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

  • Monday, monday . . .

    I encourage you to take a look at the 2010 Christy Award Nominations and Athol Dickson’s comment. If you’ve read Lost Mission, please add your comments to ours. And if you’ve read any other of the nominees, please give your opinions of the novels—or of the award. (My reviews of the novels I’ve read are posted here on the blog.)

     

    I’ve got a busy week for me in preparation for the NCWR (Northwest Christian Writers Renewal). Looking forward to attending for the third year. And meeting Brandilyn Collins among others in the industry. Northwest Christian Writers put on an excellent conference. I’ve enjoyed it every year.

     

    Lord, I surrender all. Again. Always. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Sunday’s Offerings

    The woman Folly is loud;

    she is undisciplined and without knowledge.

    She sits at the door of her house,

    on a seat at the highest point of the city,

    calling out to those who pass by,

    who go straight on their way.

    “Let all who are simple come in here!”

    she says to those who lack judgment.

    “Stolen water is sweet;

    food eaten in secret is delicious!”

    But little do they know that the dead are there,

    that her guests are in the depths of the grave.

     

    Proverbs 9:13-18 (NIV)

  • Book Launch for Crossing Oceans

     

    I will review Crossing Oceans, the debut novel by Gina Holmes, for the CFBA Tour on May 13th here. You can visit her site for the launch and a contest here:  

     

    http://www.noveljourney.blogspot.com/

     

     

  • Here are the 2010 Christy Award Nominations:

    CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
    Breach of Trust by DiAnn Mills • Tyndale House Publishers
    How Sweet It Is by Alice J. Wisler • Bethany House Publishers: a Division of Baker Publishing Group
    Stand-In Groom by Kaye Dacus • Barbour Publishing

    CONTEMPORARY SERIES, SEQUELS, AND NOVELLAS
    Who Do I Talk To?     by Neta Jackson • Thomas Nelson
    The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall • WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group
    Daisy Chain     by Mary DeMuth • Zondervan

    CONTEMPORARY STANDALONE
    June Bug     by Chris Fabry • Tyndale House Publishers
    The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson • Thomas Nelson
    Veiled Freedom by Jeanette Windle • Tyndale House Publishers

    FIRST NOVEL
    The Familiar Stranger     by Christina Berry • Moody Publishers
    Fireflies in December by Jennifer Erin Valent • Tyndale House Publishers
    Scared by Tom Davis • David C. Cook

    HISTORICAL
    A Flickering Light     by Jane Kirkpatrick • WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group
    Though Waters Roar     by Lynn Austin • Bethany House Publishers: a Division of Baker Publishing Group
    The Swiss Courier by Tricia Goyer & Mike Yorkey • Revell Books: a Division of Baker Publishing Group

    HISTORICAL ROMANCE
    Beyond This Moment by Tamera Alexander • Bethany House Publishers: a Division of Baker Publishing Group
    A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist • Bethany House Publishers: a Division of Baker Publishing Group
    The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander • Thomas Nelson
    The Silent Governess     by Julie Klassen • Bethany House Publishers: a Division of Baker Publishing Group

    SUSPENSE
    Intervention     by Terri Blackstock • Zondervan
    Lost Mission     by Athol Dickson • Howard Books: a Division of Simon & Schuster
    The Night Watchman     by Mark Mynheir • WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group

    VISIONARY
    By Darkness Hid     by Jill Williamson • Marcher Lord Press
    The Enclave by Karen Hancock • Bethany House Publishers: a Division of Baker Publishing Group
    Valley of the Shadow by Tom Pawlik • Tyndale House Publishers

    YOUNG ADULT
    Beautiful     by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma • Thomas Nelson
    The Blue Umbrella by Mike Mason • David C. Cook
    North! or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson • WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group

     

    Now that you’ve seen them, how many have you read? I’ve read seven (7) of these novels. Since I can throw out these categories: Young Adult, Visionary, Historical, and Historical Romance, I didn’t do too badly this year.

     

    My comments on this award are meaningless, but I’m going to make them anyway. While I think it’s a potentially meaningful award and has become somewhat prestigious in Christian literature, it’s widely speculated that this award doesn’t necessarily compute to sales.

     

    Someone correct me if I’m wrong here but I think the publisher has to submit the novel for competition. I don’t know the criteria or the standards for judging the novels, but the list of nominees has often left me . . . wondering.

