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Hi!
Some of you may know me from Kingdom Pen, where I also reside. I love talking to other writers, so I decided to join Story Embers as well. 🙂
A little about me: I’m Joy Caroline (most people call me JC, so you’re absolutely welcome to as well); and I write mainly Biblical fiction, but have been experimenting with Christian fantasy lately and really like it so far! My longest-standing WIP is a Biblical fiction novel about St. Paul, but from his sister’s perspective. I also love writing poetry and nonfiction, as well as writing on my blog.
My two favorite books are Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, both of which have deeply impacted my life. I also love Les Mis the musical, which I am actually listening to at this very moment. XD I can talk about these books for hours. I can also talk for hours about theology, Bible, and writing! 😀
I believe the most important thing about me, though, is that I’m a Seventh-Day Adventist, Jesus-loving Christian. Story Embers’ resources have helped me a lot with writing for Christ, and I’m excited to meet everyone!
https://discipleshipwithjoy.com
Hi Joy! Pleased to meet you!
I’m Rose, I’ve been writing for just over a year.
I love your idea of writing about Paul from his sister’s POV! That would be such a cool book! How long have you been working on it, and how far in are you?
Oh, I write fantasy as well! What’s the premise of that one?
My favorite books are the False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and The Red Ribbon by Lucy Adlington. (Okay, that’s just a few of my favorites, I have a lot more.)
What are your favorite genres to read?
I like some of the classics, (Dickens is one of my favorites), Fantasy, Sci-fi, Historical Fiction, and some mysteries.
Hope to see you around!
Without darkness, there is no light. If there was no nighttime, would the stars be as bright?
It’s great to meet you, Rose!
Thank you! I’ve been working on it since October 2020 and am on the second draft now.
Cool! The fantasy I’m experimenting with is basically the story of Samuel, Saul, and the people of Israel, just set in a fictional world.
I really like The Book Thief as well! I read classics, historical fiction, fantasy, a bit of contemporary, and Biblical fiction.
Thanks for the welcome!
https://discipleshipwithjoy.com
@joy-caroline Hey there! Lovely to see you here!
"I set a melody upon the scenery I saw outside my window;
It's beginning in my spacy world."
- TKHi there Joy, it’s Lily (also on KP)! It’s great to see you here! That’s exciting that you’re writing Christian fantasy. I like your premise (Ooo, feel free to check out the Fantasy group! They can be super helpful! And you can join several groups if you want to 🙂 )
I also love your signature! Is it from a poem you wrote? I hope you enjoy your time here on SE!
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. — Ernest Hemingway
JOY!!! Heeeyyy, what’s up? 😉 Great to have ya <33
Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.
Thanks, Lin!!
Thank you, Lily! I’ll be sure to check out the Fantasy group!
Haha, I wish I could take credit for that. 😉 The quote is from the song “Bring Him Home” from the Les Mis musical.
Thanks, Ella!!
https://discipleshipwithjoy.com
Thank you! I’ve been working on it since October 2020 and am on the second draft now.
That’s awesome! You’re making great progress! The second draft is fun, you can really see your initial ideas coming together.
I’m finishing the first draft of book 2, I took a break from the second draft of book 1, but I’m eager to get back to it! *Realizes you have zero context for this* Oops, sorry, I forgot to mention, I’m talking about the fantasy trilogy I’m writing. XD
Cool! The fantasy I’m experimenting with is basically the story of Samuel, Saul, and the people of Israel, just set in a fictional world.
That’s a very cool premise! Are you adding a lot of fantasy elements, or just swapping out names and dramatizing it and basically making it your own awesome, fictional thing?
I really like The Book Thief as well! I read classics, historical fiction, fantasy, a bit of contemporary, and Biblical fiction.
Cool! We share a lot of genres! What are your favorites from each of those? (Besides those you mentioned 😉 )
Who’s your favorite character from your WIP’s and why?
Without darkness, there is no light. If there was no nighttime, would the stars be as bright?
Thank you so much!
Ooh, a fantasy trilogy! I feel like my writing consists more of standalones, but I’d love to try a series sometime.
