Into the Fire

Passionate thoughts about the world of writing and the Power of God

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Passionate: right or wrong. Writes love stories with a passion. Raw Romantic Redemptive

  • Back Cover Copy

     

    This is the place where I go to get information about the novel I’ve picked up. However, I don’t want to be told much and I rarely read beyond the second sentence. If ever an author is going to hook me, it’s here because I’m a patient reader once I open the cover, but if you destroy the story with TMI (too much information) on the back cover, I’m done. What’s the point of reading it if the whole story is told in a tiny synopsis on the back of the book?

     

    Point two on back cover copy: I detest a bunch of questions regarding the plot or conflict of the players. In fact, even one question annoys me. Just give me a hint of what the story’s about, and I’m good to go. Those probing questions elicit melodrama of the worst kind. I can almost hear the jarring music of the old black and white herky-jerky films accompanying the escalating questions. The idea of back cover copy—for me, anyway—is to set the stage for the story. The general idea without specifics unless necessary to define the major conflict or dilemma. Please, no questions.

     

    Maybe you’re a review reader or perhaps you expect the back cover copy to reveal a fair amount of information on the characters or storyline. If so, how much do you want to know about it? And do you read the first page? Or the first chapter? I rarely read any of the actual writing before buying the book. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve read any of the story before buying/reading it.

     

    So what do you expect from back cover copy?

     

     

    Father, help us to do our best. You’ve made us all so unique. Help us to treat each other well. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Covers

     

    It would seem from some of the responses to selecting a novel that covers play an important role in the process—a drawing and/or selling point. As I mentioned, they’re important to me.

     

    I’ve told you how impressed I was with the graphics design staff at WinePress Publishing. They ask for your input and then give you two designs of totally different concepts based on your expressed ideas. When I saw their two examples, I suggested just a few corrections to the design I selected. When they resubmitted it to me, it was just right. That’s great insight and understanding of what this author wanted.

     

    Yet we’ve been told that the royalty publishers won’t necessarily consult you on the cover to your book. I’d guess this varies from publisher to publisher. Seeing the results of some of the copycat, trendy covers of many of their books, perhaps they should consult the authors more.

     

    Keeping in mind that most of those who responded mentioned the covers, it would seem publishers would place a high priority on their designs.

     

    Do you recall a favorite cover or series of covers? Here are a few of mine:

     

    Comes A Horseman (Robert Liparulo)

     

    Dogwood (Chris Fabry)

     

    The Passion of Mary-Margaret (Lisa Samson)

     

    Immanuel’s Veins (Ted Dekker)

     

    Adam (Ted Dekker)

     

    Ghost Writer (Travis Thrasher)

     

    And I’m not ashamed to say I love the cover of The Famous One.

     

     

    God, thank you for the beauty you place in the hearts of your people and transmit it to their hands. All beauty comes from you, the source of every good and perfect gift. May we always honor you with what you give to us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Deciding what you read . . .

     

    If you make a decision to read a novel, I’m sure there’s a process you engage to pick out the book you choose. With some Christians this process depends on the genre. For others it begins with whether or not the story is considered to be Christian fiction. What is the starting point for your novel selections?

     

    I’ve told you before there are a few authors I’ll read whatever they write. Not many but some. Beyond that, genre, cover, how the back cover copy is written, and the author contribute to my decisions. It takes a rare appeal for me to venture back into the general market. Simply being well-written doesn’t get it for me.  

     

    How do you select a novel to read?

     

     

    Lord, I’m desperate for you . . . still. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

  • What it is . . .

     

    Regardless of your personal definition for Christian Fiction, it is what it is. And running side by side with those definitions are the preferences and expectations for that fiction.

     

    Back in May of this year, I attended the Northwest Christian Writers Renewal. A good conference, it’s local, and it’s inexpensive for me since it’s close. When I attend, I make a point of speaking with as many hopeful writers as possible. My first question to them after initial greetings is, “What do you write?” The huge majority answered, “Fantasy.” Christians attending a writers’ conference answered “Fantasy”. Yet we’ve been told that CBA readers don’t read fantasy/sci-fi/speculative fiction. We know it’s not a true statement.

     

    Jeff Gerke explained that the Christian publishing industry is doing just fine catering to its target audience of middle-aged to older females who enjoy bonnet books and prairie/historical romances. Being convinced of the lurking audience of all ages and gender for speculative fiction, he created Marcher Lord Press to accommodate those readers. He’s giving himself five years to be profitable, and so far he’s doing alright.

     

    Anyway, here’s my question to you—should you decide to answer:

     

    What do you think “Christian Fiction” should mean? Let’s not go to the place where there should be no such thing because there is. So, ideally, what should that mean?

     

     

    Lord, I’m privileged to write fiction that talks about you. I want you to be prominent in my stories. Help me to do it well. To be real. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Sunday’s Offerings

     

    With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;

     in the great throng I will praise him.

    For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,

     to save his life from those who condemn him.

     

    Psalm 109: 30-31 (NIV)

  • How many books?

     

    I love Christmas. Giving is my gig. Buying presents is incredibly fun for me. This year I’m giving several books for gifts. How ‘bout you?

     

    Five novels, two non-fiction.

     

    If you know people who enjoy reading, a book is a wonderful gift. If you know what they like to read, it makes shopping for them a breeze.

     

    Any books on your list to give or to receive?

