Writing Exercise

   Just for fun, -- it is summer in my part of the world,-- I thought we could all try a writing exercise today.  The exercise is intended to give depth to our characters and it's easy because we get to use stereotypes.  Yes, stereotypes, cliches, caricature.   No need to pull your hair out over Meyers-Briggs tests or Enneagram charts, just plain old stereotypes, where good guys wear white hats and bad guys never get the girl.
    So, to start, lets pick a profession for our romantic hero -- something like firefighter, cop, cowboy, doctor, or bush pilot.  Then we assign characteristics to these men, traits like noble, dedicated, protective, hard-working, self-sacrificing, loyal.  You can make as long a list as you like.
    Now, we need a heroine.  I know modern romances often feature women in non-traditional jobs like body-guard or secret agent, but for the purposes of this exercise we'll go with the cliche.  She can be a nurse, a homemaker, a teacher, or a librarian.  She would exhibit characteristics like nurturing, gentle, compassionate, cheerful, friendly.  See how easy this is? 
     Every good story needs a villain.  For this exercise lets pick on the real baddies -- a gangster, an ex-girlfriend, a sleazy lawyer (sorry all your attorneys out there)or a nasty mother-in-law.  Our villain might be ruthless, stubborn, sneaky, egotistical, and unreliable.
     So, our story is a predictable tale of a noble cowboy, hard-working, protective, salt of the earth, who falls in love with the cheerful town librarian.  She sees how hard his life is and wants to devote herself to helping him through the hardships of bad weather, lost cattle and an overwhelming mortgage.  Enter the sleazy lawyer who sees a chance to make a quick buck if he can get his hands on the cowboy's ranch.  
      Now, in the hands of a really clever writer, this story could be worth telling, but it would require great skill on the part of the author to keep the reader's attention.  It's all just so predictable.  But watch what happens if we turn the stereotypes on their heads.
      Our hero is the town librarian, dedicated, hard-working, determined to keep the small-town library open no matter what the cost to himself.  Books are important -- too important to be left in the hands of bureaucrats who will do anything for the bottom line.
      The cowboy is really a cowgirl who inherited the ranch but she hates ranch life.  All that hard-work and small reward?  Not for her.   She is ruthless in her determination to sell the land to a developer, take her mega-bucks and blow town.
       The lawyer is new to town, happy to be out of the big-city rat race.  Hanging out a shingle on main street, making friends with the townsfolk, writing their wills, handling property transactions, suit her just fine.  She'd far rather be helpful than rich.
        Now our story is about the noble librarian who risks his job to fight the sale of the ranch.  Deep in the town archives he has discovered that the ranch lies on top of an aquafer.  The area should be protected from development but the document proving its status has been lost.   Unfortunately for him, the cowgirl and the developer have powerful friends.  If the sale goes ahead, there will be a healthy endowment for the library.  If not, he and the town can say good-bye to their books.  When the battle goes public the caring, cheerful lawyer comes to his aid, not only winning his case, but winning his heart.
           Sorry, my story-line is a bit lame, but the characters have more depth than in the stereotype example.  We don't expect a man to be a librarian, we don't expect the lawyer to be cheerful and nurturing and we're really disappointed that a cowgirl doesn't love her ranch.  In this scenerio, our skilled author has many more possibilities to work with and many more opportunities to surprise the reader and keep him/her turning the pages.
           So, here's my challenge to you.  Name a profession and one stereotype characteristic for it.  Then give it the opposite. e.g.
Profession:  Judge
Stereotype: Impartial
Opposite:    Bigotted

Play the game and I'll put your name in a draw for a calendar set from the Butchart Gardens.

     Alice is indebted to Mary Buckham and Laurie Schnebly for the terrific workshops that sparked the idea for this blog.
For more about me, visit my website, http://www.alicevaldal.com/ where I post an update every month.

All the Way to Taz by Marcia Laycock

The fun thing about the internet is that you can connect with people from all over the world. I've been trying to boost the number of 'likes' on my Facebook author page (www.facebook.com/marcialeelaycock) lately, so I've been running contests now and then for a free book.  I was a little dismayed but then delighted that one of the winners was from Tasmania - that small island just off the coast of Australia. I was dismayed because I knew the postage would likely be more than the value of the book, but then delighted to think that one of my books would make its way to such a far-off place.

That's the fun thing about books too - they can and do travel. When I published my first book, a collection of devotions published in a local newspaper, I was amazed at where the book ended up. I thought it would be strictly a local effort, purchased by readers who knew me in the area where I lived. Then one day I received an email from India. A pastor there had been taking courses at a Bible College in Canada and someone had given him a copy of Spur of the Moment. He read it and then sent it to his son in England. That young man emailed to say the book arrived when he was particularly discouraged and he wanted to tell me how much it had helped him.

India! England! And now Tasmania! A long way from a small town in central Alberta Canada.

It makes me think of that scripture verse that says, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Never underestimate the power and reach of our Lord. He will accomplish his purposes through us, no matter how small our imaginations. 

****

Marcia's new novel, A Tumbled Stone has just been released. Visit her website at www.vinemarc.com

The Important Stuff

We left in a whirlwind my son and I. Anxiety filled me in the effort to get him to school because I needed to see to the pertinent tasks for the day. I put the car in reverse after a frenzied episode of getting us both out the door. In a spurt, I said, “I love you,” just in case I’d forget to tell him at the drop off.

