Song of Leira has been out in the wild for a grand total of 3 weeks now! It’s so hard for me to truly recognize that fact, y’all. This story that I have known and loved for so long is finally reaching and connecting with readers.

So today, I’m excited to get to share the #SongofLeiraContest winners. I announced them at the “Song of Leira and King’s War Facebook Party” last week but I realize not everyone was able to make it. (So sorry for everyone who missed it, because we had a blast!)

And I wanted to be able to share all the photos with you all too because all the readers who entered dove into the creative and fun spirit of the challenge, and it was AWESOME.

Ready? Here goes!

I loved seeing readers adventuring with Song of Leira. Really, I can’t imagine anything more exciting for an author than seeing people reading her book. And I loved all of the photos that were submitted. But … the judges had to pick winners.

The Grand Prize went to:

Andrew Flynn Miller with his “Canoeing Adventure.

And the four Category Prizes went to:

Deborah O’Carroll with “Tracking a Beastie”

Jason Joyner with “Misadventures at Alcatraz”

Katelyn Bolds with “Into the Woods”

and Tricia Mingerink with “Singing in the Mountains”

Y’all this contest was so fun, and I hope everyone who entered had as much fun as I did adventuring and reading! So even though the contest is over now, if you go adventuring with your copy of Song of Leira this summer, I would love to see your pictures!

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Ready to read Song of Leira?

Snag a copy now: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD.

He leaned against the coconut tree, arms crossed over his chest, wrinkling his mustard yellow tank top. Mud and sweat stains covered cloth that had been worn thin through repeated hand washings. After two days of working in the mud and rain, we all basked in the sunlight, allowing the warmth to seep into our skin and drive out the chill of dampness as we waited for the tools needed for the next job.

Six trips to Haiti had accustomed me to a different pattern of life than the clock-drive culture I am familiar with. Long moments of sitting and waiting in between jobs was not uncommon, and it provided a chance to chat in broken English/Creole with new friends, or to sit and simply observe.

I took a long drink from my water bottle, sneaking the chance to glance at him again. Chin jutted forward, eyes staring off into the distance, one bare foot propped against the tree behind him. Only fourteen years old, but that expression on his face made him seem older. I remembered meeting him on my first trip to Haiti six years earlier, but the teenager before me now seemed a far cry from that mischievous little kid who had followed us around, joking and laughing endlessly.

There was still plenty of mischief in the teenager. When he did smile, his whole face lit up. But his laugh was quieter now, and there was an air of maturity and responsibility to him, as he looked after the younger boys who also helped out around the camp where my team had come to work.

Something about the way he stood—leaning so casually against the coconut tree yet with an air of readiness to his posture, that paradox of rest and alertness wrapped up in the lanky limbs of a fourteen year old—caught my eye that day.

Instantly, the writer side of my brain set to work, firing off questions. I wondered what sorts of hopes and dreams he had for the future. What fears whispered inside his head. What events shaped the person he was now.

I wanted to know his story.

Discovering new stories is one of my favorite things about traveling. Not only does traveling broaden our horizons in terms of locations visited, but it expands our understanding of the people we meet and the lives they live. It is woefully easy to force stereotypes and misconceptions upon people who live a few blocks down the street, let alone on the other side of the world, and even easier still if our interactions are limited to a computer screen.

But when we come face to face with people and are confronted with their lives, an amazing things begins to happen.

Our focus begins to shift from our story to theirs.

This desire to understand other people’s stories feeds directly into the side of me that loves being a writer. As a writer, I get to walk through the stories of my characters. I get to slip inside their heads and figure out what they feel and fear and long for. Unfortunately, it’s not always so easy to do that in real life.

But have you ever sat in a vehicle in a pack of cars at a stoplight, or halted in the midst of a flow of people in a crowded mall or airport, and observed those around you?

Have you ever wondered about who they are and where they are going and what will happen when they get there?

Have you ever been staggered by the understanding that the person in the vehicle next to you thinks and feels and hopes and fears as deeply as you do? That they too bear the life-giving breath of God. That they were valued at the price of the life of God’s Son.

And then multiply that by all the other vehicles around you, and all the people in your city, your state, your country, the world?

Sometimes, the knowledge of the sheer numbers of unfolding lives and the stories they are living is overwhelming. Then, it almost seems easier not to dwell too much on it, because if we are confronted by it, I think it must change how we interact with others, or else we must pull the blinders more firmly around our eyes and sink ever more deeply into self-focus.

Thinking like a storyteller …

But when it comes to character development over the course of a story, storytellers know that it is often the smallest, most seemingly inconsequential act that can make the largest impact. It could be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Or the legendary finger that plugged the hole in the dike. Small actions accomplishing either great good or great bad in a character’s life.

I think the same is often true in our lives. Recently, I came across a meme that set me thinking. If I could find the original, I would share it with you, but the gist of it focused on the idea that when people talk about jumping back in time, they are afraid that the littlest action could massively alter the course of the future. But few people think practically about how the converse of that idea is that the littlest actions now are affecting the course of the future.

It struck me most strongly when I started thinking about it on a interpersonal “story” level.

