Author Interview–Roseanna White

I’m so excited to introduce my sweet friend, Roseanna White. This special gal endorsed my second book for me, and we’ve been long-distance friends for years. I love her passion for the Lord and her AMAZING writing skill. I have no idea how she juggles a hubby, kids, homeschooling, writing, marketing, and a hundred other things, but she’s got a genuine heart for Jesus that shines through every word she writes.

About A Soft Breath of Wind

Roseanna’s newest book, A Soft Breath of Wind, releases in three days–November 17th! I had the honor and privilege of reading an ARC (advance reader copy) and was absolutely blown away. My full review of the book will appear in my December 1st Newsletter, so if you haven’t yet signed up to receive my newsletters, please take a moment and do that over there in the right margin! –>

A Soft Breath of Wind is the powerful story of Zipporah, a thirteen-year-old girl on whom the Spirit descends, opening her eyes to a world beyond the physical veil. Within hours, she learns what serving the Lord can cost. Combining the spiritual thrill of Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness and the tender romance of Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion series, this book lingered in my thought for weeks after I turned the last page.

A Few Questions For Roseanna:

Why do you write biblical fiction?

So many parts of the Bible give a hint of a story and then keep going—I’m always so intrigued by the what ifs in those snippets! And I always wonder what might have happened to make those stories we all know go down as they did. My biblical fiction is usually about a fictional character who interacts with the historical figures; I choose this method because it allows me to go deeper into the what-ifs without compromising known facts.

What made you choose this particular biblical character/story/time period?

A Soft Breath of Wind is a sequel to my first biblical, A Stray Drop of Blood. So in some ways, time period and setting were already decided. But the story that came to me was also one that asked the questions I had in mind after writing Stray Drop—what do we do when faith isn’t easy? When the enemy takes the form of a friend? How do we know the voice of the Spirit? And if He gives His gifts in proportion to our faith…then what might those gifts look like when someone has childlike faith in what He can do?

Who is your favorite character in the story and why?

It would have to be my heroine, Zipporah. Though I was tempted to answer Samuel—he was a boy in the first book, and I so enjoyed making him all grown up and full of the depth he showed potential for as a child—Zipporah is so dear to me. She has an amazing gift, but insecurities that plague her despite knowing who she is before the Father. I loved how those worked together to create a heroine who could be completely certain in matters of the Spirit, and completely at a loss in matters of the heart.

What are some of the truths you hope readers will take away from this book?

I hope they’ll stop to wonder what the spiritual world looks like…and to pray heavenly protection over their families every day. More, I hope readers will realize, as I did anew when writing it, that faith has to be a deliberate decision, not a circumstance. It needs to be how we live through every moment, not a word we pull out now and then. And most of all, that the Lord is in the business of miracles—and Jesus promised us we could do all He did and more, through the Spirit. That promise is as true today as it was in the New Testament church.

Author’s Choice Questions:

After asking an author the above four questions, I give them a list of over twenty MORE questions with these instructions:

Read over all the questions quickly, marking only the ones that immediately strike you as “gotta answer!” Then go back and enjoy writing them:

Here are the questions Roseanna answered:

1. What one thing (besides friends and family) would you rather not live without?

COFFEE!  😉

2. What movie (or book) affected you most when you were young?

M. Montgomery’s Emily series. Emily, you see, was a young writer, just like me…who never loses her love for the written word as she grows up…just like me. =) I reread those books in college and was kind of amazed at how much I’d modeled certain aspects of my life after Emily, long after I forgot the exact plots of the books.

3. Where are you right now (LVR, DR, Bathroom) and what are you wearing? You have to tell the truth.

I’m at my daughter’s ballet studio, while she’s in her lesson. I’m wearing a cream-colored long-sleeved T-shirt, jeans, and a purple down vest-thingy, which I’ve never worn before in my life. I’ve always thought, “A jacket without sleeves? What in the world’s the point?” On this not-warm/not-cool fall evening, I decided it was time to break out the vest I’ve had for, oh, five years, LOL.

4. What is your favorite season of the year? Why?

Spring. I love the weather of both spring and fall, but there’s something about seeing that fresh, new green in the fields and on the trees…and the fact that it doesn’t end in winter, like fall does. Not a huge fan of the cold.

5. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

A little bit of me goes into each. There’s never one character who is totally me…largely because the one time I tried that (with a secondary character), my beta readers told me that her reactions were totally unrealistic, LOL.

6. How do you organize your writing day? How many hours per day writing? Use a word count to determine when to stop? Just write until you drop?

Ideally, I have a 2,000 words/day goal when I’m actively working on a book…though I plow through that if I can. As a homeschooling mom, though, some days it’s impossible to find that much time to write. So I get up at 5:30 every morning to give myself 2 hours of writing time before I need to focus totally on the kiddos.

7. What do you love about writing?

I love delving into another world…creating characters who become real to me…. But I think what it often comes down to for me is figuring out what truth God’s going to show me through each story. He always has something unexpected for me.

8. What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve been given?

That my writing journey must be my own. I will never be the authors I most admire—I can only be me, write the stories God gives me, and leave the rest up to Him.

9. When you are writing do you have an audience in mind? Is it a person, real or imagined, or a group?

It depends on the book, but I often have very particular readers in mind who have given me feedback over the years. When I know someone likes something in particular about one of my books, I keep that in mind when writing subsequent ones. I also try to keep in mind what might offend certain readers. I don’t often pull punches in content, but I want to make sure that I don’t choose terminology that will offend those I hope to draw in.

10. Has being an author been everything you thought it would be? If not, what has surprised you the most?

When I was a kid, I dreamed of fame and fortune (of course, LOL). Of being a household name. But as the years rolled by, I came to realize that I just have to write. Even if no one ever reads it, I have to write. It’s like breathing for me, reflexive. I guess even so I expected the published-author-world to come easily…and it didn’t. I’ve been at it for quite a few years, and I’m nowhere close to famous (or rich). But it’s worth every struggle. In part because it’s so nice to actually be getting paid for doing what I love, but also because of the readers. I consider writing my ministry, not my job, so for me, it’s all about that reader feedback.

11. If you were the casting director for the film version of your novel, who would play your lead roles?

I’m not sure what actress would best be Zipporah…primarily because I based her physical description on the model I found for my book cover, and that’s totally how I picture her, LOL. But the others I’ve got figured out. 😉 Zac Efron would be Benjamin. Jason Lewis would be Samuel. And his half-sister Dara would be Sophia Miles. As from the first book, Abigail I picture as Monica Bellucci, and Titus as Paul Telfer.

I’ve got them all up on my Pinterest board at http://www.pinterest.com/roseannamwhite/a-soft-breath-of-wind/

Thanks, Roseanna, for visiting my blog today! CLICK HERE to learn more about Roseanna White and her books.

Tweet-A-Licious!

• Author Interview today with Roseanna White on her new release, A SOFT BREATH OF WIND
• Meet a heroine completely certain in matters of the Spirit, but at a loss in matters of the heart.
• Discover the best piece of writing advice Roseanna White was ever given.

Today’s Question:

• Do you have any questions or comments for Roseanna?