by Roseanna White | Mar 11, 2015 | 20th Century, Remember When Wednesdays
In my upcoming Ladies of the Manor Series with Bethany House, my main characters are largely comprised of the British nobility. And because of certain reasons, jewelry comes up rather often. For book covers and whatnot I’ve had to search out photos, so I thought it would be fun to share some of my visual aids here. =)
In book 1, The Lost Heiress, Brook has a necklace she wears all the time. It’s Victorian in its styling, with a gold filigree connecting two strands of pearls, with two dangling pearls from the filigree. Something sorta-kinda like this, though this image isn’t awesome.
But she inherits quite a bit more jewelry from her mother too. Like a ruby and diamond bracelet.
And an emerald and diamond necklace.
In book 2, The Reluctant Duchess, Rowena brings only one substantial piece of jewelry with her–a brooch with her family plaid.
She soon receives, however, the legendary Sussex ruby set. Which primarily features a ruby necklace that I envision to look something like this.
There’s a matching bracelet, but rather than those small earrings featured with this set (which is actually red crystals and not rubies, but you know–we’re just going for style here, LOL), I instead describe a dangling set…which Rowena can’t wear, not having pierced ears.
The earrings will, however, be borrowed by my heroine for book 3, Ella. (The book is tentatively titled The Waiting Lady, though that will likely change. Still noodling stronger, more provocative words than “Waiting”–ideas???) Anyhoo. I describe the earrings as having 3 rubies on each one, dangling in tiers. Kinda like these, though with an extra level.
Having not actually, ahem, written any of book 3 yet, I don’t know what other bling Lady Ella might end up with. 😉 But I have a definite love for the pretty baubles, so you can be sure something will come up. =)
by Roseanna White | Feb 25, 2015 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays
We just finished up in our home school reading a truly amazing book. Though for young readers, I can attest to the fact that it’s entertaining–and inspiring–for any age.
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is the Newbery Award-winning novel based on the life of Nathaniel Bowditch, a man who truly embodies the American dream. From a boy in poverty during the Revolution to a man of wealth, respect, and honor, Bowditch changed the world, and his own life, by nothing but sheer determination…and a fair dose of brilliance.
A quote from the book that had a profound impact on the character of Nat:
“When a ship is becalmed–the wind died down–she can’t move–sometimes the sailors break out their oars…oars are made of ash. So–when you get ahead by your own get-up-and-get–that’s when you sail by ash breeze.”
Some would have said Nat was becalmed when his father indentured him at the age of 12. But he pulled out his oars instead.
If you want to learn more about him, hop over to where I talk about he forever changed the world on Colonial Quills!
by Roseanna White | Jan 28, 2015 | 17th-19th Centuries, Remember When Wednesdays
It’s my day on Colonial Quills, and today I’m telling you a fun story about General Washington used farmers’ hunting gear–and their newfangled hunting rifles–to strike fear into the British militia.
It’s a fun story! Hop on over to the CQ to read it!
by Roseanna White | Jan 21, 2015 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Some years, WhiteFire has a lot of contemporary titles…other years, a lot of historicals. This year is shaping up to be history-filled. And of course, I have my new historical series beginning with Bethany House in September. So for me, 2015 is going to be a year full of history!
I thought it would be fun to give you a peek at what will be filling my calendar for the year. =)
APRIL
Gathered Waters
by Cara Luecht
I’ve already shared a bit about this one when I did a cover design post on it last August. (
View the post here.) In short,
Gathered Waters is set in the late 19th century, following some of the first Swedish Baptists from their home in Sweden to America. This book is a beautiful glimpse into what defines us, where we draw our lines in the sand, and what we’re willing to sacrifice for our faith.
