R A C H E L H A U C K . C O M

Saturday, May 09, 2009

Hey, who stole my week?

I can't believe it's Friday, er, make that Saturday already. Where did the week go?

I've been in deadline mode. Monday Sara and I turn in the second book in the series we're writing together.

Meanwhile, my new web site is coming along, almost ready to launch. It's fabulous. Can't wait for you all to see it.

My dear grandma turned 95 today! She has some great stories about life in America and in God.

I should go to bed. Long day of rewriting and editing tomorrow.

posted by Rachel Hauck @ 1:16 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

On writing

I've had a new revelation about writing. Perhaps better said, a renewed revelation.

It's hard. Conk to the forehead right?

Here's what I mean. Writing is fun and exciting, a creative journey that is satisfying to the core of my heart. It's emotionally fulfilling.

Once the first draft is down and I think I've aspired to something on the outer spectrum of brilliance, the rewrite begins.

The first wave of reality hits. Brilliance? I barely cleared the garbage dump. Did I write this dialog? And think it was good? Laughable is a county mile away at this point.

What is with all the quippy little remarks? My characters are goof-balls. Mel Brooks is going to call asking help for his next movie spoof.

I'm supposed to be a serious writer here.

I read lines where I'm telling the reader what to think and feel about the characters rather than showing them their heart and mind.

So, I settle in, swallow the bile in my throat, chain my pride to the floor of my soul, glance at the ten books on my shelf that bear my name and get to work.

In 1 Samuel 22:10, David is on the run from Saul, crazy King Saul. The priest of the Lord gives David the sword of Goliath as a weapon. David used the sword awhile back to kill the giant enemy of Israel. He said to the priest, "Give it to me, there's none like it."

(Pause to ponder: isn't it amazing they even kept he sword in the first place? The priest of the Lord had it. Are we saving our swords from victories over our "enemy?")

The sword represented the strength of past victories. David gained confidence in his flight and fight with Saul because he'd defeated his enemies before -- and it began in the mundane of tending his father's sheep. He killed a lion, a bear, so when he faced Goliath, he wasn't afraid. He knew his ability based on past victories.

If he faced the lion, the bear and Goliath, he could endure Saul.

I have the strength of past victories. I've published 11 books, written 12, closing in on 13. I've met my deadlines. I've earned some good reviews.

But it also means digging deep. Sending the boys to the basement as author James Scott Bell says. Or, my writing friends, Roxanne St. Claire says, "Digging to China."

Writing is hard because we have to mine our own emotions. What can I say about my heroine besides "she was afraid?" Or, "fear gripped her?"

How does fear feel? What does it look like,sound like, smell like? Which sense is right for the scene?

Read all the writing books in the world, but if I don't dig deep, I won't connect with myself, the character and thus the reader.

Am I perfected in this method? No. I'm striving to be. My editor Ami McConnell helps me get there. I'm more convinced than ever writers need a good editor. It's a team effort.

Know this, if you want to endure as a writer, you're going to have to rat around in the basement, climb up in the attic and deliver some of the deepest and highest parts of yourself to the page.

And when it's all done, sleep for a week.

Labels: 1 Samuel, Ami McConnell, emotion of writing, James Scott Bell, King David, Mel Brooks, reading, Roxanne St. Claire, sleeping for a week, writing

posted by Rachel Hauck @ 9:33 AM 2 comments

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Amy Wallace and Enduring Justice

Please welcome my friend and author, Amy Wallace. Her latest is Enduring Justice.

ENDURING JUSTICE

Secrets Can't Last Forever

A PAINFUL PAST

Hanna Kessler's childhood secret has remained buried for over two decades. But when the dark shadows of her past threaten to destroy those she loves, Hanna must face the summer that changed her life and the man who still haunts her memories.

A RACIALLY-MOTIVATED KILLER

As a Crimes Against Children FBI Agent, Michael Parker knows what it means to get knocked down. Difficult cases and broken relationships have plagued his entire year. But when the system fails and a white supremacist is set free, Michael's drive for retribution eclipses all else.

A LIFE-ALTERING CHOICE

A racist's well-planned assault forces Hanna and Michael to decide between executing vengeance and pursuing justice. The dividing line between the two is the choice to heal. But when the attack turns personal, is justice enough?

What others are saying:

"If you love breath-stealing suspense, unforgettable characters, and remarkable

spiritual depth in your fiction, Enduring Justice is a book to

savor. Amy Wallace is at her best with this poignant, grace-filled addition

to her deeply satisfying Defenders of Hope Series."

--CLAUDIA MAIR BURNEY, author of Wounded: A Love Story

Talking with author Amy Wallace

Q. Where did the idea for the stories in the DEFENDERS OF HOPE series come from?

A. The Defenders of Hope series started with a literal dream about an FBI agent with a wounded heart and a mom on a dangerous quest for answers. That dream became the book Ransomed Dreams. During the research for Ransomed Dreams, I met with a federal agent and asked the question -- what would happen if an FBI agent found out he had cancer? His answer became the second book, Healing Promises. And the third book in the series, Enduring Justice, grew out of a secret one of the characters, Hanna Kessler, struggles to keep hidden.

Q. Your current release is Enduring Justice, book 3 in the Defenders of Hope series. Is it necessary to read all the books in order?

A. I've been told by many readers and read reviews that have said the Defenders of Hope books can be read in any order as stand-alones. The cases and suspense story-lines are self-contained, no cliffhanger endings until the next book. But the characters' friendships and relationships grow and are challenged in each book, so I'd say it’s best but not necessary for the stories to be read in order.

Q. You've said that Enduring Justice contains the shards of your once-broken heart. What do you mean by that?

A. Fifteen years ago, God placed me in a safe place and used my future husband's hands to hold me together while my heart shattered. David was the first person to hear about my being date raped when I was a teen. For five years I'd denied what happened or blamed myself. So when my walls of secrecy started to crumble, I felt alone and terrified.

But God met me there. He covered my shame with His grace and we started down the painful path of healing. Even though this isn't the same circumstances as what Hanna Kessler faces in Enduring Justice, a lot of my personal story went into the writing. And while this subject may qualify this story as "gritty," the focus is not on the past experiences, but on the healing an adult woman finds as she opens up to her family and the man she loves.

Q. One of the key themes running through Enduring Justice is racism, as Hanna's love interest, FBI Agent Michael Parker, is investigating a white supremacist. Why is this topic near to your heart?

A. I grew up in the military and had friends of all skin colors and nationalities. One of my best friends was African American. We never talked about our skin color, but I remember one time she made a comment about how people treated her differently because of her skin. She wouldn't explain. It wasn't until years later after hearing some ugly words from extended family members about people of other skin colors that I started to understand racism still exists. And it breaks my heart.

Through Hanna and Eve and Michael and Lee, I wanted to highlight some of the challenges I've learned about from friends of other nationalities and also to show that it's not skin color that matters, it's who we are on the inside. We truly can be color-blind.

Q. Where can readers learn more about you, Enduring Justice, and your other books?

A. I enjoy and value email from readers! So please visit me on the web at the Dark Chocolate Suspense site: and leave a note in the guestbook, drop me an email, or join the Dark Chocolate Suspense newsletter community: http://www.amywallace.com/Newsletter.html.

Readers can also check out a very cool book format and read the first two chapters of Enduring Justice online: http://www.amywallace.com/ej_chapter.html

Labels: Amy Wallace, books, fiction, reading, suspense

posted by Rachel Hauck @ 9:27 PM 0 comments