SCAVENGER HUNT STOP #16!

Follow the clues for a Chance to Win a Kindle Fire HDX or 30+ novels!

Welcome to the Autumn 2014 Scavenger Hunt. You have arrived at Stop #16, R. J. Larson's blog. The hunt begins at noon (Mountain Time Zone) on October 17, 2014. You may have arrived here before the start which could mean all of the sites aren't ready quite yet. Once the official start has begun, you should go to Stop #1 HERE and then work your way through the sites, gathering clues and entering bonus giveaways, until you reach the final stop which will also be on the site of Robin Lee Hatcher.

The hunt ends on Sunday, October 19, 2014 at one minute before midnight (Mountain). That means you have all of the weekend to finish it, so take your time. Enjoy reading the exclusive content the authors have prepared for you. You will collect a CLUE IN RED at each stop. Write them down as you go. At the end of the hunt, you will enter the clues into a Rafflecopter form. (The answer will make sense, even if you aren't familiar with the quote.)

The hunt is open to international entries. The grand prize is a Kindle Fire HDX. Two runners-up will receive a new release from each of the participating authors.

IN CASE YOU FIND A BROKEN LINK...

Robin Lee Hatcher has prepared a "cheat sheet" with direct links to each author's post in case a site goes down or a link gets broken. We hope there will be no such issues, but just in case, please make note of the URL for the Participating Authors & Stops page so you can check back and be able to complete the hunt.
http://www.robinleehatcher.com/autumn-2014-scavenger-hunt-participating-authors-stops

Anne Mateer

 

Introducing Anne Mateer!

 R. J. Larson here: I'm delighted to introduce the amazing Anne Mateer! Anne is a three time Genesis contest finalist, and a contributor to A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts. 

Anne Mateer loves imagining what life in other times would have been like. She the author of 4 historical novels and a 2013 Carol Award finalist. Find Anne on the web at www.annemateer.com

Read on for Anne's exclusive story behind her latest book, Playing by Heart! 

 

 

Three Personal Experiences that Shaped Playing by Heart

Over the years, I’ve learned that “write what you know” doesn’t necessarily apply to situations, places or professions that appear in your stories. Instead, it refers to the fact that authors must call on their own experiences to mine the emotions their characters will experience in similar but different circumstances. Often this happens unconsciously as we write and it is only in looking back over the story that we see that we have, indeed, written what we know. At least such is the case with me! Today I’d like to share three of my personal experiences that I feel shaped the story Playing by Heart.

Joining drill team in high school

I am not a dancer. Oh, I took a few lessons as a child, but it was not my talent. At. All. And yet I entered high school and found myself yearning to be part of the dazzling group of girls dancing on the football field at halftime. Simply making the squad took an enormous amount of determination on my part, but being chosen to participate in the halftime and competition performances took a year of relentless tenacity, a year of training both my body and my mind to learn and do something that didn’t come naturally to me. I drew on this experience as Lula Bowman faced the unknown of learning to coach basketball—a game she’d never even seen played!

Anne's drill team!

Mothering my eldest son

Anne's eldest son, center

My husband and I love books and learning, but our middle child, our oldest boy struggled in the classroom, often feeling defeated. But put a ball in that boy’s hands, place him on a court or a field or even the track and he comes alive! He love sports of all kinds—the strategy, the competition—but beyond understanding and performance, he is a natural teacher and leader. He doesn’t always see these people skills as the amazing gifts they are, but I do. Mothering him taught me to appreciate his gifts and to encourage them, much as Chet does for Blaze in Playing by Heart.

Pursuing my writing dream

Playing by Heart, Bethany House Publishers

My writing journey has been a trek of both determined focus and generous sacrifice. Like Lula, I have maintained a determined hold on my calling even while often sacrificing my writing time to build relationships and memories with my kids and my husband and take care of our home. It wasn’t always easy. And yes, sometimes I resented having to set aside my goals to tend to someone else’s needs. But those years, those experiences, built greater trust in the Lord and strengthened my character, much as Lula’s time helping her sister’s family does for her.

Every author puts something of their own inner life experiences into their stories, whether in a main character for in snippets of secondary characters. These are just a few of the ways my own life has found its way into the pages of Playing by Heart. 

Thank you, Anne! 
Buy Playing by Heart! CBD Barnes & Noble Amazon

Catch Anne on Facebook and Twitter!

R. J. Here! 

Write down this Stop #16 clue!  - Salman Rushdie
That's - Salman Rushdie

Now, go forth and hunt up Anne Mateer's blog, Stop #17 

But WAIT!

Before you go, check out my Rafflecopter giveaway below!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway Please note that the Rafflecopter widget doesn't work with some phones or tablets. If the entry form fails to appear on your device, please enter using your home computer. Thank you! 

