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Apologetics, Fiction, Drama, Speaking, and I’m Tired, Oh My!!!!
January and February are usually quiet months for me as an author. With one notable exception. Last year, my editor sent me the first editorial suggestions for “The 13th Demon” in February and I spent the month working on a major rewrite for the book that came out in October of 2011. This year, I was prepared to spend mid February to March on the book. I was thinking that January would be quiet. Dead. Nothing would happen.
Wrong!!!!!
Here it is the end of February and I am SOOOOO busy and I love it! Already, I’m out of breath and the year has just begun. And, according to my stalwart editor, Andy, the second book “The 12th Demon” out this coming October is MUCH better than book one. I’m getting stoked for a good year.
Bottom Line so far: God is so good. And, as I look forward to 2012 and look back to where God has brought me from, I realize I’m riding the wave of His plan for my life, not mine. And, that is just where I need to be.
Item #1 — Drama. I never wanted to be involved in drama. And yet, God positioned me to be in charge of a drama ministry at Brookwood Baptist Church for 15 years!!! Because of my experience with drama, I am requested often to speak on a multitude of topics relating to drama in the church. This past weekend, I spoke at the annual Louisiana Music and Drama Festival on my work with kids in our church’s Kidstuf program. That work involves writing and rewriting and adapting scripts for weekly drama and directing adults to act like kids. The weird things is, Kidstuf is oddly about apologetics. You know, the defense of the Christian faith; the establishment of the fact that our worldview is based on sound, rational thinking. So, how does Kidstuf work? Each month, we teach the kids a “virture” or value, like honesty, self-control, honor, generosity, sacrifice, etc. And those virtues are rooted in sound scripture. And how do we convey this to the kids? Through edgy sketches and drama that makes them THINK! That’s right! We’re making our kids think critically about the world around them. Imagine that! Which leads me toL
Item #2 — Apologetics. I never imagined I would be in this field. For one thing, I never knew it existed until I was challenged by my scientific colleagues on why I was a Christian. This story I’ve shared many times before. But, I never imagined I would become a trained apologist and then use that apologetics to defend my faith and help out with kids who are being twisted and deformed by our postmodern culture. In fact, since the first of the year I have spoken four times at major venues on apologetics! That is in addition to the speaking engagement at the drama festival. I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to our state Evangelism Conference. And then, I was invited to come and speak to Mark Sutton Ministries’ seminary class on apologetics. And then, I was invited to speak at two different “LifeGroup” sessions here in my home city. Tomorrow night, my best friend Mark Riser and I will be speaking at the launch of a new church series on the Life of Christ.
I mean, this is just too weird!!! How did I get into this? But, you know what else happened? Somehow apologetics made me want to write fiction that used those facts as the basis for stories and that led to . . .
Item #3 — Published Christian Author in Speculative Fiction. I started out at the age of 13 writing science fiction. For years I tried to get published and put my writing career on the shelf to conquer college and medical school. When I came back to it, God say “Write Drama” and that is what I did. In 1995 a series of children’s plays was published by Contemporary Drama. Wait! It’s supposed to be science fiction! And then, I got depressed. Bad depressed and worked through it in two years and my pastor said “Let’s write a book on depression.” And we did and in 2001 came “Conquering Depression” published by Broadman & Holman. But, where was the science fiction? I brooded over my multiple manuscripts of science fiction all in various stages of development and nothing happened. I told God I would write whatever he wanted me to write. After all, I hadn’t been too successful with the science fiction stuff, but God had used me to touch lives with other kinds of writing. Maybe the big Dude Upstairs knows what He’s doing!
I woke up one Saturday morning with this weird, scary, horror type story in my head that used, wait for it, apologetics as a center piece and the results, 30 days later, was “The 13 Demon”. I didn’t want to do what I now know is “speculative fiction”. I wanted to stick to good old hard science fiction. But, God had other plans. And now I’m writing, published, apologizing, kidstuffing and . . .
Item #4 — Speaking Career. Back in 2008 when I was taking a course in apologetics I was required to go to this Dynamic Communication Workshop and learn how to, uh, communicate. Get out of here! I already KNOW how to communicate! I write. I speak. I direct. I act. I chase little monkeys around the kid’s area. But, I had no choice. If I wanted to get my Certified Apologetic Instructor certification, I would head out at once to DCW. Guess what? Life. Changing. Experience! Bada bing! I was Co Mun Icating! And, now, I am getting all kinds of request to come and speak on everything from “How Can I Know God Exists?” to “Writing and Adapting Scripts for Children” to “Should I Self Publish or Not?”
Here I am smack dab in the middle of a plan I never imagined. I wanted to be the next Michael Crichton. Well, in a way, my speculative fiction is similar to the style he used. So, did God allow me to have the desires of my heart. You bet you He did! Man, what a year so far!
