Into the Fire

My friends, including readers and authors, know I don't care for the genre of Women's Fiction. I'm not in any way implying that because I don't particularly like it, neither should you. That's not the point of my admission at all. 

I'm going to give a description of SOME women's fiction – definitely not all of it. But these are the reasons why I don't prefer reading most of it.

     Very often (from what I've read) women's fiction focuses on family drama in the forms of estrangement, sisters'/brothers' quarrels, husband/wife strains, parental failures, sibling rivalries, lots of overt or covert rebellions.

     Depressing trials with limited resolutions until possibly "the end".

     Characters (mostly female) I can barely tolerate if at all.

     Emotional drama – which tends to produce over-the-top unnecessary reactions to certain behaviors or circumstances or passive aggressive responses to those factors.

Now please take note that all of these reasons comprise real-life scenarios that in fact do take place inside and outside family dramas. Normal lives in certain situations can create these various family conflicts. So why wouldn't an author strive to write stories about them? They present important issues families might have to face and overcome. In other words the genre is worthwhile and has a particular audience which it serves well. 

Just for me, I prefer to read and write in other genres. That's all. 

Father, thank you for all the wonderful imaginations of authors. Your giftings are vast and far-reaching. May each author realize: Apart from you, we can do nothing. Thank you for it all. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

                                 Post Falls, Idaho

Father, the beauty is endless if we look, but nothing can compare to what you have in heaven without the stain of sin. Thank you, Jesus, for making the way for us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Back in the day, so fun. The Four Tops were great. 

Father, thank you for those times and memories. Always remembering, apart from you, we can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

She's a heroine like none other. We never learn a lot about her – just bits and pieces she cares to reveal over the course of these two novels with Ham giving us her first-person account of two singular missions after having left "the life" and relocated where she trusted no one could find her. But, somehow, "Mikey", a previous associate she's careful not to call a friend or even a colleague, finds her in the Mexican desert living in what can barely be called an abode. 

Doing an occasional MMA gig just when she wants to earn a little money, of course she's undefeated, Ham has no desire to reconnect to her previous life or anyone attached to it. This one time she comes home to Mikey sitting on her rickety front steps with a file she doesn't even want to see, insisting she's done. Until . . . 

So begins Ham's return to a life she never thought she'd ever have to do again, but somehow in the midst of the huge challenge, she realizes it's something she's been "born to do". You could call it setting things right, eliminating one more bad guy/gal, reducing the evil, or you could call it whatever you choose. What Ham does to accomplish her mission is to focus on the victim(s) in order to crush the perpetrator(s). That focus changes everything and makes what she does "acceptable", even necessary. The fact is she can be a stone-cold killer if she needs to be, to protect those who are incapable of protecting themselves from the darkness living inside certain people – sometimes even exposing layers of her personal darkness.  

Dustin Stevens introduces us to "Ham" and all that she is, amplifying it in the sequel Even showing how her "old" skills are slowly but surely returning. She's godless, using the familiar excuse of the horrors she's seen/done: how could there be a God, controlled, meticulous, intelligent, with a severely suppressed emotional makeup, a loner, and totally mission oriented. We listen to her describe her actions and planning, and after finishing the two novels, most of who she is remains a mystery.

Language/profanity present. And killing. And grammatical errors. Fascinating character and wicked antagonists. Approach with caution . . . 

Father, it always saddens me to read of characters who think you aren't real/don't exist/etc., just as it does to know real people who feel the same. My prayer is that all of us realize that apart from you, we can do nothing. Nothing. We're all desperate for you whether we know it or not. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

     At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Matthew 26:55-56 (NIV)

Five "fetishes" – or things I collect way too many/much of:

Sunglasses – I have more than I can wear and have even given some away. I love them!

Flashlights – I love small bright flashlights! Black and all colors. 

Guns – Yes, I love guns. (And, no, I don't have too many or even a bunch.)

Knives – I have never used a knife defensively, and I'm clumsy with them, but I have several that will fit in my purse if I so choose. 

Shoes/Boots – Believe me when I say I used to have way more than I do now, but there's no denying I love them. 

(I left out books on purpose because, you know, that's a given.) 

