Monday, February 11, 2013

Giveaway! Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate!

Welcome to Writing for Christ, Lisa Wingate! It's great to have you here.


Firefly Island is a story that begins with a love at first sight.  Do you think love at first sight is still possible in this busy, modern world?

I think it is, although perhaps, living in this media-frenzied culture, we’re more jaded than we were two generations ago when my grandparents met at a dance.  My grandfather went home that night and told his mother he’d met the girl he was going to marry. He just knew it, and he was right. 

I don’t think my grandfather and grandmother questioned it nearly as much as Mallory does in the story, and I think that’s where modern culture comes in.  Mallory has a hard time trusting herself, and as a career girl devoted to a life on the political scene, she has a hard time losing the image of herself that she has created.  She’s worried about what her family, friends, and co-workers will think.  These days, women feel so much pressure to have it all and do it all.  Falling unexpectedly in love, getting married, and giving up a career is sometimes looked upon as a failure.  While Mallory’s heart knows that Daniel is the one, she dreads the idea of trying to explain things to the people around her.

Mallory’s story has been likened to a modern-day mail-order bride tale.”  Do you think this fits?  In what way? 

Mallory in many ways experiences the life of a mail-order bride.  Because she and Daniel have only known each other a short time when the job move forces a huge leap of faith in their relationship, she finds herself married to a man she adores, but barely knows.  Like any newly-married couple, they have much to learn about each other, but Mallory is also facing the sudden step-parenthood of three-year-old Nick, and the trials of leaving behind her family, her career, her friends, her identity, and all that is familiar.  The challenges of life on a ranch are completely foreign to her.

In days of old, mail-order brides faced many of the same challenges.  Our great-great grandmothers attempted to solve the problem by writing letters home, joining in sewing circles and ladies’ societies in their new locations, and sometimes by documenting their experiences in journals.  Mallory finds herself unwillingly drawn into the tradition of journaling, but in a much more modern way, when she stumbles into the blogging life.  As the blog draws fans, she becomes The Frontier Woman, and her world expands in ways she could never have dreamed.

Do you have a nugget of writing advice that has completely changed how you view writing?

Well, I’m glad you asked that! Some of the fun in being a writer is that there are always things to learn, ways to get better. I’m always seeking out conference sessions and online workshops devoted to the topics that I feel are holding me back. I study other authors’ techniques make notes, keep a scrapbook of examples and notes-to-self.

I’ve learned to watch for overbalance of narrative in my writing. Nothing slows down the pace of a story like huge patches of narrative. Narrative produces pages with big, blocky paragraphs that read slowly, and that tend to “tell” rather than “show”. I’ve learned, when possible, to work story elements into dialog, action, reaction, and short thought sequences, rather than using narrative. For example, rather than describing the main street of the town, I might have a character walk down Main, greet a neighbor or two, and reflect on a few random childhood memories of people/places. I work at using these various techniques to avoid sliding down the slippery slope of having characters engage in meaningless chatter designed only to dump information to the reader, but to always seek opportunities to work details in naturally during character interactions. Sometimes body language can speaks volumes, too.

So, having said that, I stumbled on a new technique just recently. I made friends with Siri, my personal iPhone assistant. I began to trust her when I dictated some of these notes-to-self and email replies. I began to feel a certain freedom of expression and power, superpower even. One day I put Siri in my pocket and plugged in my earbuds with the attached mike and spoke a scene -– Yes, I did!. After emailing it to myself, I copied it to the word processor, fixed up some of Siri’s errors and was surprised that it all felt good. Then I started dictating as I was walking around, really getting into my old childhood game of Let’s Pretend. So, I think I’m hooked. There was a time I only wanted to write in notebooks and on legal pads. Then there was the phase when I felt the power of composing on the computer. Now, I feel like I’m in a whole new dimension, but in a way, I’m back to playing Let’s Pretend just like when I was little.  

What fun it is to be a writer! 

Where can readers find you on the Internet?

Lisa Wingate
Fiction That's Good for the Soul
www.lisawingate.com
Blogging at www.SouthernBelleViewDaily.com  Join us on the porch!
Join me on Facebook and Youtube and Pinterest


Thank you for being with us today!

Readers, here is your chance to enter to win Lisa's book!

Please leave an email address! If I draw your name and there is no email, you will not win.
For extra entries:
~Be a follower
~Be a subscriber

Contest is only open in the U.S. and void where prohibited. Chances of winning are based on the number of entries and winner is draw from a non-biased third party- Random.org. I am not responsible for any lost or damaged items for said prize.

Thanks for coming by to enter! Contest ends on February 22nd
Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com 






40 comments:

  1. Just finished "Firefly Island" and Looooooved it! I am already to post my review at the end of the month.

    "likened to a modern-day mail-order bride tale" - hmmm I didn't think of that when reading it, but now that I think about it, yeah that does make sense.

    And yes I do believe in love at first sight! It happened to my husband and I! We were a blind date! were engaged 4 months later and married 4 months after that! We have been married 19 years now!

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  2. I don't need to win a copy of the book since I already have it and have read it, but just wanted to stop and say what a great book it is. Whoever gets the book will be blessed.

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  3. thanks for the chance to read lisa's latest novel.

    i'm a follower & email subscriber, too.

    karenk
    kmkuka at yahoo dot com

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  4. Great interview - I have never read any of her books before, so I would LOVE to win this one !

    littlebird@hur.midco.net

    I am a follower

    I am a subscriber

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just finished Firefly Island and oh, I loved it! Such beautiful writing that totally put me down in Texas with Mallory. Loved it!

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  6. Thanks for a chance to win Firefly Island.

