CFBA Blog Tour - What the Bayou Saw by Patty Lacey

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
What The Bayou Saw
Kregel Publications (March 24, 2009)
by
Patti Lacy


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Though Patti's only been writing since 2005, she thinks her latest profession of capturing stories on paper (or computer files) will stick awhile.

The Still, Small Voice encouraged Patti to write after a brave Irish friend shared memories of betrayal and her decision to forgive. In 2008, An Irishwoman’s Tale was published by Kregel Publications. Patti’s second novel, What the Bayou Saw, draws on the memories of two young girls who refused to let segregation, a chain link fence, and a brutal rape come between them.

The secrets women keep and why they keep them continue to enliven Patti's gray matter. A third book, My Name is Sheba, has been completed. Patti's WIP, Recapturing Lily, documents a tug-of-war between a Harvard-educated doctor and an American pastor and his wife for a precious child and explores adoption issues, China's "One Child" policy, and both Christian and secular views of sacrifice.

Patti also facilitates writing seminars in schools, libraries, and at conferences and has been called to present her testimony, "All the Broken Pieces," at women's retreats. She also leads a Beth Moore Bible study at her beloved Grace Church.

Patti and her husband Alan, an Illinois State faculty member, live in Normal with their handsome son Thomas, who attends Heartland Community College. On sunny evenings, you can catch the three strolling the streets of Normal with their dog Laura, whom they've dubbed a "Worchestershire Terrier" for her "little dab of this breed, a little dab of that breed.


ABOUT THE BOOK



Segregation and a chain link fence separated twelve-year-old Sally Flowers from her best friend, Ella Ward. Yet a brutal assault bound them together. Forever. Thirty-eight years later, Sally, a middle-aged Midwestern instructor, dredges up childhood secrets long buried beneath the waters of a Louisiana bayou in order to help her student, who has also been raped. Fragments of spirituals, gospel songs, and images of a Katrina-ravaged New Orleans are woven into the story.


The past can't stay buried forever Rising author Patti Lacy's second novel exposes the life of Sally, set amid the shadows of prejudice in Louisiana.

Since leaving her home in the South, Sally Stevens has held the secrets of her past at bay, smothering them in a sunny disposition and sugar-coated lies. No one, not even her husband, has heard the truth about her childhood.

But when one of her students is violently raped, Sally's memories quickly bubble to the surface unbidden, like a dead body in a bayou. As Sally's story comes to light, the lies she's told begin to catch up with her. And as her web of deceit unravels, she resolves to face the truth at last, whatever the consequences.

If you would like to read the first chapter of What The Bayou Saw, go HERE

Buy it at Amazon!

Awesome Experience with Beth Moore

This past Friday and Saturday I traveled three hours to the south to Springfield, Illinois. But, I didn't go to the state capital to visit politicians. I went to sit under the teaching of one of my favorite Bible teachers, Beth Moore.

I have participated in seven or eight of Beth's Bible Studies at my church, and we are currently studying Esther. For those who don't know much about Beth, she writes in-depth Bible studies for women with five days of lessons per week. We meet first as a small group to discuss the five lessons, then gather with other small groups to view her video that prepares us for the next five lessons.

Beth is an anointed teacher. She is down to earth, funny and blessed with energy that rivals a classroom of preschoolers. (I stole that line from one of my stories) God has gifted her with this energy because she needs it to do all she does, traveling, teaching, studying, and still spending time with her family.

Nearly 9,000 ladies descended upon Springfield's convention center. They may be used to a bunch of windy politicians in their midst, but I doubt they knew what hit them when Beth came to town. She beat attendance for an Elton John concert by 50 people! Check out the line before the doors opened! That's only a small percentage of the people.

I'm sure the local businesses loved it. Every hotel space was taken. My friend and I had to stay in a smoking room in a cheap motel. The room was clean, but stunk of smoke. We aired it out and sprayed Fabreze everywhere which helped. We weren't there but to sleep one night. But we'd do anything to be able to attend this event.

I brought home a souvenir I'd rather not have. Last night I developed a stuffy head and feel something like one would feel when being run over by a Mac Truck LOL. But that's okay. It was worth it.

Here's a video slide show from the professional photographer who was there. My friend made it into the montage. What an awesome time. Be sure to give it about a minute to download before the action starts.

Living Proof Live - Springfield IL from Rich Kalonick on Vimeo.

Writing Historical - A New Experience And I'm Having a Blast!

