Into the Fire

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

recent posts

about

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

  • Stories . . .

    Some stories demand to be told. They march right up to the page and lay themselves down daring you not to notice them. Some stories whisper just around the corner like the Spirit blowing a soft wind of words in your direction. Other stories tiptoe into your room but taunt you with a juicy scene you can’t resist, prying you away from what you’re doing and forcing you to find a pen or engage that keyboard. Other stories stream into your mind like a winding brook, one you follow a long ways just to see how far it goes.

     

    A story takes hold of your heart and pumps life into the characters. You feel it like it’s happening. In real time. And you write it. Until you stop. And you wait. Or maybe you don’t. So many methods, so many odd kinds of inspirations.

     

    Words of songs, dreams, a conversation spoken or overheard . . . all it takes sometimes for a story to form.

     

    The voices echoing in your subconscious, the timbre, the volume, the inflections. The actions performed in carrying out the plot. The focus or lack thereof from a protagonist willing or unwilling to carry the load of the story.

     

    Where do these stories come from for you? Can you be inspired by a friend’s idea, a brainstorming session with like-minded people? Can you glimpse an incident, an interaction between strangers and catch a plot line? Can you sustain an idea and make it into a full length novel? Is it worthy of one? How do you know?

     

    Stories . . . amazing stories.

     

    Father, you give us Truth. We need it desperately. The element of Truth makes a story come alive. Thank you for the stories you’ve given me. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • The deadly . . . Nightshade

    Nightshade is Ronie Kendig’s second novel, this one published by Barbour Publishing and featured this week on the CFBA Tour. It’s the first in a series labeled Discarded Heroes.

     

    Former SEAL Max Jacobs sports a volcanic temper which not only stems from the atrocities witnessed while serving his country but originates from the pain he suffered early in his dysfunctional family that has yet to leave him. When his wife’s coworker seems to be showing a little too much familiarity with her, Max levels him but in the process his wife Sydney gets in the way and receives a punch too. Sydney gets a separation and restraining order against Max and files for divorce under the encouragement of her over-protective brother. Max is devastated by both connecting his fist to Sydney’s face and the possibility that the one person he loves in this world might never be in his life again.

     

    As a result, Max lives in a grungy apartment with the bare necessities and rides his crazy-fast bike to deathly speeds. After crashing it and landing in a ditch, battered, bruised, and scraped, a man in a Stetson picks him up and takes him to a meeting where other former Special Ops guys are asked to join a well-funded secret group to obliterate nasty situations involving evil men across the world. It’s Black Ops at its brightest and best, unknown and unrecognized by anyone in government or otherwise. The team called Nightshade rescues all kinds of victims without recognition until an African woman transported to the USA wants to tell her story in order to thank the men who saved her.

     

    Sydney loves Max but has zero understanding of his PTSD symptoms and because of seeing his rage, she has become afraid of the man she loves. While pursuing a story for the newspaper where she holds a job, she interviews the African woman and learns the men who came in the shade of night to deliver her from certain death were Americans. Pursuing this story causes a terrible tragedy and takes Sydney places she never thought she’d go.

     

    Nightshade fits comfortably into commercial Christian fiction with plenty of action and some romance. Here’s the problem for me—and let me emphasize this is for me: Sydney’s naïveté in this day and age, especially for a reporter at any level, seems absurd. What do normal people think SEALs do? And to marry one? I know Ronie’s inspiration to write this novel came from a real person experiencing difficulty in her marriage to a SEAL (http://www.relzreviewz.blogspot.com/), and I have no doubt how extremely challenging it would be for these kind of men to ignore their experiences and participate in a “normal” marriage, but I hope the ladies considering marriage to men of this caliber would be more informed and less wrapped up in their own desires and attractions to these men of passion and dedication. They and others who work covertly bear deep scars that don’t just fade into the sunset after the romance of the courtship and/or honeymoon. Why is it supposed reporters such as Anna in the Vince Flynn novels and Sydney in this novel don’t get what is required of these men? From the secrecy of missions to the torment of those same missions—sorry, I just can’t conjure up any sympathy for women who don’t take reality into account before marrying men like these and then expecting them to conform to the sometime silliness of everyday life and cope with “normalcy”. And not sharing the most important part of their lives together in spite of their separation? Nope, can’t handle it. And going from one extreme of hatred to another of unsurpassed love? Hormones can only twist a stable mind so far. And being unaware of her coworker’s fawning attraction to her? Geez, lady, get real. And using God more as a convenience than a real source for her direction? I have a hard enough time with these kinds of namby-pamby Christians in real life, so it’s doubly difficult in stories. So there you have my multiple problems with Sydney.

