Joy in small packages: writing holiday shorts

With guest Rebekah A. Morris

1. Tell us a little about the stories collected in Christmas Delays.
These are all set during the years of World War Two.
The first one, “Christmas Delays,” was one of the earliest Christmas stories that I wrote, and for that reason it’s extra special.
“Peter’s Christmas” was inspired by a classical song on the radio. I have no idea what the song was, who wrote it or anything. I just know that when I heard it, I heard someone calling Peter. Over and over they called, and so I had to write a story and find out why they were calling him.
“I’ll be Home for Christmas” makes me cry every time I read it. I don’t think there was anything special about it, but it’s one that I really like.

2. What do you enjoy most about the short story form?
They don’t take as long to finish. :) I can usually have one written in a few days and then can move on to another one.

3. What is most challenging about writing short stories?
Keeping it short but still having a full story. Some of my Christmas stories may not seem to have a big plot, but that’s real life. At least it is for me. My life isn’t a constant up and down of excitement. Sometimes the stories are really short and even when I try to expand them, they won’t get any longer. Others are hard to keep short.

4. Christmas Delays is one of eight books you are releasing this holiday season. What led to the decision to release so many products at once?
I love Christmas stories! After I wrote my very first Christmas story, I kept writing. Now I write at least one new story every Christmas time. With so many Christmas stories waiting to be read, I thought doing a Christmas Collection with many small books would be fun instead of just one book with multiple stories in it. That way I could keep adding to the collection each year.

5. What special planning and challenges have you faced with multiple releases?
Keeping them all straight was the biggest challenge! I’ll admit that I did upload the cover and interior of one book to the wrong title. And I didn’t notice the typo on one cover until after I had my proof copy. It was rather crazy trying to get them all ready at the same time and make sure which story I was working on.

6. How do you manage production for multiple books? What organization techniques have proven most helpful?
I did do a lot of assembly line. And since the interiors all match, except for the story, once I had it formatted for one story, it wasn’t too hard to do the next. But writing down each book and what needed to happen with it was probably the most helpful. That way I wasn’t constantly checking to see if I had included the Christmas Collection logo in the back of the book, or done the title in the same fonts. But I had to make sure I knew which book I was working on!

7. What tips do you have for authors seeking to create holiday books?
Have fun! :) Pour your love of the holidays into your story, and then be willing to share it with the world. Your story doesn’t have to be exciting or a page turner. You want a story with warmth. Think about what you love, what you enjoy most about Christmas and include some of that into your story. Christmas stories don’t have to be long, but they can be. Most of all, remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Thank you for having me.

Q4U: What theme might you enjoy writing a cluster of stories around?

About the Author

Rebekah A. Morris is a homeschool graduate, an enthusiastic freelance author and a passionate writing teacher. Her books include, among others, Home Fires of the Great War, The Unexpected Request, Gift from the Storm, and her bestselling Triple Creek Ranch series. Some of her favorite pastimes, when she isn’t writing, include reading and coming up with dramatic and original things to do. The Show-Me State is where she calls home.

Learn more about Rebekah and her books at www.readanotherpage.com.

About the book

Christmas Delays and Other Short Stories
Three Christmas Stories from World War II

Christmas Delays
A doctor, called up for duty in the army, spends one more Christmas with his wife in an unexpected way after God's Christmas delays strand them in a small house with another family.

Peter's Christmas
Very mild weather might not feel like Christmas, but young, orphaned Peter and his older sister find the peace and love of the season with the Hampton family in spite of the sadness of war.

I'll Be Home for Christmas
Grandpa recounts the memories of his first Christmas away from home during WWII.

Available at Amazon.com

The full collection:

Tour Schedule

November 13

Bookish Orchestrations – Introductory Post

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight from the author

Kaylee's Kind of Writes – Book Spotlight

Resting Life – Review and Excerpt

Perry Elisabeth – Excerpt

Rachel Rossano's Words – Book Spotlight and Excerpt

November 14

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight from the author

Odelia's Blog – Author Interview and Book spotlight

Bryce’s Creative Writing Corner – Author Interview, Review, and Excerpt

Counting Your Blessings One by One – Review and Excerpt

Perpetual Indie Perspective – Book Spotlight

November 15

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight from the author

Whimsical Writings for His Glory – Author, Review, and Excerpt

Maidens for Modesty – Author Interview and Review

The Destiny of One – Book Spotlight

Rebekah Ashleigh – Book Spotlight

Once Upon an Ordinary – Review

Stephany's BLOG Snippets – Book Spotlight and Excerpt

November 16

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight from the author

Laurel's Leaves – Author Interview

Stories by Firefly – Review

Claire Banschbach – Author Interview

Kelsey's Notebook – Review and Excerpt

Jaye L. Knight – Book Spotlight and Excerpt

November 17

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight from the author

Ruffles and Grace – Book Spotlight

With a Joyful Noise – Book Spotlight

Ordinary Girl Extraordinary Father – Review  

Bookish Orchestrations – Closing Post

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Finding fantasy setting inspiration in real-world culture

by guest author Annie Douglass Lima

I’ve always thought that it’s especially helpful for writers of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, alternative reality, etc.) to travel outside their home country. If you’re going to be creating new worlds and cultures, it’s valuable to be able to experience different cultures in our own world and draw inspiration from them, after all.

I was raised in Kenya, where I lived for almost my whole childhood. As an adult, I spent a year in Indonesia, as well as living in the United States for a while. At the moment, my husband and I live in Taiwan, where we’ve been for over ten years now. In between, I have visited a total of twenty-one countries so far (with plenty more still on my bucket list!). These international experiences have definitely impacted my writing.

