Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #21

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 333 Comments

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all the stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!

  • The hunt BEGINS on 6/15 at noon MST with Stop #1 at LisaTawnBergren.com.
  • Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
  • There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 6/18 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
  • Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back on Lisa’s site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way

Hi, I’m Ann H. Gabhart and I love being called a storyteller. I’ve gone down plenty of story trails in my home state of Kentucky. I’m sort of a nut for nature and dogs and my grandkids. Oh, and books too! Most of my books are historical fiction but I have some cozy mysteries as well. You can find out more about me and my books here on my website and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and BookBub. I like dropping my characters down into some interesting historical times or settings,  but for my newest novel, In the Shadow of the River, I told my characters “All Aboard” and set my story on a river showboat. Here’s a little more about the story.

When Jacci Reed was five, someone tried to steal her from her mother who was badly wounded in the confrontation. Jacci and her mother find refuge on the Kingston Floating Palace, a river showboat. Fifteen years later, Jacci loves being an actress and singer on the showboat, but the memory of her mother’s death and the events leading up to it has shadowed Jacci through the years. When her life is threatened, she knows she must search for the answers she needs. But secrets have a way of staying in the shadows . . . and the answers she craves will not come easily.

Have You Ever Had Stage Fright?

Acting? On Stage? Not me! I loved getting into character with Jacci but I want to stay backstage doing the directing. Not on stage in the lights.

An actress, I’m not, but that’s the fun of writing fiction. My characters can be way different from me. I could say different than I can imagine being, but that doesn’t work for a writer. My characters do things I can’t  do all the time.

Me at the first stage fright age

But what about that stage fright? When I was five, I had a part in a church play. A speaking part. I practiced my lines until my sisters were ready to throttle me, but I had it down pat. Then, when my big moment came, I looked out at the congregation, opened my mouth, and nothing came out. My vocal cords froze. I knew then acting wasn’t for me.

That dread of being on stage stayed with me all through school. Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, is a common phobia shared by three out of four people. Maybe you are one of the three. I used to be, but after my first book was published years ago, I agreed to speak to a group of librarians and discovered stage fright wasn’t fatal. At least not for me. Now I even enjoy speaking about my books. However, I’m not about to try acting!

In my book, In the Shadow of the River, I could have let my character, Jacci, have stage fright, but that wasn’t Jacci. From the time she first went on stage at age five, she loved the spotlight. She is a true showboat actress who likes nothing better than rolling downriver to a new landing each day to put on a show.  When the music starts and the curtain goes up, an actress like Jacci is ready to take the stage to say those first lines and entice the audience into the magic of story.

How about you? Ever have stage fright or do you love performing?

 

Here’s Your Critical Stop #21 Info:
If you’re interested, you can order In the Shadow of the River on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com, Baker Book House, or your local bookstore!

Clue to Write Down: hammock,

Link to Stop #22, the next Stop on the Loop: Leslie Gould’s site!

But wait! Before you go, I’m offering some prizes here on my site. One entrant will win an actress make-up bag and a choice of one of my books. Two other winners will get their choice of one of my books. All you have to do is leave a comment here that you signed up for my e-newsletter on the form in the margin here on my website or note you’re already a subscriber. For fun, you can say if you suffer from glossophobia or if you love performing the way Jacci does.

Giveaway starts June 15, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time (2:00 p.m. EST)  and deadline for entries is June 19, 2023 12:00 a.m. Mountain Time (2:00 a.m. EST.)  Winners will be picked by random and notified by email.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the hunt!

Comments 333

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      Thank you so much for signing on for my newslette< Janr. You sound like me many years before when I was still in school. But sometimes we find the courage to do what we want to do. Or need to do.

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  4. I love acting. My first acting was at school when I was chosen to act the part of a boy as the rest of the class recited a poem from Hillaire Bellock. I had short hair and borrowed some shorts and a shirt from a boy we knew. My mother put Brillcreme in my hair to put it in a boyish style. Afterwards not even the minister of our church recognised me and everyone thought I really was a boy.
    My favourite reading material is historical novels and particularly historical biblical fiction. God still challenges me in reading other fiction written by Christian authors. I enjoy reading about times and places in the past. I live in New Zealand.

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      Great to hear from New Zealand, Beryl. That’s a fun story about your first acting experience. In my story, my character Jacci actually dressed up like a boy in an early scene when she’s five.

      My books are historical fiction but not biblical fiction. It the God does challenge you to read one of my books, I hope you’ll enjoy the story.

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  7. I am already subscribed to your newsletter. I would definitely be one of those three out of four people regarding public speaking!

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      I’m sure that some people who do have to speak in public sometimes are sure they are part of that three out of four people, Betsy. Thanks for already being subscribed to my newsletter.

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  11. Hi, I’m already on your subscriber list. No, I don’t get stage fright, I loved being in our church play, years ago. I was one of the women weeping at the foot of the cross, when Jesus was crucified.

    Romans 10:9-13; John 3:16-21

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      I’ve already heard from some other teachers, Melissa, who say like you that they either didn’t have stage fright or found a way to overcome it. Thank you for being a teacher.

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  15. I am a subscriber and am an extrovert that enjoys talking ( I volunteered to speak at a library convention).

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  16. Long time newsletter subscriber. Fun fact that while I do suffer from stage fright I was in the drama club in high school. I was the costumer and script writer. Though I ended up being Belle’s stunt double when we performed Beauty and the Beast because the actress playing Belle couldn’t walk and read at the same time.

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      Great, Carissa. I appreciate you being a long time subscriber to my news.

      That is a fun story about being a stunt double for Belle in the Beauty and the Beast. That might not have been so bad for someone with stage fright if you didn’t have to actually speak any lines. 🙂

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  17. I am a subscriber and an Actress. But I’m terrified of public speaking, so I do get stage fright for that.

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      Neat that you’re an actress, Rose. I guess there are many differences between acting a role in a play or whatever and public speaking. Neat that you don’t have to get stage fright while acting. Thanks for being a subscriber.

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      Sometimes it is easier to take the stage when a whole group is around you such as when you’re in a chorus, Roxanne. I never was in a chorus, but my grandkids have been and they don’t get that nervouse on those times. One had a recital last week and was very nervous playing her piece on the piano.

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