Author Spotlight week - Excerpt from In All Things

March 17th, 1949

Meri crept into the bedroom after getting her baby boys down for the night. Eight months
old and the twins were finally sleeping a full six hours in a row. Jakob lay sprawled out on top of
the bed covers, listening to the broadcast of the Shamrock Hotel's grand opening. He'd marveled
over its architectural design during the final months of the building's construction, saying it was
a delicate balance of bulk and elegance, a modernistic French chateau. Whatever that meant?
At $42 per ticket, attending the event was beyond the realm of possibilities. She knew
that he ached to see inside, though. Maybe after the hubbub died down, they could dress up and
sneak into the lobby. Pretend to be guests as they strolled about.

Meri crawled onto the bed and snuggled close. "Anything interesting?"

"Oh yeah. This thing is huge. Did you know that's Dorothy Lamour?"

Meri listened closely to the full-bodied, charismatic voice emanating through the
airwaves as it introduced a host of celebrities -- Errol Flynn, Ginger Rogers, Robert Preston.

"Wow, sounds like some party they're having."

"A little while ago she announced there were fifty thousand people outside the hotel. That
can't be right. Do you think?"

Meri shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

Jakob rolled onto his back. Meri laid her head on his chest as he ran his hand through her
hair. Neither spoke as they listened to the increasingly rowdy festivities. It sounded like
champagne was flowing in abundance.

"You should be there," Jakob said.

Over a year of marriage and the birth of their boys, and Jakob still punished himself as
though he deprived her of something important. There was a strong possibility that her parents
were at the opening. It was being touted as the biggest social event in Houston's history, so her
mother wouldn't want to miss it. But Meri didn't care. All she wanted was Jakob. He fulfilled her.

"No. I should be here with you."

Miss Lamour broke out in song, and several not so talented voices joined in. Meri
snickered.

"I meant that you should be a guest of honor, a celebrity -- invited to celebrate."

"Don't be silly."

He stopped playing with her hair and tipped her chin up toward him. "Let's move to Los
Angeles."

"What?"
"I want your dreams to come true."
"What are you talking about?"
"You want to be an actress."

"Oh, Jakob. That doesn't matter anymore." She laid her head back onto his chest. "I'm a
wife and a mother. You've got your job and school. Besides, we wouldn't even know where to
start."

He lay still for a minute, and then his fingers ran through her hair again. "What if I
figured something out?"

"Such as?"
"I don't know yet."

Meri giggled. She pushed herself up and kissed him on the lips. "I love you." Jakob's
deep blue eyes held her gaze. Wheels were definitely turning in there. "What are you thinking?"

"I promise you, Meri. Somehow, I'm gonna make it happen."

A buzz of drunken laughter crackled through the radio at their bedside, drowning out
Dorothy Lamour as she continued in song. Then a single word burst through the noisy clamor.

Meri covered her mouth. "Did he just say..."

The broadcast cut off and static buzzed from the radio's speaker.

She and Jakob looked at each other with widened eyes.

"I think so." A smile covered his face. He wrapped his arms around her, and rolled her
beneath him as they laughed. "I wonder how they'll write that up in the papers?"

"As a warning against live broadcast in the excess of champagne." Meri fought to catch
her breath. "I can't believe that happened."

Jakob hovered over her with a gentle smile and tender eyes. She reached up and brushed
his cheek with her fingers.

"Believe in me, Meri. Will you believe in me?"

It seemed so crazy. What did he plan to do? Knock on Louis B. Mayer's door. This is my
wife. She wants to be an actress. Yet, the conviction in his eyes overwhelmed all reason, and
from her lips she heard the words, "I do." And it was the truth.


***
Shawna K. Williams will be chatting at the Yahoo Connections Yahoo Group today from 8-1130 am. Pop on in and say "hi." to her!

Smiles
steph

Author Spotlight Week - Shawna K. Williams shares her passion for Inspirationals

I write Inspirationals because my faith is a tremendous part of me. It affects how I process every experience in life. It's a beautiful thing and I enjoy including it in my stories. I guess it's along the lines of write what you know, or as I've been saying in some recent interviews, 'write who you are'. That way it’s genuine. What I mostly want to do is just write life stories about regular people. Some of my characters are Christians, so their faith comes into play in how they see the world and the decisions they make. It's where they find comfort and strength. Just like me. So, that's why I write what I do. It's what I know and who I am.

I absolutely plan to write stories other than Inspirationals. I want to write science fiction someday. There will still be faith elements; I don't think I can separate that out completely. My brain is always pondering the 'meaning of it all'. But the stories will be broader in scope; more focused on action and plot, and less of a character journey -- which is what my inspirationals are. Likewise, faith elements within the story are likely to be less personal, broader and possibly allegory.

Author Spotlight Week - Q&A with Shawna K. Williams

STEPH: I'd like to welcome Desert Breeze Author, Shawna K. Williams to the blog. Shawna, I don't know much about In All Things. Can you tell us a little about the story?


SHAWNA: In All Things is the sequel to No Other. The story picks up with Jakob and Meri ten years later. Jakob has put all of his effort into fulfilling his promise to Roger by making Meri's dreams come true. They've moved to Hollywood and Meri is a successful actress. But what you have to ask is this; was this really Meri's dream, or was it what he thought was her dream, and by achieving it was he really trying to prove himself?

