Friday, December 11, 2015

Rosanna Huffman: When We Get to Trade for a Normal Life

Everyone's Story gives a warm welcome to author Rosanna Huffman. Not only do we share the phenomenal agent Linda S. Glaz, but Rosanna has an excellent middle name, Elaine (wink wink)! And, being candid and transparent, Rosanna and I also have shared several life circumstances and that's one of the reasons why I'm thrilled that Rosanna is my guest this week. After reading her thoughts, I hope you too are blessed and encouraged. Also, check out her lovely BookGiveaway of her novel, Hand Me Down Husband (don't you love that title?!), as well as the novel excerpt. Both Rosanna and I look forward to hearing from you.



BookGiveaway:
Rosanna is offering 1 copy of her novel, HAND ME DOWN HUSBAND, to 1 randomly chosen commenter. The winner will be announced here on Friday, December 18th between 5-6 PM EST. To be entered in the Giveaway, please leave your contact information within your comment (you may choose to use the Contact Me form to privately send me your email address--the form is in the right-hand sidebar on the blog's main page, toward the bottom).




Excerpt from Hand Me Down Husband:


Hand Me Down Husband by Rosanna Huffman

Mitchell crossed the classroom. In one hand he carried a McDonald’s bag and in the other a drink carrier with two large cups.

“Good afternoon, Miss Bloomer. I hope this is a good time for me to come. Gerald said after school, but I should have checked with you to find out what would be most convenient for you.” He waved the bag toward Suzanne and her stomach growled. “I didn’t get around to eating lunch, so I hit the drive-thru on the way over. Okay to set it here?” He nodded at the conference table.

She shrugged. “Sure.”

Lovely. She’d smell hot food while she trained the new principal. However, if he was eating, surely she could too. “I’ll be right back.” She sped to the kitchen to retrieve her leftover lunch and fill her water bottle.

She returned to find two meals set out on her table. Who else was coming? She looked away and tried not to smell the fries.

Mitchell was across the room studying a bulletin board. He turned around as Suzanne reached her desk. “Uh, Miss Bloomer, I hope you like Big Macs. That’s what I got and I brought one for you too. Didn’t want to eat here if you didn’t have something too.”

“I don’t have to eat your food. I have some here.”

He laughed. “I hope it’s something that’ll keep. I won’t eat two burgers and two large fries.” He stopped and frowned. “I’m sorry, you don’t like them, do you? I wondered if I should get chicken. I should have called and asked you.”

“Oh. Well . . . thank you.” One part of her brain wanted to split her face with a smile and gush shamelessly. Who didn’t like Big Macs? The other part of her brain—the dominant one—demanded caution. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. She shook her head and formed a lips-only smile. “No, a burger’s fine, but you didn’t have to do that.”


Trading for Normal by Rosanna Huffman

How old were you when you realized you were not “normal”? That, for whatever reason, you didn’t quite measure up to typical personhood?  For me it was probably around 6.8 years old, soon after I started first grade. That’s when I realized how much smaller I was than other kids in my grade. How frizzy my hair was compared to other white girls. How weird my clothes. How skinny and bony and hairy my arms.

As a tween my non-normalcy increased as I changed schools and was now rubbing bony elbows with only church kids—no, neither Amish nor Mennonite, but German Baptist Brethren. I seemed to fit into their homogenized group as well as a green bean in a milkshake. My female classmates wore skirts and blouses bought off a rack. I wore homemade dresses because “girl, you don’t have enough hips to keep up a skirt.” They wore white ankle socks. I wore dark, thick knee socks and hopefully both the same color. They had styled hair. I had frizzy hair that refused to look combed and had certainly never been styled.

Of course it improved in our teen years. Not. They sometimes went to movies. I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing such a “worldly” thing, much less have been allowed. They were asked out on dates. I wasn’t—not often anyway, and never by the right guy.

They entered their 20s and 30s and 40s. In a rare trend toward normalcy, I did too. But they fell in love, got married, had babies. I bought shower gifts and wedding gifts and made excuses not to babysit. I went to college. I traveled twice to Israel. They had more babies and stayed home and kept house and washed clothes. And forgot the 12s multiplication facts and the Pythagorean theory and how to diagram a sentence and 28 of the U.S. capitals. I taught high school. I moved into an apartment in my parents’ barn and crocheted afghans for my 33 nieces and nephews. Their children grew to school age and they began homeschooling and calling me for free advice. I quit teaching and began writing school curriculum for Christian Light Publications.

Rosanna with one of her nieces
They watched their children grow into adults and date and marry. I began traveling around the country to attend writers conferences. I wrote a novel. I watched movies. They celebrated Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Sweetest Day, and anniversaries. I won the grand prize in a national afghan design contest. Their husbands built/bought them nice homes, and they started cuddling grandbabies. I signed contracts with a literary agent and a publisher for my novel and two years later held my firstborn word-baby, Hand Me Down Husband, in my far-from-normal hands.

