Writing Emotions

There are times that writers put little bits of themselves into their work. You may not even realize you have done this. I didn’t until one time my sister pointed out the tiny little aspects in my work that came from my own personal experiences. Maybe it’s a little bit of family history. A wound from the past. Or one of my personal favorites, a dream that has spawned a book plot or character.

I am very much guilty of doing this. While editing my work, I sometimes find that I have written some of my own feelings. Weaving them carefully so that they are hidden in plain sight.

I have gone through a lot through the course of a year. A friend of mine encouraged me to use those emotions to my advantage. Use them to better my writing. All of that has really worked out for the best. I still struggle with the hurt, but I’m determined to not let it get the better of me. All of this helped me to learn more about myself, more about others, and more about my writing. It was a hard lesson to learn, but it was for the best for me.

The next time your feelings have been hurt, don’t let what they did eat away at you. Use it to your advantage. Enjoy writing your emotions.

Rosie the Reviewer {Pearl in the Sand}

Synopsis

Striking beauty comes at a price. Rahab  paid it when at the age of fifteen, she was sold into prostitution by the one she loved and trusted the most –her father.

What is a woman with a wrecked past to do when she wants to be loved, yet no longer believes it possible?

The walls of Jericho are only beginning. The real battle for Rahab will be one of the heart.

My Review 

Where do I start? Before I even began reading the novel, I was very excited about the concept. I really admire Rahab and how God used her in amazing ways. I received this as a gift for my birthday. And started reading it that night. At the beginning the book was pleasant, but very slow. I kept with it. Mainly because I love the book of Joshua and especially the redeeming story of Rahab the Cannanite Prostitute. However I had no idea how utterly disappointed I would be by the ending of this book. I have no idea what thoughts entered the author’s mind when she sat down to write this novel. But clearly she didn’t put that much thought into the characters. If she had, then maybe she wouldn’t have written Salmon’s character as such a total asshole! For the first half of the book he was intentionally mean and not at all what a man of God truly is. Always holding her former life over her head. Even though she had been allowed into the Israelite camp and was forgiven by God himself. Still even after Rahab and Salmon married, he still was a total jerk. One scene resulted in him interrogating her practically. Forcing her to speak of her past life, even when she was near hysterics and distressed her immensely. That didn’t dissuade him in the slightest. For many chapters on he continued to pressure her to openly talk about something so hurtful to her. I can’t find many redeeming qualities out of Biblical tale that was overflowing with forgiveness and redemption. The only one redeeming quality that comes to mind is that of the friendship of Rahab and her sister-in-law Miriam. It was a sweet relationship. Where Miriam showed true acceptance and loved Rahab just as she was.

The novel was rather wordy and the description lagged on for pages at a time. It could have cut out a lot of it. There were grammatical errors that neither the author, nor the publishing editors caught. I am very annoyed that this book was published. Or that people actually like it. In reading this novel, I am even more disenchanted with romance and the Christian market. I know it is capable of producing work of higher standards than this.