Interview with Rebecca Rash

Rebecca, welcome to Homeschool Authors! Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hello everyone! I am 19 year old homeschool graduate and sister to a dozen. I live with my family in Wisconsin on a little hobby farm. I love to write, sing, take pictures, play piano, square and line dance, and interact with a variety of people. As a Christian, my books always involve Christ – I never try to remove Him from my writing. I love to teach and hope to inspire people in every little way I can!

Everyone’s homeschooling experience is different. What do you think made yours unique?

With having so many siblings, there has always been a variety of strengths and weaknesses between us. I'm not sure if it's unique, but one of the great things about my homeschooling experience was the team effort that was put into learning. One with strengths in math was a great help to the one who struggled with it, etc. Also, I was also allowed to take on the teaching of reading to my little siblings when I was 13. I've had it since, and I love it. To open up the world of books to a person is really a big honor!

How did being homeschooled prepare you to write?

Really, homeschooling is why I write. With being homeschooled, I was able to take the extra time to hone in on the subjects that interested me most. The freedom of taking a subject and running with it was a huge help when it came to my writing!

What caused you to start writing?

When I was nine years old, my Aunt gave me a beautiful journal. I filled it in a little over a year – and after that it was like I was addicted. I filled journal after journal. At twelve, I made up a poem on a boring day. I never knew I could – it was like a key that opened up a door to a brand new world. I started writing poems daily, and before I knew it, I was writing novels. By the time I was thirteen, I was sure I wanted to be a writer!

What inspired A Handful of Flowers?

Novels have always been my cup of tea. Short stories were always – surprise! – too short! But when I was challenged by a friend to write and publish a book of short stories, I decided to go for it. When I was searching for inspiration, I looked to my own struggles and struggles I've seen other youth go through and how they were overcome. Remembering how God can take our struggles and turn them into great things had a big impact on the writing of this book.

Would you give us a synopsis?

A Handful of Flowers is a book of five short stories, based around the virtue of kindness. Fun, and full of meaning and good morals, this book will not only entertain but encourage youth to take the higher road in life situations.

Who will enjoy A Handful of Flowers?

My target age range when writing the book was ages 10-14, but since then I've found it to be enjoyed from those as young as eight, to those as old as seventy! Any family looking for a good read aloud will surely enjoy this book – and it's great for anyone looking for good, wholesome reads.

Do you plan to write more books?

I do! I am in the process of a youth novel right now, that I hope to have published this summer.

Do you have any final thoughts?

To all the writers out there, don't let the thoughts of discouragement get you down. Don't give into the fear of not being good enough. We're all on a long journey, and with each step we take comes improvement. Just keep taking those steps!

And thank you, Sarah, for interviewing me!

Rebecca is giving away a digital copy of A Handful of Flowers! Enter to win below.

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Book Review: The Swaddling Clothes

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Age Appropriate For: All Ages

Best for Ages: All Ages

Description: Through the ages, many stories have been told about Mary, Joseph and the birth of the Messiah. Stories of shepherds and sheep, kings, angels, and stables. But there is one story that has never been told. One story that has remained hidden in the fabric of time. The story of The Swaddling Clothes. Mentioned not once, but several times in the Scriptural text, what is the significance of these special cloths? And how did they make their way into a stable in Bethlehem? From the author that brought you the Days of Messiah series comes a whole new adventure critics are calling.

I had been wanting to try one of Amber Schamel’s stories and a Christmas story for only 99 cents seemed like a good way to try her stories. It was worth even more then what I paid for it, and it will not be the last book by Amber I will read.

I really loved how Amber wove biblical stories and fiction together to create the history of Jesus’ swaddling clothes. She did it so seamlessly that it is obvious that she spent a lot of time in her Bible and worked very carefully to make sure that the facts were right.

The story itself was so sweet and enjoyable. It isn’t long, but it isn’t to short and it very well written. I read it in one sitting because I enjoyed it so much!