I’m pretty much just adding a ton of fun fantasy elements. I am changing names, though. Although some of them aren’t too drastic – for example, the character who represents Samuel is named Shamuel. XD I felt like adding that extra letter made the name seem more fantasy-ish.
Hmm, good question! Hope you don’t mind lists. XD
Classics:
- the Anne of Green Gables series
- Charlotte’s Web
- The Trumpet of the Swan
- the Little House on the Prairie series
- Pilgrim’s Progress
- Little Women
- The Moffats book series
Historical fiction:
- the Hannah’s Girls book series by Ruth Vitrano Merkel (but they’re actually true stories)
- anything American Girl, which I still read for nostalgia
- Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Fantasy:
- The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
- Ignite by Jenna Terese
Contemporary:
- Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
- Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
For Biblical fiction, I’ve tried out a lot of the popular authors, but found myself put off because it was rarely biblically accurate and some of the values presented were questionable. The only Biblical fiction I’ve ever read that I loved is the Two From Galilee trilogy by Marjorie Holmes. There are three books – Two from Galilee (Mary and Joseph’s love story); Three from Galilee (Jesus as a small child and then a young man before he began his ministry); and The Messiah (Jesus’ three-year ministry, crucifixion, and ascension). I highly, highly recommend the series, as it’s absolutely brilliant and heartrending. What I found most amazing is how Holmes managed to write about a completely human Christ – in Three from Galilee, He even has a romantic relationship – while I never felt that it was irreverent or over-the-top. In fact, reading that series was the first thing that made me realize Jesus did come to earth as flesh and blood, a living and breathing human being.
https://discipleshipwithjoy.com
Ooh, a fantasy trilogy! I feel like my writing consists more of standalones, but I’d love to try a series sometime.
Well, it wasn’t originally supposed to be a series XD I just didn’t plan properly so I had to adjust accordingly. So far, it’s fun though! I want to try standalone in the future since I find an entire trilogy to be quite daunting XD
I’m pretty much just adding a ton of fun fantasy elements. I am changing names, though. Although some of them aren’t too drastic – for example, the character who represents Samuel is named Shamuel. XD I felt like adding that extra letter made the name seem more fantasy-ish.
Ooh, that’s cool! It’s actually interesting, so far as I know, Shamuel is actually closer to the Hebrew pronunciation XD (Which would be something like Shmuel, I think)
Classics:
I’ve read a lot of those! I loved the Anne of Green Gables series, I’ve read all of them except Anne of Ingleside. (I had trouble getting that one) I love L.M Montgomery’s style and all the characters! My favorite books were Anne of the Island and Anne’s House of Dreams. I loved Lesley and Phil in those, they were such fascinating characters!
I also loved her duology “The Story Girl.” and “The Golden Road” It was awesome!
Have you read all four books in the “Little Women” series? I also really enjoyed “Little Men” and “Jo’s Boys”! Not so much for the original characters, who lost some of their personality, but more for the new ones. Dan was my absolute favorite.
He didn’t deserve what happened.I’d say my other favorite classics include:
- Great Expectations
- The Railway Children
- The Scarlet Pimpernel series
- A Little Princess
Historical fiction:
I really liked the American girl books! They give you interesting insights into everyday life in those periods.
I’ve been wanting to read Esperanza Rising! Would you recommend it?
I really love Jennifer Nielsen’s historicals! Resistance is my favorite, but the others are pretty good too! They’re impeccably researched and cover some interesting periods.
I also really liked the book “Second Fiddle” by Rosanne Parry. It’s more obscure but it was really well written, with interesting characters and a cool plot! It covers the time right after the Berlin wall, so I guess it’s technically historical? XD
Rifles for Watie was also excellent!
Fantasy:
I’ve never read either of those, though of course, I know about Narnia.
My favorite fantasies include but are not limited to:
- The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen
- The Letter for the King Duology by Tonke Dragt (Not to be confused with the Netflix series!! I’m still mad at Netflix for messing up such a great series.)
- Ranger’s Apprentice and Brotherband Chronicles by John Flanagan
- Does the Hunger Games count as Fantasy? Well, I’m putting it in here XD
That Biblical fiction series sounds really interesting! I don’t read Biblical fiction that often, but I did enjoy Lynn Austin’s Zacharia, Ezra, Nehemiah series.
