Blog Posts

The Countdown Begins!

8/13/2015

Glen Robinson and I have completed work on Salome's Charger (yay! wheee!! yippee!!! huzzah!!!) You can already pre-order the digital version on Amazon right here. We're hoping that by release day we'll have a print version ready to go as well.

Writing Salome's Charger was fun!! And challenging. And more than once we both wanted to strangle Dropbox for dropping our work down some digital abyss. But co-authoring has a different energy than writing solo, and it's just plain fun to have someone else to bounce ideas off of and run things past before you commit them to paper.

Unfortunately, publishing waits for no man. I've already packed up my laurels and moved on to the next project, which is finishing up Life & Death. I'm hoping to release it by the end of September, which will make 4 books I've published in the last year. Yeah. I haven't completely wrapped my head around that, either. In the meantime, here's my official cover reveal for Salome's Charger in case you missed it elsewhere.

Didn't Lori at Wicked Book Covers do a fantastic job? That's the Commander above the charger. She's the leader of a group called the Nihilists who really want to get their hands on the charger, something that turns out to be harder than it initially seems.

Both Glen and I will be giving stuff away every day the week before the official launch. Like our pages on Facebook here and here to see the daily prizes and subscribe to our reader's groups here and here to automatically be entered. (If you've already subscribed, you're good to go. We draw the winners from our lists of subscribers.)

And then can I ask you for a big favor? Share the stuffing out of our posts. Indie publishing is a fantastic gig. I love everything about it. But my voice is small. If you believe in the kind of writing I'm doing, please tell people you know who might also be interested or blessed by reading it. Thank you so, so much!!!

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Life & Death Cover Reveal

7/7/2015

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Presenting the cover for my upcoming novel, Life & Death:

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Salome's Charger Extra: The Interview

6/30/2015

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Glen Robinson, my co-author for Salome's Charger, has bravely interviewed our two main characters, Stevie Sloane and Ezra Huddleston.

Before the launch of Salome’s Charger on Sept. 1, fellow author Céleste and I decided it would be a good idea to introduce the two main characters in our story. Stephanie Sloane is the proprietor of Spero, an antique store in downtown Dallas. Ezra Huddleston is investigative reporter for the Dallas Daily.

GR: Maybe I should start out by asking how the two of you met.

SS: He ran over me.

EH: What? What are you talking about?

SS: Remember? That day in the gym? You were leaving the pool and almost knocked me over without as much as an apology.

EH: Ouch. Well, I don’t remember that, but in those days, I don’t remember much beyond being angry all the time. But I wouldn’t call that meeting. I’d say our first meeting was when you barged into my office claiming to have information about the charger and then actually stole information from my desk.

SS: Stole it? It was right there in plain sight. I might have looked at it. I mean, I have eyes. They do look at things. But stealing…that’s just your natural cynicism speaking.

GR: Is that when you two decided to become partners?

SS: I’m not his partner. I never agreed to be his partner.

EH: Are you going to be this annoying the whole interview?

SS: (laughs) Probably. Actually, Ezra messed up his hands–.

EH: Bad chemical burns. Really bad.

SS: Not that bad. But he kept bugging me for help on the case, so I finally gave in. We ended up traveling to Alaska together.

EH: On a DC-3! Those planes were retired decades ago. And in a blizzard.

SS: You were the one who had to get to Alaska like yesterday. I found you a ride. Quit complaining. We got there in one piece, didn’t we?

EH: True. (sighs) I wish that was the worst part of the trip.

SS: Yeah, it was pretty scary.

GR: Tell me about Alain Brassard.

(pause)

EH: (serious) The media called him a professional thief, but he was a lot more than that. He was a professional killer as well. Bad news. I’ve dealt with drug lords before, bad guys on death row, that sort of thing. He was in a different league.

GR: But you survived your encounter with him. He tortured you, didn’t he?

EH: Next question.

GR: Tell me about Ellen Smithie.

SS: (laughs) Ellie Mae Smithie is beyond description. She’s a millionaire, but she doesn’t let that get in the way of her having a good time. She’s pretty much done everything at one time or another. She’s a pistol.

EH: (puts on nasally Texas twang) She’s so country she thinks a seven-course meal is a possum and a six-pack.

SS: (laughs again) Yes, that’s her. But don’t let that fool you. She’s as smart as a whip.

EH: (Texas accent continues) She’s got some snap in her garters. (accent disappears) The girl is the most underrated weapon in Texas’ war against crime.

GR: So are either of you from Texas?

SS: No. I’m from New York.

EH: Memphis.

GR: What was the worst part of your experience?

SS: Almost losing my marriage.

EH: (sighs) Torture, death threats, a burning apartment, jail time, almost drowning in a pool, freezing to death in Alaska. Take your pick.

GR: What was the best part of your experience?

SS: I know what Ezra will say. Two words. (singsong) Mad-die.

EH: (embarrassed) Yeah, that pretty much says it all.

GR: Last question. Why would someone want to read this book?

EH: That’s obvious. I’m in it.

SS: (snorts with laughter) That’s probably the last reason to buy it. Best reason? It’s a good example of how God can use two very imperfect people to do great things. I grew through the experience, and I know Ezra did too, whether he will admit it or not.

EH: Plus, I’m in the story.

SS: Plus, he’s in the story.

GR: Thanks for talking to me. And there it is from those who experienced it. Be sure to read the story of Ezra Huddleston and Stevie Sloane, Salome’s Charger available online on September 1.

(In the background…)

SS: Why did he say Ezra Huddleston and Stevie Sloane? Why didn’t he say Stevie Sloane and Ezra Huddleston? Why are you always first?