     

    For the life of me, I cannot figure out how Athol Dickson’s novel Lost Mission made it into the “Suspense” category, much like in the past when he won the award for River Rising but competed against Robert Liparulo’s genuine thriller Comes A Horseman. I mean, come on. There is no way those two novels should’ve been in the same category. And to put this novel in with the true suspense stories of Terri Blackstock’s Intervention and Mark Mynheir’s The Night Watchman? Well, makes zero sense to me. Lost Mission belongs in Contemporary Standalone.

     

    So, I also find it particularly noteworthy that I, writer of contemporary romance novels, have read none, as in NONE, of the Contemporary Romance category novels but have read all of the Suspense category nominees. In the Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas category I’ve read Mary DeMuth’s Daisy Chain in her Defiance, Texas, Trilogy, waiting on her final novel in the series. In the Contemporary Standalone category I’ve read June Bug by Chris Fabry and The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson, and Veiled Freedom by Jeanette Windle is on my TBR pile. In the First Novel category I’ve read Familiar Stranger by Christina Berry.

     

    I have to say one of the finest novels I’ve ever read is Lisa Samson’s The Passion of Mary-Margaret. When I attach the word “profound” to a novel, I mean it. There are few that earn this distinction from me, but the handful that do deserve it in every sense of the word. And I think Chris Fabry is one of the best writers in Christian fiction today. June Bug is a touching, meaningful piece of literature written by a wordsmith.

     

    Both Intervention by Terri Blackstock and Mark Mynheir’s The Night Watchman were excellent suspense stories and deserve their nominations. I’m of the opinion that the committee needs to add a category for Thrillers, but who am I?

     

    Father, thank you for the honors given to your writers. Bless their continued efforts to fulfill their callings in your kingdom. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • By design . . .

    Those two little words mean exact opposites to different writers. To one group they mean strategic and supremely organized planning and construction. To another group those two words mean the sublime and supernatural planting of an idea and the inspiration to continue. After yesterday’s post (and others), it’s no surprise which group I’m in. And to be fair, there are those who fit somewhere in between borrowing from both methods in their composition of novels.

     

    When I finished my first novel, I had no knowledge of the publishing industry. Obviously I saw nothing wrong with a huge book—especially since they’re the kind I love to read. It became a slow and intentional process to realize all that getting a book published involved, and I made lots of mistakes in the early going. Not that I’ve finished with making mistakes, but nowadays I could say they’re more calculated and less naïve than back in the beginning of my journey. The first thing I had to do was transfer all those notebook pages to my son’s brand new computer. I had zero understanding of computers. However, when I discovered how much easier it was to type on one than on a typewriter, I managed to get those 300,000+ words stored on this very same machine. I remember typing well into the night and often spending close to eight hours a day on this keyboard.

     

    But my point today really is about what came next after that completion of my first novel. So we’ll skip ahead to after finishing that book and the exercise in self-publishing that followed. The realization of “having” to write, of feeling the “call”, the invitation to continue to put words down in story form, pushed into the forefront of my life. Plus, I now knew a little bit of what to expect. From myself. And we were no longer in the 7-day-a-week drain of training race horses. I had time to write.

     

    Hope Of Glory is a story ripe for a sequel, so I started one. However, when the sequel loomed like an equal-sized rendition of the first book, I’d learned enough by that time to realize it would never do. I set it aside as the Lord took me into a wild escapade of prayer for a certain individual, the intensity of which is unequaled in my life before or since. And as a direct result of that prayer adventure, my second novel was written in a matter of months. Not years. Months.

     

    By design the novel was written like a fictional biography with omniscient voice for the first part of the novel almost disappearing in the second half of the book, the word count ending at 140,000+. Why omniscient POV? I have no idea. None of my other novels are written in this format. This novel (The Famous One), borne from that intense prayer, captures a small measure of the burden the Lord placed in my heart for an actor.

     

    The story came quickly as opposed to the writing of that first book. I also learned through writing this second novel that I would take short breaks from the process—and not to fear them. I’d know when they were over and I returned with renewed vigor to finish whatever the next section required. Comforting to discover that.

     

    Following the completion of the second novel, I enjoyed a respite before another set of characters presented themselves in front of me and refused to move. Gladly I told their stories. Then another. Then another. Three novels followed in one year. By the time the fifth novel ended, the genre for my work insisted they be smaller, shorter. Those stories remain on this old PC.