So, I’m contemplating a new endeavor. I’m considering starting a website dedicated to “apologetic fiction”. What does this mean? Simply, my goal would be to equip Christian fiction and non fiction writers with ways to use their writing to show the truth of the Christian worldview. I plan on talking about LEGACY — the mean and women of the past who used their writing to advance Truth. People such as C. S. Lewis and Tolkien and Chesterton. I plan on touching on BASICS, the basic tenets of apologetics — philosophy, history, science and how we can think again as Christians. How to use those elements in your writing. I plan on REVIEWS, covering books both fiction and non fiction about Christian apologetics so that you, the author, will know which book is best for your research. I plan on exposing FORBIDDEN topics, what my LifeGroup pastor, Weston, calls “speculative theology”. These are topics we Christians LOVE to argue over but that can become a stumbling block to non believers and skeptics we are trying to reach with our writing. And, I want to invite other authors to submit PARABLES, stories, poems, essays, blog posts illustrating the need for Truth in today’s postmodern culture. And finally, a little game in “NAME THAT WORLDVIEW” where I review a novel, a television show, a movie, etc. and see if you can figure what worldview is being portrayed.
So there it is. Look soon for the site intitled PARABOLE, the Greek word for parable. Is it more work? Yes! But, it is no more work than I am involved in right now preparing for these teaching and speaking engagements.
So, if you might be interested in exploring such a site, send me a comment. Make a suggestion. Let’s see if we can proclaim TRUTH to the world through our FICTION and our WRITING.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a nap!!!!!
“The Realms Thereunder” by Ross Lawhead — A Book Review
“The Realms Thereunder” is an exciting and fascinating book of inspirational fantasy by the son of Stephen Lawhead, Ross Lawhead. The story centers around two young adults who vanished several years prior to the present only to resurface to a world that is now filled with danger. Daniel lives as a homeless waif, wandering the streets of Oxford looking out for the reappearance of vile creatures who inhabit an underground world filled with gnomes and trolls and “yfelgopes”.
Freya is trying her best to put the past behind her and her obsession with doorways and portals underscores her bad experiences from the past. For, both young adults disappeared into an underground labyrinth with ageless knights who battle a growing evil that threatens to destroy the world. And they did so simply by walking through the wrong opening!
Daniel and Freya traveled with the knights to the underground kingdom of Nidergeard. There, they meet the almost immortal sage, Ealdstan the Ancient who revealed that they alone could stop the coming war with his nemesis, Gad. The book weaves back and forth from the present to Daniel and Freya’s experiences in the past.
Freya is soon fooled into thinking she has joined a band of fighters preparing for the coming invasion and thus is neutralized. Daniel falls through another portal into a fairy land where he must commit a vile crime in order to return to our world in time to stop the coming evil forces.
The Sleeping Knights were a really fascinating and engaging feature of the story. I loved this aspect of ancient knights reawakening to defend the world against evil. I kept recalling the old knight in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” looking Indiana in the eye and saying “You chose wisely.” And, Ross Lawhead chose wisely. What great characters were these knights!
At first, the device of shifting back and forth between the present and the past was somewhat jarring. But, as the story progressed this feature was actually compelling as the story threads both reached a climax at the end of the novel. Well done.
“The Realms Thereunder” is well written and its fantasy worlds well realized and developed. The inspirational elements are toned down and, frankly, I would not call this book “Christian Fiction”. It functions well as a book in the secular world as well in the Christian fiction world. The reader will not be disappointed at the travails, trials, and triumphs of its two young adults. I can’t wait for book two!
* Book link – http://www.amazon.com/Realms-Thereunder-Ancient-Earth/dp/1595549099/
Author’s Web site – http://www.rosslawhead.com/blog/
Participants’ links:
http://ofbattlesdragonsandswordsofadamant.blogspot.com/“> Gillian Adams
http://tessbissell.wordpress.com/“> Red Bissell
http://www.AdventuresInFiction.blogspot.com/“> Keanan Brand
http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/“> Beckie Burnham
http://www.hiddenvalleysimplicity.com“> Melissa Carswell
http://jeffchapmanwriter.blogspot.com/“> Jeff Chapman
http://csffblogtour.com/“> CSFF Blog Tour
http://tweezlereads.blogspot.com/“> Theresa Dunlap
http://home.earthlink.net/~wyverns/“> Emmalyn Edwards
http://projectinga.blogspot.com/“> April Erwin
http://vicsmediaroom.wordpress.com/“> Victor Gentile
http://going-greene.blogspot.com/“>Tori Greene
http://www.thehahnhuntinglodge.com/“> Nikole Hahn
http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/“> Ryan Heart<
http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com“> Timothy Hicks
http://www.christopherhopper.com/blog/“> Christopher Hopper
http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/“> Jason Joyner
http://carolkeen.blogspot.com/“> Carol Keen
http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/“> Krystine Kercher
http://mharvireads.blogspot.com/“> Marzabeth
http://www.shannonmcdermott.com/?page_id=189“> Shannon McDermott
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/“> Rebecca LuElla Miller
http://thebookfae.wordpress.com“> Mirriam Neal
http://www.questwriter.blogspot.com/“> Eve Nielsen
http://linalamont.blogspot.com/“> Nissa
http://www.leastread.blogspot.com/“> John W. Otte
http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/“> Donita K. Paul
http://www.bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com/“> Joan Nienhuis
http://justanotherbookbag.blogspot.com/“> Crista Richey
http://www.sarahsawyer.com/blog“> Sarah Sawyer
http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/“> Chawna Schroeder
http://reviewsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/“> Kathleen Smith
http://www.mindsinger.com/“> Donna Swanson
http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/“> Rachel Starr Thomson
http://christiansf.blogspot.com/“> Steve Trower
http://frederation.wordpress.com“> Fred Warren
http://www.fantasyandfaith.com“> Dona Watson
http://www.shanewerlinger.com/“> Shane Werlinger
http://www.theravenquill.blogspot.com/“> Nicole White
http://finishedthebook.blogspot.com/“> Rachel Wyant
Pump up Your Writing by Speaking!