EH: I’m not always first. But I should be.

SS: (dramatic sigh)

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Playing With Process

5/14/2015

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As you probably know, for the past couple months I have been working with Glen Robinson on a book we're calling Salome's Charger. [Here's a little trivia that has nothing to with anything except that I am feeling nostalgic and it is TBT. When I first started writing professionally, Glen was the assistant editor of Listen magazine. He published some of my fiction pieces which gave me a much needed boost of confidence. Later I became editor of Listen magazine. The man who was the editor when I began writing for Listen magazine, Lincoln Steed, is now my editor at Liberty magazine. And Glen and I are co-authoring a book. I mean, really, how cool is that?!] But what I'd like to talk about today is the process of writing because Glen and I have been doing a little playing. And then I have a wee surprise. I'm releasing my first sneak peek into Salome's Charger. (Glen has already released two scenes. The one I'm not going to be discussing is here.)

Many people want to know what it's like to write a book with someone else. They want to know specifically how it works. Well, let me tell you, with the creation of Scrivener, it works pretty well. In the old days, about the only way you could do it was to send one master file back and forth with your co-author. But with the advent of Scrivener, a special writing software that I resisted like measles when I was first introduced to it but now couldn't live without) everything is backed up to Dropbox. I'm not going to say there are never glitches--and Glen and I have experienced several hair-raising ones--but overall the process has been infinitely more satisfying using Scrivener. The entire book is at your fingertips laid out right there in front of you. You can flip through scenes, back and forth, without having to scroll through the entire manuscript. But by far one of the most ingenious devices when you're co-authoring is the little flags beside each scene. Glen and I each have a working color (for scenes we are writing but not finished), finished colors (for scenes we've finished and the other person needs to review), and yellow flags for scenes in which we've left comments or corrections for the other to review. When the scene is finished, it gets a green flag. It's genius!! It makes it so easy to keep track of where you are and what needs to be done.

As for writing itself, that proceeds about as you would imagine it does. We have our chapters all set up with scenes nested beneath each. As they fill up and are finished, we can collapse them to keep them out of our way as we concentrate on the ones ahead. There is a separate section for research and another for characters which is handy. In general, we each have our own characters though we do "borrow" each other's characters when we need them for scenes.

That's the way it usually goes. But in Salome's Charger, there are several scenes where our two main characters share a scene. One person could have written the whole thing and the other person could have edited their character's "voice", but instead, we decided to play with the process a little. I mean, writing's supposed to be fun, right? So we wrote the scene in tandem, batting it back and forth like a ping-pong ball. We were both pretty happy with the way it came out. I thought the dialog was more natural because it was so organic. And it was authentic because one person wasn't writing it all while the other person tweaked it. See what you think. It's here.

And now it's my turn. I chose a scene near the beginning for my teaser. It kind of explains a bit about the charger and why it's important. Enjoy! (p.s. We're more than half finished with the book, and soon we'll be giving away some digital Advanced Reading Copies of Salome's Charger before the official release. So be sure and sign up for my newsletter--anywhere on my website--and Glen's newsletter, and follow us on our websites and Facebook--here and here--so you have a chance to see the new book before anyone else!) Here, then, for your reading pleasure, a scene from Salome's Charger:

The offices of Sloane & Associates Archaeological Research Foundation had been buzzing and little wonder. The media was calling the discovery of Salome’s charger “the find of the century.” Even the standoffish Professor Simms hadn’t been able to control her professional, detached facade when they’d gone out to lunch earlier in the week to discuss her preliminary findings. She’d used words like “extraordinary” and “fabulous” and “exquisite” to describe the ornate detailing, precious, and semi-precious stones around the edge. But she had cautioned him that the find was stirring up less desirable elements within the historical community.

This was putting an unwelcome damper on the otherwise unbridled elation Raymond Sloane felt over the discovery. It was a wave of euphoria he’d been riding since he’d gotten the phone call from his chief archaeologist. Even now he could feel the excitement tingling through his body. But a nagging sense of unease was what had compelled him to come in early. He’d tried unsuccessfully all night to dismiss it, but it persisted until he’d finally given up. He went into his study and fired up his laptop. What he’d found was disturbing to say the least.

Unable to enjoy his morning, he left for work so early he missed all the rush hour traffic. The offices were deserted. Only Ed, the security guard on the first floor, was around to even acknowledge his existence. He made his way up to the third floor on the silent elevator, brooding all the way.

“There’s this . . . curse,” Simms had said, almost embarrassed, not quite meeting his eyes.

At the time, he’d been amused. The thing that had drawn him into archeology in the first place was the fact that an artifact was rarely just an artifact. The past fascinated him: who had lived, what they had done, what they had believed, how they had lived. The mundane, articles of their existence drew him inexorably into their world. Sometimes he lived more in the past than in the present.

“You know the story, of course,” she’d said and he had nodded absently, trying to remember the details. Apparently his response hadn’t convinced her because she had elaborated for his benefit. “King Herod had taken the wife of his brother Philip I. He divorced the Arabian princess he was married to at the time and installed Herodias and her daughter Salome in the palace where, presumably, under different circumstances they might have lived happily and scandalously ever after. However, their illicit marriage offended the sensibilities of the God-fearing Jews he ruled. One in particular, John the Baptist, called them out on it. In fact, he was very open in his condemnation.”

“And Herod didn’t take kindly to that,” Raymond had guessed, amused.