Imagine for a moment the dozens … hundreds … of other life stories happening alongside us every day – the teenage guy behind the check out counter or the girl in the drive through window. The business woman hustling past. The mom with three kids hanging on her legs. The homeless man with a sign on the street corner.

And ask yourself, how often do we think deeply about how our interactions, our words, or the things we do or don’t do or say, impact the stories of the people you simply brush shoulders with?

Impacting Stories

I don’t know about you, but I have seen the impact of words and actions — both large and small, heedless, and kind — in my own life a dozen times over. In fact, only a few months ago, someone went out of their way to remind me that my story—both my personal story and the stories that I am writing—matter. It was a simple thing to say, and yet coming at that moment and in that way, it had a profound impact on me.

This person had no idea that I was just coming out of a year of the worst self-doubt and writing-fear that I had ever experienced. But they took the opportunity to offer a small kindness, choosing to make their brush with my story a far-reaching one.

So, I will seize the opportunity to tell you the same thing now. You … your story … matters. It has value because you have inestimable value too.

This year, oh beautiful 2018, I hope to focus more upon the lives and the stories of the people I interact with and to be more intentional about the moments that I have to offer even a small kindness. This blog has always allowed me to share snippets of my story with you, but I don’t want it to be about me. I want to hear your stories too.

Will you share your stories with me?

I know that’s a broad invitation and comment boxes aren’t really geared toward whole life stories, but here are some ideas if you care to share:

• Something you have learned or discovered in the past year …
• Something you have accomplished or some way that you have had a chance to grow or change …
• A twist in your life that offered good when you didn’t expect it …
• An example of the Lord’s faithfulness in your life …
• A person with a story that surprised you …
• Something that has had an impact on you – an event, a conversation, a book, a movie, a song, or a Scripture reading …

Come, fellow wanderer, sit here a while and share a story beside the hearth.

My hope for this blog has long been that it will become like those Inn Common Rooms from the fantasy stories we all know and love, where travelers gather beside the fire with a pipe and a mug, rest their boots on the hearth, and share stories and laughter long into the night.

To that end, I’d like to start up a new series of posts, a “Fireside Chat” if you will to chat about characters, themes, and the things that make our favorite stories great and how those stories intersect with real life too!

Those Who Rise Up

I will take it. I will take the ring to Mordor.”

I will never forget the first time I saw the Fellowship of the Ring movie and heard Frodo say those words. Caught in the midst of a quarrel, the council of Elrond fell quiet. Everyone turned to look at the small figure who had spoken. And I found myself holding my breath—even though I had read the books and knew what was going to happen—waiting to see how they would respond.

Because in the midst of that great company, surrounded by world-leaders, by the movers and shakers and mightiest among the elves, dwarves, and men of Middle Earth, Frodo was the one who rose up out of a desire to simply help. Of course, we cannot talk about Frodo’s heroism without talking about Sam’s too. Sam rose up also, unheralded, unapplauded, and unacclaimed, and he literally carried Frodo to accomplish his mission.

Faced with desperate need, both Frodo and Sam chose to rise up and take action, and we love them for it.

There are many different types of heroes in my favorite stories. Heroes who are motivated for many different purposes and who are seeking to accomplish many different goals. But some of my favorite heroes are the ones who are confronted with need, with something terribly, desperately wrong, and they refuse to look away, to stand down, or to sit quietly or comfortably. They choose to act, knowing that it will be hard, uncomfortable, even dangerous.

They choose to rise up.

There are so many examples from the stories that I know and love, so I’ll simply focus on the first few excellent examples that came to mind and give you a chance to share some of your favorites as well!

Fictional Heroes and Heroines

I think of Imraldera from Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s Starflower who loves the unlovable and sees the truth they hide inside.

I think of Rowen Mar from Morgan Busse’s Follower of the Word series who has seen the evil inside the human heart, suffers the pain and scars from every injury that she heals, and yet selflessly heals others all the same.

I think of Parvin Blackwater from Nadine Brandes’s Out of Time series who cannot keep silent when faced with the injustice, oppression, and deceit that governs her world.

I think of Kaladin Stormblessed from Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive who fights to save the weak and the dying and the doomed time and again, knowing that he will fail, that he cannot win, and knowing that the weight of those failures will destroy him in the end.

I think of my own dear Ky from the Songkeeper Chronicles who simply cannot stand down when right is ignored and those he feels responsible for are at risk. He rises, and he stands, and if he is beaten down, he will stand up again, and again, and again.

Each one of these characters rises up to meet the needs surrounding them in very different yet equally beautiful ways. They inspire us. Leave us feeling encouraged to do the same.

Real Life Heroes and Heroines

I was originally planning a very different sort of blog post for this week. More tongue in cheek. Snarky. Humorous. Along the lines of last week’s post “So You Want to be a YA Spec Fic Heroine?”

But Harvey struck over the weekend, and even though it has been several years since I moved away from the Houston area, the reports and pictures of the flooding and destruction in all the areas impacted by the hurricane, and the updates from friends who were watching the flooding steadily creeping toward their doors made such a post feel … wrong.

