The criteria:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:

• end the story with the words: “everything faded.” (also included in the word count)
• include the word “orange” in the story
• write in the same genre you normally write
• make your story 200 words exactly!

If you enjoy this story, please go “like” my link here.  I’m number 161.

Processional

Shadows crept across the wall, cast by orange-red torchlight.  Daylight, the last she’d ever see, waited beyond the dungeon doors.

The doors swung open on silent hinges, she squinted when the sunlight stung her eyes.  The guard shoved her forward, and she stumbled blindly across the threshold.  A cloud passed over the sun, easing the light in her eyes.

She barely noticed the bits of broken glass and nails biting her feet, or the refuse pelting her face.  The crowd’s hateful roar barely whispered in her ears.

She focused solely on him.

Her execution march could have been her wedding processional.  Taphim would have been the man waiting for her, either way.  She stood tall, confident and at peace, but her heart ached at the unending torment in his eyes.

His voice was hoarse. “Sachi, I have poison.”

He offered mercy.  She shook her head and was the only one who saw the tears in his eyes.

The roar of the crowd grew louder – they were impatient.

“I love you, Taphim.”

Sachi stepped back from him.  Tears slid down his face as he hefted the weapon.

She barely felt the blows.  Her eyes gazed steadily into his until everything faded.

Once again, please – if you enjoy this story, please go “like” my link here.  I’m number 161.

So today, I’m going to actually review The Realms Thereunder.

I’m going to give you a warning – I don’t enjoy reviewing books.  I’m definitely a read-it and keep-it-to-myself kind of girl.  Part of this is because I don’t always know how to get my analytic thoughts out on paper (it’s been a few years since Freshman Comp in college ).  The other part is since I write so much, and I have 4 critique partners that I work/swap stuff with, I can’t seem to get out of critique mode.  So, my review may be a bit more technical from the story-writing point of view.

Overall, I very much enjoyed reading The Realms Thereunder.

It could have been more powerful, though.  The paragraph that I shared in Monday’s post, that was the only part of the book that really resonated with me.  I was hoping for more like that, and there was some, but not quite as powerful.

The point-of-view and time jumps were an effective way of telling the story, but it could have been done a little smoother.  There were at least all of these different sections:

Daniel and Freya in the past (as children).
Daniel in the present.
Freya in the present.
Character who we weren’t really quite sure how he fits into the plot surrounding Daniel & Freya until the end of the book in the present.

Jumping back and forth between time, places, and points of view is a challenging way to tell the story.  It’s so very similar to flashbacks, and it takes a lot of skill to pull it off.

Ross Lawhead pulled it off, but it needed a bit more polishing.

I really like Daniel.  As a person, he was consistent.  I could see how the experiences that he and Freya went through as a child shaped who he became in the present.

Freya was frustrating to me.  Not because she was lacking as a person, but because nothing is revealed about her.  I understood her motivations as a child, but I didn’t understand them as an adult.  She alternates between extreme passion for something (as mentioned before about conveying the truth to people), but also extreme fear.  Why?

Not only that, but she also ends up spending 90% of her time in the story under an enchantment, and not even realizing it.  When the make-believe characters in her mind (created by the enchantment) start listing genealogies and she falls asleep over and over again, I almost fall asleep too.

It’s one thing to FEEL what the character is feeling, but it’s another entirely to DO what the character is feeling.  Writers should be working to achieve the first, not the latter, because there were times I almost put down the book because it wasn’t compelling me to read more, it was compelling me to take a nap.

I knew before starting to read the book that it is the first in a trilogy (it says it right on the front cover, after all), and so I knew that the plot wasn’t going to be completely wrapped up in the first book.

But it felt more like it was barely hinted at.  Reading this book felt more like a prequel than the first book in a trilogy.

I wanted to see Daniel and Freya together more.  I wanted to see Freya come to some realization about herself besides “Okay, at the very least, I should help Daniel.”

I loved the Knights far more than any other character.  They made me smile and laugh and cry.  They were the ones with something to lose here.  If Freya had anything to lose, it wasn’t made obvious.  Daniel definitely had nothing to lose.  He embraced the adventure wholeheartedly, and not that it was bad, but there was no conflict for him.

