Why don’t more aspiring novelists write short stories? It’s a question I’ve often asked. When I was a newbie, that seemed like the natural place to start. However, there was hardly a consensus. Most of my then critique group, as well as several significant published authors, suggested otherwise. If you’re going to write novels, they [...]
“All I got is a red guitar, six trash cans and the Truth.” Okay, that’s not exactly how the song goes. But it serves as a shout out to my pastor Jim Mann. Jim’s near-fanatical love for U2 is eclipsed only by his love for the less fortunate. Enter The Trash Can “Miracle” Project. You [...]
Things changed for me when I read The Man Who Was Thursday. G.K. Chesterton’s novel has been called a “metaphysical thriller,” but its brisk pace, lively dialogue and wry humor are rich with philosophical density. According to Wikipedia, the author suffered from depression for much of his life, and claimed afterwards that he wrote this [...]
Let’s do a little experiment, shall we? Using the above five words, I shall rearrange the title of this blog post. Your assignment is to tell me which of the following three alternatives is better than the original. Ready? Go! Subjective is NOT Writing Good. NOT Good Writing is Subjective Good is NOT Subjective Writing [...]
The press appears dumbfounded by Glenn Beck’s popularity. Then again, the American press isn’t known for its acumen. I am equally puzzled, however, by Beck’s popularity among American evangelicals. Why? Because Glenn Beck is a Mormon. Should that really matter, you ask? Should a pundit or politician’s religious views really be a concern of ours? [...]
The high point of our recent vacation in Santa Cruz was seeing Jamie Cullum in concert at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Wow! What a setting! And JC put on his typical hyper-kinetic show. His latest project, The Pursuit, is one of my recent faves. Of the albums I’m spinning, these are currently occupying the [...]
Stop the presses! “God did not create the universe, Stephen Hawking revealed yesterday.” That was the opening line for yesterday’s UK Telegraph piece Has Stephen Hawking ended the God debate? Apparently, it provoked considerable consternation among Christians. And a lot of lame responses. It’s not like we haven’t heard some scientist or intellectual make that [...]
I’m proud to finally unveil the cover for my first novel. It’s been a blast working with the Strang team, who now knows I am the nit-pickiest person on the planet. Really, they did a great job and I can’t thank them enough. Also, the release date of the book has been moved up to [...]
So a while back, I joined a group for lovers of “edgy Christian fiction.” But I was disappointed. You see, unless you were a nun, a schoolmarm, or Mrs. Grundy … the group really wasn’t very edgy. That’s when it hit me: The term “edgy” means different things for different people. Take last month’s “conversation” [...]
