Heyo everyone! It's the last Wednesday of November, which concludes the unofficial takeover of my blog this month! (And if I had thought of about it before just now, I would have hyped this month as such. XD) 
​Today's interview is with Laura Waxman - she's releasing her debut novel, Amelia, in the spring, and I wanted to highlight her and her book on the blog. So, without further ado, the interview! 

C: Hello Laura, and welcome to the Southern Story Scribbler! It's so great to have you on the blog today. Let's jump right in with our first question - how did you get started writing, and when did you begin to seriously write? (As in, with the mindset of "this could be published"?
L: I’ve been writing as far back as I can remember. Short stories, poems, I wrote as much as I could! I started writing my first novel in high school but it met its demise due to the failure of floppy discs… I started to write with the hope- dream- intention of being published about four years ago.
C: That's so cool! And what genres do you primarily write in?
L: I write historical fiction and fantasy.
C: Same here! And I know quite a few authors who write in historical fiction and fantasy as well. We kind of touched on this earlier, but was your first ever completed writing project? (And where is it now?)
L: My first completed writing project - aside from short stories and poems that I made into little handmade books as gifts - were poems that were published in two poem books that Noble House Publishing did back in the early 2000s.
C: Oooh, that's cool! So, let's talk more about your upcoming novel. Amelia will be hitting the shelves in the next few months. Could you tell us more about it?
L: I am so excited that Amelia, the first installment in the City of Roses Collection, is coming out soon! It’s a historical fiction, coming of age story set in the early 1900’s in Portland OR. It has faith themes and is clean of any ‘spice’ - if you’ve read Lori Wick books, it’s similar to that, but not so much preaching. 
C: I have read one Lori Wick novel, so I'm a little familiar with her work. Your book sounds amazing, and us readers can't wait to read it. How long did it take to write Amelia? What was your favorite (and least favorite) parts of the process?
L: That’s rather a complicated answer actually. I started writing it as a newlywed - over 11 years ago. But only within the last four years have I buckled down and created a whole story. My favorite part is probably that point in the first draft where you can just sit down and write without too much research or plotting, but that you’re far enough that you’ve got a grasp on where the story is going. 
My least favorite is plotting out the middle of the story. As I’m diving into editing the second book of the City of Roses Collection, I’m running into that situation as well- getting the middle just-so.
C: The middle of books gets me every time. XP For the readers that don't know, Laura is indie publishing her book. Can you tell us about why you chose to go the indie author route, as opposed to querying and the traditional publishing process?
L: I decided that it was too unsure, and would take far longer than I wanted to wait - to go the traditional publishing route. I’d like, one day, to be published under a house that is well known, but I’m really happy with self-publishing. You get to keep control of your book, for one thing!
C: I agree about the timeline thing - I work with a literary agent, and the process takes so long for a book to go from being picked up by an editor to actually coming out in print. 
What’s a piece of writing advice, major or minor, that you’ve always stuck to? (For me, it was, Never start a sentence with the word “and”.)
L: Don’t over explain. 
This is something that will make me put a book down faster than anything else. And, of course, it’s something that is easy to do. Trust that your reader can follow the process of what your character is doing- don’t write every individual step down. It’s a sure-fire way to lose readers.
C: Great advice! I've been guilty of that, although now I struggle to add in descriptions. XD
Do you have any other upcoming projects you're working on that you can tell us about? :D 
L: As I mentioned, I’m working on the second book for the Collection, and then the third that I’ve already got a decent start on! I’m hoping to put them out over the next few years, so keep an eye out!
C: I am definitely looking forward to Amelia and the other books in the City of Roses Collection. 
Thanks so much for doing this interview! It’s been a joy to learn about you and your work.

Heyo everyone! I am so excited to share this post with you guys! Novelists in November​ released on Tuesday (November 19) and to celebrate/hype its release, Kellyn Roth is guest posting on this week's edition of The Southern Story Scribbler! Okay, I'll let Kellyn talk now. Without further ado, the post!

Hey folks! I’m Kellyn Roth, and today I’m sharing a guest post on Cate’s blog to celebrate the release of Novelists in November, the second anthology out with my indie publishing company, Wild Blue Wonder Press. Today I’m here to talk about why Christian romance—one of the genres featured in this collection and the primary genre I write—is an important genre! Because it is!

I’m not much of a romantic … but I do love romances! A little because I am always driven to understand anything that immediately feels “beyond my ken.” But also because I think romance is an invaluable genre. More on that later.

That said, I do think there are some romances that have fallen away from the original intention of the genre. When romance novels (in the modern sense of the world, as “romance” started out as a synonym for “adventure”) began to be written, it was an opportunity for both men and women to write a genre that specifically catered to women … and though some were shallow, not all were.