If you are looking for a sweet and fresh Christmas story, a story that is biblically sound, I highly recommend The Swaddling Clothes.

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Interview with Amber Schamel

Amber, welcome to Homeschool Authors! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am a twenty-two year old homeschool graduate who spends my time reading, writing, working in our family businesses, volunteering and serving my family of twelve siblings.

Everyone’s homeshooling experience is different. What do you think made yours unique?
I loved the fact that the curriculum was so flexible. In fact, I pretty much made up a lot of my own curriculum. I loved to study history, and tailored the rest of my subjects to fit around that. 

How did being homeschooled prepare you to write?
Being homeschooled allowed me a lot more time and imagination. I could go outside and slip into an imaginative world of my own, hundreds of years ago. I started writing when I was about 13, and I don't think I ever would have done that if I hadn't been homeschooled.  My mom knew I loved history and writing, so she gave me assignments that were tailored to that. I was the editor of our school/family newsletter, organizing article competitions etc.

What caused you to start writing?
My active imagination was constantly coming up with stories.I originally started writing them down as journal style stories. I imagined that I lived during the time of the Revolution and wrote letters to my friends and entries in my journal.

What inspired The Swaddling Clothes?
Haha, that's kind of a funny story.  I had been asked to write a Christmas story, and I was praying about what to write as I was making dinner. My siblings were watching a Veggie Tales movie about the Toy that Saved Christmas. I overheard Pa quote the scripture "and she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in baby clothes and laid him in a manger."
Whoa, hold on a second, I thought. The KJV doesn't say "baby clothes" it says "swaddling clothes." I wonder why...And so it began.

Would you give us a synopsis?
Through the ages, many stories have been told about Mary, Joseph and the birth of the Messiah. Stories of shepherds and sheep, kings, angels, and stables. But there is one story that has never been told. One story that has remained hidden in the fabric of time. The story of The Swaddling Clothes.
Mentioned not once, but several times in the Scriptural text, what is the significance of these special cloths? And how did they make their way into a stable in Bethlehem? From the author that brought you the Days of Messiah series comes a whole new adventure critics are calling "intriguing...thought provoking... a fresh twist on an age old story."

Who will enjoy The Swaddling Clothes?
Anyone who enjoys Historical Fiction or Biblical Fiction. 

Do you plan to write more books?
Yes! I'm working on a Biblical series called The Days of Messiah as well as a series on the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

Do you have any final thoughts?
Thanks so much for having me today! I am so excited to meet other homeschoolers and other authors. If you don't already know me, please introduce yourself! I'd love to meet you.

Enter to win a digital copy of this wonderful story!

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The Importance of History

by Alicia A. Willis

I don’t consider it at all coincidental that Sarah asked me to do a post on the importance of history almost exactly during the time I was writing on the very same subject in Remembering the Alamo. God has such a way of working such things out.

So why do I consider history so important? Why the emphasis on careful research in one’s historical-fiction novels? For that matter, why should one read historical-fiction at all?

Many people have told me that they see history in black-and-white. To them, history is a jumble of dull dates, facts, and is just a focus on the glories and failures of another time that is irrelevant to us today.

And that is the exact reason why reading historical-fiction or studying history in general is so important.

Those people were not black-and-white, covered-in-dust memorabilia. They were real, living, breathing humans with joys and struggles exactly like our own. And understanding those people helps us understand ourselves. Until we understand history, we will not comprehend who we are, where we have come from (either as a nation, an ethnic group, or an individual), and where we are going. Most importantly, until we understand history, we will not see the mighty works of God and His Providence all throughout time.

The Bible tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. And history has a sad way of repeating itself – probably because no one ever took the time to look at past mistakes and resolve not to make them again in our generation. Hindsight is 20/20 – but only if we take the time to give that glance back over our shoulders and delve deep into another era.

