Friday, August 2, 2013

Paula Vince: What Is The Function Of Our Fiction?

Everyone's Story warmly welcomes award winning inspirational author Paula Vince. Paula writes faith-inspired fiction set in her native beautiful Australia, stories that one can relate to no matter where one lives. One of many pluses and blessings of hosting guests is learning so many new and helpful insights. For instance, check out Paula's Fiction Writer's Creed. Paula is also offering a Giveaway of her novel BEST FORGOTTEN to two lucky winners. Below is an excerpt for your reading pleasure. Paula is looking forward to your comments.


Book Giveaway:
Paula is offering to two randomly chosen commenters either a print or ebook edition of her novel BEST FORGOTTEN. The winner will be announced here on Friday, August 9th, between 4-6 PM EST. For convenience, please leave your contact information within your comment. Thanks! 

Here's an excerpt of Paula's BEST FORGOTTEN for you to enjoy:
 


BEST FORGOTTEN by Paula Vince
Prologue

His eyes blurred with tears, Reverend Barney Wills drove along the steep winding road. The rugged cliff loomed dark ahead and a tatter of cloud obscured the pale moon. His bedside vigil had gone on much longer than expected. It was after midnight.

He was thinking of Maud’s last words and planning how he would break the news of her death to his parishioners when a figure shot out of the scrub and barrelled onto the road in front of him. Barney had a transient image of a wraith-like form in dark clothes with wild black hair flying everywhere. The apparition wheeled around to face the headlights. Its pallid face was petrified. As he slammed his foot on the brake, the thought flashed through Barney’s mind that this might be the Grim Reaper.

When he thought it over later, he was ashamed of his jumble of impressions born of superstition and horror stories. Barney thought he’d left those hang-ups behind in his youth. Perhaps in this case they were wishful thinking. Bowling down a vampire or zombie was preferable to the unthinkable concept of seriously hurting a human being. But his front bumper-bar hurtled the figure off its feet, lifted it high onto his bonnet and pitched it onto the road. Tyres screeching, Barney jerked his steering-wheel as the car careered into the roadside scrub.

His hands shook violently; he took three attempts to open his door. His quivering knees were almost too weak to take him to the prostrate figure. He sank to the ground, staring at the white, unconscious face. A trail of blood gleamed on the pale chin. The teeth had bitten deep into the flesh of the lower lip.

Oh God, what have I done?

With all that wild, flowing hair, the person could have been any gender, but something about the raw-boned form indicated this was a young man. The limbs were too lanky and the shoulders too broad for a female. A silver stud glimmered in the centre of his bottom lip and a shiny row lined his left earlobe. He wore dark jeans and a black T-shirt featuring a skull dripping blood from a sharp set of fangs. The painted blood was almost as bright as that dribbling from his lips and Barney’s stomach twisted.

He realised the man was barely more than twenty years old. God forgive me, I’ve killed him! I’ve killed him!

Barney knew never to move an accident victim but he picked up the youth’s wrist to search for a pulse. At first he felt nothing but the creaking of his own arthritic fingers. Then as he held his breath and forced himself to stay rigid, he detected a strong pulse. Please stay alive. God, please keep him alive. ‘Hold on, young man, hold on.’ He scrambled to his feet, stumbled to his car and fumbled in the glove box for the mobile phone. His unsteady fingers punched in the number of Emergency Rescue.

‘Hello, my name is Barney Wills.’ He cleared his raspy throat. ‘Reverend Barney Wills. There’s been an accident. I’m on Mount Barker Road near Eagle on the Hill. You know, the old Freeway. I collided with a runner. I tried to stop but I couldn’t.’ His lips trembled more than his jelly-legs and he had to muster all his will-power to remain coherent.

Then there was nothing to do but wait. He returned to kneel by the young man. What are you doing here, anyway? Why are you out in the middle of nowhere long after midnight dressed like the devil himself? Barney realised he probably couldn’t have avoided the collision even if his mind had been focused on the road.
A tremor passed through the young man. His eyelashes flickered and he tried to scramble up. Barney shot out a restraining hand. ‘No, no! Stay where you are. You’ve been hurt.’