But over the past few days, my social media has been overwhelmed by people who were ready to rise up. Friends. Family. Strangers. Neighbors. Organizations. Businesses. I have never seen such selflessness on such a wide scale. Such community. Such a drawing together. Such a glimpse of what the body of Christ should look like.

So many volunteers. So many suffering. So many giving anything and everything to help out.

They inspired this post.

Their love and selflessness is the ordinary sort of heroism that rarely makes it into movies or books. Collecting clothes at a shelter. Shuttling people to safe places away from the flooding. Boating through city streets. Cooking up hot meals and serving them to rescuers and volunteers.

Need called. They rose up to answer. And my heart is filled with gratitude and love and pride for them because of it.

I think of these characters we know and love. I think of these heroes and heroines of the relief efforts here in Texas, and I think of the chance that we will have to rise up today to meet the needs before us here and now. Whether that’s helping with Harvey relief (volunteering in person, donating to the efforts, or coming alongside with prayer, encouragement, and aid through the weeks and months of recovery and restoration ahead) or another need in your backyard, let’s seek out opportunities to act!

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Your Turn! It won’t be a true Fireside Chat if I’m the only one chatting, so comment away!

• Who are some of your favorite characters who inspire you to rise up?
  
• What are some opportunities that you have found to rise up to answer the needs of those around you?

Let’s continue to pray for the families who have lost so much, for the rescuers and emergency response, and for all the volunteers!

“My father told me once, he said, ‘If you see something wrong happening in the world, you can either do nothing, or you can do something.’ And I already tried nothing.”

– Steve Trevor

I stepped out of the movie theaters the other night after my second viewing of Wonder Woman, and that line continued playing on in my head. A post such as this is late to the game. The movie has already been out for months, so you have all already likely digested the film, savored the flavor, and moved on.

But I’d like to take a moment to relive the feast. Wonder Woman may well be my favorite movie of 2017. That may not be saying much—2017 is still far from done, and since hectic is really the best word to describe my schedule, the movie theater and I have been more unfamiliar acquaintances than fast friends. Put those things aside though, and I still think it is a fair statement.

Visually, the film is incredibly striking and beautiful. Personally, I’d love to take a one way ticket to the Island of Themyscira to train among the Amazons. (Seriously … who wouldn’t like to train like them?) Gal Gadot’s Diana is at once formidable and eye-openingly innocent. I envy the strength of her conviction and courage. It is so inspiring, so refreshing, because no matter how many times she is told that she cannot help, that she cannot make a difference, she is determined to do what she can. (Which, admittedly, is quite a lot. It helps to have superpowers.)

Critics can quibble over plot and storyline all they will, but when she scales that ladder, rises above the trenches, and charges across No Man’s land, I don’t know about you, but I wanted to jump out of my seat and charge after her. Because I am weary of being jaded and matter-of-fact when it comes to those who are hurting and suffering around me.

And the best heroes are those who inspire us to do the same.

But instead of focusing on Diana, I want to focus on the other hero of the film: Steve.

Steve is the everyman hero. He is a normal guy, like you and me—at least when it comes to superpowers, (although admittedly as a soldier and spy, he’s probably got a little more training than the average everyman)—who steps up and gives above and beyond the call of duty.

Unlike Diana, he has already come face to face with evil and suffering from both sides of the war. He may not have Diana’s abilities, but he willingly charges into the fray, putting his life on the line time and again. Where Diana is convinced that she can stop the war if she can just defeat Ares, Steve has had to face the realization that he cannot save everyone, cannot win the war on his own, and that each battle may be his last, but that doesn’t stop him from giving his all to do all the good that he can.

There is much that is wrong with the world. Much suffering. Much anger. Much hate. And we cannot stop it. Not on a global scale. It can be discouraging. And while we know that the power of Christ’s love is ultimately the only thing that can truly change the world, when we are faced with the overwhelming depth of the problems around us, we can be tempted to deny any part in the battle. To sit on the sidelines and leave it to others to fight.

Or we can make the choice to act.

To wade into the fray. To enter the grime and grit of the battle. To draw the fire. To affect change around us, in our sphere of influence, in every interaction that we have with others.

We can choose how we will respond. Whether we will ignore suffering. Whether we will feed anger and hatred. Whether we will accept the world the way that it is.

Or whether we will love—as Christ has called us to—and act, in each moment of the day, out of love toward others.

I see that as being the true power of the everyman hero. As much as I can watch a movie like Wonder Woman and dream about training as an Amazon warrior or leading that charge across No Man’s land, I know my limitations. Unfortunately, those limitations don’t allow for leaping buildings in a bound, single-handedly defeating a squad of enemy combatants, or blocking machine gun fire with magic gauntlets.

But Steve’s heroism—the choice to rise and fight and do whatever good you can do, regardless of the odds—that I can put into practice, and so you can you.

It begins with the simplest of choices: the choice to do something instead of nothing.

Are there any fights or causes near and dear to your heart?
Have you found a way to do whatever good that you can do today?
Do you have a favorite “everyman” hero in movies or books?