Exciting News!!!

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

The Craftie Ladies of Love Inspired are introducing a new and improved blog today!!!

We’ve merged to include the contemporary, suspense, and historical authors all on one site. And to celebrate, we’re going big, Big, BIG!

We’re giving away a $135.00 gift card AND a BOOK BLAST to the winner. The winner will receive books galore in her mailbox from many of us at the Craftie Ladies.

So spread the word and tell your friends, if you post during the week of September 1 – 8, your name will be put into a basket and we’ll draw for a winner.

Plus…we’re giving away extra books at random during each day.

Come on by and chat with us! They’ll be fun baby pics and more.

Let’s Create our Heroine ~ Brainstorming Wednesday

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been illustrating how I
build stories by involving you in brainstorming a new one. Whether you’re a reader or a writer, I hope you’re having
as much fun as I am following the comments and throwing in your ideas. 


As promised, today we’ll work on the heroine, but in
addition to exploring the lie she believes, I’d like to include another
important element in the dialogue—her goals. What is she after? What does she
want to accomplish and why? And how is that going to bring her into conflict
with the hero?


Last week, we decided our hero fireman, Jack, believes maybe
his mom was right all along that he’s not cut out to be a fireman. He’s
struggling with his emotions over failing to save the villain’s wife from the
fire. Yet, his fellow firemen’s razzing makes him more determined than ever not
to quit. 


We’ve also given him a faithful Australian Shepherd that he rescued
from a fire. (Great idea, Kav.) Blind in one eye, and singed around the corners, the dog doesn’t
take to too many people. But he’ll adore our heroine who we’ve decided to call
Peggy.   


We’ve decided that perhaps she’s a nurse and that’s how she
met the fireman. Or… depending on which villain scenario we ultimately run with,
that her home has simply been mistaken for the hero’s and she’ll fall victim to
a revenge plot intended against the hero.


This kind of vague uncertainty of which path to take is
common in the early stages of plotting a story—at least for me. I like to
explore a number of different paths before settling on one. 


Your turn: What
should be our heroine’s goal? What lie does she believe?


For those who have been following the Wednesday
brainstorming sessions from the beginning, you’ll remember we talked about the possibility
that her dad had left her as a child. Not sure if we’ll go with that scenario,
but that kind of traumatic childhood experience is excellent breeding ground
for lies.

Join me…

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

today at Romance Writers on the Journey for an in depth interview and giveaway. I have the privilege of being the final guest of this fabulous blog. You’ll find lots of interesting author stories in the archives. My question at RWotJ is what’s the quirkiest thing you’ve ever done?

For a list of upcoming blog tour stops, click the Deep Cover Blog Tour tab at the top of this blog. One change: yesterday, I was at A Christian Writer’s World, (Lena’s blog), instead of Thursday. There’s still time to enter that giveaway though if you wish.

The Lies We Believe

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Last Wednesday, I explained how I develop my characters’ spiritual growth by looking at the lie they believe at the beginning of the story and the truth that will set them free by the end. We brainstormed ideas for the hero of our evolving story, and this Wednesday we’ll have some fun with the heroine. 
But today I’d like to look at Ginny Bryson, the heroine of Deep Cover, and discuss the lies we believe.
Ginny cares for a dying mother, and is absolutely devoted to her mentally challenged younger sister. She pours her life into helping others, championing a group home for special needs adults seeking independence, and coaching a T-ball team of special needs youth.
Yet, when her mom takes a sudden turn for the worse, Ginny says to Rick, “I’ve taken care of Mom and Lori my whole life. When they’re gone, I’ll have no one. Be no one.”
This is the lie she believes.
We all have them. Some conscious. Some unconscious. They shape our thoughts, our choices, our actions, and our reactions. Sometimes a loved one (maybe our very own hero) helps us to see the truth. Sometimes God leads us to it in other ways. Sometimes we struggle for years not realizing we’re shackled by a lie.
Your turn: What are some of the lies you’ve believed? Can you share a truth that set you free? Like Ginny, does your sense of worth and identity come from what you do or from who you’re with? Where does God want it to come from?

Fun Friday – Tea Anyone?

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
I’ve spent the last, oh, three weeks answering (or ignoring) every imaginable question you could think to ask a debut author in a blog interview. At least, that’s what I thought until Kav threw some wildly creative ones at me, to which my turned-to-mush brain couldn’t whip up a single pithy reply.
 
 
For example: If you could host a tea party with four book characters, who would you invite?
 
 
Now, I don’t know about you, but I read so many books that after awhile the characters start losing their identities. Sure I remember Rhett Butler, but I don’t want him for tea. 
 
My kids would probably name Lord of the Rings or Narnia characters, but I don’t read fantasy. Although, having Aslan for tea would be cool. Lots of questions I could ask him.
 
 
Of course, thinking of books that my kids read reminded me of my all-time favorite character—Lovable Furry Old Grover from The Monster at the End of this Book. But…I’m thinking, he’s not a tea drinker.
 
I tried to call up my ever-witty brainstorming buddy, who also happens to be part of a book club. She would’ve been able to give me some eccentric answer that would have been quite impressive, I’m sure.
 
But alas, she was out living it up with real people, while I wracked my brain over make-believe people to invite to my make-believe tea party.
 
So I decided to hold auditions.
 
That’s right you get to convince me who to invite: I’ll even make it a little easier. If you could host a party (any kind of party) with one or more book characters, what kind of party would you host and who would you invite?
 