     

     

    Lord, we give because you give. Let us give with the right motives and with joy to those who need more than we do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Mispeled! Misused!

     

    Frequently misspelled words. Sorry but they bug me!

     

    Definitely: often spelled definately

     

    Independent: often spelled independant

     

    And these annoying occurrences:

     

    There: a location for their: belonging to them; or vice versa

     

    It’s meaning it is for its meaning belonging to it; or vice versa

     

    You’re: a contraction for you are used as your meaning belonging to you

     

    These are common and too frequent mistakes.

     

    I’m sure you must have more.

     

    Feel free to vent.

     

     

    Lord, we are not fault free. Help us to the best we can be in this flesh. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Clean, Refined, Tough, Street . . .

     

    The breakdown of different types of writing came out in these four categories—at least in my mind—with plenty of sub-divisions. My explanations for these basic types are as follows:

     

    Clean: This word implies “moral, chaste”. Throw that out of your thoughts. By “clean” in writing terms, I mean without any superfluity; rather benign, professional, straightforward, obedient to most rules. Grammatically correct for the most part. Like Irene Hannon, Eva Marie Everson.

     

    Refined:  Refined tends toward the literary with vivid and picturesque methodology using imaginative metaphors and similes. In my mind refined writing usually adheres to the rules but takes more liberties than the clean writers, veering off to give a slightly deeper coverage of scene, mood, or event. Think Tom Morrisey, Chris Fabry, maybe Lisa Samson.

     

    Tough: Tough writing gets down and dirty, so to speak, without presenting offensive language or graphic sexual pictures. Violence can be stark and depicted accurately. When I think of this kind of writing, I would suggest James Scott Bell’s Try Dying, Try Darkness, and Try Fear. Also J. Mark Bertrand’s Back on Murder. Or Brandilyn Collins’ staccato-style suspense novels. Tough writing can vary in style but generally sticks to the murder-based suspense/mystery/thriller types of stories because it’s kind of difficult to write a “tough” romance, don’t you think? Tough writing can incorporate both clean and refined styles but usually creates its own variations of rule-breaking.

     

    Street: When I compare my writing to the clean or refined group, I always seem to refer to myself as “the street-writer”. Yet I write love stories. Here’s the thing with my version of “street-writer”: it’s reality based. Whether contemporary or historical or even speculative, the language, attitude, emotionalism of the day appears in true form. Whether inferred in order to avoid ugly specifics of language or graphic portrayals of sexual encounters, the definite implication of whatever occurs is there. Plain. Real. Just enough graphics to give a true picture. Street writing doesn’t eliminate the refined aspects of writing other than generally speaking, it breaks a lot of rules.

     

    Lord, you’ve given us any talents we have. Please help us to write for your glory and to reach those you’ve placed in our spheres of influence. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Authors . . .

     

    A few Christian authors you should read in no particular order:

     

    Frank Peretti

    Robert Liparulo

    Tosca Lee

    Francine Rivers

    Lisa Samson

    Stephen James

    Sibella Giorello

    J. Mark Bertrand

    Chris Fabry

    Charles Martin

    Brandilyn Collins

    Susan Meissner

    Mike Dellosso

    Travis Thrasher

    Gina Holmes

    Randy Singer

    Tom Morrisey

    Tim Downs

    Mary E. DeMuth

    Athol Dickson

    Don Brown

     

    You might not like all of their novels (of those who've written several), but these are a handful of superb authors.

    In the future I hope to see the published novels from the following people:

     

    Mark Harbeson

    Dayle Arceneaux

    Tim George

    Kristen Torres-Toro

    Brenda Anderson

    Normandie Ward Fischer

    Jessica Thomas

    Josh Olds

    Kirk Kraft

    Brayden Hirsch

    Robbi Burns

    Brenda (Sorry I don't know your last name, other Brenda.)

    Melissa Marsh

    Sally Bradley

     

     

    And of course I hope you will read me. 🙂

     

    Father, let our hearts be focused on your will, merging ours with yours. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • What do you expect?

     

    I write Christian fiction. I call it that because it’s redemptive. The redemption comes through Jesus Christ. Within the stories there are all kinds of characters, some saved, some lost, some who will find the Lord, others who will not. Because of this, I call it Christian fiction. Now your definition might differ substantially from mine, and that’s okay with me.

     

    The question is if I say I write Christian fiction, it brings up all kinds of expectations from readers and writers. As I’ve read more and more novels produced in the CBA market, it’s apparent the definition has been stretched to include novels which might mention God but not Jesus, might imply a prayer here and there, or mention church or someone who attends church, but these stories do not feature Christianity in any real capacity in the protagonist’s life. Other stories slide a Christian into the story via a peripheral character who either has no real influence on the protagonist or occupies a meaningful place in the story.

     

    The title of “Christian Fiction” irritates some writers because they assume the name boxes in, typecasts, or misdirects the readers of such stories, resenting the classification and implied limitations associated with being included in this category.

     

    Some others cringe at the term “Christian Fiction” because for them it means the books will show sloppy or poorly written stories. However, this is usually commentary from the self-confessed readers of a few Christian novels. There are a lot of excellent novelists writing Christian fiction today if you know who to pursue.

     

    So, when you hear the label, what do you expect?

     

    Lord, whatever we write, help our work to be meaningful as you intend. Let us always consider we’re doing this gig for you—pleasing you is the ultimate goal. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.