Into the Fire

First of all, I need to give a few explanations. My second novel The Famous One is totally unlike my first novel Hope Of Glory. However, they both contain a healthy dose of romance. Romance is what I do, er, write. Another “however”, romance is not limited to that between man and woman. If you look beneath the surface of the story, you can see the real romance of the Holy Spirit “wooing” certain characters to Jesus. Sometimes that comes through the love for another human being, sometimes through the emptiness of mere human love.

Secondly, I do write character-driven fiction. I am a student of people. Motivations. Habits. Desires. Psyches. Because of this approach, those who primarily prefer action/plot-driven stories are not my target audience. That is one reason why it is so astounding that an author who writes breakneck pacing action thrillers liked The Famous One enough to endorse it.

I’m also surprised at some of the “macho” men who have loved The Famous One. My husband who definitely does not read romance novels was totally absorbed in this book. A few other men have read it and raved about the story. It’s always interesting to learn who ends up loving a book . . .

Thirdly, the focus or theme of my writing is to contrast the worldview of relationship, romance, and sex to God’s view of them. In order to do that effectively, characters must demonstrate that worldview and lifestyle. That can offend some of the gentler readers.

Fourth, the “average” person leads a somewhat uneventful life with several wonderful exceptions. By saying uneventful, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a fervor or excitement included within it. It simply means that most of us don’t get more than our 15 minutes of fame, aren’t CIA covert operatives, don’t win a record number of gold medals, etcetera. If we serve God, we have the potential for thrilling opportunities in life no matter what we do. So in many of my novels there are some ordinary people with interesting but not particularly jaw-dropping lives.

The first novel Hope Of Glory is a day by day account of one race meet at a middle echelon Thoroughbred racetrack, making it a huge tome of 744 pages (including a Glossary of Terms) with a tight template told in third person POV. The Famous One chronicles the life of an individual and begins with an omniscient POV which tapers off as the protagonist grows up. Omniscient POV is more “tell” than “show” and keeps the reader at an observational level of reading. Admittedly, it isn’t common these days to use it so a lot of younger readers aren’t as familiar with it as first person POVs or close third person POVs. And, since omniscient POV tends to move a reader more slowly into a story, some readers get impatient with the “wait” wanting to zoom into the here and now. Plus, this second novel is written almost like a fictional biography, detailing the life of the protagonist which also goes against the grain of “show, don’t tell”.

The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth novels are written in third person POV which most readers accept as “normal”. The seventh novel is written in primarily first person POV but includes a bit of second and third person POVs. My current novel is told in third person POV with a few first person flashbacks.

I sent copies of The Famous One to a few people who were not in my target audience for reasons described above and in a previous post just to get their reaction to the story itself, not to “critique” my writing style (also mentioned in a previous post). One of my good friends, Mark Harbeson, whose work you’ve read here in guest posts and in a “Saturday Sample” excerpt of his first WIP Samaritan, is a classic example of those lovers of action/plot driven novels and films who graciously agreed to read The Famous One. I did warn him there wasn’t even so much as a fender bender in the story, but he decided to forge ahead anyway. Here is Mark’s response to reading The Famous One:

A review of The Famous One (not a critique)‏

The deck was stacked against this book from the beginning. As a reader, I like my fiction fast-paced. I love suspense, thrills, lots of action, an emphasis on plot and story, snappy dialogue, lovable characters and didn’t-see-that-one-coming plot twists. The Famous One is slow-paced, character-oriented and spends a leisurely 361 pages tracing the life of its hero, actor Joey Parr, in detail. Sad to say, there are no exploding helicopters, car chases, or extended martial-arts battles. Not even a snowball fight, for crying out loud. And even though the main character shares a surname (Parr) with the hero family from the movie “The Incredibles”, Joey disappoints this reader by not exhibiting a single superpower. Clearly, my hopes for a testosterone-laced adventure were misplaced, and this book is not a match for my tastes.

And yet . . .

Author Nicole Petrino-Salter clearly loves her characters. The book was written with a heart for the lost, and there’s something genuine about the way she shows Joey’s descent into the various addictions (drugs, smoking, booze, sex) the world offers. The reader feels the emptiness that is Joey’s life. But Nicole does a strange thing: she never judges him. She simply observes, taking the good with the bad, and letting the reader experience the frustration of pulling for Joey to do the right thing as he continually makes a mess of his life. Gradually, we realize that in spite of the failings, addictions, and wrong-headed choices, we like Joey. We want him to succeed.

Nicole may break all the “rules” of writing (“Show, don’t tell” gets trampled on quite a bit), but she knows life. She knows how low people can sink, and how much higher the Lord can lift them up. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether an action guy like me is her target audience. Beyond our doors lies a world that is lost and needs a Savior. And because Nicole knows that truth, The Famous One has a place in that world.

. . .

So, thank you, my friend. I appreciate your candor and thoughtfulness.

Father, thank you for this story, the burdens in prayer, the amazing things you do in us and hopefully through us as we submit and yield our lives to you and your plans for us. I love you, Lord. Help me to always please you first. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.