A few months back, I wrote about seeing my hometown of Lake Geneva, WI through new eyes as I delved into research in preparation for writing a book set there in 1933.

I finished the proposal on August first, and my agent sent it on to a potential publisher. In the meantime, I attended the ACFW conference in Denver, and then reworked my cozy mystery from a mystery with romance to a romance with mystery. It is now titled, Thyme for Love. With the proposal for that story out at several places, I finally have time to work on my Lake Geneva romance called Dream a Little Dream of Me. It's only a working title and often publishers will change titles to suit their preferences, so I hang onto it loosely.

Other than writing a short story for a creative writing class based on my grandmother's diary from 1900, I have never written historical fiction in my life. I have always loved writing about today, having my characters use their cell phones, computers, etc. and ride around in fast cars. But writing early to mid 20th century historical is different than writing historicals set in Colonial times or even at the turn of the century, 1900.

Today's Lake Geneva looks a lot different than the Lake Geneva I grew up in. First, the town has grown by about 3,000 people, and second, it now boasts a Super Walmart, McDonalds, Burger King, Home Depot and many other franchised operations. When I was a kid we had to drive to Milwaukee for a McDonald's burger. The lake, of course, is still there, but the beach has been improved and some of the large mansions have been torn down for smaller lots.

However, if you stop long enough to look, you'll still see vestages of the past. Enough mansions are still there, perhaps boasting several more coats of paint or a wing added on, but they are still the stately manors they were in the 19th century.

Stroll down Main Street and look up past the modern storefronts of shops selling gourmet foods, boutique clothing, and home decor and you'll see the architecture of a time gone by. It doesn't take much to imagine a butcher shop, food market, or mercantile that once existed on the street level.

Today what was once called the Slater Building houses a real estate company. When I was a child I went to the dentist on the second floor, and I can't remember what was on the first floor. Probably a different real estate company. That's the building on the right. Back in 1933, it housed the Lake Geneva News-Trib, the weekly paper where the hero and heroine in my novel meet and work. It's a special feeling to know that I've been in that building many times as a child, and now here I am writing a story set right there.

Oh if those walls could talk. I bet they'd give me fodder for more stories than I could write. And it would be a blast.

CFBA Blog Tour - Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin

This week's CFBA blog tour features Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin. Lynn is one of my favorite authors and I was excited to be able to read and review this book. But I didn't receive my copy until last Friday, so I am still reading it! Let me tell you, I've not gotten very far but already I am hooked. This lady can write!

Consider phrases like this:

"We were looking through Grandma's box of keepsakes, and she showed me a photograph of her father and mother. They sat side-by-side, their shoulders barely touching. Henry's huge farmer hands splayed on his thighs like a pair of shovels."

Or . . .

"Grief settled over Bebe's household like deep snow, bringing life on the farm to a suffocating standstill and chilling everyone's soul."

Anyone who can turn a phrase like those two has my attention.

Here's the scoop on the story:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Along with reading, two of Lynn's lifelong passions are history and archaeology. While researching her Biblical fiction series, Chronicles of the Kings, these two interests led her to pursue graduate studies in Biblical Backgrounds and Archaeology through Southwestern Theological Seminary. She and her son traveled to Israel during the summer of 1989 to take part in an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Timnah. This experience contributed to the inspiration for her novel Wings of Refuge.

Lynn resigned from teaching to write full-time in 1992. Since then she has published twelve novels. Five of her historical novels, Hidden Places, Candle in the Darkness, Fire by Night, A Proper Pursuit, and Until We Reach Home have won Christy Awards in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, and 2009 for excellence in Christian Fiction.

Fire by Night was also one of only five inspirational fiction books chosen by Library Journal for their top picks of 2003, and All She Ever Wanted was chosen as one of the five inspirational top picks of 2005. Lynn's novel Hidden Places has been made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel.


ABOUT THE BOOK

"Thank goodness you're such a plain child. You'll have to rely on your wits."

So went the words of Grandma Bebe. And for all of my growing-up years, I scoffed at the beauty of my sister and what I saw as her meaningless existence. But my wits hadn't served me well in this instance, for here I was, in jail. And while I could have seen it as carrying on the family tradition (for Grandma Bebe landed in jail for her support of Prohibition), the truth is, my reasons for being here would probably break her heart.

So how did I end up becoming a criminal? I've been pondering that question all night. Perhaps the best way to search for an answer is to start at the very beginning.

