Rachel Starr Thomson

The first-ever reader’s choice Clive Staples Award has been given, and the winner is DragonLight, by Donita K. Paul. I haven’t had an opportunity to read this book, but I did have the opportunity to interview Mrs. Paul a while back. You can read the interview here.

Congratulations, Donita!

My friend JoJo Tabares of Art of Eloquence is running a seventh-anniversary contest in which you can win $350 worth of prizes — including Worlds Unseen, Burning Light, Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled, and Letters to a Samuel Generation. Check out this page for contest info!

My friend Felice Gertwitz is hosting a contest through her radio show today:

Listen into the Blog Talk Radio show http://www.WritingandPublishingRadio.com for a chance to win a free book. Your choice of “Information in a Nutshell: Writing and Publishing” OR “Reach for the Stars: Young Fiction Author’s Workbook” … to find out how, listen to the event live or at a later date. Contest begins August 24-august 30th.

Also, you can win a copy of Robin Parrish’s Offworld through this Inklings contest.

This month’s Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy blog tour focused on a sci-fi novel: Robin Parrish’s Offworld, published by Bethany House. It’s an exciting, summer-blockbuster sort of story that generated much comment and controversy on the tour. You can win a copy, but first, check out my tour posts:

Introductory Post (including links to other bloggers): http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/2009/08/offworld-csff-blog-tour/

Review of Offworld: http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/2009/08/a-review-offworld-day-2/

“The Book On Paper and the One In Here”: http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/2009/08/the-book-on-paper-and-the-one-in-here-offworld-day-3/

Interested in winning a copy of Offworld? It’s easy. Visit www.rachelstarrthomson.com and identify a book page, article, blog post — anything — that you’d like to share with others. Post the link to your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or even e-mail. Comment on one of the Offworld posts to let me know where you’ve posted your link. Whoever posts the most wins. The contest ends Friday. Have fun!

Thanks to the generosity of Bethany House, Karen Hancock’s publisher, I have a free copy of The Enclave to give away. Since random drawings of commenters’ names strike me as uninteresting, you actually have to do something to win this one .

First, read my Day 3 post “Men, God, and Men Like Gods,” where I argue that the Great Irony of mankind is that the more we try to become like God, the more we become something entirely unlike Him, while the more we accept our limitations and cry out for grace, the more truly we are transformed into His image.

Leave a comment on THAT POST (not this one) naming another story which you feel illustrates this Great Irony. (This story might be a book, a short story, a play, a movie, whatever — even nonfiction is fair game, since this Great Irony isn’t fictional.) Give a bit of detail about it — in what characters or circumstances do you most see this irony playing out?

Have fun . You have until Wednesday, July 29, to leave your comment and be eligible to win the book.

Calling all teen authors: If you have (or can write) a manuscript of 20,000 to 30,000 words that’s aimed at 8-12-year-olds, check out the Tweener Time Chapter Book Competition! The competition is looking for “a work of fiction that’s fast-paced, action-packed and values-oriented and written for a ‘tweener’ audience.” You can find guidelines and more details at www.TweenerMinistries.org.

I really encourage you to check this contest out. I had the privilege of serving as a judge last year, and in February, our very own Inklings reader Jessica Erksine won third place in the Tweener Time Cover Art Competition — designing a cover for last year’s chapter book winner! I’ll be reviewing some of the Tweener Time winning books in the next few months as well, beginning with the 2007 First Place Winner, Journey to the Homeland by 16-year-old Hannah Stahlhut.

The first-place winner is awarded a $20,000 college scholarship, a $1,000 cash prize, a book contract with Baker Trittin Press, and royalties on book sales. The other awards are pretty amazing too, and I remember writing up detailed comments for the authors whose books I judged last year — so you have a chance to receive professional feedback on your work as well.

The contest deadline is July 1. Check out the Web site — and I wish you success!

Due to an age category mix-up on my part, Aaron F.’s second-place win is now shared: congratulations to Andrea B., Age 12, for her review of “The Phantom Toolbooth.”

