Guest interview with Gina Holmes

Gina Holmes is the founder of Novel Rocket and a PR professional. Her bestselling novels Crossing Oceans and Dry as Rain were both Christy finalists and won various literary awards. Her latest novel, Wings of Glass, released February 2013 and has earned a starred review from Library Journal, a Romantic Times Top Pick and a Southern Indie Bookseller's Okra Pick. She holds degrees in science and nursing and currently resides with her family in southern Virginia. She works too hard, laughs too loud, and longs to see others heal from their past and discover their God-given purpose. To learn more about her, visit www.ginaholmes.com.

Your 3^rd novel, Wings of Glass, has just released. Tell us a little about it.

I think this is my favorite book so far. Wings of Glass tells the story of Penny Taylor, a young wife who feels trapped and alone in a physically and emotionally abusive marriage. Besides her low self-esteem, she feels her Christian faith doesn’t allow for divorce. It’s not until she meets two women—one a southern socialite and the other a Sudanese cleaning woman—that her eyes are opened to the truth of her situation and she begins her journey to healing and redemption.

What made you take on the tough subject of domestic abuse?

As a little girl, I watched my mother being physically abused by her husband and then later, two of my sisters enter abusive relationship after abusive relationship and I thought that would never be me. . . until the day my boyfriend hit me for the first time and I began to make excuses for him. I know the mindset of someone who gets into and stays in an abusive relationship, because I’ve been there myself. It’s taken me years, and a lot of reading, praying, and talking to get to the heart of what brought me and kept me in toxic relationships and I want to pass on some of what I learned that helped me find boundaries and recovery from a codependent mindset and most of all healing.

What do you hope readers take away from this book?

It’s my hope and prayer that those who are in abusive relationships will begin to see that the problem lies with them as much as with the abuser. That’s something I railed against when friends suggested it. I wasn’t the one with the problem! I was no doormat who enabled abuse or addiction… or was I?

I also hope that those who have never understood the mindset of victims would better comprehend the intricacies of codependency and be better able to minister to these women and men. And of course I’d love it if young women would read this before they ever enter their first romantic relationship to have their eyes open to how abuse almost always progresses and be able to see the red flags early.

Which of the characters in the novel is most like you and why?

Each of the characters has a little of me in them or vice versa. I think years ago I was more like Penny, though tougher in many regards, at least I thought so. I’d like to think now I’m a little more Callie Mae. Because I’ve lived through what I have and have found healing, I can see in others the path that will lead to healing and the one that will lead to destruction. The difficult part once you’ve found healing is remembering that you can’t do it for others. You can offer advice, but you can’t make anyone take it. Each person has to learn in their own time, in their own way.

Who is your favorite character?

I absolutely love Fatimah. She had such a great sense of humor and didn’t care what anyone thought except those who really mattered. She was really quite self-actualized. She was so much fun to write and I actually find myself missing her presence.

What’s your favorite and least favorite part about being a writer?

Favorite: making my own schedule. I love when I’m feeling bad one day knowing that I don’t have to punch a clock. I can just take the day off and then work harder the next. Of course, there’s a lot of other things I love about writing, like allowing others to consider another point of view that may be far different from their own.

Least favorite: There’s a joke that when you work for yourself you at least get to pick which eighteen hours of the day you want. That’s true. Working from home means I’m always at work. I work from about 7:30 am until about eight at night most days. Under deadline, it’s worse. Truly understanding how much the success of a book rides on the shoulders of the author is a blessing and a curse. Because I get that no one is more invested in the success of my books than me, I put in a LOT of time on the publicity/marketing end of things. It’s tiring but an investment that I think pays off in the long run.

You had written four novels before your debut, Crossing Oceans was published. Do you think those books will ever get dusted off and reworked?

Never say never, but I doubt it. I had considered reworking some but having gone back and re-read them, I realized they weren’t published for good reason. They just didn’t work. Now, there is one story I’m resurrecting characters from for a story I should be writing next, but the plotline is completely different. I started out writing suspensel but as my reading tastes changed, so did my writing tastes. I don’t see myself doing suspense again any time soon.

You’re known for your quirky characters, what inspires you to write these types into each book?

