Thursday, October 15, 2009

The PensFatales Welcome Diana Orgain



The Pens welcome Diana Orgain today...Diana holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University with a minor in acting. Diana’s plays have been produced at San Francisco State University, GreenHouses Productions, and PlayGround in San Francisco. Bundle of Trouble is her first mystery novel. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and their children.






Thank you to the Pens for hosting me today. What a great topic, so interesting to see what Grace means to people and how many different meanings there are! I was a bit overwhelmed when looking it up in the dictionary and found 13 different meanings!

When I think of Grace I inevitably think of the Grace of God (that would probably explain why I feel compelled to capitalize it). My favorite definition was “God’s fullness in the life of the believer.” Yes! Fullness. That is what Grace is to me a fullness of everything good and beautiful and kind - Love that is freely given.

Every day I feel that fullness of love and joy with my family – with my husband and my three beautiful little ones – but if I’m very lucky I feel the joy of writing. Like others have said on this blog, sometimes writing can become an item on a to-do list, an obligation for the day, a hurried dash toward a deadline or word count. But on very good days, the writing can be so much more. It’s a way to connect to readers through plot and character to really capture someone’s heart and imagination and transport them into the world of fiction. And that in and of itself can be grace, can’t it?

What do you think? What does Grace mean to you? When do you most feel Grace? Leave a comment and I will randomly select someone on October 31st 2009 to win a copy of my debut mystery, Bundle of Trouble: A Maternal Instincts Mystery.


11 comments:

rachael said...

I like the idea of Grace as Fullness.
annnnd... now I'm thinking about Thanksgiving.
:) Thanks for being here!

Diana Orgain said...

Rachael - I love that you are thinking about Thanksgiving! My house is all a whirl with Halloween now. But Thanksgiving is right around the corner!

Unknown said...

Diana--
Thanks for visiting the Pens!! :) BTW love the Maternal Instincts series title.

Lisa Dale said...

Grace for me is when deep understanding comes in moments of totally unexpected clarity.

The best example I can give is from my new book. (This is not a promo, just an expression of what I think grace is.) The hero doesn't realize how strong he can be and how brave he is deep down until the moment when he's flat on his back and just had the stuffing kicked out of him. Only then does he find the courage to pursue his goal (which, in this case, means risking it all for a more honest kind of love).

To me, that's grace. The knowledge of deeper truths that comes unbidden and unexpectedly. So important in life and fiction.

Diana - thanks for posting this via Twitter! Such a great topic!

Anonymous said...

I think of Grace similarly to fate like "it was meant to be this way"

Unknown said...

To me, Grace is serenity and wisdom.

Anonymous said...

For me, Grace is goodness and spirituality.

Helen K
hdkiker@comcast.net

Anonymous said...

I, too, immediately think of the Grace of God. It is easy to ignore grace and focus on everything that is wrong with the world. But, all I need to give myself a BIG reminder is a walk along the shore of Lake Superior on a beautiful fall day.

Julie Godfrey Miller
jagmiller5@yahoo.com

CA Verstraete said...

Fun book title. Sounds like one I'd like to try reading!
Chris V.
chrisATcverstraeteDOTcom

janimar said...

My aunt was called Grace and she died of breast cancer. She was a special woman. My brother than named my niece after her: Sarah Grace.
jhideyatgmaildotcom

Diana Orgain said...

Thank you to everyone who left me a comment - I had my 6-year-old pick a name from a hat and the winner is Chris V. Congratulations!

Happy Halloween to all!

Diana Orgain
www.dianaorgain.com