CELEBRATE WITH ME!!

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Connie Stevens

Two weeks ago, I was honored—not to mention thrilled out of my socks!—to received notification my novella, Hope’s Dwelling Place, had won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Since I couldn’t be present when the winners were announced in San Antonio, the award was mailed to me along with a certificate. They arrived last week, and the engraved silver keepsake box is exquisite.
IRCA 001
IRCA

Sunday's in FredericksburgTo celebrate this award, I am giving away three copies of Sundays In Fredericksburg—the collection in which Hope’s Dwelling Place appears. To enter the drawing, leave a comment and be sure to include your email address. I will draw the winners this weekend.

Posted in ACFW Author, drawing for free book(s), historical fiction, Hope's Dwelling Place, Inspirational Readers Choice Award, News, Promotional giveaway, Sundays in Fredericksburg | 8 Comments

WILL YOU TELL MY STORY?

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Connie Stevens

One of the most frequently asked questions I hear is: “How do you come up with your characters?” My normal answer is “My characters have to speak to me before I can get to know them, and in order to do that, I must see their faces.”

Some of you are scratching your heads, thinking Wait a minute. This is 2014 and she writes historical fiction. Well, yes, I do, which sometimes makes it harder to find those faces. The Internet is one source I use to hunt for my characters. Photography websites or historical research websites often feature portraits of people, and once in a while I will find a picture in a magazine or advertisement that I can use. But my favorite activity is to prowl antique stores for vintage photographs. I have been known to sit on the floor with a box of dusty old pictures, carefully looking into each face to see if the person’s image tugs at my heart.

Wyoming series 002Isn’t it peculiar that people did not smile for photographs a hundred years ago? Their serious expressions only fuel my curiosity as I study their countenances in the tintypes. Often I find stacks of vintage pictures of children or siblings. Who would cast something like that aside so it ends up in a box in the corner of an antique store? Seeing those abandoned pictures makes me sad, and I yearn to imagine who they were, who they loved, and whose lives did they touch. Did they fulfill their dreams? Did they marry and have children? Did they live long enough to see their grandchildren and great-grandchildren?

I’m often struck by the pensive look in the eyes of a woman who Micah and Rodseems to be peering off over my shoulder, as if watching for someone. I can almost hear her imploring me to tell her story, and I wonder if her heart has ever experiences the flutters stirred by love. Did she find the man of her dreams, or was her heart broken?

Sometimes a photo will depict a man whose features are chiseled by life’s hardships. What circumstances caused the lines across his brow, and what might bring a smile to his eyes? Occasionally I’ll come across a picture that begs to represent an antagonist in one of my stories. His expression is layered with pride or arrogance or greed. I snatch up those pictures, because I have to be able to envision the bad guy as well as the hero.

Micah and Rod 003One of my current writing projects is a story set at the end of World War I, and features a character who witnessed the horrors of war and came home with physical wounds and scars on his heart. While searching through a goldmine of photographs in one antique store, I found pictures of uniformed soldiers standing in front of what appears to be their home. I wonder if those soldiers made it home. Who took those pictures? Their mother or father? Was it the last time they ever saw their son?

Another story on which I am working is set in the Flint Hills of Micah and Rod 001Kansas, and one of the characters is a quiet man who lets others take the spotlight. He especially becomes tongue-tied around a special young lady. His cousin is the opposite: outgoing and charming with the ladies. So I needed photographs of these men who contrasted each other—one reserved and one cocky.

Those dusty, vintage photographs reveal a wealth of history if I allow my imagination to dream it. Telling their story somehow releases them from the bonds of a 3” X 5” piece of tin or cardboard, and frees them to share their lives with readers.

 

Posted in ACFW Author, character photos, creating characters, fictional characters, historical fiction, Research for fiction, story board, writing tools | Leave a comment

ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Connie Stevens

Yesterday I compiled a list of all the names from those who left comments on my blog, those who responded through my webmail, those who LIKED my Facebook Author Page , and those who LIKED and SHARED the Facebook posts promoting the new E-book, THREADS OF TIME

I’m pleased to announce the winner of the quilted sofa throw is Susan Bramlett Everett:Quilted throw

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the winner of the $25 Amazon gift card is Bonnie Traher.