Honestly, I’m a pretty quirky person. The older I get, the more I embrace those quirks. I think everyone is quirky really. As a student of human nature, I pick up on those and like to exaggerate them in my fiction. I also like to surround myself with quirky people. My husband is quirky, my kids are quirky and so are my friends. Often in life, especially when we’re young, we hate about ourselves what makes us different, when really those are the things we should be embracing. Different is interesting. Different is beautiful.

If you could write anything and genre, marketing and reader expectations didn’t matter, what would you write?

Speaking of quirky… I read a book a few years back that was so different that it made me want to try something like that. The book was a big-time bestseller, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. What turned me on about that book were the characters. They were quirky to an extreme. In contemporary women’s fiction, I can get away with a certain amount of quirk. but I’m always having to play it down because it’s so over the top. In a fantasy, you can be as over the top as you dare. I’d love to play around with something like that one day and just let my freak flag fly! Will I? Probably not unless I use a penname. I realize readers have certain expectations and I wouldn’t want anyone to feel mislead. We’ll see. There’s lots in life I want to do but since I only get a hundred or so years (if I’m lucky), time won’t allow for every rabbit hole.

What advice would you have for writers hoping to follow in your footsteps?

My advice would be not to follow too closely in anyone’s footsteps. Yes, there is a certain path all writers find themselves on. There are certain things that we must all do like learning to write well, figuring out platform, going to writers conferences to meet the gatekeepers and figure out the way things have to be formatted and submitted and all that sort of thing. But it’s okay to veer off the path too and forge your own. There are those who have self-published who have found great success.

There are those who have written about subjects that they were told no one wanted to read about and found success. It’s smart to figure out what others have done before you to make them successful, but alter the formula to suit your needs and passions. It’s okay to be different, in fact, I think great success and maybe even happiness depends upon it. And by all means, read Novel Rocket.com and leave comments. It helps not only encourage those authors who have taken the time out of their day to teach us, but it also connects you to the writing community. Community is important. 

From the best-selling author of Crossing Oceans comes a heartrending yet uplifting story of friendship and redemption. On the cusp of adulthood, eighteen-year-old Penny Carson is swept off her feet by a handsome farmhand with a confident swagger. Though Trent Taylor seems like Prince Charming and offers an escape from her one-stop-sign town, Penny's happily-ever-after lasts no longer than their breakneck courtship. Before the ink even dries on their marriage certificate, he hits her for the first time. It isn't the last, yet the bruises that can't be seen are the most painful of all.

When Trent is injured in a welding accident and his paycheck stops, he has no choice but to finally allow Penny to take a job cleaning houses. Here she meets two women from very different worlds who will teach her to live and laugh again, and lend her their backbones just long enough for her to find her own.

Reading outside your comfort zone

Author David Hewson says, “There are an astonishing number of people who think they can write books without reading books. Everything you need to know about writing can be found in books – and I don’t mean how-to-write books either.”

The best way to improve your writing is by reading. If you want to create words of beauty, you first need to foster the ability to recognise and appreciate beauty in the writing of others. It’s almost a process of osmosis. The word choices, the patterns of expression, the flavor of artful writing will get under your skin, and you’ll find it becomes less of a reach to create the same effects in your own prose.

The problem here is that many people resist reading outside “their” genre. It’s a safe-zone. You write romantic comedy, so you only read romantic comedy. You write Amish zombie thrillers, so you won’t read anything that doesn’t contain dead people in bonnets.

It’s important to stretch yourself if you genuinely wish to grow.

I love the story Gina Holmes shares, about how reading outside her comfort zone led to her first book contract. In an article for Christian Fiction Online Magazine, she explains:

“I grew up reading Stephen King, and so naturally when I decided to write a novel, I figured suspense was what I liked to read so it was what I should write. My first four novels were suspense. But then something happened . . . I started reading books like The Kite Runner, Memoirs of a Geisha, To Kill a Mockingbird, Watership Down, and authors like Charles Martin and Lisa Samson. I couldn’t get enough.”

You’ll notice these aren’t “genre” books. They’re either classics, or what we’d describe as “commercial literary” novels and authors.