     

    One of these days I’ll explain the agony of writing the sixth novel, and the refreshment of writing the seventh. And the fun I’m having now in writing number eight after a two year break from finishing a book.

     

    I write by design . . .

     

    What is your design?

    Lord, I'm desperate for you. For all that you are. Lead me in your ways everlasting. In the Name of Jesus, Amen

  • As you might surmise . . .

    I’ve written seven novels. I have three more started. After finishing the first one, I was elated—as you might surmise—on so many levels. Many people strain to keep their eyes from rolling when writers recall how the Lord told them to write his/her novel. Well . . . as we all must admit, even if the Lord tells us to write a certain story, that in and of itself doesn’t make it ready for publishing. And I do find it short-sighted and boxed in to question what people say they hear from God unless it’s in direct opposition to His word.

     

    After a conversation with my pastor at the time, he told me I had yet to use my gift. I questioned what he referred to and he explained his thoughts about my writing—of which he’d read very little. Although I’d written from childhood, it coming more in fits and spurts since my first (and only) year in college, writing never left me alone. So I came home from my pastor’s house, plopped down on the couch in the family room alone in the house and said out loud to the Lord, “I will write, Lord. I will. But you have to give me something to write about.” I remember this—it’s as real and fresh as new bread. As clearly as any voice would’ve have been heard in that room, the Lord spoke this to me: “I want you to write a Christian novel about horse racing.” Whoa. Just like that. So I did. It took me 8 and ½ years to do it, through many times of no words and no time, longhand in notebooks, and over 300,000 words later, the book was done.

     

    When I was trudging to the end of this story about one race meet at a middle echelon racetrack in the northwest, my doubts about it ever being finished threatening me, I asked for prayer from the mother of a young missionary because this woman was a bona fide prayer warrior. Her prayer and following comment weren’t “magical”, but there was an assurance in her that what she asked for me would be accomplished. Afterward, oh, did I write. I was compelled to write in every spare minute of every day until I could confidently scratch “The End” on the page. Amazing experience.

     

    So, all that to say this: Hope Of Glory is not my best work. In fact, it’s quite technically inferior to all of my other novels. But it’s unique and special and tells an important story. Yes, it’s way too long for today’s novels, and there are all kinds of writing flaws within its covers. But it marks my obedience to the Lord, and it serves as a “ministry” book for many who live the racetrack lifestyle—and many who don’t who’ve read the story anyway. It was an act of obedience. I kept working. I kept trying to fulfill what the Lord had asked me to do. Twice along the journey he assured me with these words, “If you pick up the pen, I’ll give you the words.” Those words appear on my business card to remind me of his faithfulness and my appointment to write but also that my job is to “pick up the pen” (or ready myself at the keyboard) and allow Him to supply the words. Apart from Him, I can do nothing. Now one might think I’m implying those words should come out perfectly then, right? No. It’s simply a reminder that without Him whatever I choose to write is irrelevant. Dross. Chaff. He must be the source. Not me.

     

    I did not receive divine instruction for each of the following novels, but I did receive divine inspiration for the stories because without His Spirit to give them to me, I can’t think of a single storyline to compose. My creativity is limited in the flesh. And limitless in the Spirit.

     

    Anyway, as you might surmise, all of my novels depend upon the provision of our Lord. I must “pick up the pen” and do the labor. I must pursue the avenues He chooses for me and allow Him to direct my steps and be content with exactly what He ordains for me. After all, it’s His life working in me. I owe it all to Him.

     

    Thank you, Lord.  

  • Continuing on with first things first . . .

    Continuing on with first things first . . .

     

    Yesterday’s first lines weren’t spectacular by any stretch of the imagination. However, in order to judge them I think it’s only fair to keep the genre in mind. If I’m headed into a thriller, a mystery, a suspense, or a legal novel, I expect a little “pop” in the first line. Contemporary romance? Not so much.

     

    Are we really so fickle in our reading that if we open a novel and don’t get jazzed with the first line, we put the book back on the shelf? I understand the objective is to entice the reader as quickly as possible and to make those first words come alive on the initial few pages, but surely authors get more than a surface judgment of the first lines in their novels.

