‘The True Picture’ is the story of Veronica (Vera – True, Icon – Picture). It starts, around 33 AD, in the city of Tyre where ex-temple dancer and high-class purple dye trader Veronica comes face to face with Jesus one night at the necropolis as he tours Phoenicia with a crowd of followers.
Gradually she gives up all her treasures to follow him, too. She loses her towering hair-do and bronze bust of Venus, and leaves a trail of jewellery through Galilee and by the River Jordan, singing and drinking her way to the station on the Via Dolorosa where she wipes her master’s face with a cloth as he carries the cross. Famously, that image never fades: but the story of St. Veronica is refreshed in this funky new telling.
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique)
Man, oh man, I really wasn’t looking forward to writing this review. But, I gave Alison my word I’d be honest with my feelings regarding it.
So with that said…… I’m sorry to say I didn’t enjoy this book. My opinion is NOT based on the fact it taps into religion.
No, I felt Alison went overboard with describing everything in minute detail. I understand trying to set the scene for a reader but there comes a point where an author needs to learn “less is more”.
With so much detail and information thrown at us, it reminded me of a textbook or an encyclopedia. Not highly entertaining but filled with vast amount of knowledge.
Alison Habens is the author of Dreamhouse, Lifestory , Family Outing, and new novel The True Picture. She is course leader for Creative Writing at the University of Portsmouth and has a PhD on the subject of ‘divine inspiration’! (She lives in an old church on the Isle of Wight and commutes to work by hovercraft.)
1. For those who might not be familiar with you, would you
be a dear and tell the readers a little about yourself? How did you get your
start in the writing business?
(Pamela) Hi Kam, thanks for having me today! Thirty-three years ago, after reading one-too-many insipid little romances, I picked up a notebook and started writing. It took several years from that point to develop my skills and confidence enough to start submitting what I’d written. In 1989 I recommitted my life to Christ and committed my writing to Him, which caused my focus to change from secular/sensual romance to inspirational. Years later, after numerous rejections because my writing was too “steamy and gritty” for the CBA market, Tempered Hearts (book 1 in my series) was picked up by Writer’s Exchange Epublishing out of Australia and the rest, as they say, is history.
2. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, please share how you handle it.
(Pamela) Writer’s block for me usually comes when I’m overwhelmed, overworked or just plain not listening to my characters and/or the Holy Spirit in regards to how/where the story should go. To handle it, I take a break, get some rest, repent if necessary and pay closer attention to my characters and/or God.
3. Contrary to what some people envision about a romance
writer’s life, it’s not all glitz and glam. Well not for the majority of us.
With that bubble sadly busted, when you’re not writing, how do you spend
your time?
(Pamela) I love to read and that’s how I spend most of my spare time. I also enjoy hiking, horseback riding and being out in nature…oh, and dancing! I really enjoy a night out on the floor…two-step, line dance, waltz…doesn’t matter as long as I’m out there moving.
4. I know many writers, such as myself, keep their
pastime/career a secret. Do those close to you know you write? If so, what are
their thoughts?
(Pamela) There was a time when I was a closet writer but not any more. Although I’m careful not to brag or shamelessly promote myself, if I don’t tell folks about my writing/book, chances are they may never find out and my closest family and friends are my biggest supporters.
5. Will you share with us your all-time favorite authors? If
you’re like me, it’s a long list so give us your top ten.
(Pamela) Nora Roberts is my ALL-TIME favorite fiction author. I also enjoy Francine Rivers, Julie Lessman, and too manyPelican Book Group authors to list LOL! I read a lot of nonfiction though and my favorite authors are Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer, Cheryl Richardson, Jillian Lambert, Catherine Ponder and Louise Hay, but I’ll read anything that captures and keeps my attention.
6. If you could choose one book to go to the big screen,
yours or otherwise, which book would you choose and whom would you love to see cast in the parts?
(Pamela) One book…that’s a tough one…. I believe the Tempered series would make a wonderful television series…similar to Heartland which airs on UP TV, but that’s not really answering your question. If I had to pick only one book I think it would have to be The
Inheritance. As for casting the characters I like Melissa Gilbert (or Sandra Bullock) and Matthew McConaughey.
7. Would you care to tell us what you’re working on now?
That is if it’s not top-secret information. If so, just whisper it in my ear. I
swear it’ll go no further.