Holmes describes this process of discovery as one of falling in love with words all over again. After four unpublished suspense novels, her newly expanding reading horizons inspired her to try her hand at something different. The result was “Crossing Oceans”, a quieter, more character-driven work of women’s fiction. The book was snatched up by Tyndale House and went on to win awards and become a CBA and ECPA bestseller.

Reading more widely is the best way I know to break out of a writing rut, stimulate new ideas and ways of looking at the world, and birth fresh inspiration.

Here’s my top three tips for reading outside your comfort zone:

1. Read commercial literary books, both CBA and ABA.

I’ve used this term once already – but what do I mean by “commercial literary”? I’m talking about books that hit the sweet spot between saleability – which, let’s face it, is usually driven by plot, or an engaging premise – and aesthetic/ emotional value, in which character development, emotional complexity, and the beauty of the words themselves are all supremely important.

If you haven’t read much commercial literary fiction, and don’t know exactly where to begin, let me suggest a “starter” list of books to check out. Here are some personal favourites, in no particular order:

ABA:

1. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

3. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

5. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

6. March by Geraldine Brooks

7. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

8. The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

CBA:

1. The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson
2. Blue Hole back Home by Joy Jordan-Lake
3. Feeling for Bones by Bethany Pierce
4. The Dead don’t Dance by Charles Martin
5. The Queen of Sleepy Eye by Patti Hill
6. Chasing Lilacs by Carla Stewart
7. The Moment Between by Nicole Baart
8. Daisy Chain by Mary deMuth

I could go on and on and on. (Can you tell these are the sort of books I love to read?)

2. Read prize-winning books.

Start with CBA prize-winning books, particularly Christy award-winners. You can find a list here.

But don’t discount secular prize-winning books, either. Exercise discernment – secular content can be gritty – but don’t let that stop you from dipping your toes into the remarkable pool of global talent. Try titles that have won or been short-listed for the Man Booker prize, the Orange prize, the National Book Award, and of course the Pulitzer.

Set the bar so high it makes you dizzy. If you always read books written at your level, you’ll never grow beyond that level.

3. Read classics.

There’s a reason some books stand the test of time. I’m first to admit that there are many classics I “should” have read, but haven’t. The good news is, most of these books are now in the public domain, so I’ve been collecting classics on my Kindle for free. No excuses now!

And lastly, just for fun…

How well-read are you?

The BBC released this list of 100 influential novels. They state that the average person will have only read 6 books out of the 100. How do you stack up?

The rules: it only counts if you’ve read it all the way through. (Sigh… my score would be quite a bit higher if I could only count the ones I’ve abandoned before the end!) And no, watching the movie does NOT qualify. (Darn it!)

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night – Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Alborn
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adam
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

So, what’s your score? Let us know in the comments! (Mine is 37. Hmmmm. Better than average, but well below halfway. I need to get reading! Who'll join me?)

Images courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Karen Schravemade lives Downunder and likes to confuse her American friends by using weird Australian figures of speech. When she's not chasing after two small boys or cuddling her baby girl, she spends her spare minutes daydreaming about the intricate lives of characters who don't actually exist. Find her on her website and Twitter.

Setting the Mood with your First Lines

Your eyes meet across a crowded room of wedding guests, the culmination of a glorious affair decorated with elegance and extravagance. Candlelight and string quartet. And now, the interested gaze of Mr. Tall, Dark, and Dreamy sends your heart into a pitterpatter to put the first strums of Beethoven's 9th Symphony to shame. The mysterious stranger steps toward you, black suit jacket bringing out the depths of his eyes. Could he be British? Italian? Rich? A James Bond wanna-be?

From the trim line of his jaw to the determination in his step, he boasts of confidence and sophistication. His grin sends shivers of anticipation tickling up your spine.
And then, he opens his mouth with the thickest country accent you've ever heard.
"Hey there little darlin'"
The symphony in your head switches to a minor key.
"You're 'bout as purdy as a Thanksgivin' turkey."
The orchestra screeches to a halt.
"You wanna go git some viddles with me and smooch a while?"

