Nuns versus The Lord of the Rings
In this Post…
- Nuns versus The Lord of the Rings
- Amazon Reviews
- Things to Come: Author Showcase
- Book Trailer
- Ordering information
Nuns versus The Lord of the Rings
In Daniel and the Sun Sword, Daniel finds he can’t save his friends unless he lets go of his anger, cynicism, resentment…lets go of his self. When emptied, he is filled with the Father’s power in a very visible way.
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He looked down at his body; he was almost transparent. A white-hot fire shone from within him like a flame through a lampshade, illuminating his entire being.
It surprised him how natural it felt, like this was his true self. It was as if he finally felt real, like all his anger and distrust had simply been a facade he’d erected for protection.
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This scene, I confess, was inspired by C.S. Lewis’s comments about holiness and glory:
“How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing…it is irresistible. If even 10 percent of the world’s population had it, would not the whole world be converted and happy before the year’s end?” (Letters to an American Lady)
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship…” (The Weight of Glory)
And this brings me to my point: when we consider that the way to happiness is through holiness, don’t conceive of the latter as the drab, stodgy, barren existence of a nun. A picture of true holiness is perhaps better illustrated in the heroes of The Lord of the Rings, who are filled with power, goodness, and mystery.
Holiness doesn’t just sit in the pew or kneel in the prayer closet.
It strikes out into the world on adventure.
Amazon Is Open For Reviews!
If you have read Daniel and the Sun Sword (and liked it), please go to my Amazon page and leave a review!
Things to Come…
What’s next? Come see me at the Author Showcase at the Houston Love Memorial Library on November 8th. I look forward to seeing you there!
Book Trailer
Ordering Links
Amazon
To purchase Daniel and the Sun Sword locally…
Single Copy: $15.00+tax
Multiple copies $13.00 + tax
Ebook and Official Release!
In this Post…
- Ebook and Official Release
- Amazon Reviews
- Things to Come: Author Showcase
- Book Trailer
- Ordering information
Ebook and Official Release
Today marks the official release of Daniel and the Sun Sword! And what better way to celebrate than to release the ebook on Amazon?
Amazon Is Open For Reviews!
If you have read Daniel and the Sun Sword (and liked it), please go to my Amazon page and leave a review!
Things to Come…
What’s next? Come see me at the Author Showcase at the Houston Love Memorial Library on November 8th. I look forward to seeing you there!
Book Trailer
Ordering Links
Amazon
To purchase Daniel and the Sun Sword locally…
Single Copy: $15.00+tax
Multiple copies $13.00 + tax
Amazon Reviews, Halloween, and Some Other Junk
In this Post…
- Amazon Reviews PLEASE!
- Halloween and the Other Side
- Things to Come: Author Showcase
- Book Trailer
- Ordering information
Amazon Is Open For Reviews!
If you have read Daniel and the Sun Sword (and liked it), please go to my Amazon page and leave a review!
Halloween and the Other Side
In Daniel and the Sun Sword, Daniel and his friends must break into (what they believe is) the Peruvian underworld to save a friend. Which, of course, is spooky and scary, and a perfect subject for October 31st!
There are many different faces of Halloween (pun intended). A simple Google search will show you that all ancient cultures have some such holiday—even Christian cultures. Despite the differences in these traditions, one thing remains the same: Halloween is about the dead, the other side, and the crossing of the boundary leading there. 
But, is the subject of Halloween just tradition? Is it just based on superstition and the ignorance of our ancestors? I mean, there isn’t any real proof that there is life after death, right? I mean, no extra-Biblical evidence, of course. Sure, there are some crack-pot people touting Near Death Experiences (NDEs), but those are easily explainable…oxygen deprivation, or something like that.
Or maybe not. For decades, certain accounts of NDEs have caught the attention of the scientific community because the details rule out simple explanations like oxygen deprivation, hallucinations, dreams, or the like. Many accounts are so baffling that the scientific study of NDEs is its own branch of research now, with doctors being among the loudest voices lending support to the phenomenon.
So, in honor of Halloween, here is one such case. Enjoy!
Things to Come…
What’s next? Come see me at the Author Showcase at the Houston Love Memorial Library on November 8th. I look forward to seeing you there!
Book Trailer
Ordering Links
Amazon
To purchase Daniel and the Sun Sword locally…
Single Copy: $15.00+tax
Multiple copies $13.00 + tax
Guest Post from Author Ashlee Willis
In this Post…
- Guest Post from Author Ashlee Willis
- Things to Come: Author Showcase
- Book Trailer
- Ordering information
Last year I interviewed Ashlee Willis about her book, The Word Changers. Well, she’s at it again and is here to talk about some of the underlying themes in her new novella, A Wish Made of Glass.
