Into the Fire

Many of you who visit here have few regrets. Some of you have had the pleasure and privilege of growing up with Jesus and have preserved and grown in your faith. You're to be commended for that. Not insulted or mocked or snickered at. Commended.

I spent 30 of my years in the world. I believed in God and prayer but didn't know Jesus personally. I briefly investigated Judaism, got into astrology for a season, acted badly for a while when I decided being "good" wasn't making me happy so perhaps being bad would. Honestly, it wasn't easy for me. I had to force myself to do things I knew were wrong, but without a Savior my moral meter was skewed.

Regrets accompany that attitude and many of the resulting actions. Lots of them. Once you surrender your life to Jesus, experience forgiveness for all that wasted time on activities that did nothing to build character and everything to cause pain to others and yourself, it's no easy task to get to the place where you can forgive yourself.

And although I regret my antics and behavior during a portion of my life, I am thankful that God has used those experiences in His perfect ways to minister to others who, upon learning of my Christianity, assume I have no idea of their struggles. The Lord has also allowed me to use my ungodly conduct as fodder for characters in my novels. Fiction done well takes a stark look at real life and leaves an impression. Whether or not I've accomplished that ideal in my novels is up to the individual reader's discretion.

Regret is humanity lived out. We begin in sin. We can choose redemption. We can be free of the condemnation of our sinful nature if we choose Jesus. For that choice, there is no regret.    

Thank you, Lord. It's never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.

Galatians 5:7-8 (NIV)

              Pre-order available now.

      
New covers for all of Vince's previous novels except for The Last Man will be available in paperback beginning in April, 2015.

Lord, please give Vince a hug from us who loved him and miss him. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Taking the short trip over to Novel Rocket today. Have you ever felt like you did everything right only to have it turn out "wrong"? See you over there.

Father, grateful for it all. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

One of many great clips from the classic American Graffiti. There were a lot of soon-to-be-stars in this film. This is one old movie I can watch again. The first time I saw it I went alone to a matinee. It's weird to laugh by yourself in a theater. This was a very well done coming of age, capturing the culture film. Recognize a young Harrison Ford?

Father, if only those who are talented would recognize and acknowledge where that talent comes from . . . Thank you, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

I touched on the "bad" boy and the "bad" girl characters last week indicating that sometimes the terms are applied to an image and general lifestyle rather than to an evil persona. Oftentimes the romance when these types of characters are used turns out to be "forbidden" or difficult or the kind of stuff where "wrong side of the tracks" meets good girl/boy and love happens but not without real challenges.

Making romance real in fiction depends on the author's take on the genre and the life experiences of said author. What you or I might think is truly romantic, another author or reader will disagree. Like so many things in the arts, regardless of craftsmanship, the end result remains subjective.

I'm not a girly girl even though I won't leave home without makeup and perfume. Those are the most feminine things about me, and they don't change. So what do I think is romantic? Words. What is said to me and how it's said carry so much weight in determining how I react. When my husband "proposed" to me, I finally gave in. We didn't know Jesus at the time, and I had a failed marriage under my belt. Not wanting to fail a second time, I didn't want to try it again since we already had baggage together. No question I loved him. The words, what he said, got me.

Different things, actions, spoken words, looks, walks, touches – all part of romance. One thing will send a person over the edge and something else will move another. Writing those unique characteristics into the fictional person must come from inside the writer. Creating visceral reactions is essential to writing romance, touching the senses.

For those who don't prefer romance, there is nothing a writer can do to change that preference, but I'm willing to bet if those readers have to trudge through some of it in a non-romance novel, they have a certain opinion or limit as to what is tolerable.

General market writers tend to think raw or explicit sex scenes are romantic when really they're just a written version of pornography designed to rile up the lustful desires in readers. They have little to do with real romance.

On the other end of the spectrum, some CBA readers tend to think anything sensually written is over the top, sinful, and definitely should be outlawed in Christian fiction.

There's no question that romance novels are prolific and the bestselling of all genres. Somewhere in the middle of each extreme there are multiple types of romance novels to read. Whether or not they feature bad boys and/or bad girls or good boys and/or good girls, the fine drawings of meaningful characters and their encounters with each other will matter over all else in their stories.

