Today I’m happy to introduce you to my friend and blogging partner from over at AuthorCulture, K. M. Weiland. I’m excited to have her here today. I’ve always loved books about knights and the crusades, so I was especially excited to learn a little more about Behold the Dawn. A lot of research went into creating an authentic atmosphere for this book.

What is one practice that was very common in Annan’s day that you are ever so thankful no longer exists?

 Oh gosh, can I check “all of the above”? Much as I love the Middle Ages, I’m exceedingly happy I don’t have to live in them! The horrific ignorance and corruption of the church, including the prevalence of “holy hermits” (some of whom thought they best served God by livingi n the desert on top of a pole!), flagellation as a form of worship, the belief in the power of saints and shrines and pilgrimages… yep, I’m glad all those things aren’t with us anymore!

In researching weapons, was there one in particular that made you cringe in horror at the harm it could do?

 Warfare at that time wasn’t about precision; it was all strength and fury—and as a result the victim wasn’t likely to die quick and easy. Injuries were often horrific, and, of course, medicine at that time was completely unable to minister to sufferers. People died long and slow and messy. Maces, claymores, flails, war hammers, crossbows—they’re all horrifying in the damage they’re capable of. One weapon that particularly stuck with was the caltrop, a predecessor of the land mind in some ways. Basically, it was a giant jack (the old children’s toy) that was thrown onto the field of battle. Men or horses running across the field would step on the caltrop and cripple themselves.

What one practice was in vogue back then that you kind of wish we still had around today?

I don’t know if I’d want it around all the time, but I wouldn’t mind the occasional opportunity to get all duded up in the costumes of the period.

Was there a bit of research that first brought Annan to life for you? Or did you have his character in mind and then anchor him in the center of your research?

I didn’t officially begin researching until I had the entire story outlined. But it was a bit of inadvertent research that inspired his character. I happened to glance at a children’s book about William Marshall, the “greatest knight who ever lived,” one of the most famous fighters in the condemned tourney competitions. He fought his way to glory and ended up as an English statesmen. I was captivated by the whole idea of the bloody, brutal tourney games—and Marshall’s eventual journey to the Holy Land to seek absolution.

Tell us a little bit about the lady of the story.

Lady Mairead enters the story as the wife of Lord William, Earl of Keaton, an old friend of Annan’s. He married her to save her from her enemies, and she flees with him to the Crusade, where he is mortally wounded. Despite the tragedies she’s suffered, Mairead holds fast to a simple faith and a natural optimism. But she has struggled with prejudices all her life and tends to make hasty judgments about others.

Which one character in the book would you say is most like you? Least?

None of the characters are based on me, but I suppose I identify most with Annan: his disapproval of naïveté, his deep but often hidden emotional core, his sense of justice. I hope the villainous Norman Hugh de Guerrant is least like me!

The Tournaments were very dangerous. What made knights choose to fight in the Tourneys? And particularly Annan – why has he chosen that lifestyle?

Fighting was like breathing for men in the Middle Ages. At that time, a man’s education was warfare. Reading and writing were considered extraneous; fighting was vital. The tourneys were a natural extension of the social immersion in violence. If everyone was going to fight anyway, why not fight for money and glory? For second-born sons like Annan, who would receive no inheritance from their families, the tourneys were an opportunity to make their own fortunes. However, Annan’s personal decision to join the tourneys was largely an attempt to flee from the sins of his past. He thought he could go out in a blaze of glory in the tournaments; he never expected to live for sixteen more years.

What was your favorite part of writing this story? Least?

The beginning was torture—as beginnings usually are for me. I must have written it half a dozen times, pulling my hair out and shoving back overwhelming doubts the whole way. But once I got past about the fifty-page mark, everything fell into place. The story just flew from that point on—and I was just along for the ride!

What message did you feel God was speaking to you while you were writing and editing this book?