USEFUL LINKS:
The link to Stop #1 (the start of the hunt) is:
 http://www.robinleehatcher.com/scavenger-hunt-stop-1-autumn-2014

The link to the Participating Authors page is:
 http://www.robinleehatcher.com/autumn-2014-scavenger-hunt-participating-authors-stops

The link to the final stop where people will enter the answers is:

http://www.robinleehatcher.com/scavenger-hunt-stop-35-entry-form
 

32 Author Scavenger Hunt #17

Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Tales of Goldstone Wood

Welcome to the 17th stop on the 32 Author Scavenger hunt. I hope you enjoy this interview with author Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Anne Elisabeth is the delightful author of the award-winning Tales of Goldstone Wood series. Be sure to check out her giveaway at the next stop, Dragonwitch!

Hunters, don't forget to write down the clue and continue to the next stop on the hunt. If you've missed a stop, or if you are ready to enter the full phrase (clue), head on over HERE. Otherwise, enjoy the interview!

First off, Anne Elisabeth, tell us a little about yourself.

Well, I am the author of the Tales of Goldstone Wood, a rescuer of kittens and lost dogs, a devoted fan of my handsome husband, Rohan, a wannabe-connoisseur of the opera, and a wearer of fuzzy socks.

Who/what is your inspiration for your writing?

Great books are my inspiration! I was an English Lit. student at University, and I don’t think I would be the writer I am today if I hadn’t spend years studying the great masters, learning their tricks, discovering their passions, absorbing their themes.

How long does it take you to write a book?

It depends on the book. Most of the time, somewhere between six and eight months. But I wrote Veiled Rose in two months! Which was madness, but I had a deadline.

Do you outline or do you write by the seat of your pants?

My stories are far too complex to succeed with seat-of-the-pants writing. I actually tried that with Dragonwitch, and utterly failed. I need a good solid outline of what is going to happen. I don’t always know how it will happen—that’s where the spontaneous creativity comes in. But I need to know what will happen to all the characters, how they serve the plot, how their goals and desires work together or at odds.

Do you have a favorite of the novels you have written?

My favorite is always the one I’ve just finished. So currently that means my recently finished manuscript for Book 7, which is under the working title of Golden Daughter.

How did you create the world of the Tales of Goldstone Wood?

I started out penning random ideas in a notebook . . . little fairy tale notions that came to me while reading great works by older authors. Dragonwitch was one such fairytale, starting out as a few little notes, later expanding into a more complex fairy tale, and then resulting in the novel I now present to you. As I set to writing each of the fairy tales, I would see them referencing and depending on each other. Thus a world was born. When I started writing novels, it was much the same: I’d write one novel, but it would be subtly tied to four or five other seemingly independent works, not to mention already-written fairy tales.

Do you have a theme in mind when you write each book?

I never do. I just have a story. But I spend a lot of time in prayer as I write each book, and I let God provide the theme as I go. I write as an act of worship, and in worship, each theme develops. But I can take no credit for any of them.

What made you decide to pursue publishing?

After completing the third draft of my first novel, Heartless, it seemed a shame to simply sit on the story! My mother is a professional novelist, and I am friends with a number of her novelist contacts. They all encouraged me and offered advice along the way.

What books have influenced you in your writing?

Oh, so many! C.S. Lewis’s Narnia stories, of course. George MacDonald’s fairy tales, the short ones such as The Light Princess or Photogen and Nycteris more than the longer novels, though I did draw from some themes in Phantastes when I wrote Starflower. A number of the Victorian and Romantic-era poets have been major influences, particularly Robert Browning, who is my favorite. And, of course, you can hardly dabble in the Faerie world without drawing from Shakespeare!

What is the hardest part for you in writing a book?

Always the beginning. I have the hardest time figuring out where and how things ought to start! Usually once I get the first 40,000 words properly in place, the rest of the novel will fall together beautifully. But if those first 40,000 words aren’t quite right, the novel won’t work, and major revisions will have to be made. With Dragonwitch, I had so much trouble finding the right beginning, I finally picked up in the middle and wrote to the end, then went back and added the opening chapters! But I don’t prefer working that way.

What is your advice for aspiring writers?

Good writers are good readers. So READ A LOT. Don’t just read books that are easy for you. Pick up the classics and study what it was that set them apart from other, forgotten books of their day. Figure out which genre is your favorite, the genre you want to write in, and read a ton in that genre.

Coffee or Tea?

Absolutely tea. Especially the black Ceylon tea to which my husband introduced me. The perfect brew for a writing session!

R. J. Larson here: Thanks, Anne Elisabeth! Hunters, check out Anne Elisabeth's amazing books and visit her Facebook Page--I'm a fan! Before you go though, write down this part of the clue:   Without you,  and you might want to enter an extra giveaway I'm hosting below. Now, head on over to Anne Elisabeth Stengl's website for stop # 18 HERE

 Giveaway! R.J. Larson's book, Prophet, is FREE ------->  
on all e-readers at CBD, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble!!! Click on any of these three retailer links and grab a copy! 

Also, enter the Rafflecopter form below to win the complete Books of the Infinite series by R. J. Larson!  a Rafflecopter giveaway