For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
Colossians 2:9-10 (NIV)
Into the Fire
Passionate thoughts about the world of writing and the Power of God
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As you know, I write love stories, heavy on the romance. I prefer love stories to general romance. Why? We've been over it in prior posts, but to reiterate the reason for my preference: In most of today's romance novels, there is a formula that is followed somewhat religiously.
It goes something like this: Guy meets gal and they either have this instant chemistry or they hate each other. Next, there's this conflict which somehow throws them together or they're already attracted to each other and they fight the conflict together or they create a conflict between each other and they part company, suffer the separation, realize their stupidity, get back together — you get the drill. Different characters, same story.
Love stories go deeper into relationship and deeply into the characters in the story. There isn't always a complex plot or necessarily a lot of conflict. It's the story of how love happens and what those people do with it.
Each of these "definitions" is simplified, but I'm merely stipulating the differences are subtle, but they're real.
Having said that, if you're a romance reader, chances are you also enjoy love stories. However, if you prefer love stories, you might not appreciate the pure romance genre.
That's it for Friday. I will close with this recommendation at a terrific price right now in print if you're a lover of love stories:
Father, apart from you, I can do nothing. Thank you for it all. Always desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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In the shed row at the now defunct Longacres Racetrack my first year. Sometimes there are still those days in life when you just don't feel like coping. Know what I mean?
Father, you brought me through all of them and still do. Thank you is never enough. Thank you for rescuing me. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Memory Lane is Becky Wade's Book One in the Sons of Scandal Romance Series.
Two individuals meet in the most tumultuous of ways when one of them physically rescues the other from drowning. She's the reluctant heroine to his battered hero, and as much as she resents having this gorgeous hunk of damaged man in her space, she takes her detailed care of him very seriously. In the most unlikely of circumstances, she and he both realize he suffers from amnesia, hypothermia, a wound on the back of his head, and some serious bodily injuries causing him considerable pain. She's Remy Reed, a sculptor of wood, and he's – who is he?
The isolated island in Maine where she dwells in her primitive cabin becomes his temporary home for healing. His memories aren't surfacing quickly, and he has no idea how or why he was out there drowning in the ocean while she searches the internet for possible missing persons, all about amnesia, and cracked or broken ribs. He really can't stay with her even though she's surrendered her only bed to him and sleeps on the floor next to him in case he needs her help at night.
Her lobsterwoman friend Leigh is rough around the edges, tough and tender at the same time, and has grown quite sympathetic to the stranger, willing to help however she can. Since there are no grocery stores on this island, she offers to take her boat for supplies. He gives her his extremely expensive watch to pawn to pay for them, having no idea how he came to own it. This is just one more of the many mysteries surrounding the man.
Remy fights all kinds of emotions surrounding her "patient", calls him "Duke" because he acts like one with his "demands" without knowing why. He finds he enjoys hassling her and takes pleasure in her exaggerated frustrations with and responses to him.
Finding out who he is in the most unusual way is a shock to both of them.
Writing a character like Remy is a challenge – at least from this author's point of view, it is. She's a wounded, eccentric young woman who's made a hidden life for herself that doesn't take this intrusion well. It's difficult – at least it is for me – to like her while still being able to realize whatever her past will reveal is probably the deciding factor to whether or not I can warm up to her. Although all of us – even without trauma – often lie to ourselves or fight our feelings or ignore what's been placed right in front of us to do or establish, I don't admire it in myself or others. That's a risk to make your co-main character one of those people who refuses to own up to what they're experiencing when it doesn't coincide with their agendas for their lives. Becky nails this unusual character in all her quirks, quick wit, frustrations, discoveries, and fears.
And needless to say for readers of Becky Wade's romances, the hero in this story is really a mega-hero. His character overshadows any flaws (although it's hard to find any), and what he endures in discovering who he is and what his life has been prior to the accident endears him even further to the reader.
Becky gets romance and she's not afraid to write it. On that point, it's a definitely pure (not graphic) sensual success.
My minor dislike has nothing to do with the story. It's the cover. For me, it doesn't point to the wonderful story inside at all.
Father, you know all about what Becky needs and desires for herself, her family, her career. Please be there for her as always and continue to lead her in everything you have just for her. Bless her and keep her safe from all harm. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Let's go way back for this love song. One of his best. Enjoy.
Father, thank you for the songs, musicians, singers throughout history. May each one have recognized at some point that their gift(s) was from you, the true Creator of all things beautiful. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Yes, finally!
Got a wonderful review on Barnes&Noble for Then . . . you. Made my day!
Certainly took a while to get rolling again. Something about Then . . . you – I know I keep saying that, but that book did something to me, and to this day I can't describe what it is/was. Special story to write.
This new book? Hard to say where it's going, but I welcome getting to know the hero and heroine. Not my usuals, it seems. Interesting people, and there's so much more to learn about them.
It's good to be writing again. I can definitely say that.
Father, apart from you, I can do nothing. That is the bottom line. I thank you for it all. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Jesus)
Luke 16:10-13 (NIV)
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Reading is a huge part of writing. Authors need to read in order to write well. Reading other authors in your genre expands your inspiration while filtering your style and polishing your voice. We all write differently even if we resemble each other in the way we approach our genres. It's not that our voices sound alike. It's that there's an intangible connection to the way we write.
My reading of novels varies while I'm involved in writing one of my novels. And it seems I've noticed myself binge reading occasionally when my writing isn't sparking. Sometimes I read a novel while I'm writing, but sometimes I don't. It varies and isn't predictable. However, at some point, writing or not, I will return to reading a novel.
Authors, are you reading someone else's novel while you're writing your own?
Father, thank you for every one of the stories you've given me. And thank you for the amazing novels I've read. Thank you is never enough. Please help me to continue writing those stories you have just for me to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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This is the amazingly done theme of one of Clint Eastwood's best westerns. Enjoy!
Father, you created music and instruments and gave singers their voices. All for the beauty of it all. Thank you for leaving us beauty after the fall. Just a token of your love. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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That special chemistry between characters – that thing all authors pursue vehemently in love stories, romances, and scripts. Chemistry can be elusive onscreen or between pages. It takes a real understanding to achieve it by both actors and novelists. It either works or it doesn't.
Harmon Rabb (David James Elliot) and Sarah MacKenzie (Catherine Bell) established their waylaid pursuit of each other for several seasons concluding with an engagement and plans based on the flip of a coin. It was an amazing chemistry and it definitely worked for faithful viewers with admirable writing to keep it brewing.
For you, what characters in novels or onscreen have demonstrated that stunning chemistry which makes a book, a film, or a TV Series stand out and extra special?
For me in a novel (besides my own), it was the incredible chemistry between Roman Velasco and Grace Moore in Francine Rivers' The Masterpiece.
Father, thank you for giving me characters that spark and for those authors and writers with the ability to capture chemistry in books or onscreen. We're all desperate for you whether we know it or not. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Into the Fire 