He replied, “I don’t love you.”

My heart sunk. “That really hurts my feelings.”

Then he said, “I super-duper-wuper love you!”

“Aw, thank you sweetie.” This time my heart buoyed, bobbing back to a surface called joy.

He continued, “I love you more than trees, grass, the sky, the car, the street, the lights, mailboxes, houses, pets, bushes, flowers, dirt, plants. . . .”

His little voice kept going. Sometime during the ten-minute drive to school other thoughts began stealing my attention. The things I had to write and rewrite, research to wade through, people to contact, ministry assignments, vet visits, even household chores – it all shot through my mind.

It wasn’t until after I checked my son into his class that I realized he still prattled, “bricks, hallways, classroom, pens, paint, paper . . . more than all those things—and that’s how much I love you!”

I gaped at him, speechless. It dawned on me that while my thoughts ran wild on other responsibilities, I could hear him but hadn’t really listened. Where for the duration of those ten minutes he described everything he saw on the journey to school, and told me that he loved me more.

“Mommy, you’re squeezing me too tight!”

“Oh, sorry,” I released my arms that had been wrapped around him in a kind of mother-bear-hug.

He said, “Bye,” and after a quick little wave he ran to join his friends.

I had important things I wanted to accomplish that day and I did them. No big deal. However, the lingering effect of my boy’s expressiveness stunned me. It warmed my whole world, made the day shine with brilliance. I could’ve forgotten about everything else. In fact, the world could crash around me, but the thing I’d remember most is his precious heart and the matchless sweetness that bubbles from it. This kind of thing is vital to human experience. It’s what makes my life vibrant.


Incidentally, while relishing in “the important stuff,” Tessa signed a contract with Soul Mate Publishing for her inspirational fantasy romance novella, Wind’s Aria – a part of The Brother’s Keep series. She can soon add that to her publishing venue, along with her novel, The Unforgivable (Risen Fiction/April 2011). “It’s all good!”  www.TessaStockton.com

Kicking Eternity by Ann Miller

 I've invited Ann here today to tell us a little about herself and to introduce her self-published novel, Kicking Eternity, about a girl striving to to be a missionary in Africa when life gets in the way.

Ann Lee Miller earned a BA in creative writing from Ashland (OH) University and writes full-time in Phoenix, but left her heart in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where she grew up. She loves speaking to young adults and guest lectures on writing at several Arizona colleges. When she isn’t writing or muddling through some crisis—real or imagined—you’ll find her hiking in the Superstition Mountains with her husband or meddling in her kids’ lives.

Ann, who are your favorite authors, and what makes them special to you?

I’d rather read than eat, so I have a lot of favs. But Charles Martin is at the top of the heap. I love him because he exquisitely tells heart-rending stories of characters who live in my memory years after I close the book.

When did you decide you wanted to write?

Growing up on a sailboat, an aquaculture for mold and dysfunction, primed me—in lieu of therapy—to write.

I first thought of writing the year I discovered Sister Sheila had hair. I was in fifth grade at St. Hugh’s Catholic School in Miami, knee deep in nouns and verbs, when Sister Sheila walked through the door in a new habit that showed two inches of mouse brown hair threaded with silver. Thanks to Sister’s encouragement, I went on to earn a BA in creative writing from Ashland (OH) University.

How do you prepare to write a book?

I detest plotting, but consider it a necessary evil. I plot every scene for the whole book before I actually write the book. It takes… forever.

Tell us a little about your book.

            Kicking Eternity is all about chasing dreams—our dreams, God’s dreams, and the mixed-up tangle of both. Here’s a blurb about the book:

Fresh from college, Raine scores a teaching job at New Smyrna Beach Surf and Sailing Camp. A crush on the camp rebel-art teacher threatens to derail her plans to teach orphans in Africa. The broody recreation director spots her brother's meth addiction and Raine's enabling. Raine believes she is helping her brother—until lives are threatened.

What is your Writing schedule like?

            Since I started my writing career in my forties, I feel fairly obsessed to accomplish what God created me to do. Think about how the hero in Sweet Home Alabama jammed lightning rods into the sand to make his beautiful glass. He did his work before the lightning struck. I jam a lot of words onto the page before lightning strikes and makes it beautiful.

Which are your favorite books on writing craft and why?

            I always have a craft book open. I tend to read them multiple times. Some, like Donald Maass’ The Fire in Fiction, I am wearing out, particularly Chapter 8 where he discusses creating micro-tension. I’m also a huge fan of Maass’ Wrtiting the Breakout Novel, Jack Bickham’s Scene and Structure, and Sol Stein’s Stein On Writing.

What do you do when you are not writing?

            I hike in the mountains with my husband, do zumba, and go to garage sales. This year I mentored three girls from my youth group. I’ve worked at teen church camp for more years than I care to reveal—thus the camp setting for Kicking Eternity.

Is there one secret weapon in your writing arsenal you’d be willing to share with other writers?

            Prayer. I have a prayer team of eighty people, who for reasons known only to them, said yes when I asked them to pray for my writing. I was inspired by Robin Lee Hatcher. Also, I pray through every aspect of a book. My days are peppered with mini-miracles.