Here is a copy of one of my “how to” blogs for “Just the Write Charisma“. I thought I would reproduce it here for those of you interested in the writing life.
Recently, I was listening to an interview of a Christian speculative fiction author. A blogtalk radio “station” out of Canada with a listening audience in the hundreds of thousands had granted this author an hour long interview to talk about his book. As I listened, I was appalled. Was this man a communicator? Didn’t he write a novel? How was it he was such an inarticulate speaker?
I began to listen to other podcast interviews and online interviews and I discovered something. As authors, we are the masters of the WRITTEN word, but often we are abysmal with the SPOKEN word. That author I mentioned above? That was me, Bruce Hennigan, in an interview for my first self published novel.
My journey since then has been totally unanticipated. I am an apologist, or one who is trained to defend the truth of the Christian worldview and since that interview, I have become part of a local organization, SBCAN or Shreveport Bossier Christian Apologetics Network, producing seminars and mini-retreats on how to defend the Christian faith in an increasingly hostile culture. I sat down and asked myself, “Why has God chosen to make me an apologist AND a novelist? What do the two have to do with each other?”
Well, God has shown me an answer. And it is simply this. One way we as authors can promote our WRITTEN word is by becoming SPEAKERS and communicating, with clarity, the message that underlies our novels. From a strictly utilitarian point of view, speaking in public can afford us the opportunity to promote our works. So, how is this accomplished? Let me give you four suggestions:
ONE — REFINE YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS
I enrolled in the Certified Apologetic Instructor program from my denominations North American Mission Board under the direction of one of the most awesome speakers and generally all around wonderful brother in Christ, Mike Licona. [link] As part of this intensive training program, Mike required us to attend the Dynamic Communications Workshop (Now known as the SCORRE Conference). Now, I have been a public speaking since high school. I am producer, director, playwright, and actor in church based drama. I have spoken at dozens of writer’s conferences on writing plays as well as dozens of regional and national drama festivals. Why would I have to attend a communications workshop?
While DCW isn’t the only workshop out there, I can tell you unequivocally that it changed my life. Really! It changed my life! This Christian based program showed me where I was going wrong and taught me invaluable skills in communication. I cannot recommend this program highly enough. Yes, it is expensive. Yes, it is intensive. But, as authors, we must master the skill of selling ourselves in interviews and podcasts and videocasts. If we stumble and mumble and “UMM” our way through an interview, who in their right mind would want to read what we write!
I had to humble myself and realize I can always be taught something and let the wonderful people at DCW teach me how to promote my novels; how to take my “commodity” of writing and turn it into a “product” that people will want to purchase.
TWO — SPEAK ON WHAT YOU KNOW
But, Bruce, I am NOT a public speaker. What do I know? I’m not an apologist!
Stop, just a doggone minute! You are too an expert. You didn’t just pull the words out of thin air for your novel — well maybe you did. But, you did research for you novel, right? There is a definite message there; a genre; a “hook”. It might be historical information. It might be technical information. But, there is information there. And, you’ve written about it which makes you an expert. So, talk about it!
An old adage goes, “write about what you know”. As novelists we KNOW about something. If we can write about it, we can talk about it. If nothing else, we can talk about the process of being published authors. Think of all the aspects of the writing life we have had to become experts on. Marketing, publicity, social media, editing, research skills, etc. We have something we can bring to an audience. And, in that process, we promote our novels!
Now, this is not for everyone. Not all of us are comfortable in front of an audience. But, we should at least be articulate enough to pull off an interview or a podcast. Find that subject or subjects you can speak comfortably about and then PLUG your novel!
THREE — SPEAK ON WHO YOU ARE
I was so touched by Mike Dellosso’s accounts of his struggle with colon cancer in his blog. The man is a hero in my book. As a physician, I work with dying patients all the time. We will all face that medical crisis that might end our lives. And, how we face death is determined by our character; our faith; our strength. It also takes guts to speak about our weaknesses; our battles; our losses. But, it also gives us an opportunity to speak about our triumphs! And, as a Christian, I have found that EVERY triumph is ultimately due to the supernatural intervention of my God.
Years ago, I battled depression. After two years of struggling through counseling and changing my life completely, God led me to develop some tools to keep me from getting depressed again. My pastor approached me about writing a book on the subject. Out of my pain, “Conquering Depression” was picked up and published by B&H Publishing in 2001. For the next three years, Mark Sutton and I offered a three hour seminar on “Conquering Depression”. We required that every participant (or, at least, every couple) purchase a copy of our book and that was included in the price for the seminar, a reasonable $25 per person. We spoke about who we were and we sold lots of books. The downside was the constant need to expose my very soul to my audience; to reveal my inner most secrets and struggles. But, God ultimately received the credit!
Every good novelists writes out of some corner of pain and suffering. Everyone of us bleeds onto the page because of the circumstances of our lives. Find that angle. Be willing to talk about it. Help others struggling with the same issues in life. And, in the process, you can promote your books!