“Actually, Herod liked John,” Simms had said, surprising him. She’d shrugged. “At least, according to the Bible.” She had gotten a faraway look in her eyes. “And I have seen one portion of a Dead Sea Scroll, a piece called Fragment 47RW, that seems to corroborate that, indicating that Herod was on the verge of dumping Herodias because of John’s disapproval.

“He never got the chance.” She’d snapped out of her reverie and gotten all business again. “The rest of the story is the most well known. Herodias throws a party for Herod’s birthday, her daughter dances for him, Herod gets carried away and offers the girl anything she wants up to half of his kingdom. But when she asks her mother what she should request…”

“Herodias tells her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter,” Raymond had finished, practically by rote, remembering that much of the story from long ago Sunday School classes at church. “Look, I know the charger is beautiful,” in fact, it was magnificent, he’d thought when he had first laid eyes on it, “and as a historical find it’s quite a coup, but I don’t see why it’s cursed just because of the story.”

“The curse does not come from the strength of the story alone,” Simms had corrected him. “At least, not that part of it.”

Raymond had been as puzzled then as he was now. “I don’t understand. If it’s not cursed for what it carried—the head of a prophet of God—then what cursed it?”

“Legend has it that John the Baptist’s severed head cursed Herod and Herodias after it was placed on the charger.”

“You don’t believe that, do you?” Raymond had scoffed. Surely a head that had been severed from a body didn’t have the power of speech. Surely it wasn’t even cognizant any longer. Unconsciously, Raymond had run one finger between the collar of his shirt and his neck thinking absently that it suddenly felt tighter.

“Legend often has elements of fact in it,” Simms said defensively, then she looked him in the eyes and he could see she was playing him. “But no, I don’t believe it, as it happens.”

She had noticed his attempts to loosen his shirt collar and laughed. “Physiologically it’s not possible,” she had assured him. “No, whatever happened, it was not John who cursed the charger. But a group of converted Jews believed that his righteous blood caused the curse. Anyone who touched it or came into contact with it would be either blessed or cursed. If they were Christians, they would be blessed. If they were not believers, they would be cursed.” She paused.

“Or so the legend goes.” He was about to point out that it was a pretty weak curse when she had held up her hand to stop him. “There’s more. The charger reportedly has the ability to foretell the future.”

Raymond had frowned. “Foretell as in predict? It predicts the future?”

Simms had leaned back in her chair, toying with her water glass. “That’s where it gets really interesting. Before Salome used it to present John’s head to her mother, the charger already had a long and colorful past. It is believed to have been crafted by a mystic, Nabonidus of Babylon, and was purported to have mysterious powers even before Herod got hold of it, and it’s not completely clear how he did. Get hold of it, I mean. He may have stolen it or purchased it, or it could have been a gift. The fragment I mentioned seemed to indicate that the reason he chose that particular vessel to carry John’s head was because he himself believed in its powers and that by anointing it with John’s innocent blood it strengthened them.”

“So Herod used it to start predicting the future. Is that it?”

“Not Herod, although considering how his life turned out he might have wished to use it. After John’s death, the charger mysteriously vanished along with his head and his body. It never turns up again in conjunction with Herod, but an exiled Greek astrologer named Alyx…”

“A woman?”

A nod had been the only response he’d gotten. “Alyx claims to have used it to predict that John the Baptist would return and that Herod would have the chance to atone for his gross error in judgment by acquitting him. When Jesus came along baptizing people, Herod believed the prediction to have been fulfilled. At first he plotted to kill Jesus because he was afraid Jesus/John would exact revenge on him for his weakness, but when he finally had the chance to destroy him, he must have had a change of heart, because he relinquished his authority and sent him back to Pilate.”

“But if that was the only evidence…”

“Oh, it was by far not the only evidence,” Simms had interrupted. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The charger reportedly predicted Herod’s eventual exile to Lugdunum in Gaul and death—some say murder. It predicted the fall of Jerusalem. Over time, people began to fear it. Whatever it predicted seemingly happened. After her death, Alyx’s followers used it to elect a new seer to continue to use the charger until a squabble broke out between them. Some felt the charger should be used only to predict major world events, and others thought it was acceptable to make more commercial use of it telling people’s fortunes which the first group considered little better than sacrilege.

“While their power struggle was going on, sometime in the early fourth century A.D., another group used the distraction to seize the charger.”

“Let me guess, they wanted to use it for their own nefarious purposes?”

“Not at all. These were devout Christians descended from a man named Demias. The charger was in his possession originally and was buried with him until Alyx stole it, having murdered several of their ancestors while hunting its whereabouts. These folks were mortified by what the charger was being used for and made a pact among themselves to reclaim it no matter how long it took. It did take them awhile, which is a testament to their devotion to duty. When they finally recovered it, they moved the bones of their ancestor Demias and buried both the bones and the charger in a secret place. They even sealed it to prevent accidental discovery.

“They were so determined to keep it secret that they committed suicide together. Knowledge of the location of the charger died with them. Many people, Alyx’s disciples and others through the centuries, tried to find it, but none succeeded…until your people accidentally discovered it. You should be proud…it’s rumored that Benito Mussolini sent a team of archaeologists to try and find it during World War II so he could predict the outcome of the war.”

“So…” Raymond had struggled to understand why his new find had the historical community all up in arms.

“So there are people who believe Salome’s charger still has power today. The ability to tell the future? What price tag can you put on that? Think of the people who might want to acquire that knowledge. At any cost,” she’d added pointedly. “But there’s more. There are some who believe that the charger not only has the ability to predict the future, but that in the right hands, it gives someone the power to control the future.”

“You’re saying…”

“That having this charger in one’s possession could be a dangerous thing, yes.”