Do I miss the normal life? Can a person miss something she never had? Yes, and definitely yes. I miss the love and companionship of a good marriage. Occasionally I let myself stop and think about all the “normal” things I have missed out on, children and husband being the bulk of that list, and I admit—the disappointment is heavy. Would I trade all the awesome non-normal experiences I’ve had for a husband and family of my own? Absolutely—in a heartbeat.

But God is good and He is faithful. And we don’t get to make those trades in this life. We do get to be thankful for the blessings in the good times and in the hard times. Furthermore, someday all of us blood-bought believers in Jesus Christ do get to trade. We get to trade all the sorrows and disappointments and pains of this earthly existence for eternity with Him where all normal will be wiped away. Until then I take great comfort in the fact that Jesus lived as a non-normal on this earth and that He knows and cares for us all, whether we are normal or not.

Rosanna's Ah-hahs To Tweet:
Everyone’s Story: Meet author @RosannaEHuffman, #ChristianFiction & the single woman. 3BookGiveaway (Tweet This)

Author @RosannaEHuffman: Trading for a normal life? #BookGiveaway  (Tweet This)

Thinking you’re not “normal” & wondering how to fit in? See what @RosannaEHuffman shares. (Tweet This)


Author's Bio:
As an author, Rosanna’s goal is to write stories with single women protagonists who do not marry in the story. From experience she knows those characters can live happy, fulfilled lives although one of their greatest dreams—marriage—remains unfulfilled. Rosanna was as surprised as anyone that her debut novel turned into a romance, although she did retain strains of the single life in the story.

Places to connect with Rosanna:


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Please note:

--Just putting the finishing touches on my new website that will incorporate Eveyone's Story blog. I hope you will follow me on this new site. When it goes live, I'll make the announcement!


37 comments:

  1. Enjoyed the interview. Hand Me Down Husband sounds like a good one and I would love to win a copy.

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    1. So glad to see you--as always--Ann. And especially glad you enjoyed Rosanna's features. You're such a blessing to me!

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    2. Ann, hope you get an opportunity to read Hand Me Down Husband. Thanks for commenting!

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  2. One of the highlights of my writing career was meeting Rosanna in person. Such a delightful and truly talented woman! I think no matter what road we travel, we all have opportunity to wonder "what if." And the grass always LOOKS greener, but it seldom is. I know I can trust God no matter how I feel. Rosanna, I can't wait for your next book! Thanks for hosting her here, Elaine!

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    1. Karla, it's always a pleasure to see you! What-ifs can be a lot of fun... can also be a catalyst for a hefty dosage of depression. You've said it well: we can (and must) trust Him that He knows exactly where He's planted us in life.

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    2. I loved meeting you too, Karla. Often I think about the wise person who said that if we all hung our problems out on a line and then went through and chose the easiest problems, we'd likely all end up with own problems. That's probably more true than we think.

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    3. Ha! I love that perspective, Rosanna! Never heard that one.

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  3. I met her at the ACFW conference as she sat and crocheted and was immediately struck by her warmth. We bumped into each other a couple of times that weekend. So glad to see her debut novel is a reality. Congrats Roseanna!

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    1. Julie--so happy you jumped from FB to my little corner of the world to join us this evening. Just in emailing each other I can agree that Rosanna is sweet and someone I want to personally meet.

      Hope to see you again.

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    2. Hi Julie--yep, that was me with the crochet hook. Somehow it's easier to face a crowd of people if I can hide behind a beautiful afghan in progress!

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  4. So enjoyed getting to know Rosanna better. I understand not fitting in, too, and walking in God's plan instead of mine. And it's always better.

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    1. I think we writers/readers are (positively) fueled by awkwardness/insecurities/shyness... and that is what makes us overcompensate and gives us all special character. Hee hee--if not, we just create characters and insert them into our novels ;)

      Love seeing you here, Pat!

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    2. Living in this sin-cursed earth as we do, I believe most everyone goes through at least spells of feeling less than "normal". Which leads to the question--is there a normal? Or is non-normal actually normal? And does it matter when we find our identity in Christ?

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    3. Great thoughts here, Rosanna!

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  5. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to a great read. Love the title.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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    1. Nice to see you again, Mary. I've missed you!

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    2. Hi Mary--it is a catchy title, isn't it. I hope you get to read the book.

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  6. Rosanna's not normal? But she hides it so well! I tend to believe that most writers aren't normal. Hard to believe, but I might, MIGHT, not be normal either. :)

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    1. I'm so glad you may not be normal either, Tom. No wonder why we all get along and "get" each other!

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    2. Normal is so highly overrated, isn't it. I love being attending writers conferences where hordes of non-normals hang out!