So why didn’t we see the story from the Knights point of view?

Disclaimer: Through participation in the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

First things first, though, we have a winner for the Restless Spirits giveaway from last week!

The Winner is . . .

Shannon McKeever!

Shannon, you’ll be getting an email from Amazon shortly with your Kindle copy of Restless Spirits.  If you don’t own a Kindle, you can download the app for PC or another device .

And, on to the CSFF part of this blog . . .

I sat down today and cleared my schedule, because I had reading to do – namely, finish The Realms Thereunder and read Halflings for the DAC so that I can send it on to the next person.  I did get them both done, in between caring for an under-the-weather husband and having a chiropractor appointment.

Reading The Realms Thereunder was fun.  It was definitely not the most intense story I’ve ever read, but it was an enjoyable read.  I’m not going to do an in-depth review right now, but I’m going to give a few impressions.

I’m going to reveal a little bit of my utter nerdness here – I used to do Lord of the Rings forum-based role-playing.  I role-played as a Rohirrim, and so familiarized myself with smattering of Old English.  I even served a stint as the Third Marshal of the Riddermark .

I bet I was one of the few of you that didn’t have to look up how to pronounce some names, or what certain letters were .  I’m pretty proud of that fact!

I kept having flashbacks to those role-playing days.  I also kept having flashbacks to The Hobbit every time someone broke into song . . .

That said, I found the story an enjoyable read, but it was still too easy to put it down.  I like books that keep me reading as quick as I can, and this one had the potential for it, but just didn’t quite draw me in.  We’ll touch on that a bit more tomorrow .

Disclaimer: Through participation in the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Happy Monday to you! Today is the first day of my first Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy (CSFF) Blog Tour. We’re going to skip my regular Monday Motivation post today, but that will be back next week!

The CSFF tour is something I hope to participate in fairly regularly from this point on, as this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart.  My first tastes of Christian science fiction and fantasy were The Chronicles of Narnia and The Seven Sleepers series when I was a kid.  Then I discovered Lord of the Rings and Kathy Tyer’s Firebird series later in high school, and I suddenly had a glimmer of what I could do with my life!

Since this is a blog tour, please hop around and visit the other participants, you can find them in the sidebar .

The focus of this run of the tour is The Realms Thereunder (Ancient Earth Trilogy, Part 1) by Ross Lawhead.

For those of you have read much (or grown up reading) Christian fiction, “Lawhead” is a very familiar name, and Ross is Stephen Lawhead’s son. Ross has a lot to live up to in this book for me, because his father’s Song of Albion series is one of my favorites.

I’ll have a full review of The Realms Thereunder on Wednesday, but for now I want to share a particular paragraph that has really been resonating in my mind since I read it.

This part of the story is from Freya’s point of view (one of the main characters, the other is Daniel). She and Daniel went through an experience when they were young children that plunged them into the unseen, supernatural battle happening in the world, and they’ve been struggling with the outcome of their experiences since that time.

Freya is living in a state of fear, never knowing who or what might come and pull her back into that experience. She is desperate for someone outside of herself to see the true scars she has come away with, but also desperate for the people around her to see the truth of their existence. She doesn’t always know how to express herself without becoming defensive. It’s in the aftermath of one of these frustrating exchanges that we glimpse her thoughts.

Why did she do it? What did it matter what people thought and believed, even if it was a lie? What right did she have to burst the fragile bubble of unreality that people surround themselves with? So long as they live happily, what does it matter if they live a lie? Ignorance is a blessing. It was futile to try and wake people up, so why did she do it?
~ The Realms Thereunder, Chapter 1, Section 3

I think this is the question that every single Christian struggles with when it comes to evangelism, especially in the world today when so many people exist around us with a familiarity of Christianity and its teachings, but they are not willing to even consider it.

Let me say this – it is much easier to NOT be a Christian than it is to be one. When you are not a Christian, you don’t have the burden of knowing that you are responsible for letting other people know that the state of their souls is a very important thing. When you are not a Christian, there are no spiritual battles. There are no demons, no angels, and no sin. You don’t have to see the spiritual forces behind the terrible, evil things happening in the world.

