Introverted Me

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Many writers and artists, as well as other people, are introverts.  Are you an introvert?  I am, though some people do not believe me.

Webster’s Dictionary defines introvert as:  to turn inward or in upon itself;  to concentrate or direct upon oneself; a reserved or shy person; a quiet person who does not find it easy to talk to other people.

I find these definitions a bit simplistic and, to a degree, they miss the mark.  I agree that an introvert is a person who does not find it easy to talk to other people.  However, what this definition neglects to explain is that it takes effort and great energy for an introvert to be around people and to have to interact with them, and after spending time putting forth the effort and energy to interact with others, an introvert needs quiet time alone to regain energy.

Why do some people not believe me when I tell them that I am an introvert?  Because when I am comfortable with a person or small group of people, I enjoy talking to them and sharing thoughts and ideas that we have in common.  Most people seem to assume that introverts are always quiet and don’t like to talk, and so the fact that I, as well as other introverts, actually enjoy conversations with people we are comfortable with seems to puzzle them.

As a homeschool mom, I have stepped out of my introverted comfort zone many times to do things for my children’s benefit and/or education.  I have spoken in front of groups of people — for me, this doesn’t bother me too much if the group consists of children and teenagers, but if the group includes adults, it ranges from being scary to terrifying, and sometimes I don’t even know what the level of fear will be; like the time I had collected monetary gifts from the parents of the homeschool high school soccer team and had to stand before a group of both teens and adults to express our gratitude and present the gift to the coach.  I still do not know why I became so terrified doing this that my hands shook, my voice and lip trembled and I was nearly in tears before I was finished.  I was never so glad to sit down and hide in the crowd as I was after presenting that gift.

However, people see me standing before these groups and talking or loudly cheering for my boys at their sports events or introducing myself to new homeschool moms or new couples and/or families visiting our church and think I have to be an extrovert, when, in fact, I have simply learned how to force myself out of my introverted comfort zone when it seems necessary to do so.  All of the things listed in this paragraph and those above require a lot of effort and energy for me, but I also find that all of these things can be blessings as I reach out to welcome or encourage others, and as they are blessed by my actions, it becomes a blessing to me, but it still requires a lot of effort and energy for me to do so.

Even as much as I love my husband and three children, I sometimes need some quiet time by myself to recharge my battery to prevent myself from becoming impatient and easily frustrated with them because of being so tired of having to deal with people and the energy it requires to be with them and to do things for them.

As I find myself getting older and my children growing up, I am finding that I am craving more quiet time to recharge my energy and regain my peace of mind than I used to.  I feel a stronger need, maybe because I am writing again and writing requires a lot of mental time and energy, for more solitude — yes, solitude is what I really need.  You see, as an introvert, I am not bored when I am alone and I do not become lonely within a day or two.  On the contrary, being alone allows me to revel in the quiet, spend time reflecting and thinking, and, even more importantly, speaking to and seeking my Lord, and this refreshes me and renews my spirit and energizes me so that I can enjoy my loved ones and they will find my company more enjoyable than after an entire week of having to be with people.

Also, I remember as a teen, not really minding doing things with friends that required being in a large crowd.  However, as I get older, I prefer to avoid large crowds, except on rare occasions, like when I have the opportunity to go to a Toby Mac concert.  But, being in a large crowd doesn’t necessarily take a lot of effort and energy from me because a person can be alone in a crowd.  As an introvert, I can easily blend into the background and not be noticed and, therefore, not have to interact with other people in the crowd.

So, what are my favorite activities?  Yes, they are all introvert, things people do alone, activities:  reading, listening to music without interruptions with earbuds in place, writing, or coloring in those new artist coloring books, although I enjoy having others color in coloring books around the same table with me as well.

How about you?  Are you an introvert?  What are your introvert tendencies? I know even we introverts are not all the same.

How Do I Know Who to Listen To?

/ kellyfbarr / 2 Comments

Have you ever shared the same piece of your writing with more than one critique group?  If so, what happened?

I shared the first chapter of my last manuscript with three different critique groups, and this was after sharing with a one-on-one consult with a writer/marketing person.  I changed the first chapter three times.

