nay’ into my vocab.” :)

And the young woman in Japan had read Gail Sattler’s Love by the Yard and said in answer to the question of where she got the book, “I borrow the book from Pastor’s wife who is American.” And in answer to how this book has inspired her life she responded, “I try to pray; my husband became Christian.”

I love knowing our books are touching lives all over the world. Let’s pray for this woman who sounds like she is seeking after our Savior!

An Interesting New Blog

Check out the new International Christian Fiction Writers blog. Our friends Lisa Harris, Mary Hawkins, and Ronie Kendig are contributors. Should be interesting to follow.

http://internationalchristianfictionwriters.blogspot.com/

Natural Remedies?

I’m trying to fight off a scratchy throat and cough today, and I’ve been wanting to try a homemade cough syrup recipe that I found online. I made it at lunch time and thought I’d share it here. It sure tastes good and soothes the throat. We’ll see if it helps keep this bug from getting any worse. There are few over-the-counter medications I can safely take while pregnant, and I also like that I can give it to Jodi if she catches a cough. Most over-the-counter cold and cough medicines are not safe for little ones, either.

This got me thinking about remedies from the past when people couldn’t just run to the drugstore like we do now. Have you historical writers ever come across a good natural remedy in your research that you’ve tried and found effective? I’d love to hear about them!

Honey Lemon Cough Syrup

Lemon helps promote health by quickly alkalinizing your body, and honey will kill any bacteria. This is a perfect choice for a quick cough remedy.

• Put a pint of raw honey in a pan on the stove on VERY low heat (Do not boil honey as this changes its medicinal properties) .
• Take a whole lemon and boil in some water in a separate pan for 2-3 minutes to both soften the lemon and kill any bacteria that may be on the lemon skin.
• Let the lemon cool enough to handle then cut it in slices and add it to the pint of honey on the stove.
• Let mixture cook on warm heat for about an hour.
• Then strain the lemon from the honey making sure all lemon seeds are removed.
• Let cool, then bottle in a jar with a lid and store in the refrigerator.

This syrup will keep for 2 months in the refrigerator.

To soothe a cough, take 1/2 teaspoon for a 25 lb. child and 1 teaspoon for a 50 lb. child, about 4 times a day, or as often as needed. Adults can take 1 tablespoon doses.

Do NOT Miss These Books

Wow, Barbour has released a lot of great fiction this fall that you have to hear about!

First, in July came Menu for Romance, Kaye Dacus's fun sequel to Stand-In Groom.

Cater to your craving for fabulous fictional fare with Menu for Romance, where a party planner finds herself torn between the contractor and the cook. After eight years of unrequited love, Meredith Guidry makes a New Year's resolution to find someone new and end her single status before the year's over. And when she meets a handsome contractor on New Year's Day, it seems like her prayers have been answered. Executive Chef Major O'Hara has forsworn relationships, knowing he could never saddle the woman he loves with a family situation like his. But when it seems he's about to lose Meredith Guidry to another man, he realizes he must concoct a menu for romance to win her back.

Also in July Montana Rose released, kicking off Mary Connealy's new Montana Marriages series. In true Mary fashion, this series offers loads of laughs.

Fire up your love of romance with Montana Rose, where Cassie Griffin, a seemingly spoiled pregnant woman, is widowed one day and wedded the next. Marrying handyman Red Dawson seems the only alternative to Cassie’s being hitched to a brutal rancher. But can this “china doll” bear exchanging smooth silk for coarse calico? Red was reluctant to be yoked to an unbeliever, but sometimes a man has no choice. Will Red change Cassie’s heart by changing her name? Wade Sawyer is obsessed with saving Cassie from a marriage of convenience. How far will he go make her his own?

August was the month for the second book in MaryLu Tyndall's Charles Towne Belles series. The Blue Enchantress follows the sister Hope and her search for significance.