     

    Max is a conundrum and takes everything to an extreme including his mad-on with God. While continually calling himself a failure, he refuses to take responsibility for his actions insisting this is who he is. But his pain is palpable. And even though he doesn’t “do” emotion, he’s strangled with all kinds of them. All unresolved except his love for Sydney—the one absolute unwavering emotion in his life. His stubbornness and resistance to the real friendship offered him makes Max just short of a truly lovable character.

     

    The dialogue between the members of Nightshade is good and realistic.

     

    Ronie’s pet word in this novel seemed to be “knuckles”. We writers all have them, but when they’re obvious words, they stand out. Strange occurrence:

     

    Chapter 2

     

    Sydney Jacobs traced the knot patterns in the oak tabletop . . . Vanilla-scented steam spiraled up from the mug of hot tea cradled in her hand.

    . . .

    With a shuddering sigh, she lifted her tea and took another sip. . . . Sydney rose and headed to the sink with her mug. . . . She dumped her coffee.

     

    (I read this over three or four times to see if I’d made a mistake in thinking she was drinking tea instead of coffee. Nope. It won’t matter to most, but it stopped my reading and made me retrace my steps. Okay, so I’m obsessive.)

     

    Nightshade captures the devotion of Special Ops guys, the pain of having seen the true depravity of humanity, and the challenges all of life brings to these very honorable individuals.

     

    607774 

     

     http://http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/160260777X

     

    Father, you’ve given Ronie multiple talents and the gift of storytelling. Please continue to provide those stories and the blessings that accompany writing them. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

  • Sunday’s Offerings

    Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;

    your right hand will seize your foes.

    At the time of your appearing

    you will make them like a fiery furnace.

    In His wrath the Lord will swallow them up,

    and His fire will consume them.

     

    Psalm 21:8-9 (NIV)

  • Saturday Snippets

    Hope you enjoyed the two-part interview with editor Mick Silva. In the midst of preparation for his move from Colorado to Oregon and returning from his family’s trip to California, he managed to squeeze in the many questions I sent to him. Thanks, Mick!

     

    Needless to say I’m very excited about Vince Flynn’s newest American Assassin which releases in early October 2010. It’s a prequel and will show us who Mitch Rapp was and how he came to be the amazing counterterrorism operative and American assassin of the previous stories.

     

    You know we talk about novels affecting our lives—those exceptional stories that touch us in ways we sometimes can’t even express. I’ve named a few of those for you here. But I must say the Vince Flynn novels are life-changing in their own right. We get a picture of the truly hypocritical politicians in our government, the ugly and corrupt people with a lust for power over any kind of decency and loyalty to this great nation as opposed to those who serve and die to keep it free and safe. We see the kind of extreme efforts that must be taken to insure that 9/11 won’t happen again, and we marvel at the courage and intelligence of certain members of The Agency.

     

    I realize I’m a devoted fan. Whatever captures me—for whatever reason—I will promote, exalt, and champion.

     

    More interviews coming . . . 

     

    And this: 

     

    Image001
     

     

    Lord, I’m desperate for you.

  • Multiple Personality Disorder?

    [Please don’t accuse me of mocking this real mental affliction of individuals who usually have suffered great trauma(s) in their lives. This isn’t a post about clinical diagnosis and commentary. It’s a post about fiction writers.]