Congratulations also to Aaron, Cameron, Raynie, Bethany, and Elisabeth, our other winners — and many thanks to all of you who sent in your book reviews. This contest has been a lot of fun, and it’s been my privilege to share your writing with all of my readers.

Contest winners have been awarded their choice of e-book (for second place) or print book (for first place) from Little Dozen Press or our donors, Christina and Felice Gerwitz and Jessica Erskine.

If you’d like to see more about the prizes, check them out at these links:

Theodore Pharris Saves the Universe: http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/books/theodore/
Bible Battles: http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/2009/02/contest-prize-bible-battles/
The Missing Link: Found!: http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/2009/02/contest-prize-the-missing-link-found/
Worlds Unseen: http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/books/worlds-unseen/
Burning Light: http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/books/burning-light/
Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled: http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/books/heartily-homeschooled/
Heart to Heart: Meeting With God in the Lord’s Prayer: http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/books/heart-to-heart/
Letters to a Samuel Generation: http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/books/samuel-generation/

Until next time, keep reading, thinking, and writing!

With today’s posting of Rebecca, Elisabeth F.’s excellent review, the Book Review Contest entries are all posted and winners announced. On Monday, I’ll do a final contest post, giving prize details and announcing one last surprise winner!

On Tuesday, you can expect another comma tip as Inklings falls back into its regular rhythm. I’ve got some fantastic interviews and features lined up. Thanks for coming along on this writing journey!

Review by Elisabeth F., Age 19

“She was still in the house as Mrs. Danvers had said, she was in that room in the west wing, she was in the library, in the morning-room, in the gallery above the hall. Even in the little flower-room, where her mackintosh still hung. And in the garden, and in the woods, and down in the stone cottage on the beach. Her footsteps sounded in the corridors, her scent lingered on the stairs. The servants obeyed her orders still, the food we ate was the food she liked. Her favorite flowers filled the rooms. Her clothes were in the wardrobes in her room, her brushes were on the table, her shoes beneath the chair, her nightdress on the bed. Rebecca was still mistress of Manderley. Rebecca was still Mrs. de Winter.”

I don’t think I would necessarily call Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca my absolute favorite novel, but it was one that I greatly enjoyed the reading of and one that taught me some important things about writing. I relished the writing style immensely. One develops a taste in literature just as in anything, and before I had read two chapters of Rebecca I sensed that it was just to my own particular taste. I was sure I was going to enjoy the book if only for the sake of the writing. The author combines keen descriptive power with economy of words – nothing superfluous, just enough to give you a startlingly clear picture with seemingly little effort.

The story you may be familiar with, especially if you’ve seen the movie version. A young girl, shy, awkward and unsure of herself, becomes the second wife of an older widowed man whose first wife was legendary for her beauty and personality. The ‘second Mrs. DeWinter,’ the narrator of the story, whose name is not even given, feels overshadowed and even haunted by the memory of the first Mrs. DeWinter, Rebecca—she feels that her husband can never love her in the same way he loved Rebecca. As revealed in the quote above, she feels like a stranger and intruder in her own home. I read that the author herself described this book as basically ‘a story about jealousy, pure and simple,’ or words to that effect, but I got much more from it. It has a lot to do with imagination and how a person can torture themself with it if they let it run away with them. It also has a good deal to do with hiding things, in not speaking out about how one feels at the right moment and what effect that can have. It’s partly a tale of mystery and suspense, partly a love story and also a good part about everyday life and how that can be the most difficult thing of all.

I saw the movie, a classic directed by Alfred Hitchcock, before reading the book. It is an excellent adaptation that portrays the story well. There is one major difference in the plot, probably because of 1940s production codes, but strangely enough it does little to change the actual ending of the story.