Barney watched the youth’s bright blue eyes focus on his clerical collar.
The boy flinched and jerked his arm free. He tried to rise again but staggered back with his head in his hands, apparently knocked over by a wave of dizziness. 
‘You mustn’t get up. Please listen to me. You’ll be okay. An ambulance is on its way.’ Barney’s voice sounded crackly and unconvincing, even to himself. ‘I…I hit you with my car. You came from nowhere. I’m terribly sorry. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. What’s your name, son?’

The youth’s eyes screwed up, perplexed, as if he’d been asked a difficult question. Barney wondered if he could understand English.

‘I don’t know.’ The boy’s voice was thick with blood and confusion and he turned to spit a red wad onto the bitumen.

Barney’s blood chilled. The sound of approaching ambulance sirens filled him with heady relief.



Questions for Paula
As an author of “Australian-based Christian fiction” what do you strive to achieve as the common denominator for all readers to experience and enjoy?

I love to highlight the beauty and bounty of my country and its people. We have such a lot going for us. We are blessed to live in a wide, warm land full of contrast and colour, yet sometimes we feel removed from the rest of the world in a sense that is more than geographical. This is partly because of our location, so far south on the globe, and perhaps partly because we were so recently settled as a nation in the mid nineteenth century. We sometimes get the feeling the rest of the world may not be clued-up about what we’re all about down here, yet based on some lovely feedback from international readers of my books I sense an interest and fascination with Australia. My books serve a two-fold purpose. They reveal our culture to the rest of the world in a fun way, and also give local readers something familiar to settle down with when we feel like it. Australian stories have their own distinctive flavour.


Many of us are descended from brave, resilient settlers who left everything they knew to set up new lives in a strange, harsh land at the bottom of the world. I like the sparks of boldness and forbearance still evident in many of us who are their descendents, mixed with our own style of humour. I like that to come out in my writing.

Our unique flora and fauna are wonderful and often handy to weave into my plots. Some international readers have mentioned my ‘Australianisms’ which they think are interesting and quaint. I like them to come out in my stories too, even though they are usually unintentional. And I’m delighted that the increasing availability of eBooks has helped to lessen that gap between Australians and the rest of the world. I hope it continues.


Would you like to highlight your Fiction Writer’s Creed?

One day, I started to ponder the purpose of my occupation. What is the function of the fiction that I and other authors write? We like to believe there is more to our writing than just creating satisfying stories. Of course we want to take readers through the gamut of emotions, but it’s not all for the sake of making them laugh and cry. I sensed that the emotional response is a means rather than an end in itself, but couldn’t quite pinpoint what my work was leading to.

I was reading Matthew 13 in The Message Bible, and suddenly it was all clear to me. The purpose of our fiction is all tied in with the reason Jesus gave His followers when they asked why He liked to tell so many parables. His motivation is the same as ours.

It’s to create readiness, nudge people toward receptive insight, create fertile ground for readers to have ‘a-ha’ moments of their own. I understood that my novel writing is a bit like preparing a garden bed for magnificent flowers to bloom. 

I wondered if other writers had come to the same conclusion. Writing is an engrossing, time-consuming job with many challenges, and we often sacrifice more lucrative occupations to pursue it. I wanted some sort of creed to hang above my desk, to encourage me to keep my chin up and stick to it. I was surprised when I couldn’t find one so I made up my own. It turned out to be a list of eight features, and you are all very welcome to share it if you’d like a creed too.


Which of your characters are you most like? And which would you never want to be like?

Even though I’m sure I put bits of myself into all of my main characters, I think I have a special spot in my heart for my young men. It’s always been an enjoyable challenge for me to get my head inside a masculine mindset, so I’m always really pleased when I carry it off to my own satisfaction.

I am similar to Blake Quinlan, a main character of “Picking up the Pieces” for his uncertainty and lack of confidence in expressing himself. That attribute is possibly why I started writing in the first place.


I also feel I’m like Courtney Lockwood, the hero of “Best Forgotten” who wakes up with total amnesia. As he searches for his old identity, he initially gets a picture of himself as someone he doesn’t like at all. Eventually he comes to sympathise with his old self, a young man who was vulnerable and reactive to outside feedback and disapproval. He learns that he used to take other people’s perceptions of him on board and let these form his self image. Like Courtney, I was a bit like that and needed to learn about my identity as a child of God, and that I didn’t have to let other people’s perceptions of me shape my own.

The character I’d least like to be like may come as a surprise. I’ve written many misguided and villainous characters but the one who stood out as someone I’d least like to be is an old lady from “The Risky Way Home”, one of my earliest novels. I chose her because I can see how easy it may be for any one of us to follow a similar path.

