Alas! Elisha’s servant cried, When he the Syrian army spied, But he was soon released from care, In answer to the prophet’s prayer. Straitway he saw, with other eyes, A greater army from the skies; A fiery guard around the hill, Thus are the saints preserved still. Such are the words penned by John Newton [...]
This is a picture of the first contract I’ve ever actually signed. Okay, it isn’t for six figures, (or five, or four, or three) but it’s a genuine paper contract with my signature on it. Today, Dragons, Knights and Angels, The Magazine of Christian Fantasy and Science Fiction, published my short story, Raven in their [...]
Herman Melville in his classic, Moby Dick, wrote about Captain Ahab’s impassioned, myopic search for the white whale. It is a great symbol of the cosmic conflict between good and evil, light and darkness. Melville notes that when a whale is sighted there is much frenzied activity: deckhands scurry about, boats are lowered, men begin [...]
According to The Writer (March 2006), William F. Nolan has written 165 short stories, 82 books, 45 screenplays and appeared in 300-plus anthologies. His most recognizable work is Logan’s Run, upon which the 1975 movie and its upcoming Warner Brothers’ remake are based. He was asked this question: Where do you get the ideas for [...]
Betty Edwards’ famous book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, contains a wonderful series of exercises for people who think they can’t draw. One of her assertions is that creativity is not something you’re born with, as most assume; rather, it is a learned skill. Or, to be more precise, it’s an unlearning [...]
Okay, so I’m not a poet. But Pablo Neruda was. He had a passion for words, kinda like me. But look how alive his are: You can say anything you want, yes sir, but it is the words that sing; they soar and descend. I bow to them, I love them, I cling to them, [...]
This is my first poem in a long, long while. Okay, Robert Frost I’m not. But I like words, so I figured I’d set some in motion. You can direct your hate mail or concerns about poetic hackery to sit-on-it.com. * * * SEASONS’ DANCE by Mike Duran Seasons wash the daily chore and dance [...]
Engaging the culture in meaningful, pertinent dialogue is essential to our Christian witness, and Relevant Mag does this as well as any Christian magazine. Brett McCracken is senior editor of the Progressive Culture segment of Relevant Online. I had a chance recently to ask Brett some question about Christians and pop culture, artistic integrity and [...]
A lie may travel around the world, while the truth is still putting on her boots. But alas, the truth has arrived. That mighty rushing wind felt across the country these last few days, was not a great Nor’easter, but Oprah Winfrey’s fierce backpedaling. I read with glee the article in yesterday’s L.A. Times entitled, [...]
Most Christians do not write good book reviews. No, I don’t mean they write negative reviews. I mean they don’t write objective reviews, honest reviews. They write puff pieces. Don’t believe me? Go to Amazon. Read some reviews of Christian fiction. Most of them are four or five stars. Unless the review is done by [...]