We may end up speaking on something totally unrelated to the subject of our novel. But, people will check out our books because of WHO WE ARE!
FOUR — TIE IN YOUR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT WITH YOUR WEBSITE
I was invited recently to speak to our state’s Evangelism Conference on apologetics. I chose to speak on the six most commonly asked questions from skeptics. I was anticipating about a dozen for each of my two sessions. I was shocked when over 100 showed up!
I provided a business card with my web address and contact information. And, I told the attendees they could download the pdf version of my notes and resources from my author website under the “Apologetics” tab. I mentioned in passing that I was an author. I even told them that my book, “The 13th Demon” was “apologetic fiction” and an exciting, scary read they could give to their skeptical friends. In one presentation, I guaranteed a possible 100 hits on my website during the next week. The presentation went well, thanks to my DCW training, and out of this presentation I received a dozen more invitations to speak!
Last night, I spoke to a seminary class for my friend and co-author, Mark Sutton. Check out his website for his Haiti ministry: Mark Sutton Ministries. I gave away six copies of “The 13th Demon” and had a wonderful conversation with my Christian brothers and sisters. The week after, I am speaking to our church congregation on apologetics. That following weekend, I will be speaking at our state drama festival. At each one of these venues, I will be passing out contact information and directing listeners to my website. I am hoping for a snowball effect. In fact, I want this to be so successful, I will have to turn down invitations. Although these presentations have very little to do with my novel, they still afford me the opportunity to promote my writing. Don’t know where to start? Ask your agent.
But, as exciting as this all sounds, my one goal is to glorify God through all that I do. God, and God alone is providing for my writing and speaking career. As Mike Dellosso so eloquently put it last week’s Just the Write Charisma blog:
If you expect to reach just one person through your writing then success is within your grasp. If you expect to glorify God with the best you have to offer then success is within your grasp.
So, consider adding a speaker career to your writing career. Start by polishing those communication skills and start turning your “commodity” of writing into your “product”!
Lesson #1 Learned — Ditch the Dumb Dialogue!
I have now finished going through my manuscript, “The 12th Demon” twice and making the suggested changes from my editor. The first time was very comprehensive. The second time was for continuity. The third time, yet to come, will be to whittle down the word count. As with my first book edit for “The 13th Demon” my editor, Andy, has taught me SO much. And, since this is a blog for those wondering about the world of writing fiction, I thought I would share the three main lessons I learned in this edit over the next three posts.
DIALOGUE
I have spend the past 23 years working in church based drama. For 15 of those years, I was the drama director of my church. And, the requirement from my pastor was that every production had to be an original piece written by moi. As time went by, I learned how to write short and long drama and, in fact, I have been speaking at regional and national drama conferences for 13 years. If that sounds like I’m bragging, that is not the point. The point to be taken is this: writing dialogue for the stage is VASTLY different from writing dialogue in fiction.
On the stage, dialogue serves many purposes and one is to introduce exposition. Unlike fiction, there are no descriptions of action and setting. There are no backstories to relate. It is up to the actor to portray these important elements of exposition through the dialogue and the acting. The challenge is to find a balance between dialogue that sounds natural and at the same time conveys important background information. The weak playwright uses “as you know”s to do this:
“As you know, my father is the owner of this vast estate. And, as you know, he just lost a fortune in a sugar cane fire.”
Good dialogue catches the right balance. Just listen to some of the dialogue in your favorite television dramas. See how many times the actors say something that you know they know and everyone else knows but the audience. The worst example is the droning on of “Trekkie” like scenes where the actor says things like, “Engaging autopilot, now!” Just flip the switch, Sulu!
In my writing, I have found that I tend to slide toward dramatic dialogue. I forget I have so many other tools for exposition. One rule I always tell aspiring dramatists is to read their dialogue out loud. This is mainly to avoid difficult to pronounce phrases. But, reading fiction dialogue out loud really gives you a good idea of the sound of the character’s voice. Would they really talk that way? Would they really say those particular words?
In my just completed third book, “The 11th Demon” I tried something different. I originally wrote the book for Nanowrimo, or National Novel Writing Month. I decided to write each major scene/chapter from the point of view of one of the main characters in first person. This forced me not only to write dialogue as these characters would speak out loud, but to also speak with their inner voices. The exercise helped me further define the characters and find the voice for their dialogue.
Going back to the second book these past couple of weeks has allowed me to rewrite that dialogue now that I have a better feel for how these characters are thinking.
Lessons learned:
— Ask yourself, does the dialogue sound “off”? Does it sound almost “inhuman”? Avoid using dialogue for pure exposition.
— Read dialogue out loud! Try speaking in each character’s “voice”. Take a cue from Walt Disney and become each character as you read through the dialogue copying their body language and their vocal tones.
— Try to make dialogue as real and conversational as possible without dropping in inane drivel like, “Good Morning.” “Good Morning to you.” “How’s your morning going?” “Fine. How about yours?” ETC
— Keep the dialogue consistent. Don’t allow one character to sound like another. Give each character a distinctive voice.
Tomorrow — PLOT
Editing the Book — The Mystery Box!