~*~
JUNE
The Sound of Diamonds
Steadfast Love Series, Book 1
by Rachelle Rea
Set in the Elizabethan days, The Sound of Diamonds is about a Catholic lady who has taken refuge at a convent in Holland after her parents’ murders…only to be caught up in the Iconoclastic Fury, when Dutch protestants hunted down any Catholics they could find and killed them, setting fire to Catholic churches and monasteries and nunneries. She has to get home–but the only man who can help her is the one she hates above all the world–the man wanted for the murder of her parents.
Adventure, romance, and look into a little-known side of the great Catholic/Protestant struggle…oh yes. =)
~*~
SEPTEMBER
Ladies of the Manor, Book 1
by Me (Bethany House)
I should be getting my cover for
The Lost Heiress very soon–for now, this is my very much unofficial title image, just so I have an image to post. 😉
I have official catalog copy for this now, so here it is!
Brook Eden has never known where she truly belongs.
Though raised in the palace of Monaco, she’s British by birth and was brought
to the Grimaldis under suspicious circumstances as a babe. When Brook’s friend
Justin uncovers the fact that Brook is likely a missing heiress from Yorkshire,
Brook leaves the sun of the Mediterranean to travel to the moors of the North
Sea to the estate of her supposed family.
The mystery of her mother’s death haunts her, and though
her father is quick to accept her, the rest of the family and the servants of
Whitby Park are not. Only when Brook’s life is threatened do they draw
close—but their loyalty may come too late to save Brook from the same threat
that led to tragedy for her mother.
As heir to a dukedom, Justin is no stranger to balancing
responsibilities. When the matters of his estate force him far from Brook, the
distance between them reveals that what began as friendship has grown into
something much more. But how can their very different loyalties and
responsibilities ever come together?
And then, for a second time, the heiress of Whitby Park is stolen away
because of the very rare treasure in her possession—and this time only the
servants of Whitby can save her.
~*~
OCTOBER
A Fair to Remember
The World’s Fair Series, Book 1
by Suzie Johnson
Let’s all admire the beauty of this cover photo–for which I can take no credit. 😉 The heroine of A Fair to Remember looks like the famous Edwardian actress, Lily Elsie. The above photo is of said actress…but colorized by a very talented Czech artist who granted us permission to use this one, and who will be colorizing old photos for the second two books in the series too! We’re all very excited about using actual Edwardian photographs, given a modern twist, for these. =)
We’re really excited about the concept of this series too. Each of the 3 books will be set during one of the World’s Fairs of the early 20th century, beginning with the Pan-American expo in Buffalo, New York, where the president was shot…
The series will combine history and romance with a bit of suspense, and I for one can’t wait to get my hands on it. 😉
~*~
OCTOBER
The Sound of Silver
Steadfast Love Series, Book 2
by Rachelle Rea
The cover for this is done, but not revealed yet…so you’re just getting a wee little glimpse here. 😉
The Sound of Silver will be the continuing adventure of Gwyn and Dirk from
The Sound of Diamonds, taking the reader into the questions of new love and faith, and the price of proving one’s innocence.
~*~
NOVEMBER
by Yours Truly
I also already shared a bit about this one in my cover design post from just a little while ago. (
View the post here.) =)
Giver of Wonders will be the story of St. Nicholas that led to one of our beloved Christmas traditions–gifts in stockings–but will of course not be all about Nick himself. It will instead focus on the recipient of his gift, my fictionalized heroine named Cyprus and her twin sisters, Alexandria and Rhoda. A story of sacrificial love and the boundlessness of faith, this will be another installment of the Visibullis family’s story.
It’s going to be quite a year! And that’s not even looking at the contemporaries and non-fiction on our plate. 😉
by Roseanna White | Jan 15, 2015 | Remember When Wednesdays, Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I often, like many others, pray for a word for the new year as the old one draws to a close. Unlike most people I know who do this, I don’t generally get my word before the year begins, LOL. Instead, mine seems to come the first time I go to church in the new year. Don’t ask me why, but that’s the pattern. 😉 This year, we were iced out of our first service of the year, so this past weekend was our first church of 2015. And lo and behold, on the drive in, it hit me.
Deliberate.