Thank you to everyone who entered through the various avenues, thus helping to promote THREADS OF TIME. While the introductory price has expired, you can still download this E-book to your Kindle for only $1.99–a great price for seven stories!!

Posted in ACFW Author, E-book, historical fiction, new release, novella collection, Promotional giveaway, THREADS OF TIME | Leave a comment

ANNOUNCING…THREADS OF TIME

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Connie Stevens

FINAL Posse novella coverTHREADS OF TIME is a seven-story collection of romantic novellas that span more than 150 years following the journeys of a quilt and the comfort it offers to the many hands through which it passes.

 Authors:
Constance Shilling Stevens (Connie Stevens)
Ralph Vogel (Kim Sawyer’s dad)
J. Michele Franklin (Jalana Franklin)
Marjorie Vawter
Darlene A Dodds (Darlene Wells)
Eileen Key
K. Marie Libel (Kristian Libel—Kim Sawyer’s daughter)

When my crit buddies proposed the idea of us collaborating on a collection of novellas, we were all in! What fun! The brainstorming sessions and emails flew back and forth across the country (we live in Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, and California).
brainstorming THREADS OF TIMEThen in June, we all gathered at the gorgeous Bed & Breakfast owned by Kim Vogel Sawyer and her hubby, and fine-tuned the seven workable story lines with a common thread to tie them together. A quilt that is made by the character in the first story (1867) travels through many decades, and requires repairs and patching and re-binding before it is discovered—tattered and worn out—in an estate sale in 2014.

Now it’s one thing to build separate story lines for seven stories whose characters are related in some way, but when we decided to have these stories unfold chronologically over 150 years, that’s when things got interesting. Some of the stories feature characters who are related by blood to the characters from the previous story, and the characters in some of the other stories come into possession of the quilt through various circumstances other than from the hands of a relative. The quilt travels west on a wagon train, endures a fire, comforts a Titanic survivor and a Vietnam war survivor before it enters the 21st century and teaches an ambitious young woman the value of history.

One of the hardest things about doing a series of this type is making sure all the details are consistent. So my critique partners burned up cyberspace with emails, nailing down even the most insignificant points so all seven stories would flow smoothly from one decade to the next.

A Thimbleful of Peace--charactersMy story appears first in the series. A THIMBLEFUL OF PEACE is set in 1867 and introduces a young lady, Susannah Westbrook, and the special quilt she made, intended to grace her marriage bed. But the quilt remains tucked away and unused because Susannah’s sweetheart never came home from the War Between the States. When she takes a job in the home of Thomas Rutledge, a widowed riverboat captain, caring for his two children, the quilt accompanies Susannah, but only serves to remind her of her unmarried status.

Thomas has locked his heart away for over three years. With the arrival of this quiet and gentle young woman, the wall he’s built up around himself begins to crumble, and he is at a loss to know what to do about it.

Susannah struggles to believe God will listen to “someone like her” and Thomas is startled to realize he is ready to thaw out his heart.

Circumstances cause Thomas and Susannah to make unexpected decisions, but threats from a woman to whom Susannah owes money will unravel the tiny thimbleful of peace she holds within her grasp unless God indeed hears her prayers.

This E-book is available NOW from Amazon for only 99 cents. But this introductory price won’t last long.

Now here is the fun part. To celebrate the release of THREADS OF TIME, I am giving away a $25 Amazon gift card. So you can download this book for yourself and 24 friends! Or, perhaps buy $24 worth of books for yourself!

Quilted throwBUT THAT’S NOT ALL!! In addition to the gift card, I’m also giving away a quilted sofa throw (50”x 60”) just right for snuggling up and reading THREADS OF TIME. There is more than one way to enter.

1)      Leave a comment on this blog, along with an email address so I can notify you if you win.

2)      Go to my Facebook author page and leave a comment, and then LIKE my author page, and SHARE the post about the book release. If you win, I can private message you.