What happened? Everything was going so well? The look, the feel, the obvious attraction and then...The mood and expectations did not match reality. AHHHH!

We all know first lines are important for hooking the reader. You can read about those in some previous Alley posts. But first lines also set the mood for things to come.

I've asked the other Alley Cats to share some of their first lines so we can look at how the beginning 'puts you in the mood' for the rest of the story. They help setup your expectations.

Let's start with WOMEN'S FICTION.
Known as the genre which focuses on deep issues related to women, WF is known for its more descriptive and serious tones. Some popular examples are Gina Holmes and Patti Lacy. Here are a few AlleyCat examples:

Casey Herringshaw:

A girl can only take so much truth.

Which is probably why Jenna Hutch crouched in a two-bit cow-town restroom, 200 miles from home—waiting for the pregnancy test to confirm what she already knew.

Her fingertips bleached white and the stick branded her palm in a jagged zig-zag. She held her breath for one beat, then two, lungs clenching like fists. This was taking way longer than it should.

(whew, GREAT hook)

Karen Schravemade:

Maya walked hand in hand with her dead father beneath a sky so blue she surely could not have dreamed it. With every step her sandals scuffed up red dirt. The dust settled between her toes and beneath the cracked vinyl straps of her shoes. She couldn’t remember what had come before this moment, just that she was here, with her Papa once again, her mind empty of questions and heat shuddering from the ground in waves.

Julia Reffner:

"The prophet and the elders have decided it's time you get married." Click, my spine cracked as I pulled my shoulders back.

"Signed by the Prophet himself. Delivered by Elder Tom just this afternoon." Father moved in toward me until his shins brushed the edge of my bed and handed me a manila envelope with my name in black Sharpie letters. He smelled of Vaseline which held his hair in a tight pompadour. After weeding and backhoeing all day, the coiling wave attached itself to his forehead, hiding an angry row of whiteheads.

Mary Vee:
If time really healed all wounds, Liz could have endured the remaining chapters of her life. She longed for pages penned with stories about a large family chattering at an extended dining room table while passing baskets of freshly baked dinner rolls from one relative to the next.

Her stomach growled.

If you'll notice, these novels denote a more serious tone - which sets up the reader for a more serious book. You are more likely to find more descriptives and internal conflict, than in some other genres.

HISTORICAL ROMANCE is next. Within HR, we find the tenents of any romance novel, but set within a historical period of time. HRs can have 'voices' that hint in two general directions. 1. a more serious novel (Laura Frantz would be an example) or 2. a more comedic HR (Mary Connealy writes these). Regardless of the tone taken, the hallmark of historical romances is that they involve ROMANCE that takes place in HISTORY :-)  -so the stage must be set.

Angie Dickens:

My baby sister fit on my hip just above the waistband of my covering. Our skin blended together, a brown shade of the red earth which carpeted our land. When I stepped out into the new day, my feet began to dress themselves in the dust. The sun always surprised my eyes with her bright shine first thing in the morning. I squinted and all the dried mud huts clustered before me, glistening white as if chiseled from the great clouds above.

Though HRs are typically written in 3rd person, Angie has done a great job with 1rst person here. We can tell from her setup that her novel will have more of a serious tone, and descriptive.

Sherrinda Ketchersid:

The lock would not budge.

Jocelyn blew a strand of unruly hair from her eyes and paused to still her racing heart. Nothing prepared her for the trembling of her fingers and the time wasted looking over her shoulder, no matter how many times she practiced in the privacy of her room. Taking a deep breath, she slowly pried the tip of her knife into the lock, listening for the quiet catch of the spring.

Pepper Basham:
There is a distinct difference between marrying a man you do not love and knowing you cannot marry the one you do. As Ashleigh Dougall locked eyes with Sam Turner, the full sting of that truth stripped all doubt. Her dear friend, practically a brother, suddenly evoked a reaction far beyond mere friendliness. Heaven help her. She loved him.

Even through the space of noisy travelers and hurried porters, Sam’s grin tripped her heartbeat and snatched at her breath. She stood transfixed, disbelief vying with denial, but the pull of truth slit between them. How? When? She couldn’t love Sam like this. How long had she ignored the swell of admiration? The grip of heightened awareness of him? His manliness?