I also became frustrated because I didn’t know if making all those changes was really necessary.  Who were the right people or voices to listen to?  That’s what I asked the head of the local writers’ group that I am a part of, and this is what she told me.  “If the advice sounds like an opinion, ignore it.  This happens when the person reading the piece isn’t a fan of your particular genre or writing style.

If the advice is specific and the advice or changes make sense, and more than one person is offering that same advice, take it into consideration.  Those are probably the people who are really interested in what you are writing and want to help you improve it.”

This has been helpful, valuable advice, and has taken the frustration out of critique groups for me.

Maybe you haven’t shared the same piece of writing with multiple critique groups, but I like to get a lot of input and feedback on my writing because I want a lot of readers to want to read it when it is completed.

What do you think?  How much input and feedback do you seek for your writing?

The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson

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I received a free eBook copy of this book to write a review for BookLook Blogger.

This is the first story I have ever read by Melanie Dickerson.  I have never been familiar with the story of Rapunzel, so I do not know if Ms. Dickerson’s story is too much like the original or not.  What I do know is that Ms. Dickerson captured my attention and held it throughout the book.  She created rich, deep characters.  Good characters that I fell in love with and cheered for, and bad characters that I wanted to see get their comeuppance.

Ms. Dickerson’s descriptions were brief but clear.  I could easily picture both characters and places in my head.  The story takes place in Medieval times complete with knights and castles.  I’ve always enjoyed romance stories from Medieval times, and I thoroughly enjoyed this story by Melanie Dickerson.

The fact that the story is a spin off of a fairy tale was intriguing to me.  I have only read one other such story by a different author.  I really liked that though Ms. Dickerson’s story ended happily, it was not presented as “happily ever after”.  That’s the one thing about fairy tales and Disney that I find quite frustrating, because when you grow up with those stories, you expect to find and experience that kind of romance and love, which is not true to life.  True to life love/marriage requires a lot of work and give and take, communication and understanding on the part of both people involved.  Therefore, I loved that Ms. Dickerson hinted that not every day would be “happily ever after” because of the personality differences of the characters and their past hurts.  Thank you, Ms. Dickerson for that.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to read a fairy tale type story that’s a  bit more realistic, and to anyone who loves historical fiction novels, Medieval times, knights and castles, and romance stories, or anyone who just wants to read a good book.

A New Story

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Some of you may be disappointed to learn that I will not be looking for Beta readers for my completed manuscript nor will I be posting teasers here about it.  Why, you may ask?

Honestly, there are several reasons:

  1.  When I began writing this story, I wasn’t sure it was what I really wanted to write.  I wrote it because I had the idea and I liked my main characters.
  2. I was never really excited about writing this story.
  3. When I was almost finished with the story, I rushed to the end because I thought I wanted to submit it to a contest, but then I missed the deadline.  Then the holidays came and I was too busy to write or worry about that manuscript that I had completed, but wasn’t happy about completing.
  4. After letting the manuscript rest for a month, I went back and did a read through.  I found my timeline was a mess, there were holes and the ending was rushed and I didn’t like it because it wasn’t the ending I had originally planned because I had rushed it.
  5. I had given it to my closest writing friends for them to read and give me feedback.  I have only received feedback from one so far, and she pointed out that I misinterpreted a key piece of information to my story.

So, what am I going to do with this sad manuscript whose characters I still love?  I will finish going through my one friend’s edits and will also go over the feedback I may still receive from a few other friends, but for now I am content to chalk this manuscript up to what it is — my first completed manuscript since I was a teenager, a manuscript that will one day require a lot more hard work and time to make it something I will be happy with.

Why won’t I do that now?  Because while I was writing that story, I had a story inside me bursting to come out with characters who wouldn’t leave me alone, constantly wanting to know when I would begin working on their story.  This is a story I am excited about!  I already have other stories that can become a series from this story!  It is a different genre than the one I completed at the end of November, a genre that I think I will enjoy much more.

I have learned much by writing a complete manuscript, letting it rest and going back for a read through, as well as having someone edit it.  I have learned what NOT to do with this next manuscript, as well as some things to do that I didn’t do with the first one.

