I'm not sure what led me to Before We Were Yours (Ballantyne Books, 2017) by Lisa Wingate, but I'm sure glad I found the book. This historical novel was inspired by the terrible practices of Georgia Tann and the Memphis Tennessee Children's Home where children--especially blond children--were stolen from their parents to be sold (via expensive adoption fees) to families needing children.

1939
Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her three younger sisters and brother live with their parents on a Mississippi River shantyboat. Tragedy strikes when the children are taken away while their parents are at the hospital and the children are put in an orphanage. One by one Rill loses her siblings.

Juxtaposed with that story is modern day Avery Stafford. From a wealthy and influential family, this woman, who is a federal prosecutor, has a chance encounter with a woman at a nursing home that makes her worry about family secrets. Specifically with her grandmother who is in a "memory unit" and doesn't necessarily recognize Avery when she visits.

As I read Iwondered, are these two families really connected? And if so, how bad is the discovery going to be?

The book is difficult to put down. And now I want to read more by Lisa Wingate. Fortunately, the author of this bestselling book has lots more to read. Read about her here.

(Isn't it great to see a best selling book that's also a clean read?)

I’ve known many people from different backgrounds, ethnic groups, skin color, languages, etc., but I’m not them. I can observe what it’s like for them from the outside, but will not have an accurate view of the inside. Since I’m of the dominate culture, I don’t KNOW what it’s like for them as non-dominate, and therefore, should not write from their viewpoint.
 
This is a concept that wasn’t even considered until recently. I know I hadn’t. When I was a child, we played “cowboys and Indians”—even my own children dressed up as both over twenty years ago. From my childhood, I remember the story of Little Black Sambo (and the restaurant) along with classics such as The Jungle Book. I was raised to believe prejudice was wrong, but was blind to see how people were still having their lives stolen in literature and TV and movies. That has changed for me. Here’s a great article on the topic: “Don’t dip your pen in someone else’s blood: writers and ‘the other’” by Kit de Waal.
 
A TV show I’ve been watching recently has shown me “the great white savior” concept is still alive and kicking. Even though I like the characters, I keep waiting for the nonwhites to solve the problem, not the white guy. Hasn’t happened. Sigh.
 
Conversations about this at conferences, in online groups, etc. have made me rethink. I have some stories I wrote 20-25 years ago that will remain in the drawer. I have some stories written as recently as a few years ago that need altering before I can sell them.
 
Does that mean I can’t have multicultural characters in my stories? Of course not. However, my main characters will be white like me. And I’ll want sensitivity readers for my nonwhite characters.
 
What are your thoughts?

I’ve decided to celebrate fellow author’s releases. These will be clean adult fiction: romance, suspense, and/or inspirational. First up to be interviewed is Emily-Jane Hills Orford with Queen Mary’s Daughter, a historical fiction/fantasy.
 
Book Blurb:
 
“This novel is a masterpiece, written by a great storyteller, one who leads readers into the workings of the hearts of her characters and allows them to explore the conflicts inherent to human nature.”  - Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite
There are so many possibilities that affect the course of history. One change, one small item overlooked, can make a world of difference, not only in a person's life, but in the history and well-being of an entire nation. And then there are those multiple scenarios of what if? What if King James VI of Scotland​ didn't succeed in amalgamating Scotland with England? Would Scotland have remained free and independent and a nation of its own well into the twenty-first century? And would Scotland, this independent version, make its own decision to join the European Union when its southern neighbor was choosing to pull away? And, what if there was another heir to the Scottish throne?
In Queen Mary's Daughter (Clean Reads Publisher), author Emily-Jane Hills Orford presents another plausible timeline, one that incorporates both historical fact and fiction with the endless possibilities of time travel.
 
Where did the idea for this book come from?
 
First and foremost, my grandmother (Gran). She and I had a special relationship. When I was old enough, we traveled together. One special trip took us to Scotland where we traced Gran’s childhood memories (she was born in Scotland) and we followed the trail of Mary Queen of Scots. We had been enjoying a number of novels and biographies about the ill-fated queen and my grandmother ignited my interest by telling me about ancestors who helped in her escape from Loch Leven Castle.
 