Studying Rome can help us see where we as Americans are going. Studying the Middle Ages shows us God’s mighty way of planting seeds of growth, invention, and reformation – most of which would impact all of time. Studying the Alamo shows how courage and sacrifice helped found this nation and provoked a desperate fight for freedom, resulting in a wonderful piece of land we Americans call Texas.

Until you really study history, you won’t know all the wonderful blessings that brought you to where you are and formed the country you live in.

In conclusion, allow me to share a tidbit from Remembering the Alamo, where Pastor Mark Siegler lightly covers this very topic.

Mark paused. “History, guys, is a sort of mirror to our own lives. When we understand it, we understand where we came from, what circumstances shaped our present course. And the part I like is that we can see God's hand of providence all throughout time. We can see where He led others and how His leading resulted in the lives we live today. Take the Alamo, for example. You boys have been learning about the lives of some very important men and how their dedication to the cause of liberty gave us our country’s state of Texas. More than that, you've learned how God impressed it upon those men to withstand a cruel and ungodly dictator, thus setting an example for us today.”

-Remembering the Alamo. Copyright 2014 by Alicia A. Willis. All Rights Reserved.

Alicia A. Willis is a home-school graduate, published author, and avid historian. She is a firm believer in the principle that one can accomplish anything by substantial amounts of prayer and coffee. Visit her at her blog to view her historical-fiction novels and all the goings-on between writing!

Alicia is giving away a digital copy of Remembering the Alamo Enter to win below 

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Announcement Saturday

Opportunities

www.lovelyromancepress.com  is looking for authors who would like to get started in the writing field,  or already a writer. They publish E book Novellas between 20 and 30 k words. They are open to anything with clean, clean romance or christian romance.  These can be put into print once they sell over 500 E books. 

They are currently interested in themes such as: Love discovered at the masquerade, Love discovered in the forest,   basically  not the name of towns etc, but places. These can be contemporary or historical, christian or squeaky clean. 

Send a short outline of your story and the first chapter you can see our submission policy at www.lovelyromancepress.com   They pay 50% of profits 

Would like to meet homeschool graduates that have published books? Would you like to have your books signed? What about you writers? Would you like to sit down and have the first chapter of your book critiqued by a published author? This is the event for you! Homeschool Authors is hosting an event with Sarah Holman and Kelsey Bryant (More authors pending) and Brightside Books in Taylor Texas. Come and join us on March 22, anytime between 10:00AM and 

Authors Added

Rachel Heffington

Mirriam Neal

Books Added

Rise by  Rachel Starr Thomson

Fly Away Home by  Rachel Heffington

(Coming soon) Five Glass Slippers  by  Rachel Heffington
Monster by Mirriam Neal
Ellie's Elephant by Ashley Tetzlaff
Hannah the Hummingbird  by Ashley Tetzlaff
Debra the Dove: Feeds the Hungry by Ashley Tetzlaff
Squeaky by Ashley Tetzlaff
Billy the Bullfrog by Ashley Tetzlaff
Castles In The Sand by Ashley Tetzlaff
Girl and Dude by Ashley Tetzlaff

Interview with Vicki Lucas

Everyone’s homeschooling experience is different. What do you think made yours unique?
This may sound odd, but I think one thing that made my homeschooling experience unique is the amount of time our family spent together. My Dad is a pastor and my Mom is a writer, so it was quite normal for all of us to be studying at once in the same room. Many times the parsonage, not the church, had a study for Dad, so we all crammed into one room and worked together. While there were issues of Dad talking on the phone to people, or listening to my brother complain about Shakespeare, I remember this being a blast. Dad, who can seem very serious, would often start throwing paper balls at us or stirring up trouble some way. Later on, I remember sharing the kitchen table with my sister. Homeschooling created a connection between my family that we would have missed if we were in separate rooms or classes. In many ways, it made a place for us to develop friendships. Another way that my experience may be unique is that Dad tailored my schooling to fit my interests more. Instead of forcing me to take classes that I would hate and never use, Dad found college classes I could take. Of course, this was in the late 1990s so that was a bit harder to do than it is today. Thanks to this, I was able to start taking psychology classes which is my college degree.