You can connect with Ann at:

AnnLeeMiller.com

Twitter @AnnLeeMiller

Facebook Author Page: Ann Lee Miller

Find Kicking Eternity on Amazon

Your Turn: Do you have any questions for Ann or comments on the interview? Anyone who leaves a comment with an e-mail address (JaneReader[at]msn[dot]com) will receive a free e-book copy of Kicking Eternity. If you do not want to leave an e-mail address, you may request your book at AnnLeeMiller.com

Sandra Orchard lives in rural Ontario, Canada where inspiration abounds for her romantic suspense novels set in the fictional Niagara towns she creates as their backdrops. Sandra writes for Love Inspired Suspense and Revell Publishing. Married with three grown children, when not writing, she enjoys hanging out with family, brainstorming new stories with fellow writers, and hiking or kayaking in God's beautiful creation. Look for Sandra's latest release, Shades of Truth, in your favorite online stores.

SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

Sandra Orchard: Kicking Eternity by Ann Miller

Tuesday

Tessa Stockton: The Important Stuff

Wednesday

Marcia Laycock

Thursday

Alice Valdal

Friday Devotion

Kathi Macias: Redeeming the Time

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New Sales

Tessa Stockton signed a contract with Soul Mate Publishing for an inspirational fantasy romance novella, Wind's Aria, part of The Brother's Keep series.

Lisa Harris has a romantic suspense releasing in Spring 2013 from Love Inspired Suspense and the first of a three-book series from Revell comes out in Fall 2013.

Christine Lindsay has sold Captured by Moonlight, book 2 of her Twilight of the British Raj series and the sequel to Shadowed by Silk, to WhiteFire Publishing.

Sandra Orchard has signed a 3-book contract with Revell for a suspense/mystery series set in Niagara, Canada.

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Contest News

Christine Lindsay's book, Shadowed in Silk (WhiteFire Publishing) has won the 2011 Grace Award in the Action-Adventure/Western/Epic Fiction category - congratulations Christine!

Jennifer Rogers Spinola's book, Southern Fried Sushi, is a Christy Award nominee in the first novel category - congratulations Jennifer!

Lisa Harris' book, Blood Covenant (Zondervan) has been awarded Best Inspirational Novel 2011 in the mystery/suspense/thriller category by Romantic Times - congratulations Lisa!

Aquasynthesis (from Splashdown Books), an international collection of short stories edited by Grace Bridges, has finalled in the Sir Julius Vogel Awards from the New Zealand Science Fiction and Fantasy Association. Winners will be announced on June 2. Congratulations Grace!

Jeanette Windle's book, Freedom's Stand (Tyndale) is a finalist in the fiction category of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association 2012 Christian Book Awards - congratulations Jeanette!

Kara Isaac is a double semi-finalist in the Contemporary Romance category of the ACFW Genesis 2012 Contest - congratulations Kara!

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Contest Giveaway Winner

Hope Toler Dougherty is the winner of the Rainbow's End novella collection which includes Valerie Comer's novella Topaz Treasure (Jenn's post, May 14)

Congratulations Hope!

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News

Kathi Macias' book, Deliver Me From Evil, was voted by the readers at The Book Club Network as April’s fiction pick of the month. http://www.bookfun.org/

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New Book Releases

Valerie Comer's debut novella, Topaz Treasure, which is part of the Rainbow's End collection, is a May 2012 release from Barbour.

It's an interesting group of strangers who show up for the first annual Rainbow's End geocache hunt, and the spectacular scenery along the bluffs of the Lake of the Ozarks is just one reason.

Lyssa Quinn volunteers at the Rainbow's End geocaching hunt hoping to find the nerve to point folks to the true treasure found in Jesus. She's not expecting her former prof to be there, too. Kirk Kennedy's treasure hunt takes him down a path he hadn't intended when he is captivated by Lyssa's intriguing sparkle. Can he convince Lyssa that there is more than one kind of treasure? Can Lyssa remind him of the greatest prize of all?

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Upcoming Book Releases

Kathi Macias' book set in San Diego and Mexico, The Deliverer, Book Three in her Freedom series involving human trafficking, will be a Fall 2012 release from New Hope Publishers.

Sandra Orchard's romantic suspense set in Canada, Critical Condition, will be an October 2012 release from Love Inspired Suspense.

Jennifer Rogers Spinola's women's fiction book, 'Till Grits Do Us Part, Book Three in the Southern Fried Sushi series, will be a November 2012 release from Barbour.

To find more International Christian Fiction books, please visit our Recent Releases page, Backlist Titles page and our International Christian Fiction wiki.

DEVOTION: The Birth of a Baby by Shirley Corder

This meditation is two days late. Yet, perhaps this is good—because today is celebrated throughout the world as Pentecost Sunday, the day we remember the Lord sending His Holy Spirit to dwell among us. By many, this is regarded as the day when The Church was born.

Until the first Pentecost, The Church was a small group of people who had known Jesus during His life time. How small? Well, small enough to be “all together in one place”. (Acts 2:1 NIV) They had been through a turbulent time, climaxing in the crucifixion and then resurrection of their leader. Then, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon them—and they were never the same again. By the end of the day, there were 3,000 of them. The Church was born.