When you are a Christian – one that pursues an active, living, breathing relationship with God, life is not the same. I have wept for friends who know the message and yet still choose not to believe. I have been a victim of spiritual attacks – demons and angels are very real, let me reassure you of that. My brothers and sisters in Christ around the world are under attack – literal, physical, attack. They are dying, at times being martyred for simply whispering the name of Jesus Christ, let alone actually sharing the Gospel. But being a Christian means that there is so much more beauty in life, because there is a purpose for it!

This is why we do it – because there is something about our faith that demands a response. Why would something that doesn’t matter incur such hate among those who don’t believe? I know that not every unbeliever reacts that way, but look at the world around us. Christians who claim a living relationship with God are the targets of such hate, especially by those who claim to be advocates for tolerance.

This is why I write fantasy – because there are spiritual concepts and spiritual truths that are hard to be taken at face value by those who won’t even consider the existence of a spiritual realm. If we can suspend the rules that are ingrained in people in this world (rules that usually spread through fear and falsity), then we can sow truth into hearts that wouldn’t hear it otherwise.

Disclaimer: Through participation in the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge,
But he who hates correction is stupid.
~ Proverbs 12:1

Having just finished several entries for a couple different contest at the beginning of February, this scripture has close, personal meaning.

If you’ve never submitted work to be critiqued by your peers (or your betters!) than you have no idea how important this scripture is.

If you have done the above, you know exactly how important it is.

When we hand our stories over to someone else to be looked over, asking for ways that we can make improvement, it’s a very hard thing.  It’s like ripping your beating heart of your chest and presenting it to someone on a silver platter, and asking them to heal it.

But being open to correction is what makes us grow.  If we are never willing to admit when we’re wrong, then we become stagnant.

I pushed myself that last week before the contest entries were due.  One story was confirmed “perfect” by most of my peers*, one was great and just needed some polishing, and the other (the largest) needed a lot of work.

*perfect being a flexible definition.  I’m sure it could be improved on, but for now, it’s done.

Because I was willing to listen to what others had to say, though, I was able to submit entries that I was proud of.

Now, let’s compare this to our spiritual lives.

Shouldn’t God be our editor?

If we can trust our earthly peers to look over something as precious as our writing, which for me is always a piece of my soul, how much more can we trust our Creator and Heavenly Father with our actual hearts?

Several years ago, I was struggling with some major decisions.  I hadn’t yet started college (and I had graduated high school almost three years before), and I was making some changes with jobs, etc.

One night, at a local service for young adults, God laid something on my heart – that I had to put all of my desires for life on His altar.  And I had to trust Him enough to give back what really mattered.

So, with a very heavy heart, I laid everything on that altar – including writing.  And He gave it back.

It was my Abraham moment – was I willing to give up my “only son” so that He could do a work in me that would be far greater than anything I could ever do on my own?

Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, oh God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
~ Psalms 51:9-11 NKJV

But now, O LORD,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
~ Isaiah 64:8 NKJV

And you know what . . . I can’t do this without consuming tea.

*goes to make tea*

Alright, tea is brewing . . . and tea is consumed. Mmm, chai!

So, on to the questions!  At the end of them, I’ll tag 11 people and ask 11 questions of them!  So please stick around and see if you’re one of them .  I think I’ll be mixing it up and doing old and new friends, just because it’s so much fun to see what my old friends will say!

First up, my 11 questions from Avery Marsh at Creative Type:

1. Who was your favorite author when you were a child?

Gilbert Morris – I adored the Seven Sleepers series, my first taste of science fiction when I was a kid.  And since it was clean & Christian, my mom let me read it over and over and over again.

2. If you could put yourself in any book, what would it be?

Um . . . I think it’d have to be . . . hmm.  I have to choose? *ponders*  The Hobbit.  Yes, The Hobbit .

3. What is the best writing advice you ever read/received?

Write what you want to read.

4. If you were a prescription drug, what would your list of side effects include?

May cause disorientation and dizziness.

5. Name an interesting trait you’ve given one of your characters.

um . . . half-dryad, half-human?  Ysabel (formerly called Isabel in earlier drafts) of Weeping Willow.