“But you don’t believe it, right? You don’t believe it can tell the future? Or control it?”

Her eyes had shifted away from his, not considering her answer Raymond had realized, but trying to mask her knowledge. “Let’s just say that from what I have seen so far, the last known prediction might not be the last actual prediction. It’s very possible the charger has predicted other major events in earth’s history.”

“What do you mean? Don’t you just ask it what’s going to happen next? Like a Crazy 8 ball or, I don’t know, runes or tarot cards or whatever other devices people use to predict the future?”

“Yes and no. I mean, obviously I can’t say for sure since I wasn’t there. There are carved words along the perimeter that we believe might give guidance to someone hoping to use the charger to control future events. The trouble is that they are in a mystic language, which is to say, not a spoken language, not even a language that anyone has studied from the past. It’s more of a made-up language of sorcery. That’s about the closest I can get to an explanation. It’s all so new,” she’d apologized. “We’re still trying to figure most of this stuff out.”

Raymond had swallowed hard before asking, “And does it have anything to say about what happens next? To all of us?”

Simms had a faint smile when she looked him full in the face and replied, “That is what makes it dangerous. And that I can’t tell you. Yet.”

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Heartsore

4/22/2015

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Have you ever wondered if spiritual warfare is real? If it’s real, what does it look like? I’m here to tell you that it’s real, all right. It’s real and it looks like a bloody battlefield, that’s what it looks like. Right at this moment I feel as though I’m standing at the frontlines hemorrhaging, and I am so heartsore I just want to go AWOL like a great, big coward. But I won’t. Because that’s precisely what the enemy wants, and I refuse to give him the satisfaction. And I don't have to. "Christ gives me the strength to face anything" (Philippians 4:13, CEV).

I know exactly why I’m here. About a year ago, I decided to move forward on a little project I like to call The Shaking. Maybe you’ve heard of it? It was my first venture into independent publishing, and I was both excited and nervous. I was particularly nervous about my unusual protagonist. I knew she was controversial, and I expected to take a lot of heat for writing her story.

In the weeks leading up to the release, God sent me Bible verse after Bible verse to build me up. You know when you’re facing a particular situation and you read a passage of Scripture that practically jumps off the page and shouts your name? It speaks to whatever situation you’re in, giving you comfort or direction or reassurance. That’s called receiving a rhema, a divinely inspired Word from God. I received many rhema in the weeks leading up to publishing The Shaking. I assumed that this meant I was right. Satan was going to start attacking me. I was going to get slammed about the content of the book, and God was graciously both warning and preparing me.

You know what happened instead? Positive review after positive review. I started to relax. I couldn’t understand why Satan would miss this chance to attack me. Surely he was angry about what I wrote exposing him for the liar he is. Surely?

Then I started to worry. Maybe somehow I’d gotten the wrong end of the stick and instead of exposing Satan for the liar he is, I’d inadvertently supported his cause in some way? I racked my brain. I read the reviews again looking for clues. No, people seemed to be blessed by reading The Shaking. I knew it was biblically sound. What then? I kept waiting for the shoe to drop.

This was toward the end of September. I had already started work on The Disciples so I thought maybe Satan was saving up and was going to lambaste me when that one came out. Maybe he was lulling me with a false sense of security.

It turns out he had no intention of attacking me with hostile reviews and angry readers. He had something far, far worse in mind.

First our cat died. And then we found out one of our dogs had inoperable cancer, and we got to watch him slowly deteriorate which was much harder than losing him quickly, as it turns out. And then one of my bunnies got seriously sick and almost died. I was still nursing her when the day after Christmas another one of my bunnies died unexpectedly. A week later I lost a sheep who just dropped dead with no warning. Then I lost another bunny. The dog had to be put to sleep. Three chickens died. After months of intensive nursing and expensive vet visits, the very sick bunny had to be put to sleep. Another one got lung cancer and still another one got ovarian cancer and needed two operations. She’s just recovering from the second right now, and I don’t know if she’ll make it even if the cancer hasn’t spread. And this afternoon I have to bring the bunny with lung cancer to the vet to be put to sleep because she’s gotten much worse.

Satan doesn’t always attack the way you think he will. In fact, he rarely attacks the way you think he will because while he is definitely evil, he isn’t stupid. He’s had millennium to perfect his fighting tactics. You know why he laughs when we picture him as a little red cartoon character with hooves and a pitchfork? Because it makes him look silly and harmless. He’s not either of those things. There's a reason the Bible likens Satan to a hungry lion and not a frightened mouse. "Keep awake! Watch at all times. The devil is working against you. He is walking around like a hungry lion with his mouth open. He is looking for someone to eat" (1 Peter 5:8, NLV). He’s dangerous and lethal, and we would do well to remember that the only power we have to stay safe is in God. You can’t fight spiritual warfare with physical weapons, and you can’t use spiritual weapons if you don’t have a spiritual life.

To say I’m beginning to feel like Job is an understatement. I realize he lost his children, and I’ve only lost animals. But I’m a Dr. Doolittle sort of person. I talk to the animals. I love my animals. My bunnies are like children to me. I know that’s an exaggeration, but right now, from where I’m standing, it sure doesn’t feel like one. I’ve made Job’s declaration my motto: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15, AKJV) because you know what you do when you press back the forces of evil and hit a sore spot? Press harder. A lot harder.
I’m going to keep writing books in an attempt to unmask Satan and vindicate the character of God up until the very moment He does slay me, and I’m going to do it for the same reason that John Harper, a young man aboard the Titanic when it sank, gave his lifejacket to someone else and said, “Don’t worry about me. I’m not going down; I’m going up.”

