Christian Authors – Page 40 – Rebekah Lyn Books

Michael Findley Interviews DiVoran Lites

Michael Findley, blogger at Elk Jerky for the Soul, author of fiction and Bible studies interviewed DiVoran Lites on his website August 28,2013. I have included some of the hightlights below.

Tell us about things you enjoy – what you do for fun or personal satisfaction.

Writing is the greatest enjoyment in my life. But, I love to read fiction and non-fiction as well. I like to swim, take long walks in the woods, paint, draw, and journal, both art journal, and writing journal. I enjoy good, clean movies. I like to cook for my husband and meet family and friends for dinner. I enjoy singing on the church praise team and I like to dance in my kitchen to lively music. The neighbor kids come over for short stretches of time and I like visiting with them. My husband loves to travel and I enjoy it when he goes away for a week to see an aviation museum or four, because it gives us a chance to miss each other and refresh our relationship when he comes home. Yes, I live a quiet life. I feel as if this time truly is, “the best of life for which the first was made.” Robert Browning.

Clear Spring is my newest book. It’s about Mel Nicolaides, who is one of five children. She has lived a happy but sheltered life. When her parents and siblings go to Europe for the summer, Mel opts to stay home and take a job, at a remote North Florida spring. There she begins illustrating a botanical book while learning about Seminole Indian medicine and culinary herbs from its author. This is her opportunity to fulfill her deepest desire, which is to become an independent woman who needs no one. She throws herself into the experience with enthusiasm. But the sudden revelation of a family skeleton forces her to find the rhythms of a power within herself that will profoundly change her life.

You can read the rest of this interview with Michael Findley at Got You Covered: Proofing, Formatting, Cover Design

DiVoran’s final book of the Florida Springs Trilogy will be releasing some time this fall. Here is a sneak-peak at her cover. All of her covers are hand painted.

Contemporary and Enviormental Romance — Clear Spring

The Emerging New Adult Genre and Christian Fiction

Indie BookFest 2013 held in Orlando, Florida — Indie BookFest 2013

This weekend I went to my first writer’s conference, Indie Bookfest 2013, in Orlando. It was an interesting experience, way outside of my comfort zone, but I am very happy I went. Peggy Martinez did a fantastic job putting this event together. One of the sessions was a panel of authors discussing the difference between the Young Adult and New Adult genres. The authors on the panel were Amy Miles, Raine Thomas, Chelsea M. Cameron, and Kristie Cook. While these authors write primarily fantasy and paranormal books, what they had to say about the emergence of the New Adult genre was interesting.

Most of the authors started out writing Young Adult books geared to kids between 11 and 16, so they were cognizant that their current fans may pick up their New Adult novels as well. The general consensus was that indie writers were the first to fill in the gap of literature targeted to young adults between the ages of 18-30; the age when we face some of our biggest life decisions. The authors on the panel cited that the inclusion of sex is the biggest difference between Young Adult and New Adult books.. They all agreed that they felt more than a simple kiss was needed, but that a fade to black was more effective than graphic details.

The discussion made me think about how I see New Adult. I agree that the 18-30 age group has been neglected in the past. These are the years when we have to make decisions about what major we are going to pursue in college, what job we are going to take, who we are going to marry, if we are going to have kids, and yes, the decision to have sex is also a big one that we are faced with as well. As a Christian, this is is probably the biggest decision. We feel temptation and desire just like everyone else, but we also struggle with our beliefs and our desire to remain pure as Christ intended until we are married.

At the end of the panel discussion there was a short question and answer period. One audience member asked the authors how they thought the image of New Adult as purely sex books could be changed. The answer that stuck with me most was for authors who are writing clean books to speak out. A New Adult book can be Christian, fantasy, paranormal, science fiction, or romance without making it all about sex. Be assured the books you find on this website that are promoted as New Adult will not encourage sex outside of marriage and the marriage bedroom door will remain closed.

If you are interested in books that don’t have graphic violence, language or sex stop by Clean Indie Reads. Lia London has done a great job gathering authors from all over the world. I think every genre is represented.

Summer Sounds

It’s summer which means in early morning it’s light enough and warm enough, to write letters to God on the back porch. Today I heard: an airplane overhead, a cardinal back in the woods, an air-conditioner coming on, the dog next dog barking intermittently, a single cicada, which is unusual, and a tapping from the renovation house next door. A rooster that lives at the end of the street continued to yodel long after he had forced the sun to come up. By the time I finished my letter to God, I was able to add a cat’s plaintive meow (the cat begs to move in with the family that lives next door to him), and a car staring up, maybe to go to the beach.

Where are your writing places and what do you hear from there?

Love the sound of the sea — Rebekah Lyn’s favorite place to write.

Have You Ever Written a Letter to God?

The best bit of advice I ever got was to write a letter to God. Why? Well, it got me started communicating with Him and by default with myself. I’ve written a letter to him almost every day

since about 1970 or so. Some were short, most were several pages long. I learned from doing it that God is always there for me and he doesn’t care what I say or how long it takes me to say it. I’ve learned that He really loves me, and that to him, I’m a unique and special person.

Now some people just talk to him, and I admire that way of doing it, but it doesn’t work as well for me. Maybe I I can’t concentrate, or I get bored with hearing my own voice, or thoughts run away with me and I get distracted. But a letter? That’s different. It’s as if my whole mind, soul, and body gets into the exchange, and exchange it is because God writes letters to me as well, in many different ways. I’ll tell you about some of that later on. For now, though how about you? Are you a talker or a writer?