 How did being homeschooled prepare you to write?
Great question! The program my parents use for our curriculum (A.C.E.) developed the skill of setting goals. Every day, when I was done with a subject, I had to set new goals for what I was going to do the next day and write them down. My parents often checked these to make sure it wasn’t too much or too little. When I completed all my goals, I was finished for the day and could choose from a variety of activities. This created a discipline that I believe is vital to writing. I set goals of writing a certain amount of words a day or editing a certain amount of pages. I may do more, but I strive to always hit my goal before I decree the work day finished.

What caused you to start writing?
I played around with writing most of my life. In college, if I could write a short story instead of a paper, I did. However, I never found a story that stuck. Every once in a while I would think of a story idea, write it down, and then it would fade away before I did anything with it. Then a few years ago, I tried to buy a book for my nephew who was turning 15. I couldn’t find anything that I thought he would like. That’s when I hit upon a story idea that stuck, and now I have a backlog of about 20 more books that are waiting to be written.

What inspired Rancid?
Rancid is the second of the series, but I actually started it as a short story.  I wanted to explain who two characters were that show up at the end of the first book. I thought it would take about 30,000 words to tell their story. The main character of Rancid, Aric, took over and before I knew it, the story was at 50,000 words, and I had to figure out how to wrap his story around what was happening in the current time line. Let’s just say, Aric likes attention.

Would you give us a synopsis?
In the sequel to Toxic, Kai battles Seekers and Unwanteds alone, desperate to save his family from Belial's evil schemes. Lizzy attempts to save a friend from death with help from two strangers, and Taryn wrestles with the desire to use magic when he knows that it is wrong. Aric can see the deceit from one who is highly favored, but can he convince others of what he knows is true and fix the problems before it becomes too late to save his friends and the kingdom?

Who will enjoy Rancid?
If you’ve read Narnia and the Lord of the Rings, you will enjoy Toxic and Rancid. I wrote it for teens and young adults who enjoy fantasy with a lot of action.

Do you plan to write more books?
Oh, yes! Like I said, I have about 20 more books plotted out and a few nonfiction books planned. I have 70,000 words written on the next book which I hope to release this year. I wish my fingers could type faster to get these stories onto paper!

 Do you have any final thoughts?
Thanks, Sarah, for uniting all homeschool authors! Keep up the great work!

Vicki is giving away a digital copy of Rancid! Enter to win below.
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Free Ebook by Ashley Tetzlaff

Do you have trouble getting your kids to read?

Or do you have problems with the stories available to them?

This book contains EIGHT fun children's stories that are engaging, easy to read, delightfully illustrated, and teach valuable life lessons. Whether you read this book aloud to your preschooler or give it to your first-grader to read on his own, this book is sure to be a family favorite!

 Illustrated in black-and-white sketch drawings by three different artists

Homeschoolers will especially appreciate this style as they probably are familiar with it through reading the Classics, Rod and Staff books, and from their own art.

You get a much better deal with buying the set than with getting each individually! This ONE BOOK contains: Mr. Moppet's Mailbox, Debra the Dove, Billy the Bullfrog, Squeaky, Castles in the Sand, Hannah the Hummingbird, Ellie's Elephant, and Girl and Dude.

Get it free for a short time only

Book Review: Three Picture Books

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Age Appropriate For: All Ages

Best for Ages: 10 and under

It has been a long time since I have read a picture book. When Ashley Tetzlaff asked me to review some of her books, I agreed. I had been interested in her books her books for a while and some of them were on my to-read list. I was very excited when a package arrived with three picture books; I thought I would be bored. Instead, I found myself really enjoying the stories that these books contained.