Henrietta Bowman, a sour, elderly lady, is about to die. Although she never realises it, the reader may sense that her miserable life was rooted in her attitude. She’d had enough blessings to make her happy and content, but chose to look past them and focus on the resentment and self-pity, which she was also arguably within her rights to claim. Focusing on the cruel twists of life that upset her created a self-fulfilling prophecy. It became true that her whole life had been sad and unfulfilled, but equally true that others who had suffered similar setbacks called themselves joyful and blessed. Our lives are as happy as we choose to emphasise.

Paula's Ah-hahs To Tweet:
Everyone has a story: Learn of author Paula Vince’s faith-inspired fiction set in Australia. (Tweet This)

Paula Vince: "… a story has…power to touch readers' hearts in ways other genres do not” (Tweet This)

Award wining author Paula Vince teaches about: Fiction Writer’s Creed. (Tweet This)

Win inspirational author Paula Vince’s novel BEST FORGOTTEN. (Tweet This)


Author Bio:
Award-winning author, Paula Vince loves to evoke tears and laughter through writing fiction. She stirs her stories with mystery, romance, drama and suspense to create something delectably special. A wife and homeschooling mother of three children, she resides in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, a beautiful spot for inspiration with its breath-taking scenery and four distinct seasons.

For over ten years, Paula's aim has been to provide quality faith-inspired fiction set in Australia. Her quest started way back when, as a Uni student, she discovered the writing of American Christian fiction authors. Her passion is to provide the same enjoyable reads highlighting her own country.

After years of plodding on with minimal return, as Australian-based Christian fiction was regarded as something of an oddity, Paula's efforts are beginning to bear fruit, at last. Her novel, "Picking up the Pieces" won the religious fiction section of the 2011 International Book Awards.

Her novel, "Best Forgotten" was the winner of the 2011 CALEB Award in the fiction category, and also recognized as the best overall entry for the year, chosen over memoirs, devotionals and general fiction.


She is delighted that her books are now available for international readers too.

Connect with Paula at:
Website
Blog
Amazon Page
Goodreads Author Page
Facebook Page
Twitter



49 comments:

  1. Thank you, Elaine, for introducing me to Paula. What a joy. I clicked over to her writer's creed and so agree. Would love to win her book--the brief sample was great. pat at ptbradley dot com

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    1. As always, Pat, it's a joy to see you here. I agree with you about Paula's writer's creed. Remarkably wonderful, let alone helpful!

      Allowing for about a 16 hour difference, do stop by later for Paula's reply.

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  2. Hi, Patricia and Elaine. It's lovely to be featured and I'm glad to think you may find the creed handy. It's a blustery, winter Saturday morning here in Adelaide, Australia. I woke up not long ago and I believe you ladies are still having your Friday evening.
    Blessings,
    Paula

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    1. I'm so pleased that you're here with us this week, Paula. No matter that I've had this blog for a couple of years now, I'm daily awed and touched so deeply that we readers and writers--and anyone in-between that is moved by the written word or other art medium--can unite throughout the world and share our hearts.

      As for weather, after a few months of horrid rain followed by brutal, unforgiving heat, it's become pleasantly mild. At least in the Northeast. No complaints. Think of us and our snow & ice in a few months :)

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  3. Great interview Paula. So good to see Aussie writers being featured. You describe so well what so many of us are trying to achieve with our writing. I love your ideas of 'nudging others towards receptive insights', and 'creating fertile ground'. They are such wonderful motives for writing. Thanks for your thoughts.

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    1. Hi Carol, Reading Jesus' words about his parables from The Message just made that click for me one day. Hey, that's what we're doing too, and for the same reason. Sometimes it's good to keep our motives before us.

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    2. Carol, welcome to Everyone's Story. Hope to see you again. Blessings.

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  4. Great interview Paula. I love your books and Best Forgotten is one of my favorites though Picking Up the Pieces is very thought provoking and a great read too.

    Thanks for sharing your writer's creed and the motivation behind it. As an writer I can concur with each point but particularly love your first one.

    Just thought I'd share that it's a lovely Brisbane winter's day today - clear blue skies, golden sunshine and 17 C (63 F).