     

    Back on Monday I posted about getting inside the heads of characters. But living that out? Yikes. How many of you carry on conversations and discussions between your characters about real life situations in your head while actually speaking in real time with your own responses to others in your very real presence? How ‘bout while you’re grocery shopping, at your desk, taking out the garbage, washing dishes, having dinner, out with friends, or driving anyplace? These scenarios take place in increasing intensity during formulations of a novel or in critical scenes once you’ve started writing. Have you ever dreamed you were the opposite sex? Conducted yourself in that gender within the dream? Is that weird or what? Writers can be anyone.

     

    And the challenge is always to make it real. Authentic. If your character is quirky, he/she still has to make us believe the conduct is real. How deep are you willing to investigate your desires, your motives, your darkest thoughts? Will you go there?

     

    Who do you want your character to be in his/her situation? Why? Do they defy you in the process of creating them? Do they surprise you with their independence or their co-dependency? Are they rigid, immovable, crotchety, harried, timid, flaky? Are they just like you? Or polar opposites? Do you love them, hate them, want to kill them off?

     

    Do you see their faces, the color of their eyes, hair, skin? Do you know their builds, figures? Can you hear their voice inflections? Can you picture them walking away?

     

    Do they want to be you? Do you want to be them?

     

    If they’re truly alive in your head, they must translate to screen or paper. Otherwise, they’ll be life-less in the story.

     

    Father, I cannot imagine how you create from nothing. We have your exquisite examples to use as a base for our creations. Lord, give me the depth to draw from you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Interview with Editor Mick Silva: Part Two

    To continue my interview with my friend and editor Mick Silva . . .

     

    14.Accepting that “There’s nothing new under the sun”, professionals often say they can’t explain what they’re looking for when they desire a “fresh voice” but they’ll recognize it when they see/find it. Your concept?

     

    “Fresh voice” is like seeing a “natural” athlete or a “born” actor. They stand out because they’re not trying to. They’ve perfected their abilities to the point of play. The greats don’t even know what it’s like not to be completely defined by what they do. It’s when you’ve disappeared and all that’s left is the work, the result. A fresh voice is someone who’s fully awake and like Neo at the end of The Matrix, he doesn’t even need to fight anymore.

     

    15.A point of great contention for me and others is the dictum of “the rules of writing”. While valuable in learning basic skills, the emphasis on the rules often precedes formulaic writing. Your opinion?

     

    I agree. Rules are for beginners. Kids need boundaries. Maybe disciplines is a better word. It’s a good discipline to stick to one verb tense. But it doesn’t serve if your character needs to switch tense midstream. I can’t imagine that particular situation but the point is when you’re at the level of play, you won’t be bothered by people harping on the rules. You’ll naturally do what’s required.

     

    16.A recent admission by a professional of many years claimed that the one person/group that must be impressed on the pub board in order to get a project accepted is the sales person/team. Considering that a large percentage of books don’t earn back their advances, what does that say about the process of selecting books to publish?

     

    I don’t think all pub boards are the same. Some don’t even have sales people in them. Most big publishers do, but I doubt if most are completely dependent on the sales teams’ opinion. But to the point, I’m not sure a sales director would be doing his/her job if they didn’t object to most books and make low estimates of a book’s potential. They’re basically paid to sell the most books possible, and how many books are really that exceptional? I do agree that God must lead the execs who make decisions, and it doesn’t seem that always happens, but the frustration of many a writer has led to some pretty great books.

     

    17.Coca Cola or Pepsi or neither?

     

    That depends. Is it happy hour?

     

    18.Being a Christian, a husband, a father of two little girls, what do you hope to teach your daughters above all else?

     

    To love as they’ve been loved and to make that their work in life.

     

    19.You and your wife Sheri have known each other for many years and just celebrated your 10th wedding anniversary. How does Sheri feel about your new circumstance/opportunity?

     

    She’s very excited. We’re both looking forward to the new adventure. There’s a lot to do now, so it’s fun to be busy with it all. But of course, there are times when it’s challenging too.

     

    20.Why an editor?