There was the mystery of the man in the rocker. My mother often told the story of how, at the age of 14 (which would be in 1932) she was forbidden by her mother and father to go to a dance party. In the small town of Saline, Louisiana there just wasn’t a whole to do for entertainment and my mother really wanted to go to the “Jump Josey” party. So, after she was sent to her room, she slid out the window and ran across the yard in the dark toward the neighbor’s house.
She would talk about how much fun she had at the party and suddenly realizing how late it was. So, she ran back to her house. It was now close to midnight and the little hamlet of Saline was quite and dead as a door knob.
She eased up on the front porch with her shoes in her hand and into the house. As soon as she shut the front door behind her, she head someone rocking in the rocking chair. In the dim interior of the living room only lit by reflected moonlight, she saw someone sitting in the rocker. Her heart was beating and she was so afraid it was her mother and father. She quietly slipped by the chair but when she passed her parents’ bedrooms, they were both in the bed fast asleep. All of her sisters and her brother were in their beds. Then, who was in the rocker?
This was the great mystery. I remember sitting on the edge of my seat as my mother told this story. She told it over and over throughout my childhood. And, I jumped every time the big Reveal was, well, revealed. In fact, my mother and father were incredible story tellers. It seemed as if their entire lives were one unending story after another. I grew up believing in fairy tales and ghost stories and that good would always triumph over evil. I grew up believing that life, like stories, has a beginning, a middle, and an end and the best stories always have the strongest endings! I grew up believing that everything in life was a story; coherent; understandable; forward moving toward a satisfying end.
In our postmodern culture where relativism rules supreme, it is difficult to see where life in the 21st century matches the classic story. I guess that is why I absolutely LOVE anything written, directed, or produced by J. J. Abrams. Yes, I watched every episode of LOST with breathless anticipation. And, yes, I loved the finale. It fit. It was inevitable. It was a strong ending. I watched every episode of Alias. I went back and watched Mission Impossible III again and loved it. And, Fringe is one of my favorite shows right now. Just last week, I got hooked again by Alcatraz. And, as a life long Trekker, I was shocked and stunned by the brilliance of his reboot of Star Trek.
This past week I began the long process of re-editing my final version of my next book, “The 12th Demon”. Today’s post is about plot. My editor, Andy, had this to say about character development in light of the plot devices regarding one scene where Jonathan Steel has “lost” the teenager Josh again and is reeling with emotional conflict over this failure to keep his promise to Josh’s mother:
You’ve written a novel that centers around action, which is excellent. However here it would be good to dwell on Steel’s emotions. He’s just lost Josh. He would be feeling ashamed, angry, and even afraid. Help the readers connect with him on an emotional level by giving Steel a moment of vulnerability here. See this talk by JJ Abrams about the most important scene in Jaws (start at 10:00).
Here is the link to this most excellent discussion. Watch it over and over and bathe in the pure brilliance of the Mystery Box.
My mother gave me a “mystery box” each and every time she told me that story. It set the stage for my entire life. It has made me an investigator of all around me: people, places, things, situations, life in general. For in everyone of us, in every situation there is a mystery to be solved. And, it is in the journey to discovery that life finds its most satisfaction for me. In fact, the greatest discovery of my life was in finding a relationship with Jesus Christ. Opening that “mystery box” was the most profound experience of all.
Oh, yeah. The rocker.
My mother slowly crept back into the living room, still carrying her shoes. The rocker was still but as she got closer, it began to rock again and she could now hear a deep, throaty breathing from the person in the chair. Who was it? Had someone come into the house to rob them? She should have run back to her parents’ bedroom and cried for help, but if she did, she would be in big trouble over the dance. So, she drew nearer to the chair and asked, “Who’s there?” More deep breath and now, a thumping sound like a heart beating hard and slow. She reached out in the darkness and felt hard, scratchy whiskers and she screamed, throwing her shoes up in the air. The man in the chair bolted up and landed right on top of her as they toppled to the floor. The man’s face grew close to hers and he . . . licked her. He licked her? The lights came on as the family tumbled into the living room and there perched on top of my mother was the family hound. You can figure out the rest!
2011 — My Year as a Published Author
Most blogs end the year with a review of the past year. I thought I would do something a little different. This is my first year to release a fiction novel with a major publisher. I have self published my fiction in the past and I have a non-fiction book, “Conquering Depression” that celebrated ten years on the market in February! But, this past year was a huge work in progress in learning the ropes of being a published author promoting a new book in the twenty first century. I LEARNED quite a bit. I thought for the end of the year, I would summarize what 2011 taught me as a published Christian fiction author. So, any PROSPECTIVE authors out there can learn a few tidbits from my experience. Here goes:
YOUR EDITOR CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOU!
During my three self published works, I had very weak experiences with editors. Each time, the editorial “review” was more grammatical than substance oriented. My greatest challenge in revising “The 13th Demon” for Realms was in bringing the 105,000 word length down to 75,000. In the process, I had to cut and cut and re-cut scenes. In February of 2011 I received my initial editorial review from my most excellent editor, Andy Meisenheimer. Four pages of rather disappointing news almost convinced me to return my advance and sever my contract. Who was I kidding? I’m not an author! Obvious, now that I see how weak my book was. Andy made two very powerful statements. First, “Who cares?” In the chopping process I had eliminated very important scenes that established a relationship between the reader and my main characters. Second, “Whole scenes seem to take place off stage.” Yeah, those are the scenes I had to axe to meet the word limit.
