Into the Fire

                                         Beautiful autumn. 

Opening lines I've wanted to write for a future novel: 

     I was born on the first day of fall.

     In retrospect I suppose it predisposed me to moments of melancholy. 

Father, thank you for it all. Only you can take a life and make it worthwhile. Only you. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

A fabulous band with severe dysfunction that still managed to put out hit after hit. This is just one of them. 

Father, only you know hearts. Only you save. We're all desperate for you – whether we know it or not. Thank you, Jesus, for rescuing me. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Authors take the time – if they have it – to ponder their careers. Are they satisfied with their books? Have they done everything they can think of to do to engineer success? Have they paid others to do what they cannot, i.e. promote, sell, market? Do they continue in their current vein of writing, production, general conduct? 

My answers would be in order: Yes. No. Some. Who knows? 

Creating novels is not a hobby for me, but yet the way I've approached it is clearly unprofessional. 

I tried hard at first to be traditionally published. I came close once. 

The trouble is I'm a lousy marketer in spite of believing in the stories I've written. Many an author has said, "All I want to do is write – the rest I'm not good at and don't want to do it." 

I love the story I'm working on now – but I've loved most of those I've written. 

So much for Monday's musings . . .  

Father, I can't write word one without you. Apart from you, there is no inspiration, nothing. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

     Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)

Let's do some characters and authors:

Do you know who these thriller characters are: Mitch Rapp, Scot Harvath, John Milton, Jon Reznick, Cole "Toxic" Russell? 

Do you know who these tough ladies are: Raleigh Harmon, Rachel Hatch, "Ham", Bree Taggert, Adele Sharp? 

What are your favorite genres?

Do you prefer full-length novels, sagas, novellas, short stories, or non-fiction?

Do you prefer stand-alone novels or series fiction? 

Father, thank you for your writers/authors. Thank you for stories and characters. Please help me to be the one you designed me to be. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

So many novels from the Christian Fiction romance genre don't often approach the story from a man's point of view (POV). The stories do give the hero a voice, his thoughts or reflections – especially about the heroine – but to actually approach the story from within the man himself throughout the tale is a rarity. I don't know if this was a conscious inspiration for Breath of Life, but somehow I came to write Michael Jamison in first person – my only first person POV effort so far. I got some positive responses from men who were slightly reluctant to read a "romance" after all but did me the favor of responding with favorable assessments, and those opinions remain important to me to this day. 

So if you're a guy, maybe you could sneak a copy to read and see if I caught the man's POV to your liking. Or not. :) 

Father, I'll say it again and again: apart from you, I can do nothing, and thank you is never enough. Always desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

If you've followed my posts on the Vince Flynn series, you know I've read and reviewed all of his novels and all of Kyle Mills' continuance of the Mitch Rapp saga. 

You know I think Mitch Rapp is the greatest creation of an operative I've ever read for multiple reasons, not the least of which is his moral interpretation of good and evil. Rapp has done many ugly things in his lifetime, killed a lot of people, but with him it's always been motivated by the standard he's set regarding good and evil. One of the many things that has differentiated him from being defined as a pure assassin, heartless in his actions, is his ability to show mercy and occasionally respect for his opponents in the field – whether they're officially representing another government or merely in it for themselves. For me, these character traits are what has separated him from many other novel "types". 

Another trait which has served him well from the very beginning as a young man learning the craft is his ability to adapt on the fly. He has the intelligence to modify and calculate what he must do to either get away or change his course to complete the mission. His physical attributes, skills, and his gut-level determination to complete the assignment have resulted in him gaining a reputation that strikes both fear and admiration in those he pursues. Politicians fear him for a number of reasons, the primary one being his innate recognition of their deceptions and lies as well as their knowing if he's turned loose on one of them, they're dead meat. 

It's impossible for me to imagine any reader of thrillers not putting Mitch Rapp at the top of their favorite operators. He literally has it all. And while he hasn't exactly been blessed with a lasting relationship due to tragedy or timing, as he's growing older and well aware of the damage to his body from the hard rigors of his career, will the one he's with now prove to be the one that lasts?

As I close out my ambassadorship for the Mitch Rapp Series and specific promotion of Book 20 Enemy at the Gates, I'm profoundly grateful for the opportunity to celebrate Vince Flynn's and Kyle Mills' tales of the adventures of this amazing hero. Few authors create such a well-loved character where almost everyone who reads novels recognizes the name of Mitch Rapp. Thank you to all who selected me to join the list of ambassadors. It was an honor and a privilege. Thank you.  

Father, please bless all of those involved with this saga, who, over the years, have worked so hard to accommodate the talent of Vince Flynn and his wonderful creation of the indomitable Mitch Rapp, and who were able to seek out Kyle Mills to maintain the series and capture the essence of Vince's character to keep the stories continuing. May you encourage each one involved as only you can do and may they be eternally grateful to you for the special opportunity. Apart from you, we can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

The song that inspired this novel is by the Marshall Tucker Band on the album pictured above the cover to my novel. A great song. 

Father, you've given me amazing sources for inspiration. I can never thank you enough for the grace and mercy you've shown me and the novels you've allowed me to write. Your benevolence to me is astounding, and thank you will never be enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Bree Taggert is back in Right Behind Her by Melinda Leigh, Book 4 in the Bree Taggert Series.

Even though the terrifying tragedy of Sheriff Bree Taggert's family happened 27 years ago, the history is always right behind her. Her younger brother Adam, a successful artist, wants Bree to return with him to see the family homestead, just the two of them. He was only a toddler when their dad killed their mother and then himself as Bree, their sister (now deceased), and Adam hid under the porch shielded by their big sister Bree.

It took all the courage she could muster to accompany Adam to the old farm where her hateful father had conducted his shady businesses and blamed Bree's mother when he beat her. She managed to walk into the house, but clearly she suffered the traumatic stresses of remembrance. When she and Adam went out to the barn, there was a visitor who'd camped out up in the loft. Bree took chase when she realized he'd just run out of the barn. Finally capturing him, backup came and took him to the station. But what Bree and Adam discovered out back and in the stranger's bed gave Bree's visit a whole new set of fears. 

The political entanglement of the stranger presents a problem in the investigation of the bones they found which happened to belong to a 30 year-old cold case. Bree and her special investigator Matt, who is also her love interest, plus her detectives must ferret out the possible suspects, not the least of which is Bree's father. 

When the investigation threatens Bree's family, it gets personal. 

Melinda Leigh writes well and always gives the reader a good mystery with plenty of probables that don't make the investigation easy. Always entertaining, Bree Taggert is a strong and interesting character who tries to compartmentalize her emotions in order to remain in control. Her past has dominated her present, but towards the end of Right Behind Her she finally wants to set herself free from the trauma that has partially kept her bound. This is a good series, and I recommend it for mystery lovers who enjoy strong characters with touches of vulnerability and plenty of stone-cold villains in the mix.   

Father, only you give good and perfect gifts, the source of inspiration. Thank you for them all and please continue to bless the life and career of Melinda Leigh. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

     made by the hands of men.

They have mouths, but cannot speak,

     eyes but they cannot see;

they have ears, but cannot hear,

     nor is there breath in their mouths.

Those who make them will be like them,

     and so will all who trust in them.

Psalm 135:15-18 (NIV)