Pentecost Sunday has another significance for me. On this day, 37 years ago, I gave birth to a baby boy. Because of a turbulent pregnancy, it was with much relief that my husband and I looked upon this perfect baby and gave thanks to our Lord for his safe arrival. Our congregation nicknamed him Baby Pentecost, and life for us would never be the same again.

We knew that one day, we would have to let this baby go his own way into the world, but that seemed so far away. For now, he was ours to have and to hold, to nurture and to mould. Over the next years, we did all we could to guide and direct this little chap to becoming what he is today: A mature adult with a faith and family of his own.

The road wasn’t always easy. Parenting isn’t for sissies. But the day came when we knew we had done all we could. It was time for our baby to leave the parental nest and set out on his own.

Writing is like parenting in many ways. We struggle through a pregnancy, where the book or story idea is taking shape. We have good days, when the words and ideas flow. And we have not-so-good days when we battle to write one sensible sentence. But still it grows. One day, that book reaches maturity, and it’s time to make plans for its future. Whether we find an enthusiastic publisher, or whether we opt for self-publishing or any of the other alternatives today, it’s time for our baby to leave home.

My book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for Your Journey through Breast Cancer has been just such an experience. It had a long pregnancy—several years. I knew without doubt that one day I would write this book. I even had a working title, Rise and Soar above the Cancer Valley. I wrote the odd devotional article with it in mind. But it wasn’t yet time to give it birth.

Over two years ago, I knew the time had come, and I started to write the book based on my own experiences in the Cancer Valley. Sometimes the thoughts came faster than I could write them. Other times I wondered why on earth I thought I could do this. It seems fitting to this analogy of pregnancy that after 90 short devotional chapters, the book was complete. It was grownup, although it needed a lot of editing and pruning before it would be ready to leave the author nest.

That time has now come. My baby has moved on to a new home, Baker Publishing. I couldn’t take it back now even if I wanted to. Already, it has to fend for itself in the world of printing and final steps to publication. There is nothing more I can change to improve it. In a few short months, Strength Renewed will be out there in full public view. And that’s scary. What if it lets me down? Behaves badly in public? Fails to achieve?

Well, as a parent, I had to stand back and trust that the principals and disciplines we’d instilled in our son would be sufficient to help him become a responsible husband and parent and hold down a good job.

In the same way, I have done my best for my book. It is now time to step back and allow it freedom. But it’s still not easy.

How about you? How easy do you find it to let go of a finished article or book, and send it into the big wide world of readers and critics? Do you have any advice for writers in my situation, as our grown-up baby leaves the nest forever?



SHIRLEY CORDER lives on the coast in South Africa with her husband. Her book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for your Journey through Breast Cancer is available for pre-order at discount price at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble (B&N.com). She is also contributing author to ten books to date. You can contact Shirley through her writing website, her Rise and Soar cancer site, or follow her on Twitter or FaceBook.

Coming Home Again

After eight years in Brazil, we've come home. Or I have, anyway. Back to my home country of the United States where I was born and grew up - but this time accompanied by my Brazilian husband, Athos, and my three-year-old son, Ethan.

Ethan, in fact, shares both nationalities - making him the first true Brazilian-American in our family.

And as we start over again in rural South Dakota, making our home and finding jobs and ministering through our rural rancher's church, I find that both Athos and I carry the same strange "Brazilian-American" mix in our blood - though our passports claim differently.

Just this morning as I was taking a shower, I reached for something on the shelf - and ducked to make sure I wouldn't touch the shower head. Why? Because in Brazil, shower water is heated directly through strong electric currents in the shower head - meaning that if you touch, the combination of wet feet and powerful electrical current equals SHOCK. A shock bad enough to paralyze for several hours (an in the case I heard of an American kid on a mission trip to Brazil) or even cause a pregnant woman to miscarry (a whispered story on Athos' side of the family).

My dad noticed, too, that Athos washes dishes Brazilian-style - ignoring the American double sink and hot water and washing them one by one, in cold running water. I, on the other hand, mingle the two: I turn on the hot water, but ignore the double sink. And continue to wash them single-sink-style, the way I did in Brazil: soaping each dish individually and rinsing it hot water. Brazilian-American indeed.

In restaurants Athos and I still pick up burgers (American burgers, mind you, with all the yummy American trimmings like rings of fresh onion, dill pickle slices, and pungent yellow mustard, instead of ham) or hot dogs (American, again, with chili and onions and mustard instead of corn, peas, and shoestring potatoes) - we both reach for napkins. Not for our chins, but for our hands. To HOLD the hot dog or burger while we eat. Literally, yes, wrapping the burger or dog in a napkin and eating it while keeping the napkin carefully in place. And our hands clean.

I used to think that was a bit unnecessary, if the motive was sanitation - as Brazilian still eat french fries with their fingers. If your hands are dirty, well, then, your fries will be, too - and so bunting your burger won't help much.

Until Athos corrected me. The napkin, he said, is not for cleanliness but to keep the grease off your fingers.

"What about the fries?" I protested. "They're greasy, too."

But it's a dry grease - not a wet oil like the kind that oozes from street-vendor burgers slathered in (heavenly) bacon and garlic paste and ripe tomato.