After making sure his daughter was on one of the lifeboats, he swam from person to person drowning in the icy water and asked, “Are you saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” He used his last breath to plead with a man to accept Christ before he sank beneath the icy water to his death. That man decided then and there to turn his life over to Christ. Who knows which person who next reads one of my books will decide to do the same? I don’t know, but I will use my last breath to extend the invitation. And that is Spiritual Warfare 101, the tip of a very large iceberg, if you’ll pardon the Titanic reference.

This subject is never far from my mind. I wrote a trilogy about it, for crying out loud. It’s something I am very aware of and always have been. I even put some spiritual warfare in The Disciples. But at the moment, aside from the fact that I’m bleeding from some very large holes in my heart, I’m thinking about it even harder because my next solo project is going to be This Means War, which will demonstrate how to use the weapons of spiritual warfare, and I’m going to take a particular pleasure doing it, too.

Have you had experience with spiritual warfare? I’d love to hear about it.

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Official Launch for The Shaking

2/22/2015

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I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date . . .

I've been so busy promoting the official launch of The Shaking through every social media site known to man that I neglected my own website!! In whirlwind news, The Shaking launches today on Facebook, and I'll be giving away props from the book: Kyle's leather jacket, Brooke's cashmere sweater, Judah's personal Bible complete with all the verses from the book highlighted (my hand is still cramped from highlighting them), Sadie's zebra colored bunny rabbit, bundles of the pocket testaments the characters gave away in the book, and lots more. I hope to see you there!!

In other news, I finished The Disciples, the stand-alone sequel to The Shaking, on Friday. Preliminary feedback from my editor is favorable. (He said so far he likes it better than The Shaking . . . I think that's favorable?) I had a harder time writing from Lily's perspective than I did from Brooke's.

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Free Copies of The Shaking

2/17/2015

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Shaking

by Céleste Perrino-Walker

Giveaway ends February 22, 2015.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

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No Sales? No Success? No Sweat!

10/23/2014

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I love the band Needtobreathe. I could probably listen to their music all day long. But this post isn't about what a great sound they have, or their inspiring lyrics, or even their new album (which I just got on vinyl . . . swoon.*) It's about their philosophy on why they do what they do, because I think so many times in this knock-down-drag-out push for success we tend to forget what motivated us to create in the first place. I know I did.

The reason I didn't write books for several years wasn't because I had no ideas left inside my head. It wasn't because I didn't know how to put them on paper, or where to send them when I was ready. It wasn't even because no one was interested in them. The reason I didn't write was because I lost the fire. I lost my purpose, and as an INFJ, without purpose there is no point. I just wanted to write a book exactly as it came to me instead of twisting it into something that the publishing world thought would sell.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying all this because my latest book, The Shaking, is doing poorly or not experiencing sales. It's actually doing really well, and if you're one of the people who bought it, you have my heartfelt thanks! If you've reviewed it, I'll send you my firstborn. (Fair warning: he's not an easy keeper.) I simply mean that if you're doing something you completely believe in with your whole heart and soul, it probably WILL do well because there's a difference between trying to give people what you think might sell the best and giving them something you believe down to your marrow. If you are doing what you love, it will show. The sales, the success, they'll follow. You won't have to push them ahead of you like a boulder.

Speaking about their new record, Rivers in the Wasteland, the Rineharts said, "It's about God putting rivers or something new in a dry desert that was a wasteland. You have to get to that point when you need it in order to appreciate it. That's what happened on this record. We had to reach the bottom to realize we needed to make that change."

I totally get that because I was in that place. I wandered through my own wasteland to reach where I am today doing what I love and putting it out there in the hopes that other people will see in it what I see. If this is where you're at, too, play the clip below for more thoughts from Needtobreathe about finding your purpose and keeping the main thing the main thing.

* Disclaimer: I haven't (sadly) received any compensation from Needtobreathe for my endorsement. Though if the guys wanted to reciprocate and buy my latest book, well, I'm not stopping them.

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Christian? Or Secular?

10/6/2014

7 Comments

I think most Christians who are writers eventually struggle with the "should I write only Christian material" dilemma. I know I did. You may have trouble believing this, but when I started writing seriously in high school and considered publication, my goal was to be the next Stephen King or Robert Ludlum. Not because they were famous, although that was great, but because I liked what they wrote. (Thanks a lot, Missisquoi High School librarian.)

But when it came to my own writing, I started to get pangs of conscience. If writing was going to be my profession, shouldn't it reflect my most important life work: answering the Great Commission? “ ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation’ ” (Mark 16:15, NIV). I felt strongly convicted that my writing should further the work of the gospel for as long as God gave me opportunities to do so. That was about twenty-five years ago, and I feel the same way today. I briefly toyed with the idea of writing a secular book, but God reinforced my calling to write Christian material. For me, it was a much needed affirmation and a nice opportunity to recommit my work to Him.

I asked some other Christian writers for their take on this difficult question: Christian, secular, or both? Check out what they had to say and then join the conversation. Who knows, you may discover your next favorite author, book, or calling below:

The Writers:

Carlene Havel
Recent Published Work: The Scarlet Cord, Daughter of the King, A Hero’s Homecoming, Here Today Gone Tomorrow, and A Sharecropper Christmas.
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarleneHavel

Sharon Connell
Recent Published Word: A Very Present Help, and Paths of Righteousness. Currently working on There Abideth Hope, hopefully available by the end of this year.
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/rosecastleplace/

T.C. Slonaker
Recent Published Work: The Angelmen Series: Amity of the Angelmen (Book 1), Asher of the Angelmen (Book 2), Coming soon: Caedmon of the Angelmen (Book 3), as well as Books 4-8!
Website: www.tcslonaker.com

Nancy Canwell
Recent Published Work: He’s Got Your Back Junior-Earliteen 2015 Devotional Book, Signs of the Times, Insight.