She was keenly aware now.

I love how books within the same genre can set such different tones. Angie's book sets a 'portrait' feel, words painting a picture of life. My HR and Sherrinda's begin in the clutches of a person's emotional reaction. Sherrinda's even holds an air of peril. But all take place in a historical era.

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE is a romance novel set during the 'modern' world - which is usually any time past 1950. Like HRs, CRs can have a more serious tone or comedic tone. Like all romances, the meeting of guy/girl is of upmost importance in the heart of the story. Some popular authors are Rachel Hauck, Denise Hunter, and Susan May Warren.
So....
what kind of mood does Krista Phillips set for you?

God, is it against the rules to want to strangle one’s boss?

Even though she was still very new to the whole Christian thing, six months yesterday to be exact, Maddie Buckner was fairly sure that thoughts of murder, even it jest, wouldn’t be condoned by the Almighty.

or how about this one by Krista?

Jenny Garrett sank to her knees as someone pounded on her door for a second time.

She sucked in a shaky breath and blew it out. No need to panic. It was probably just a neighbor coming to introduce themselves to the new girl on the block. Or a vacuum salesman. Or a church group handing out tracks, trying to tell her about Jesus even though she’d known him since she was three.

The door knob jiggled.

Or a burglar planning to jump her when she opened the door, tie her up, ransack the place and take everything of worth, then shoot her to eliminate a witness.

Comedy, right?

How about another one.

Pepper Basham:

One step into the massive, glass-walled waiting area was all it took.

In a cataclysmic chain of events, someone bumped into Eisley Barrett from behind sending her purse and all its contents skittering across Heathrow International Airport’s glossy floor. Just as she regained her balance, her heel caught on her purse strap, forcing her off kilter. She liked comedy, but this was ridiculous.

In horrific slow motion, forward momentum merged with gravity, the crowd parted like the Red Sea, and she landed face-first on the floor.

Well, not exactly on the floor. Somebody broke her fall.

Sherrinda Ketchersid:

Emilie Burke hated blind dates, and happy-in-love, matchmaking friends.

She paused at the artsy mosaic door of the trendy downtown restaurant. The smell of heated spices and a smoky grill that filled the air almost made this possible fiasco worthwhile. Why had she said yes?

The same reason she always said yes. She was an impulsive people-pleaser.

Can't you just feel the difference between the WF and HR and the Romantic Comedy examples? In Contemporary Romance the sentences are usually a bit shorter, there are fewer descriptives, and dialogue plays a big part in the novel.

But not all CRs have to be humorous.

Here is an example from Cindy Wilson's novel:

I was twenty-seven when I met my fairy godmother.

He stood 6 feet tall, with an eagle tattoo eclipsing the upper half of his right arm, and bold red and blue decorating alternating spikes of his Mohawk.

Oh, and he was a librarian.

Doesn't that just get your attention and make you want to keep reading?

How about a few first lines from very different genres?

Speculative Fiction:

Sophia Quinn hated starting new assignments with insufficient information. Especially if lack of knowledge led to her death, or worse, someone else’s immortality.

We know it's contemporary because of the wording. We know it's speculative because of the phrase "or worse, someone else's immortality". The setup is there, and it's the author's job to stick with the 'mood'.

Young Adult:

“There’s not enough frappachinos in the world to make me go out on another triple date with you two.” Emilie Burke stuffed her art pencils into her tattooed backpack and slung it over her shoulder, resisting the urge to run out of the classroom, away from her well-meaning but deluded friends.

Fantasy (YA)

Magic breathed beneath the castle’s library stairs. Karth was sure of it – though he’d never admit it out loud. Eighteen year old princes did not believe in magic, no matter how otherworldly the situation, but as the black abyss under the stairs mesmerized his thoughts those childish haunts tickled at the edge of his logic.
Can you feel the difference? What do you write and how do set the mood?

**********************************************************************

Pepper Basham is a Blue Ridge Mountains’ native, mom of five, pastor’s wife, and university instructor. She writes in various fictional genres but spices them all with grace and humor. She is a 2011 Genesis double-finalist and can be found at The Writers Alley, her personal blog- www.pepperbasham.wordpress.com, or in her imaginary world. Company always welcome.

