Author Interview ~ Roseanna White

Welcome, Roseanna! Thank you so much for coming by today to visit with us and share more about your writing and books.

Tell us a little about yourself and your background.


Well, I grew up on the Maryland/West Virginia border, on the WV side, and love my mountains dearly. I’ve  been writing stories since I first learned how to string words together on paper, and I finished my first (awful,  lol) novel at the ripe old age of 13. I attended a college known as the Great Books School (St. John’s College in  Annapolis, MD), which not only expanded my love of great writing and ideas but really taught me how to ask  the questions that lead you in the right directions. After graduating, my hubby and I moved home, to the MD  side of the same mountains. We now have two adorable kids, run the Christian Review of Books, own  WhiteFire Publishing, and of course, I’m a
novelist too.  :)

What do you feel is the most challenging aspect in writing?

Hmm, for me it’s usually finding the time to write. That’s a REAL challenge these days, for sure! And I’ve gotta say, the other challenge is that I keep writing stories that have some suspense in them, but I have to work hard to get those elements right. By nature, I’m a character writer—those things that are mostly plot require far more effort. Which, hey, leads right into your next question! LOL

Well, I planned it that way...NOT! Which comes first? The character's story or the idea for the novel?



The characters always, always, always come first for me. It’s their story that shapes the rest of the story,  even in the cases where I start with a setting. Like for instance, how about a book set in the harem that  Esther eventually enters? I had no story until I got to know Kasia, my heroine. Or a story set in  Annapolis in 1783? It was the idea of a betrothed couple who ends their engagement that really turned  that from a nothing to a something.

Is there a message in your novel you want readers to grasp?

All my stories center on hope. No matter the darkness surrounding us, no matter the heartbreak we  might encounter, no matter the difficulties that stand in the way of our dreams, the hope that comes  from the Lord is always a beacon shining before us.

Tell us about your new book coming out.

Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland is the story of a girl who is engaged to the man of her dreams—  yet has to face the fact that he doesn’t love her when he betrays her. Lark flees the situation and heads to Annapolis, which is, during that winter of 1783-84, the nation’s capital. Peace with England is tenuous until the Treaty of Paris is ratified, and Lark is present during several landmark events. More, she goes outside her comfortable world and suddenly sees issues she never thought to examine, including where her liberty is born. Emerson, meanwhile, realizes what he held only after losing it, and chases after Lark. But once a heart is broken, how does one woo it back?

I love the sound of this one and can't wait to read it! Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

Emerson’s best match that I’ve found is John Gidding. He's got quite the appeal :)



Lark is more a challenge for me to choose—I’d first had her as a dark-blond and modeled  her on Dakota Fanning, but I ended up changing her hair color . . . so I think the closest  actress to her now is Nikki Reed.

 

Which part of researching was the most personally interesting to you? Were there any facts that you would have liked to include, but they just didn't make it into the story?

I enjoy history in general and discovering those little things that bring it to life. So it’s the small details I really loved learning. Thing like the fact that the only church in Annapolis at the time had no building (they’d been ready to expand before war broke out, and their building materials were used to build Fort Severn instead). Or that the United States had no standardized coinage yet, so tended to use Spanish reales, cut into varying sizes, which resulted in triangular coins. But one of my most strangely fun research moments was when I made a chart of which contractions were in common use at the time to try to get the cadence of speech right. That was just so geeky I’m proud of it. ;-)

That IS geeky! But it shows how dedicated you are to being accurate with details. Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?

I’d LIKE to travel more than I do, LOL. I did actually visit Annapolis, since it’s only two and a half hours away, and we still have friends in the area. And I’m planning a trip to Savannah for another story, too. But in general, I use the wonders of books and the internet to get to know a place.

Who designed the cover? Did you have any say in how it looked?



The cover is by Garborg Designs, and I’m soooooo extremely happy with it! But this  one was a total surprise to me. I was a little nervous about it after having so much control over my biblical  fiction covers, and even more nervous when I realized they had it designed without any input from me—  but when my editor sent me this, all I could say was “Ooooooooooo, ahhhhhhhhh.” LOVE IT!!

It's a gorgeous cover! I love the colors. But then I think all the covers on your books have    been spectacular! What makes you pick up a book? Cover, blurb, author?

These days I have very little reading time, so author rules the day. But I gotta say, a pretty cover goes a  looooong way toward making me pick up one from a given stack of authors I love. That’s what makes me  turn it over to read the blurb, which does ultimately make me pick which my next read will be.