I always wanted to write about Queen Mary, but it wasn’t until the Brexit debacle and the ongoing desire of the Scottish people to separate from England, that I started looking more closely at the stories around Queen Mary. I knew she had given birth, prematurely, to twins while imprisoned at Loch Leven. History records that the babies died at birth and were buried on the island where the castle sat. An interesting footnote states that the location of the burial and the babies’ remains have never been found. So, I started thinking, ‘what if?’. What if there had been another heir to the Scottish throne and Scotland never did amalgamate with England and Ireland? And my story unfolded.
 
How long did it take you to write this book?
 
For the first draft, just over a year. Then came all the editing.
 
Tell us about your revisions…
 
It’s a painful process for a writer. We have to be very self-critical and look at our own work from the perspective of our potential readers. Does it flow? Does it make sense? And watch out for all those typos – when we’re writing, fast, there are bound to be typos. Sometimes very humorous typos.
 
When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?
 
After several full edits, I took the plunge and found Clean Reads. I worked with their editors and fine-tuned the manuscript even further.
 
What happened along the way in your submission process?
 
I really lucked in with Clean Reads. Queen Mary’s Daughter was only sent out to a couple of publishers before Clean Reads snatched it up. While I awaited the contract, I continued working on other writing projects, including my recently released Middle Grade fantasy novel, Mrs. Murray’s Ghost (TellTale Publishing).
 
When and how did you get the offer on your book?
 
Everything was done via email. Which was great. Ten years ago, I was still submitting manuscripts via snail mail, which, when adding the return postage, was becoming expensive. And it took longer to get a response, if I ever did hear back from the publisher.
 
Tell us about the editorial process…
 
I had already gone through several edits before sending out the manuscript. Clean Reads has a very intense process. I think I went through three different editors to get the manuscript ready for publications. It was a lengthy process.
 
Did you get to participate in the cover process?
 
Not really. But I’m pleased with the cover. It really captures the main character and the Scottish flavor.
 
How long did it take from offer to having the first copy in your hand or on screen (e-book)?
 
6 months.
 
What marketing are you doing for this book?
 
I’ve participated in a lot of blog tours, advertising campaigns, seeking book reviews. I almost spend as much time promoting my books as I do writing them.
 
Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?
 
I learned a lot of interesting details about Scottish (and English) history.
 
Where can you be found online?
 
Website: http://emilyjanebooks.ca
 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ejhomusic
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realpeoplestories
 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1732544.Emily_Jane_Hills_Orford
 
Author Bio:
 
Emily-Jane Hills Orford is an award-winning author of several books. Her recent historical fiction/fantasy novel, Queen Mary’s Daughter, is receiving rave reviews as is her recent Middle Grade fantasy novel, Mrs. Murray’s Ghost. She writes about the extra-ordinary in life, in both creative nonfiction styles and historical fiction/fantasy. A regular book reviewer, the author loves to read almost as much as she loves to write.
 
Where can your books be purchased?
 
On Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Queen-Marys-Daughter-Emily-Jane-Orford-ebook/dp/B079DMRRR8/
 

I often tell my students to “show, don’t tell”—and for good reason. Showing is how we can make scenes come alive. Telling is talking about something. Showing is putting the reader on scene. Joyce Rachelle says, “It's always easier to tell people that a character is funny rather than attempt to hit the punchline of a joke that character would've said.”
 
Let me give some examples of telling and showing:
 
Telling:
            My dog growled when the man approached the car, so I rolled up my window.
 
Showing:
            My American Eskimo balanced his front paws against the panel below the passenger door window. His back paws danced on my lap.
             I laughed. “Quinn, your feet are hard on my legs.”
            He wagged his tail at my words. His black nose quivered at the scents the breeze carried through the open window. A woman and two kids hurried past our parked car and Quinn wagged again. Same with a couple men going by on the sidewalk.
            I glanced toward the store my husband had gone into.
            Quinn stilled, and growled.
            A man walked up to our window. “Hey, could you spare a couple bucks?”
            Quinn growled again. Shaking my head, I rolled up my window.
 