Without darkness, there is no light. If there was no nighttime, would the stars be as bright?
Nice to meet you Miss Woodbury!
I have considered reading “How to Kill a Mockingbird” multiple times, but the descriptions just haven’t been selling me on it. xD Maybe I’ll try it sometime. Have you read “The Count of Monte Cristo”? If you haven’t, I would highly recommend it. It’s down a similar alley as Les Miserables.
So your WIP is about early Christians and their struggles? That sounds intriguing.
I started writing a little under two months ago, so my current WIP consists of just an outline.
I find that keeping track of all your details throughout the series can be quite daunting… XD
True! And I think Saul would have been Shaul or something similar.
Wow, nice! I’ve actually never met anyone who’s read the whole Anne of Green Gables series like I have. It’s brilliant, although my unpopular opinion is that Anne gets a bit cynical and somewhat irritating throughout the series and other characters far outshine her *cough Susan cough* But they’re all such good books! I think I actually enjoyed Anne of Ingleside the least, mostly because the final chapters drag out a misconception Anne has about Gilbert that’s solved quickly (and unrealistically, I thought) at the end, and it left a sour taste. I would say that my favorites from the series are Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside. The Meredith children are beyond adorable. I also really enjoyed Leslie’s character in Anne’s House of Dreams.
I haven’t read all four books in the “Little Women” series, sadly, but I want to!
I definitely recommend Esperanza Rising! It’s a really inspiring and eye-opening story about the discrimination and hardship Mexicans went through when they immigrated to the United States.
I should check out Lynn Austin, then! Thanks for the recommendation!
https://discipleshipwithjoy.com
Nice to meet you, too!
To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book – you should definitely give it a chance! Or watch the movie and see if you like that first. XD
I haven’t read The Count of Monte Cristo, but I have a friend who really likes it, so I should give it a read. Thanks for the recommendation!
Yes! I find the early Christians’ faith quite inspiring, so it’s a fun avenue to explore for a novel.
Outlines are great. I advocate for plotting all the way!
https://discipleshipwithjoy.com
Aha! That’s why the poem felt vaguely familiar! I just recently watched Les Miserables (with Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway.)
What’s your most favorite song? I’m not sure what mine is (funny story: I heard a famous singer perform ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ on tv; thought it was beautiful and moving. Then I heard about the context of the song and thought it was sad. Finally watched the movie, fully understand the context and now I’m totally wrecked, and will never look at the song the same way again! *sobs*)
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. — Ernest Hemingway
OH MY GOODNESS YOU WATCHED LES MISERABLES. *screams* I shall try my hardest not to go into any lengthy Les Mis rants. I sobbed throughout that whole movie when I watched it. The acting is great, although *sheepish grin* I am not a fan of the singing. But I think that’s just ’cause the London and Broadway original casts spoiled me for it. XD
OH MY WORD “I Dreamed a Dream” is just TRAGIC. My heart breaks for Fantine. *sobs all over again*
Favorite song. That’s a tough one.
“Bring Him Home” always melts me into a puddle of tears. You should watch Colm Wilkinson sing it, it’s nothing short of heartbreaking. The song was actually written for him, and when he sang it for the first time, the cast was speechless and Trevor Munn said, “You know this show is all about God.” And one of the cast replied, “Yes, but you didn’t tell us you’d gotten Him to sing it.” 😭
In my opinion, Javert’s songs are the best (Roger Allam is my favorite Javert and I’m also a Philip Quast fan). “Confrontation” is epic, “Javert’s Soliloquy” is moving, and “Stars” is sooo majestic.
I also love “One Day More.” And “Valjean Arrested/Valjean Forgiven” always gets my tears started.
*realizing that I’m going off on a rant despite my promise not to* Forgive me for that. XD Long story short, if I had to pick a favorite it would be the Epilogue. I couldn’t imagine a better ending. It’s a beautiful and inspirational ending, full of redemption and hope, and the lyrics are incredible.
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https://discipleshipwithjoy.com
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