Father, thank you for them all. Thank you for the unique desires, pleasures. Apart from you, we can do nothing – not even enjoy the life you've given us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

                   F O R E W O R D 

So. Why a "Foreword"? For me, it was simple. At that time, traditionally published romantic Christian Fiction dared not take any liberties with sexual tension, attraction, or suggestion. As I continue to emphasize, there are no sexual graphics in my novels, but there are plenty of references to the previous items. The natural sexual attention to members of the opposite sex is not ignored or avoided. The world and its sexual lifestyles are portrayed in all of their misunderstandings of how the whole love thing was intended by the Creator and originator of love and lovemaking.

Also at that time, some Christian reviewers ranted about any sexual innuendoes in their "romantic" literature. Those outside of the Christian faith ranted about a novel being "too religious". Both groups assigned dismal or scathing 1 star reviews to the stories simply because the novels didn't adhere to their points of view. While this still occurs among some Christian readers, most readers who prefer secular novels have figured out how not to buy "religious" fiction.

In the end, it's just one word. My forewords usually identify a theme, expose the genre, and hopefully give warning to those who might not be "my" audience. And I will continue to provide them if I think they're necessary for a particular novel.

Father, thank you for all the words, the stories, the determination to finish them. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.   

The many faces of Washington state's majestic Snoqualmie Falls. 

Father, your beauty is everywhere. You left it here for us until the true beauty of heaven in eternity can be reached. Thank you, Jesus. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Remembering another great one of the day with Dick Clark and the Everly Brothers.

Thank you, Lord, for music. All these wonderful talents and gifts came from you, though not all of these artists recognize where they got them. May we always know the inspiration for anything of value that we do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Home Fire by Dustin Stevens is Book 5 (and possibly the final one) in the A Hawk Tate Novel series. 

Hawk has spent the last six years of his life mourning the gruesome loss of his wife and daughter along with the memory of the cruel and painful verbal assault by his sister-in-law, taking it all on as the truth. So when he receives an urgent call while guiding a miserable family through Yellowstone, the voice he hears on the other end of the phone leaves him near speechless.

Quickly realizing the situation must be dire for his sister-in-law to call him, he does his best to get to Tennessee ASAP. Not having time to properly register his gun(s) for the flight, he packs a quick bag, arranges a guide for the unhappy family while letting his assistant know he has to respond to this emergency.

When he arrives, the situation is in fact dire. Amber and Josh (his sister and brother-in-law) are staying with their son (Eric) in the hospital after he was shot while with his sister (Elyse) after attending a movie. Sixteen year old Elyse and their car are missing and the Lieutenant Detective on the case is anything but reassuring. 

Hawk has next to nothing to work with for clues, but he calls his friend and former associate (Pally) who is a wizard at getting information. What little he learns to begin with eventually expands, none of it looking good for his niece. 

Getting weaponry the hard way, at least Hawk is armed for what he must do. And it won't be pretty. Knowing how unprepared he is without anyone he knows in close proximity to be of assistance, he relies on the seemingly slow accumulation of information Pally is able to provide off the small prompts Hawk finds, the seconds counting down on the rescue of his niece. Having left Montana in a rush hoping to somehow be of help to the family he lost when his wife and daughter were murdered, he'll risk it all to get back his niece.  

Hawk's struggle isn't in what he does to those involved in the abduction of his niece, having learned multiple ways of extracting information, but rather how easily it is to resurrect what it takes to do them. He considers his actions irredeemable and is in no way proud of his conduct but wouldn't hesitate to repeat any of it if it meant keeping his niece or her family safe.

The one thing readers will have to set aside, and trust me it's not easy if you value "clean" manuscripts – "clean" in this case meaning free of errors – is the multiple typos and misused and/or misplaced words that read like the author's first draft. These are good stories for those of us who like the rough-n-tough reluctant protagonist who manages to pull off heroic deeds in magnificent fashion, a man of few words and innovative, creative moments with little to work with but his raw mental and physical strength, courage, and determination. The downside is repeated errors which should've been eliminated by good copy editing.

I really hope there are future Hawk Tate novels because he's a likable hero whose adventures provide good story material and a lot of action overtaking very bad men.

Some profanity.

Father, thank you for the storytellers. Thank you for giving talents and gifts to be embraced and enjoyed. May those who have them know from whom they are given. Please continue to provide stories for Dustin to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.