Meri on the other hand has her own set of issues. She's tried to put the past behind her, but a part of her still craves her parents' approval – something most children want even when they come from an abusive home. She hopes that time and her success have brought a change of heart to her parents, but when she finds that it hasn't she sets out with determination to shove her success in their faces and shame them that way.

Both Meri and Jakob are faced with coming to terms over the fact that success has proved dissatisfying. Likewise, an unhealthy nature to their relationship has stifled their growth in Christ, and they have to overcome that, too.

Along with Jakob and Meri's story is the story of healing that takes place in Jakob's family. Though, some things get worse before they get better. This story is actually more literary in that sense than romance. It's very focused on the characters' personal journeys.


STEPH: What was the inspiration behind the story?

SHAWNA: It was inspired from the same dream that inspired No Other. Then a lot of things evolved just from things I have experienced and observed of human nature. Like Meri and Jakob both wanting to be successful just to "show" someone. If they can't win their object's approval, then they'll ignite their jealousy, right?

STEPH: How long have you been writing?

SHAWNA: Off and on for almost nine years, with one of the 'offs' being two years long. I've always had a knack for it, but it wasn't until three years ago that I decided to really commit to learning and to make a serious effort at getting published.

STEPH: Are you a plotter or a panster?

SHAWNA: A little bit of both. I have to have an idea of the overall theme. So I initially write a loose summary of the story. Before each scene I also like to have objectives in mind – meaning, what do I want to accomplish with this scene. How I'm going to do that though is complete panstering, and I always leave room for the unexpected. Sometimes entirely new levels of characterization are discovered this way.

STEPH: Are you doing NaNoWriMo? What are your thoughts on National Novel writing month?

SHAWNA: I would love to participate in NoNoWriMo, but I wish it wasn't in November! This year there was just no way, not with one book just releasing and another coming out in December. But I love the idea, and when I can set aside the time I'm actually a fairly quick writer, assuming the story if fermently cemented in my mind. I wrote over 30,000 words in Orphaned Hearts in four weeks, and that was polished. It's not a stretch to think I could do it in 50,000 in a month. I'd love to try. I'd just need to stock up on frozen meals and be sure the family is all set before I enter my cave.

STEPH: Cast the characters: Who is Meri? Jakob?

SHAWNA: Hmm... this has changed numerous times over the years. When this story first came to me the movie Pearl Harbor had not been out that long, and for some reason I could easily see Josh Harnett as Jakob. Charlize Theron was who I saw as Meri back then. However, as the years trickled on, both of these actors started to seem a little too old to fit Meri and Jakob in No Other anymore, because in that book they are 20 and 22. When I started rewriting No Other to get it ready for publication it was season 8 of American Idol. I'm from Arkansas, and our state had a contestant, Kris Allen, in the contest. He went on to win – something that made Arkansans very proud. There was a lot of publicity surrounding him in our state, and physically, except for his height, he fit the description of Jakob. But manner-wise, he really fit! I even had a friend in Florida, who was familiar with Jakob's character, email me to say so. To top it off, Kris Allen's wife, Katie, fit the description of Meri spot on. So all during the rewrite of No Other these two were who I saw as Meri and Jakob.

BUT, when it came time to rewrite In All Things I ran into the opposite problem. Jakob and Meri were older, now 31 and 33. Kris and Katie Allen seemed too young to picture as my characters. However, Josh Hartnett and Charlize Theron didn't. Sooo, I went back with my original cast. The story had caught up to their ages. Weird.

STEPH: What's your favorite place to go on vacation?

SHAWNA: I love a cabin in the mountains in winter, surrounded by woods. I think I'd pick that over almost anything everytime.

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

SHAWNA: Yep! I have a Kindle. I love it! My daughter has a Nook. She loves it! Sometimes we swap, but she always likes her Nook more and I always like my Kindle more.

STEPH: What attracts you to writing early 20th Century?

SHAWNA: It's hard to say. Something about the era evokes warm-fuzzy feelings in me. There was less clutter, and I think an innocence pervaded that seems lost in many way. But even as I say that, I'm fully aware of the dichotomy of the statement. One of the major story elements in No Other is the internment of Jakob's family based solely on their heritage in WWII, and this was something that really happened to many Americans of German, Italian and Japanese decent. Orphaned Hearts is inspired by my granddad's experience growing up in an orphanage. The indifference, or outright cruelty toward orphans was something he endured. These are both horrible things, and not something to feel all warm and fuzzy about. It does seem though, that at people's core there was something more solid... connected. Maybe that's what pulled them through such trials as what I just mentioned. I'm not really sure I can give a concrete answer to this question Steph, other than to say that something pulls me there, over and over, and whispers in my ear.

STEPH: Fun question: Who is your favorite: Picassco, Monet, Renoir?

SHAWNA: Renoir and Monet. I like Renoir's paintings a little bit more, but these two guys were friends, and there is one painting Renoir did of Monet painting in the garden that I love because it shows their relationship. And he didn't take his work too seriously all the time. There is this beautiful painting of his called, "The Thought." I don't think he actually named it, but I could be wrong. The painting is impressionists style of this lovely young girl looking lost in thought, and Renoir was thoroughly amused at listening to the endless chatter of people speculating about what she was thinking of. Apparently he knew the girl, and according to him, "She never had a thought in her life."