Clash of the Titles Conquerors!

Clash of the Titles Conquerors

by Jennifer Slattery

Jennifer Slattery is the marketing representative for the literary website Clash of the Titles. She is also a freelance writer, novelist and columnist. Visit Clash of the Titles to find out more about this fun, author friendly, reader-driven website. Visit Jennifer Slattery Lives Out Loud to find out more about Jennifer Slattery

Meet Author Clare Revell
Some authors live, eat and sleep in their stories, pounding out words faster than a newspaper reel-fed printer. Clash of the Titles conqueror Clare Revell, author of Season for Miracles, is that kind of author. From start to finish, it took just over three weeks for her to complete her first draft. The second draft was finished in two. All total, it took six weeks from first word to final draft for Season for Miracles to bloom.

“Writing is something I've always done,” Clare said. “Right from when I was seven. It started with rewriting fairy tales, to fan fiction to putting my own characters in fan fiction, to finally writing my own original stuff.”

For those of us who eek out a couple thousand words per day as we juggle work and family demands with our passion for words, this might sound discouraging, but perhaps Clare’s success lies in her method. When discouragement hits, she quits…for the day.

“I tend to stop writing,” she said. “At least for a while. The muse packs his bags and leaves. So I read or clean the house.” But that doesn’t mean she’s not frustrated.  “[I] even ask ‘Why? I thought this was what you wanted me to do? Isn't this meant to be my gift?’ But writing is such a part of me, that I can't stop for long. The characters bug me until I pick up the pencil and start again. I guess the answer to 'Why' is that God doesn't want Big Headed Authors working for Him.”

Wow, that’s a profound statement. Can writer’s block actually be a God-send? A gracious, loving gift provided to draw us to something even better than that perfectly crafted novel or a multi-book contract? What could be more intriguing, more impacting, more enduring, than the story crafted by God Himself, and whispered softly in your ear…once you’ve come to the end of yourself?

Clare reminds us that God is sovereign, in the good and bad, in moments of rapid-fire creativity and heart-shriveling brain-block. This is the message she hopes her readers will take away from Season for Miracles. “[I want] readers to know that no matter what happens in life - serial killers, losing loved ones - God is right there alongside us. All we have to do is turn to Him and let Him help.”

In Clare’s excerpt, she focused on the hope of Christmas, evoking a sense of anticipation in one simple act: that of making a wish.

* *

Holly shoved her hands into her pockets. "The tree's beautiful. It puts mine to shame."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "I think your tree is awesome."

"Uh huh. Not compared with this."

"Compared to mine it is."

"That's because you don't have one."

He hesitated for a moment then pointed a gloved finger at her, his breath hanging on the frosty air. "That'd be it."

Holly tugged her hat down over her ears. "Probably."

Kyle picked up two of the cards and offered her one. "Make a Christmas wish."

"Wishes are for children." She refused to take the card.

Kyle's brow creased. "Then I guess I'm a child." He put his card on the table and picked up a pen, refusing to let her dampen his spirit. "Come on, what's the harm?"

"It's a waste. Not like I'm going to get anything I want. I told Stacey that Santa doesn't exist so there is no point."

"Maybe not. But it's Christmas, Holly. A time for miracles." He could see her wavering and persisted. "Do it for me. Please. It will shut me up."

* *

I love how simply and seamlessly Clare revealed the hope of Christmas in that passage. We at Clash of the Titles are passionate about Christian fiction because we know every word typed draws the reader one step closer to the Divine Author, Jesus Christ.

Find out more about Clare and her writing at Clare Revell’s Corner of the Net.

Her book can be purchased Here