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    1. Hi Jenny, I'm glad to hear it's lovely in Brisbane because the Adelaide weather has turned miserable. Wet, windy and very cold. I think Best Forgotten and Picking up the Pieces are my favourites of those I've written.

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    2. Jenny, I so appreciate your visit. Fascinating to learn about the extreme differences you two are experiencing, weather wise. Australia has always oozed intrigue for many Americans--my husband (and I) would love to visit one day. When one of my dear friends visited her husband's family there, she shared many lovely stories of the countries beauty, as well as the warm reception she received from so many she met.

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  5. I really like your writer's creed - very motivating and inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hi Susan, It's a pleasure to do so. I'm glad you like it :)

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    2. Thanks so much for visiting with us, Susan. I'm glad you enjoyed what Paula has shared.

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  6. Loved your excerpt of the book "Best Forgotten" ...now I'm really curious as to what happens! Sounds like a great book:-) Read your writer's creed...love it that you got that from the Bible. I've actually been praying and examining my heart on that same issue the past couple of days, believe it or not. So this post is timely for me:-)
    Would love to be entered for a chance to win a book:-)

    lornafaith at gmail dot com

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    1. Hi Lorna Faith, It's lovely to meet you. I agree, it's a good thing to keep our motivation for writing in front of us, not only to keep us buoyed up when things are going well but to encourage us to stick to it during the slow times. I'm glad you liked the beginning. I loved setting myself the challenge to write an amnesia story.

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    2. Lorna, I always smile when I see you here. You two have re-inspired me ♡

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    3. Definitely need motivation during slow writing times, Paula...but that's what reading your writer's creed did for me:-) So thanks! Elaine...it's always good to be here...you inspire me on a regular basis :-)

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    4. Lorna, I hope you see me smiling... again :)

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  7. Hi Paula - Great interview and I really love your writer's creed. Will have to print it out so I can refer to it. God Bless.

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  8. Hi Nola, Yes, go for it. I'll be happy to think you will.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by for a visit, Nola. I'm happy you enjoyed the interview. Hope to see you again.

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  9. Paula, it is so nice to meet you. I have always wanted to visit Australia. When I was a child and teen, I had a pen pal from your country and developed a keen interest in it. I think it is wonderful that your work is being recognized and I wish you all the best in continuing to develop the market for Christian fiction in Australia.
    may_dayzee (at) yahoo (dot) com

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    1. Welcome to Everyone's Story, Kay. I am sure Paula will enjoy seeing your comment :)

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    2. Hi Kay, It's lovely to meet you too. If you do visit Australia, I'm sure you'll love our great cities around the coast. We haven't cracked the international market yet, but we have a fairly tight knit community of Aussie Christian fiction authors. We live right across the country but feel quite close to each other. In fact, one of my books, The Greenfield Legacy, was a collaboration with three of my Aussie friends.
      Blessings,
      Paula

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  10. Hi Paula, I so enjoyed this interview and have visited and read your writer's creed. So good and this would be great to share with the writer's group here at Seaton. For those who might be reading this Paula shared her writing journey with our writer's group a couple of years ago now. I have read most of Paula's books. There is not a lot more appealing for me than to curl up on a cold and wet winter's day here in Adelaide with a Paula Vince book - that is when I'm not trying to catch up on my own writing WIP. Well done Paula and thanks to Elaine for a great interview. Lesley Turner, Adelaide, South Australia

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  11. Thanks very much for that generous feedback, Lesley. I enjoyed visiting the group that day very much. Yes, I'm thrilled that Elaine has hosted me and helped the creed go international.

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    1. A warm welcome, Lesley. It's so exciting to see new faces here, and from so far away. I love how the writing community can reach out to each other on an international basis. I'm thankful to meet my lovely guests and to host them.

      Hope to see you again, Lesley. Blessings.

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  12. Really enjoyed this insightful interview. Paula, I was particularly inspired by your writing purpose. As an author and Christ follower, you beautifully articulated such a sound framework for your writing practice - an invaluable model to adopt not just for writing, but as a life perspective, too. Thank you both, Paula and Elaine!

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  13. Hi Adele, I'm really happy that you thought so. It sounds like you agree with me that we need to read over our writing purpose in words sometimes, to give us the encouragement to keep going. Thanks for your valuable feedback.

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    1. Thanks for your visit, Adele. To add to what you and Paula have expressed: I've just returned from the Write His Answer Conference in Philadelphia where the theme was truly for us to write the message that He equips each one of us to share with others. That's powerful motivation for me!