I began writing this new story last night after completing quite a bit of research.  I still have a bit of planning to do for my characters, but that won’t take too long.  I also have a pretty good plot outline to work from, and I am excited and I LOVE these characters and this story already!

What about you?  Have you ever finished a story and then decided you didn’t really like it enough to improve it and try to get it published?  Have you completed a story you like better and want to get in the hands of your fans?

The Controversy Regarding Book Reviews

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I thought it would be appropriate to follow my post about editors with a post about Book Reviews because I recently found out that a friend of mine, who writes, claims to only read for “entertainment”, and so doesn’t say anything about the writing of a book in a review.  This caused me to challenge the honesty of this friend’s reviews, and reviews are called into question in regard to their honesty over and over again.

After all, Amazon recently adopted new rules in regard to writing book reviews for them, some of which seem out of line like the one I recently read about and signed a petition against that says that if you are friends with a writer/author on Facebook or Twitter, they will not post your reviews of those writer/authors’ books.

Why do I think this rule is out of line?  Because as a writer, I have been taught the importance of networking as well as the fact that many successful writers are willing to give advice to up-and-coming and wannabe writers, so these newbies seek to connect with them.  I am connected to many people on Facebook, Twitter and even here on this blog that are writers/authors, that I have never met face-to-face and do not know personally.  Therefore, to say that I cannot post a book review of their work is ridiculous.

Why is Amazon putting such ridiculous rules regarding Book Reviews in place?  Because of the many dishonest people who write raving 5-star Book Reviews for family members, close friends, or even, (and yes, sadly, this does happen), a writer/author who will pay them or give them some kind of reward for writing a positive Book Review.  I understand why Amazon would want to stop these types of reviews.  However, to assume that everyone falls into one of these categories just because they are connected to the writer/author through social media is wrong.

When my friend told me about her Book Reviews, I asked her why she doesn’t give an honest review mentioning the writing (because she said she doesn’t write anything about the writing in the review.  She simply focuses on the story line)?  Her response was she doesn’t want to seem harsh or hurt the writer’s feelings, to which I responded that it is quite possible to write an honest review without being harsh.  I told her I do it all the time.

Yes, as you know, if you visit here often, I write quite a few Book Reviews and not everything I say is in praise of the book.  If I think the writer needs to work on something, I say so.  If I don’t really like the story, I say so.  However, I always do it in the kindest words I can think of, and even if I struggle to find something positive to say, (which is rare, but did happen when I reviewed A Fine Piece of Chocolate), I find something to say to encourage the writer because as a writer myself, I hope that when I finally have something out there for review, that the reviewers will be kind and encouraging, but completely honest.  After all, I have been told by many writers who already reached a level of success, that to be a writer, you need to develop a “thick” skin, not only because of the many rejection slips you may receive, but also because of the many negative Book Reviews some people may write.

What do you think?  Do you write any Book Reviews?  Are your Book Reviews honest and do you review both the story line and the writing?

Where Have the Editors Gone?

/ kellyfbarr / 6 Comments

I am a person with strong opinions, especially about things that I am passionate about.  This is how a conversation I had with a friend from my Thursday writing group became the topic of this post.

We met last night since this week, Thursday is New Year’s Eve, and Susan asked Laura if the story she recently finished will become a series.  That led us to discussing how you can create a series from a story you didn’t mean to be a series, if a publisher/editor ask you to make it a series.

That led to Laura mentioning an author who she enjoys reading, who writes books with good storylines, but she said it is also obvious that the writer isn’t a strong writer and there are often errors such as spelling and grammar even with a traditional publisher, which caused me to ask “Where Have the Editors Gone?”

Everything I have learned is that we have to be strong writers and we need to put out our very best.  We need to do a lot of reading, especially in the genre we want to write, and we should find at least one writers’ group to be a part of, and we should never stop studying the craft of writing.  I’ve heard the stories about hundreds of rejections and the demanding editors.

Yet, so many, even bestselling writers, are getting published and hitting bestseller status, yet they’re writing is lacking.

