Horror, it’s been suggested, is a great genre for Christian writers to explore biblical themes like sin, evil, holiness, and the supernatural. In his article, A Guide to Reading Ghost Stories, Robert Woods makes a similar point. Referencing Russell Kirk’s essay “A Cautionary Note on the Ghostly Tale,” Woods writes: As with G.K. Chesterton’s assertion [...]
#wordcount — That’s the Twitter hashtag for writers wishing to chronicle their cumulative daily word count. It’s not surprising such a hashtag exists. After all, setting a daily word count has become one of those near non-negotiable writing rules. Usually, that number is 1,000 words, give or take, with an appropriate “off day” here or [...]
So I was speaking to someone in the publishing industry about my unpublished Urban Fantasy novel, and how my agent and I are preparing to shop it. “So what’s your next step?” they asked. I told them that I was torn between taking time to gather some good beta readers or just waiting and letting [...]
One of the most uncomfortable realities of being a writer is asking for blurbs. It ranks somewhere between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and having bamboo spikes driven under your toenails on the enjoyability meter. Before The Telling released, I determined to aim high for endorsers. Nothing but “big names.” I contacted a dozen high-profile authors, most [...]
Earlier this week I had a great conversation with my agent. Part of that conversation involved changing markets. My first two full-length novels were contracted by a Christian publisher and marketed as Religious Fiction. I’m thankful to Charisma House for my “big break.” This has been a great ride. However, it’s time to move on. [...]
Iscariot is the forthcoming novel from Tosca Lee, releasing a week from today (February 5th). The novel’s been much anticipated, not just for Ms. Lee’s brilliant craft, but for the provocative and controversial subject matter — a fictional adaption of one of the most infamous figures in history. Tosca graciously entertained some questions about the [...]
I have this theory: Evangelicalism is hated not for what it has become, but because of what it believes. There are many excesses and absurdities one can point to inside Christendom. But when it comes down to it, it is what Christians believe not how they act that torques most of its opponents. One such [...]
Have you followed the responses to Paul Elie’s NY Times article, Has Fiction Lost Its Faith? His basic assertion is that Christianity has become “something between a dead language and a hangover” in American literature. Elie: Forgive me if I exaggerate. But if any patch of our culture can be said to be post-Christian, it [...]
Late last year, the website ChurchRelevance.com published its biennial list of the top 200 church blogs. Kent Shaffer, founder and ministry consultant, aggregates faith-related websites that he considers the most influential, based on a number of readership metrics. Apparently Shaffer hit a nerve. Why? Because he didn’t include enough female bloggers. The backlash prompted a [...]
One of the turning points of my Christian life was when I began researching evidences for the validity and rationality of the Christian faith. Evidences for the existence of God, the authenticity of Scripture, the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ abound. Thus, one of my apologetic approaches has always been to “look at [...]