     

    I love editing. I originally thought I’d like to make films. Christian propaganda films, mainly. As a kid, I wanted to be the first one to make a high-quality, successful Christian film. So when I learned no one was handing out money for that, I tried screenwriting. But I didn’t like LA. So I figured I’d start in books. And then it just became easier to learn the business of publishing before pursuing publishing on my own. Now that I’m convinced editing is necessary to write, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

     

    21.What three things would your closest friends say to identify you as a person?

     

    Ha! You’d have to ask them. I’m sure I’d guess wrong.

     

    22.What are the most important factors you’re now considering in your professional life?

     

    Hmm. Where does God want me to be and how can I best use what he’s given me? Or as my dad puts it, How can I join him in what he’s already doing?

     

    23.Being completely candid with pre-published authors, what would you want them to know?

     

    Don’t complain. Take every opportunity and make it matter. Don’t shun the challenges. Push yourself and write every day if it kills you. You will improve, but only after writing a million crappy words will your writing be worth anything. And even then it won’t be worth much. So hitch your wagon to the thing that means the most. And be grateful for everything.

     

    24.Marketing can be the bane of many authors while some take right to it. The only proven method of marketing that works is word of mouth—but that can take a long time. Since today’s new (and veteran) authors will most likely be asked to do some or most of their marketing, what do you suggest for those who can’t seem to come up with anything to impress anyone?

     

    Be who you are and augment your best qualities. I’m going to ask my friends your question about what they’d say about me. That will help me know what makes me stand out better. Beyond that, take yourself out of the picture. Use the natural attraction and power of the message God’s given you to do the work of getting people interested. Don’t self-promote; promote the incredible opportunities you’ve gotten to share what God’s given you. Show people how extraordinary it is that we’re here, now, and we get to talk about these things together because he’s designed this moment from the beginning.

     

    25.Finally, Mick, is there any point you want to make that I failed to address?

     

    I think I’ve used up my 15 minutes. Thanks, Nicole, for this chance to think and share. I’m looking forward to seeing where God leads you next too!

     

    http://mywritersgroup.typepad.com/

     

    Father, you know how deeply I care for Mick. I pray your multiple blessings upon his next steps, that you would go before him and make his paths straight. Watch over him, Lord, and keep him safe from all harm. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Interview with Editor Mick Silva: Part One

    I've had the opportunity and the blessing to meet and converse with editor Mick Silva via email and on a couple of different occasions in person. Mick is as real as it gets in life and in publishing, and when you ask him something about either, you're going to get an honest, thoughtful answer. He's got a wry sense of humor, and he's a deeply passionate man especially about God and the subject of writing and publishing. So, here's Part One of this interview with Mick Silva.

       

    1.Mick, you’ve been in publishing for a considerable time now. This last gig with Waterbrook/Multnomah just ended. To quote you:

     

    “Riffed. Canned. Sacked. Laid off. But there's absolutely no way this isn't God's perfect timing. Hang on. I think I'm remembering a dream…” 

     

    You don’t sound unhappy about your new “unemployment”. Why is that?

     

    Well, there are always jobs. I spent 5 years writing and editing at Focus on the Family before moving to WaterBrook, and then 5 more years acquiring and developing nonfiction. I enjoyed the education. I’m just excited to finally develop my writers workout website. Hopefully, that will be revealed soon.

     

    2.Would you say you’re a writer at heart? Explain who Mick Silva is at his core.

     

    Ha ha! If I could do that, I probably wouldn’t be a writer. If you went through my files, you’d find I have a hoarder living in my core. I’m exposing him here. I keep the most ridiculous little scraps of ideas and connecting thoughts in case they might be useful someday. Maybe I’ll have space to get a system now. But I guess I have this idealistic notion of uncovering how different people experience God. I want to bring all that transcendent fantastic to bear on real life. I want reality to become the fantasy.

     

         

    3.You’ve observed, experienced, and at times commented on the changes over the years in publishing. In your opinion what are some of the better things? In contrast what do think have been some of the more harmful things if any?

