Christian Stories Taking Over Hollywood? What in Heaven's name is going on!

There is a story circulating in Hollywood that Mel Gibson offered his screenplay, Passion of the Christ, to every studio in town, only to have it rejected by each and every one. Having faith in the message it proclaimed, Gibson decided to finance it himself. After earning over 300 million dollars, the heads of the studios are wondering at the business decisions that caused this colossal financial mistake. There can be no doubt that Christian fiction is hot right now, with publishing companies like Harvest House, Tyndale, or Zondervan leading the field. What is behind this phenomenon, many people are wondering. Christian fiction has been around for a long time, but more and more readers are discovering these wonderful stories and the uncanny way they have of offering a solution to the problems in their everyday lives. It seems that television and the movies are becoming less interesting to most of us, as they continued to offer nothing but sex and violence. More and more people are turning to older programs and books, even though most of them are about an America that half of our population has never experienced. Readers demand something that speaks to today's world. The next time you are in a bookstore or browsing at Amazon.com, take a few minutes to check out the religious section. You will find every genre there except porn and erotica. There is romance, mystery, suspense, thrillers, westerns, and science fiction, just to name a few – and they all have the kind of satisfying events and endings you would like to see occur in the lives of your best friends. Try Christian fiction. I’ll bet you can’t read just one!

Joe Prentis

Got some books taking up needed space? What to do with them.

An increasing number of books have a note inside the cover about the environment and the fact that their book is printed on recycled paper. Recycled paper does, indeed, save a lot of trees and this is a trend that is commendable. Landfills are filling up and books contribute a large part of the waste that goes into them each day. So what are we to do with the books we have read, but aren't going to keep on our library shelves? How about recycling them by passing them along to someone, or even better, to some organization that can put them to use. Most communities already have an organization that collects books and supplies them to libraries, hospitals, and to jail ministries. What do you do if there isn't one in your area? You might want to consider starting one yourself. You can perform a good service, and save a few of those trees that play such an important role in our environment.

Christian Fiction? What's it all about?

If you mention Christian fiction to the average reader, they will think you are talking about stories taken from the Bible or something that would have fit into a 1950s TV series. On those weekly television events, the father always knew best, the mother did not seem to have any character flaws, and if the children were not perfect, their imperfections were so insignificant and appealing you could scarcely tell the difference.

Christian fiction has finally come of age, and I am excited! The stories written and published by Christian writers run the full range of today’s fiction. You will find mysteries, science fiction, love stories, stories of the Old West, about war, crime, drugs, divorce, and every other problem known to humankind. Stories that fall into the classification of Christian fiction are stories with an ‘attitude.’ They deal with the difficult problems that sometimes happen to good people, but they are upbeat, inspirational, and accurately portray human behavior in a difficult world – and above all, they give us hope. Below this article is the first in a series of books that will be featured on this blog. Please take a moment to read the information and check out some to the other blogs and websites where other writers will be featuring Delia’s novel, Goldeneyes. The presentation of these novels is called a Blog Tour, and its purpose is to introduce you to some of the best fiction publishing has to offer and some of the writers who are producing it. Thank you and happy reading.

How do you create believable characters in a book?

Every writer struggles with the problem of trying to create characters that will be believable, appeal to the reader, and most important of all, be the kinds of characters we will always remember. A lot of writers have accomplished this difficult task. Who could forget Scarlett O'Hara, or James Bond or Harry Potter? When starting any story, the author will quickly find himself in possession of reams of notes, charts, and those all-important biographical sketches of the main characters. I want to know what he or she looks like before I start. What do they do in their spare time when they are not wrestling with my plot? Do they have hobbies? Have they been in love, and if so, was it a pleasant relationship or did the many details of the story sweep them away from the one they loved. When I am in these initial stages, I sometimes find myself flipping through magazines looking at faces, examining the way someone stands, the way they look into my eyes. I am looking for the little things . . . . the things that make me or you have a distinct personality. Most of my character crafting was done in my head, and then I discovered this wonderful 3-D drawing program that allows me to pose a character in any fashion, just as you would pose a real person. In the picture above you will find Daniella Siedman, one of the main characters in Abraham's Bones. She has something in mind -- something mischievous, and judging by the way she is looking, she is going to get her way. Writing, to me, is very exciting. I hope I have captured the essence of Daniella in this picture . . . enough that it will make you want to discover her for yourself in the pages of Abraham's Bones.

Silent Spring?

When Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962, the book was immediately attacked by the chemical companies who said that Carson was unqualified to speak on the subject of chemical effects on the environment. She had sounded a dire warning that the continual use of DDT, the most widely used and effective pesticide, was damaging wildlife and was harmful to humans. She warned that its continual use might produce a ‘silent spring’ in which there would be no birds to herald the season. A frightening scenario, but as I look around me at the fields and meadows normally populated with dozens of species of birds at this time of year, I am beginning to wonder if her warning has not become true. This time the culprit is not DDT, but something not yet identified. Is it Avian Influenza or could it be something else? Will we have, as Miss Carson warned, a silent spring in which our feathered friends are absent from around our bird feeders? Will there be a frightening increase in mosquitoes and other harmful insects? I do not know the answer to that, but I wonder how many of you have noticed the diminishing bird population, and what you think might be the problem.

How Safe are your kids?

Every parent’s worst nightmare is having a family member fall prey to someone wanting to harm them. In recent years, schools and other institutions have increased safeguards to protect the innocent. Security cameras are everywhere and those responsible for the safety of our children are increasingly vigilant, but somehow this is not always enough. This is the reason I have placed the Amber Alert on my website and a link to a government site that lists the names and addresses of sexual predators in your city or community. When the website appears, you can type in your address and it will show you a map of your area. The small rectangles are the homes of convicted sexual offenders. You owe it to the ones you love to take a careful look. Click on this link.

Joe Prentis

Violence. What can we do about it?

No one can deny that violence in America is increasing. You don't need to look any further than you local newspaper to confirm this. Discussions on the evening news and in magazines offer suggestions to what can be done, but nothing seems to work. Fingers have been pointed at various institutions that have failed -- our school system, the family, government, social programs -- but little, outside of throwing more money into the system, has been proposed. I think there is a solution and it is easy, simple, and it will work. The solution is called personal responsibility, and it involves a set of values almost as old as time. How does it work and how do I start to do my part? I think each of us has to start with self. Think about some of the terrible crimes reported in the newspaper in the last year. In one of them, witnesses waiting to testify in court, did nothing when a young woman was sexually assaulted. People with cell phones stand at a distance while banks, stores, and businesses are robbed, and do not make that 911 call that could make a difference. During national disasters we revert to a dog-eat-dog mentality where we ignore the cries of others, while an extended hand could pull someone to safety.

The second rung up the ladder toward sanity, is collective responsibility. What do you do when you are in a public meeting and something is proposed that is clearly wrong? Do you speak up or you do the 'safe' thing and hope some other person will express your views. This 'safe' option is rapidly becoming obsolete as more and more people try to express themselves in violent ways that might eventually involve you.

The third options is rather interesting. Why are we in this mess? I think it is mostly because we are allowing ignorant and uninformed people to speak out while we remain silent. When a young woman shot a dangerous and misguided young man in the foyer of a church a few weeks ago, there was an outcry on the Internet concerning her rights to protect the congregation and herself. We have wallowed in so much goofy 'rights issues' that we have come to believe that there is a 'right' to riot, to kill the innocent, to destroy the happiness of individuals, families or communities. This is all done with the distorted idea of protecting the rights of a few. Am I advocating vigilante action? Certainly not, but I am suggesting that we need to aid the police, the courts, and the others whose duty it is to protect us. We can make a difference, and it can only began with us. Do you like what is happening all around you? Maybe it is time for you to speak out.

RAISE THE FLAG!

Childhood memories are sometimes the most vivid, and I distinctly remember being with my father one Saturday morning when I was a child. We had stopped in front of the courthouse and I heard this loud whipcrack high overhead as I stepped from the car. I looked up and saw a large flag snapping in the breeze. I knew what a flag was, for these were the years immediately after WWII and there were flags everywhere, but for some reason that I did not understand at the time, people were starting to ignore them again as they often do following a time of national emergency. As my father and I stepped onto the sidewalk, an elderly man stopped and placed his hand over his heart and stood looking up at the flag. I wondered what was happening and looked at Dad as he pulled impatiently on my arm. "What is wrong with him?" I whispered when we were a short distance away. "He was a soldier in the First World War," my father answered. Like a lot of things our parents tell us, this didn't make any sense. Adults were always doing incomprehensible things and I went on, anxious to get to the store where I was going to get a new pair of shoes that morning. I was all wrapped up in my own cares, and dismissed the incident from my mind. As I think about my question on that long ago morning, I am not sure I would be able to give any better answer than my father did. What was wrong with this elderly gentleman that made him stop on a busy sidewalk and place his hand over his heart? Why was he looking up with such intensity at a flag that was no more than a pretty object to me? Several years later during the American Bicentennial, a newspaper reporter decided he would place a flagpole on his front lawn and teach his children about the history of the flag and what it was supposed to mean to each of us. He was surprised when he went all over the city and could not find a flag in any of the stores. He wrote an article and it was printed in newspapers all across the country. Paul Harvey took up the cry and people demanded answers. Why weren't there any flags for sale, and why did people not fly them as they should. The American flag means something slightly different to each of us, but we all share common values about the country we love and what it means to be an American. All of our feelings -- the most intimate and precious of them -- are represented in our flag. I am proud that an organization called Raise the Flag has sought to do something to preserve our traditions about this important national emblem, and in doing so, to remind each of us that freedom isn't free. Each freedom we enjoy was purchased with the life blood of the millions that have gone on before us. We should never forget.