Deep in a forest glade, the fey folk dance with a young human child. Their kinship is the fabric of Isidore’s childhood. But when her mother dies and her world darkens with sorrow, Isidore finds her belief in the fey folk wavering.
The love of her new step-sister, Blessing, proves an unexpected gift in her time of need. Yet even as their friendship blooms, Isidore begins to see that Blessing is everything she herself has always wanted to be, but is not. Jealousy grips Isidore as she watches this beautiful new sister steal away all she holds dear.
Driven to desperation, Isidore turns to the fey folk once more. She has only one wish to claim from them, one chance to make things right. But she must tread carefully. For wishes, like hearts, are easily broken. And obtaining the one thing she desires could mean destroying the one thing she truly needs.
Hero and Villain: The Same Person?
by Ashlee Willis
I’ve always been fascinated with “the other side of the story.” You know. The dark side.
I loved the movie Maleficent, of which I’m sure most of you are familiar. I adored the book The Winter Prince, which is told from the point of view of Mordred, King Arthur’s illegitimate son. I couldn’t turn pages fast enough to see how the shameless Becky Sharp’s story would turn out in Vanity Fair. I watched, breathless with horror and awe, as Raskolnikov justified his own act of murder in Crime and Punishment. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, though she was horribly selfish and vain.
Although I’m sure many people found these characters much less than admirable, I rather doubt I’m alone in this fascination with protagonists who turn out to be more villain than hero. What is it that causes us to like the unlikable? What makes us so morbidly intent on watching to see what rule these unorthodox characters will break next?
For me, I think it’s that potential for change more than anything else. That mysterious, wonderful miracle that happens when the character’s depth of loathsomeness teeters sideways and flips, and changes into depth of true integrity and honor. Now, of course that doesn’t happen with every evil or selfish character. It doesn’t happen with most of them, in fact. But when it does . . . what a fulfilling moment!
Because villains aren’t born villains. Every person in life, and every character in a story, has the same chances of redemption that everyone else does. Becky Sharp may have led a less privileged life than Amelia Sedley, but her choices of how to behave were nonetheless the same. Maleficent could have chosen to pay back the greed and cruelty that had been shown to her; instead she made the brave choice of love. Cinderella and her stepsisters held very different positions within their household, yet the difference between their actions and hearts was still a simple one: Choice.
Sometimes the path is harder, sometimes it’s easier. But in the end, what it comes down to is a decision. As Dumbledore so succinctly says: “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Isidore is the protagonist in my novella, A Wish Made of Glass. She is also, in truth, the antagonist. I often look at my own life and think just that. I’m the one who gets in my own way. I’m the one who chooses to embrace my insecurities rather than let them go to reach for the freedom God offers. Satan is THE enemy, yes. But he holds no power over me which I don’t give to him. And I give him that power much too often.
Isidore is arguably not a very likable person. She has seen loss and sorrow in her life, and soon begins to see everything as a tragedy, everything as a danger—even the things that are, in fact, blessings. That doesn’t make for a fun person to be around. Perhaps, to some, it doesn’t even make for a fun person to read about.
Yet I always find enjoyment, even fulfillment, in reading and writing about the broken people. The fallen ones, the misled folk living out life in the shadow of doubt and fear and anger. Those people don’t need enemies because, in truth, they are their own worst enemies. What a great sorrow that is. My heart goes out to them. Because I used to be one of them. I know that dark path well.
My poor Isidore may not be someone you’d want to be friends with. Not at first. She makes wrong choices. She sees through a mirror, darkly. She judges others not based upon truth, but upon her own insecurities and anger and loss. Yet her journey is one that, at least in part, I think everyone may be able to understand just a little.
For God’s power and love have no limits. Even when we seek to destroy ourselves, as Isidore nearly does, even when we stumble blindly into every trap the enemy has laid for us, God is there waiting to take our hand and lead us back onto His path. And it’s a beautiful path – even more beautiful and bright to those of us who once knew the darkness, but have made the brave choice to leave it far behind.
To purchase A Wish Made of Glass or The Word Changers:
Amazon.com
ashleewillisauthor.wordpress.com
Things to Come…
What’s next? Come see me at the Author Showcase at the Houston Love Memorial Library on November 8th. I look forward to seeing you there!
Book Trailer
Ordering Info
- Amazon is currently shipping books pre-ordered through their website.
- When reviews are able to be posted onto Amazon, you can be SURE that I will be letting you all know!
- The Ebook will be available SOON!
- You can still order books through me by using the Paypal links below or on the Homepage of my website. These can be picked up at 1st Pres (Dothan) or Dothan Behavioral Medicine Clinic.
To purchase Daniel and the Sun Sword locally…
Single Copy: $15.00+tax
Multiple copies $13.00 + tax
If you live out of the area, click HERE to order on Amazon.
Poll Results–Nerds.
The results from my book-release poll are in, and here’s what I’ve concluded: a bunch of you are nerds.