(Pamela) Currently I am working on completing a couple of short story/novellas for an anthology. I also have a women’s fiction novel in the works as well as Tempered Truth, another to add to my series, and a whole host of ideas just waiting to be developed.
8. Where can we find your stories, and is there a particular
reading order?
(Pamela) All of my titles can be purchased atAmazonfor Kindle and my full length books are available in print at Amazon and B&N. Although the Tempered series will stand alone, some people find it’s best to read them in order (Hearts, Dreams, Fire, Joy). Ebooks can also be found online at Smashwords and all Pelican Book Group titles can be foundhere.
9. Would you please share how your present and future fans
can contact you?
(Pamela) Fans can contact me through myWebsiteorBlogand connect with me onFacebook, Twitter(@psthib), Linked InandPinterest. To stay informed about my writing, they can sign up to receive my newsletter which only goes out a couple times a year.
10. Before we conclude this enlightening interview, do you
have anything else you’d like to share? The stage is all yours.
(Pamela)Yes I’d like to Thank You again, Kam, for having me on your blog and I’d like to encourage readers who don’t really like “Christian” romance and yet, are tired of the more sensual/erotic reads, to give my books a shot. They are not as conservative as other Christian/Inspirational works, yet they stay within Biblical principles. In fact they’ve been tagged as “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”
Pamela S. Thibodeaux, it was a great pleasure meeting you. Thank you again for taking time out of your day to chat with me. Very sweet!
Now folks, it’s your turn to let your voice be heard. If you have any
questions or comments for Pam by all means, leave her a message below.
However, before you do that, lets check out the Tempered Series. Shall we? 🙂
Rancher Craig Harris and veterinarian Tamera Collins clash from the moment they meet. Innocence is pitted against arrogance as tempers rise and passions ignite to form a love as pure as the finest gold, fresh from the crucible and as strong as steel. Thrown together amid tragedy and unsated passion, Tamera and Craig share a strong attraction that neither accepts as the first stages of love. Torn between desire and dislike, they must make peace with their pasts and God in order to open up to the love blossoming between them. It is a love that nothing can destroy when they come to understand that only when hearts are tempered, minds are opened and wills are softened can man discern the will of God for his life.
Excerpt
Tamera awoke in a mild state of panic and confusion. Glancing around, she realized where she was and who was beside her. A blush warmed her cheeks as she struggled to sit up. She released the filly and fumbled with the front of her gown.
“I couldn’t sleep.” she explained, glancing into the steel gray eyes. His gaze, soft and warm like liquid metal, made her blush harder as he brushed strands of hay out of her hair with a gentleness that seemed out of character.
Craig knew he was treading on dangerous ground, that people were expecting them, but couldn’t seem to get past the moment at hand. “I guess a kiss is out of the question,” he queried, his voice tender, gaze unwavering.
Emotions, raw and unfamiliar, shivered through her. Tamera attempted to scoot away from him, emitted a shaky little laugh and tried to quench the feelings escalating to frightening proportions. “A kiss? Why would you want a kiss? I didn’t think you even liked me.”
Craig wound his hand in her thick hair, stopping her movements. “Like has nothing to do with desire,” he moaned and crushed her to him as his mouth covered hers in a thorough kiss. “Absolutely nothing,” he assured as she clung to his shirt and trembled in his arms.
Dr. Scott Hensley (introduced in Tempered Hearts) has built a wall around his heart since the death of his wife and parents. Katrina Simmons is recovering from scars inflicted on her as a battered wife. Can dreams be renewed and faith strengthened? Can they find joy and peace in God’s love and in love for one another?
Excerpt
“Spend the day with me,” he urged. “We’ll go to my place. I’ll take a short nap after which we’ll do whatever your little heart desires.”
“Anything?” she teased. Her voice was as enticing as silk and just as alluring. Her excitement set fire to his blood. “Anything.” he assured in a thick voice.
His smoldering gaze, as tender as a caress and just as potent, lowered to her lips, lingered, then raked over her in a hungry gesture before returning to capture hers in a heated embrace. Trina felt as though he was touching her in the most intimate of ways. Her cheeks grew hot, her breath lodged in her throat. Desire washed over her in angry waves. She swallowed hard and tucked trembling hands in her lap, desperately trying to form a coherent sentence. “Please, Scott, don’t look at me like that.”
