Fiction – Page 3

What’s Your Favorite Snow Memory?

November 26, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

I normally reserve the observance of Christmas for December alone. When I was a child, we always put the Christmas tree up on my birthday (December 2nd) and that marked the official start of the holiday season for me. I have warm memories of decorating the tree, my mom in the kitchen making Christmas cookies and Christmas specials on TV with those Kraft commercials in between advertising all sorts of yummy Christmas recipes (remember those?).

However, for some reason this year, I have been in the Christmas mood since the beginning of November. It would be hard to explain why. The temperatures here have been up and down, but mostly up, and it’s not like being in North America–every store isn’t decked out for Christmas–although the newly-opened Sam’s was playing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” yesterday when I finally finished up the Christmas decoration shopping. (In our new apartment our tiny Christmas tree looked too–well–tiny. So we bought a bigger one and didn’t have enough decorations to deck it out.)

It may or may not be a white Christmas here. Most years there isn’t a lot of snow, but we heard that last year, when we were back in Canada, it snowed on Christmas morning. But I have lots and lots of snowy memories from growing up just east of Toronto, Canada. I borrowed one of them and made it a scene in After the Snow Falls:

Fat snowflakes whirled between the tall, gray buildings. Snow used to deliver warmer memories: the season’s first snowman, snowball fights in the backyard and afterwards mugs of hot chocolate, warm against cold fingers.

The year Caleb turned five, the autumn had been particularly warm. Christmas Eve arrived without even a hint of snowfall, and the weatherman held out no hope. Toward midnight, Celia wrapped presents and stuffed stockings while Jeff puzzled over the instructions for Caleb’s first two-wheeler. Snow began to fall. It fell all night, laying a thick blanket over the world. Like giddy children, they woke Caleb early Christmas morning, threw open the curtains in his room, and unveiled what Mother Nature had done while he slept. As though they’d placed an order especially for him.

So in honor of my Christmasy mood, my upcoming birthday, the imminent print release of After the Snow Falls and generally just because, I’d like to hear your favorite snowy memory. Please post in the comments below.

- Carey Clark

Interview with Author Mark Miller

November 2, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

Friday Fiction Fix Mark Miller is an author with Trestle Press. I asked him if he would be willing to be interviewed when I learned he was writing a serial novel in collaboration with his daughter. I thought this was such an inspiring and wonderful idea. Here is his story:

Tell us about the project you’re working on with your daughter.

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Olivia and I call it a Christian Sci-Fantasy, a combination of science fiction and fantasy. It is the story of three brothers who lose their father under mysterious circumstances and then are forced to go separate ways for five years. They grow and change during that time in order to return and discover the truth of what happened to their father. While the story takes place on another planet, their beliefs are not too different from our own. The message is about what can be accomplished through God and that we do not always know or understand God’s plans for us.

How long have you been writing?

Basically, all of my life. Mostly I did it as a hobby and for fun. I took classes in high school and college. In 2008, I became a professional author when The Fourth Queen was published.

How old is your daughter?

Olivia is 9, almost 10. We started this project when she was 8 and we will finish the story this month with Volume 8.

Tell us a little bit about her.

She is a beautiful young lady, witty and intelligent. She gets most of that from her mother. She can be a little shy, but normally she is a class leader (an ability I did not have at her age). I tell people she is named after me. I was named after Mark Twain and his wife was named Olivia. Maybe it’s a stretch, but she likes it.

Do you think she will grow up to be a writer?

I can hope. But as I said above, we don’t know what God has in store for us. My wife and I encourage all of our children (4 of them) to pursue their interests and build on their strengths. Olivia already has an excellent foundation to be whatever she chooses. She will be way smarter than me as an adult.

How did you and your daughter originally begin to collaborate? Was it her idea or yours?

Olivia had done a few writing projects in school. I really liked her voice, what she put into her writing. She has a fantastic vocabulary and a good sense of humor. The story came from some notes in my “idea file”. We developed the outline together and I relied on her for creating the world of Kaskaya.

How does your collaboration work? Do you brainstorm ideas together or actively work on word choice and writing the story together?

All of the character and place names are hers. She is the creative one on this and I do all the “heavy lifting”. That means that I do all of the typing. The majority of actual writing is me. However, I task her with writing specific scenes or events and then I flesh it out. I definitely do not sit over her shoulder. I let her find her own way and then we review what she has before it goes into the final edit.

When do you find the time to write together?

We have to make time. Usually on the weekends, we will sit down together. Weekdays are filled with homework, chores and video games.

What (if anything) has it done for your relationship with your daughter?

