Sharing the Journey Round Up ~ 2015

Wow, so much has happened here this year! Can you believe it's almost officially been a full twelve months since I put up the first post here on Sharing the Journey? :) (Eight days left!)

And -- before we get into all the great links below -- I've got a tremendous bit of news. Last night I FINALLY finished the writing and working edits on A Flame Shall Spring from the Embers (my entry for Rooglewood Press's Sleeping Beauty contest) and sent it in. Come March, we'll find out if it places among the winners, etc., but either way, Lord willing, you'll definitely be getting a chance to read it later this year. :) Super exciting!

First and foremost, thank you so much to each one of my marvelous beta-readers/critique partners. You provided such encouragement to persevere in the tough spots and made the story altogether so much stronger. You're all truly amazing!! :)

(Another character  inspiration picture,
 just 'cause I'm rather fond of it.)

Also, if you didn't get a chance to visit before (or would like to visit again), here's a link for my AFSS Pinterest inspiration board.

Now I'm just plain thrilled about getting back to David's Shoulders soon in 2016. Working on AFSS over the last few months, I've learned so much -- so many new tips and fast writing/style techniques + simply relaxing about early drafts in general -- and Lord willing, my goal is to have (at least) the current draft for ODS done by the end of 2016. (Of course, more would be splendid, but we'll just have to see what exciting things God has planned for the rest of life as well. ;))

And now for our great 2015 round up -- a catalog of the happenings and events here on StJ!

This started it all off.

(Click here for all our other Quotes of the Month.)

2015's Wonderful Writer & Author Interviews

Éowyn Peterson - January 2015

Naomi - February 2015

Rachel Kovaciny - March 2015

Natalie - April 2015

Emma - May 2015

Heidi Grace Salzman - June 2015

Jenelle Schmidt - July 2015

Elisabeth Grace Foley - August 2015

Annie Hawthorne - September 2015

Braden Russell - October 2015

Suzannah Rowntree - November 2015

Emily Ann Putzke - December 2015

Our Inklings link-up started in May:

May 2015 ~ Violets

June 2015 ~ A Gripping Story Opening in Literature

July 2015 ~ A Well Crafted Animated Film Climax

August 2015 ~ A scene happening on/at/around a train or train station

September 2015 ~ A Funny Story Opening in Literature

October 2015 ~ A gypsy scene in either literature or film

November 2015 ~ A Giving of Thanks in Poetry or Prose

December 2015 ~ A Christmastide movie scene

Our 3 Things I Love in a Good Story Nutshell Overview:

(I love this list! And I've put together a new page for these, so click here for all the fantastic 3 Things guest posts themselves.)

A character I will remember - Natalie

A mystery - Jenelle Schmidt

A part that makes me cry - Natalie

A strong ending - Heidi

A sweet romance - Natalie

Balanced description - Heidi

Characters I want to be friends with - Hamlette

Family friendly - Jenelle Schmidt

Female characters I can respect and admire - Jessica Prescott

Good camaraderie - Heidi

Good relationships - Olivia

Happy endings - Hamlette

Heroic characters - Jenelle Schmidt

Humor - Olivia

Literature references - Naomi

"My kind" of writing style - Olivia

Not only romance - Naomi

Realistic dialogue - Hamlette

Romantic relationships that I can get behind - Jessica Prescott

Some kind of romance - Naomi

Vivid sensory description - Jessica Prescott

Thank you to each and every one of my lovely followers for joining this adventure -- it wouldn't be the same without you! And a tremendous thank you to all of you who shared and took the time to leave kind comments. :) You all truly made it a wonderful year here and I look forward to spending time with all of you in 2016! :) Happy New Year!

Heidi Peterson is a lover of wide-spreading land, summer dust, white pounding waterfalls, and mountain tops; also of good dark coffee and rich stories. Most of all she's a lover of the One who is the Word, the Word made flesh. You can visit her additional blog (where she shares more about books, movies, and further marvels of life) at: Along the Brandywine.

Visit and contact at: Sharing the Journey // Along the Brandywine // ladyofanorien(at)gmail(dot)com

A Flame Shall Spring // Show and Tell

Hi everyone, I hope you've all been having a lovely week! I've been out all day, but I had to pop on this evening for a quick post.

As aforementioned, I've been working away on a retelling for the upcoming Sleeping Beauty story competition at Rooglewood Press. And today Anne Elisabeth Stengl hosted a huge show-and-tell on her blog for any contestants who wanted to share teaser tastes, story ideas, etc., so you can hop over and see my current summary for A Flame Shall Spring from the Embers on her blog here!

(Whew. And now the pressure's on.... :P There are so many intriguing stories in the works! But have no fear, if A Flame Shall Spring doesn't end up being a finalist, I'm planning to release it all for you on Kindle, and possibly also in paperback if it ends up running to enough pages. :))

And now ('cause I'm so excited) I'm sharing the current summary and opening paragraphs over here as well:

A FLAME SHALL SPRING FROM THE EMBERS BY HEIDI PETERSON

Love, loyalty, and revenge. A long-awaited princess lies in a death-sleep, and, in a land of ancient stone and green running hills, two houses are locked in mortal combat. The given words have promised a great king, but--even if the king should appear--how can there be any covering for the blood of the slain?

OPENING LINES:

"King Llwellyn sat weak and thin on his hard throne, his right arm--bony yet sinewed--resting uncomfortably against the smooth polished, wide grained wood. Slowly clenching and unclenching his hand, he ran it over his face and short cropped beard. Brushing his fingers across his eyes, he dropped his hand and raised his head. "Rhiannon."

His sister turned from the window, the green of her gown shimmering before it fell black in the shadows. Her strange eyes--slanted and dark--were startling beneath her mass of gold hair, bound in place with its thin twining circlet of paler gold."

And you can visit my Pinterest inspiration board for it here. (I'm super excited about it as it turned out perfectly!)

So there you have it! What do you all think?

Heidi Peterson is a lover of wide-spreading land, summer dust, white pounding waterfalls, and mountain tops; also of good dark coffee and rich stories. Most of all she's a lover of the One who is the Word, the Word made flesh. You can visit her additional blog (where she shares more about books, movies, and further marvels of life) at: Along the Brandywine.

Visit and contact at: Sharing the Journey // Along the Brandywine // ladyofanorien(at)gmail(dot)com