J.P. Choquette
Recent Published Work: Epidemic, Dark Circle
Website: www.jpchoquette.com
Suspense for Sensitive Readers, group on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/144752-suspense-for-sensitive-readers

Shakira R. Thompson
Recent Published Work: High Noon Justice
Website: www.shakirathompson.com

Kay D. Rizzo_
Recent Published Work: Prodigal Daughter, Northern Lights, Rebecca’s Crossing
Website: www.kayrizzo.com

Louisa Black
Recently Published Work: Coming Back Through Grace

Sandy Snavely
Recently Published Work: Ellie's Window (Surrender), Called to Rebellion (The Key To a Single-Hearted Love for Christ)
Website: www.sandysnavely.com

Jessy Rei
Recently Published Work: Faith In Forgiving
Website: http://jessyrei.wordpress.com

Hazel Siangco

Do you write Christian or secular material, or a combination of both?

Carlene: There’s a varying amount of faith in my books, always with a Christian worldview.

Sharon: It was about ten years ago that I started writing Christian fiction and that is where my interest has stayed. Since God gave me the ability to write, I want all my stories to be a blessing, not only to people, but also to my Lord. My desire is to be an encouragement to those who read my work. I have often heard a preacher say that when God gives you a talent, you need to use it for His honor and glory. When talents are not used for the purpose they have been given, I believe that they are slowly lost. As long as I am able, I will use what He has given me to the best of my ability to draw others to my Lord._

T.C.: Christian. I have children who like to read, but when we go to the library to find books, I find way too much questionable material. I want my kids to have interesting books to read that point them to God and godly thoughts rather than vampires and sex.

Nancy: Christian material only. I never even considered writing secular material because my writer’s “voice” is devotional-inspirational. I started writing Christian material to bring people hope. It seems that the best way to do that is to share my thoughts and feelings, share stories of people I know, and share scriptures from the Bible.

J.P.: The line between secular and Christian art should be invisible, but it’s not. It’s perhaps more pronounced than in any other career. Think for a minute: you wouldn’t ask your nurse if she’s a Christian before she takes your temperature or a plumber which church he attends before he comes to fix a leaky pipe.

There are three reasons that I chose to write “secular” fiction (ugh, even that label gives me the heebie jeebies). Here they are:

a) I tried writing “Christian” fiction and it was ugly. I thought I was “supposed to” write this and only this because I am a person of faith. Well, my attempt would have been painful for the reader—thank God it never got that far.

b) In her very powerful book, Walking on Water, Madeleine L’engle stated, “To try to talk about art and about Christianity is for me one and the same thing, and it means attempting to share the meaning of my life, what gives it, for me, its tragedy and its glory. It is what makes me respond to the death of an apple tree, the birth of a puppy, northern lights shaking the sky, by writing stories.” Faith and art are intertwined.

c) Christians already know God. What about those who don’t? As a person of faith, I’m called to “be light to the world.” But not to those who already have light—we’d likely just blind each other.

Jesus often taught using stories (parables) and there’s a reason for this. We can relate to stories. We can imagine ourselves within the story and it brings facts and messages to life. Stories are the ultimate communication tool and if a Christian is telling a story, it will contain light, no matter how much gloom is also present.

Because I write in the mystery/suspense/thriller genre, there is a lot of darkness in my subject matter. I write about murder, rape, epidemic outbreaks, and other bad things happening. But no matter what we write, we can never outdo the bad guys. Look at your Bible and you’ll find it full of accounts of all sorts of horrible deeds: sodomy, torture, gang rape, murder and more. Does that make it a bad book? Of course not!

But while horrible, terrible things happen in the world, it’s my choice as an author to glamorize and play up the degenerate acts or to skim over them and focus on the story itself.

And ultimately on a hope that good will conquer evil in the end.

Shakira: I now mainly write Christian material and have always but there have been times where I have ghostwritten for secular material. I was ghostwriting for a minister who was writing a secular fiction novel. I’d previously worked on a Christian nonfiction book for her as well.

Kay: Christian. I only have so many years to share the love of Jesus to others.

Louisa: I write for the Christian market now but for many years tried hard to write for the secular market. However, personally I found it difficult to write any scenarios or characters without the knowledge of God in the framework or lives of the characters and told that my work was good but not apparently marketable, please remove the Christian outlook etc. Eventually, my heart and relationship with God changed and grew and found that all my work had the Lord's hand print all over it which made me laugh when I reflected back on my journey with Him. At the end of the day, I just could not imagine life in my work or my characters without God in it.

Sandy: I write Christian material in a way that those who have not yet begun to follow Jesus will enjoy, be inspired by, and find challenging to their existing life and worldview.

Jessy: I write Christian stories as an obedient response to God's command to lead the readers to Him. My personal painful experience has been God's instrument for me to discover His will for me—to share my story and create a story for His glory. Through that heartbreaking experience, He allowed me to experience His supernatural grace so I could extend forgiveness to the person who've hurt me and share it through a story.

Hazel: I write Christian related stories. I base most of my writings on my experiences and as I see things. I want to share, encourage, and inspire other people who read my writings. I am fascinated by writing Christian material only, as I want to deepen my relationship to God through that. And yes, I hope my writings may inspire hopeless people. For me, it’s a gift when you can write. Each of us has a unique talent of writing to reach out to our readers. But one thing we want for our readers is to be satisfied, learn from our writing, and be encouraged by it. As for me, I’m not looking only to entertain readers when they’re bored but also to remind them that good things still exist.

