hurricane Ian - T&R Independent Bookstore

Posted on December 20, 2022December 20, 2022 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

Blog by Ron – Writing Hurricane Ian as 1st Person

Hurricane Ian Winds of Providence & Provision book cover

Writing Hurricane Ian as First Person was not easy, but it worked. Titled Hurricane Ian Winds of Providence & Provision, the book is already the most successful book I’ve ever written!

But let’s take a deeper look at it. This is a book that tells the true to life story of Pastor Jay Sheppard and his family in their own words.

Hurricane Ian is Told in First Person

I am not a big supporter of first-person storytelling, but in this case, it works really well! If you have never tried this in either fiction or nonfiction, you might want to give it a try.

This particular book was not me telling the story in first person, but various family members telling about their particular situation or experience. In the book you get each person’s individual recollection and sometimes they don’t agree 100%! But that is ok, because in life different people see the same events differently.

Hurricane Ian told Consecutively

This technique worked really well. Different family members related their experiences at approximately the same time. Their stories provide a background of their impressions, thoughts, and actions. In turn, this provides the reader with an expanded view of events, while also tying the recollections together. The reader gets a more complete picture of how each scene played out. Instead of getting the author’s viewpoint superimposed, you get individual stories that pull you into the action.

Hurricane Ian Divide and Conquer

What I am referring to here to is the methodology I used. After going to the various family members and friends and asking them to write down their own stories, I then divided their stories and juxtaposed them against one another.

By doing this, I allowed their comments, understandings, and recollections to be compared. Whether conscientiously or subconsciously, such comparisons add depth to the overall story. This is depth that I may not have been able to create by telling the story in 3^rd Person.

This is just a short blog today, but it gives you something to think about. Namely, should you try 1^st Person? It can be difficult voice to master. But if you can it might just prove profitable.

VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

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Company information:

T&R Independent Bookstore is a division of T&R Independent Books founded in 2014 by R. Frederick and Tess Riddle. TR Ministry, aka Ministry Services, is both a charge and an exciting outreach to the Christian Community.

Posted on December 3, 2022December 3, 2022 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

Hurricane Ian Winds of Providence & Provision

As the author of Hurricane In Winds of Providence & Provision, I want to share the excitement that it brought me.

When Hurricane Ian struck there was widespread damage done. My wife and I had evacuated and were without WiFi for awhile. It was during this time that the events in this book took place.

The story, which is told in the words of several members of the Sheppard family, began with simple preparation for extremely high winds and surge. Pastor Jay Sheppard felt that he and his family had prepared their home for the expected surge as they lived next to the Peace River. But they did not know they would be facing a flash flood!

After the Lord laid it on my heart to write this book, I contacted Pastor Jay, who is my pastor, and told him of the burden. He suggested an idea I was already entertaining. Namely, that I get him and his family members to tell the story in their own words! It took persistence on my part to get those stories included in the book and to arrange them in a manner that made sense, but it was worth it.

Hurricane Ian Winds of Providence & Provision is the culmination of those efforts. I purposely only did light editing as I wanted each contributor’s voice to come through. The result is a book where the reader hears from each contributor and can identify with them. I know I am biased, but I believe this is a timely book showing God’s love and providence, and belongs in many personal libraries or bookshelves.

Right now it is in print form only but will soon be in eBook as well.

Posted on November 15, 2022November 15, 2022 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

Blog by Ron – Researching Ian

Researching Ian took me down a different road than I have been following. In the past, my research has been primarily looking up facts from online and written resources. That is the normal route to be taken as an author develops his plots.

But my new book, Ian and God’s Providence, requires something more; getting firsthand stories form the very people involved in that day’s activities. This was new, but I dived into it.

Complicating Researching Ian

The primary person to be interviewed was the fact that the primary person being interviewed is a pastor, who was very busy coordinating the Hurricane Relief program that Tri-City took on. But when I approached him with the idea of a book detailing the Sheppard family’s trial by storm.

Another complication was the need to get the information as soon as possible. This is because stories of disaster usually have only a small window of opportunity to reach the people while they are still interested.

Still another complication to Researching Ian

Each person I contacted I told not to worry about grammar, etc., as I would be editing their contributions, but to write about the events as they remembered them. This is important because it adds the personal, firsthand touch providing the reader with different views of the events.

Everyone was excited about the project and their opportunity to participate. But the complication that arose was the fact that all of them were busy. Ian impacted everyone to the point that there daily routine was now filled with additional work.

Personal Interview with Pastor Jay

None were busier than Pastor Jay. He still had his daily care of the flock, but he also was the Coordinator of receiving and distributing the supplies that soon were arriving in the church parking lot. This required a great deal of time.

In addition, he was constantly receiving phone calls from pastors around the country who wanted to help. It was an amazing example of the Christian family coming to the aid of other Christians.

Researching Ian Bears Fruit

Pastor Jay finally made the time to sit down and talk with me about the research I had already done, and what he could provide. He graciously discussed all of this, plus he made other suggestions and contributions.

One of the suggestions was for me to contact everyone that was involved and get their own stories. This would provide multiple views of the same events and allow the reader to get a fuller, more personal intake of the events. I recognized the importance right away.

All of this has led to a book that is a personal, and powerful read!