Tag Archives: Dorothy L. Sayers

The Artist’s Corner – Writing Faithfully with Author Deborah Edmisten

October 16, 2023 By in The Artist's Corner Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I met Deborah Edmisten a few years ago at a writers’ group, and while we didn’t become instant friends, I’m glad to say that our friendship has grown with my renewed attendance at the group. We were participants at an author event recently, where we had time to speak more personally, and I read three of her books, which I thoroughly enjoyed. That was when I knew I had to share this wonderful, talented woman of faith with my followers. Without further ado, I’d like to introduce Deborah Edmisten.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’ve been married to my best friend for thirty-five years, I’m the mother of three sons and one daughter, a mother-in-law to three incredible individuals, and grandma to five unique and wonderful grandchildren. I was saved by the Lord in my early 20s; a miracle I’m grateful for every single day of my life.

I grew up in Akron for the first ten years of my life before my family moved to Canal Fulton when I was in fourth grade. I’ve lived in the Northeast Ohio area the entirety of my life except for a three-year-stint in Jacksonville, Florida, for my husband’s job with Goodyear.

We have an amazing church family which we cherish. We’ve been with them for twenty-two years, and we’ve experienced both tragedy and joy together.  It’s a gift to have that kind of a bond with a group of people, and we don’t take that for granted.

What has your experience been?

I had several different jobs before I became a stay-at-home mom after the birth of our first child. Camera sales, bank teller, office clerk at a wholesale seafood company, receptionist, and then administrative assistant at a financial services company.

Regarding training and my writing, this may make you laugh, but I’ve had absolutely no training in writing other than high-school creative writing classes and some mentoring in my early twenties from Sharon Mondragon, the author of The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady. I attended a Midwest Writers Workshop at Kent State Stark with Sharon in the late 80s. That is the extent of my training in the field of writing.

Did your work experience lead to the pursuit of writing? If not, please expound upon what led to your decision to write.

No, my work experience didn’t lead to the pursuit of writing. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a writer. My fourth grade Christmas list (that I still have) verifies this; I asked for reams of paper so I could become a writer. Though I wrote poetry and short stories during and after high school, my dream of writing didn’t come to true fruition until I lost my mom in 2005. For some reason, her passing caused me to have a “now or never” moment, and I dove in and have been writing ever since.

How did you develop your passion for writing?

I guess I would say that I didn’t develop a passion for writing, rather, it developed in me through my passion for reading. From a very young age, I found books to be absolutely magical, and that view into other worlds between the pages of books gave me a profound desire to write.

What or who is your inspiration?

Wow, this is such a tough one to answer! There are so many authors I read growing up and in adulthood who shaped my worldview and birthed in me a desire to write.

To name a few of them: L.M. Montgomery, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Wilson Rawls, E.B. White, Fern Michaels (Mary Ruth Kuczir), Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, John Bunyan, C.S. Lewis, and John Newton, to name a few.

Do you put yourself into your writing?

Elements of myself are in some of the characters I’ve created, but I haven’t modeled any one character solely on me.

About which subjects do you enjoy writing?

I enjoy writing about subjects that are meaningful and cause people to reflect deeply on many of the challenges that we encounter in life. Some of the topics I’ve incorporated into my books are domestic abuse, alcoholism, slavery, the Underground Railroad, anxiety, suicide, marrying a person who doesn’t share your faith, human trafficking, immigration, etc.

I enjoy the challenge of creating a story that tackles tough topics but is also entertaining.

What does your writing process involve? What’s your routine?

I used to write early in the morning at our dining room table, but after going through an intense season of anxiety and severe sleep deprivation in late 2021 and into 2022, my routine has changed. I’m not sure why, but now I do better with writing in the evening in my husband’s home office where we relax in the evening. Life is strange like that, isn’t it? I don’t write every day, though; I write when an idea comes to me, so that makes my writing sporadic.

Have you been featured in a magazine or other publication?

My middle-grade and tween books have been featured in several different editions of Story Monsters Ink magazine; a prestigious magazine and valuable resource for teachers, librarians, and parents when looking for quality teen and children’s books.

I’ve also been featured on a few author blogs – which is always fun!

In which contests have you competed?  What awards have you won?

I’ve entered the Story Monsters Approved contest, The Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, and the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards. My tween time-travel series won the Story Monsters Approved seal of approval and my middle-grade books have won honorable mentions in both the Purple Dragonfly and Royal Dragonfly book awards. All three contests are prestigious and reputable, and I feel very blessed to have received recognition for my work from these contests.

