Category: Archives

Perfect Gifts

By Nancy Farrier

I’ve been thinking a lot about gifts lately. What did I do with the presents I received for Christmas? What did others do with the gifts I gave them? I asked my Bible study group about this and there were a variety of answers the ladies came up with.

The presents that weren’t right might have been exchanged, given to someone else, stored in a closet, or simply thrown away. A few were kept out of sight and only brought out when the giver came for a visit.

Perfect gifts, the ones the receiver got excited about were treated very differently. These were admired, used often, shared with others, shown off, and kept close at hand. They didn’t become boring, or get put aside—at least not for long, because the receiver was so excited about them.

Some took patience to learn to use and enjoy. For instance, one person mentioned getting a Wii Fit and trying it out. They had to work to do the various games, and many of the work outs took a lot of practice. Also, there was work involved, not just fun or the health benefits that came from using the program.

For me, the ability to write is a gift given by God. Writing isn’t easy and has taken years to learn, with still much more to grasp. I can choose to get discouraged and ignore my talent just like those presents that have been stuffed in the closet, or I can become excited over again. I can determine to not be discouraged when penning a book becomes hard work, or when criticism hurts. It’s my choice to continue on or quit.

What I do with the gifts I receive isn’t so much about the gift being just what I wanted, but about choosing to appreciate it and use it the best I can.

Gone with the Wind (and other classics)

I first (and last) read Gone with the Wind when I was a teenager, which was, ahem, quite a few years ago. Recently, I started re-reading it – and I’m just as captivated and enthralled as I was first time around. In fact, more so.

The historial context resonates with me a lot more now, as do Margaret Mitchell’s subtle and not-so-subtle social commentaries. And as for Scarlett O’Hara…was there ever a more eye-poppingly outrageous heroine?! I’m agog to see what she’s going to do next…

What a wonderful book. Mitchell wrote it around 70 years after the events occurred, so I imagine she must have known people who still remembered those days. Although it was a “historical” novel even when it was written, I admire the way she keeps so firmly within her context, without letting social views from her present day affect the story. For example, abhorrent though Scarlett’s attititude to slaves etc is to our modern view, it’s very true to a Southern belle of her time whose very existence relied on slaves every moment of her day. A modern writer creating a novel set in the same time period must surely be tempted to make her pampered heroine a sympathizer with the abolition of slavery…which would be so out of keeping with Scarlett’s background lifestyle as to be impossible.

But enough about that…to get back to the essence of GWTW, which is a powerful romance…ah, that Rhett Butler! He makes my 21st-century heart go pitter-pat just as he did when I met him in the 20th century 🙂

I’m so glad I pulled this book from my crowded shelves and re-read it. Now I’m thinking it might Jane Eyre’s turn next. Does anyone else have any classics – old or new – that they love to revisit?
Abby

A Fantasy Life

This is the Tax Collector from my short story, Weaving A Dream, part of Whiskey Shots, Vol. 17. Myna must face down the tax collector and not allow him to cheat her out of her money and her home.

The new year has started, and with it, new ideas. I have been judging the Rita’s and I always seem to come up with a new story idea while I am reading. It is a “Oh, I have never done this type of story. What could I do?” The Enchanted Hawk was one of those books. I read a shape-shifter book and decided I wanted to write one. However, I didn’t want to write werewolves or any other type of were animals. So, Brylyn of the Hawk Clan came into being. Of course, when you have shape-shifters, there is always the clothing problem. When they shift, they are no longer dressed as humans, so when they shift back, they’re naked. I read one book where the werewolves carried backpacks with a change of clothes in them so they didn’t have to run around naked. I decide I didn’t want my shape-shifter naked, running through the castle with evil men after her. So, I decided the clothes turned into her feathers or fur. I can do that. It is my world.

Sometime last year I came up with an idea for a short contemporary dark fantasy involving a Chimera. My plot group told me it was too good of an idea with too much to it for a short. I thought about it and decided maybe they were correct, but then I had to come up with a new idea for the short. I haven’t done that, but, while I was reading the books I was judging, I decided maybe the characters were too good for just one book. I could make a serious out of this. The hero and heroine could chase more monsters after they kill the Chimera.

That leaves me with more work. For a short, the world doesn’t have to be as developed as it will for a series. Also, I have to come up with new monsters. I don’t want to be using the same monsters as others. I don’t do were-creatures or vampires. I guess while I finish my sequel with Sam – he’s still in bed with Jubilee – and write a sequel to my mystery, I’ll be doing world building. Lots of world building.