Highlights from the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference-2011

Hello Writers Alley,

It’s me – Pepper, and I’m delighted to share the highlights of my visit to the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference two weeks ago. This was my fourth year at Blue Ridge, where each year I attend as a day guest because the conference is about an hour and a half from my home in TN.

Nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, just east of Asheville, Ridgecrest Conference Center might be a bit unexpected for this growing conference, but it’s the perfect place. Beautiful, quiet, with friendly people at every turn.

I was so pleased to recognize lots of faces this year, as well as be recognized by fabulous authors like Deb Raney, DiAnn Mills, and Jim Rubart. Getting to meet new authors like Edie Melson (we’d met last year, briefly, Gina Holmes, and Ramona Richards was another treat. And waving to familiar aspiring authors like Lisa Carter and Lori Roeveld. Oh what a blast. And this year there was even more courses , agents, and editors  than last year.

But I’m rambling (no surprise). I wanted to give you a few of the highlights.

I was only able to attend 2 days – so I tried to pack as much in as possible. I attended DiAnn Mills, Writing Romance That Sells course, Ramona Richards Writing a Lady to Love course, and returned to DiAnn Mills for Writing Dialogue.

From Writing Romance That Sells:

1.       Characters are vital. We remember well-written characters. KNOW THY CHARACTER!!!!

2.       DiAnn suggests filling out a detailed character chart on each character, and filling out the Myers-Briggs personality test for each of your main characters. It gives important information that makes your characters more three-dimensional and complex.

3.       What are some things that make a ‘selling manuscript’?

a.       The triumph of a character through pain to fulfillment

b.      Unusual plots with your unique ‘spin’ on them

c.       Transforming love that makes each main character better people

d.      Witty dialogue

e.      Emotive conflict

f.        Satisfactory ending

4.       Each page in your manuscript must have some type of conflict

5.       Your protagonist should initiate the action rather than be a victim*** (I liked this one. Readers like strong, independent women)

6.       Quick look at 5 Plot Elements

a.       A sympathetic character (make us care)

b.      A problem arises resulting in conflict (make us desire something)

c.       Conflict must have twists and turns, and character must grow (make us have to fight for our desire)

d.      A climax must exist (make us fight to the finish)

e.      Resolution (make us meet our goal, find our treasure, recover our lost item, get the guy, etc.)

A Lady to Love – this class was absolutely awesome. If you get the chance to sit in on it at a conference near you – DO IT! (here are some highlights)

What makes a woman unforgettable? Scarlett O’Hara, Marion Ravenwood, Jo March, Hester Prynne, Vivian (from Pretty Woman)

1.       All of our current movie heroines descend from Cinderella

a.       A young woman struggling against her environment

b.      Breaks free of the conflict because of her personality

c.       Finds her way to break out

d.      End of story resolved well

2.       What type of woman should we write?

a.       One who cares deeply

b.      Independent

c.       Women who face immediate conflict

d.      Smart

3.       Three conflict for your heroine:

a.       Environmental Conflict (something you can ‘see)

b.      Internal Conflict (something within the heroine)

c.       Interpersonal Conflict (with others)

4.       Heroines are one of 7 personalities:

a.       The Boss (ex. Queen Elizabeth I) a ruler

b.      Seductress (ex. Scarlett O’Hara)

c.       Spunky Kid (ex. Meg Ryan in most of her movies) ‘girl next door’

d.      Free Spirit (ex. Lucille Ball) – follow their own path; ultimate hippie

e.      Waif – ‘Ultimate damsel-in-distress’

f.        Librarian – control freak, prim, proper

g.       Crusader – (ex. Marion Ravenwood from Indiana Jones) adventurer

Most heroines have a basic personality of one of these, with another type or two layering over the foundational one.

Okay, I’m going to stop for now. I have so much information – so many notes, but I’ll just have to save those for next time. What would you like to hear more about? Writing romance? Writing Dialogue? Writing heroines? The dance of character and plot?

Or would you like to learn more of the basics? What are conferences like, or specifically the BRMCWC?