At first, I was angry. Why couldn’t the publisher just let me put my book out there the way I had written it? But, as I prayed and mulled over Andy’s suggestions I realized that most of the changes he suggested matched my first, original manuscript. I went back in time to 1999 and pulled out my first rough draft. Over the years of self publishing and trying to change the book to meet editor’s expectations at prospective publishers, I had radically departed from my original format. I realized that in writing, like in life, your first impressions are usually the best. I tossed everything out after 1999 and rewrote the entire book in six weeks from the first manuscript adapting the changes Andy suggested. I am happy with “The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye”. Without Andy’s editorial suggestions, it would have died on the vine. Instead, my book has received universally good reviews and I owe it all to my EDITOR!!!!
PROMOTION AIN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE!
Publicity versus Marketing. They are different. But, to me they are just words on a page. When Mark Sutton and I released “Conquering Depression” in 2001 we mounted a two month campaign consisting of radio interviews. We placed magazine ads. I hired a marketing/publicity firm for my two self-published books and had several radio and television interviews in 2007 and 2008.
But, TIMES HAVE CHANGED! Marketing today hinges on social media, not the traditional marketing techniques. This past year, I spent two hours A DAY on Facebook, Twitter, and my website promoting the upcoming release of “The 13th Demon”. I visited key blogs and made as many salient comments as possible to drive traffic to my website. I was invited to post guest blogs on some of these sites. I accepted invitations to review books on blog tours in order to drive traffic to my website. Did it work? I think so. I’m not sure. How do you know? This is very new to me and probably new to many people. The entire industry of promotion and marketing is in flux. The learning curve has been steep and just when you have a handle on it, things change! Just be ready to change with the times. Promotion and marketing are a DAILY process. Should an author hire a marketing firm? Good question. I’d like to hear from some seasoned authors on this point. Such a move worked well for me four years ago. I’m not so sure it would work now.
BOOK SIGNINGS ARE NOT A GUARANTEE FOR SALES
When Mark Sutton and I released “Conquering Depression” in 2001 we went on a book tour and had several book signings. We always sold dozens of books at each book signing. We met lots of people. We had great conversations. But times have changed. I set up a book tour for “The 13th Demon” and appeared at about a half a dozen book stores. I sold a maximum of 8 books on one book signing and a minimum of 4 books on another. My wife and I drove literally two thousand miles in the process over a three week period. I have to ask myself if it “Was worth it?”.
Why should an author participate in book signings in 2011? Most books are sold through ebook sales. The idea of a “virtual” book signing is still so new it may not work. There are sites for virtual book signings such as Kindlegraph. I agreed to book signings for two reasons. I want to continue to support the book store. I know times are changing, but Amazon and Barnes & Noble have yet to match the ability to walk into a book store and just EXPLORE. Online book stores do not lend themselves to wandering around, being enticed by a book cover, and picking up the book — holding it in my hands — and reading the first page.
I also want to meet people. At each book signing I have participated in, there was at least one “divine appointment” God had set for me. In each case, I connected with a person who had a need that I managed to meet through my knowledge as an apologist or my profession as a physician. In each case, the conversation that ensued had NOTHING to do with “The 13th Demon”. In each case, the person bought a book. In each case, the person visited my website. So, I am not going to give up book signings. I may give up the traveling part of the book signings. Driving three states away may not be the best use of my time and money! But, I still want to meet people.
TIME MANAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT (OR, LEARNING TO JUGGLE SIX BOWLING BALLS IS ESSENTIAL TO BEING A PUBLISHED AUTHOR)
I am NOT giving up my day job. If there was anything I learned this past year it was that being a published author will NOT pay the bills. Unless you’re a Tosca Lee or a Ted Dekker, you must keep your day job. That advance on my book paid off some of my marketing bills — but only SOME of them. I mentioned spending one to two hours a day online. How do you do that, keep your day job, write the next book, revise the current book, and work on the rewrite of the book you’ve turned in to the publisher?
It is not EASY. The WRITING LIFE is a hard life. As I tell people, “You don’t FIND time, you MAKE time to write.” And making time means taking time away from something else. That something else may be family time or leisure time or wasted time. It is amazing how much wasted time I have eliminated from my life. What I miss are the hours I used to spend just reading a book. It is essential to be a good reader in order to be a good writer. But, in accepting monthly book reviews in order to promote my website, I take up what little time I have left to read with reading a book that may not be very good or may not be my genre. And, often, I find my self rushed into finishing the book to meet a review deadline. I don’t get to relish the story and slow down to enjoy the writing.
I have learned to combine travel with promotion opportunities. This not only allows me to work in some kind of book signing or personal appearance, it gives me the opportunity to write off the travel as a writing related expense. Here are some photographs from my trip to London and Paris. My fifth book, “The 9th Demon: A Wicked Numinosity” will take place in London. The first photo is of the Tower of London and a guard outside the building housing the crown jewels. The second photo is of the Lyceum Theater and a scene in the book takes place in the adjacent alleyway. The third photo is from the Doctor Who exhibit in Cardiff, Wales.