Oh, how years abroad change and mold us, in even the tiniest and least perceptible of ways. And so much we learn, soaking up our new knowledge like mango trees on the branch. Not always aware that such growth is even happening.

Jenny picks not-yet-ripe bananas and fragrant limes (yes, orange limes - they're not oranges) on her husband's grandparents' farm. The limes are incredible - called "limao china,"and a sort of lime-tangerine cross, if you ever feel like looking them up online. They're well worth the taste if you ever get the chance.

Once back in the U.S., it's amazing how these new bits of knowledge, gleaned over eight years of joys, mistakes, and frustrations, come back to the surface. How things once so familiar and commonplace, like the passion fruits on the vine (below) begin to look exotic again. I look at my old photos in a sort of nostalgic disbelief, their clear memories of everyday use fading into a haze of tropical memory.

The same way, after several post-Japan years had passed, my Japanese friends looked... well, Japanese. Strangely. For the first time in my life. When I was living in Sapporo, bowing and nodding and wearing appropriately subdued clothes and buying subway tickets, my friends were just my friends. Yumiko. Asuza. Makoto. And when I saw them years later, in happy photos, I was struck by how "Japanese" they appeared (whatever that's supposed to mean) and how "Japanese-ified" I had become with my trendy sweatshirts and cherry blossom hair clips.

We never quite go home again.

We are always changed, always different, always morphed and morphing into new creatures.

"New creatures" - appropriately reminiscent of our new natures in Christ. A little bit wiser, a little bit more broken, a little bit vulnerable. Faces and experiences and failures have sharpened us, softened us. We miss. Long. Remember. And sometimes feel a pang of emptiness that cannot ever be filled - because while I am longing for little pieces of Brazil, I'm also longing for fragments of Japan. I cannot exist in two places at once; the whole can never be fully reconstructed.

And even if I could, my dear Mr. Horimoto from Japan, who died while I was still in Sapporo, is still gone. Leaving an emptiness that words cannot express. Faithful Hiroki of Sapporo Baptist Church, who struggled valiantly against health problems and schizophrenia, is now with his Lord and in his right and peaceful mind. He left my husband his Bible. He left a hole in my heart that will only be healed in eternity.

Or the sweet little disabled two-year-old named Joao Pedro whom we nearly adopted back in Brasilia. And then at the last minute, after all the meetings and government red tape and medical reports, we backed out. Realizing that his adoption would require us to stay another two to three years in Brazil, and force Ethan into Brazilian public school (which we absolutely didn't want). Would it be worth it, in the long run, to lose one child to drugs and violence to try and save another?

Yet the imagine of Joao Pedro's photo on the adoption agency's table haunts me. Breaks me sometimes, if I let it.

We are mosaics, pottery shards. Molded in the Master Potter's hands so that we might breathe out the Living Word in each culture, each country, each precious life.

And we are writers. Gathering up the pieces and serving them to the multitudes in astonished joy, watching the Good Shepherd use our humble, broken words to feed the thousands we never dreamed possible.

---

Have you come home again? What was it like? What do you miss, and what pieces have you brought with you?

---

Jennifer Rogers Spinola and her family have just relocated to rural South Dakota (5,000) from the capital of Brazil (3 million). Her debut novel "Southern Fried Sushi" was just named a Christy Award finalist for 2012, and her third novel, "'Til Grits Do Us Part," releases November 1. AND - she just found out she's pregnant after eight years! Already showing quite a bit at ten weeks, too.

Mel Menzies on Writing A PAINFUL POST MORTEM

I am continually impressed by what difficult subjects writers in this group are willing to tackle, even when the subjects often arise from pain in their own lives. English author Mel Menzies is a good example of this on both counts. I'm so delighted to introduce her to you today. Mel, tell us your story.

A Painful Post Mortem is a novel (my first writing as Mel Menzies) and, in a way, the title says a lot about why I write. Inspired by the loss of my daughter who was a heroin addict for years, the story begins with a death.

The death is that of a young woman, Katya. The Pathology Report suggests that her demise is self-inflicted. Aware of changes in Katya's lifestyle, her mother, Claire, is determined to prove otherwise; especially when the police arrest two people whom they suspect of being implicated.

Claire is a woman with a past: a broken marriage. She is, also, a woman of faith. People prayed for Katya throughout the years of her drug-addiction: is Claire now to believe that the promises offered as a result of those prayers are broken? Has she failed, not only in her marriage, but also in parenting her daughter? 'Where did I go wrong?' she asks herself.

Prayers, and questions like that, are seen as a sign of weakness by Katya's father, Mark, who prefers to drown such thoughts in an alcoholic haze. Nevertheless, he is drawn into the quest to clear Katya's name. And so begins the solving of a mystery.

In raking through the painful post mortem of their marriage, Claire and Mark discover certain truths: that love never dies; that forgiveness - of yourself and others - is the redeeming factor; and that from pain and suffering comes the offer of grace which, if accepted, brings peace, renewal and restoration.

There's a reason why A Painful Post Mortem attempts to air social issues via the media of fiction. Bedtime reading, when I was a child, was from my father's leather-bound Great Short Stories of the World. I adored him, and I loved the discussions that followed those bedtime rituals, about the themes that underlay Wilde's The Selfish Giant; Chekhov's The Bet; Maupassant's The Necklace. Those stories taught me more than anything about good and evil, morality and integrity: which says a lot about why Jesus used parables as life lessons.