(And Kav, I know you’re out there…I want to hear your answer, too!)

The Truth will Set You Free

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
As promised, today we’re looking at how I develop characters. A technique I learned from award-winning author and mentor, Susan May Warren, is to ask what is the lie my hero or heroine believes.
Often the lie is something from his past that changed the way he looks at himself or relationships or the world around him. More than that, it changed his approach to those things.
By uncovering the lie he believes, I can frame a story that will reveal the truth that will set him free.
If the hero (or heroine) believes a lie that resonates with readers, the unfolding of the truth to the hero has the potential to minister to the reader as well. This was my own experience when I began reading Christian fiction, and something I hope my readers will experience.
In Deep Cover, the lie the hero believes is that he alone can, and must, stop the bad guys. So as not to spoil the story for those who haven’t read it, I won’t detail how this plays out in the story.
Instead, let’s brainstorm some ideas for the story concept we talked about last Wednesday.
Let’s go with a fireman hero who was badly burned trying to save the villain’s wife. Perhaps, he hasn’t yet returned to active duty. Perhaps, he blames himself for the woman’s death. Perhaps, he feels he made a poor judgment call in the middle of the rescue.
Your turn: What lie might our hero believe? And/or… have you read a book in which the truth the hero or heroine learned really resonated with you?

Join me…

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

at Writing Faithful Romances where I’ll be answering questions on a variety of topics.

The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth?

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
Today, we’re following up—from the heroine’s perspective—on last Monday’s discussion about whether a hero who lies (for the sake of his job) can be a man of honor.
The heroine of Deep Cover is Ginny Bryson who says,  “I’d rather know the truth than be lied to out of some misguided notion that I’ll somehow be happier or safer.”
Do you feel the same? If you said yes, are you sure?
I freely admit that there are times people have disclosed things to me that I would’ve have been much happier not knowing about. Every smart husband knows how not to answer the question—Honey, does this dress make me look fat?
And yes, if you read my book and hate it, choosing to keep that to yourself won’t hurt my feelings in the least. Honest!
I’m sure each of us can remember a time when we’ve sugarcoated the truth to spare someone’s feelings. It seems like a noble thing to do, don’t you think?
Yet, not necessarily. Sometimes I have to step back and consider whether my words will help or hinder the other person’s understanding of themselves or their circumstances. 
Your turn: What do you think about Ginny’s perspective? Care to share an example from your own experience?
Join me Wednesday to learn how I use lies to develop my characters when plotting my story. And for fun, we’ll play with the strategy on the hero we dreamt up during last Wednesday’s brainstorming session.

Liebster Blog Award

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

I was touched today to learn my new writing friend, Jackie Layton, awarded me the Liebster Blog Award.

The Liebster Award originated in Germany, and is awarded to small blogs (less than 200 or 300 Google followers depending on which version of the award you receive). It’s an opportunity to shine the light on fantastic blogs and their authors in an effort to build readership. The winner is then asked to pass it forward.

Each blog I’ve listed here, including Jackie’sbackporch, are blogs I’ve recently discovered and enjoyed, and hope you will, too.

 The first three are geared to writers. The fourth to readers, and Walk Right In Ministries is a fabulous ministry that helps people find hope and purpose in life’s painful seasons (particularly those raising children with special needs).

It was hard to pick just five blogs, and some blogs don’t list followers, so I wasn’t sure if they’d qualify. This is what the winners are encouraged to do:

1. Thank the giver of the award and link back to them.

2. Give the Liebster to 3-5 bloggers and let them know with a comment to their blog.

3. Copy and paste the award onto your blog.

4. Have faith your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.

5. Have blogging fun!

The Fragrance of Life

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
Scent is a powerful thing. The slightest whiff of a particular scent can rouse memories you haven’t thought about in years, evoking unexpected emotions. The fragrance of my mom’s favorite hand lotion will bring memories of her flooding back to me. For others the smell of oil might take them back to their first car, or a day spent with their dad working on the old jalopey. The smell of leather might remind you of that cool guy you dated in twelfth grade.
Since I write romantic suspense, you’re probably thinking–fragrances…romance…I know where she’s going with this. Trust me when I say…probably not.

Do you have Japanese beetles where you live?
They’re quite attractive, with shiny green and bronze shield-like backs. But destructive! Think plague of locusts.
I knew we had to take action when the leaves on my linden turned to lacy skeletons and began falling in mid-June, a full three months too soon. 
When the beetles, migrated to my bean plants, we declared all out war. 
We discovered a nifty way to catch these beetles without using pesticides. You hang a plastic bag, like the one in the picture, upwind from the infestation and place a pouch of female beetle pheromones inside.
Instantly, hundreds of beetles lifted from our bean plants, and swarmed to the source of the scent.
Wow, that was one powerful fragrance.
It reminded me of the verse in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?
A humbling thought, isn’t it? 
When I catch myself acting not so fragrant, I think of that swarm of beetles and how very much I want to be the fragrance of life to those around me. How about you?
Today’s smile:
You remember Bella, my connoisseur-of-hubcaps pup?
Well, she felt sorry for all those Japanese beetles doped up on pheromones. After all dogs have an acute sense of smell. So… she liberated them!
Yup, it’s true. As my daughter told my husband, “You had to know that was going to happen.”
Have a fragrant weekend!