Joy's Blog Birthday Party Day Four - Modern Fiction and Ink Stains

1.      Who are your most-well-loved authors of the mid to late twentieth century (. . . 1930s-1980s)?

I can’t say I read heaps from this era as I am quite wary about content, and it can be hard to find gems in the rubble sometimes.  I really like Corrie Ten Boom books.  Oh!  My favourite author of all time is Janette Oke.  If you have not read her books you really need to find some and get into them.  They are beautiful!

2.      Your favourite authors of the twenty-first century?

My family has recently discovered the Barn Chronicles by Rosie Boom, which is the story about Rosie’s family (her husband and their six children) and about how they lived in a barn in New Zealand while they built their family home.  The books are really funny and “real life”, if you know what I mean.

3.      Which genres do you tend to read the most and enjoy from more modern fiction?

Biographies I think but I am also especially fond of any books set in WWII.  Most of Janette Oke books are set in the pioneering days of America and are Christian romances.  In a good way.  ;)  :P

4.      Are you more willing to invest yourself in a fictional trilogy/or series or prefer the stand-alone novel better?

It depends on the series.  :)  If I don’t enjoy the first book, then I won’t bother with the follow up books, but then if I enjoy the first one, I’ll keep going.  :)

5.      While it is generally agreed that nothing beats classic fiction, there is much gold in the new too! What are the positive qualities and styles of modern works that you appreciate?

That is a really hard question, Joy!  Ummm… :)  It’s not that I don’t appreciate modern books but as a whole, modern novels just don’t portray the same family values, fidelity, clean-ness that older books tend to have.

6.      What is your greatest hope for modern fiction?

What do you mean by that?  I’m going to assume you mean, what do I hope to find when I open a modern fiction book… :)  I hope to read about people of courage, who aren’t afraid to stand up for right and who defend the truth.  Also love that lasts would be a nice bonus feature thrown in now days.  :)

7.      List 5 books by modern authors you have read which you either hope or predict will become "classics" in years to come.

I really have no idea… :)

8.      In reading modern books, do you predominantly read from the secular or Christian market?

Christian, because have I mentioned that Janette Oke is my favourite author???  ;)  In saying that however the war stories I rad would almost equal her books, I think.

9.      List three of your favourite novels written in this century.

10. Of various as yet-unpublished books that you know something about, what are 5 that you most wish to read one day?

I don’t really keep up with what is coming out, but there is a book by a certain Joy that I wouldn’t mind reading one day… :)

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"The Ink Stains" Questions. . . 

(the writing tag)

1.      For how long have you been seriously novel-writing? What sparked you to move from simply writing in a "dabbling" fashion for fun to pursuing your writing to a higher-level?

I confess I am still dabbling.  I am not a serious writer in the least and unless it is something casual like this or a story I think up by myself, I don’t particularly enjoy it much.

2.      Do you wish, ultimately, to entertain your readers and make them smile, or rather to inspire, challenge them and move them to tears?

Just to get them hooked would be my fist goal – if they feel anything after that, I’m happy.  :P

3.      What are two of your favourite genres to write in?

Historical Fiction.  I think I have dabbled in about half a dozen eras, but I can’t say what would be my favourite.

4.      Will you please tell us a little about your current writing project (novel-in-progress, short story, novella, etc. . . )?

I can’t say I am actually actively working on anything at the moment, but the last story I started was a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast in a WWII setting.   You can read the first two installments here.  Part One   Part Two

5.      How long have you been working on it? What is the backstory of how you started this novel?

I came up with the idea when I read about the competition of Five Enchanted Roses on Joy’s blog.  The challenge was to tell a unique version of Beauty and the Beast, while staying true to the original plot.  

   

6.      Have you written other stories/books (or currently writing others)? Do tell us a little about them please!

I have started many more stories than I have completed.  In fact, I can’t think of many stories that I finished – at all.  I am not particularly fond of my own writing style, strange as it may sound.  I tend to write about my own passions, namely family, weddings and babies.  If it is not written properly or harnessed and dealt out in moderate amounts, such writing is rather unpalatable and super sloppy.  :P   Janette Oke is about the only author I have come across who has mastered this art.

7.      Out of all the characters you've ever written, who is your favourite?

I was pretty happy with the old woman at the start of my Beauty and the Beast story.

8.      When you complete this novel, do you plan on preparing it for publication or rather leave it to "marinate" and start a new work with the hopes of improving your writing first?

I don’t plan to ever publish something, and as a general rule, I don’t edit.  The way it comes out is the way it is.  :P

9.      Isaac Newton was known to have said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Who do you see as having been the literary giants or "Greats" that have inspired and influenced your writing thus far?

10. Can you picture any of your novels being adapted into movies? In the stuff of your dreams, who would you cast for your main characters?

I am always doing this, whether it is my own writing or someone else’s!  As I said, though, my writing is generally not finished or developed enough to put it even into dreams yet!

11. As you write, how often do you find yourself learning any of the lessons or going through any of the journeys/struggles of your characters?

I can’t say I learn new lessons, but I am encouraged sometimes by the gentleness and meekness that I may try to put into a girl, or the courage and manliness that I put into a lad (not that manliness applies much to me!  LOL!)

12. As a Christian, how does your faith affect your writing generally? Is your current novel overtly Christian or more subtly under-girded with your faith and worldview?

Depends what I’m aiming for.  It my goal is a Christian novel, then I will highlight that more than what I would in a general fiction writing.  In such books, I may not mention religion at all, but my writing reflects the standards that I up hold as a Christian.

13. In one word each, how would you describe each of the main characters of your novel?

Dame Kansvier  : spooky

Rosalind: brave

Jacob: gentle

Ruth: sweet

14. Are there any aspects of your novel that have taken you by surprise?

Not yet!  :D

15. How do you think the main characters of your novel would react if he or she were introduced to you?

“You look so innocent!”  :P  Just kidding.  ;)  I seriously have no idea.

15. Do you plan, Lord-willing, on pursuing the traditional mainstream route of finding an agent, etc, and waiting it out, or do you consider indi publishing (self-publishing) a healthy alternative?

No, I don’t ever plan to publish.

16. Out of the many themes and messages, what would be the one closest to your heart that you should like to share through your writing?

There is hope, there is love, and we can find it if we look in the right place.  It isn’t inaccessible – Jesus holds it all out to us: all we have to do is reach out hand take it.