6. Edit as you go or edit by the draft?

A mixture of both.

7. If you were to write an autobiography, what would it be called?

Now You Know

8. Introduce us to one of your villains.

*evil cackle* The Duchess, from Weeping Willow.  My CP’s (critique partners) say even her very brief appearance in the prologue of Weeping Willow creeps them out.  She stops at NOTHING.  She accidentally murders her husband, but she has no reason to regret it.  The only inconvenience is that she hadn’t really planned to do it, and so now she has to cover her trail.

9. How many novels have you written?

Complete FIRST draft? One – Weeping Willow.  It still needs major edits.
I have another in progress – Stars for the Dead.  It’s been in the works for about 8 or 9 years now.
I have on partially written that is going to be mostly scrapped, and needs serious outlining – Father Time.  This is my only YA so far.
And I have one that I’m starting to outline right now – The Undoing Chronicles. 

10. What is your favorite writing related website?

National Novel Writing Month . . . I live and breathe it, even when it’s not November.  It’s a side effect of being a Municipal Liaison.

11. What other secret talents do you have?

Sewing, cooking, cat-wrangling, making my own beauty products . . .

Next up are the questions from Natasha Hanova at Writes by Moonlight (a fellow OWFI member and Campaigner, which just thrills me to pieces!):

1. Most important question first, what is you’re favorite kind of brownie? And do you have the recipe?

I’m actually really picky when it comes to brownies, and I don’t have a favorite yet.  I’ve yet to find a brownie recipe that I absolutely love.  *sad sigh*

2. What already published book do you wish wrote?

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson.  Not because I’m jealous of his success or anything (though it would be nice one day!) but because I really loved that story!

3. What do you think is normal, but other people think is quirky?

Freshly grinding wheat to make my own baked goods . . . my mom started doing it when I was young (like, 6 or 7) and we’ve been doing it ever since.

4. Who is your favorite character you created? Go ahead, you can name names. I won’t tell.

Sachi.

5. What do you write? Literary? Genre Fiction? Nonfiction? Etc?

Genre fiction – fantasy.  I lean toward dark and/or epic fantasy most of the time.

6. What did you have for lunch today? And since you’re a writer, I expect a little more than “sandwich.”

I haven’t had lunch yet today . . . but I really want bacon, eggs, and toast.  I rarely ever buy bacon, and I have a few slices left in a package that I need to use up before it goes bad .

7. Favorite childhood toy? Or book?

I’m a writer.  My favorite childhood toy was my imagination.  My sister and I spent HOURS in worlds of our own making.  Sometimes days at a time.

8. Do you dream in black and white, color, or do you not remember your dreams?

Color.  I think I’ve only had a handful of dreams in my life that were in black & white.

9. List three pet peeves.

People who say they want to change but make no effort to do so.
My husband leaving his works boot in the middle of the floor beside his side of the bed.  I always trip on them and almost face plant when I have to move around in the morning.
People asking me for help at the last minute, but wanting me to conform to THEIR schedules, not what time I have available.  I need to tattoo on my forehead “Lack of planning your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.”

10. What makes you laugh?

Idiots.  I’m a very happy person, obviously .  And animals.  Animals make me laugh too .

11. What book are you reading?

The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead is the current priority.  I’m reading about 6 other books currently as well.

And finally, 11 questions from C.B. Wentworth . . .

1) What book have you always wanted to read, but still haven’t gotten around to it?

Um . . . *goes upstairs to look at bookshelf* hm.  I’d have to say . . . Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity, both by C.S. Lewis.

2) What classic book do you feel is overrated? Why?

I can’t really give great explanations, but I’ve never been able to get into Mark Twain’s work.  I haven’t ever made it through the first chapter of any of his stuff.

3) What is your favorite movie adaptation of a book?  Least favorite?

Princess Bride is my most favorite.  Least favorite is . . . the newer Prince Caspian (the non-BBC version).  They ruined it.

4) Where is your favorite place to write?

Coffee shops.  They force me to focus.  At least tea is much cheaper than coffee . . .

5) Pen or pencil?