Although Kenyan culture has not made it directly into any of my books so far, spending time as a foreigner in an unfamiliar world inspired some of the interpersonal and intercultural struggles the characters in my Annals of Alasia fantasy series have had to face.  (And by “foreigner” I mean the way I thought of myself when my family visited America.  As a child, I considered myself Kenyan and was much more at home there than in the U.S.) In Book 3 of the series, Prince of Malorn, my character Prince Korram has to travel into the Impassable Mountains to seek the help of a nomadic tribe called the Mountain Folk.  In the kingdom of Malorn, Mountain Folk and Lowlanders tend to distrust each other and avoid contact whenever possible, and both sides claim that the other mistreats them.  I wanted to show that, often, it just takes better understanding to lead to acceptance and appreciation of another culture. That, and the willingness to learn new ways of doing things and respect others’ customs even when they’re different. That concept reflects my love of getting to know other cultures and appreciating the differences between them.

I’ve enjoyed bringing several elements of Taiwan’s culture – both good and bad – into my Krillonian Chronicles alternate reality series. Here are a few examples:

• In Taiwan, gifts or awards involving money are always given in red envelopes. When my martial artist character, Bensin, wins prize money in a cavvara shil tournament, the officials hand it to him in a red envelope. 
• Betel nut, a mild narcotic, is very popular in Taiwan. In the city of Jarreon, it’s also common and is sold legally in shops decorated with flashing colored lights, just like here. (In another province of the Krillonian Empire, betel nut is illegal, and a certain character with an addiction goes to great lengths to find a black market supplier.) 
• In Taiwan, cheap boxed meals available at “hole-in-the-wall” eateries are a common and convenient lunch or dinner for laborers or anyone in a hurry or short on cash. In the city of Jarreon in my series, they’re common too – for big business owners to order in bulk for their slaves’ lunches, or for City Watch officers to pick up to feed prisoners in the Watch Station cells. 
• New Year is the most important holiday of the year in Taiwan. People celebrate it by putting up decorations, giving gifts of money to children (yes, in red envelopes, often decorated with special designs), and by sharing special meals involving traditional foods with family. I actually combined ideas from that with Christmas in creating the Krillonian Empire’s New Year holiday. Characters there celebrate with seasonal music and decorations, sharing a feast involving traditional foods with family and friends, and exchanging gifts with family members. Slave owners sometimes give their slaves gifts as well, though those usually consist of practical items (one enslaved character receives a toothbrush, toothpaste, and extra socks).

I’ve had a number of readers comment that the cultures in my novels are both interesting and believable, and I know that’s because I’ve drawn on real ones to create them. If you write speculative fiction and have had the privilege of experiencing multiple cultures (even second hand), I would encourage you to use bits and pieces of them to shape the worlds you create. It’s fun to write that way, and it will be all the more fun for readers to explore those worlds!

Q4U: Have you drawn from actual cultures to enrich your writing? Please share in the comments!

About the Author

Annie Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and later graduated from Biola University in Southern California. She and her husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches fifth grade at Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels since her childhood, and to date has published fifteen books (three YA action and adventure novels, four fantasies, a puppet script, six anthologies of her students’ poetry, and a Bible verse coloring and activity book). Besides writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), scrapbooking, and international travel.


Blog /  Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Google Plus / Amazon Author Page

About the series

Take a look at this exciting new young adult action and adventure novel, The Student and the Slave, now available for purchase! This is the third book in the Krillonian Chronicles, after The Collar and the Cavvarach and The Gladiator and the Guard.

The series is set in an alternate world that is very much like our own, with just a few major differences.  One is that slavery is legal there.  Slaves must wear metal collars that lock around their neck, making their enslaved status obvious to everyone. Another difference is the popularity of a martial art called cavvara shil.  It is fought with a cavvarach (rhymes with "have a rack"), a weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from partway down its top edge.  Competitors can strike at each other with their feet as well as with the blades.  You win in one of two ways: disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five seconds.

First, a Little Information about Books 1 and 2:

Book 1: The Collar and the Cavvarach

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire's most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie's escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time. With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse?

Click here to read chapter 1 of The Collar and the Cavvarach.

Click here to read about life in the Krillonian Empire, where the series is set.

Book 2: The Gladiator and the Guard

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is just one victory away from freedom. But after he is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he is condemned to the violent life and early death of a gladiator. While his loved ones seek desperately for a way to rescue him, Bensin struggles to stay alive and forge an identity in an environment designed to strip it from him. When he infuriates the authorities with his choices, he knows he is running out of time. Can he stand against the cruelty of the arena system and seize his freedom before that system crushes him?

Click here to read about life in the arena where Bensin and other gladiators are forced to live and train.


And now, The Student and the Slave, with another awesome cover by the talented Jack Lin!



Book 3: The Student and the Slave

Is this what freedom is supposed to be like? Desperate to provide for himself and his sister Ellie, Bensin searches fruitlessly for work like all the other former slaves in Tarnestra. He needs the money for an even more important purpose, though: to rescue Coach Steene, who sacrificed himself for Bensin’s freedom. When members of two rival street gangs express interest in Bensin’s martial arts skills, he realizes he may have a chance to save his father figure after all … at a cost.

Meanwhile, Steene struggles with his new life of slavery in far-away Neliria. Raymond, his young owner, seizes any opportunity to make his life miserable. But while Steene longs to escape and rejoin Bensin and Ellie, he starts to realize that Raymond needs him too. His choices will affect not only his own future, but that of everyone he cares about. Can he make the right ones … and live with the consequences?

Click here to order The Student and the Slave from Amazon for $2.99 a discounted price of just 99 cents through November 31st!

Giveaway

Enter to win an Amazon gift card or a free digital copy of the first two books in the series!

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