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  7. Ahh Rosanna, I found out along time ago there is a wide range in normal. A person may look normal on the outside but on the inside they are not "normal".
    There bodies might require I.V.'s weekly just to live. Some have to watch what they eat, Others maybe have toes fused together. Are they normal. Yes, are the special yes. So is there a normal ?

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    1. Exactly! As I wrote in an earlier comment, "Living in this sin-cursed earth as we do, I believe most everyone goes through at least spells of feeling less than "normal". Which leads to the question--is there a normal? Or is non-normal actually normal? And does it matter when we find our identity in Christ?"

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    2. Good points, Anonymous! So glad you visited today. As Rosanna concluded, I'm thankful God loves us whether we or others think of ourselves as normal or not or fluctuate daily on this viewpoint.

      Hope to see you again.

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  8. I really love this post! Thank you, Rosanna, for being transparent without being bitter. From past interactions, I think that is a very difficult spot to find. I wonder, though, how many of us feel normal? It would make an interesting poll! I know that I certainly have never seen myself as normal. I feel immensely blessed that I have finally made peace with that for the most part, and even found a few other misfits to share my space, but your sentence, "I seemed to fit into their homogenized group as well as a green bean in a milkshake"... Well, I love it so much, and it fits me so well that I really wish I had written it! :D

    I loved reading this, and I am looking forward to reading your book!

    Ronda

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    1. Nice to see you, Ronda. There's this saying about writers that I once heard at a writer's conference (I believe ACFW): we're a bunch of introverts pretending to be extraverts. That's so true of me. However, Rosanna has me now questioning whether the real question is if we're (meaning society and not just writers) all a bunch of inadequate-feeling people within our own skins pretending to have confidence when we face the world? Makes me wonder whether those people I see without a supposed thread of lack of self-confidence are also like me inside: unsure, nervous, and can't wait to get around peace and quiet. Hmm. HIs peace. Yes--that's what helps me make it through the day.

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    2. Ronda, I'm so glad you and others have commented about not feeling "normal" too. I worried that readers here would think that I truly believe that married is normal and single is not and would try to educated me. Heartache, trouble, and disappointment in whatever form they take are the human experience on this fallen planet. And that's why we need a Savior.
      Regarding the green bean/milkshake sentence--not sure exactly where in my brain that came from, but I laughed out loud when I saw it appear on my computer screen. So fun to see what can come out of my non-normalness!
      Hope you get to read Hand Me Down Husband, Ronda!

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    3. Rosanna, so interesting in your timing of the reason why we need a Savior: my pastor this morning said that if, at the time of the Fall, if God thought we would benefit from better finances He would have sent an economist; if we'd benefit from entertainment an entertainer would have been sent; many etc., but God saw that we needed to be redeemed and sent a Savior! Thank God He did!

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  9. I'm looking forward to reading "Hand Me Down Husband." It sounds like a great read.

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    1. Jean, thanks so much for your visit! If you'd like to enter Rosanna's Giveaway, please leave your email in another comment or use the Contact Me form on the right-hand column to send me your info privately.

      Hope to see you again.

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    2. Hi there, Jean! Thanks for stopping by here.

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  10. Thanks for sharing Rosanna! What or who is really 'normal'?

    Having just married for the first time at the age of 42, I never quite felt I fit in many places... it's sad, but the church is one of those places where an 'older' single person feels out of place.

    pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. Patty, thanks so much for visiting this evening. Oh, how I can relate! Though I've been married for 33.5 years, my husband and I have no children and as lovely as fellow church parishioners have been through the years, I still feel out of place among the other women. Yet, I try to focus on God creating me the way He wanted to and loving me for that very reason.

      Enjoy who you are, Patty... because He makes no mistakes!

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    2. You're welcome, Patty. Thanks for commenting, and congratulations on your marriage! So true about the church, and I think most of them have no clue and no way to understand it as we do.

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  11. Loving the attitude if gratitude. While it's especially hard not to compare myself, have learned that I don't like "normal" anyway!

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    1. Kathryn, I hear you on this one! While "normal" looks appealing and every now and then I fantasize about it, I wonder if I'd know what to do with it. LOL. If I was normal most of my story ideas would be gone... bye bye writing.

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    2. Hi Kathryn! Interesting how I once longed to be like everyone else, yet now I am glad not to be homogenized. And I am immensely thankful for the blessings God continually gives me. That being said, I would still trade some of the good things in my life for a family of my own, just as I'm sure that childless married women would (and do) trade for children in their lives!

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  12. I am so grateful, Rosanna, for your guest appearance this past week on Everyone's Story. Based upon the lovely comments you're received and the strong number of viewer hits received I can tell you've lifted quite a lot of spirits, something this world surely needs!

    Thanks too for your sweet BookGiveaway of your novel HAND ME DOWN HUSBAND. The winner of this book is...

    Patty. Congratulations, Patty! Both Rosanna and I will be in touch with you directly via email. Happy reading!

    Christmas blessings to all. May you all enjoy a peaceful New Year.

    Elaine

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