Fortunately, my children are grown and my wife loves to play bridge online with other women all over the world. Each night, I have about an hour to spend on writing. That helps. But, inevitably, I have set aside a week I am off from my day job for writing only to have some crisis eat up the free hours. I have to take my 97 year old father to the doctor. I have to get my aching tooth filled. I have to schedule a doctor’s appointment. You get the drift. And suddenly, I’m looking at a deadline for a book review or, most importantly, the time to turn in the last draft for my next book and I have to really sacrifice to make the deadline.
Time Managment is something I have always been good at but I MUST get better at it if I am to continue this WRITING LIFE.
Those are just four things I learned last year. Now, 2012 is looming and I am anxiously waiting for my editor’s suggestions for “The 12th Demon: The Mark of the Wolf Dragon” in January. And, I just turned in the final draft for my third book, “The 11th Demon: The Ark of the Demon Rose”. AND, I am now about to tackle the revision of the fourth book “The 10th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone”. That will be the most difficult task to date. It is 150,000 words and I have to cut it in half and still keep the story intact!!!! Looks like 2012 will be just as busy as 2011. But, you know what? I am so blessed and so fortunate to have an awesome publisher in Charisma Media and a fantastic editor in Andy Meisenheimer and such a good God to give me the opportunity to turn my writing into something useful and hopefully positive for the advancement of the Kingdom. It’s all worth it. I’ll rest when I get to heaven!!!!
Awake my Soul! A Story of depression
The holidays are very hard for those of us who suffer from depression. I know. I have depression. My pastor and I wrote a book about it. I recently wrote this short, short story for storypraxis and posted it on the ink*well website. I want to share it with my readers. I hope you find it comforting or possibly even inspiring. If you suffer from depression, the holiday season can be devastating. I am praying for you. If you are the fortunate ones who never suffer from depression, there is someone you know; someone you love; someone you can help who is suffering from depression. Pray for them this season.
Awake My Soul!
I do not move.
I am quiescent and still.
Movement for me is pain. Life is pain.
The trees outside are harsh and bare. Winter has stripped them of vigor and life. Gray fingers claw at the even grayer sky. Even the clouds do not move. The air is still. No wind. No breeze. No life. My daughter has placed me here on the porch. I feel the sting of cold on my cheeks but I can ignore it. I have ignored all feeling for months now. Since Tom died, I have had no reason to move; no reason to feel.
My daughter has wrapped a scarf around my neck and tucked it into the woolen sweater Tom gave me last year for Christmas. I can still smell him on it when I choose to acknowledge my sense of smell.
“Why is she out there on the porch?” That is my son-in-law inside the warm house.
“I’m tired of her, Richard. I can’t take this anymore.” My daughter has tears in her voice. I cannot feel them. I cannot touch them. The tears mean nothing to me.
“She’ll freeze to death.” Richard says.
“That’s the idea.”
There is a profound silence. And then, subdued sobbing; quiet, subtle. A white flake shimmies down the still air and lands on my nose. I choose not to feel it melt. So intricate, so beautiful in its design — one of a kind — it dies on my cold skin. It dies on the already dead. For, she has left me to die out here alone; cold; still; frozen.
The sliding door opens behind me and a waft of warm air bathes the back of my head. I cannot feel it on my neck for the scarf. Richard’s shadow falls over me from the lights inside the house; lights that try in vain to chase away the gray.
“You’ll have to forgive your daughter, Mom.” He says behind me. “She is very frustrated and wants to leave you out here to die.”
“I’m already frozen.” I whisper and he leans over me. His breath touches my forehead.
“Did you say something?”
“I’m already frozen.” I say more strongly. “Let me finish dying.”
My lips pull apart and I realize they have frozen together. I feel the pain as the first real sensation I have experienced in months. Richard squats beside my wheelchair and for a second, I choose to notice the strong profile of his face; his angular cheekbones; his gently stubbled chin; his clear eyes. He is watching the trees.
“Winter is hard for all of us, Mom. Spring is coming. I want to tell you a secret. It is a deep and abiding secret that no one can know.”
More flakes are falling now and caressing my cheeks. I choose not to feel their gentle touch. One lands on my cornea and I blink involuntarily. I must not do that again. But, try as I might to ignore his statement, the attraction is there. What secret is he talking about? “What secret?” My voice is a bare whisper.
“Virginia is stressed out because we have chosen to take a journey. It is a long and tedious journey and we will be gone for weeks. She doesn’t know what to do with you during that time. She can’t leave you alone. And, she isn’t going to leave you out here to die.” His breath streams away from him, a living thing full of warmth and moisture and the snowflakes eddy and swirl.
“Journey?”
“Rawanda. In Africa. There is a little girl. She needs a family.” He turns his head to me and his gaze is full and hot on my face. Tears mingle with the snowflakes. “She needs to know her grandfather. She needs to know what he was like. Only you can tell her that.”
Another snowflake hits my eye and melts. The moisture runs along my eyelid and I feel a hot tear trickle down my cheek. No! I cannot let this happen! I cannot feel!
“Will you come with us to Rawanda? Will you come with us to get your granddaughter?” His eyes are full and round and wet and the snow is covering his bare head, peppering his shoulders.