The thing that fascinates me the most about this book is the way Daphne du Maurier captures so effortlessly the way the human mind works. Reading this book was one of the major influences in forming my personal theory of what makes a great writer. I think one of the hallmarks of being a good writer is to be able to put into words the things everyone thinks but no one knows how to explain. In Rebecca we are inside the mind of the narrator, almost thinking her thoughts along with her. We are experiencing her conflicting feelings while standing outside the door of a room full of people she hesitates to meet, her inexplicable sensation of melancholy when packing to leave a hotel, the way she allows her thoughts to run away with her when she has an apprehension of some disastrous happening in the future. It all seems so real because we’ve all felt the same things ourselves, maybe without knowing it. The little practical details that always intrude even at tense moments are all there—I particularly remember a scene in which the narrator and her sister-in-law, during an awkward conversation, avoid looking at each other and busy themselves by petting a small dog who is delighted with all the unexpected extra attention. Or how the narrator notices trivial things—like a worn place on the carpet—while listening to the most important revelation of the story from her husband.

Of course, the trick in writing fiction like this lies not in directly imitating the successful work of another author, but in having or developing a sensitivity to the drama that can be found in ordinary and everyday things, and not always depending on the melodramatic to give your story interest. That’s not to say there’s no melodrama in Rebecca; quite the contrary! But the unusual events seem to have equal value with the ordinary ones, fitting into the general scheme of the story rather than being the cause of it.

When a book can combine this kind of insight with good writing, it is bound to offer enjoyment to an eager reader and writer like myself.

Elisabeth’s review was the only entry in the 18 and up age category — yet her chances of winning would have been excellent even if it had not been. She explores the fine writing and insight of a famous author, using fine writing and insight of her own. As Elisabeth herself puts it, “One of the hallmarks of being a good writer is to be able to put into words the things everyone thinks but no one knows how to explain.” Elisabeth, you’ve done a marvelous job of explaining the impact of this classic. Congratulations!

Review by Bethany M., Age 16

As a freshman, I stood staring at the dreaded bookshelf at school. Each quarter, we had to pick a different literature book to read. Scurrying to choose the shortest and easiest books, my classmates left me only two choices: Christy by Catherine Marshall, or The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. After I read the back cover of Christy I knew that I would have the greatest chance of finishing that over The Hobbit. Instantly, everyone was advising me not to read it because of its length and difficulty. Determined to prove them wrong, I confidently picked up Christy, and my journey through Christy’s story began. Little did I know that this would become my favorite book.

Christy Huddleston, the book’s main character, was 19 years old and just discovering who she was, and what she wanted to do with her life. After attending a church conference one summer, Christy decisively knew that she would become a missionary to the people in a secluded mountain area known as Cutter Gap. Sadly, the people didn’t accept her at first. As her relationships with the people strengthened, her faith was also tested, tried, and truly tempted to give up through many hardships and disasters along the way. Fighting through the rough times, Christy and the others learn what it truly means to work together, love each other, and have perseverance. After Christy recovered from being ill herself because of a typhoid outbreak, she discovered that the doctor who nursed her back to health was also in love with her.

As I reluctantly opened the 500-page book that I just wanted to get over with, I was surprised as I was almost instantly pulled into the story of this 19 year old girl. Catherine Marshall, who is the author, did an amazing job with the dialogue of the story. For me personally, I enjoy stories like Christy because there is more interaction between characters, not just a narrative of the novel. Additionally, the language in the dialogue was easier for me to follow; more modern, yet it was still written very well as a novel. Believability of the reality of the story was incredibly effortless because of its more modern tone. When she said, “I’m not afraid. I just don’t like it,” in response to a question from Dr. MacNeill, I simply had to laugh because of the many times I have said that exact thing. I also liked how this book is written in first-person point of view. When I was wondering why I was so lured in, I realized that among other factors, it was because it felt like she was telling her story to me, talking directly to me, being written in first-person point of view.

As I walked back to that dreaded bookshelf to return Christy, I realized that it wasn’t my enemy anymore. I grinned as I thought how I had just gained a favorite book from it. Christy, because of well-written dialogue and first-person point of view, is now and unforgettable novel, which I hope, will stay on that bookshelf for all the freshmen in years to come.

Bethany’s review of Christy not only reviews a story, it tells one. This review pulled me in from the first line, making me want to know how one reader’s negative expecations were challenged and then transformed. Bethany also does an excellent job of pointing out what narrative techniques are used to bring Christy to life. Thanks for sharing this, Bethany, and congratulations!