Get swept away in a high-tide of romance and adventure from acclaimed author M. L. Tyndall. Attempting to forget about a painful past, Hope Westcott plunges into Charles Towne society trying to find love and acceptance. Captain Nathaniel Mason is determined to build his shipping business and doesn’t need a romantic entanglement—especially with a woman like Hope. When Hope’s adventure-seeking puts her freedom—and her life—in jeopardy, will Nathaniel turn his back or follow God’s voice and sacrifice everything to save her?

September heralded the release of several Christmas titles and was the street date for Wanda Brunstetter's A Cousin's Prayer (book 2 in the Indiana Cousins series).

Kumme to Amish country, where the simple ways of life lead to hope and healing. Katie Miller is traumatized after her boyfriend is killed in a van in which she was also a passenger. How will she find her way out of the valley of her depression? Freeman Bontrager will make any excuse to be near to Katie, hoping to win her love. But how far will he go to gain her trust. . .and her heart? What will bring this girl out of the shadows of fear, and open her heart to life—and love?

Then in October came Love Is a Battlefield, the first of A Walk in the Park series about national park rangers. I got to take "hot off the press" copies to ACFW conference and surprise Annalisa Daughety. She received her 3-book contract at ACFW in 2008. Annalisa signed copies at our Barbour author reception.

Take a walk in Shiloh National Military Park in this fun, fast-paced romance. Recent history has taught Kristy O’Neal not to believe in love or risk her heart. Ace Kennedy came to Shiloh to research his family history—but it’s Park Ranger Kristy he’s studying. Using his own ancestors as an example, can he prove that true love really does exist before Kristy walks away forever?

October wrapped up another ACFW contracted author's Texas Fortune series. Marcia Gruver has a fascinating way of handling historical research and characterization, and Emmy's Equal is no exception.

Get ready for a suspenseful romantic adventure deep in the heart of Texas. Emmy Dane doesn’t want to give up her petticoats and frills for boots and spurs when her family decides to learn ranching in South Texas. Diego Marcelo’s mother tells him God will soon deliver him from his loneliness—but he assures her he has no need of deliverance. . .that is, until Emmy disrupts the entire way of life at the ranch. Can Diego put his jealousy aside before time runs out? And will Emmy admit she’s found her match in the stubborn foreman?

These books are all available in stores, so don't miss getting them for yourself as well as for Christmas gift-giving.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Just stopping in to say I'm very busy and stressed. On the to-do list is to complete some overdo catalog copy.

I don't think I'll ever catch up on all I need to do, and I don't feel like I'm handling the stress as well as I used to.

I hope your week is going better than mine.

Becky

Guest Blogger Myra Johnson on "What If?": Creating Fiction from Real Life

I’m delighted about the recent release of my first Heartsong Presents novel, Autumn Rains. This story holds special meaning for me because the hero, Healy Ferguson, was inspired by a true story told to me by my brother-in-law, who at the time was pastor of our church in Houston, Texas.

A man who had just been released from prison came through town on his way to follow up on a job opportunity. During his layover at the Greyhound bus station downtown, he stowed all his things in a locker (back when bus stations still had lockers) and then lost the combination! He’d have to pay a sizable fee in order to retrieve his things, but since most of his money was also in that locker, he had no idea what to do. He asked where he might find assistance, and someone suggested he try one of the churches in our neighborhood.

So the man set out, sometimes hitchhiking but mostly walking the 25-30 miles in blistering summer heat. By late evening he arrived at our church, where my pastor/brother-in-law and a church council member were concluding a meeting. They gave him enough cash to tide him over and drove him to where he could catch a commuter bus back to the Greyhound terminal. On the way, they nonchalantly asked what the man’s crime was, and when he said murder, they got a wee bit nervous. But the story had a happy ending, because we later learned the man had reached his destination, found a good job, and began a new life.

That story stayed with me long after my brother-in-law related it, and I knew somehow I had to work it into a novel. But how to turn an ex-con convicted of a serious crime into the hero of an inspirational romance? Naturally I resorted to the novelist’s familiar “what if” game. What if one friend on the outside refused to give up on the man and helped him find forgiveness in Christ? What if he and his friend later lost touch? What if his first goal when getting out of prison is to find that friend? What if, instead, he finds himself falling hopelessly in love with the friend’s widow?

