Your hostess for this Clash is Lisa Lickel
The Spotlight is on Delia Latham
To view the original summaries, visit here.
The polls are now closed; however you may still enter the drawing for a book today through Friday morning 7 Eastern, by leaving a comment here or on Facebook, including the answer to the authors' questions along with your e-mail.
About the author: I adore all art forms that encapsulate the wonders of God and His Creation. Currently I am working hard on the sequel to I Am Ocilla. My greatest hope is after you read her you will walk away knowing how much I love my Father.
Question to readers: What do you feel after reading the back cover for I Am Ocilla?
www.dianemgraham.com
The Cheesecake Thickens
The Spotlight is on Delia Latham
To view the original summaries, visit here.
The polls are now closed; however you may still enter the drawing for a book today through Friday morning 7 Eastern, by leaving a comment here or on Facebook, including the answer to the authors' questions along with your e-mail.
Meet Diane Graham
About the author: I adore all art forms that encapsulate the wonders of God and His Creation. Currently I am working hard on the sequel to I Am Ocilla. My greatest hope is after you read her you will walk away knowing how much I love my Father.
Both of the excerpts chosen for this Clash come from other realities. Can you share with the readers a little about how you “saw” your worlds? How you worked out the details, if you ran into any obstacles (such as gravity, atmosphere, time, geography, outside influences) and how you overcame them? If you didn’t run into obstacles, what could take your world apart if the natural laws are broken?
I Am Ocilla takes place in a completely made up world. I dabbled with a concept many Christian readers might balk at…old souls and darks souls. Without giving away too much plot, I will say that my take is completely fictitious and does not relay my true feelings on the subject or a biblical truth. It does give a heck of a good storyline that is surrounded by biblical truth and heavy allegory. We work on the fray of reality and what if when we write Christian speculative fiction and that means pushing the boundaries of our imaginations, but in a way that glorifies God. It does not always line up with scripture because it is NOT Scripture.
I also dabbled with time travel. I have no idea how time actually works. I’m happy to say scientists don’t either. They have theories and they have what they call educated guesses. I made my own and give it no value other than yet again it makes for a heck of a story twist. I have always been fascinated with circles and pi. I’ll not say more for fear of giving away plot twists.
When you’re looking for a new read, either in a bricks and mortar store, a library, or virtually, what’s the first thing to catch your eye? Title, cover design, sub title? What do you look at first? Back/flap material or first few pages? What makes you decide to read the book?
In this order:
Cover
Title
Back Cover
1st Chapter
If a writer cannot get me to open the book, they have lost a sale. I buy a lot of books every year. If they do get me to open it but fail to capture my attention in the first few pages, they probably never will. I am a big voice and sensory reader. I want to visualize the adventure and feel the cold breeze on my cheek. If your protagonist has his/her heart broken, I want to taste salty tears and have my heart wrenched. A lot of writers miss the mark because writing the human experience…even if they are really aliens or fairies…is next to impossible. It’s like trying to write about what God is. You can come really close to a part of Him, but never really encapsulate the entirety of Him. When someone comes really, really close to my experience as a human I get outright excited.
How did you go about choosing your back cover material? Did you have help, and if so, from who and how many drafts did it take?
I happen to be part of an extraordinary team of writers with Splashdown Books. The team took my first try and beat it, shredded it, gave it a couple of swift hind kicks and by the time we were finished, there were 96 messages on the team loop. Each had a say in what they thought worked and what they thought had to go. Ultimately, Grace Bridges has last say, but she has great judgment and a keen eye for excellence. I couldn’t be more thrilled with the team’s effort.
What promises do you offer readers who look at the back cover copy of your book first?
They will get a small glimpse of my very soul. The cover is graced with my eldest daughter Priscilla’s eyes. One on the front and one on the back. She was and continues to be my inspiration for Ocilla. Then they will be asked to open themselves to what a name is and how it is important in the life and death struggle Ocilla must make.
What books or other media influences you and your work the most?
Music and lyrics play a big part in inspiring my writing. But not the kinds of music you would normally expect a Christian writer to listen to. I like just about all kinds of music types besides death metal and rap. On any given day you might catch me listening to a spectrum from bluegrass, gospel, rock-n-roll, oldies, indie, blues, jazz…I really like them all. I also like finding God in them all. Because He is the Creator of all art, He has to be in it all somewhere, even if hidden by humanity.
Visit these sites for more information:
www.dianemgraham.com
The Cheesecake Thickens
