The persecuted church/ persecution in my book

       It is shocking to read about how many Christians are being killed and persecuted all over the world. It's happening in so many countries too. I wanted to cry today when I got my Voice of the Martyrs magazine. On the cover there was a picture of a woman whose face was burnt when her Christian village was burned down. Check out www.persecution.com to find out how you can help the persecuted church. Most of all they need your prayers. Many of them have been tortured and have lost loved ones. The violence against them is appalling and it's scary to think that persecution this hard could come to the states......but it's possible. So when you think of our brothers and sisters in bonds just remember that it could be you being persecuted and pray even harder.
      Well, I'm still working on chapter four. This is a hard chapter to write because it involves alot of persecution. I've got to get graphic with violence and that doesn't naturally come to me. But faith always shines the brightest during persecution and trials. I want my book to feel real and to move people. So I'll probably be reading and watching material on persecution. Right now I'm thinking about scenes from Amistad and The Hiding Place......also China Cry. These movies represent a variety of persecution happening to different people in different parts of the world and in different time periods.
              Keep me in your prayers :) It is only by God's grace I can write at all. I have a hard time organizing my thoughts these days and I get sick alot. Thankfully I got my referral today to be tested for EDS (hereditary disease my father had). Hopefully I'll find some answers healthwise. Also we are in the process of trying to buy a house. My husband is getting out of the military next week and it looks like we will be moving to the opposite side of the state. I'm very excited but also overwhelmed. Like I said...it's by God's grace.......I know he will help me through all these transitions. His faithfulness is apparent to me always.

Editing/ the virtual world of role play/ lunar eclipse 2-nite!

          So I've finished editing my first two chapters. My Sister is still reading my third chapter. It took some work :) Next time I think I'm going to edit the chapter as soon as I get it back, instead of waiting until I've written other chapters and having to edit them all at once. That could get tricky if I end up editing ten chapters at once lol. Yeah, so no more procrastinating.

        On to other news: I have entered the world of role play. Okay well I've been visiting virtual lands on Second Life for awhile now. I've made my avatar many things (mermaid, fairy, elf, and even a native American in Tombstone, AZ), but I've never REALLY role played as how I define role play. But now I have joined a "real" role play group in the virtual world of Ambrea. It's a land full of fairies, dragons, elves, and other weird creatures. There are some things about the land I do not like......like the story behind it comes with a pantheon.
       So I had to figure out how to make my character fit into this role play world but not give homage to any false gods (whether in a fictional world or not....just not gonna go there). So I became an angel....an angel with amnesia lol. My character "Osbrasia" just knows that she is from a heavenly plane of existence and was sent to Ambrea to spread the light.  So how to do that? I have no idea but there are job openings for candle makers, Apothecaries assistants, and defenders. Candle maker sounds safe and gods-less (new word ha!).
       Anywho, I have met some interesting people in this virtual world and a few nice people willing to help me understand the role play. For those of you who have never played a game like this let me explain. When you role play you have to type out everything you do. For instance: if my character was entering a room I wouldn't just walk in....I would type something like  "Osbrasia holds her head down as she enters the room. She wonders if anyone notices her. She scans the room and thinks to herself * my what strange customs these humans have."
                So as you can see this type of game puts my writing skills to the test...especially since I have to think and type quick. It's really fun during battles. And I'm excited about the battle aspect because I think reading how other people narrate a battle will help me with writing battles in my book.

           
           It's funny because I actually had help with this the other night. My friend was teaching me how to do a battle with the role play system (rps) and she was writing that she tried to disarm me. So I wrote back that the daggers flew out of my hand and I rolled out of the way. And she was asking me to get more detailed...like did my hand bleed when she cut me...did I cry out in pain. And she was right on cause in real battle when you get hurt you have a reaction. So I had to rewrite my response. She said that details make the role play more interesting. So now I know. Had it been a real role play moment then my character probably would've fled the scene lol. But I do have a sword now so I can defend myself if I get attacked by robbers or something in the bad lands........there are scary creatures like werewolves and vampires in Ambrea. Although they don't act it....in fact one of the vampire families through a ball for everyone. My favorite thing though is to ride my horse through the virtual lands. Anywho, I doubt I'll see too much action if I become a candle maker.

