Passionate thoughts about the world of writing and the Power of God
Love can be hard. But it can be grand. Never take it lightly. And never not work at it.
Father, you are Love. We can't begin to understand that kind of love in this flesh, but we aspire to know you as deeply as we can. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Southern fiction for women at its best, Normandie Fischer writes from the heart of things that threaten to take away all that is valuable and meaningful. Shoal Waters hits those things right smack on the head.
Jeminy was intoxicated with the "Brilliant" charm of a man who promised her talent would lead to fame and fortune if she'd come with him to LA. While her talent was recoginized, her fame and fortune was swallowed up by the man she chose to fall for and who she allowed to talk her into something she would regret for the rest of her life. When his praise turned to sarcasm, things changed.
She planned to leave him and all of the disappointment and sorrow behind, and when she learned her grandmother Georgina needed her, she knew where she needed to go. She carefully planned her departure with the help of a friend and flew across the country to North Carolina to reunite with her aging "Nana" to provide as much assistance as she could for the lady she loved.
I don't want to spoil the details of this story for you because there are multiple things going on. Let's start with Jeminy's Nana "Georgie". She's in the beginning stages of dementia, and Normandie captures her frustrations, emotions, convictions, and memory lapses with the skill she's experienced. Anyone who's faced this with a loved one will recognize everything Normandie depicts in her heartbreaking, sometimes humorous, but honest descriptions of Nana's behaviors. Her best friend Isa and her granddaughter Jeminy treat her with love, respect, kindness, and a vast amount of patience unlike her daughter, Jeminy's mom Deborah.
If you've read the collection of Carolina Coast Novels, Shoal Waters is Book 6, you will be reunited with the present lives of past characters and their desires to assist Jeminy and Georgie any way they can. The way Normandie inserts them into the story works perfectly incorporating all that famous southern charm along with them.
Georgie's lawyer becomes Jeminy's lawyer when she determines to find out what her ex has done with her missing royalties. It doesn't help that the lawyer is a very attractive southern gentleman.
Jeminy's brokenness won't allow her the freedom to truly start over in her life. She hits a creative block after experiencing nightmares about what she's done, fearing God couldn't possibly forgive her.
There is much sorrow in Jeminy's early past and it's translated to basically severed ties with her mother while staying close to her father.
Shoal Waters is a good, entertaining, well-written, and complex southern drama. If you love southern fiction, this story will serve up the grits and sweet tea along with real struggle at all levels of family and relationship theatre. The significance of the title provides wonderful symbolism to the dilemmas of the characters and speaks to the author's personal knowledge of all things seaworthy.
Father, you know all that Normandie needs, all that she wants, and all that she hopes for. She puts you first and honors you with her writing. Continue to give her the stories you have just for her to tell and bless her in your abundance. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
"Listen to this, O house of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel
and come from the line of Judah,
you who take oaths in the name of the Lord
and invoke the God of Israel -
but not in truth or righteousness –
you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city
and rely on the God of Israel –
the Lord Almighty is his name:
I foretold the former things long ago,
my mouth announced them and I made them known;
then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
For I knew how stubborn you were;
the sinews of your neck were iron,
your forehead was bronze.
Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced them to you
so that you could not say,
'My idols did them;
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.'
You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them?
. . . "
Isaiah 38:1-6 (NIV)
I realize I've been force feeding you this new novel for two weeks. I have no excuse for that other than this particular story has been a unique experience for me in a couple of ways. First of all, the story originally formed around a particular house on the country road I travel regularly. In all my driving past this dwelling the vehicle parked in front of it rarely moves. I have never observed any visible window coverings open, any activity, nor have I ever seen who lives there. The term recluse came to mind after a prolonged casual observance in my travels.
Secondly, I fell hard for this recluse hero. Why he chose to live like he did for so long many will not relate to, but as he allowed himself to break from his chosen lifestyle, readers will see him for who he truly is as he begins to see himself differently.
This love story imprinted on my soul as I spent hours truly enjoying developing these characters. They were with me in my head for days and weeks and months. They gave me lots of smiles, a few laughs, and some tears. As authors immerse themselves in the creation of stories, those characters definitely become real. I know these were for me.
Which is why I want to share this love story with you. It has some important things to say . . . and the only credit I can take for that is being obedient to the inspiration provided by the Lord. Can't write word one without Him.
For those of you who plan to read Then . . . you, I hope you enjoy and appreciate it as much as I did while writing it.
RAW ROMANTIC REDEMPTIVE
Father, you are the only source for my inspiration. Apart from you, I can do nothing. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
If you love novels, you want the stories to include not just the hero and heroine but interesting, entertaining peripheral characters. Will they be friends, relatives, associates, co-workers, clients, customers? Who will be that character – or those – to which the author invests pages of interchanges with the main character(s)?