I will NOT be giving away $1,000,000.
I will NOT be doing an interpretive dance. Though several of you seemed quite interested in seeing my sister do one so I’ll see if I can talk her into it. She’s a big doofus so it might be possible.
Weird Al was already booked. (If you’re out there, Mr. Weird, and reading my blog, I’d be honored if you could actually come.)
BUT, the other answers I can swing. The majority of respondents wanted: (more…)
Interview with Young Adult Author Just B. Jordan
I’m happy to showcase my interview with YA author, Just B. Jordan. Check out her official bio at the bottom of the post. Until you do, suffice it to say that she’s awesome because she was homeschooled, graduated early, and is only 19-years-old and just got her first book published. Read on and get to know Just B. Jordan!
Book Summary
Imprisoned, Elwyn endures torture so horrific she drives herself insane to elude true madness. She finally escapes, but at the deadly cost of the only remaining friend she has. Now, unless her broken mind is playing another cruel trick, she discovers she is turning into the monster she despises most of all. Amidst fighters and fairies, demons and dragons, traitors wear the face of friend as she searches for the lost fragments of her mind. Elwyn is the only one mad enough to face the Monster of the Kings, but she is more likely to destroy herself before even finding him.
Who’s your favorite character in your book and why?
It’s hard to pick just one favorite. I would say Finnion, because he is one of the only characters who tries to remain genuinely nice. But I also really like Cestmir, for various reasons that might ruin a surprise in the plot.
Are any of your characters based on real people?
No, I purposefully avoided that. But when my brothers read the very first draft of the first 50k words (back when the story and characters were very different from what they are now), one of them thought I had written Gwendor and Finnion as them, and Elwyn as myself.
What comes first: story or characters?
Story almost always comes first. I see a scene playing out or have an intriguing idea on world-setup or plot, and it grows from there.
Do you like to write series?
Yes and no. I doubt I would enjoy writing a series where the MC is always the same, or it always takes place in a similar setting. I would get bored. I have enjoyed creating a series where every book has different characters and settings, but they tie together.
Describe your main character in 3 words.
Pitiable, volatile, broken.
Use two or fewer sentences about something unique about the book.
As the dragon lore unfolds it becomes pretty intriguing; the physical rot of their flesh, the madness of their minds, the way their life-force is dependent on leaching from other races.
Where do you get your ideas?
Anything and everything can make ideas pop into my thoughts. I’ve always had an extremely over-active imagination.
Have you written your entire life:
No. I always told myself stories to keep myself entertained, but I didn’t start writing until I was 16½.
Why do you write? Is it something you’ve always done? Or wanted to do?
I write because it fleshes out my stories in a way they never would be if they remained in my thoughts only. I always thought it would be fun to write a book “someday”, but didn’t expect that I would actually buckle down and do it.
What is your writing process?
Once I have an idea that I know I want to work with, I tell myself the story, adding to it and shaping it until I have something substantial and workable. Then I sit down and start to write. Typically I have no idea where I’m going when I begin. I’m horrible with taking notes, though I am getting better at it. After I write the first 20-50k words, I go back and rewrite everything before continuing. It sounds counteractive, but that’s what works best for me. As I write I’m constantly going back and adding things in, cutting bits, and changing dialogue to work with the later chapters.
What is your work in progress?
To Ashes We Run. It takes place in the same world as Never To Live, but centuries in the past. I have loved writing this book. There are a few characters that are so awesome they almost steal the show from the MC, and the setting is vastly different from Never To Live’s. The under-achieving, self-absorbed MC, Adisa, is very refreshing to write after spending so much time in the mind of the tormented Elwyn.
How often do you go back and re-write a plot?
Before I start writing it is constantly being erased and re-drawn. It changes so much that it isn’t recognizable when compared with the original idea. Once I’ve started writing I still go back and make tweaks and changes as I flesh out the story, but once I know where I want it to go the overall arc doesn’t get changed much.
Currently reading?
Xenocide by Orson Scott Card. Up until this year I hadn’t read much sci-fi, but it is definitely growing on me. Card is one of my favorite authors now.
When not writing, how do you spend your time?
I read. I walk the fields, woods, and roads near my house. I goof around with my siblings when they are in town. I also enjoy making things with my hands, like costumes and steampunk jewelry.
Thanks to Jordan for giving us some inside info on Never to Live, and a sneak peak into her mind. Make sure you check out her website, and don’t forget to buy her book!
Just B. Jordan was born and raised in Oregon and lives in the foothills of a small town near Eugene. Homeschooled along with her three siblings, she graduated high school a year early and received her first publishing contract at the age of 18. She enjoys her life as a country girl with many pets, and works for a small dog centered business. One of her hobbies is to create Steampunk jewelry and costumes.
Nathan Lumbatis 