So, what’s different between the two? The first is a summary. The second has sensory details, dialogue, and action. There are specifics. You know the kind of dog and that he is friendly. You know we were waiting in a parking lot with at least one store. You know I’m married and my husband is inside a store. You know why the man approached me. And look at the active verbs not used in the telling: balanced, danced, wagged, quivered, carried, hurried, glanced, stilled, walked.
 
Here’s another example.
 
Telling:
            We lost the cat in the hotel room, but finally found him.
 
Showing:
            After we showered and dressed, I put our black cat Salem in one carrier, while my husband looked for our white cat. In the previous hotel Toes had hidden under an easy chair.
            “I don’t see him.” Don let the room-darkening drapes fall back against the window.
            I lifted up the blanket and duvet on my side of the bed. “He’s not over here.”
            “And he’s not behind the dresser, the TV, or in the bathroom.”
            I frowned. “How could we have lost a cat in a hotel room?”
            Don’s eyebrows drew together. “I have no idea.”
“Kitty, kitty, kitty,” I called.
Salem in his carrier meowed. But nothing from Toes.
Come on, I thought. We need to get on the road. “Could he be under the bed?” I asked.
            Don shook his head. “No, it’s a solid platform. Maybe he got down behind it.” He pulled the mattress away from the wall. “Nope. No space.” Then he saw the small opening in the fabric of the platform. “Hand me my flashlight.”
            I pulled the flashlight out of the outside pocket of our suitcase and gave it to him.
            After shining light inside the platform box, Don said, “I can see him. Back in the far corner.”
            “How on earth are we going to get him out?!”
 
Note in this example there’s some summary written at the beginning: “we showered and dressed.” Those are everyday things where the details aren’t important or necessary to this story and is “telling.” The cat being lost and how we found him is “shown.” It includes some thoughts. And hopefully it left you wondering, how did we get Toes out? The answer: Don picked up the platform and shook the cat down to the opening where I grabbed him! For fiction, I would raise the stakes by making it urgent we got the cat out.
 
Jerry Jenkins says, “When you tell rather than show, you simply inform your reader of information rather than allowing him to deduce anything.” What can a reader deduce from my second example? That I’m puzzled, and a bit frustrated. I didn’t need to say, “How on earth are we going to get him out?!” I asked with frustration. “With frustration” would be telling on top of showing. A reader can deduce my frustration about the lost cat. What about the first example? How did I feel about the man who approached my window? Wary, distrustful. I showed that by rolling up my window. I didn’t state it, but felt if my little dog didn’t like him, there was something wrong and so I moved to protect myself.
 
R. Michael Burns says, “Provoke emotion through character reactions and vivid writing.” I still remember reading a scene from a book by Mary Stewart when I was a teen. The author’s description of a character’s meal that satisfied the character made me, the reader, hungry for that filet mignon. (Just like the juice from the steak in the above image makes my mouth water!)
 
I like this definition of telling: “it's a little more removed from the immediate experience of the moment.” – Emma Darwin
 
Use telling for summaries. E.g. The set up: Jay is a main character who was in a car accident. The reader experienced the accident with Jay. Now the man is home. He might open the conversation like this: “I’m afraid my pickup is totaled.” Jay told his wife what had happened. “Hearing” the details of the accident again would be boring for the reader. Some new aspects may be revealed in dialogue and reactions, and those are worth sharing. E.g. “I knew you shouldn’t have driven tonight.” LeAnne sighed.
           
Use telling for transitions. E.g. Four hours later, we stopped for lunch. OR He drove all day. A reader doesn’t need a blow by blow of driving on a freeway, hour after hour, where not much happens. Telling often has a time composite. Both of these examples do. It can be longer—days, weeks, months. Use telling in those places everyone wants to skip.
 
I’ll end with this quote about showing: “Create a world in front of your readers where they can taste, smell, touch, hear, see, and move. Or else they are likely going to move on to another book.” ― Pawan Mishra