What is your community doing to draw attention to our flag?


Joe Prentis

Hardback Books

I couldn't believe it, but there it was in a magazine, a whole article delivering the awful news. Publishers in London were considering publishing fiction only in paperback. There would be no more of those attractive books with the stiff backs and the attractive covers with their artwork and information about the book and author. No more beloved novels that you could pass along to your children or grandchildren so another generation could enjoy them. As I read further, the news became increasingly worse. Publishers in the U.S. were also considering this option. It would make books easier to produce and the cost would be considerably less. Will this dreaded trend catch on in America? What do you think?

Joe Prentis

Who are the Best Authors?

I was in a bookstore browsing through the new arrivals. A serious, and rather intense woman, approached me with a book clutched against her coat. "I'm doing some Christmas shopping and I am looking for something for my nephew," she said. I was standing only a few feet from a display listing the current Bestseller list. "Oh, I have already seen that," she said, "but I heard you talking to the sales lady, and I thought a writer might have an idea or two of his own about some of the really good books."

Ah! I thought. An opportunity like this doesn't come along very often in one lifetime. I wished I could have carried her down the long row of bookshelves in my office where I have collected some of the best books written over the last 40 years or so. I don't have an argument with the New York Times bestseller list, for they are right on target most of the time. There are a lot of other books and authors who may or may not have been on a bestseller list. Who are some of my favorites? The next time you are in a bookstore consider the following authors:

Lisa Scottoline, Steve Martini, Morris West, Janet Daily, Nora Roberts, Lawrence Sanders, Jeffery Deaver, Nicholas Sparks, Belva Plain, Robert Crais, Fanny Flag, Dick Francis, LaVyrle Spencer, Richard North Patterson, Jack Higgins, Stuart Woods, Richard Paul Evans, John Jakes, Robin Cook, Sidney Sheldon, Barbara Nickolae, Barbara Delinsky and Ken Follett.

Don't, however, limit your search to the above list. I am actively searching for new writers. Many of them have an astonishing amount of talent but have not reached the bestseller status. Here are some writers I have recently added to my reading list:

Terry Odel author of Finding Sarah, Starting Over, and What's in a name. These books are available from Cerridan Press.

Felicia Donovan author of The Black Widow Agency series available at Amazon.com.

Upcoming Novels

BLINDSIDED

A writer is always excited about his next book. I am currently working on a novel about a lawyer who finds himself in a desperate predicament when he attempts to help a client. Bending the rules is not what lawyers are supposed to do, but Colin Tate knew he could not turn down this desperate plea for help. Now he finds himself with a suspended license and an angry judge with an offer that might solve his problems --- or seal his fate. He had intended to retreat to the quiet, gated community overlooking one of the most peaceful coves in Pickwick while he slowly unwinds, but those of you who have read my novels, know that isn't likely to happen. You don't want to miss Blindsided, due out in August of 2008.

THE RELIC

The Relic is the second book in my series about the Middle East, and continues the story of archaeologist John Christopher and his desperate search for world peace. This book will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride and will not turn you loose until you reach the bone-jarring conclusion. Due out at the end of 2008

Community News of Importance

A beautiful and exciting addition to our neighborhood came about when the steamboat Pickwick Belle arrived at her new homeport at Pickwick. It is fitting that she should find a home here, for the earliest settlers to Hardin County arrived by floating down the river on crudely constructed rafts and flatboats. It was not until shortly before the Civil War that steamboat traffic became a regular event on the river. Villages grew up around river landings, with much of the commerce depending on steamboats. During the Civil War, many of the troops that fought at Shiloh were transported along the river. In recent times, most of the river freight has been shipped on barges, with an occasional visit by the Mississippi Queen and the Delta Queen. The Pickwick Belle will be available for dinner cruises on a regular basis. You can check her schedule for the latest updates.

You might be pleased to know that the Pickwick Belle has shown a remarkable success since her arrival at Pickwick. Marketing Director Tanya Irwin has reported 1,532 visitors between October 27 and December 31, of 2007. These passengers have visited our area from 9 different states. They are offering 30 different types of cruses in 2008!