Why? What contributed to your choice?

Sandy: Oh that's easy. God has given me this gift, therefore I feel a strong, pulsating, need to honor Him by using it for His pleasure. I have come to see that when we are actively involved in using our gifts and talents, they become as prayer to us for God becomes intimately involved in the process.

Shakira: I was born and raised in the church so Christian material is all I know and what I’m pretty much able to relate to.

Carlene: It doesn’t feel like a choice—more like an imperative to incorporate themes of faith, hope, and love into the stories I write.

Sharon: Only writing Christian novels blesses me as I hope it does others. In no way has it been a hindrance to my writing. Each day as I work on my story, I get more and more excited about finishing it, having it published and then read by others.

T.C.: I started writing picture books that were not specifically Christian (though a couple were), and was not able to get them published before moving on to Christian YA books. Writing Christian work, I feel I have a ministry that pleases God and not just a hobby or a way to make a few extra dollars.

Have you always written strictly Christian material? If no, what changed?

Carlene: When I became a believer in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, I developed a sudden passion for creative writing. I don’t know that this was a decision at first. A book was a way to capture and express my new feelings, and the result was A Hero’s Homecoming. It’s a romance intertwined with a spiritual journey.

Sandy: I was quite the radical 60's kid when I was in high school. I wrote all kinds of things that I thought were deep and world changing, only to find later in life that they were trite and full of illogical ideals. Everything changed when I met Jesus heart to heart.

Jessy: No. I have started secular stories before but I wasn't able to finish it as I was depending on my wisdom which is limited. God reminded me that my interest in writing is "from" Him and "for" Him alone. So I surrendered my dream as a writer and asked Him to reveal what He wants me to write that could bring glory to His name.

If yes, why did you decide at the beginning of your career to write Christian material only?

Kay: I didn’t make a conscious decision. Every few years, after a book gets rejected, I decide to ‘make a few tents’ like Paul. I peruse a few Harlequins and quickly lose interest. It’s not my ministry; it’s His. He keeps the ideas flowing. I have more book ideas than I have days to live.

Most important to me is my influence over the lives of Christian women, especially the young. I wouldn’t want to do anything or write anything that might cause them to doubt or to stray from their commitment to God.

Do you feel that only writing Christian material has been a blessing or has hindered your work as a writer? Why or why not?

T.C.: Writing Christian definitely limits my audience. There will always be those who are looking for books that “push the limits,” especially teens who are trying to figure out their new hormones. And of course, those who feel they will be “preached at” and want nothing to do with Christian books. But, there is also that group, albeit smaller group, who finding it freeing to read books that do not make them nervous. While a lot of times it is the parents who seek these books out, I also find there are many teens who are seeking to please God in all they do. I want to help them!

Nancy: Only a blessing because when I hear people say that my writing somehow touched their lives, I know that I’m doing what I’m supposed to do—making a difference in this world for God. Also, when I write, I feel a closeness to God that I don’t feel otherwise.

Shakira: My works are definitely a blessing to me first and then I hopefully pray that they are a blessing to others. While I have written both secular and Christian material, they all still had some spiritual themes throughout them which made it easy for me. Now that I’m mainly writing Christian material, the income has been slow to come in, however, I’m definitely more satisfied.

Sandy: A blessing! It's been a huge blessing. I so often feel like God is whispering in my ear, "Sandy, I have a story that needs to be told, and I want you to tell it.” As a woman I have many words! What a privilege it is to use those words to the praise and Glory of God.

Jessy: Writing Christian material has been definitely a blessing. Through this, I'm not only sharing what God wants me to share but in the process, I'm having a closer relationship with my Creator. Since I acknowledge that my wisdom is limited, God pours His blessing through the words, scenes and dialog that can be included in the story. And it will always be a blessing to be used by God to display His glory.

If you are a Christian who writes secular material, what contributed to your choice?

Carlene: Some of my books are centered on faith, while in others it is merely an undercurrent. I think it’s important to maintain the integrity of each story. Forcing Christian content into what should be a more secular tale doesn’t work for me.

What kind of secular material do you write? Is there secular material you wouldn’t write? How do you draw the line?

Carlene: I love to tell all kinds of stories, but I draw the line at erotica. However, I don’t try to pretend the stork brings babies. The Bible is a good guideline. It mentions lots of unpleasant behavior by stating what happened without going into erotic details. As a reader, I avoid books where sexual attraction is used as a substitute for love.

If you are a Christian who writes both, what contributed to your choice? Is it hard to separate the two? Which field brings you the most work? The most satisfaction? The best income?

Kay: Income? Ya’ gotta’ be kidding! It’s at royalty check time I am most tempted to whip out a secular romance novel. But then, money is only paper. Goes up in smoke in an instant. I’ve never been in this business for the money. Just ask my patient hubby.

Sandy: Income is never a part of my thinking when it comes to writing; which is a very good thing because, quite frankly, my earnings are nothing that will buy me a villa in Italy. Because I write strictly Christian material, I have to say, I don't separate the two. That's because I see the secular world as an extension of Christianity. To separate the two, I believe, does a disservice to Jesus Followers and those who have not yet given their lives to Him. If Christ is indeed, above all, in all, and through all, how can we draw a line in the sand between the two? Isn't this why the veil was torn in two? There will be plenty of sifting and dividing when the Day of the Lord comes. Until then, our job is to be in the world, with the Word, while striving to not become the world's mission field. Life isn't tidy. But Jesus has come to clean it up, from the inside out.

