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@freedomwriter76 OOOOH IT SOUNDS EPIC!!!!
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@gracie-j. Aww, thanks! 😀
@koshka. Thanks! Ooh, he’s probably a Combat Medic. He’s on the battlefield with the Marines. 😉 Yeah! The medical side of the military is so often overlooked! He’s my first Medic MC, and I’m pretty excited. (still need to give him and the Navy Officer a name though. XD)- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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@freedomwriter76 You’re so welcome!
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@freedomwriter76
Aw, thank you!!
Yes, Russell has PTSD. He also has depression. Portraying his mental health struggles have been one of the most difficult parts of writing this story for me, mainly because most of the story is told through his daughter’s perspective and she obviously has no idea what he suffers from. She does witness some of his symptoms like panic attacks and avoiding crowds, but she’s too young, of course, to know it’s PTSD – she doesn’t give his behavior a second thought because it’s normal for her.
Awwww, I love that title!!! It seems our stories have very similar themes – faith in the midst of trial and stuff. 😀 That’s one of my absolute favorite themes to write and pretty much all my stories have it!
Alan sounds awesome! I already love the guy. I hope he gets a happy ending. 🙏🥺
Ah yes the Vietnam War era is sooooo interesting!!! American culture at that time was just so complex and there were so many things going on – feminism, the Civil Rights Movement, and yes, the Vietnam War Protests.
On the topic of feminism, I believe it was around 1973? that Roe v. Wade was passed. (So glad that that’s over now 🙏) I don’t mention feminism by name at all in WFR, but my hope is that readers of the book will recognize the pro-life message underlying it. The way Russell raises Eliza is so contrary to how society in that day (and still now, sadly) told parents to raise their daughters. He teaches her pro-life values – of her worth as a person, and he raises her as a woman of God and not one of the world. I just love that.
The Civil Rights Movement, now that was awesome! As you can likely tell from the blurb, racism is one of the topics I deal with in this book. It’s heartbreaking to write about how hateful people still were (and some still are, sadly), but this book is all about love and redemption and how God’s light overcomes all darkness. The book is essentially all about Russell and Eliza’s love for each other and how that love transforms not only themselves, but the world around them. If you couldn’t tell by now . . . I just love them! XD
Yes, it was just horrible how Vietnam veterans were treated when they returned home – and when they enlisted. Many of them had to suffer being spit on and called baby killers and all sorts of terrible insults. It’s absolutely heartbreaking how little support we gave these soldiers. America took way too long to finally give them the honor they deserved.
Aw yes, Russell is the BEST!!!! He’s definitely my favorite character from WFR, followed closely by Eliza. She’s just my sweet baby and way too pure for this world. XD And the two of them together . . . my heart can’t handle it! XD
About your new story idea . . . First of all, it sounds AWESOME, and second of all, I love that it focuses on both chaplains and medics. Army chaplains and the work that they do is often overlooked, and it shouldn’t be. And I have to agree with @koshka – the medical side of war is so interesting. My friend’s dad described to me some of his experiences as a medic and I could have listened for hours. Also, one of my other friends had a grandparent who was in Bataan, I believe.
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@joy-caroline. Thanks!
Your book sounds so beautiful. Ahh, my heart is so happy right now. And breaking for Russell. *cries* YES, so glad Roe V. Wade is over. Thank God. And yeah, it was 1973, right during the Vietnam War. Yes. The way society and our government treated Vietnam Veterans was so horrible! 😭🥺
And don’t worry. Alan will get a happy ending. 😊
Our books do have similar themes! 😀 I can see why it’s your favorite theme to work with! 😉 It normally gets weaved into mine, especially the WWII ones, but I would say my absolute favorite theme to write is Redemption. Basically, all of my characters find redemption in some way, and besides that, I would say my favorite themes to write (and read!) is love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, identity, and family. 🥰 What about you? What are some of your other favorite themes? 😉
And thank you! I love the new idea too! I have a chaplain in my WWII WIP Allies and Lies too! Chaplains are overlooked! (ooh, I watched a good Christian movie, Indivivisble, about an Army Chaplain during the Iraq war! I recommend it! It even has some PTSD shown in it too! But fair warning, you might wanna grab a pack of tissues. Ooh, and have you ever watched the Christian movie Faith of our Fathers? That’s an awesome movie about the Vietnam War! Again though, grab some tissues. But they’re both really GOOD movies! 😀) You sound like you know a lot of Veterans. 😉 That’s awesome! I know quite a few too. One of my sister’s friends’ dad is. And then I have a Great Uncle who was in the Air Force for over twenty years and two uncles on my Mom’s side that were in the Army and Marines! 😀
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@joy-caroline. Oh, and who’s your least favorite character from Where Faith Remains? 😉
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@gracie-j. @joy-caroline. @koshka. @elishavet-pidyon. @katthewriter. I made another mood board! For my MC of one of my WIP’s, Made New. 😀
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And…here’s the blurb! 😀
Royal Navy Deserter.
Escaped Slave.
Lost Man.
1777, and Nehemiah Bullows is searching for a safe haven in America. It’s the land of opportunity, and no place could be better for a man trying to escape his past. The American Revolution is raging as America fights for her independence from Great Britain, but Nehemiah isn’t choosing sides at first. But in war, one must choose a side at some point. Nehemiah finds a new life in America, new friends, and even the love of his life, and all the struggles, pains, and reminders of his past life feel so far away. For a little while, at least. But then the past comes knocking on his door, trouble comes, and Nehemiah is once again shackled to his past. Will the past hold him forever? Or will Nehemiah learn of the one name that can make him new?
Made New: A Novel of the American Revolution
@freedomwriter76
Very good! I love how you can get colors and themes to work together so well in your collages. And your story idea sounds great!
You really need to get these written so I can read them! 😉
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
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@elishavet-pidyon. Aww, thanks! 😀
Haha. I do need to get them written. I think y’all are getting restless. 😉 XD
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@freedomwriter76 OH.MY.GOODNESS GRACIOUS GRAVIES!!!!!!!!! You have discovered my love language, haven’t you? That moodboard is GORGEOUS and the story sounds FABULOUS!
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@gracie-j. I suppose I have. 😉
Aww, thank you so much!!!!!! I’ve had the idea for a while now, I just now finally got to making a mood board and blurb. 😀
Nehemiah struggles with, of course, his past, and he struggles with thinking that he doesn’t belong anywhere. He has unseen and seen scars. He was pressed into the Navy by the press gang. I kinda have two antagonists for this Novel. Raymond Williams, the Royal Navy Officer who was in charge of the ship Nehemiah was on that he deserted from, and Edward Cummings, the man who bought Nehemiah as a slave. They both come saying that Nehemiah is theirs, and Raymond decides to prove that Nehemiah is the Navy’s by lifting Nehemiah’s shirt and showing the scars from a cat o nine tails. Long story short, a lot of conflict and drama happens and Raymond takes Nehemiah and…well, the rest is history. 😉
@freedomwriter76
Oh, yikes! He’s on front lines then…
Have you ever read American Heroes: in the Fight Against Radical Islam by Oliver North? It’s amazing, although there are some instances of military language, and I don’t mean tactical terms. That’s where I first got introduced to the military medical field.
First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
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@koshka. Yeah…yikes.
I have not! Maybe I need to check it out! (and don’t worry. I’ve read books with that kind of language before. It’s sad, but people are going to be people. I normally just skip over and ignore it, same as I do with Marvel. But thanks for the warning. :>)
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