The cover always catches my eye first :) Who is your favorite author, and what is it that  really strikes you about their work?

Oh my, I don’t think I can name just one! I just finished Mesu Andrews’s next biblical fiction, and it was  phenomenal. Love her style and depth! And Laura Frantz is such an amazing wordsmith, with such  compelling characters . . . then there’s Laurie Alice Eakes, who combines suspense and history so beautifully . . . as does MaryLu Tyndall and my fellow WhiteFire author, Christine Lindsay. Dina Sleiman is awe-inspiring with the way she works poetry into her prose. And then there are the fabulous love stories of Julie Lessman . . . the detailed Regencies by Julie Klassen . . . my favorite YA author is Stephanie Morrill, who has a voice like no other . . . I could go on, LOL. I’ll stop.



Agreed! They are all fantastic authors. Give us three facts about you. Be creative. Tell us about your first job, the inspiration for your writing, any fun details!

Well, in college I worked in the Admissions Office, where introverted me became a tour guide—I got over the introverted thing in that job, LOL. Umm . . . I still have the tastebuds of a toddler—give me macaroni or pizza, and I’m a happy girl. ;-) And I’m one of those unusual people who fell in love with the perfect-for-me guy in high school, married him after our first year of college, and haven’t regretted a moment of the ten years we’ve been married. =)

I'm right there with you on the pizza! Can you give us a sneak peek into what book you are working on right now? When does it release?

Well all my current projects, both the manuscript I’m writing and the one I’m editing, have been accepted by major publishing houses, and my agent and I are finalizing the deals now. So I can’t give specifics, but let’s just say that 2013 is going to be a banner year. =) They’re all historical romances, and are also all centered around the different American wars—Revolutionary, War of 1812, and Civil War. I’m learning so much about the early history of our nation! It really makes me appreciate the land I was born in.

I can't wait! All those time periods are fascinating. Where can readers find you on the internet?

http://www.roseannawhite.com/wordpress/

http://www.facebook.com/roseanna.white

Ok, now for some extras J



You wear many hats. I know from reading other interviews and from your website that you’re very active in your church and you home educate your children. As a fellow home educator I am always interested in how other moms handle all the demands because author or not, there are a lot of them. How do you do it?

My answer is simple: I neglect the housework. ;-) Seriously, the salvation to my sanity is that once a week my mother-in-law takes the kids for a day. I have my daughter’s assignments all worked up and in a folder, and my MIL moderates those on Mondays. That gives me one solid work day, which I need, especially when I’m under three different deadlines. =) Otherwise, my method is to get up at 5 or 5:30 so that I have some writing time before the kids get up. Then while they’re eating breakfast, I try to get my blog up. We start lessons around 8 and are usually finished by the time my son goes down for his nap—which means that naptime is writing time, and my daughter usually draws, creates her own stories, and watches a bit of TV during that time.

That's great about your MIL helping you out. A school schedule always helps, too :) And if you don’t mind…What made you decide to home educate? 

My husband and I have said since WE were in school that we were going to home school. Neither of us liked that the focus of public schools has turned solely to teaching for a test, rather than teaching to LEARN. And after attending a college that doesn’t even administer tests, but rather fosters an environment of reading, discussion, and hands-on experimenting, it became more important to us than ever that our kids have individualized attention that allows them to ask questions and follow their interests. But we’ve also agreed to take it year by year and be open to the possibility that God might at some point tell us it’s time to send the kids to either private or public school, depending on where they are, where WE are, and what they need at a given point.

That's a beautiful college, by the way! Do y’all have a favorite tradition for Thanksgiving, Christmas?

As for special holiday traditions . . . we’re pretty traditional in those respects. =) Our favorite thing to do on  Thanksgiving is watch the Macy’s parade, then have dinner with our family—I’m the dessert bringer, LOL.  My kids really enjoy baking cookies with me for Christmas, and decorating. My daughter is BIG on  decorating!



Oh yes! Little girls love that kind of stuff :) Thank you so much for taking time out of your  busy  schedule to share with us today, Roseanna.



Y'all need to stop by and say hello to Roseanna! I encourage you to pick up a copy of one of  her books today if you haven't done so already. Or maybe give one as a gift.  Click to order A Stray Drop of Blood and Jewel of Persia. You can pre-order Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland here!

LFY in Annapolis Maryland- Read the first chapter here!