My question then is “Where have the Editors Gone?”

So, Laura asked an agent about this.  She wanted to know how this is possible.  How are these books not getting edited?

The response she received was that they have already established a following and the books are selling.  It all depends on numbers and as long as you’re making big money, the publishers and editors don’t care whether the writing is good quality.  This agent also mentioned that this is also why you will sometimes read an earlier book by a writer that is better written than later books because often good writers will stop working hard to do their best once they hit big numbers because they don’t have to produce the same quality once they’ve become successful.

To all of this, I say, “WHAT?!  It is ridiculous that today’s readers are accepting poorly written books and then hailing them as “wonderful” in book reviews, blog posts, and on Good Reads.  For goodness sake, can you at least write an honest review and let the author know that you like the story line but think they should improve their writing.  It is possible to do this in a kind way.  I have done it.  Just read this post for an example.  I believe I was honest without being harsh in this post and I even complimented the writer near the end of the post on what I noticed may be her strength.  Just because the many publishing options make it so much easier to publish today, and just because you may build a large following should not be an excuse to not produce your best possible work.

I have always been a bit perfectionistic and would never dream of producing less than my best.  Also, I believe that I am called to strive for excellence.

 

Time to Put My Nose Back to the Grindstone

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Well, after a month break from novel writing, I feel refreshed and ready to get back to some serious writing.  I finished my first novel at the end of November, and when I did, I had no desire to start editing it or really digging into another novel.

So what did I do for the past month?  I let my novel rest, although I did send it to my writing buddies that I meet with weekly, and the editor completed technical edits (you know, grammar, spelling, and such), which I have only recently begun to look at.

Did I feel guilty for taking a month off?  No, I felt like I needed the break.  It is a busy time of year.  Also, I have heard other authors repeatedly suggest taking a break after completing a novel.  Suggested time off ranges from two weeks to a month.  It allows you to approach the novel with fresh eyes and mind to edit and revise.

During my month break I did not stay away from writing completely.  I couldn’t do that.  If you follow this blog, you know that I wrote a short Christmas story that I read at our church Christmas service, because I posted the original on this blog.  I also did a couple of blog posts, did some planning and research for my next novel, and I read and studied the book Revision and Self-Editing for Publication by James Scott Bell.

I found Mr. Bell’s book extremely helpful, and it has given me great tips and advice and motivated me to begin the editing and revision process of my novel.

For the past two weeks, I’ve had no time to write as I prepared for our family Christmas celebration, and then came the celebration, but during this period, I was still studying Mr. Bell’s book.  I was also blessed the Sunday before Christmas, to be able to spend some time talking to our church’s associate pastor, who is also a writer.  He has never published anything traditionally, but has printed and assembled some of his poems and stories to share with friends and loved ones.  He is now 92 years old and still writing.  We have been talking a lot about writing over the past couple of weeks, and I have had the privilege of reading one of his short stories and offering him some writing tips, because, though he has been writing for years, he hasn’t really studied the craft and is not up-to-date on today’s publishing options and what editors are looking for.  I love talking writing with other writers.  I also love to encourage and help other writers in any way I can.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I pray that God will bless you in the coming new year!  I hope that those of you who write, will enter the new year feeling refreshed and excited to write.

Look for glimpses into my novel in the new year.

Unlikely Saviour

/ kellyfbarr / 5 Comments

Hello Everyone,

Here is a Christmas short story I wrote.  I hope you will enjoy it, and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Unlikely Saviour

by Kelly F. Barr

It was 1858 when Thomas and Catherin O’Connell and their four children made the long, challenging journey from Kentucky to Missouri. They had arrived in the United States from Ireland just seven years before. Thomas hoped to get some good land in Missouri to start a farm.

As soon as they arrived in Missouri, he followed the other men to the land office and stood in line waiting and silently praying that he would get some good land. When he finally stood in front of the land officer, he said, “Could I please purchase a few acres near the river?”

“That land costs $2.50 per acre. How many acres would you like?”

Thomas lowered his head and swallowed hard. “What do you have that’s cheaper?”

