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Interview with Author, Anita Higman

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Today, I’m happy to host an interview with author, Anita Higman. She’s chatting with us today about her latest release, A Merry Little Christmas.

What inspired you to incorporate Jim Crow laws and segregation into your book?

Even though A Merry Little Christmas is really a love story, I felt it needed some additional conflict, and some of the racial struggles of the 60s seemed to be the right choice for this particular plot. I grew up in the 60s, and I was always interested in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. In some ways I feel I’ve waited my whole life to write this book. It came easily to me in that it’s been percolating in my imagination for a long time, but it was also hard to write because I had to consider more deeply the injustices of that era. Even though it sounds like a cliché, A Merry Little Christmas truly was the book of my heart.

The farm scenes seem pretty realistic. Did you grow up in the country?

I did. While the small towns in the book are totally fictitious I did grow up on a wheat, cattle, pig, and chicken farm in Western Oklahoma, and it was pretty much identical to the one in the novel. If the farm scenes seem realistic it’s because I got to know farm life quite well before I moved off to college at eighteen.

Franny and Charlie come from very different backgrounds, but are both looking for something very different from the way they’ve grown up. Do you think as humans, we all just have a “grass is always greener on the other side” mentality?

Yes, that is a human frailty that is easy to succumb to, and I’ve been guilty of it as well. But God is good about reminding me that he’s placed me on my own unique life-road, and it may have little to do with anyone else’s journey. Besides, in many cases when we get a closer look at someone else’s “lush green grass” it usually turns out to be turf.

Do you think that sometimes we don’t pray for what we want because we are afraid of getting what we pray for?

Perhaps that’s true, which would explain why Franny is equally nervous and excited about the sudden answer to her prayers.

Was there a reason you added the themes of Christmas and music to the story?

My editor asked me to add those elements, and it was a blessing, since Christmas is my favorite time of year, and I love music. Also, female readers in general love novels that are set during the holidays, and I’m hoping the music adds a cozy feel to the overall Christmas theme.

What is your favorite Christmas song?

“The Holly and the Ivy.” The song has a melancholy feel to it, but it’s also beautifully sweet. I love the “Currier and Ives” style pictures my imagination conjures up when I’m listening to it.

What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

I love to have my gal friends over for brunch around Christmastime. I have been collecting tea dishes for many years, and so when I do a brunch, I go all out. Women are usually in a service mode most of their lives so when they come to my house I want them to feel wonderfully pampered. And by the time they leave, I hope their hearts are a little merrier and they feel we’ve celebrated Christmas well!

Is Franny’s character based on any “real life” person?

Franny is like me in some ways, but she has a lot more courage than I have and more laughter in her heart. So, really, I want to be Franny when I grow up.

Does the song “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” have a special significance to you?

The song makes me swoon it’s so romantic and lovely. It makes me think of being snowed-in with the man I love. Of course, that scene also needs a mountain cabin with a crackling fire and two mugs of wassail.

You have written everything from romance to suspense/thrillers to nonfiction. What is your favorite genre to write?

I love inspirational romance. There’s just nothing else like it for writing and reading. It naturally makes you want to curl up on an overstuffed couch and read the day away.

Review of “Wisdom Tree” by Mary Manners

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About Wisdom Tree: Sometimes the last thing we think we need is exactly what God has planned. After the death of his parents, Jake Samuels has enough on his plate—including a fledgling church to lead and a mischievous younger brother to raise. The last thing he needs is a rambunctious woman to contend with.

Carin O’Malley is dealing with the death of her brother and a new job as an English teacher at East Ridge Middle School where Corey Samuels reigns as King of Chaos. The last thing she needs is to fall in love…especially with a handsome and complicated preacher like Corey’s brother Jake.

But when Corey’s antics toss Carin and Jake together, the two must draw from God’s wisdom to find refuge in His perfect plan.

About Mary Manners

Mary Manners is an award-winning romance writer who lives in the beautiful foothills of East Tennessee with her husband Tim and the cherished cats they’ve rescued from local animal shelters…Lucky and Gus.

Mary’s debut novel, Mended Heart, was nominated Best Inspirational Romance 2010, and was finalist for the Bookseller’s Best Award while her follow-up, Tender Mercies, was awarded an outstanding 4 ½ star rating from The Romantic Times Book Reviews and was also a finalist for the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Buried Treasures, her third novel, claimed Book of the Year by The Wordsmith Journal. Light the Fire, her fourth novel, took top honors for the 2012 Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Mary was named Author of the Year by Book and Trailer Showcase. She writes romances of all lengths, from short stories to novels–something for everyone.