So much of their composition again depends on the genre.
When the recluse hero of Then . . . you opens the door to the woman who's seeking refuge, the environment he's spent years refining faces immediate change. An interruption so profound, he calls his best friend and mentor trying to articulate his unusual dilemma. That's the first brief introduction to this peripheral character with several more to be added who will fill out the landscape of this story.
What is it you want or expect from the peripheral characters in the novels you enjoy reading?
I know from an author's standpoint, I never know who they will be until they appear in the story and tell me who they are and how they plan to contribute. Sometimes, there are quite a few of them and other times not so many. Some are perfect additions and add a warmth, humor, wisdom, or steadiness when needed. Others irritate, chide, and create disturbances until their time in the story runs out. For this "seat-of-the-pants" writer, I won't know their intentions until they show up.
It's quite a journey to take before "The End".
Father, thank you for this story that really got to me. So much. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
To write the female hero, when she is not the primary hero (aka co-protagonist), the author must decide if this heroine will be given equal time to the hero in the story. Will she be equal in skills as a complement to the hero, or will her skill set be completely different to the hero's? Will she be the meeker character, have wisdom, be the flighty femme fatale, or will she be quite ordinary? Will she be a beauty, have sex appeal, be of a plainer appearance, or will she be a chameleon? Will her character be admirable, questionable, or cleverly concealed when she chooses to be mysterious?
Some of these inquiries will be affected by the genre.
Writing a heroine has perhaps even more options than writing a hero. Why do I propose that as a possibility? Heroes are simpler because men can be less complex in their psychological makeup. It's one of the things that make them so appealing: their focus, their visual predictabilities, their quick assessments of circumstances, and their desires to fix the wrongs in any situation – even if their initial assessments prove to be wrong – and even if the heroine in a story doesn't need or want it/them to be "fixed".
If a heroine is the main character, she must be given certain strength(s). She can't be too fragile, whiny, or a shell of a person – too unlikable and undeserving of "heroine" status. Having said that, she can be a quiet, unintrusive, injured by life but surviving character. However, if that is her nature, the author must work very hard to show her as capable and give her a quality or qualities to make her appealing and likable. Heroes and Heroines drive a story. Without them serving up something to enjoy and appreciate, favorably respond to, cherish or treasure, those words on the page will more than likely serve instead to irritate and disgust the reader. Those don't bode well for finishing the book.
In Then . . . you the heroine states:
"Stone, why are you helping me?" She asked it softly maybe because she needed to hear his answer but didn't want to nag him about it. "I mean, I show up on your porch, a sopping wet mess, running away from an abusive boyfriend, and here you are enjoying your tranquil life of solitude and doing what I know must be an important profession post-military. I doubt I've ever felt more stupid – or more desperate – and you just took me in without any condemnation and gave me immediate accommodation. . . ."
She wants something but doesn't want to demand it from the man who's helped her. Strength with consideration. Admiration and respect for him, a need requested from her.
So many options for authors creating their heroes and heroines . . .
Father, you give me mine. Thank you is never enough. Never will be. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Once again keeping with the romance theme, new relationships where one falls hard for someone definitely makes people feel like they're in over their heads. And there's no doubt that sometimes it does feel so good.
Father, you created romance. It was meant to be pure but exciting and thrilling. Of course we polluted it, but we can still capture the beauty you intended if we look to you for it. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
To write a hero – aka "protagonist" – an author must decide just how much of that hero-persona to give him. Will he be an ordinary male who does something heroic? Will he be a man associated with the military or law enforcement or fire fighting? Will his overall character make him a hero in the eyes of those who are close to him? Will he be a sentimental hero known as such to an element in his circle? Will he have made a meaningful comeback in his life that quietly assigns him to hero status?
In a previous post I mentioned that I took a chance with my latest protagonist/hero:
To say I loved this hero/protagonist is an understatement. This particular character was a total risk to write. He's not "ordinary".
In fact, he's exceptional. Unique in his lifestyle after major, life-crushing disappointments, this man has no idea what's in store for him when he opens his door to the woman banging on it at 1:30 AM.
Father, thank you is never enough for everything you've done for me and given me in my life. I'll never be able to thank you as you deserve. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God, and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:7-10 (NIV)
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He’s a recluse. She’s seeking refuge.
In the dark early morning hours he answers his door to a woman who needs help.
He’s spent years cultivating being alone.
She’s spent months doing the wrong thing.
Neither of them expects what comes next.
Father, thank you is never enough. May I always honor you in the process. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Into the Fire 