The Magnificent World Book Tour...

Welcome to the travelers on the World Book Tour! Should you stay on this trail to the "ends of the earth" you will be rich, indeed. A couple a day is all it will take, as a journey that circles the globe is still taken one step at a time.

Meet the authors... 

First of all, my many thanks and blessings to Carol Brown, who invited me to follow her enlightening World Book Tour post, over at: http://carolsporch.com/. 

Carol is a spiritual traveler (and adventurer!) of the calibre I rarely see. She makes you want to grab hold and take off with her as she describes the wonderful things she has seen and heard along her amazing spiritual journey. And well-qualified she is for that journey, too, as she has traveled through many dangerous places and lived to tell about it. Miraculous--don't miss getting to know her! Carol’s background is in education, teaching all ages from first graders to the university and adult levels before joining the Elijah House staff in the U.S. (a pastoral counseling ministry). Since she was diagnosed with M.S., in 1989, she has concentrated her ministry in writing. Her fiction writing happened as a respite from doing the "hard books" (non-fiction). She began story telling as crowd control for four boisterous brothers!

And now, on to my part of this writing world, as I answer the same four questions you will find throughout the entire tour, that invites you to take a look at how we actually work...

1. What am I working on?

I happen to be working on one of the most unusual projects of my life, right now. You might even say it's a form of "time travel" (I love that thought--don't get me started on it). It is combining fiction and reality (the theory of "real-ativity?"), launching into hyper-speed, and theoretically aiming for an amazing merge at the end. Either that, or a total collapse at the other end... I'm not sure which.

Let me rephrase that. I am on a sailboat, adventuring north to Alaska, writing about a group of friends who are doing the same thing (The Stella Madison Capers--I'm working on Caper #4 of a six-part series), and hoping the same things don't happen to me as must happen to them in order to make a good story. However, should any of that actually occur, I have taken the precaution of drawing up a last will and testament (all sailors do that), and am having the story published in installments along the way. Just in case it should turn into a "choose your own ending" type of a deal. 

NOTE: If you are reading this, I will have left three days ago, and not actually be here to host you (just like in that old movie The Time Machine--I love that thing). But don't worry, I'll leave instructions at the end of this post on how to make contact with me, no matter where I am. 

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Probably in the way that I have this incredible compulsion to "live out my stories" in real life, and a husband who goes along with it. But before you say, "How amazing is that?" I should probably confess that I began doing it purely out of self-defense against being married to an adventurer who (I felt) was continually putting my life in jeopardy. Somewhere along the line he turned into a hero to make up for it, so I can't complain. At any rate, we've survived all our accidents and keep doing the same sort of things over and over. Which is really all I can say about that because I don't understand it, myself.

3. Why do I write what I do?

Ah, now we get to the life-blood of art. Amazing stuff, blood. Especially considering it comes from deep inside the bones. I write Inspirational adventure fiction out of the sheer amazement of what I have observed along my travels. If I didn't, I would go crazy. Because I keep picking up all these lovely treasures along the way. I love treasure--especially treasures of the heart--it's my favorite theme. But it should come with a hazard warning, since the two always seem to go hand-in-hand. However, I have found it wonderfully satisfying to pass off my treasure to others, rather than stashing it somewhere. Not only does it help me keep my balance (gold is heavy!), the more you give the more you get. Heh, heh... 

4. How does my writing process work?

And so to the bones. I am an outliner, a plotter, and an avid researcher. Absolutely love all that. But before you think how utterly boring that must be... think, again. Think Indiana Jones pouring over a musty old tome, deep in the basement of some ancient museum, and it suddenly trembles beneath his touch. Now, time is not an issue. You are going to follow that thing no matter how long it takes, and go wherever it takes you to learn its secret. So, the first thing I do in my writing process is to search for something out of the past that responds to me when I reach out to it. But it must be something noble, and good, and full of light (all that is dark leads to death, and I am personally not interested in any of that).

Along the way, characters come to me (I love this part!), and we get to know each other. Then I ask the Holy Spirit what the purpose of this story is (what's in it for readers? what's the treasure?)... at which point I either begin following "His footsteps" along a very exciting path, or...

Tuck it away for later, because it isn't time, yet. Either that, or it's part of a larger story altogether, and will make fabulous supporting material. I love it when that happens, too, because it means I am onto something magnificent, that will have to be constructed in stages. Great fun for me, there, and--oh, the adventures along the way! But sometimes, it's all just a false lead from my arch-nemesis of evil, and I will scrap the thing altogether. But I don't consider any of that time wasted, as I have learned those instances are usually smoke screens to keep me from hidden treasures, nearby, that are even better. Not to mention one begins to notice tell-tale hazard-signs to avoid (having run into them many times before) and they are more easily recognized as the years go by. I think that's called learning from experience. 

Available Now!

Eventually, I end up with a story that I hope will be half the adventure to read, as it was for me to write. At the very least, I can guarantee some bit of treasure one can take away that will be worth something to barter with, in real life. Sometimes, it's only a little something. A good recipe for goulash, maybe. But other times, it's pure gold. Which is why I like to describe my writing process as having an incredible case of gold fever... and what a fine, maddening, magnificent thing that is to have. In my own opinion, anyway. Which is always debatable. Just saying. But there you have it.

Up next on this Magnificent World Book Tour: Meet the Authors...

Now, on to the fascinating people I have chosen to follow me. You will love them, each one is a fellow adventurer in their own unique way. And, oh, what stories they have to tell you! Their posts will be up seven days after mine which is June 16.

Karla Akins: Besides being a fine author, she is a pastor's wife who rides motorcycles!  Her post will be at:
 http://karlaakins.com/blog/

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon. Besides writing biographies and history books for middle grades, she also writes fiction. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013.

Tanya Stowe: Has found unique fuel for her stories by traveling extensively and living abroad. Her post will be here:
 http://heartshavenbooks.blogspot.com 

Tanya Stowe is an author of Christian Fiction with an unexpected edge. She fills her stories with the unusual…gifts of the spirit and miracles, mysteries and exotic travel, even an angel or two. No matter where Tanya takes you…on a journey to the Old West or to contemporary adventures in foreign lands…be prepared for the extraordinary.

Eddie Jones: Wears so many hats, I didn't know which to pick. But my two favorites are that he writes fiction for boys, and is a fellow sailor. You will find his World Book Tour post here: http://www.eddiejones.org/

Eddie Jones is Founder and CEO of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and co-founder of Christian Devotions Ministries. He is also an award-winning novelist of middle-grade fiction for boys. If you have questions about the book publishing industry, the writing process, or any of Eddie’s books, email him at: eddie@eddiejones.org.

Meanwhile, thank you for stopping by my blog today, and here's wishing you fair winds as you continue along this magnificent World Book Tour over the coming weeks. Oh, yes, and if you would like to follow my Alaska travels, my Armchair Travelers Portal is here:
http://www.lillysarmchairtravelers.blogspot.com

And for anyone who has managed to get all the way to the end of this very long post, I would like to give you a gift of Stella Madison's Caper #1: Home Before Dark. Just drop me an email at lilly (at) LillyMaytree.com, and request it (for delivery purposes only, I won't put your name on any list).