Into the Fire

This week the CFBA Tour features Chris Coppernoll’s second novel, A Beautiful Fall. Some of you might know Chris as the founder and host of the internationally syndicated radio program Soul2Soul Ministries where he interviews Christian celebrities. He has written six books including his debut novel Providence. A Beautiful Fall’s brief history is recorded in the “after words” section at the end of the book, including Chris’s confession that he’d “never set out to become a novelist” when he was approached by the publisher of his first novel (David C. Cook) to do a second one. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree at Rockbridge Seminary.

Receiving the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of A Beautiful Fall in soft cover book form, I have no knowledge if this is in fact its final form. I hope not because there were several errors in the book, and while the cover is attractive enough, it doesn’t exactly fit the story.

Okay, I’m just going to do this as gently as I can. This novel read like a first draft, a story by someone who “never set out to become a novelist”. I’ve said many times that the real value in understanding the rules of writing comes in your ability to successfully break them without causing noticeable harm. In this novel there are numerous unnecessary words which read like so much filler, play-by-play details which are inconsequential to any aspect of the scene or story, metaphors which confuse, stymie, or simply do not work, and names used repetitively when he or she would suffice. I honestly wondered if anyone had edited this novel before assembling it in book form. While Chris is clearly a romantic at heart and seems to lean toward a love for literary writing, at this point in his fiction writing career, I doubt he’s had much time to read many novels because his writing needs a lot of work.

Pet peeves: “misty dark fog”—fog isn’t dark; fuzzy and unclear—um, one or the other will do; freshly repainted lines on the road and in the church parking lot—???; hay rides usually use straw instead of hay so don’t call it straw, then call it hay: they’re not the same thing; and many more . . .

We meet Emma Madison after a prestigious victory in the courtroom which boosts her status as a partner in a Boston law firm into the stratosphere. Simultaneously she is called back to her South Carolina small town where her Dad has just suffered a heart attack. She’s been away for 12 years, abandoning her history and past for the high-powered, rising-star attorney status she’s achieved. Returning home she ponders her secret reason for leaving and then staying away and frets over who will ask her to explain. Instead, what she finds are those friends and family she still holds dear and begins to discover real value in the people and town she left behind.

This is a typical small town girl makes it big, has secrets, falls back in love with faithful old flame story. The problem is not with the typical storyline. The problem is “the secret” which kept her away is flimsy and doesn’t deliver any real punch just as we suspect it won’t. The problem is we have an intelligent woman who can’t understand herself and seems to be stuck in a high school frame of mind as far as her emotional makeup goes. The problem is how she discovers what she really wants and the scene which accompanies that discovery—straight out of a grade C chick flick. The problem is with dialogue that often sounds stiff and could use some more contractions and reality checks.

After several rave reviews, I’m forced to alert readers to those novels that I can’t really recommend. Perhaps this novel would work for high school girls or young 20-somethings, but I’m not even sure of that.

Chris Coppernoll did all the right things in the process of writing this book: he diligently prayed and asked God to help him write the story. Therefore, regardless of whether or not I can defend his style or writing choices, there is a purpose for his work, and the Lord has it all lined out. Again, I mean no harm.

Father, I pray that you would continue to use Chris in the ministries you have given him. Keep him strong in you and in your mighty power. Help him with his studies, Lord, and lead him in your ways everlasting. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.