 What’s set Marc apart forever is also what’s brought him and Lacie together. He's spent his entire life searching for and studying love, but Heaven on Earth with hazel eyes and a teenage heart has taught him more than any book, mission, or seminary ever could. While she struggles with accepting what she's always had, he guards her path and guides her soul toward the most enduring kind of love. Faith isn't always believing in something you can't see. Sometimes faith is embracing what's been right before your eyes all along. Between stolen candy and soft surrender, centuries-old sacraments and a brand new day, this is a story about two people accepting God’s greatest gift, even if no one else will. Add To GoodreadsExclusive Interview with the Authors - Sparrow: What was different about your process for writing Light and Wine (as opposed to other projects you've worked on)? Soleil: Light and Wine started out with the two of us just wanting to start something new together one night. sparrow found some pictures, I picked one, and she started writing. after a couple paragraphs, she sent it to me and I wrote a couple, then sent it back to her. we didn't go off of anything but the photo itself - no general ideas about plot or character, mood, anything. so, that in itself is a little different, and also the process that continued from it. in longer collaborations that I've worked on, we took turns in whole chapters, working on what we could, when we could. with confession (as we called it for the longest time), sparrow and I took turns every five hundred to one thousand words or so, and also only worked on it when the other one was present - or present as could be living a thousand miles apart. once we started to know the characters better, we sometimes talked about this or that happening next, but usually went with what felt right and best based on previous turns and what we were learning about Marc and Lacie as we went. Soleil: What part of this story are you most proud of? Sparrow: Easily, the chapel scene. It was the most fun to write, and the most challenging as well. We wanted to communicate the depth and sanctity of their love through his eyes, without making the language dull or losing passion. I don't want to be cocky, but I feel like we accomplished that. Sparrow: What was your favorite thing about working on Light and Wine? Soleil: Sparrow's turns! When it was her turn, while she was writing, I would usually go back and reread up to where we were so I could be in the same mind and heartset as she was. and then by the time she was messaging me that I had email incoming, I would be so excited to open it. and then opening it and flailing over it together was so good. it was like a mini-christmas morning every time. Soleil: What did you edit out of the story? Why? Sparrow: We edited a lot! There were lines here and there, and the whole first scene was reworked extensively. The biggest cut was a flashback scene, taking place a year or two back, when Marc experienced the strongest physical temptation he's ever had to contend with. We felt it was a little confusing, and the narrative flowed better without it. We're open to sharing it in the future, though! Sparrow: Tell us something the readers don't know about Marc and Lacie. Soleil: Lacie wants to illustrate children's books. she has a fondness for dreampop and once snuck out of her house on christmas eve to kiss her boyfriend on the monkey bars. Soleil: How or when do you feel closest to the characters? like, as their writer? Sparrow: For me, it's pretty random! The closest I ever felt to Marc was at a noisy kids' indoor playplace a la Chucky Cheese's. The closest I felt to Lacie was driving in my car on a wintry morning. Sometimes I hear a song that just seems to put me in the exact right place to see or hear them. When Soleil and I are both focusing on our characters, concentrating on their love and relaxed in each other's support, that helps to bring me close to them a lot. Marc knows the latin name of every flower, everywhere. you can't stump him. Sparrow: What's one of your favorite details in the story? Soleil: There's a line about candlelit shadows that Sparrow knows is my favorite. that detail and the fact that Marc notices it makes me swoon so hard. there's also a part where she calls him something very personal in latin, and the fact that what she says isn't something he taught her, but something she looked up and learned on her own, to say to him is deeply romantic to me. I love that part. Soleil: If you emptied Marc's pockets at the start of the story, what would you find? Sparrow: At the start of the story, he's knocking on her door, after work. Besides the requisite keys, wallet, and cell phone, I feel like you might find a pack of cinnamon gum, loose change from buying his lunch, a paperclip from a stack of student work, and a single wrapped caramel. They're Lacie's favorite. Visit With Sparrow AuSoleil - |