Harriet Sherwood has always adored her grandmother. But when Harriet decides to follow in her footsteps to fight for social justice, she certainly never expected her efforts to land her in jail. Nor did she expect her childhood enemy and notorious school bully, Tommy O'Reilly, to be the arresting officer.

Languishing in a jail cell, Harriet has plenty of time to sift through the memories of the three generations of women who have preceded her. As each story emerges, the strength of her family--and their deep faith in the God of justice and righteousness--brings Harriet to the discovery of her own goals and motives for pursuing them.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Though Waters Roar, go HERE

I just saw the book on display at my local Family Christian Store, but you can order it from Amazon.

Winner of Cara's Book A Promise Kept is . . .

JO!!!

I've notified Jo and am waiting for her mailing address. Then I'll get the book out to her. There were several who left names but no contact info so I couldn't place your names in the "hat." Please be sure when commenting to leave contact info for the book!

Watch this blog for more upcoming giveaways later on.

Book Review: A Promise Kept by Cara C. Putman

When my good friend, Cara Putman, asked me if I would read a couple of her new releases and blog about them I didn't hesitate one bit. I've known Cara for a long time now. She is one of the people in my life I can say "I knew her when . . ."

I was privileged to critique her first two books when we were in a critiquing group together, and it was a thrill to see them go on to be published. The woman hasn't stopped since and has been blessed with more book contracts. All well deserved because she is a very accomplished writer.

I have especially enjoyed her stories set during World War II. The thirties and forties hold a special appeal for me and I am thrilled that they are now coming into their own as historicals.

A Promise Kept is set in 1939 before Pearl Harbor was bombed sending the U.S. to the war front. At the time of the story people were watching and waiting, many gearing up for what they saw as inevitable when the country would be at war itself.

The story is unique in that it is a romance about a married couple. We join Josie Miller and Art Wilson in the first chapter as they marry in Dayton, Ohio and then move to Cincinnati for Art's job.

Cara does a wonderful job of bringing in the way of life back in that time, by way of the popular music of the day, the clothing they wore, and the simple meals Josie prepares without concern about fat calories or cholesteral :-) I was immediately transported back to the time. Life wasn't easy even though the country was starting to work its way out of the depression, especially for the newlyweds who live a second-floor walk-up apartment, barely big enough for two. You can imagine how tight it suddenly becomes when a distant cousin of Art's who lives in England asks if he and Josie will house their eight-year-old daughter for an indefinate time until the war passes and England is safe again.

Nothing goes according the the dream Josie has for her new life and it takes a strengthening of faith in God to help both her and Art begin to see that sometimes God's dreams for us are different than ours, because He knows what is best in the long run.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I would like to offer a signed copy of the book in a drawing. Please leave a comment on this blog along with contact info and I will draw a name next week Wednesday, September 9th.

You can order the book from the Heartsong Presents Website, but don't forget to leave a comment for a chance at a signed copy for your collection!

Imitation is the Greatest Form of Flattery. . .But Not in Writing

I just read that Stephanie Meyer who wrote the infamous Twilight series about a romance between a vampire and a 'normal' person, is being accused of plagiarism. The accuser states that parts from her own book were used by Ms. Meyer for the fourth book in the Twilight series.

I haven't read but a portion of Twilight, first book in the series, and I haven't even heard of the the accuser or her book, but from what I have read of the lawsuit, me thinks I smell a rat. J.K.Rowling went through the same kind of deal after she became wildly popular, and I'm sure other famous authors have as well.

Common sense tells me the accusations are likely unfounded. As a writer, I know how a story comes to life, and the book Ms. Meyer is accused of using plagiarized material for, is the fourth in the series. A story evolves and grows as one writes.

There is really nothing new under the sun. I have received more than one rejection for both novels and magazine articles alike, where the reason for rejection was because the publisher was already under contract to print something very similar. Titles are often similar, as are storylines, characters, settings, whatever. And sometimes that can be a deal-breaker in the writing world.

When I was around eight or nine I subscribed to a childrens magazine called Wee Wisdom. I loved the stories in that magazine and devoured it as soon as it arrived in the mail. One day, as I sat reading a story, I had a sense I'd read it before. I don't remember all the details, but I did figure out where I'd seen it. I was able to locate the story in another publication by a different author, and wrote to the magazine. A while later, I received a letter that stated they were very appreciative of my informing them of the deception, because the story published in their magazine was plagiarized. I don't remember getting a free subscription or anything like that. Just a thank you.

That future writer learned one huge lesson. One I've never forgotten.