     

    I’m a notoriously patient reader, but I know many people are not. Whether it’s due to their schedules or their impatience, if they aren’t sold on a book by the end of the first chapter, they’re done. That’s a huge challenge for a writer of sagas. Not that sagas are even popular with some readers, but, believe it or not, there’s a large number of readers who prefer long stories to the average 300-350 page novels with short trim sizes we see on most of the shelves today.

     

    So what is it you really want from that novel you just bought? Does it ever have anything to do with getting your money’s worth? How long will you stay with it before abandoning it?

     

    Lord, you’ve made room for the variety of writers in your kingdom. When we write to please you, we write from our hearts with what you’ve put there. Thank you for that. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

  • First things first.

    The other day, Becky Miller (A Christian Worldview of Fiction) plucked some first lines from books and posted them on her blog. Several others of us added some we liked.

     

    These are the first lines from my seven complete novels and three from novels I haven’t finished yet.

     

    The colors were awakening beneath a sky filled with the intensity of a striking sunrise.

    (Hope Of Glory)

     

    Attending this funeral on Easter Sunday seemed especially sad to me—but fitting, nevertheless.

    (The Famous One)

     

    Claudia Madelyn Rutheford hated her name.

    (Sweet Release)

     

    Faith Daniels looked up as the tiny bell over the door tinkled quietly.

    (Wounds . . . and Healings)

     

    Why he thought this would be a good idea he now wondered as he stepped onto the first of five stairs that led up to the front door.

    (Destination)

     

    The rain assaulted the trees, the gutters, hard and cold, leaving even the midday seeming like the darkness of evening.

    (The Fixer)

     

    She could make smoking a cigarette look elegant, seductive . . . and dangerous even.

    (Breath of Life)

     

    It had been a long drive.

    (For His Glory)

     

    I was 8 years old when I saw Jesus Christ in the flesh.

    (Seeing . . . [previously titled Nightcrawler])

     

    The first time he looked over the half-empty pitchers of beer on the round rough-hewn table and past the cheeky smiles and loud laughs of the men seated there, he caught a glimpse of her pulling the tap lever while smiling across the counter at a kid he’d swear was under 21. Immediately his mind drove straight to the recollection of how long it’d been since he’d been with a woman and parked there. [These two sentences seem inseparable so I included both of them.]

    (. . . in a love song)

     

    Feel free to include your own in the comments.

     

    Father, once again I thank you for the stories. Apart from you I can do nothing. How well I know. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

  • Sunday’s Offerings

    All the days ordained for me

    were written in your book

    before one of them came to be.

     

    Psalm 139:16b (NIV)

  • Supernatural, Scary, Suspense, and Horror?

    Yes, horror. You can read Christian fiction which qualifies as “horror” but may not be labeled as such. So what’s the difference between intense suspense, supernatural thrillers, and horror? Don’t ask me for specifics. I can tell you this: CBA horror generally includes the supernatural element, whether outright or insinuated, and it can be scary and suspenseful. Which only proves how confusing genre labels can be at times.

     

    Thrillers generally contain a horrific element but tend to focus that on the villain and his doings while keeping an intensive pace to find said villain. Real horror seems to contain outright bloodthirst in some capacity which is ongoing until the hero subdues or overcomes it. Horror generally illustrates the evil with acts of torture or violence or suggests that those events have occurred or will occur by demonically influenced or possessed individuals.

     

    Travis Thrasher and Mike Dellosso write CBA horror even if their stories aren’t labeled as such. I think it’s interesting that of these two authors Travis Thrasher also writes romance/love stories which some would say goes from one extreme to the other. Steven James includes horror in his Patrick Bower thrillers. Robert Liparulo set the pace for true thrillers with real horror in his first novel Comes A Horseman.

     

    Let’s talk strictly fiction here. It’s naïve to suggest Christians have no business writing scary books. I disagree. The darkness in this world warrants exposure and comparison to the light in the Lord. Depicting it by identifying the source of the darkness serves to enlighten readers. Contrasts prove interesting fodder for stories. While reading about demonic characters and their activities can be gruesome, cruel, or any other adjective you can generally apply to horror, it’s far less horrific to read it than it is to see certain elements graphically portrayed on a screen the size of a football field.

     

    In May’s upcoming interview with Mike Dellosso you’ll hear his thoughts on writing about dark subject matter.

     

    So what are your thoughts regarding “Christian horror”?

     

    Thank you, Lord, that “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” In the Name of Jesus, Amen.