Pen.  Except when I’m filling out character charts.  Then pencil is a must.

6) What was your favorite toy as a child?

My imagination .

7) What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

geez, I’m only 26 . . . don’t I get more time to HAVE a greatest accomplishment?  So far, though?  Deciding that I wanted to write enough to pursue it seriously.

8) If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one ability or quality, what would it be?

Time management.

9) What are five songs you hate to admit you love?

um . . . Dancing Queen, that summer love song from Grease (I HATE Grease with a passion, but that song is so dang catchy) . . . and I can’t think of anything else.  I’m pretty picky about what I listen to.

10) Where is your dream destination, (or place you’ve always wanted to go)?

Ireland/Scotland.  Gotta see where my people came from way back when

11) What are the top five things on your bucket list?

Get published.  You should have seen that one coming
Get published by TOR.
Have kids.
Live off the land.
Get a tattoo.

So, you guys just learned a LOT more about me!  Now I want to know somethings about you too . . .

My Eleven People that I’m tagging are:

The Barenaked Critic
Blissfully Brenna
Alessandra Hinlo
CJ Parmenter
Lissa – A Quid for the Quill
Jessica Therrien – Imagination to Publication
L.A. Freeland
CherylAnne Ham – Making Words Happen
Hannah Hale
Cherie Rich
Tia Bach – Depression Cookies

My set of 11 Questions for ya’ll:

1. What is your current writing project?
2. Why are you writing it?
3. Do you have any pets?
4. What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?
5. Favorite tv show and/or movie?
6. What can you always count on to get you inspired?
7. What book did you read that inspired you to truly WRITE?
8. Favorite food?
9. Worst thing you ever wrote?
10. Best thing you ever wrote?
11. Place you’ve visited that inspired you the most?

Have fun, everyone!  Happy weekend!

I’m so very excited because I have a few local offerings for Friday Findings this morning!

First up, the Ozark Creative Writers conference was the first writing conference I attended.  This year, they’re having contests early in the year with prizes like FREE CONFERENCE ADMISSION.

There are three contests running – Short Story is due April 30th, Essay/Article is due May 30th (my birthday, FYI), and Novel/Non-fiction book is due June 30th.

If you’re close enough to attend this conference, I highly recommend it!  It’s affordable (registration is less than $100 if you do the early-bird registration – which isn’t up quite yet), and Eureka Springs is GORGEOUS at that time of year.  I’m hoping to turn it into a mini-vacation this year and go up early with my husband .

Next up is Ree Drummond – also known as the Pioneer Woman.

She’s a bit of a local celebrity.  I gain ten pounds every time I browse the cooking part of her blog, and on March 29th at 6 pm she’s having a launch for her next cookbook at the Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa!

The details (from the Cain’s Ballroom website):

The Pioneer Woman: New Cookbook Launch Party
Thursday March 29th
DETAILS ::Booksmart Tulsa invites you to join us as we launch The Pioneer Womans brand new cookbook. Live music from Bandelier, cash bar, books, and much more. Dwelling Spaces will be selling copies of the new book as well. This is going to be one crazy hoedown! Limited seating will be available….

TICKETS ::FREE

DOORS ::6pm

Next is a very handy article that I found on Twitter.

Authors Beware! Watch for these 9 warning signs before signing your life away to a publisher. - I’ve been seriously considering submitting to some small presses later this summer, and this article just details the things that you need to be wary of in publishing with a small press.

Also, Angela Brown posted about this free anthology, available on Smashwords!

The In His Eyes Anthology is a YA Romance short story collection.  Looks like a promising read!

And the last gem I found this week:

Fantasy Faction is doing a set of articles on Religion in Fantasy.  I know this won’t pertain to some of you, but this is definitely a topic that interests me!

Zealotry in Fiction isn’t the official start of the series, but definitely pertains to it.

Religion in Fantasy: Part 1 looks like it is going to be part of their Writer’s Wednesday feature.  So, check out part 1 and watch for part 2 next week!

Alright, I hope some of that will be beneficial to some of you!  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Before I go further, though, I must take a moment and thank Lissa for introducing me to the band Within Temptation back during NaNo.  My writing life will never be the same!  I keep finding songs from them that depict characters/stories perfectly.  Trust me, this will make sense when you get to the end of the post .