     

    Unbelievable opportunities exist for authors willing to pursue nontraditional publishing avenues. That sounded almost canned—it’s just I’ve been thinking about it a while. Self-publish and figure out what God’s telling you to share and how to best share it honestly, and go out and share it! The established channels for mass media are money-driven. Do readers consider what chance is there for hearing God’s whisper in a Christian retail market that’s largely owned by secular conglomerates? Probably not. But the fever pitch may still drown out many well-intentioned messages before they can reach the people who need them. And I’m here to tell you that’s exactly what’s happening in mainstream Christian publishing.

     

    4.Everyone these days has an opinion about the “future of publishing”. So what’s yours?

     

    I have no opinion, only facts. Competition is good. And publishers have never had more. Except they still know it’s a popularity contest, and they make money by being the big dogs who can make authors into demigods. Expect to find books you wouldn’t have previously on the shelves. More and more books will get through that, as Mark Noll beautifully put, “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” My prediction: as ebooks and audio continue to steal market share from print, and big name authors’ books continue to undersell the little guys with powerful messages, self-published books will cause many in traditional publishing to wish they’d listened to their moms and become lawyers or doctors and such.

     

    5.If you could do anything in publishing, what would it be? The obvious question: what’s next for Mick Silva?

     

    I’d write and self-publish The Shack 2! I’m starting a community-based publishing website to help writers figure out how to best prepare for the changing market and develop their work. Since traditional publishing isn’t able to develop authors much anymore, I expect to be busy.

     

    6.On a more personal note, you spent some time in the past sampling what the world had to offer. If you’re like me, you have considerable regret for some of the things experienced during that time of your life. What changed in your life to drive you there and what brought you back?

     

    I do regret hurting a few people along the way. I’m sorry I missed my chance to have a positive impact on them in some way. I was raised under a deadly combination of sheltering and extreme discipline. I was also the oldest son of the senior pastor, so mine were fish bowl friends. I was always special and wanted to be anonymous. Dirty, street-wise scarred. But you can only live that way for a little while before you realize you had it good once. Eventually I was simply done being dirty. But I still never enjoy being special. (You can’t help it, Mick. It was God’s decision to make you who you are.)

     

    7.I know you as a man of faith who never quits searching for a deeper place in God. I also know you as a passionate lover of “truth and beauty” in writing. Translate how those two parts of you mesh.

     

    Sadly, I think we tend to neglect the sides of God we don’t understand. Truth and beauty are mysterious; they can’t be unraveled. The truth is beautiful, and beauty contains something of truth. Both involve contrasts, like God himself and everything he made. Why does the deepest truth only leave you with more questions? That’s the way it is, unstable, uncertain, but he’ll be there with you because he is love. So love him, love others and yourself, and let your writing be a continual search for him—his grace and justice, love and law—and forget answers as a goal. The search is its own reward. When I’m trusting him there I’ve found he reveals exactly what I’ve been after. But I have to step out in faith and not cling to my comfortable assurance. The one assurance is that he’s with you. We’re forgetful, and many truths have to be rediscovered again and again. But it’s so rewarding to develop your taste for it.

     

    8.At times you’ve been a vocal critic of some of CBA fiction. What is your main objection to some of it?

     

    Simply, it’s unrefined. And I used to get so bent out of shape about it. You have to understand that most Christians shopping in Christian stores aren’t looking for Tolstoy. If a Christian is taking the time to find Christian fiction, they want it to do certain things. Be redemptive, at least. Affirm them. Support their beliefs. And why shouldn’t they have that? Amy Grant’s old song “Fat Baby” explains a bit more, but there’s no call for being snobby about it. I had to learn that some readers need simple answers. Black and white. I decided I didn’t want to be the judge of who had the wrong preferences and maturity level.

    Some people will like fancy books, others plain. But both gourmet and grub can be nutritious—or make you sick. And when you look at your average Christian in America, it’s easy to see why some Christian fiction has a way to go. St. Flan said, “Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.” If you don’t want to end up writing thin gruel, read a lot, deeply study the Bible, and be willing to be taught and have your mind stretched.