As Healy became more and more real in my mind, various plot ideas began to germinate. Truth may be stranger than fiction, as the old saying goes, but a novel must be even more “true” than real life. Characterizations and plot elements must work together so that the story makes sense in ways real life often doesn’t. Once I settled on the central theme for Autumn Rains—“There are many kinds of prisons”—I knew I’d need a heroine whose struggle somehow mirrored Healy’s.

For Valerie, my “what if” questions naturally turned toward other ways people can be imprisoned. What if a woman’s fears have made her a prisoner in her own home? What if a personal tragedy makes her wonder if she’ll ever know real love again? What if her encounter with Healy has the potential either to drive her deeper into isolation or finally bring healing to them both?

The resulting novel is one I’m especially proud of, partly because it isn’t your usual boy-meets-girl romance, but a story of how love redeems not one life but two. I’ll always be grateful to everyone at Barbour—especially JoAnne—for making the publication of this book a reality!

Are there real-life individuals or situations that just won’t let go of your imagination? What deeper truths are they telling you? Play the “what if” game and see where it takes you!

Feedback Friday

Here’s my favorite piece of feedback from the last batch of mail I opened. It was a note to Sally Laity for an older Heartsong titled Valiant Heart.

This reader said, "I have read a lot of books and Valiant Heart has to be a favorite. By the way it started I assumed I wouldn't like it and it would be like all other bad books I've read. Was I surprised!" And then she signed off, "Sorry for doubting you."

That made me laugh! I liked this fan’s honesty. So, here’s to surprising our readers. May they always receive a better read than they expected. :)

Writing Realistic Children

Aaron McCarver suggested the blog topic of writing children in your fiction, so here goes. One thing I often see when an author has a child as secondary character in a book is that the child doesn’t seem very realistic for his/her stated age. Especially for writers who are moms, I’m sure it’s easy to just start writing a child character thinking, “Oh, I have kids, this will be a piece of cake.” But unless you have a child that’s the age of the one you are currently writing or you have an incredible memory, it might be harder than you think to recall exactly what your child was doing at each age. It’s already hard for me to remember what stage Jodi was in just a few months ago. And unfortunately I have not been very diligent about writing everything down. (Thankfully we have lots and lots of video!)

For example, I recently reviewed a Heartsong where a young boy was stated as almost four years old, yet most of his dialogue consisted of one-word responses or requests. To me, that action seemed way too young for an almost-four-year-old, as Jodi is just over two and rarely speaks in just single words anymore. She uses mostly sentences and comes up with new things to say all the time. Granted, all kids are different and I’m not trying to brag on Jodi, but I know that most of her friends around the age of two and three are also speaking in at least very short sentences. And I know that some almost-four-year-olds might have developmental delays, but if that’s not stated in the story then readers are going to wonder why the child is not acting normally. And by normally I just mean what the majority of kids are doing at that age.

So, if you don’t already do these things, I have a couple suggestions for research as you write child characters. First, for young children ages infant through 9, check out www.babycenter.com. You can find lots of typical behavior charts like this one here and loads of other information. And even better than internet research, spend time with kids that are the age you’re writing. If you don’t have any in your family, then seek out friends from your neighborhood or church who do and offer to babysit, or simply just sit in during nursery time or a Sunday School class.

I realize my suggestions here pertain to contemporary children. Even twenty years ago, what kids were doing and learning was different largely because technology has changed so much. And a hundred years ago, there was a huge difference! So if you’re writing kids from the past, let us know what good resources you’ve found.

Oh, and I found a blog I posted awhile back (here), about how very young child characters don’t always keep developing and changing as time passes in the book. Keep that in mind as you write, too.

Aaron, let me know if this cover your topic suggestion, or if you have other suggestions, tips, or questions. Thanks!

I’ll end this with a couple recent pics of my kiddo. One of the cute kitty (sorry for the squinty eyes) she was for Halloween and one where she’s decorating her own cupcake. We’ve been having a fun Fall. We hope you have, too! :)