It’s ironic (or maybe not!) how often God takes the themes I’m writing about and puts them to work in my own life at that same time. The theme of Behold the Dawn is finding the new beginning in each day. Life was a bit chaotic while I was writing Behold and I really did have to learn to take each day as it came. At one point, I was even questioning whether writing was something I was supposed to be pursuing at all. I just had to keep giving my writing to Him on a daily basis. And, day by day, He kept giving it back to me!

So, what now? Next project? Published when?

I have several projects in the works. I have a completed fantasy, Dreamers Come (about a man who discovers that his dreams are really memories of another world) waiting for another round of edits. I also just started outlining my next project, a historical novel called The Deepest Breath about the passion, betrayal, and vengeance that dog two men and the woman they both love through the trenches of World War I, corruption in colonial Kenya, and the criminal underbelly of London. And I’m also working on a fun co-writing project that asks, “What if Robin Hood met Sleeping Beauty?” Dreamers is on deck for publication, but it’ll be a year or two yet before it’s released. 

Thanks so much Katie for visiting with us today. Do you have any questions of your own for Katie? Feel free to ask them in the comments. I know she’ll be dropping by and can answer them for you.

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Different publishing houses have different rules on what needs to happen by the end of your romance novel.

But here are two universal expectations for category romance.

1. The couple needs to overcome all their difficulties and either get married, or be together as a couple by the end of the book. Romance, after all, is a happily ever after genre. Most people who read romance read it for the happy ending.

I’ve heard of authors who’ve lost readers because they didn’t follow this rule. So if you want to hang onto your readers there needs to be a happy ending.

Also of note: If throughout your book the heroine has been debating between two guys, there needs to be a front runner in the minds of your readers and, to fulfill this point, he is the man she needs to get together with in the end.

2. Point number two is pretty obvious, but you need to tie up any loose ends. Unless you are going on to write a sequel you need to carefully read over your manuscript to make sure you’ve neatly solved all the conflict and problems you introduced in the story.

Don’t belabor this process. There is nothing more frustrating to a reader than for a story to be over and still have 3 chapters of resolution.

I read one not too long ago that belabored the ending. I kept flipping through the remaining pages thinking, “The story is over already, what more is there to say?” I did push on to read through to the end, but it was frustrating. You want to leave your reader wanting more, not frustrated that the story is dragging on forever.

Did you read any romances recently that broke one of these rules? How did that make you feel as a reader?

Tomorrow is an interview with my friend K.M. Weiland about her novel Behold the Dawn. The next regular post we’ll talk about a couple ways to build tension between the hero and heroine.

Image from: http://cdn-write.demandstudios.com/upload//8000/800/00/3/58803.jpg

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I have to laugh about my hero in Rocky Mountain Oasis. I’ve been told on one side that he’s too perfect/good. And I’ve also read reviews saying he was a very attractive hero.

Like the people we come in contact with in everyday life, we are all attracted to some hero’s more than to others.

For me:

- I like my heroes to be self confident on the outside, but a little unsure of themselves on the inside.

- I can never seem to enjoy a hero that isn’t handsome. Call me shallow. (I’m married to a hottie and I can’t take them any other way. ) Give me muscles, five-o’clock shadows, and intense eyes, any day.

- The heroes that I enjoy the most go out of their way to please the heroine - except when it isn’t in her best interest. Then they are willing to push her buttons and sit back to enjoy the fireworks.

- Then there are the fun heroes who constantly tick the heroine off just to get her attention. Fun reads.

- I like my heroes to have spiritual leadership qualities without being know-it-all Christians. And it’s okay for them to question their relationship with God, or even be unsure if they have a relationship.

- I like them to have a sense of humor.

- Oh, and being good with kids is never a bad thing if there are kids in the story. In my current WIP the hero and heroine have three adopted kids that have some fun issues to explore. I’m enjoying working on that aspect of the hero. Funny thing is, he gets the girls, but he’s having a hard time connecting with the boy.

These obviously don’t nearly cover all the great characteristics romantic heroes can have. So what are your favorite hero characteristics?

Next time we’ll talk about romance endings.