It has given me the opportunity to be amazed at her talents. I get a sneak peek at the adult she will soon be. Our family is very close, so it allowed me to see her in a different light.

Tell us about your other books.

My full-length novels are The Empyrical Tales, a fantasy adventure of 8 planned books. To date, The Fourth Queen, The Lost Queen and The Secret Queen are available in paperback and eBook. I have an educational children’s series called Small World Global Protection Agency and a spiritual anthology for the grown-ups called One, featuring true stories from many award-winning and best-selling authors.

Where can readers find out more about you?

My main website is www.MillerWords.com, but I like to connectwith readers on Facebook at www.fb.com/MarkMillerAuthor. If anybody has their Kindle handy, they can find all of my stories at http://goo.gl/IglPH.

Thanks, Mark, for stopping by and sharing your story.

Thank you for having me! I look forward to feedback from your readers.

Friday Fiction Fix: The Homeschool Experiment

September 7, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

You may have noticed that for a couple of months there I was a little overwhelmed and didn’t post as much as I had been. So I’m catching up a little in terms of the reviews I’ve promised to people. As homeschool starts up again, I thought it was an appropriate time to review The Homeschool Experiment by Charity Hawkins. What’s that, you ask? A fictional book about homeschool?

In fact, yes. And it’s a wonderful read. Part chick-lit, part manual on homeschooling, part sage mothering advice, this book is a gem that I’ll probably read again. When it comes to novels, I want to be awed by the way the author puts words together, and I was not disappointed. But perhaps the most disarming thing about this book is the main character, Julianne Miller, and her very real life. Any mother who’s ever compared herself to others (and what mother hasn’t?) will relate to this down-to-earth character.

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The story follows her journey through a year of homeschooling, from her wide-eyed impressions of a homeschooling convention, trying to choose curriculum for a first-grader through to the last, somewhat victorious day of the school year.

At the beginning of the story, Julianne is clearly overwhelmed. She has good plans and intentions, even seeks the advice of others, but things quickly spin out of control. By the end of the story, she has found balance and is more sure of the reasons she wants to homeschool, although she’s still unsure about exactly what that will look like until the end of school or even whether or not she thinks their family is complete.

There was so much to relate to in this book!

Why You Should Read It:

If you’re a homeschooling mom, you’ll find so much comfort and wise advice from Julianne, but also from the network of friends who advise and help her through this year of homeschooling. You’ll see yourself on the pages, and you’ll LAUGH. A lot. Like me, you might even shed a tear or two. (But mostly you’ll laugh.)

If you’re not a homeschooling mom, but you’ve ever wondered what on earth is up with those strange folks who do and their wild “unsocialized” children, you’ll find a rare window into what the daily realities of homeschooling really are: the self-doubt, the frustrations, the rewards.

A lot of what Hawkins writes about applies not just to homeschool moms, but to any mom. What mother hasn’t felt like this?

I tried to make Daniel and Joy do math at the kitchen table, but they kept distracting each other, and I kept sending them to Time Out.

This is where I should have given up, but I didn’t. I kept heedlessly plowing full-steam ahead, ignoring any warnings of impending doom, like a smaller and crankier version of the Titanic.

But there’s also the profound and beautiful as Julianne stumbles her way to a better understanding of what homeschooling should look like for her family:

Homeschooling is a lot like my garden. It’s messy. My method seems haphazard. I am learning as I go. It rarely turns out exactly like I planned and the results are unpredictable. At some point along the way, I feel like a failure. But somehow the roots go down deep; the tender plants grow strong. And every single spring, every single summer, I am awed by the harvest God brings.
The author calls the book a novel, but admits that the story is biographical.

About the Author:

Charity Hawkins is a pen name, because the real author wrote candidly about her family’s life and wants to protect their privacy, because she doesn’t want to be famous, and because no one can pronounce or spell her real name. She does actually exist, however, and lives with her husband and three actual children in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They are in their fourth year of homeschooling.

The Homeschool Experiment is a definite recommended read. You can find out more about it at www.thehomeschoolexperiment.com or www.familymanweb.com.

A Peek Inside: Painting Prophetically?

August 31, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

{Also check out my guest post at Taylor Sky’s blog, Word Enlightenment.}

Way back in February, I gave a little peek inside After the Snow Falls, and told about the small Quebec town that inspired the fictional town of Point-du-Fleuve.