This is an idea that has been coming at me from every direction in recent months. Our church is going from a branch church to a full member of our conference this year (hopefully), which requires that we examine our constitution and by-laws and make any changes we feel are necessary. As we spent hours pouring over this foundational document in recent months, there it was: be deliberate. We were engaged in a rather sacred endeavor, establishing how our church is to run until someone takes it upon themselves to change the constitution. We were setting up education, membership, and business practices. We had to be deliberate in how we did this, and where we wanted the focus to be. We had to be deliberate in giving the authority to whom it belongs. Ultimately God, and then those who follow Him.
It came up again in our Bible study that we have with friends. We’re beginning a new study on parenting, were talking the other night about how we educate our children (those present on Friday were all homeschoolers). And it hit me again. Be deliberate.
What does that mean?
Well, it means that I’m not to be washed to and fro by the currents of the day. I’m not to just go with the flow. I’m not to do something just because it’s how it’s done. I’m not to call things “good enough” and leave them. I’m not to do things thoughtlessly, by rote.
In my world, there’s a lot of routine, a lot of habit. All well and good…but not enough. Because I don’t just want to be a leader, or a follower of God, or a writer, or a friend. I want to raise leaders. True followers of God. Focused and determined people. A man and a woman who know the value of friendship, of honesty, of sacrifice.
Will they learn just by observing? To a point…yes. But also no.
This is another something my husband and I were just discussing, as he reads the works of John Lake, a truly great evangelist whose teachings helped found several worldwide denominations. David had just gotten to the chapters where Lake was mourning the death of the movement he had helped begin. Where he was looking at these floundering church groups and realizing that there was no one to take up the mantle. That they had assumed, he and his colleagues, that others would follow like them, ready to lead and continue the work.
But there was no one.
I mused, as we spoke of this, that perhaps it was because great leaders are often so focused on their calling that they’re not focused on raising up the next generation. Because they believe (idealistically–not badly, but not realistically) that just as they watched and were convicted and accepted a call, so will others be. They think they need to be always on the front lines, not behind them teaching those who come next.
We’ve been talking a lot about how to change a culture slip-sliding its way into decay. But you know what? No matter what answers we come to, they won’t matter unless we also figure out how to keep it. Unless we figure out how to teach our kids that there’s no such thing as “the way things are.” There’s just “the way things are going right now.”
You can see it over and again in history–one generation feels a deep conviction, makes changes. They set up a society in a given way, and raise their children in it. But then, to those children, it’s just the way it is. They don’t remember the reasons. They live it, but they don’t teach their children anything but the “facts” of their world…and so those children rebel. Go astray. Decide they’d rather taste this other way.
Because no one is deliberate.
We need to be! Oh, how we need to be. Because it doesn’t take long–a generation, two at the most–for religion to take the place of faith. For prejudice and judgment to overcome us. For ideals to be overwhelmed by rules. It has happened countless times in the church, it has happened in society, it has happened in our schools. Good intentions slowly morph into legalism until the original intent is buried so far beneath the mountain of words no one can even remember what it is anymore.
I want to raise my children with deliberation. I want to raise them not to believe the lies of the world. The lies that say there’s only so much we can do, so much we can change. The lies that things are what they are. NO. I want my kids to fully understand that the world, their culture, their lives are ever-changing and always able to be influenced. That their God is bigger than the enemy. That they can do all things through the strength of Christ. I want them to know that there’s no such thing as second-generation faith. They need their own.
How to teach them this? Well not by a lesson in church every week and nothing else, that’s for sure. Not just by setting an example. No, sorry–if I’m going to teach them these important life-lessons, then it’s going to have to be through deliberate choices. Deliberate guidance. Deliberate words given at deliberate moments to usher them along their own path. Not mine. Theirs.