The land officer folded his arms across his chest. “We have land on the interior of the Ozarks for 12 1/2 cents an acre. That’s the cheapest you’ll get.”

“I’ll take four acres of land on the interior, please.” He paid for the land and received a deed with a map of where to find his land. He left the land office, shoulders drooping.

“How did you do, Thomas?”

“Oh, Catherin, darlin’, we got four acres, but I heard some of the men talking as I was coming out of the office, and it’s going to be very hard work. The good land was more than we could afford. The land we got is on the interior of the Ozarks and is rough land.”

“Well, we’ve never had anything easy and we’re used to hard work. At least Henry, Charles, and Frank are big and strong enough to be of help.”

He kissed Catherin on the cheek. “You’re always the encourager. Let’s go see our land.”

By the time they arrived at their land, little Rose was asleep in the wagon. Thomas and the three boys built a makeshift lean-to and a fire. While Catherin set to preparing their supper over the fire, Thomas carried Rose and laid her in the lean-to where Catherin could be nearby. Then he and the boys marked off where they would begin to build the house.

By the time they had finished supper, it was dark and they all bedded down for the night.

Thomas was up with the sun and he roused the boys. They began to build the house while Catherin prepared breakfast. Two year old Rose helped Catherine with simple things throughout the days while Thomas and the boys worked on the house, but mostly, she played in the sunshine and watched the squirrels and birds.

After two weeks the little house was finally finished, and Catherin was happy to live in a permanent structure. She even enjoyed unpacking her dishes and pots and pans to set up her kitchen, and Rose had fun trying to sweep the floor.

Catherin’s eyes filled with tears as she watched Thomas and the boys, so physically tired from spending two weeks building the house, tread out to begin cultivating the field. She thanked the Lord that they would be sleeping in real beds tonight. She hoped they would feel much more rested tomorrow morning.

The soil was very gritty and it required arduous work to get crops to grow. As they farmed the land over the next three years, they found that Indian corn and wheat seemed to grow best in the difficult soil. At the end of the third year, the farm finally started showing a small profit.

* * * * *

Last year Catherin gave birth to another little girl. Little Margaret had just turned a year old last week. Rose, at the age of five, helped Catherin with the housework and caring for little Margaret.

Today, Frank, the youngest of the boys at ten years of age, was as excited as Rose. The family headed into the woods to choose a pine tree to bring home to decorate for Christmas, which was just a week away. The chores were all finished and they had to find a tree quickly because it would be getting dark in about an hour.

As the family walked through the woods inspecting every pine tree they saw, Rose found a pine tree she really liked. She wandered nearer to get a closer look. It was tall and slender. She watched a couple of little birds flitting around the top of the tree. When the little birds flew away, she turned around to look for her family, but they weren’t there. She ran back to where she had last been with them, but they had moved on.

“Da, Mam!” Rose called for her parents.

“Henry, Charles!” She tried calling for her older brothers.

No one called back. She stood still listening.

“Da, Mam, where are you?”

She knew not to wander because her family might come back to look for her when they realized she was missing, but the sun had already started sinking in the sky and it was getting dark in the woods. She tried not to be scared, but she couldn’t help it. She sat down at the base of an oak tree and cried.

The darkness grew and it began to get cold. She pulled her ragged little coat tighter around her and put the collar up around her neck.

“Please, God, help my family find me soon.”

As the hours passed, she began to hear the scary night sounds of the woods: the hoot of an owl, the distant howl of a wolf.

“Please, God, don’t let a hungry wolf or bear come this way tonight.”

She fought to keep her eyes open, but sleep soon overtook her.

While she slept, a large animal came and lay down beside her, lending its body warmth to keep her warm. She snuggled closer to the animal and slept on.

When she awoke, it was still really dark all around her. She realized there was an animal lying against her. She reached out and touched it with her hand. It rubbed its head against her.

“Where did you come from, Kitty?”

The animal stood up, and Rose got up and grabbed a handful of the animal’s thick fur. “Please don’t leave me, Kitty. I don’t like being alone in these dark woods.”

The animal rubbed against her and began to walk. She clung to its thick fur and walked with it. “Can you lead me home?”