The drawing will be on February 28th. One prize per person.

Posted in ACFW Author, critique partners, E-book, fictional characters, historical fiction, new release, News, novella collection, Research for fiction, THREADS OF TIME, War Between The States | 13 Comments

WHAT’S IN A NAME

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Connie Stevens

One of the questions authors are asked (along with Where do you get your story ideas?) is How do you come up with the names for your characters?

A Thimbleful of Peace--charactersNaming my characters is part of getting to know them, and I can’t write about them or tell their story unless they introduce themselves to me. I’ve had a few characters who were quite reticent as I was trying to pry their stories out of them. I discovered when I learned more about their past, their motivations, and their goals, that I had incorrectly named them. So my first priority is to learn who they are before tagging them with a handle.

I have two of those What To Name The Baby books that I picked up at a yard sale. They not only list the name, but also the possible nick-names, the country or ethnicity of origin, and the meaning of the name. One book even gives a scriptural theme for the name. I like that because I can weave the character’s name into the spiritual thread of the story.

There are several other parameters I use when choosing character names. I try not to use names beginning with the same letter, or names that sound similar: ie: Melinda, Miranda, and Melissa, or Hank and Frank. Too easily confused. So normally, all the characters in one book will have names that start with a different letter, and they certainly will not rhyme.

Another thing I take into consideration is showing possession. If a name ends in S, it still needs an apostrophe S at the end to show possession, which can feel awkward. This most often applies to surnames, like mine: Stevens. To show possession sounds cumbersome: Connie Stevens’s blog. (Putting an apostrophe at the end by itself indicates more than one Stevens, as in the Stevens’ house.) So I usually try to stay away from names ending in S.

I have used names on a few occasions to honor someone close to me. I’ve used Susan (one of my best friends), and Everett (the same best friend), and Shuford (former pastor).  Joy In The MourningIn the story I am currently writing, I’m using my son’s name, Jonathan, and the last name of some dear friends who have already gone to heaven, Aldridge, for the name of my male protagonist. Jonathan Aldridge is a young pastor of a troubled church in this story, and every time I type the name, it brings a smile to my heart.

In one book, I had a little fun with the names of some of the minor characters. The man and wife who ran the mercantile were named Clyde and Betsy Sawyer, but Clyde had a pet name for his wife: Sweet Pea. The dressmaker in town was named Frances, and two of the servants were named Sam and Maizie. For anyone who follows me on Facebook, you know my cat is named Sweet Pea. One of my writing buds, Kim Vogel Sawyer, has four cats: Clyde, Frances, Sam and Maizie. Another writing bud, Margie Vawter, has a cat named Sinatra (because he has blue eyes). Since I write historicals, I couldn’t very well name a character Sinatra, so there is a cat in the story named Frank. As my crit group critiqued the chapters of that story, we all got a giggle out of those names.

Have you ever read a book with a character whose name yanked you out of the story? I did once. It was the protagonist’s name and every time I came to it, I just shook my head and wondered what in the world the writer was thinking. Then, at the end of the story, when the protagonist married and had her first baby, the baby’s name was even more ridiculous than her mother’s.

What unusual or meaningful character names have you encountered in a book recently?

Posted in ACFW Author, creating characters, fictional characters, historical fiction, names of fictional characters, pet names | Leave a comment

PACKING UP

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Connie Stevens

In just a few more days, I’ll be heading out to join some of my writing buddies for a week of brainstorming, research, book signings, and lots of hugs and laughter.
My “to do” list was getting too long and unmanageable, so I divided it into four lists: things that MUST be done before I leave, things I need from the store, meals to prepare for hubby for while I’m gone, and lastly, what to pack. That last list has gotten longer every day. One would think I was going for a month instead of a week.