As a homeschooling mom, I’m not sure if this sacred charge is easier or harder. On the one hand, it’s far more difficult because I’m with them every moment of every day–and it’s hard to be deliberate 24/7. But then, it might be easier, because I know what they’re being exposed to every moment of every day. I know what conversations to have when. There are no surprises when they get home from school and say, “Well Jake said that…”
When I pray for a word for the year, I don’t always get one. But when I do, it’s never just a word for the
year. It’s a word for my life, forever. Like “
Shine“–I’m still living that one, working on it. “Deliberate” is going to have to be the same way.
Because if I want to be a woman of faith, I have to choose it every moment of every day. I have to make a conscious effort to listen to Him, to walk in His power and truth. If I want to be a mother who raises children who understand this, I have to deliberately foster them in their growth. I need to not accept pre-boxed, ready-made answers and instead encourage and help them in finding their own. I need to make sure they understand that faith is work.
I think a question for the ages might be “How do you overcome generational decay?” And I believe this is the answer: by not assuming our kids will understand what we’ve come to learn. By not thinking “just living it” is enough. No. We have to be deliberate–otherwise all we build will be forgotten.
Stone man photo credit: Travis S. via photopin cc
Winding road photo credit: bobarcpics via photopin cc
by Roseanna White | Jan 1, 2015 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Happy New Year!
I’m out of blogging practice, LOL. But my kiddos and I have enjoyed our Christmas break, and now I’m starting to flex my mental gears and get ready to buckle back down to business. School, writing, editing…2015 is bound to be as busy a year as 2014 was!
When I was a kid, this is the day when I’d make resolutions. They were always a combination of my external goals for the year (finish my first book, for instance) and my internal goals (not lose my temper). I took them seriously, and I enjoyed the challenge. Sitting here this morning, I see a list of resolutions that my niece and daughter wrote together, and they so make me smile–they remind me of me! A few of the highlights are “read the Bible every day,” “always be cheerful and happy,” and “give my true opinion.” I remember being her age and agreeing with my friends just because I thought it was what they wanted to hear. I remember deciding at about age 12 that it wasn’t worth it, and I needed to just be honest in my opinions.
Ah, life lessons. 😉
I tend not to make resolutions anymore. But if I were to make one this year…I think it would have something to do with being willing. Being willing to do whatever God calls me to. To give up what I don’t need but might want. To toss out whatever gets in the way of my relationship with Him. I’m praying for a word for the year–either a goal or a promise–and listening to hear what He says.
It’s going to be a full year. My first book with Bethany House will release in September. WhiteFire will put out 10 books, which will keep me quite busy. I’m teaching a class on the history of the B&O Canal at my homeschool group beginning next month. Rowyn will turn 7. Xoë will turn 10. Next fall we’ll be doing 5th and 2nd grades.
The year past has been a busy one. We dealt with Lyme disease. Finished up therapy for the broken arm of the year before. My last book released with Harvest House, I finally wrote and published the sequel to A Stray Drop of Blood. Was blessed with a new contract with Bethany House. I got to attend ACFW as an editor for the first time. I made an effort to cook better meals and not let the house get totally away from me…as often, LOL.
One of most important accomplishments to me, though, was going through a Bible-in-a-year study. I actually did it from July to July, so it spanned the change from 2013-2014, but it was an awesome journey for me, and I’ll no doubt do it again soon.
And so, here we are. Farewell, 2014. Hello, 2015. What will you have in store? Some things I can anticipate…and many will no doubt surprise me. But I’m starting this year with the peaceful reminder that if I keep my heart inclined toward Him, He’ll guide me exactly where I need to go. It’s rarely the easy way. But it’s the full way. Filled with His promises, His lessons, His blessings. We don’t always recognize them when they come…but we see them looking back.
In the Julian calendar, the new year begins with January, which is named after the god Janus–who had two faces, so he could see both in to the past and the future. We can see clearly only behind us…but how blessed we are to serve the one true God, who holds past, present, and future in His hand–and holds us there too.
Have a blessed New Year’s Day, and I’m saying a prayer right now that 2015 is a year full of blessings!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. 