I was not sufficiently academic to please my father, however, nor sporty enough to satisfy my mother. It was clear that I was a disappointment to both. Which is why I escaped into my own world and began to write: plays which, like the children in Ian McEwan's novel, Atonement, my cousins and I acted for our parents; and finally, my first submission, a short story, and my first rejection slip at the age of fourteen.

Eventually, I began to write in earnest, to be published, to be commissioned. And as 'fan mail' to my early memoirs showed, the 'painful post mortem' of my own life produced truths that resonated with my readers.

My goal was, and is always, to: comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.' 2 Cor 1:4. Paraphrased for my website as An Author's Look at Life: Resources to Inform, Inspire, Encourage, it is intended to reach out to unbelievers. To this day it remains the engine that drives my writing forward; the rudder that keeps me on track; and the anchor that binds me to God's truths. It is, in fact, the basis on which my writing is founded.

Mel Menzies (one of the pen names of Merrilyn Williams) is a multi-published author with a Sunday Times No. 4 bestseller, and keynote speaker. Her first job, as PA to American author, Paul Gallico (Snow Goose, Thomasina, The Poseidon Adventure) helped to shape her interest in story-telling. Since then she has written memoir, biographies, how-to-books, magazine articles on relationships, and short stories for radio. She has run workshops on Creative Writing and Publishing and blogs, regularly, on this and a variety of topics. She has recently been elected national Chairman of the Association of Christian Writers and looks forward to informing, inspiring and encouraging excellence among Christian writers across all media.

Download A Painful Post Mortem for Kindle here: ALL PROCEEDS ARE FOR CHARITY: Tearfund (child victims of HIV/AIDS); Care for the Family (educating children against drugs).

Mel Menzies: An Author's Look At Life - Resources to Inform, Inspire, Encourage

Posted by Donna Fletcher Crow whose newest release is A DARKLY HIDDEN TRUTH, The Monastery Murders 2 http://www.donnafletchercrow.com/

The Universal Need for a Deliverer

People often ask me why I write about such "dark subjects"--the persecuted Church, homelessness, human trafficking--and I tell them I don't write about dark subjects; I write about the Light that shines in the darkness.

Shouldn't that be true of all Christian writers? Some of us may venture deeper into the darkness with our novel subjects, but can a novel be classified as "Christian" if it doesn't center around the Light of the World?

My current fiction series, "The Freedom Series," is built around the horrific crime of human trafficking, which is modern-day slavery. Why, then, call it "The Freedom Series"? Because while I want readers to grasp the enormity of evil contained in human trafficking, I don't want them to be overwhelmed with it. As Christian writers we want to hold out the Light of the World, the Hope for the hopeless, a Savior for the lost. And that's what I've attempted to do in this series, as well as in my other books/series.

In book one, Deliver Me From Evil, readers meet the primary characters of the series, including girls trapped in this heartbreaking life. As they move from book one to book two, Special Delivery, readers begin to see hope for the victims as they become survivors. But the subject of book three, The Deliverer, is necessary for anyone--whether trapped in human trafficking or otherwise--to become truly free. The Deliverer is the answer for all of us, regardless of our country or culture, our age or race, our life experiences or social status.

The need for a Deliverer is universal--and there is only One. I pray this series, as well as every book I write or, more importantly, every book you read, leads you to His welcoming arms.

SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

Kathi Macias

Tuesday

Fiona Veitch Smith

Wednesday

Donna Fletcher Crow: Mal Menzies on Writing - A Painful Post Mortem

Thursday

Jennifer Rogers Spinola

Friday Devotion

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New Sales

Christine Lindsay has sold Captured by Moonlight, book 2 of her Twilight of the British Raj series and the sequel to Shadowed by Silk, to WhiteFire Publishing.

Sandra Orchard has signed a 3-book contract with Revell for a suspense/mystery series set in Niagara, Canada.

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Contest News

Christine Lindsay's book, Shadowed in Silk (WhiteFire Publishing) has won the 2011 Grace Award in the Action-Adventure/Western/Epic Fiction category - congratulations Christine!

Jennifer Rogers Spinola's book, Southern Fried Sushi, is a Christy Award nominee in the first novel category - congratulations Jennifer!

Lisa Harris' book, Blood Covenant (Zondervan) has been awarded Best Inspirational Novel 2011 in the mystery/suspense/thriller category by Romantic Times - congratulations Lisa!

Aquasynthesis (from Splashdown Books), an international collection of short stories edited by Grace Bridges, has finalled in the Sir Julius Vogel Awards from the New Zealand Science Fiction and Fantasy Association. Winners will be announced on June 2. Congratulations Grace!

Jeanette Windle's book, Freedom's Stand, is a finalist in the fiction category of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association 2012 Christian Book Awards - congratulations Jeanette!

Kara Isaac is a double semi-finalist in the Contemporary Romance category of the ACFW Genesis 2012 Contest - congratulations Kara!

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News

Kathi Macias' book, Deliver Me From Evil, was voted by the readers at The Book Club Network as April’s fiction pick of the month. http://www.bookfun.org/

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New Book Releases

Valerie Comer's debut novella, Topaz Treasure, which is part of the Rainbow's End collection, is a May 2012 release from Barbour.