Girl and Dude was a sweet tale of love in its purest form. Dude meets girl. Dude and girl both try to change to be acceptable to the other. They find that they didn’t really need to change. This tale was so sweet and the message that girls and dudes alike need to hear, even when they are small.

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Squeaky was a delight. The visuals in this were so fun. This story really showcased Ashley’s and Amy’s imagination and talent. Being short in stature myself, I also could relate somewhat to this little kitten. I know that little ones as well as grown-ups will enjoy ready this story over and over again.

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Debra the Dove Feeds the Hungry was my favorite of the stories. I think it has to do with working at a food pantry. This has another wonderful lesson tucked between the beautiful illustrations and cute story. A lesson that we may have all we need and more, but there are many people in this world that do go hungry.

I highly recommend these stories for children, and children at heart.

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I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

Interview with Ashley Tetzlaff

Ashley, welcome to Homeschool Authors! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
 I am a young wife and stay-at-home mom residing in the Washington Palouse. I devour others' books and crank out my own while my little one is sleeping. I was homeschooled and plan to homeschool. I love the Lord and am so thankful for all He has bestowed upon me :)

Everyone’s homeshooling experience is different. What do you think made yours unique?
 My mom custom catered my curriculum to my strengths and weaknesses and interests. If there was an area I loved (such as reading), she sowed into that area. If there was something I struggled with a little more, like grammar, she made sure to give me a wide range of exposure to the subject (in this case, through regular text books, learning foreign languages, and picking up on grammar use through reading books).

How did being homeschooled prepare you to write?
I grew up in the Texas hill country, which meant plenty of time outside with bees, cows, chickens, cats, gardening, and my ten siblings. A lot of my writing assignments for school centered around those aforementioned things.
      As with many homeschooling families, I was very close to my brothers and sisters. After school and chores, we could sit under the shade of our pecan, elm, or oak trees, and tell each other stories. My short, fictional, kids' tales were in great demand during these narrative powwows.

What caused you to start writing?
Starting around age eight or so and continuing till I graduated at sixteen, my mom had me write around a page a day for my Creative Writing class. Half the time I wrote poetry, half the time I wrote fiction/non-fiction prose works.

What inspired Debra the Dove?
I ran across a Christian organization at my local farmer's market. This organization, Store House, bought grain by the truckload from local farmers, cleaned it, packaged it, and then shipped it all over the world to other Christian organizations working with the poor - from US food pantries to third world refugee camps. I wanted to write a kids' story that raised awareness of world hunger as well as this specific organization. Jesus said, "What you do for the least of these, you do unto me."

Would you give us a synopsis?
Debra lives a happy, well-fed life. One day, she goes on vacation and discovers that not everyone has it as good as she does - in fact, some are starving. Debra flies back home and then, with the help of others, brings food back to the starving birds.

Who will enjoy Debra the Dove?
I wrote it for the three to six year old crowd. It works both as a read-aloud and an early reader. Parents can use the book as a simple way to broach the subject of poverty and helping others. The black and white illustrations are geared toward the homeschool community, who tend to appreciate the hand-sketches more than other folks. Some also use it as a coloring book. :)

Do you plan to write more books?
Yes, many more. I want to provide homeschooling, God-fearing families with decent kids' books for their 3-7 year-olds. Many books out there for this age level feature monsters or broken families or nonsense. I want to counteract that with my stories. And, Lord willing, some day I hope to write longer novels for youths/adults.

Do you have any final thoughts?
Whether or not one realizes it, books and movies communicate values (or lack thereof) to one's mind and heart. Good and evil are portrayed in every book, but while some show that good pays in the end and evil loses, others show evil as justified and good as old-fashioned. What do you want to sow into your (and your children's) mind and heart? Scripture says, "Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, honorable, think about such things." And that is the focus I have attempted to have with my books.
You can access Debra the Dove and my other books at Amazon.com.

Ashley is giving away a copy of Debra the Dove Feeds the Hungry. Enter to win below.

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