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In thinking through this topic I went through my favorite romance novels and scanned the first several pages of the book. Since the books I chose to look at are all fairly popular books, let’s just assume that these are good ways to start a book if you want it to be widely read in the future. ;>)

• Fairly close to the beginning of your romance novel (ie. the first couple pages) your protagonists should meet - and there needs to be tension between them. This tension can either derive from the fact that they hate each other, or they are extremely attracted to each other and for some reason they just can’t justify the relationship, or, or, or…. Whatever the reason, just put some tension between them.

In The Convenient Groomby Denise Hunter (very fun read, btw) Kate and Lucas are interacting by the top of page 5. And boy is there tension between them. Kate, a syndicated relationship guru, has just been dumped by her fiance 5 hours from the start of her wedding and Lucas has just offered to jump in and save her career by standing in for the groom who’d been kept under wraps. Now, just from that little snippet don’t you want to read on and find out what happens?

One of my favorite romances is an old Heartsong Presents book that I bought when I was in high school - Shadows Along the Iceby Judy Baer. This book has stuck with me through the years and I just read it again the other day. The pages are brown and crisp and I think some tape may be in order for the next reading.  But oh my goodness I love that little book.  Why? In the first few pages of the book  Pam, a newspaper reporter on her first sports writing assignment meets Tiger Evans, ice-hockey player extraordinaire. She’s been assigned to interview him. And is there tension? Oh you better believe it. She’s a good girl, been raised in the church all her life, and the first time she sees him he is stripping off his hockey gear in the locker room and daring her with his eyes to look away. Whoo boy…

The tension combined with the curiosity of where this relationship is going will keep your readers flipping the pages, trust me.

• A second common element from excellent romance beginnings is that the heroine is in some sort of peril. But being that these are romances, don’t put off introducing your hero for too long. He should still be introduced fairly close to the beginning of the story.

In the first several pages of Silkby Linda Chaikin the heroine Coral Kendal is in several kinds of peril. In our first glimpse of her we find out she has been battling some sort of ferocious fever which has sapped her strength. A few pages later an Indian woman giving birth passes away, but not before she extracts a promise from Coral that she will raise her child. Given the political climate of that time and place, a white woman raising an Indian child, particularly this child, puts her in peril. As soon as we sufficiently understand her peril, Chaikin skillfully introduces us to the hero who, of course, is going to save the heroine from said peril (and is also very hot! ).

Who hasn’t heard of The Voice in the Windby Francine Rivers? In the few pages after we meet Hadassah, her mother dies, her brother is cut down by a Roman sword in front of her eyes, and she is taken captive. Now, Mrs. Rivers being the skillful author that she is puts off introducing Marcus for quite a few pages, but she uses those pages to bring out other tension building themes that the story called for.  So as with any rule, there are some exceptions, but you better make sure you are super good at what you do if you are going to try and bend the rules.

My own book, Rocky Mountain Oasis, uses this beginning. My heroine Brooke, sent west as a mail-order-bride by her uncle, is promised to an evil, abusive man. But then in steps Sky.

This method could also be reversed for those of you who like a contemporary romance. The hero could be the one in peril with the heroine stepping in to save him.

Wondering what is going to happen to the heroine combined with the attraction between the two main characters will incite your readers to keep turning pages.

• In Summary Then - A good way to begin your romance novel is with one of the following combinations:

- Hero/Heroine meet early on (before page 10) and there is tension between them
- Hero/Heroine is in some sort of peril and needs to be rescued whether they know it or not.

Now, these are just two methods of creating beginnings that I noticed in some of my favorite romance novels. But I’m sure there are more out there. Can you think of one that differs from the two I’ve mentioned?

Next time we’ll talk about what we feel makes a hero attractive.

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Okay, let me just confess right up front. I’ve struggled with getting this blog going. With so many things pulling at my time, I’ve just flopped with making it a priority. Not because I didn’t feel it should be a priority, but because I haven’t known where to focus the blog.