It's an interesting group of strangers who show up for the first annual Rainbow's End geocache hunt, and the spectacular scenery along the bluffs of the Lake of the Ozarks is just one reason.

Lyssa Quinn volunteers at the Rainbow's End geocaching hunt hoping to find the nerve to point folks to the true treasure found in Jesus. She's not expecting her former prof to be there, too. Kirk Kennedy's treasure hunt takes him down a path he hadn't intended when he is captivated by Lyssa's intriguing sparkle. Can he convince Lyssa that there is more than one kind of treasure? Can Lyssa remind him of the greatest prize of all?

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Upcoming Book Releases

Kathi Macias' book set in San Diego and Mexico, The Deliverer, Book Three in her Freedom series involving human trafficking, will be a Fall 2012 release from New Hope Publishers.

Sandra Orchard's romantic suspense set in Canada, Critical Condition, will be an October 2012 release from Love Inspired Suspense.

Jennifer Rogers Spinola's women's fiction book, 'Till Grits Do Us Part, Book Three in the Southern Fried Sushi series, will be a November 2012 release from Barbour.

To find more International Christian Fiction books, please visit our Recent Releases page, Backlist Titles page and our International Christian Fiction wiki.

DEVOTION: I Scared My Grandchild by Ray Hawkins

 Our first grandchild was born whilst my wife, Mary, and I were in England for two years. When we returned he was about 12 months old. When I walked in and hugged my son and daughter –in-law young Damon burst into tears. He wouldn’t come near me. For a couple of weeks every time I went to his house he cried. I think he was worried I’d come to take his daddy away, plus he hadn’t known me until suddenly I was there.  It took time and patience to calm his fears and hold his hand. Ten years later we get along famously.

As I recently reflected upon this I thought how when we first have an encounter with the Lord God there is that element of fear. How we are introduced to our Heavenly Father will colour our initial response to Him. Has He come to deprive us of something? Is He our judge and ‘spoilsport?’ We grasp the fact that He is holy and we are not. Condemned by our own hearts we tremble in His presence, unseen it may be by others, yet to us at that moment so real and defining.

Looking back over my initial encounters with the Eternal God I’m so grateful for His patient understanding of me. I needed Him but was reluctant to place my hand in His. I wanted His gifts but ran from any commitment. As I enjoyed going to the local church and its activities I realised He turned up there also, unseen but with a very real presence. Sometimes I was in tune with Him, other times no. But the Lord never gave up on me.

That was nearly sixty years ago and my testimony is that my Heavenly Father drew me to embrace Him through faith in His son Jesus Christ. Since that day my fear has turned to awe. My reluctance to commitment. My ignorance to understanding!

My grandchild isn’t perfect (although I think he is almost, as too his sisters and brothers).
I’ve had to admonish and correct some issues in his life. This has enriched our relationship, not lessened it. So too my relationship with my God! He has disciplined me over the years but nowhere near as severely as I’ve deserved. Has this lessened my appreciation and love for the Lord? No! It has enhanced it.

It is a fearful thing to meet the Lord God Almighty for the first time. We may want to run from Him but where can we hide? God doesn’t offer us candy but shows us the cross and woos us into an understanding of His saving grace. After the years of walking with Him in ministry I have few regrets. One of them is that I took so long to know and embrace Him.
Raymond Hawkins.

Ray is a retired minister, married to Mary, a multi-published author. He has written numerous articles and recently through EBP (Qld, Australian) had three devotional meditations published. Children- God’s special interest. From Eden with Love (About marriage) and Captured by Calvary. He is also a poet. See website and links.

Email Ray
mary-hawkins.com
evenbeforepublishing.com

Mind Control

In my last post I covered my encounter with Buddhism. Today, I would like to describe my experiences with the Silva Method (also called Silva Mind Control).

The Silva Method was developed by Jose Silva back in the 1940's as a means of increasing the IQ of his children through relaxation, visualization, and the activation of higher brain functions by inducing "alpha" brain-wave activity. His idea was that most people use the left, or logical, side of their brain almost exclusively. By learning to us the right, or creative, side, he believed it would be possible for people to gain access to information stored in their subconscious. The end result was Silva Mind Control, which he started marketing commercially in the 1960s.

I was nineteen when my wife (then my girlfriend) and I attended a Silva Mind Control seminar over a weekend. I had just finished the end of my second year of Psychology. I was intrigued by the human mind and how it works, particularly with regarding to memory, learning, and the possibility for extra-sensory capabilities. The claims of the Silva Method caught my eye. They seemed to fit in perfectly with my interest in meditation and my quest for self-improvement. I asked my wife to join me on a two-day course. She was a little hesitant, but agreed. At that point she was a Christian but, through negative input from significant others earlier in her life, not a practising one.

We arrived at the hotel and were directed to the conference room. The curtains were closed but it was still light and airy. Twenty or so chairs were fanned out across the floor in a rough semi-circle facing the low stage where a friendly-looking man greeted us with a warm smile. We found two places at the back and got comfortable on the big reclining chairs. Nobody spoke, but everyone seemed quite relaxed. It was a pleasant atmosphere. After fifteen minutes, all the seats were taken.