In the next four weeks I have four events scheduled for signing my newest release, SUNDAYS IN FREDERICKSBURG.Fred bookcover (See my NEWS & EVENTS page) Two of my co-authors, Margie Vawter and Eileen Key, will be joining me at Mardel’s Christian bookstore in Springfield, Missouri, and the Kingman Carnegie Library in Kingman, Kansas, and we get to sign with Kim Sawyer at the Kingman library. It will be SOOO much fun! So, in addition to the normal stuff one packs when traveling, several of the items on my “what to pack” list include those things I’ll need when interacting with readers and customers. Of course, I’ll need copies of my books, book marks, business cards, chocolate to hand out … but somehow another item was added to the list, and it’s definitely not my handwriting.Skeeter 004

This little fellow’s name is SKEETER. He is just one of my 200+ teddy bears. Normally, he perches on a shelf above my desk, and occasionally offers constructive criticism on whatever I happen to be working on at the time. When he noticed I was making lists in preparation for my travels, it seems he thought he should go along.
I’ve tried to tell him it won’t be any fun for him, but he’s not convinced. You see, he thinks he’s a writer, too.

Skeeter: You need me. What if you get lost on the way.
Me: I have a GPS and a map.
Skeeter: But I need to help you brainstorm. We can talk about your next story in the car on the way. You see, I had this idea–
Me: Skeeter, I’m going to have my writing partners with me. They will help me brainstorm.
Skeeter: I thought I was one of your writing partners. Don’t I always tell you when you need to add more conflict or emotion into your stories and help you create characters?
Me: No, my crit partners do that.
Skeeter: But I can edit your manuscript for you while you and your friends are off antique hunting or prowling around in a museum.
Me: Uh, Skeeter, keep your hands…er, your paws off my manuscript.
Skeeter: I can go to your book signings and guard the chocolate for you.
Me: The chocolate is for giving away to people who come to the book signings. You don’t need to guard it.
Skeeter: What about that gift basket you’re giving away?
Me: What about it?
Skeeter: Doesn’t it need a bear in it?
Me: No.
Skeeter: (pouting) But…but…but…

I don’t want to hurt his little feelings, but he’s going to have to stay home…

SKEETER SEZ: heh heh heh, that’s what she thinks!
Skeeter 003

Posted in ACFW Author, book signing, conflicting emotions, creating characters, fictional characters, gift basket giveaway, new release, News, Sundays in Fredericksburg, traveling, What to pack | Leave a comment

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE–a writer’s tools

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Connie Stevens

I will tell you right here that this post is NOT original. I didn’t write it, although I wish I had. I suspect it was written by a retired English teacher who was bored.

imagesHomographs are words of like spelling but with more than one meaning. A homograph that is also pronounced differently is a heteronym.

1)      The bandage was wound around the wound.    

 2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3)      The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4)      We must polish the Polish furniture.

5)      He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6)      The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7)      Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8)      A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9)      When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10)  I did not object to the object.

11)  The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12)  There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13)  They were too close to the door to close it.

14)  The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15)  A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16)  To help with the planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17)  The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18)  Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.

19)  I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

       20)  How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

dictionary_1Let’s face it – English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger, neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we can find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, two geese. So one moose, two meece? One index, two indices? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? An odd or an end?

If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If vegetable oil is made from the extractions of vegetables, from what is baby oil made?

The English language can send writers and speakers to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what other language will you find people who recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and fat chance have the same connotation, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. They why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

And has anyone speculated why Buick does not rhyme with quick?

Post a comment and let us hear your favorite English language oddity, Fred bookcoverand you will be entered in a drawing for a free copy of SUNDAYS IN FREDERICKSBURG.

Posted in ACFW Author, drawing for free book(s), English language, heteronyms, homographs, Sundays in Fredericksburg, writing tools | 2 Comments

AND THE WINNER IS . . . .

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Connie Stevens

Fred bookcoverThanks, everyone, for helping me celebrate my first book signing. It was a blast! I had my friend draw the winning name for a free copy of SUNDAYS IN FREDERICKSBURG, and the winner is Rhonda White.
Rhonda, I’ll contact you via email to get your mailing address.