The animal walked slowly enough for Rose to keep up.

After a while, Rose said, “I’m getting tired, Kitty. Can we rest soon?”

The animal continued to walk.

After a few more minutes, Rose saw a cabin with a light in the window. It wasn’t her house. The animal nudged her toward the cabin.

“You want me to go to the cabin door and knock?”

The animal nudged her with its nose.

Rose said, “Wait here for me, okay?”

She hesitantly walked up onto the little porch and gently knocked on the door. After a few minutes, she knocked a little harder and the door opened. A plump, white haired woman looked down at her.

“My goodness, child, where did you come from?”

“I got lost from my family in the woods last night when we were looking for a Christmas tree.”

“You mean to tell me, you’ve been out in the woods on this cold night wearing that threadbare coat? Well, you just come right in here and warm yourself by the fire. I’ll have breakfast on the table in just a few minutes, and Shane will be in from the barn soon.” She ushered Rose to a chair by the fire as she talked. Then, as she moved toward the kitchen, the back door opened and in came the biggest man Rose had ever seen.

“Shane, we’ve got ourselves a guest for breakfast. She’s sittin’ by the fire.”

Rose’s eyes grew wide and she shrank back into the chair as Shane approached.

“Aw, now there’s nothin’ to be afraid of. I may be big, but I wouldn’t hurt you, child. What’s your name?”

“Rose O’Connell.”

“Lands sake, you the little ‘un belongs to Thomas O’Connell lives just outside the woods on the interior of these Ozarks?”

Rose nodded her head.

Shane reached over and gently patted her hand. “Don’t you worry none. I’ll get you home after breakfast. How did you find our place?”

“The big kitty brought me here.”

“Big kitty? What big kitty?”

“I don’t know, but it kept me warm last night and brought me here this morning.”

Shane rubbed his chin and walked over to his wife in the kitchen.

He spoke quietly and Rose strained to hear what he said.

“Nora, did she tell you a big kitty brought her here?”

“No, dear, but I didn’t ask how she got here. I do know that she’s been out in the woods alone all night. Seems she wandered away from her family when they were looking for a Christmas tree.”

“Well, do you think she’s right in the head?”

“Course she is. She’s just a young’un with a vivid imagination who just came through what was probably the scariest night of her life.”

Nora put the food on the table, walked over and led Rose to the table for breakfast.

Rose didn’t know what she had said wrong, but she could tell that talking about the big kitty bothered the man, Shane, so she didn’t mention it again.

After breakfast, Shane said, “Well, little Rose, I’ll go get the wagon ready and take you back home.”

Rose smiled at him.

After he had gone out the door, she asked Nora, “Will you come along to take me home too?”

Nora smiled at the pretty little girl with curly red hair and a sprinkling of freckles. “Course I will. It’s just a short ride.”

When Nora and Rose went out to get in the wagon, Rose looked around for the big kitty. She didn’t see him until the wagon began to move. Then she spotted it just behind the tree line. He was following the wagon.

When the wagon pulled up in front of her house, she saw the big kitty hide behind some bushes and brambles near the tree line on the edge of their property. She climbed down from the wagon and whispered, “Thank you, Kitty.”

Before Shane, Nora and Rose reached the front door, Rose’s Mam came running from the house.

“Oh, Rose. We were so worried. Where were you?”

“I’m sorry, Mam. I was watching some little birds at the top of the Christmas tree, and when I turned around, you and Da and Henry, Charles, Frank, and Margaret were gone.”

“Rose!” Da and the boys exclaimed when they saw her, and little Margaret toddled over to her.

“Shane, how did you find my daughter?” Thomas asked.

“She showed up at our cabin early this morning. She said a big kitty had kept her warm in the woods during the night and led her to our place in the morning.”

“A big kitty?”

“Aye, that’s what I thought too. We don’t have large wild cats around here, except for the rare mountain lion, but that cat would be a danger to such a young’un.”

“I’m sure she’s mistaken. Probably imagined it because of being scared in the woods alone at night.”

“That’s what my Nora said too.”