Do you write for people (professionally or personally?) How does a client contact you?

My In Time series was written at the request of the children of a good friend of mine, but other than happily complying with that request, I haven’t written for anyone else professionally or personally. I’ve done some editing for fellow writers, but not professionally. Being a busy grandma, I’m not sure I’d have the time to write for others, so I doubt I would venture into something like that at this point in my life.

What’s your favorite story that you’ve written?

From a spiritual standpoint, my favorite book is Many Waters. I think it deals with profound issues of faith in an honest and real way, and that’s very satisfying as a writer.

The Red Dress is probably my next favorite. It deals with topics near and dear to my heart. In many ways, it’s a rough read, but the reality of history is often difficult to dissect, but that process is still necessary.

What’s your dream story to write/writing project?

I think it would be incredibly fun to write a play and see it performed on stage.

What’s one aspect about writing that you absolutely love?

I love seeing new worlds come to life and how connected I feel to my characters; the good and the bad. I love that my characters often tell me which direction they want to go, despite what I thought should or would happen to them. That aspect of writing is so rewarding.

What’s your biggest complaint with writing?

That I’m not as prolific as I wish I could be. In the writing world, I’m considered a Pantser – a writer who writes from “the seat of their pants” as they’re inspired opposed to a writer who outlines extensively before starting a writing project. I have to wait for ideas and storylines to form in my mind, and that isn’t necessarily always a quick process.

Would you like to work full-time as a writer?  If so, how do you envision this occurring?

All things considered, probably not. This wouldn’t be true of all writers, but I believe for me, writing full-time would deplete my creativity and make the writing process burdensome.

Do you write alone or in collaboration with another writer? Have you ever been part of an anthology?

I write alone. Being a Pantser, I’m not sure what a collaboration would look like, but never say never, right?

Yes, a short story of mine was included in the anthology, In Review: The Eclectic Works of The Write Stuff Authors Group and an essay in the anthology In Conclusion: The Eclectic Works of The Write Stuff Authors Group.

Where can someone find you online?  Do you have a website?

You can find my website at Nothing Hidden

I’m on Facebook at Deborah Edmisten, Author

You can also find me on Instagram @deborahedmistenauthor

It’s a Mystery to Me

November 9, 2016 By in Books, Movies & Music Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

its-a-mystery-to-meMy first encounter with Agatha Christie was her novel, Murder on the Orient Express, which I read for one of my book clubs. I’m not usually a reader of mysteries unless by accident. John MacLachlan Gray’s two Edmund Whitty novels and Laura Joh Rowland’s Sano Ichiro series are among those happy accidents. Of course, there are the three Dorothy L. Sayer’s Lord Peter Wimsey novels my mother gave me for Christmas which prompted the purchase of the complete stories, so perhaps I occasionally, intentionally read a mystery.

With that being said, I approached Murder on the Orient Express with a titch of bias. I expected Agatha Christie’s writing to meet the standard set by the above-mentioned authors. In Mrs. Christie’s defense, I have read only one of her novels, and by the time I wrote this blog post, I also completed the short story, “Witness for the Prosecution.”

Charming but dull was the phrase that continually came to mind. Hercule Poirot didn’t do anything for me as a protagonist except manage to be cute and annoying at the same time and fusty even in the era for which he was created. The peripheral characters weren’t memorable; I had to keep re-reading their bios at the beginning to keep them straight. Only one of them had an interesting twist, and for all Poirot’s intelligence, how he managed to miss it until the end didn’t lend very much credibility to his detective skills.

I kept comparing Poirot to Lord Peter, who is more aware of his eccentricities, Chamberlain Sano, who accepts bad situations with great humility and presses on, and Edmund Whitty, who is a likeable loser right from the start. They are more believable as protagonists and detectives, more human in character and actions.

Then there was the prejudice of the author that comes through in the way she handled foreigners and the lower classes. Some of the things Mrs. Christie wrote would be considered intolerable today and were clearly the general opinion of her class. Dorothy L. Sayer’s tiptoed in this direction occasionally, but in my opinion, with much less offense. However, in the hands of someone like John MacLachlan Gray, these types of comments read harshly yet brilliantly. Perhaps this is because he’s writing an historical mystery, and I can trust he’s not wielding them for shock value.