Alright, onward with the Undoing Chronicles!

Sachi’s lover’s name is . . . . 

Taphim!

Taphim has been talking to me a lot this week.  His character chart is almost done.

Sachi is the catalyst of this story, Taphim is definitely the backbone.

Taphim is the Rashan (Head Judge) of the Kashtophim.  Among the Kashtophim, the judges are both the deliverer of the verdict, and the executioner when that is the fate decided upon.

This is just one aspect of his life that makes his and Sachi’s affair so heart-wrenching.

Taphim is married, as well.  He has two grown sons, but no grandchildren yet.  He has one brother and one sister, and several nieces and nephews.  His youngest brother just had his first children – triplet daughters.

Taphim has a softer heart than most of the Kashtophim, though.  He has had ti hide it well, especially in his position of power.  He understands, logically, why the Rishka are being annihilated, but he doesn’t agree.  If he makes his stance public, though, it will not be HIS life alone that is forfeit.  So he keeps that side of him repressed.

His one concession is offering an extra mercy to the Rishka he is required to execute.  Because of the hatred the Kashtophim hold for them, their executions are particularly gruesome.  Taphim always offers them a painless poison that will knock them out before the worst part of it.  No one has refused, so far.

Sachi will show up in his life so unexpectedly.  He rescues her off the streets, even knowing that she is Rishka, and the only thing he can do to protect her is hide her in the secret chamber that he has in his chambers.  The only other person who knew of those chambers is long dead.

He has no qualms about having an affair behind his wife’s back.  Sachi will not allow that, though, and eventually her conscious forces her to leave his protection.  That is when she gets caught.

And with that, we’ll leave off . . . I can’t tell you everything, after all!

Now, reference back to Within Temptation – this song captures the dynamic between Taphim and Sachi just about perfectly!  It echoes the thoughts going through his head so perfectly . . . but I will warn you, it’s depressing!  Enjoy, though!  Welcome to the craziness that is my head

Happy Valentine’s Day, as well!

At the end of this post, we’ll draw the winner for the Shades of the Orient giveaway that Stephanie Guerrero graciously offered.  Stay tuned for that!

Today, rather than an interview, we have a guest post.

Jean Marie Bauhaus is a dear lady that I met through National Novel Writing Month a couple of years ago.  Last summer, she published her first book, Restless Spirits.  I reviewed it on my blog not long after it came out, and you can find that review here.  It’s my favorite paranormal read of all time (and I’m not a huge fan of paranormal, so that’s saying a lot)!

So, without further ado . . . here’s Jean!

Romance

Romance gets a bad rap in the literary world. Romance novels, in particular, tend to get looked down upon as, at best, cotton candy for the mind, and at worst, straight up porn for women. And yet…

And yet I’ve read plenty of romance novels that are neither, that tell a good story, are well-written and well-plotted and emotionally moving.

And yet some of the finest writers I know write romance.

And yet the stories that have done the most to capture the hearts and imaginations of generations of readers, TV viewers and movie-goers are filled with romance.

I don’t write romance novels. But the stories I write usually contain plenty of romance. My writing feels empty and lifeless without that romantic element. I find that, as both a writer and a reader, and for that matter, as a member of the viewing audience, it’s usually not the MacGuffin driving the plot that I’m invested in, or the hero’s destination, but it’s the relationships between the characters; whether it’s the beauty of a deep friendship that tests the bonds of brotherhood and loyalty, a la Sam and Frodo, or the tension between sworn enemies like Batman and the Joker, or romantic tension that blossoms into full-fledged love between two characters who obviously belong together, I can never seem to get enough.

I guess you could say that I was a born ′shipper. ′Shipper, in case you don’t know, is short for ″relationshipper,″ someone who roots for certain characters in a story to get together and stay together. The first couple I remember ′shipping with a passion was Han and Leia… or maybe it was Superman and Lois Lane.