I feel something deep within stir from a slumber of unforgiving anger and frustration. The black dregs of my depression begin to drift away as the warmth stokes itself in my heart. No! I want to scream. No! I want to hold onto the stillness; the inertia; the coming of winter’s death. I try to ignore Richard’s gleaming eyes and his warm breath and when I subtly avert my gaze a flash of bright red burns my retinas. A lone flower dares to challenge the grayness from my camellia bush. The snowflakes are covering it now and it wants to be seen; it wants to look upward to the hidden sun for life and warmth; it wants to live.
The chair creaks; the ice breaks across my knees and I push, push, push up and out of the heaviness of my crypt of sorrow and I stumble to the flower. I brush away the snow with shaking hands and my tears anoint the petals with life. With life!
Awake my soul! Awake!
I turn to my son-in-law who is standing with his mouth wide open and the snow covering his head and my daughter stumbles through the open door with her hands pressed to her tear streaked face and I feel the ice crack as I smile. “When do we leave?”
The Church I Drenched in Blood!
I remember standing beneath the concrete stairway leading up to the sanctuary of Blanchard Baptist Church, my hand firmly gripping my mother’s hand as I looked down the stairs into the creepy, shadowy, basement where all children were confined.
The hallway was long and led directly beneath the aisle in the sanctuary above. Bare bulbs hung from electrical wire dangling from the ceiling and you could hear people walking around above us. My mother handed me off to one of the children workers and I was absorbed into the strange, creepy basement of Blanchard Baptist Church. No wonder I still have nightmares about the place. And, no wonder I chose that building as the setting for “The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye”.
SPOILER ALERT: I promised my readers I would put together a video of the history of that “white” building that I would one day cover in blood. The video contains some spoilers about the book so if you haven’t read it, you might want to wait until you have. I recently visited my old church and interviewed my good friend, Kevin Sandifer. Kevin reminded me of the Halloween I dressed up as a mad scientist, stretched him out on the pool table in the youth ministry “house” and proceeded to fling blood and guts on the kids who ran through the room. I guess back then I had a promising future in not only medicine but the macabre. Kevin Sandifer is now the Historian, Media and Archival Center’s director at First Baptist Church of Blanchard. So, as promised, a video visit to the location of all that blood and evil spilled out in “The 13th Demon”.
Welcome Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Blog Tour!
I want to welcome the reviews of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Blog Tour! They will be reviewing “The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye” over the next two days and you can find the list of websites performing reviews at this link.
Good or bad, reviews are there for you, the prospective reader to check them out.
Two things.
First, I will be reading an excerpt from my book, “The 13th Demon” this Saturday, October 29th at the Barnes & Noble on Youree Drive in Shreveport, Louisiana from 11 A. M. to 1 P. M. and I will be giving away free tee shirts. More information is available at this link. I hope to see you there! Bring you Nook and you can buy the electronic copy of the book right in the store!
Second, I promised to begin to release some special “Extras”. Check under the “Extra” tab for two things: Deleted Chapters and my short video on the history of human sacrifices and how we, as Christians should respond to such a horrendous practice.
A Book Review — Day 3 of “The Bone House”
The Ending
On this, Day 3, of my review of “The Bone House” I will talk about the ending of this book and how Stephen R. Lawhead brings together many threads, in fact many “ley” lines from the first book and this second book to a satisfying and moving conclusion.
By the time the reader reaches the last third of “The Bone House” the reader has learned of how Mina managed to gain a certain device allowing her to maneuver through the ley lines. The reader also learns of how Kit manages to move beyond his awkwardness and become a seasoned ley line traveler and help locate a key “treasure” mentioned often in the first book.
The reader also learns how the originator of the “skin map”, Arthur Flnders-Petrie manages to secure a family and begin to instruct his offspring in the ways of interdimensional travel. Stephen R. Lawhead brings the four main characters, Kit, Mina, and Lady Fayth together with the villain, Lord Burleigh in a believable and breath taking way. This scene is fast paced and chilling and it ends with Kit discovering an entirely new world.
This final portion of the book is so moving, so achingly beautiful in its description of the pristine world of Kit’s primitive “River City” tribe. Here, Kit finally completes his journey in becoming the man he must be. His physical skills increase. His self confidence grows. And, his spiritual journey reaches a most satisfying conclusion.
For, here among the simple community of this primitive tribe, Kit encounters the Ancient man whose sense of contentment, joy, and balance with the universe is breathtaking. The young men of the Ancient’s tribe build him a Bone House. I do not want to ruin the imagery. You must read of this journey Kit takes with the elder man into the unknown. For here, in final scenes of the Bone House, Stephen R. Lawhead delivers on all of his promises. He shows up the ultimate “treasure” led to by the “skin map”. He answers the riddle of the man whose skin is the map. And in the process, he opens a doorway to an entire multi-universe that the reader cannot wait to explore.
And, the final scene is very fitting as Turms, the Immortal is laid to rest.
All in all, “The Bone House” starts out a bit confusing, but persistence will pay off. Do not give up. One caveat: if you purchase the book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook be aware you will begin reading automatically with the first page. You must back up and read the summary of the first book and the list of characters that appear just after the table of contents. I did not know these pages existed until after I began to write my first review and discovered them on going back to the table of contents. It helps tremendously to review the story of “The Skin Map” whether or not you have read it.
I highly recommend this series of books now named “Bright Empires”.
Bruce Hennigan 
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