As for the conclusion that everyone was guilty, I couldn’t accept that as a solution. Too many people who know the details of a secret are bound to screw it up without the help of Mother Nature. If not for the snowstorm, am I to believe all the suspects would have succeeded with their scheme? And perhaps I’ve watched too much Law & Order and Criminal Minds to accept that the head of the railway line, with Poirot’s apparent blessing, has the authority to let everyone off the hook because the man they killed was a kidnapper and murderer. Maybe I just wasn’t interested in debating the issue of justice in a book that in all other ways was simple and unengaging.

I probably wouldn’t have picked up another Agatha Christie book if it weren’t for the fact that my other book club is also doing Agatha Christie. My next purposeful attempt at a mystery will also be for book club. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles is on the schedule. I’ll be interested to see how he measures up to the other mystery writers.

Who is in Your Details?

August 24, 2016 By in Research Road, The Weight of Words, Writing Toolbox Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
God Is In The Details by Mauricio Raffin

God Is In The Details by Mauricio Raffin

Today’s post counts as two entries in The Weight of Words and one for Research Road. It also stresses the importance of thoroughly editing and researching your work as well as finding a good editor. We’ve all made mistakes. I have received tactful comments from followers pointing out errors I’ve made. It’s easy to correct a blog post even after the fact, but what about my novel? I don’t live in fear of discovering an error post publication…oh, wait—I do.

I can’t tell you how many times my mother has said, “What difference does it make if you’re not 100% accurate? The common reader won’t know if you’re right or wrong.” To which I explained that I would know. Then there is the historian or well-read person who may read my novel and nail me for incorrectly portrayed facts. I’m not talking about the creative license we employ when placing our fictional characters in real periods of history or an entire reimagining of historical events such as the Germans winning World War II. I’m talking about modern words and phrases ending up in the mouths of characters from an earlier century and inaccurately portrayed artifacts, architecture, places, etc. due to lazy research.

A book I finished recently had two such errors. The first was the spelling of the word carcase/carcass. About thirty years ago, I read Dorothy L. Sayers’s novel Have His Carcase. It was part of a trio of Sayers’s books gifted to people who made a donation to the local PBS station. The announcer kept mispronouncing carcase the way one would say car case. How embarrassing. Years went by before I stumbled across the spelling carcass, which, by the way, is the only spelling Word recognizes as correct. I assumed it was another instance of American English vs. British English. What I discovered after reading several definitions for both spelling variations, is that carcase is the older, often consider archaic, of the two spellings although both are acceptable. Why is this important? The author of the aforementioned book used the word in the diary of a Carthusian monk from 1535, but she spelled it carcass. As soon as my eyes fell across the word, I was jolted out of the story to ponder whether the mistake was mine or hers. True, most people would have let it go, but for historical accuracy, well, I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

Small sidebar: When I checked writing forums for the correct spelling of carcase/carcass, Dorothy L. Sayers’s novel, Have His Carcase, was referenced at least once on every site as the example for the spelling carcase.

I was much less forgiving toward the second mistake. Another character, also from 1535, mentioned seeing a nine-branched menorah used in the second temple of Israel. Did you catch that? Talk about being shocked right out of the story. All my research on the subject verified what I already knew to be true: menorahs used in the temple of Israel have seven branches. The most reliable source of this information is the Bible. I don’t doubt that the candelabra people see the most and the one with which they are familiar is the nine-branched version known as a chanukkiah used in celebration of Chanukkah. The terms are used interchangeably and incorrectly. However, the two items are absolutely not the same thing.

My thoughts on the subject ranged from disappointment toward the author to wondering if the editor was too young to care about such facts or not interested in verifying them. Several years ago a self-published author gave the advice that you should research your history to the nth degree because your readers will trust that what you have written is true. That advice is what prompted me to research my own novel in minute detail. At one point, I had a fellow author/history buff tracing World War II troop movements to ensure I had placed my protagonist with a unit that had actually ended up in a battle I needed to feature.

Perhaps I sound like a fanatic. Even Andy Weir, author of The Martian, admitted to minor mistakes pointed out by other brilliant scientists, the type of knowledge the common reader wouldn’t possess. There may even be mistakes in my own novel. I sincerely hope someone catches them before it goes to printing. Still, I cannot stress enough that the writing and research of your work in progress begins with you. Beta readers and editors are essential to the process, but there is no excuse for a lazy author.

In closing, I’ll point to the title of this post as my final comment on the importance of using the correct words/phrases and conducting research. You’ve probably heard the devil is in the details and the older, slightly more common phrase, God is in the details. The first means that mistakes are usually made in the small details of a project. Usually it is a caution to pay attention to avoid failure. The second means that attention paid to small things has big rewards, or that details are important. Who is guiding your writing efforts?