Here’s my perspective on this: romance is the perfect genre for women writers to share Biblical truths about life and relationships … and not just within the “romantic relationship” category.

Why? First, I believe romances offers a gentle and relational way to approach deep topics with the audience uniquely eager to read about these topics … all the while sometimes not being so realistic that the reader is not able to detach themselves from their personal perspectives, convictions, and so on to hear another side of the story (or whatever the case may be).

Second, romance is a genre most marked by female influence. And don’t get me wrong; I love the men in my life. However, I feel less called to speak to men than to women with my novels (or in general), so the fact that the genre is woman-dominated doesn’t bother me. In fact, it’s kind of a perk because I feel like I’m speaking directly to those the Lord has specifically led me to speak to.

Third, I love exploring emotions, people, and how relationships work. Though romance is of course marked by its focus on romantic relationships, I believe a good romance discusses every aspect of the main characters’ lives, and that includes other relationships … parents, siblings, and friendships, included!

Of course, I also am approaching romance from a purely Christian perspective. My books are written by a young Christian women for young Christian women! So everything I write is marked by a desire to share my experiences in a way that I hope is helpful for others. I believe that to be called “Christian,” a romance ought to include strong Christian themes and characters who represent Christ well—but also, primarily, represent the Christian life well in a way that is encouraging and edifying to Christian readers.

That said, it’s worth noting that, more than anything, “Christian fiction” is an audience, not a genre. And what does the audience of Christians that majorly makes up our Christian readers need? Honestly, I think romance is on that list.

There is an unfair dislike of romance amongst Christians—and yes, in other audiences, too, but especially amongst Christians. Romance is simply a relationship. That’s all it is. And more than that, it’s a very important relationship! After all, a romance was the first human relationship God ever created and blessed, and it continues to be the foundation of all marriages.

If it’s important to God, it’s important to me. Further, Christians can’t rightly claim to have the authoritative word on all things romance and then refuse to talk about it. I believe that by writing healthy, godly, clean romances, we will do more for the world than we ever could if we avoided talking about the subject completely. In fact, I have seen first hand the damage that avoiding romantic stories and treating romance as an evil, alienated thing can cause people.

Now, with all this rambling out of the way, I leave you with a question: how do you feel about Christian romance? Is it a genre you enjoy or is it not for you?

About Kellyn

Kellyn Roth is the author of ten historical romance novels with strong
Christian themes, a touch of humor, and messy situations that put the main
characters through the wringer and force them to face hard questions. Her
stories include The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy, a Christian Victorian family
saga. Her goal is to create stories that matter, to delve into the deepest and
sometimes the saddest parts of life, and to return from the darkest valleys
resplendent in the light of hope and the fullness of joy. When not building her
author career, Kellyn is likely drinking iced coffee with her husband, getting
lost somewhere in the Pacific Northwest with her friends, or watching period
dramas and facetious comedies with her border collie.

Website: kellynrothauthor.com/
Newsletter: https://kellynrothauthor.com/newsletter/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kellynrothauthor
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/kellynroth
Instagram: https://instagram.com/kellynrothauthor/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/kellynrothauthor/​

Ello everyone! I would have posted yesterday, but the last few days have been a blur of crazy activity for me. Anyway, I'm here now, and am continuing to hype up the release of Novelists in November with an interview with the amazing Faith D. Cox. Faith is a screenplay writer, a women's fic and kid's author, and Andrea Cox's mom (click here to see last week's interview with her!). 
And now, without further ado, the questions!

About the Author
Faith D. Cox discovered her love of writing with a fourth-grade class assignment. She carried
around her spiral notebook for weeks and penned the story. She followed her dream and now,
many years later after homeschooling children and having an after-school tutoring business, she
is a published author and a multi-award-winning, produced screenwriter of family-friendly,
heartwarming works. Faith writes children’s and middle grade books along with women’s fiction,
romance, and tragedy. Faith has a heart of compassion and is devoted to God, family, and writing
as she shares God’s love to encourage, inspire, and entertain through laughter and tears.
You can connect with Faith here:
Website: https://faithdcox.com
Blog: https://faithdcox.com/blog/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/faithdcox
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/faith-d-cox
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/faithdcox
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14439650/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FaithDCox

That's all for this week! Be sure to pre-order your copy of Novelists in November and fill out the form on Kellyn's website to get those goodies! (And also to support all the lovely authors who have joined forces to give us what is probably my favorite anthology of the two... :D) Next week, we'll be featuring Kellyn Roth, owner of Wild Blue Wonder Press and organizer of Novelists in November. 

Until next time! 
​~Cate