My Review:

Ever since I read my first book by Mary Manners, Tender Mercies, I became an avid reader of her stories. Wisdom Tree was another winner. As a busy mom, I don’t have time for much reading so I have to make a conscious effort to ensure that what I read edifies me in some way. Mary’s stories deliver the perfect blend of entertainment and inspiration. Reading about how Jake and Carin overcame their personal struggles to find love with God and each other warmed my heart. I especially enjoyed reading about how Jake has to play a father figure to his little brother, Corey, something unique among romance novels which typically portray a single parent lead character. I highly recommended Wisdom Tree!

Rage Against the Machine

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I seriously started to reconsider my relationship with the computer when my two year old recently asked me to get off the computer. I ignored his request at first, until he became more insistent day after day after day. I then started to examine how I spend my time.

The moments I spend with my children are fleeting. I cannot believe it’s been two and a half years since I gave birth to my oldest child, and now he’s telling me how I should spend my time…away from the world wide web.

So I’ve decided to spend time on the computer only when the children are sleeping and my other top priority activities have been taken care of for the day. This has been tough, kinda like going on a diet. It wasn’t until I decided to consciously monitor my media intake that I grew aware of how out of control I’ve been.

I don’t need to check email every hour. I don’t need to see what’s going on at Facebook every.single.minute. And that Google search can wait.

Because children grow up, and I don’t want their memory of Mom to be one of me staring at a screen all the time in a semi-comatose state.

How has your relationship with gadgets affected your personal relationships?

 

 

Appointments with God

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November has been a very eventful month for me. I’ve been finishing up one writing project, starting another writing project and getting the house in order. I’ve also noticed that with all this activity, I’ve been lagging in my personal time with God and not reading the Bible and praying as often as I would like. Whenever this happens, I take silent note of it but then I keep blazing forward thinking to myself ‘I’ll get to it tomorrow’ but then another day passes.

So, after getting frustrated with this cycle, I dedicated time in my day to fit in more time with God. It’s been a slow ramp up, but I’m learning to not be so hard on myself in this area and just do what I can. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I have to contend daily with the tendency to be a perfectionist about things, even grace-filled things like my relationship with Christ, but I’m working on getting better at it.

With that said, I’m also thinking about 2013 and where I’d like to take this blog in the new (and maybe subsequent?) years. I’m leaning towards doing a One Year Bible online. Actually, this has been something on my heart for a few years now, but I’m still trying to work out the logistics in my brain. I’ve been reading the One Year Bible on my own, and it’s been a great way for me to read the Word in small snippets and not get overwhelmed by the idea of reading THE BIBLE (lol). So, I thought I’d take the journey with you in 2013. Still trying to think about the frequency of the posts, etc. If you have any thoughts, feel free to share them with me.

Till next time…

 

On Feeling Behind At the Beginning

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Most days I wake up in the morning feeling like I have to catch up. Catch up on chores. Catch up on writing. Catch up on storing breastmilk in the fridge. Catch up on…life. I have an obsessive tendency to create lists for myself. I’ve done this since I was a young gal in parochial school. (Discipline was close to godliness in the eyes of my Mother Superiors. I aimed to please.)

Back in those days, it was easier for me to write lists, check off each item EACH DAY and then start another list for the following day. But as an adult, things feel harder. Maybe because I’ve lived on this planet longer so I’ve have had more opportunities to be jaded. Or maybe because I’m just plain lazy. Whatever the reason, living up to a bunch of self-imposed rules that I’ve set for myself can drag on a gal. It certainly has dragged on me.

So one day, I decided to put the list aside and blow spit bubbles with my two year old.

One day, I decided to roll around on the floor with the baby.

One day, I decided to knit a toe sock.

One day, I decided to stare outside the window and watch a bird putter around the backyard.

And it felt good. Not in a ‘I’m being a self-indulgent, lazy bum right now’ way, but in a graceful way. My mind was free to think about what really mattered to me in those “lazy” moments. Yeah, I still had stuff screaming to be crossed off  on my ‘to do’ list, but it didn’t tyrannize my soul. I didn’t feel behind.

I made space for grace.

That’s what I need to be reminded of each day. That grace surrounds me, I just have to make time and space for it. Because one day the life I’m living will come to an end. One day, I won’t wake up feeling like I have to catch up because my physical body will be decomposing in the soil. Sounds morbid, but it’s true. It’s true for all of us.

There’s nothing to catch up on.

I am not behind.

There’s no rat race to win.

It’s all a self imposed illusion.

I can simply be. Be in God’s grace. Walking (sometimes stumbling) with Him.

All the while chucking the ‘to do’ list.

On Real Love

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marriage

Next year, 2013, my husband and I will celebrate our ten year marriage anniversary.

Ten years is a long time, especially when two flawed, Jesus loving people commit to building a life together…till death do them part.

