It’s hard to sum up a life in only a few words. And this offering certainly doesn’t do this amazing worker, provider, father, husband, and grandfather justice. Exactly one year ago today, my father, Larry, only 71, said good-bye to this life and stepped into a much better one after a two-and-half-year struggle with brain cancer. He left behind a wife, a daughter, three sons, a son-in-law, three daughters-in-law, and eleven grandkids. Beyond a few mementos and clothes that didn’t fit my brothers but fit me perfectly, all I have left of Dad, a GM retiree, are scriptural values and beliefs he instilled in my life. And of course precious memories—and what a treasure trove I have to draw from. Not only for my writing but just to remember Dad for who he was. Lest I ever forget. I’ll never forget the beautiful Revolutionary War-style muzzleloader Dad built from a…
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. . . And a Chat about Discouragement Questions. Were you born with them the same way I was? Why does such and such happen? Why is life seemingly so much tougher for me than for ______ ? Why is life so hard? Recently I grappled with more questions when my publisher’s publicist e-mailed me. Due to circumstances beyond his control, the release of The Tenth Plague has been moved from the end of this September to January 15, 2013. Pardon Me While I Vent I could be very discouraged by this news. Why? The process of getting this second novel to any semblance of the printed page for readers has been one of the most frustrating and time-consuming trials in recent memory. I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, I’ve faced seemingly endless delays, constant rejection, false hopes, discouragement, lack of affirmation, the death of…
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I was pleased to stumble across an article by Randy Alcorn in World Magazine a few weeks ago. It dovetails perfectly with my article about why I decided to marry the word meaningful with the word suspense for my author’s tagline. In summary, the thrust of my article was about why I believe message is important in Christian fiction. I listed several reasons why I strongly believe this way, based on my understanding of Scripture. Many of my fans agree with me. At least one reader took me to task and told me to “lighten up”—that no, not every Christian novel needs to be message driven. Well, no, that’s not what I said. What did I say? Does that mean Christian writers can never write only a fun, entertaining story once in a while? No. But if all we write is entertainment, what eternal value is there? So what does Randy…
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