Thomas and Catherin invited Shane and Nora in for coffee, but they politely declined. So Thomas and Catherin thanked them for bringing Rose home safely, and Shane and Nora climbed back into their wagon.

* * * * *

The O’Connell family went inside and Thomas pulled Rose upon his lap.

“Now, my little Rose, won’t you tell me about this big kitty you said helped you?”

“Yes, Da. He was big and his head was really hairy. The rest of his body wasn’t so hairy. I couldn’t grab the hair anywhere on his body, except around his head. He kept me warm by lying against me as I slept. He was gentle and tall. I had to lift my arm to hold onto the hair around his head, and he led me to Mr. Shane and Nora’s house. Then he nudged me with his nose to show me that he wanted me to go to their door.”

“Now, Rose, you know the difference between the truth and a lie, right?”

“Oh, yes, Da, and I promise, I am telling the truth.”

Da set Rose down on the floor, scratched his head, shook it, and went out the back door. In just a moment he was back looking a bit dazed.

“Thomas, what is it now?” Catherine asked.

“I just saw it.”

“Saw what?”

“I saw that big kitty of little Rose’s. At least I saw its back end with its long sleek tail with the tuft of hair on the end as it walked deeper into the woods. But, we don’t have those kinds of cats around here.”

“What kind of cat was it, Thomas?”

“A lion.”

“Oh, Thomas, you must be mistaken.”

“I know what I saw Catherin.”

“Well, come over to the fire and let’s place the crib on the mantle now that our little Rose is home again.”

Thomas took Catherin’s hand and they joined the children near the fire. Henry had the crib setting on the table waiting. Each of the children placed pieces of the crib on the mantle: the boys placed the shepherds and wise men, little Margaret placed the sheep and oxen, Mam and Da placed Mary and Joseph and then Mam handed the baby Jesus to Rose.

Rose held the figure gently in her hand and looked at the babe for a long time. Then she kissed him and said, “Thank you, Jesus.”

“What are you thanking the baby Jesus for?” Frank wanted to know.

“For bringing me home safely.”

“I thought you said it was a big kitty.”

“It was, but Jesus was inside the big kitty. That’s why the kitty didn’t hurt me.”

Catherin smiled, tears glistening in her eyes and began to sing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”. The rest of the family joined her as Rose placed the baby Jesus in the crib upon the mantle.

The Stone of Ebenezer by Susan Van Volkenburgh

/ kellyfbarr / Leave a comment

I received a copy of this  book free from BookLook Blogger to review.

Nagad’s life was perfect until torn apart by war. Now, haunted by his past, this young conscript must face the enemy in battle. As nations collide in a fierce conflict for dominance, more is at stake than the survival of a race. The outcome will prove whose god reigns omnipotent. In this vivid, accurate account of biblical events, Nagad’s people must endure treacherous journeys, bloody battles, and God’s judgment in their quest for ultimate victory.

The Stone of Ebenezer by Susan Van Volkenburgh is an historical, Biblical fiction story.  Susan did an excellent job of writing the story true to scripture and simply adding some specific characters that the reader can care about and cheer for.  She did an excellent job with her setting and keeping the real Biblical characters true to form.

I enjoyed reading how some characters recognized the actions of the one true God and others could not see until they were facing fear of death, and even then, some could not see.

I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical, Biblical fiction.  I would like to read the next book of the series when Susan releases it.

A Bump in the Road

/ kellyfbarr / 2 Comments

Please forgive me if you are anxiously awaiting information about my completed story, but I have been in a bit of a funk since I completed it.  I’ve been experiencing all of the doubts and fears that writers experience when they consider releasing one of their babies out into the world.

I am currently studying James Scott Bell’s book Revision and Self-Editing for Publication.  I’ve had a friend who is an editor go through it, and she has completed her run through it to inform me of my grammar and technical errors, but I haven’t looked at them yet.  I plan to do that tomorrow or Thursday.

Therefore, I hope to start posting a bit about my main characters here for you soon.  I just need to find my confidence again and do some serious revising.  Because, as all writers know, writing a good story includes lots of revising and editing.

Stay posted.  It will come.