Monday Book Mention: Beyond Molasses Creek

Good Monday. Here is this week’s  Monday mention. I chose this book because Nicole Seitz is on of the great southern writers of our time.

Book Title: BEYOND MOLASSES CREEK

Author: Nicole Seitz

Synopsis: Three lives are bound by a single book . . . and the cleansing waters of Molasses Creek.

Having traveled to the ends of the earth as a flight attendant, Ally Green has finally returned to the Lowcountry to bury her father as well as the past. But Vesey Washington is still living across the creek, and theirs is a complicated relationship--he was once her best friend . . . and also part of the reason she's stayed away so long. When Ally discovers a message her father left behind asking her to quit running, it seems her past isn't through with her yet.

As Ally's wandering spirit wrestles with a deep longing to flee again, a young woman on the other side of the world escapes her life of slavery in the rock quarries of Nepal. A mysterious sketchbook leads Sunila Kunari to believe there's more to her story than she's ever been told, and she's determined to follow the truth wherever it leads her.

A deep current intertwines the lives of these three souls, and a destiny of freedom, faith, and friendship awaits them all on the banks of Molasses Creek.

Learn more about the book below.

Beyond Molasses Creek Novel Preview on Prezi

Become Intimate with your Readers

Nicole Seitz, artist and author of the The Spirit of Sweetgrass and Trouble the Water[releases in March 08] stops by Christian Fiction today to participate in our 1Question Author Interview Series.

The question: What did you do for your spiritual life in '07 that also improved your writing?

I allowed myself to fully connect with others in 2007. This writing business is often a solitary undertaking. Hours and hours behind a screen, talking to no one, seeing no one. My debut novel, The Spirit of Sweetgrass, came out in 2007, and I found myself promoting the book at signings, conferences, festivals. With each talk, I became more open. With each new reader, I realized the impact my writing had. With each new author I met, I connected on an intimate level. Oftentimes perfect strangers touched me in a profound spiritual way by the words they said about the words God wrote through me. In essence, in 2007 I opened myself up to allow others to come into my heart, something I've guarded for much of my life. This new openness of spirit has made me a more empathetic writer, one who truly cares about her readers, about her fellow man, about her characters. I can only be a better writer by feeding my heart in such a way.

Don't want to miss your favorite author's response, subscribe to CFB. If you are an author and would love to participate in this series, please contact me.

Seitz II: Black Spiritualism

Yesterday, Nicole introduced herself to us. Today we're talking about Black Spiritualism and its role in her debut novel, The Spirit of Sweetgrass.

An excerpt from the Spirit of Sweetgrass...

Gullahs are real respectful of the dead, and they want to make sure they go onto the afterworld, and don't come back for haunting. Back in 1939 when my grandma died, I can remember ma turning the mirrors in the house backward, facing the wall, so Gran's spirit wouldn't reflect.

What do you know about Black spiritualism?

Black spiritualism is the blending of old and new beliefs, traditions, practices into one harmonious spiritual belief system. Certain aspects can be borrowed from Protestantism, Catholicism, etc, yet traditional African spirituality remains. In Louisiana, there is a blend of Catholicism with African spirituality including aspects of the Voudon religion. Here in the Lowcountry, it’s a mix with Protestantism instead.

When I first started writing this book, I was soon after put on bed rest for some problems in my pregnancy. God put me in the capable hands of an African-American woman who had been a nanny and sweetgrass basket maker. She watched over me and my then one-year old daughter. I could not write, but found myself listening to her praises to Jesus.

The black community is fascinating to me in that spirituality spreads throughout ever facet of life—in speech, in family life, everything. I come from a background where spiritual things are not talked about very much except in church. If you do talk of such things you feel funny, people are uncomfortable. As a Christian, I want my connection to God to permeate every facet of my life, no matter how people look at me. This is my heart’s connection to the black community.

How important is this religious thought to Essie Mae?

Essie Mae is a simple woman. She loves Jesus. She loves her family. She has a respect for her roots, both Gullah and Creole. She has a reverence for spiritual mysticism, understands the power of it, fears it at times. Ultimately, she puts her faith in God as her true power.

You cannot have Essie Mae in existence without her spirituality. Loving Jesus is who she is. Bringing that love to her family and friends is a natural extension.

How does Black spiritualism fit in our Christian worldview?

It’s hard for those of us who are not Black to understand how ancient beliefs and practices brought to America by African forefathers can coincide gracefully with Christian beliefs, but these are things embedded in the fabric of the black community. The one does not negate the other—loving Jesus Christ.

How much did orthodoxy played a role in your theme?

To be honest, I simply told Essie Mae’s story. I was not too concerned with rigidity to rules or orthodoxy in religion. Essie Mae is a “real” character. Things in her world as in ours are not “black and white”. There is much gray in this world. I explored some of these gray areas and allowed my imagination to soar.

Monday we will explore the Gullah people and the art of sweetgrass. If you have questions for Nicole, leave them in our comments section.

Interview: Nicole Seitz

Today CFB is having I think its first author interview of the year. Haven't done these in a while, but poll results show that readers want more interviews. So we're giving it to you. :)

For the next few days Nicole Seitz will be sharing her love for Christ and writing with us. Remember this month CFB is featuring her debut novel, The Spirit of Sweetgrass. If you have any questions you want to ask Nicole, leave them here in our commennts section.

Nicole, briefly share your writing journey.

I have a degree in journalism, and I wrote for local newspapers when I was going back to school for illustration in the early mid-90s. I didn’t write for publication again until I did an article on local artists for South Carolina Magazine a few years back. Since then, I’ve written another piece on sweetgrass basket makers for the same magazine.

When I was expecting my daughter, I started working on my first piece of fiction, a middle-grade novel. It remains unpublished, but I finally finished it a year and a half later and learned that I could, indeed, complete a manuscript. I was not planning to write an adult novel until I got the idea for The Spirit of Sweetgrass, driving past the roadside stands here in Mount Pleasant while pregnant with my son. The Spirit of Sweetgrass is my first published novel. My next novel, Trouble the Water, will be out in February 2008.

Nicole, define Christian Fiction.

To me, Christian fiction is fiction written by Christians. Period. If you are writing ultimately to honor God, I believe the story you need to tell will come out. It may not, however, fit into tradition “Christian fiction” mold.

Why did you choose this character to build your stories around?

I'm not sure I can say I chose this character. It was more like she chose me. I had a general idea for the book, started some research and the next morning at about 4 AM, woke up with Essie Mae “speaking” through me loud and clear. It sounds strange, I know. But true.

Although you are not African American, did you feel ever uneasy for building an african-american character?

Yes. I would worry at night in bed about it. I would not have chosen to write an African-American in first person if I could have dreamed up the perfect debut into publishing. However, God gave me this story. I would pray to Him, ‘are you sure?,’ and He’d reassure me to keep going. I chose to be faithful and face whatever may come my way.

Tomorrow we will talk about Black Spirituality and is importance in Christianity.

Cover in Spirit

I reckon this-here roadside stand's a whole lot like my life--sometimes good folk stop and visit a while: other times, folks come by, seems like just to haggle and make my day long.
- The Spirit of Sweetgrass, Nicole Seitz, debut novel, Integrity Publishers, $13.99

A book landed in my mailbox a month ago, and woke me up. The cover was gorgeous.I opened it. The woman was telling my gullah/geechee history. To my surprise Nicole also designed the cover. She is a painter like myself. She writes southern fiction like me. Lord, have mercy... I hope to share more about this book and its author in the next coming weeks.