Thank you so much to my guests! If you have a question or topic you'd like to see addressed, let me know.

7 Comments

Indie Christian :: Defined

9/1/2014

4 Comments

You know how they say necessity is the mother of invention? Well, that's how the genre "Indie Christian" came about. I credit author Glen Robinson with its creation even though he probably didn't realize he was starting something. When I read his Champion trilogy, I was excited about the way it opened the horizon in the field of Christian publishing. So what, exactly, is "Indie Christian"?

First, it's independently published. That's not so much by design . . . both Glen and I approached traditional publishers with our "not quite mainstream" but definitely Christian books. I could speculate on why publishers are unwilling to try something in this field: hard to market a new niche, uncomfortable with the level of honesty, unwilling to back something that could offend people. I don't know. And it doesn't really matter now. Independent publishing has allowed books that don't fit other people's predetermined categories to enter the market. If you like to read, and you 're not excited about that, check your pulse because you might be dead.

I feel that an even more important aspect of the "Indie" definition has to do with the type of content I think it includes. In the art world in general, "Indie" inherently means "different, creative, non-conformist, original, avant garde." And that is an intrinsic part of the "Indie" definition. Because "Indie" doesn't fit a standard mold it must be published independently--at least for now. So the two definitions are opposite sides of the same coin.

I've asked Glen to help me introduce you to the "Indie Christian" genre since he started it. Plus, I kind of credit Glen with helping me launch my career in the first place. He took a chance on my fiction when he was the Associate Editor of Listen Magazine, and I was trying to get published. Now, on the brink of beginning a new phase in my writing, I thought it was only fitting that he weigh in. Here, then, is my interview with Glen:

Your Champion trilogy is outside the usual Christian genre. What was your impetus for veering away from the usual, safe format for a Christian novel?

Several years ago, my friend and fellow editor Tim Lale challenged me to make my writing more “honest,” and I struggled for quite a while to determine what that is. (Oddly enough, I kind of remember Tim saying something of the sort to me at some point. Obviously, I didn't jump on it as quickly as Glen. Still, I think we have our instigator . . . CPW) I came to the conclusion that traditional Christian writing often veers on the side of “safe” and “predictable,” and I decided that not only did I not want my writing to be “safe” and “predictable,” but that true Christianity isn’t either one of those things. Jesus wasn’t interested in affirming the status quo, and we shouldn’t be either. Our writing should challenge readers with real Christian issues and concepts, but do it in a manner that is understandable to the world.

During the writing process, were you at all afraid of criticism by Christian readers for giving them something a little edgier than they might have expected?

When I decided that I was going to follow this path, I submitted my proposed manuscripts to a couple of traditional publishers. One saw what I considered action in my story as “too violent,” although it wasn’t any more violent than what one would see on network TV. Another considered it for a long while, but in the end rejecting it on the recommendation from the marketing department. I suspect they weren’t sure how to sell something this out of the ordinary.

In what ways do you feel the Champion trilogy addresses important Christian topics in a way that a more traditional Christian book couldn’t?

It deals with the issues of surrender, commitment and sacrifice, just like many other Christian stories. But my intention was to appeal to (1) Christians who don’t usually buy Christian books for the reasons cited above; and (2) secular readers who get caught up in the action and don’t care if there is a spiritual message as long as they enjoy the story. I learned this approach from my end-time novel, If Tomorrow Comes, which continues to sell to people I never would have expected.

Do you feel that Champion is in any way a more honest novel because of its disregard of convention? In what way?

I am dead-set against using “stained-glass” language in our stories, our sermons and our interaction with each other. I think it is exclusive, rather than inclusive, and we end up talking to ourselves rather than the world. We need to use the language and the methods that the world uses (within the limits of our own comfort and conscience). That’s how I interpret honesty. When I allude to a married pastor and his wife going to bed together because they are trying to get pregnant, one editor expressed some hesitation, but that’s real world, and so we shouldn’t have to avoid it.

Would you say that “Indie Christian” is an appropriate designation for a genre that is not quite what readers of Christian fiction typically expect? Why or why not?

To me, Indie applies more to method rather than content, but it definitely separates the intent of this kind of story from the traditional Christian stories. This kind of story probably wouldn’t have been considered 20 years ago, or even 10, but the changing landscape of publishing makes all kinds of new approaches possible.

As a reader, what sorts of books would you expect to see in the genre “Indie Christian”?

Definitely nontraditional. Indie books have been fighting an uphill battle against a lack of quality by many indie authors, but I think there have been some masterful indie books that have come out in the past few years that will help overturn this perception. I would think “Indie Christian” would mean books that were done in new, exciting, innovative, challenging ways.

Do you think you’ll write more novels in this genre?

Absolutely. But my interpretation of “indie” might not be everybody’s. I am currently working on a novel based on the Biblical character Jonathan, but it is definitely non-traditional. Much of the Bible is at least PG-13 rated, but we tend to sanitize it to make it “safe.” Christianity isn’t safe. I am in the process of developing my own writing manifesto, and when it is done, I plan on following it and inspiration to determine future projects.

And there you have it. What the Indie Christian genre means to the people who sorta, kinda created it and who hope that many other Christian authors will join us. A big "thank you" to Glen for submitting to a bunch of nosy questions. If you'd like a list of his other published work, go here. I expect to finish The Shaking this week (ahead of schedule) and hopefully add it to the list of published "Indie Christian" work out there the week after if all goes well. Stay tuned...

If you have a recommendation for a book you consider to be "Indie Christian," please share it in the comments section.

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