He could actually feel her trembling response across the table. His voice lowered another notch. “Like what?”
Trina shook her head. “Like you’re starving to death and could eat me up. Didn’t you have enough food?”
Pushing his plate away, Scott stood and held his hand out to her. Trina placed a trembling one in his firm grip. Pulling her gently to her feet, Scott raised it to his mouth, brushing his lips across her knuckles. “Food is not what I’m hungry for,” he informed her in a husky whisper.
Trina waited as he paid for their meal then followed him to the parking lot as gracefully as possible on legs that wobbled. He paused and in a silent gesture, signaled for her to give him her car keys. His fingers brushed sensuously over her wrist and palm, grasping hers gently when she placed them in his hand.
Locking his heated gaze with hers, Scott raised their clasped hands to his lips, this time lingering over the kiss. He nibbled on her knuckles, teasing the back of her hand with his mouth, then, in one swift movement, turned his attention to the sensitive flesh of her palm and wrist, relieving her of her keys and her senses.
Trina felt the caress to the very core of her being. She moaned, leaning against his hard frame when he pulled her closer. His heat enveloped her until she burned with him, for him. And his lips had never even touched hers.
Amber Harris is a good girl on the brink of womanhood. Stanley Morrison is a young man at the start of his life. For each other, they have always felt the fireworks that two people in love should feel. But the questions about his past, his pride, and Amber’s father might be the end of what could be a strong relationship. As the two try to protect their budding romance, some unlikely but powerful forces conspire to keep them apart. Will they survive the wishes of everyone around them with their relationship intact?
Excerpt
Emotion burst to life within her and swarmed through Amber until it overflowed, warm and wet down her cheeks.
Stan tasted her tears and groaned. Loosening his hold he broke the kiss, burying his face against her shoulder. “God,” he mumbled, lifting his head to meet her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
She looked at him wide-eyed and trembling. Anger, desire, and wonder warred in her eyes. She rolled them in an exaggerated gesture. “Now, he apologizes,” she muttered then leveled her gaze on him.
“Why haven’t you kissed me like that before?”
His breath heaved while he struggled for control. “Didn’t think it was proper, still don’t.”
“So that’s what you meant by all lips and teeth and tongue?” she asked, her voice quivering with awe.
He stepped back, touching her cheek with his uninjured hand. “Yes.” His voice was raw, eyes fierce. “But not with anger, never with anger. I’m sorry.”
Grabbing his hand, she pressed a kiss into it. “Show me,” she urged her eyes soft and warm. “Kiss me again, Stanley.”
“No, Amber.” But she was pressing against him, her arms sliding around his neck. Senses dulled by fatigue, resistance clouded by pain, control ravished and weakened by desire, Stanley succumbed with a groan. Hauling her gently but firmly against him, he buried his lips on hers, this time with devastating tenderness.
His mouth embraced hers tasting, teasing, savoring her lips as though he were a starving man biting into his first meal in weeks. His teeth nipped at her lip, tugging a moan from deep within her. Amber clung to him weakly as they slid to the floor.
All around rodeo cowboy and heir to the Rockin’ H Ranch, Ace Harris is determined not to fall in love. He’s only loved one woman in his life, his mother, and no one can even come close to filling her boots. Lexie Morgan thinks rodeo cowboys have rocks for brains and a death wish for a soul. A broken childhood and the death of her father and best friend leave her doubting and questioning God (despite her years of religious upbringing) and afraid of love. Can two young people who clash from the onset learn to trust in the healing power of God and find love and happiness amidst tragedy and grief?
Excerpt
Her eyes narrowed when he took a step closer. “Ace,” she warned and wielded the brush like a lethal weapon.
Raising his hands where she could see them, he watched her try to brush some semblance of order to the thick mass of unruly auburn hair. The simple chore made him want to sink both fists in the silken locks and gave him a whole new insight to the word erotic.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkled vivid green and spewed wrath. She glared at him as though the tangled tresses were his fault alone. Her chest quivered with each breath she took. He took another step closer and could feel her tremble. Locking his gaze with hers in the mirror, he reached around her and picked up a bandanna off the dresser. He ran it through his fingers in what could have been a caress then slid the cloth beneath her hair and left it trailing over her shoulders.