Posted in book signing, drawing for free book(s), Sundays in Fredericksburg, Winner | Leave a comment

MY FIRST BOOKSIGNING

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Connie Stevens

store poster 001With the release of my first novella, Hope’s Dwelling Place—part of the SUNDAYS IN FREDERICKSBURG collection, Lifeway Christian Store at the Mall of Georgia in Buford, GA is hosting my very first book signing. I’ve been planning special vintage touches for the book signing table, a lovely gift basket to give away, and a basket of chocolates to share. But the thing I’m looking forward to the most is meeting people and connecting with readers.

The whole point of writing Christian fiction is to show readers how God works in the lives of people—real people who have problems and struggles and flaws, just like all of us. Jesus used the vehicle of story telling to illustrate God’s love to the people who listened to Him. His parables were the first “Christian fiction”, and they were effective tools in reaching and touching hearts.

If you are in the Atlanta area, I invite you to come out to the Lifeway Mall of Georgia store this Saturday, April 27th, from 1:00 to 3:00, where I will be signing SUNDAYS IN Fred bookcoverFREDERICKSBURG. Everyone who has a book signed will be given an entry form to fill out for a chance to win a gift basket filled with my six Heartsong Presents books, a pretty mug and herbal teas, chocolate, delicate cookies, a Christian music CD, an angelic cherub, and more.

Come to Lifeway Mall of Georgia store on Saturday, April 27th. I’d love to meet you and have a picture taken with you!

Posted in ACFW Author, book signing, creating characters, fictional characters, gift basket giveaway, historical fiction, new release, novella collection, Sundays in Fredericksburg | 15 Comments

NEW SPRING RELEASE

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Connie Stevens

Spring pics 001Calendar alert! It’s SPRING!

What is your favorite thing about springtime? For many, especially those who have been inundated with more snow than they care to measure, spring means relief from the icy conditions. Others love the first blooms of crocuses, daffodils, and forsythia. Some anxiously await the return of birds to their backyard feeders. The thought of grilling hamburgers and the smell of freshly mowed grass tantalizes the senses.

Winter tends to make me sleepy! There is nothing cozier than curling up with a cup of hot chocolate, a good book, and a warm quilt. Add a crackling fire in the fireplace to that scene, and it’s not hard to lose track of the weeks. But suddenly I’m turning over a page of my calendar and excitement tickles my insides. With the arrival of spring, I get to finally announce the release of SUNDAYS IN FREDERICKSBURG.

Fred books 001Two weeks ago, the UPS man became one of my favorite people when he delivered this box to my door—my author copies! This is a collection of four novellas written by Margie Vawter, Lynette Sowell, Eileen Key, and myself. I had a blast writing with this team of outstanding authors, and thus, my first experience at writing a novella was so much fun, I’m looking forward to doing it again in the future.

Fred bookcoverThe setting for all four stories is Fredericksburg, Texas, and we stretched our collection over four generations. My story, Hope’s Dwelling Place, is set in 1897. The rest of the collection visits the eras of World War 1 and World War 2 before culminating in a contemporary story. The heroine of the contemporary story is the great granddaughter of the characters in my story.

The Fredericksburg Sunday houses have a fascinating history. When the German farmers first settled this area, their farms were located a good distance from town. So these practical and industrious folks built “Sunday houses”—small dwellings to shelter their families when they came to town on Saturdays to shop, socialize, and transact other business. They spent the night in their Sunday house, attended worship the following morning, and then departed to return to their farms. With the advent of motorized transportation in the early 20th century, many of the Sunday houses were no longer needed for their original purpose, so some of them were transformed into stores, offices, or permanent houses for elderly family members. Quite a few of them still exist today.

SUNDAYS IN FREDERICKSBURG will be available on Amazon, Christianbook Distributors, Barnes and Noble, and wherever Christian fiction is sold. I hope you enjoy reading this collection of novellas as much as we did writing it.

What do you like the most about reading a novella collection? Leave a comment and you will be entered in a drawing for a free copy of SUNDAYS IN FREDERICKSBURG. Drawing will take place on Friday, March 29th.

 

Posted in ACFW Author, fictional characters, historical fiction, new release, novella collection, Research for fiction, Sundays in Fredericksburg | 19 Comments