Almost a decade ago, I didn’t even want to get married to my husband. In fact, I wanted to call it quits a week before our wedding. I was so adamant about backing out of the whole thing that I called our pastor and told him I wanted to cancel the wedding. He gathered us both together for a meeting and I gave the pastor my list of reasons why I didn’t want to marry my husband:

1) HE did ….

2) HE is so….

3) HE doesn’t understand that I ….

And on, and on, and on.

Our wise pastor considered all my railing accusations against my husband and said this:

“You have faults too, yet Jesus still chose to die for you. Don’t you think it’s wonderful that you’ll be able to walk down the aisle next week, knowing all of your fiance’s faults, look him in the eye and still say “Yes, I choose to love you. I choose to share my life with you. Preslaysa, that’s Christlikeness.”

The truth of his statement burned me up inside. I couldn’t justify my argument after that. Deep within, I knew that if I backed out now, I would miss out on God’s opportunity to mold me into a Real Lover.

Prior to that meeting, I had my own notions of what being a Real Lover was all about. We all do, and I can’t say that I have all the answers almost a decade later, but I do know that:

  • Real Lovers commit.
  • Real Lovers forgive.
  • Real Lovers see their loved one’s flaws, and love anyway.
  • Real Lovers don’t accuse their loved one.
  • Real Lovers are transparent. They can stand naked before their loved one…and not be ashamed.

In the dailyness of life, especially at this stage where we are raising little ones, it’s easy for me to harp on my husband’s faults. The stresses of caring for young children can try my mind, will and emotions. I have to consciously choose to be a Real Lover in these situations. To not complain. To praise. To not nag. To honor. To not tear down. To build up.Hopefully, after many more decades of marriage to my husband, I’ll finally get it right.But even if I don’t perfect love, I know that:

    Real Lovers forgive seventy times seven. And so I can choose mercy over justice.
    Real Lovers love grace. And so I can choose to be grace-full in the hard moments of life.
    Real Lovers commit. And so I can choose to re-commit each and every morning when I awaken with him at my side.
    Real Lovers seek the best for their loved one. And so I can choose to lay aside my human need to be validated…and be selfless. Be Christlike.
    That’s what makes Real Marriages last.

at home, where it counts

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“I’m doing the very best I can, and I’m doing it at home, where it counts.” Psalm 101:2b (Message)

This verse jumped out at me today, and I thought I’d share it with you. I’m a list person. I love to make lists and cross things off as I accomplish them. Recently, a lot of things on my list haven’t been completed. They’ve been left by the wayside as I tended to things at home. This can be a source of disappointment, but reading this verse, I see  what I do at home counts.

My home, my family needs me. Not a babysitter. Not a teacher. But Mama.

What I do at home counts. When I take  the time to sit with my two year old on the floor and chat with him. When I take the time to look in my three week old’s eyes and smile. When I figure out another creative way to pay off the mortgage faster. When I fold the laundry and put it away. When I freeze food in advance for the nights when I won’t feel like making anything. It all counts.

Sometimes it won’t feel like what we do counts because the world doesn’t notice. I love this quote from G.K. Chesterton’s “The Emancipation of Domesticity”:

“To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labors and holidays; to be Whiteley within a certain area, providing toys, boots, sheets cakes. and books, to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it.

How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.”

Perhaps you feel like the things you do within the walls of your house don’t count. But they do. They’re essential. G.K. Chesterton also wrote that “children don’t need to be taught a trade, but introduced  to a world.” Mamas everywhere have a huge undertaking before them, and it’s a valuable one.

 

taking account

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She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness

(Proverbs 31:27)

I’ve been on a Proverbs 31 kick for the past week or so. This verse came to mind as I sat down to write this post. While I am by no means a superwoman (I’m guilty of eating the bread of idleness!), it’s important to have our finger on the pulse of all that occurs in our homes: our spouse, our children, day to day affairs, financial affairs, and even food (I provided a link last Monday to the Heavenly Homemakers blog which gives good recipes.)

But it’s easy to get distracted.

Our fast paced lives often keep us from focusing on the meaningful things in life: our families, our homes, the specific vocation God has called us to. If we let these meaningful things slip, years can pass and we’ll find ourselves restless, unsatisfied and unfulfilled. And our homes and families could be in disarray.

So today, I encourage you to take some time out and carefully assess the state of your household and your life. Ask yourselves these questions:

*Do you wake up in the morning knowing you are doing what God has called you to do in this season of life?

*Do you feel overburdened, hectic or rushed in any area of your life? If so, can you pinpoint the cause?

*If you’re a wife, how’s your husband doing emotionally? Does he seem content?

*If you’re a mom, how are your children? For their age/stage in life, are they displaying a settlednesss or peace in their souls or are they anxious a lot? (If you’re a parent of small children, try not to confuse anxiety with natural childlikeness.)

I hope these questions help you take account of your household, and your life.

Happy Wednesday!