One of the best covers I've ever seen, and A Man Called Outlaw is a very good western by K.M. Weiland. I loved this cover so much, I bought a poster of it from K.M. and it hangs in the entryway to our home.
Father, please continue to bless K.M. in all she does. Give her what she needs to do those things that you direct. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
The plight of authors is foreign to those who don't write. For readers who don't notice the mechanics of novels and just want to enjoy the story, it simplifies that enjoyment and/or the disappointment – whatever the case may be. The multitude of readers with different tastes in novels explains the necessity for multiple genres, styles, and lengths of novels.
However, arriving at those stories is often a scintillating journey for the author or a feeling of crash and burn with significant injuries in the process. Some stories are definitely harder to write than others. When I attempted my one and only mystery Race, it felt like the latter for me. When I wrote Then . . . you, it felt like the former. Two very different processes. At the end of both, the results were rewarding and satisfying in different ways.
I'm working on a new one now. Being a seat-of-the pants author, I rarely know where the story is going in the beginning – other than I know it will develop into a love story. But, like the reader, I meet my characters as I go even when I have a "feeling" for who they're going to be or some things they might be going to do. They can be very good at surprising me, often veering significantly off course from where I thought they were headed. In that regard it can be exciting to "see" their experiences.
A problem I'm facing early on in this current WIP is a rather climactic moment for the protagonist, and I'm thinking this is happening way too soon. How am I going to get around this problem? There are some very vague ruminations going on in my mental images, but I don't know if they're "for real". Yet. So, I notice as things similar to this happen in my stories, I hide from them. Yes, I figure out how to waste time or even be productive in other areas. Away from my story. Pretending I have these other things to do. Reassuring myself that it's just a break. Take it. Chill. Relax. You'll figure it out.
That's exactly where my Wednesday Wanderings are taking me today . . .
Father, thank you for every word, every inspiration, every time you help me bring a story to completion. Apart from you, I can do nothing. Nothing. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
This is a beautiful song sung by so many artists (Barbra Streisand, Katharine MacPhee, Carrie Underwood). I picked one I'd never heard of, but they all do it justice.
Father, you are the giver of good and perfect gifts. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Above is a photograph of a small bookstore in London. It's not exactly what I'm picturing, but it'll do for the purpose of this post. I would really enjoy owning a bookstore. However, unlike many bookstores, particularly those that specialize in Christian literature of all kinds, my policies would be considerably different.
To start with, there would be no returns on books, especially because the purchaser "didn't like it". Perhaps you've seen those signs in stores where fragile items were on display: "You break it, you buy it". Well, in my bookstore: You buy it, you own it. It would be posted, visible, and the cashiers would remind customers of the fact that there are no returns, all sales are final.
My store would primarily be an outlet for Christian Fiction, but I would have one section for general market thrillers/mysteries/suspense which would also specify and give fair warning that there would no doubt be profanity between the covers of those novels, again emphasizing no returns.
Thirdly, there would be little if any paraphernalia besides books. No jewelry, no nick-nacks, maybe a few empty crosses – hopefully crafted by a local talent, and no large paintings.
There would be a few versions of Bibles and study Bibles but not all "translations". Very few if any "self-help" books and no Bible Study books.
I would hope to have warehouse space in order to have the purchasing power to offer lower retail prices.
Indie authors would be welcome for book signings/appearances with their novels fitting right in – alphabetically of course – at their genre-designated sections.
I might have a coffee/tea/etc. bar.
I would probably keep the name as simple as the inventory. Feel free to submit your ideas for names. Right now I'm thinking I'd call it "The Bookstore".
Yeah, I'd enjoy that.
Father, thank you for the wonder of all that you've given us. Thank you for your wonderful authors who give you the recognition for their work. May each one with the talent to write know or learn from whom their abilities come. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
To the Church in Pergamum
"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of Him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live — where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city –where Satan lives.
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."
Revelation 1:20 and Revelation 2:12-17 (NIV)
Five things you would eat every day if you could justify it:
Pie, Pie, Pie, Pie, Pie – oh, wait, I'll think of four more.
Cheesecake
French Fries
Pasta
Steak
(Probably pretty obvious why I can't justify my list for everyday eating.)