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  14. Hi Paula and Elaine, thanks so much for taking the time to share. It's wonderful to discover a great blog about writers and to read a post by a fellow Aussie. I'm just being introduced to the writing world and I'm on a steep learning curve but one that I am enjoying immensely. I'm going to take a look at your writer's creed right now Paula. I'm still trying to get my head around how and what God has made me to write. I loved what you said Elaine about writing the message that God equips us to share with others.

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    1. Linsey, welcome to Everyone's Story. Heartfelt thanks for the very kind words, both about my blog and my guest, Paula. I try my best to aim for uplifting messages that everyone can relate to.

      I hope to see you again here.

      Blessings

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    2. Hi Linsey,
      Hooray, it's great to meet another Aussie here too. I just saw your message on my Creed post a moment ago, and answered that first. Not at that long ago, Australian authors didn't really have a clue what was going on outside our own four walls, but now there is a great group. It's a great time to get on board.

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    3. And Linsey, thanks for your subscription to my blog ♡

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  15. Love the creed - I've saved it.

    "It’s to create readiness, nudge people toward receptive insight, create fertile ground for readers to have ‘a-ha’ moments of their own. I understood that my novel writing is a bit like preparing a garden bed for magnificent flowers to bloom"

    Amen

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    1. Hi Catherine,
      I'm glad you've saved the creed. That moment I was thumbing through the book of Matthew, it was one of those Ah-hah moments for sure.
      And Elaine, I'm loving it that you asked about the creed, because that blog post of mine was some time ago, and a fresh lot of readers are now commenting on it all over again, including some personal friends who missed it the first time around.

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    2. Catherine, it's a pleasure to say hello to you on Everyone's Story. I hope you'll visit again.

      Paula, I had to ask about your creed--it's so novel( (no pun intended) and so helpful!

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  16. Thank you again Elaine for introducing me to an author that I have not read. Her books sound wonderful and I am adding her books to my growing list of books to read. I would love to win a copy of this book. Wonderful interview and thank you for the give-away.

    Ann Ellison
    abilene_nana@yahoo.com

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    1. Ann, what a delight to see you again, here. Thanks for brightening my afternoon ♡ You're now entered for the Giveaway. Be sure to check back in a while for Paula's reply to you.

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    2. I have not read any of Paula's books before, but you can bet I will from here on out. Barbara Gauthier. Bgauthier49@live.com

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    3. Hi Ann, I'm really pleased to hear from you. I have a similar pile. I'm sure many of us do. I hope you do add mine to yours, and see what you think of the 'Australianisms'. We'll see how you go with this draw too.

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    4. Hi Barbara, Those are the words I love to read. You can visit Amazon, my website or blog for an idea of the plots. I'd love to hear what you think of them when you do read them.
      Blessings,
      Paula

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    5. Hi Barbara, and a warm welcome to Everyone's Story. Hope to see you again.

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  17. Candice---crgreer@ymail.com! We are buying your book regardless but it would be neat to win a copy! Thanks again for the bookmarks and questions you sent out! Will talk soon!

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    1. Candice, I'm so glad for your visit today! Sounds like Paula has a lifelong fan in you :)

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  18. Hi Candice,
    Yes, I remember sending them for your group of homeschooled teens. Great to see you again. When you contacted me, I thought you might have already had the book, or I could've popped in a copy. It was very nice for me, to post a parcel to an international address. Looking forward to hearing what you all think.
    Blessings,
    Paula

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  19. This has been one of the most whirlwind weeks here at Everyone's Story, full of amazing viewer hits and comments... and I have my guest, author Paula Vince, to thank. Paula, you have set a phenomenal record for achieving the #5 spot out of 10 of all time most popular guests who have graced this blog. Heartfelt thanks for being such an awesome guest.

    And thanks too, for the wonderful book giveaway to 2 what will be very happy winners, I'm sure. The lucky ladies are: Candice and Susan. Yea!! Both Paula and & will be in touch with you shortly. Blessings to all.

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  20. Thank you very much for having me, and for giving me such interesting questions to mull over. And congratulations, Candice and Susan. I enjoyed this week of meeting so many people.
    Blessings to all,
    Paula V

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    1. You're welcome, Paula. You've been a gem of a guest.

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