Blog

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Plain Princess Jane?

It’s a fairly long story, that I’ll go into further in a series of blog posts. But the TL;DR version is it grew out of some snark I threw at Sleeping Beauty twenty years ago, which was “Poor Aurora, it would be so tough being given radiant beauty, a perfect singing voice and unfathomable grace when she was born.” My friend and I had a chuckle, but I never stopped thinking about it. We all tend to feel like people are prettier, smarter and more talented than us…but what if they really were? Then, because I love a funny story I was like, “What if those magical gifts were given to the family cat accidentally? Haha.” And Plain Princess Jane was born.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Plain Princess Jane, what would they be?

Princess Jane: "ROCK WHAT YOU GOT" by Superchick

Lady Caterina: "SUPER TROUPER" by Superchick

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I read a lot of Christian apologetics books, but as far as entertainment reads, I love comedy books and mystery thrillers. I devour Agatha Christie, Meg Cabot, Janet Evanovich and Dean Koontz. Yes, I also like to write those genres, but I’ll write any genre. I write sci-fi, drama, and horror. Stories and characters tend to come to me fully formed, so whatever the muse decides to clock me with, is what I write.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

I’m currently reading both "The Blessed and Boundless God" by George Swinnock and "City of God" by Augustine. My next entertainment read will be the "ABC Murders" by Agatha Christie. I’ve read it before, but I’m in the mood for a re-read.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

I enjoyed all the team activity scenes at the Royal Retreat. My favorite is the minefield scene, I think it’s hilarious. Any scene where Jane and Caterina are chatting, because their dynamic is fun and hilarious.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

Not really. I’m a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom with three kids, so I basically write whenever I can squeeze in a few minutes, and after they’ve gone to bed—if I can stay awake.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

The big one Jesus gave us: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Those really do cover everything in life. The most important realization I had—though it still comes from the Lord—that affected how I live, is recognizing love is not a feeling. Love is a set of actions. It’s not out of your control in anyway, you don’t “fall” into it, you choose it. The feelings we associate with love follow the actions, not the other way around. Really understanding this changes you and your life completely.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

As Princess Jane’s parents taught her: you can’t control what happens to you in life. You can only control how you respond to it.

 

Jennifer Milne is the author of the new book Plain Princess Jane

Connect with Jennifer Milne

Author Site

Facebook

Twitter

Buy The Book

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Like A Redwood Seed–Stronger Than The Flames?

I had a very unusual childhood and young adulthood, people were always telling me to write a book!

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Like A Redwood Seed–Stronger Than The Flames, what would they be?

"Alive" by Sia.

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

My favorite genres are tied - historical fiction and fantasy. I read everything though, and a lot of memoirs as well.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

The Scarlet Badge - a memoir.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

The dogsled scenes were pretty fun to recall and write.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I write notes on random pieces of paper wherever I happen to be at the moment when words or ideas pop into my head.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Keep putting one foot in front of the the other.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

Never give up.

 

Fia Sylvan is the author of the new book Like A Redwood Seed–Stronger Than The Flames

Connect with Fia Sylvan

Author Site

Facebook

Buy The Book

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Becoming Amazed: Discovering the World with Eyes Wide Open?

Becoming Amazed: Discovering the World with Eyes Wide Open picks up where my first book, Becoming Fearless: Finding Courage in the African Wilderness, left off. In 1981, my boss, the founder of Sobek Expeditions, decided his shy, naïve 28-year-old financial manager (me) needed to go on a real adventure. I’d never been outside the borders of the U.S., except on a family vacation to Canada. I had no intention of leaving our country. My boss had other plans when he announced I would accompany him as a part of the crew that would raft 170 miles down a river teeming with hippos and crocodiles in Tanzania, followed by a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro using a seldom used trail. Terrified, I wanted no part of his grand plan. I searched for an excuse to escape the fate I feared awaited us. I never found one. The trip profoundly changed my outlook on the world. From being someone instinctively afraid of the unknown, I reluctantly stepped outside my comfort zone, into a world I never knew existed. I became amazed as we passed through wilderness never touched by humans, traveling in close proximity to “killer beasts” who seemed as curious about us as we were about them. Slowly, my fear melted, replaced with curiosity and awe. By the end of this physically demanding trip, newfound courage filled me with confidence. I yearned to experience more of the world through the eyes of an explorer. For the following few decades, I lived and traveled abroad in forty countries around the world. I actively sought adventures in places off the beaten path. In Becoming Amazed, I take the reader with me on eight unforgettable adventures in six countries during the 1980s, some that are no longer possible to replicate.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Becoming Amazed: Discovering the World with Eyes Wide Open, what would they be?

Since both my books are travel memoirs, my personal theme song is Jimmy Buffet's "Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude". I actually started my first book with the sentence, "I blame Jimmy Buffet." for filling my head with ideas of traveling around the world, meeting people, and laughing a lot.

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I love to read about other author’s travel adventure stories, since I write in that genre. But I also enjoy a good mystery like Tess Gerritsen’s The Spy Coast, or well-written fiction stories that open my mind to a different point of view like Percival Everett’s James.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Too many, I’m afraid. Kristin Hannah’s "The Women" and "The Great Alone", Robin Wall Kimmerer’s "Braiding Sweet Grass", Abraham Verghese’s "The Covenant of Water", and Kate Quinn’s "The Briar Club" are a few I’m hoping to dive into soon.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

My favorite chapter in Becoming Amazed is called “Almost a Kidnapper”. It takes place in Islamabad, Pakistan, between 1983 and 1986, where I worked for the US Government State Department. Having grown up during the hippie days of Woodstock, when women were fighting for equal rights and young couples frequently lived together before marriage, I struggled mightily with Islam’s culture of arranged marriages and women’s lack of rights of any kind in Pakistan. The chapter describes my experience of learning the details of and taking part in a wedding ceremony of a local staff’s family member. It also expresses the conflict and anger I felt when the family of my young female seamstress arranges her marriage to an older man from a remote village with one wife and several children, as his second wife.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I do my best writing between 11 pm and 4 am when it is totally quiet. On my desk I have a Telly award statue I won for a video I produced in 1998 around whose neck is a quilted heart ornament that says, “The only constant in life is change.” There is also a blown glass blonde mermaid holding a shell, a picture of me when I was 29 guiding on a raft trip in Alaska, and a small framed picture of an aerial picture of a braided jungle river with a caption mashed-up from a writing class and my Tanzania river trip. It reads, “Stay to the left, fail and fail better until you find solid shore.”

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Be true to thine self.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

That there is no substitute for experiencing people, places and things in person. I encourage everyone to take that scary step, (or leap), out of your comfort zone to discover the world beyond your doorstep and US borders. The reward will be a thousand times richer than staying put and safe. Only by seeking and discovering will you know the truth. I hope that by sharing my stories of taking those steps, it will inspire you to discover the world with your own eyes wide open.

 

Brenda E Smith is the author of the new book Becoming Amazed: Discovering the World with Eyes Wide Open

Connect with Brenda E Smith

Author Site

Facebook

Buy The Book