How 'bout you?
Father, thank you for the elaborate food choices from all over your creation. Amazing. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Taken in Rome, Italy, by my traveling friend. We stayed in at night and took pictures to pass the time. Two American girls on a big adventure. Amazing trip.
We worked and saved for a year after our first year at the University of Washington. I talked her into going, and we did it! Traveled to Europe and Great Britain. She caught the traveling bug and went back to see all the things we missed on our nearly 3-month adventure.
Father, you watched over us and protected us, and I can't thank you enough for all the things you did for me before I met your Son. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Some of you probably don't know I made the efforts to go the traditional publishing route (nor do you care) for a few years. What I eventually discovered after discussions with some editors at the Christian writers' conferences I attended was this: My work is too Christian for the general market and too "raw" for the Christian market. The latter assumption is the one I feel is unreasonable. It's an assumption by Christian publishers that has always bothered me.
I know there are those out there in "trad publishing" who've actually said, "If it's good enough, it'll get published [by trad publishers]."
That implies that those of us who've chosen the indie way to get our work out there are on a lower level and the only way we'll see our words between two covers is to do it ourselves. There were and still are those novels out there in indie land that qualify for this evaluation. But, surprise, surprise, there are those novels in traditional publishing that qualify for that evaluation as well.
Bottom line, I do it my way. Neither way is easy. Neither way guarantees "success", but at least in today's publishing network, indie authors have gained some hard-earned respect. That's a good thing.
Father, you lead the way. May I always follow your directions. I know I fail miserably at times, but my desire is to obey. Thank you is never enough. I'm always desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
One of my absolute favorite smooth jazz musicians. Amazing talent. Another incredibly unique thing about him is his ability to make his music define the titles of his songs. It's like each one is perfectly titled. That's a gift, and he's got it. A wealth of it.
Father, thank you for the beauty in music. Thank you for those you've gifted with that ability to reproduce it. May each one know from whom their incredible talent comes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Not intentionally, I've become a rebel in Christian Fiction. And I've yet to find my audience. Yes, I have those who read my work. And they actually enjoy it. Perhaps that makes them rebel readers.
Why "rebel"? Well, the current (for the past five or ten years, maybe longer) trendy label for Christian works of romance, cozy mysteries, regular mysteries, and suspense has been "clean". Notably because you can't really count on "clean" literature from general market/secular fiction in any genre including those geared to young people. The ominous cuss words, profanity, swearing, often graphic descriptions of sexual acts and encounters, etc., will often appear in non-Christian novels. So Christian fiction adopted the "clean" label to mark the difference between the two markets. The rebel in me figures that label implies unnecessary restrictions in those stories.
I in no way want to read – or write – graphic descriptions of sexual encounters. I've read enough secular literature to be disgusted and skip the pages of those descriptions or bag the books in which they appear because they contribute zero to the story – and if the story isn't strong enough to make me continue, that book is history and goes unfinished.
Having said that, I do believe in the reality of sexual temptation. Yes, even among Christians. I think it's an important factor in a love story or the romance genre. Especially for Christians. And that is where I differ from many Christian readers and authors. I've spoken with many women, young and old, along my life's journey. Those who were raised in the church, those who fell away for a season, and those who came to know Jesus later in their lives – as I did, after all the ugly mistakes, the sinful ways, the wrong decisions, etcetera. The experiences are all unique, some much harder, some much sadder than others.
I write for those readers who love inspirational fiction and aren't afraid to see the raw aspects of falling in love, the tantalizing temptation of sexual attraction, the beauty of experiencing romance, all addressed with the contrast of that experience in the world compared to it under God's direction clearly in evidence in the story. I've thought Christian readers would expect and enjoy the characters and the struggles that challenge their love and romance. I write what I want to read. Apparently, that makes me a rebel writer and a rebel reader.
If my design for the Christian fiction I write of the love stories heavy on the romance with the aforementioned contrast portrayed realistically appeals to you, try one my novels and discover if you're an undisclosed "rebel reader" too.
Raw Romantic Redemptive
Writing love stories with a passion.
Father, thank you for each book, every inspiration, everything. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