With hands that shook, Lexie pulled the ends together and tied her hair back into a ponytail. Those bright gray eyes had gone soft and warm, like liquid metal. Mouth dry as dust, she swallowed hard.
Lori Strickland (introduced in Tempered Fire) has always been known as her father’s “wild child” with no desire to change until she meets ex-bull-rider-turned-preacher Rafe Judson. Her attempts to change her wanton ways come to naught until she realizes redemption only comes with true repentance.
Excerpt
Lori headed toward Recluse, Wyoming after another round of rodeos where the cash and prizes vaulted her to the next level of achievement. She hadn’t thought of Rafe in months. Hadn’t allowed herself to think of him, and wouldn’t indulge in useless fantasies now.
She’d made peace with the fact she was nothing more than a bad seed and there was no way around it. Oh she tried to be good. She stayed out of the bars for weeks on end, attended the prayer services before or after each rodeo when available, even visited with a group of supposedly devout believers who traveled a state-wide circuit within the national itinerary, but nothing seemed to help or make an impact on her life. Nor had she found the support she’d hoped, only judgment and criticism. Answers to her questions only incited debates until she was scorned for her doubt and unbelief or shunned completely. Maverick was right when he said there was no in between and since she couldn’t succeed at being good, Lori figured she’d be bad.
Just as she had all of her life.
More than once she thought about calling Stanley or Amber or even Lexie for counsel, but was too ashamed to admit the total mess her life was in. She even considered quitting. Just give up and go home. But she was too close to making pro status, too close to the culmination of the dream that began in her heart nearly four years ago.
A dream she once thought came as a directive from God.
Now, she knew better.
God didn’t give success to losers; the devil lured them into it then left them to their own devices no matter how hard they tried to be good. Besides, even at her best, there was no way she’d ever be good enough for a preacher.
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique)
1.) Tempered Hearts:I have mixed feelings on this book. At times, I felt connected to Craig and Tamera. Case in point, the snake bite/hallucination scene. I can’t see many readers not getting invested in the pain pouring out in those pages. Delusional from the venom, Tamera “sees” her father and begs to join him and her mother in Heaven. Craig’s heart was literally ripping in two.
Powerful!!
However, the rest of their love story fell flat for me. I didn’t like Tamera raising a hand to Craig out of anger. Pamela kept speaking of God and their faith yet she deemed it “heavenly” to attempt to strike another person. I know Craig verbally unleashed his anger but violence? When is violence ever the answer?
2.) Tempered Dreams: Pamela’s faith is prevalent throughout Scott and Trina’s tale. She spoke of God and the scriptures many times over. Also, the difficulty in forgiving others of wrongdoings. Tom (her father) beat her mother and, due to those injuries, her mom passed away. This act of violence was a the truest test of her faith. One, I see, many people failing.
Did she?
Now, I think you already know the answer to that question. What sort of Christian writer would Pam be, what sort of religious woman would Pam be, if she didn’t have Trina forgive him? So yes, as you expected, forgiveness was delivered.
With all that said, something nagged at me.
As I mentioned above, this story was all about faith and forgiveness yet Pamela picked and chose when to follow this way of Christian living. I’m speaking in regards to Scott not “turning the other cheek” when Trina was abused by her ex-husband. He asked her to forgive her father when he beat and murdered her mother/his wife but why didn’t he when faced with a similar “test”? Seems hypocritical to me.
Practice what you preach!!
3.) Tempered Fire: I throughly enjoyed about 50% of this love story. It had many sweet, touching moments. However, the reason why I didn’t love it 100% was because it was just more of the same. A man struggling not to cave into his desires and bed his virgin love. Scenes where they kept apologizing for wanting to, repeatedly proclaiming to wait, and talk about the need to marry as soon as possible. Another reason why I didn’t wholeheartedly enjoy this installment was because, once again, Pamela had a woman strike a man. Violence is never the answer!!!
4.) Tempered Joy: This is a true love story. Unlike the first three stories in the series, this couple didn’t speak harsh words or raise a hand to each other. Ace and Lexie played, joked, and were a joy (no pun intended) to read. Great job on this story, Pamela.
5.) Lori’s Redemption: Pamela has a preacher (Rafe) punching a man. As a writer and a Christian woman, I found her actions contradictory. She can’t “preach” about “turning the other cheek” and also demonstrate an “eye for an eye”. You must pick a philosophy and stick to it — to your faith.