Father, we matter to you. You gave us romance, the author of love and desire. Nothing is perfect in this world, but you first created it perfectly. The only way we can even experience a hint of its beauty is to go through you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.   

Blood Evidence is the second book in a three book series by Mel Odom. I haven't had the pleasure of reading the first in the series (Paid in Blood).

Commander Will Coburn of NCIS and his team discover two bodies long-deceased on the property of an ex-con after raiding his farmhouse to rescue the daughter of Marine Captain Whitcomb. Coburn's team secures the girl after significant gunfire, an injury to one of his team, several prisoners captured, and a few escapees.

The two bodies belong to a missing Marine and the missing daughter, Chloe Ivers, of a Navy officer and her ex-husband Congressman Ben Swanson, Chloe's step-father. As Coburn, his team, and the Medical Examiner, Dr. Nita Tomlinson, attempt to determine the hows and whys of their deaths and what their connection could be, the intrigue and power plays begin.

Everyone loves to suspect the slimy politician will meet his match, and Ben Swanson is the consummate politician who will blame everyone else for personal woes, mislead, lie, and pontificate with poise to throw blame and suspicions elsewhere. Seemingly capable of anything to maintain his power, it's Coburn's and his team's job to hunt and search for the ties between the deaths and Swanson.

It's a good story with plenty of conflict, frustrations, emotional issues and upheavals, and filled with interesting characters. The thing I really liked about this story was its "structure". All suspense and thriller novels take the reader to the edge of excitement and then reroute them to another incident or character situation leaving the reader on the brink of chaos. Mel Odom does it extremely well, highlighting different characters, good and bad, in the midst of their struggles or schemes.

Ultimately Odom uses one of the least likable but impeccably skilled characters to find the keys to the case. There is one scene near the end of the story involving this character which didn't quite feel plausible based on her established personality but presented a welcome change in behavior.

Understated but definitely present, Christian faith is organically expressed and evident in the lives of certain characters.

Blood Evidence by Mel Odom (Tyndale Fiction, published 2007) is well worth the read for those who love military, procedural, suspense, and well-characterized novels. Probably should start from the beginning with Paid in Blood, but you won't feel "behind" if you read Blood Evidence.  

Father, please continue to bless the writing and teaching efforts of Mel Odom. May he do as you ask of him and enjoy every minute of it. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

". . . These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

        'In the last days, God says,

        I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

        Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

            your young men will see visions,

            your old men will dream dreams.

        Even on my servants, both men and women,

            I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

            and they will prophesy.

. . . "

Acts 2:15-18 (NIV)

We're talking fiction here. Have you written a bad boy and made him your protagonist? What about a bad girl as your heroine? And are we really talking "bad"? Or are we talking rough around the edges with a good heart?

Characteristics of the bad boy can be all kinds of "bad". Same with a female. There's the connotation factor which plays into the bad boy image. And that image doesn't go with a truly evil character. The predominant "bad boy" usually plays tough but is tender on the inside, often only visible to his love interest who isn't the "bad girl" type. The "bad girl" is generally tough too because she's been through hard things and remains a survivor. The heroic "good guy" breaks through her walls and exposes the softness she's had to suppress just to make it in this world. Sound familiar?

So. Have you written either type of character I've described? Or do you recall either type from your reading of novels? I can think of a few I've read . . .

Father, we often lose our reality in forged images of ourselves. Help us to be real, to be who you created us to be, and to write real too. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Yes. Love it or leave it. This nation was prayerfully built on God's principles because they work and allow people to be free within the confines of love of country and its decent order.

We have failed as countrymen many times because of our abandonment of those principles and our indulgence in and glorification of sinful conduct. We have divided peoples when in truth we are equals. We have ignored laws and invented ungodly laws to replace them. We have followed the fleshly desires of corrupted policies by corrupted men and women. We need God back in our lives and in our nation. He is the only way to survive, to thrive, to insert meaning into wasted lives, and to rescue those who are lost and desire to find their way.

God, we're desperate for you. In the Name, Authority, and Blood of Jesus, Amen.