                     This is rather long but I'll end it with two things: first tonight we have a complete lunar eclipse so set your alarms between 1-3 am (EST) and enjoy the beauty of God's creation. I am so glad we have a REAL God who created this world to be one of order....not of chaos (like the pagan false gods). I can't quote the Bible when I role play but maybe I can be a witness one on one with other role players through private messaging. Games are fun and fantasy is fun but at the end of the day there is only ONE who make life worth living and that is Jesus Christ :)

               Second: If anyone reads this please respond, what do you like most about the fantasy genre and what do you hate most about it? Every genre has it's good and it's bad. Let me know ;)

             God Bless and Merry Christmas!

Excited :) Talking to other authors

      I'm aware I have no followers yet but I'm going to post anyways lol. Cause one day...... ;) Anywho, I am very pumped that I've gotten feed back from two authoresses (spelling?). I took Pam Halter's Characterization and Exposition challenge a few days ago and I was very pleased to read what she had to say (from Fairies, Fantasy, and Faith). I'm more confident about one of my new characters now :). This is kewl because this character is based somewhat on my Dad (who died Oct 2009 of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome- for more info look at my link to www.ednf.org). My main character needed a mentor...so who better than someone like Dad. His character is going to be fun to write.....because my Dad was such a genius and also very eccentric lol.
       
       Moving on.....I also got to post on Susan Bischoff's page. She's the authoress of "Hush Money".  It was so nice to hear advice from her. I can totally see her as the next Stephanie Meyer or Kailin Gow. It's nice to hear that there are wonderful authors out there that didn't necessarily have college training or they weren't born with divine brilliance. It takes work to write. We just don't see it when we're reading. It looks so effortless. I have begun to see that it is not. I thought it was just me but I've read that other authors have had to rewrite chapters over and over. I've only did that once and it was painful. My second chapter was so hard to write. It was my husband's idea to make it full of flashbacks. Now it's so much better but I'm sure I'll have to rewrite all my chapters once I get the hang of what I'm doing lol.

          Now my question to whatever author out there that happens to see my page is this: how do you write on a schedule or by a deadline? I know it's a job but seriously I doubt I could do that. I have to be REALLY inspired to write just one chapter. Sometimes I think about it for a week before I finally piece together a chapter in my head.  Maybe I'm lazy...or scared. I don't know. I just can't see myself working under that pressure. I keep telling myself once we move into a new house we're looking at....back in the woods...then I will write several times a week. I'll take that writing course with Stratford and just look at the trees and write. You know trees really are inspiring :)....I used to read these old fairy tales at my Aunt Lynn's out in the country. I would take the old books and go to the edge of her woods. The woods seemed so magical.
   
              A lot of my book takes place in wilderness and exotic locations. Maybe if I could visit these different climates I'd have a better understanding of how to write them....hmmmm note to self. Good thing "Emmanuel's" first stop is the woods. :)

                    God Bless and check out these two wonderful authoresses I've mentioned :)

The first step is the most important

Well, I am currently in the writing process with the first book of my trilogy. Thankfully my lovely older sister is a teacher and she's wonderful at editing. My story came from a day dream while driving. Since that day I felt God nudging me to write this story. So I said "Okay Lord but I can only do this with your help." I've always enjoyed reading and as a child I wrote many short stories. But I've never been good with grammar so I never thought "I'm gonna write a book" (I'm southern. can you tell? lol). I've seen the Lord use Christian Fiction to bring his Truth into my own life and I long to reach people through the genre of fantasy. Lately, it seems every stay at home mom out there is writing a best seller lol......well vampires and fairies are neat but I want to deal with real issues and point to the real Truth..the saving truth of Jesus Christ. Cause when it all comes down eternity is the only thing that matters. I want my books to show that. Christian Fantasy is a touchy subject and many would call it an oxymoron........so I'm approaching this with caution and a lot of prayer. So please keep me in your prayers as I begin this journey. Every author/ authoress had to start somewhere.....