     

    9.You’ve been working on a novel of your own. Can you tell us anything about it?

     

    Nope. Oh, okay. It’s my first attempt, so it’s a slog. Six years in the making. Basically, I wanted to know whether God can still exist for someone who’s lost his memory, his ability to tell fact from fiction. And finally he has to figure out how to live without his body. It’s a trippy beast of a book, but my critique group has been extremely helpful.

     

    10.What do you think was your main “gain” from your years at Waterbrook/Multnomah?

     

    Experience. I wouldn’t know much if I hadn’t committed the time I did there.

     

    11.Do you have any plans to relocate?

     

    We’re in the middle of a move now, to the Portland, Oregon area to be closer to family.

     

    12.Have you ever considered being an agent?

     

    Once. But then I remembered that I hate all agents! Truthfully, I’ve liked almost every agent I’ve known. I’m just not smart enough to do what they do. And I can’t handle contract negotiations. They bore me to tears.

     

    13.Do you have a favorite genre to read—or to write?

     

    My shelves are pretty ecclectic. My wife is encouraging me to get rid of a lot of stuff in the move (“You can get it on the Kindle”), but the stuff I’m keeping is off-the-beaten path with broad appeal. I’m sitting next to The Book of the Dun Cow, A Confederacy of Dunces, 100 Cupboards, Fight Club, Peace Like a River and Flannery O’Connor’s Mystery and Manners.

     

    (Mick’s current website can be found here: http://mywritersgroup.typepad.com/)

     

    The conclusion to this interview will appear tomorrow.

  • Inside their heads . . .

    . . . is where you have to go whether you want to or not. After all, you’ve given them life, right? These characters who occupy much of the mental free-for-all in the creative wing of your brain must live and breathe on the page or the story dies from lack of oxygen and blood supply.

     

    You can’t help but wonder how a lovely lady like Brandilyn Collins manufactures these creepy criminal, sometimes serial killer types, but she does. Looks deep into their psyches and creates some monster murderers. Skin crawling examples of human depravity. And she does it well.

     

    Steven James’ villains are off the chart wicked. And his approach to them with Patrick Bowers is to not only contrast his hero’s desire to see them stopped, incarcerated for the rest of their lives–or even more preferable: dead—but to subtly imply there are similarities to these wicked whackos in each of us.

     

    Let’s move another direction. How about someone like the lovely 30-something nearly reclusive murder mystery author who writes under a pseudonym and has never been with a man? What kind of woman in today’s world could occupy that moral position looking like she does?

     

    What about the lonely boy who absorbs the dysfunction from his quarreling parents and his only ambition in this life is to experience love and a family that doesn’t fight? When superstardom ambushes him as a young man, he still looks for deep love and it eludes him until his mid-30s. Then when happiness surrounds him, he discovers he’s still that empty, lonely little boy . . .

     

    What about the guy who accidentally kills his estranged wife’s boyfriend in a bedroom brawl? He’s just an ordinary guy who ends up in jail with a minimum sentence and must start over as a felon.

     

    I know the darkness I can conjure up in my mind. How ‘bout you? I also know I long for redemption in stories of all kinds. Hope. For more than humanity has to offer. More than humanity can ever hope to attain alone. I also want to see evil get its due. To be addressed for what it is. To experience some justice—even if it’s just one instance.

     

    What do you want to gain after peering inside their heads?

     

    Lord, you give us insight and revelation into ourselves and others. Apart from you, we can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Sunday’s Offerings

    Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

     

    Ephesians 6:19 (NIV)

  • Soon . . .

    **Congratulations to my friend Sandra Chapman for winning Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand for her daughter Samara.**

     

    Coming soon:

     

    Another book giveaway

     

    Interview with former Waterbrook/Multnomah editor Mick Silva

     

    Book reviews: Ronie Kendig’s Nightshade; Steven James’ The Bishop; Vince Flynn’s Extreme Measures

     

     

    Today, I just want to say thank you so much, Lord of all Creation. Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King . . .