    I am an email subscriber.

    Katie J.
    johnsonk133[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  7. love to win Lisa's book thanks

    gfc follower

    email subscriber

    ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com

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  8. Sounds like a nice read.

    I follow via email.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  9. I am a follower and a subscriber!

    This book has intrigued me from the moment I first heard about it. Thanks for giving away a copy!! :-)

    Rosie
    spyg93(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  10. My husband and I had only been dating two weeks when I told a friend of mine I was going to marry him. The funny thing is that he wasn't even in the country at the time but had gone to Haiti for six months on a missions project, so you can see we hadn't had too many dates. We communicated by letters while he was out of country and one month after he returned home, he asked me to marry him :)

    I'm a follower & subscriber, and I would love to read this book!

    homesteading[at]charter[dot]net

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  11. What a great writing tip! Technology ought to help us grow as writers...too often it cripples our creativity, I've thought, but this use of Siri sounds like it would really work! You go, Lisa!
    I'm an email subscriber...please sign me up!
    kandrajane at bellsouth dot net

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  12. I'd love to win this book! Thanks for the chance! makeighleekyleigh at yahoo.com

    GFC: MeganP

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  13. Yes, I do still believe in love at first sight. I would like to know more of Mallory's story.

    lag110 at mchsi dot com

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  14. I loved my husband at first sight.... I'd love to read the book.
    afarage(at)earthlink(dot)net

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  15. I would love to win this book, it sounds like a great book. I believe in love at first sight, because when i first saw my husband that i loved him and he felt the same way. God bless
    Norma Stanforth
    n38stanforth(at)gmail(dot)com

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  16. I've read several of Lisa's books and liked them very much. I would be very pleased to win a copy of Firefly Island. Thanks for the chance.

    I'm a subscriber.
    I'm a follower.

    pmk56[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

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  17. In response to the love at first sight theme, yes, I am a victim! I had dinner with a young man that my parents were entertaining, and I told my mother after he left that he was the man I was going to marry. Praise God the feeling was mutual! We've now been married over 43 years, and no regrets! Thanks for the fun interview, and giveaway!
    Nancee
    quiltcat26[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

    I'm a subscriber and a follower.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Six weeks after our first date my husband asked me to marry him....so yes, I do believe in love at first sight!!

    I love Lisa's books and I'd love to win a copy of Firefly Island.

    I am a follower.

    I am a subscriber.

    Blessings!
    Judy B
    sweetpea.judy(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  19. Thank you so much for having me in your little corner of cyberspace today, Casey! And thanks, everyone for the sweet comments. I treasure your company on these little adventures of story!

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  20. Thank you so much for having me in your little corner of cyberspace today, Casey! And thanks, everyone for the sweet comments. I treasure your company on these little adventures of story!

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  21. Thank you for having me in your little corner of cyberspace today, Casey. And thanks, everyone for the sweet comments. I treasure your company on these adventures of story!

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  22. Hi. Thanks for the chance to read her latest book. I read Dandelion Summer and loved it, and I loved the excerpt from Firefly. Dana.McNeely@yahoo.com

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  23. Lisa Wingate is one of my very favorite authors. I'd love to win the copy of her latest book!

    Fellow Texan,
    Diane Martin
    six(dot)martins(at)sbcglobal(dot)net

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  24. I recently won Firefly Island from an online fb chat! I can't wait to read Lisa's book.

    Yes, I believe in love at first sight. I knew the moment I met "D" that there was something very special. We were married after a year, and now, 28 years later, still share that love.

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  25. I love Lisa's writing. She graciously did a workshop at our little writers' group in Granbury, TX. I would love to win this book.
    rycon70@att.net

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  26. I like to think that there is love at first sight! I loved my husband from the moment I met him.

    I am a follower.

    I am a subscriber.

    pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

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  27. My husband proposed one month after meeting me and we got married soon after. I may be old fashioned but I do believe in love at first site. When I first meet my husband I thought he looked mysterious. He still is!

    I follow your blog with GFC as Carol N Wong. I am an e-mail subscriber and would love to read this book.

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

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  28. I like the idea of a modern day mail order bride. I knew right away I would marry my husband also.
    I follow your site email.
    godblessamerica.jan(at)gmail(dot)com

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  29. dear casey,
    please enter me in the giveaway for the book, "firefly island" by lisa wingate.
    we have her books in the church library.
    thanks!

    janet estridge
    von1janet(@)gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  30. Please enter me in contest. i would love to read this book. sounds really good. I am a follower and email subscriber. Tore923@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  31. I would love to win this book!

    marissamehresman(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  32. I am a follower!

    marissamehresman(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  33. I am a subscriber!

    marissamehresman(at)aol(dot)com

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  34. I especially appreciate your comments about learning to write with Siri. When I trade up to my next iPhone I look forward to making her acquaintance. In the meantime, I will type on my Macbook and let it read my novel back to me... viva la technologie!

    I would love to win your book. dsks88gmailcom
    Thanks!

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  35. I would love to win this! I'm a follower and subscriber. shopgirl152nykiki(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  36. I would love to win this book. Thanks for the opportunity!

    Blessings,
    Jo
    azladijo(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  37. I'm a follower!

    Blessings,
    Jo
    azladijo(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  38. I'm a subscriber!

    Blessings,
    Jo
    azladijo(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  39. Thanks for the giveaway!
    GFC-Tressa
    I'm an email subscriber.
    tressa dot sherman at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  40. What a nice story about your grandparents!
    ischu9@aol.com

    I am a follower!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for stopping by, I love to hear from those who traffic my blog! Have a wonderful day. :)