During the two days of the course we were led through the steps necessary to unlock this hidden potential, starting with learning how to relax through meditation. We then progressed on to visualization exercises, which I enjoyed tremendously. The course leader compared our minds to a team of wild horses. To think clearly, he said, we needed to bring that team of horses under control. This was all harmless enough. We sat on our comfy chairs, imagining everyday objects floating in front of a white screen in our minds.

On the second day, however, things took a surprising turn. For this session, we had been instructed to bring along information on two people we personally knew who had an ailment of some sort. We filled in a form for each person, stating their age, gender, and what the ailment was. We were to keep these forms on us and not show them to anyone. We were then told to partner up with someone in the seminar that we did not know. While one meditated, the other would ask questions. During the exercise, the one meditating was to visualize each of the two cases brought along by the other person. We had to picture each "patient" standing on a plinth, and try to "see" what was wrong with them.

I partnered up with someone I had seen but not actually spoken to. I sat on the recliner chair while he sat on a stool next to me, almost like a psychologist and patient. I did my relaxation exercises and said I was ready to proceed with trying to "diagnose" the two people on the forms he had brought along. I started with the first. I was told it was a woman, middle aged. As instructed, I visualized a middle-aged woman standing on my imaginary plinth. I rotated her in my mind, trying to "see" something wrong. My first two guesses received a quiet "try again" from my partner, which meant I had guessed incorrectly. I looked harder, wondering what on Earth I was supposed to be seeing. Then I saw a big black spot behind her left knee. I mentioned this, expecting to hear the usual "try again". Instead, there was a slight pause, followed by a mildly surprised "yes, that's right." Afterwards, as we reviewed the two cases, my partner said that the one woman had a bad varicose vein behind her left knee, exactly where I had seen it. When the exercise was finished and people shared their results, many of the others also reported correctly diagnosing one or more ailments.

Buoyed by my success, I was keen to see what we would be doing for the rest of the day. For the next exercise, we were instructed to enter a meditative state and "build" a workshop in our minds. It could be anything we wanted. The important thing was that the room should have two doors. We were then told to imagine the doors opening, one at a time, to reveal two "helpers". The idea was that, in order to access subconscious data, we could employ these helpers. As figments of our imagination, they would be better placed to access those parts of our brain that are normally out of reach of our conscious minds.

It sounds crazy, I know, but what harm is there in using your imagination in a creative way, right? After all, as a writer, I imagine characters all the time. I am constantly dreaming up new people and places and scenarios. Later, when the group compared notes, everyone seemed to have no problem imagining their assistants. They described them in great detail. Hair, eyes, facial features, clothes, and voices. I was able to imagine two people but, for some reason, could not see their faces. Try as I might, I could not put a face to my imaginary helpers. During this discussion, my wife became withdrawn and added little to the excited chatter. Only later did she tell me that she had been unable to imagine anyone coming through those doors. She told me she was embarrassed at having "failed" that part of the course.

Years later, after I became a Christian, my wife and I discussed that course. In particular, we talked about her inability to see her helpers and, to a lesser extent, how I could not put faces on mine. We believe that it was God protecting us. As a Christian (albeit a non-practicing one) she was under God's spiritual protection and He would not allow her to unwittingly open the door to demonic influences. As for me, we think that God knew I would one day accept His gift of redemption, and so I was also protected. The other big question we discussed as: how was I able to see the black spot on the back of the woman's knee? Very possibly it was just a coincidence. I guessed incorrectly twice before getting it right and I was way off on the other case. But many others managed to guess correctly. One woman got both her cases right first time. Where did this information come from? Was it some sort of extra-sensory perception, or did it come from the spiritual realm? We suspect the latter.

Like so much in the New Age, the slope away from God is a slippery one. It starts out with something harmless but before long you are sliding quickly towards a dangerous pit. The Silva Method starts out with harmless relaxation exercises, then meditation, then simple visualisation. This all appears harmless enough but then, before you know it, you find yourself inviting unknown beings into your life. Skeptics and atheists will say that it is all just imagination, that it is harmless, but as a Christian I believe in a spiritual realm inhabited by beings that are waiting for any opportunity to pull you away from God's protection.

More disturbing, however, is a practise I have seen among some young Christians recently, in which they visualize a room with a door. They then imagine Jesus walking through that door. The aim is to "invite" Jesus to come and help you. They believe that, by imagining Him, they can have instant access to Him for answering prayers or even just to talk. But, for me, as someone who has seen how the New Age works, I see this as a dangerous practice. Jesus cannot be summoned in this way. He hears all our prayers, but invoking an image of Him in your head is inviting trouble. I believe God protects us from unwitting errors, but the Bible is clear about the dangers of divination.

In Deuteronomy 18;10,11 it says:
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines divination as : the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers.

Indeed, the word "occult" is defined as: matters regarded as involving the action or influence of supernatural or supernormal powers or some secret knowledge of them.

 Like so much in the New Age, the Silva Method starts out harmlessly enough and can even have the appearance of godliness, but it can soon ends up with dabbling in the occult. The warning signs can be subtle but we Christians need to be careful and keep a sharp eye out. If we are not sure about something, we should ask God for guidance. And check it out in the Bible. It's all in there.

Matthew 10:16: Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Jeremiah 7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour



Next time: my brief encounter with Scientology