I’m thrilled to give you another peek inside today. You’re in for a treat, because I’m going to introduce you to my friend Elsie Underwood Naraine whose unique artwork is the inspiration for that of Adele in After the Snow Falls:

Here’s a brief excerpt:

Caleb ran straight to his suitcase, already packed and sitting by the chair, pulled it up onto the lower bunk and found the picture. His painting depicted a brilliant sunrise lighting up the sky, reflected below on a shimmering lake, and above against overhanging clouds. The clouds became darker and gray further away from the sun, but those close to the sun burst with splashes of radiant color–yellow, orange, pink and pale purple. It was spectacular. Like the painting on the easel, it stirred something inside her.

“Look.” He handed the picture to Celia and turned it over. Again, a small penciled inscription, Rising Sun, and another Bible reference: Isaiah 58:8. He looked up at her eagerly. “Do you know what that is?”

“I think so. Do you?”

“Yeah. It says, ‘Then the light of my blessing will shine on you like the rising sun. I will heal you quickly. I will march out ahead of you. And my glory will follow behind you and guard you.'”

Celia sat down on the lower bunk, ducking to avoid hitting her head, and stared up at him, unsure how to respond. Finally, she said, “Who taught you that?”

“Grandma. When she gave me the picture.”

“And what do those words mean, exactly? Do you know?”

“Well–” Caleb looked down at the picture. “I think it means that God will protect me and he’ll make me better–he’ll heal me.”

She held the picture, drawn by its haunting beauty, yet frustrated that her mother had apparently joined forces with her father to push this message at Caleb. She’d had no choice but to leave Caleb with them this week, but she trusted them not to pollute his mind with these ideas. Caleb didn’t deserve to be caught in conflict between her and her parents.

She sighed. “Beautiful, isn’t it.”

“Yeah.”

“I hope you thanked Grandma. It was very nice of her to paint this for you. Here.” She handed it back to him. “You’d better pack it up. Why don’t you check around under the bed and at the beach–make sure you have all your things. We’re leaving soon.”

In After the Snow Falls, Adele is Caleb’s grandmother, but in real life, Elsie Underwood Naraine is a (much younger) vibrant artist and speaker–a very busy lady–but I finally caught up with her for this interview:

When did you begin painting?

I began painting in 1979–a deal that I made with the Lord when I was 8. I had asked Him what He wanted me to do with my life and He said that I was to paint and to tell People that He loved them. I asked Him if I could wait to paint until I was 25 (I thought that all artists die if they are to become famous and I wanted to get some living in–the thoughts of children–LOL) but I promised to tell people right away that He loved them.

Do you have formal training as an artist?

No formal training although I did take a commercial Art course to supplement the lack of art taught in our rural school. The deal was that if He would teach me and instruct me then I would do it. He was in charge of marketing as well since that was not my interest in the least.

What does “painting prophetically” mean?

Painting prophetically means that when I am inspired it is coming from God’s thoughts joining with mine and it is conversation. It is relationship unfolding about His activities in my own life and the lives of others. He likes to talk about His creation and His loved ones and when I paint….He is always talking and I am generally listening. He speaks to me in colors and shapes and movement and I just record what is impressed on my spirit. The paintings carry the message and are posted like declarations into the atmosphere…of God’s intentions.

When did you begin to paint prophetically?

I began painting prophetically right away but did not understand what that meant until years later. God asked me to put scriptures on the back of each piece (discreetly) because they would prophesy to the individual or business even though they were not aware of it in. The scriptures were my inspiration. Psalm 19 was my instruction from the Lord when I asked Him what I should paint: The heavens declare the Glory of God and the earth His handiwork.

Is it ever hard to part with a painting?

It is not hard to part with the artwork since it is painted with a mission…in fact it is difficult to have then for long periods of time since they need to go to the right people at the right time and that requires that I wait for God’s timing. It is during that maturation time that I get discouraged. He still speaks to me about my life if a painting lingers. As I trust Him…they are eventually sent out. In all the years that I have been painting…33 years…there are none that have remained with me for longer than 10 years. Timing and maturation can also be more about the person receiving the painting.

Where do some of your paintings hang today?

The paintings are in so many places that I cannot recall–both private and corporate–they are in most nations and it is fun to watch how they have gone on their little journeys. My favorite project of all time was being asked to paint protocol gifts for the Israel Keneset. The Canadian Government and Israel-friendly churches joined together to commit themselves as friends and I had the honor of presenting them personally to each of them. They were told that the artist was given their names and that she prayed for each one of them personally and God gave her scripture and the painting. The Israeli ambassador at the time had tears in His eyes from being given Psalm 139. There are many stories and hopefully many more to come.

Thank you so much, Elsie, for visiting with us here.

Thank you Carey for asking me to share. Now back to the drawing board!!!

- Carey Clark

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