See, I’m part of the generation whose childhood was shaped by the films that did so much to shape our popular culture. I was a wide-eyed five-year-old the first time the Death Star exploded on-screen. I remember sneaking out of bed and creeping out to the living room past my bedtime to watch Christopher Reeve spin the earth backwards to save Margot Kidder the first time they aired Superman on television. A jungle gym on the school playground became an Egyptian tomb where I, playing Marian, had to wait patiently to be rescued by my playmate in his dad’s beat-up Fedora.

What each of those movies had in common, besides spectacular special effects and an epic quality that would change movies forever and spawn the trend of sequels and movie franchises, was that they each had a core romance helping to drive the plot, and it was that romantic element that made me care so much about those characters.

The trend continued as I got older. Over the years, fictional couples that have set my little ′shipper heart all a-flutter, sometimes to the point of obsessiveness, include Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe; Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester; Erik and Christine Daae; Lois and Clark (the Teri Hatcher/Dean Cain incarnations); Mulder and Scully; Jon Chricton and Aryn Sun; Buffy and Spike; Harry Dresden and Karrin Murphy; Sansa Stark and Sandor Clegane; and, most recently, the Doctor and River Song.

Not all of these romances had happy endings. Some ended quite tragically, or frustratingly never came to resolution. But the messiness of these relationships, the longing, the transformative nature of the love some of these characters felt regardless of whether it was requited… that made me love these characters, and love their stories, and long for more.

That’s a lesson I try to bring to my own writing, and it’s why you’re not very likely to read a story of mine, be it horror or contemporary fantasy or paranormal suspense, that doesn’t have at least one romantic pairing that’s essential to the plot. Just as romance is part of what makes life worth living, it’s also part of what makes a story worth telling.

***

Jean Marie Bauhaus is living out her happily requited real-life romance with her husband, Matt, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her paranormal fantasy novel, Restless Spirits, is definitely not short on romance. You can follow her adventures in writing, publishing and hopelessly ′shipping fictional characters at her blog, Marzipan Pie Plate Bingo

Restless Spirits is available in ebook form at Smashwords.com, Kindle, and paperback.

Now, on to the new giveaway!

I will be gifting a Kindle edition of Restless Spirits to a lucky reader!  Please click the book for the giveaway, and I hope you enjoy!

And last, but certainly not least . . .
The winner of last week’s giveaway for a paperback copy of “Shades of the Orient” is . . .

FredTownWard!

Fred, please email me at rebekah (dot) loper (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address.  Congratulations!

I’m starting a part-time job today. When this goes live, I’ll be on my way to a little insurance office in a neighboring town to work with Lissa from Quid for Quill. It’s exciting, and yet I’m sad to lose a portion of three of my days each week. But we need the money right now, so I’ll do what I gotta do .

Now, on to the goal updates . . .

1. Social Media-ish – 125 blog followers.  500 twitter followers.  100 fans on my facebook page.  I have plans to attain this, we’ll see how it goes!
   Blog – in progress!  I’m well past the 100 mark now, and with the Writer’s Campaign, l expect that number to jump a bit more over the next few days.
   Twitter – well over 400 followers now.  It’s really just a matter of following people, since most of them follow back.
   Facebook page – also in progress, I’m up to 79 now! 
2. Two outlines started, and hopefully completed – one for my Father Time story, one for the Rishka/Kashtophim story that came to me for the #Nightgale blogfest.
   Working on this – I’ve got character charts started for Sachi (from the newly-named “Undoing Chronicles), but I haven’t even started on anything for Father Time yet . . . 
3. Write one short story.  This is to prevent what happened this month – I’d like to have a store of short stories I can pull from for contests.
   Since I now have a bazillion contests I want to enter at the end of April, need to start one something soon.
4. Edit at least two chapters a week of Weeping Willow, more if it goes well. The intention is to be able to start querying/pitching in May.
   Um, yeah . . . hasn’t happened yet.
5. Pre-write at least one month’s worth of my Sunday Devotionals.
   I’ve got up through March 4th written.  Would like to have most of March’s written by next week, and then I’ll cross this off the list.

And, as promised, the winner of The Forever Girl giveaway is . . .

Tiffany Mahaffy!

Tiffany, please contact Rebecca Hamilton at theinkmuse (at) gmail (dot) com for your free ebook!