There are so many writing blogs out there - and I know that I still have so much to learn about writing, so who am I to offer writing advice? Thus I didn’t feel confident enough to jump into a writer’s advice blog. Also, a writer’s blog is, bluntly, supposed to be geared towards an audience that will hopefully buy your books later on down the road. And since I write romances, not every writer is going to be in my target market.

I toyed with going with a devotional type blog. But again, there are so many out there. And again, I didn’t feel that was the correct angle to go.

I could have blogged about our everyday lives - let’s face it, with three boys and a 6 year old girl in our house, there are plenty of things to blog about - but I didn’t feel that would be fair to my kids. They have enough pressures on them without knowing that I’m writing about them for all the Internet to read.

One area where I do have plenty of experience and a little expertise is the area of Christian Romance. With my first romance just released and a second one contracted and about a zillion romance-book-readings under my belt, I feel this is an area where I can offer people some help.

So I hope you will stay tuned. Tell your romance writer and reader friends about the blog and invite them to drop by. I’ll look forward to getting to know you all a little better in the days to come.

The first romance focused post will go up Monday Nov. 2. And we’ll be talking about the essential elements of the first pages of a romance. See you then!

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http://msghomeschoolauthors.blogspot.com/2009/10/finding-hope-in-your-writing-projects.html

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You see, as a Christian, my goal is not only to entertain, but to offer a message of hope in my books. The trick is doing that in a way that doesn’t ruin the simple enjoyment of a good story. And, honestly, weaving the two together, message and story, can sometimes be a CHALLANGE.

So after fighting with the characters in my current WIP the other day, it was a particular blessing to run across an uplifting and encouraging review of my book. It was a post that made me sigh and feel, if only for a few moments that, yes, all the struggle to get that story birthed was worth it.

http://bookreaderscentral.blogspot.com/2009/10/whistlestop-wednesday-book-review-rocky.html

What was the last thing that really gave you the emotional burst you needed? Doesn’t have to be related to writing. I’d just love to here your encouraging story.

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And one clear call for me…

…begins Tennyson’s famous poem of old.  Here he’s referring to death and his inevitable place on that ocean of destiny.  But we can modify his theme to address how we as writers can “cross the bar” of status quo and more than float on those waves – more than wade.  We can learn to swim for the prize.

Just how do we grow as a writer?  Here are three essential considerations:

1)  Who You Are – Never assume you should write like someone else.  So-and-so may be a published author in your genre of choice, but if you try to be another him or her, you’ve sunk before even reaching the end of the dock. 

You are your own person with your own personality, experiences, talents.  You can and should only be who you are, not who you want to be.  As you begin to realize who you are, begin to also develop what you have.

2)  What You Have – Just as a shoreline ebbs and flows, ebbs and flows, never static, never stationary, so the author who thinks they can remain static and get somewhere is sadly mistaken.  An author’s life must be one of continued growth, persistent stretching, incessant forward motion.  And while in the midst of that motion, one becomes who they will be.

3)  Who You Will Be – Who you are today won’t be who you will become, provided you are flowing, moving, growing.  Concrete steps to get there?  Read great writers.  “Great” is a subjective adjective which takes time to define – usually years, decades, eons.  The author who is applauded as “great” today may be forgotten ten or twenty years from now.  Strive to not only read the great authors of a hundred years ago, but to become one. 

Keep these simple thoughts in mind as you intentionally put forth the effort to “cross the bar” into your best writing, your most favorable chance to leave a lasting mark on generations to come.

…But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

   Too full for sound and foam,

   When that which drew from out the boundless deep

   Turns again home….

Lynnette here: Maggie, has written a beautiful devotional book. Below is the 5 star review that I left her on Amazon. Click on the book cover to be taken directly to amazon to get this wonderful book for yourself.

“I Run to the Hills is a beautifully written encouragement for those on the upward climb. I highly recommend this book. You will be refreshed, encouraged, and challenged.

Mrs. Woychik’s prose is so beautiful that at first I was tempted just to enjoy the lyricism of the book - but it is the underlying message that was the challenge to me.

If you find yourself doing your Christian “duty” then this book is for you!

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