B.J. Hoff's Blog, page 6

The Grand Finale: Dawn of the Golden Promise

 I just received my "premiere copy" of Dawn of the Golden Promise, Book five of The Emerald Ballad series--and it's gorgeous!

Thank you, Harvest House, for another beautiful addition to the Ballad and for all the time and effort that went into this new release of the series.  

And thanks to all you readers who have written to let me know that you're either reading the series for the first time--or reading it again. Many of you have been asking when the final volume would be released, and I'm happy to tell you that the books are now ready to be shipped as I write this.  

Special thanks, also, to the incredible wizards at PulsePoint Design who have created another fantastic video trailer for this release, just as they did for the first four volumes. I have been in awe--and so very grateful--for the creativity and energy and hard work that went into each one of the trailers for The Emerald Ballad, but if possible, I think this last one caps them all! Love it!

Enjoy the video, and if you'd like to watch them all again, go to the Emerald Ballad page on my web site. And enjoy the book! I'll look forward to hearing from you.

BJ

R.I.P. Allan Eckert

Allan W. Eckert, one of Ohio's--and the nation's--foremost historical writers and a noted American naturalist, died this past Thursday. Eckert was the author of The Frontiersmen, one of the six volumes of The Winning of America; Blue Jacket, the story of the white man who became the greatest Shawnee warrior-chief; Tecumseh; a number of young adult historical novels, includingThe Court Martial of Daniel Boone and Johnny Logan, Shawnee Spy.

The long-running (since the seventies) outdoor dramas, Blue Jacket and Tecumseh, were adapted from Eckert's books. Nominated seven times for the Pulitzer Prize, Eckert was also a poet, short story writer, and television writer. He developed over 225 tv shows for Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom" series. He also designed and wrote for Writer's Digest magazine their popular correspondence courses entitled The Writer's Digest Course in Article Writing and The Writer's Digest Course in Short Story Writing.

Dr. Eckert was one of the first historical novelists I read who made me want to write historical fiction.

You can read more about his inspiring life and career here:  http://www.allaneck.com/bio.html

BJ

 

July 4, 2011

 

May we celebrate America's Independence Day not only with picnics and fireworks and family, but with a prayer that God will preserve and protect our freedom for this generation and all generations to come. 

 

 

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14

A Simple Act of Kindness

Last evening I witnessed a small but special act of kindness. In a secluded, wooded field not far from our home, I noticed a man setting out water, then food, before walking away. There are no other houses nearby, so I was curious as to what was going on. Within only a few minutes I found out. Four kittens--obviously strays from the looks of them--emerged, two at a time, from the trees. After another moment, they were joined by two raccoons, one large, one small. They looked around, then together--!--ate and drank their fill before disappearing  back into the woods, leaving me to wish I'd had a camera with me.

May God bless the man, whoever he was, who cared enough to minister to those small animals. I had the distinct feeling that this wasn't the first time.  

BJ

 

Something Old, Something New ... As in Books

I love big books. Always have, probably always will--although the good ones aren't as easy to find as they once were. The move for some time now has been away from the mega book to faster reads, and that's not necessarily a bad thing--sometimes. On occasion I want a story that doesn't take a significant time commitment, usually depending on what's going on in my life. 

Even so, my first love in books is still the hefty saga. That's one reason I was slow to become interested in e-books. I've made the transition by now, but it wasn't easy, and I'll never be able to completely give up "real books." For one thing, I simply like the heft of a book in my hands, and especially enjoy opening for the first time a big, scrumptious historical and anticipating a story that's going to last more than a few hours.

Unfortunately, in order to have that experience as often as I'd like,  these days I often find myself turning to older books I've read before. I'm a pack rat when it comes to books, so unless it's a poor excuse of a read, I seldom get rid of any. I still have books I read as a teen, even some from childhood. But those aren't the only ones I re-read. Over the years I've collected quite a few of the classics, and they're also showing the effects of frequent use. Actually, I don't much appreciate the appearance of a new book. I tend to favor the "comfortable look" of those old friends who have been with me a long time.

Sometimes it makes me sad to think of all the reading treasures our children and grandchildren will never experience. Not that there aren't good books being written today. They're definitely out there. But at times I get the feeling that for every one book that's memorable and in line to one day become a "classic," there are countless others that will be forgotten ... and should be.

I've always been grateful that my husband is also a reader. Both of us have done everything we can to keep some of our favorites visible and available to friends and family, but we know it's simply not possible to expose all the wonderful, unforgettable stories we've read throughout the years to our loved ones.

Recently we were having a "memory session" about some of our favorites, and while it would take a book (well, at least a lengthy article) to list them all, I did make a "keepers" list of some. I decided to post that list here at Grace Notes in hopes that some of you might either discover ones you haven't read before--or even rediscover those you want to read again. So for those of you who are interested, here's a sampling of a few we've read more than once or intend to read again or will, at least, "remember with affection." Some are very old, others are simply well-worn, and a few aren't really old at all. Most are "big books," others not so big, but "important" books, we think. 

All the King's Men--Robert Penn Warren.

Gone with the Wind--Margaret Mitchell.

To Kill a Mockingbird--Harper Lee.

The Brothers Karamazov--Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Quo Vadis--Henryk Sienkiewicz.

Trinity/Armageddon/Mila 18--Leon Uris

Little Women--Louisa May Alcott.

The Captains and the Kings/Dear and Glorious Physician--Taylor Caldwell.

To Lie with Lions--Dorothy Dunnett.

Hawaii--James Michener.

Not as a Stranger--Morton Thompson.

Winds of War/War and Remembrance--Herman Wouk.

The Peaceable Kingdom--Jan de Hartog.

Roots--Alex Haley.

Evergreen--Belva Plain.

Penmarric/Cashelmara--Susan Howatch.

North and South Trilogy--John Jakes.

The Winthrop Woman--Anya Seton.

Valley of Decision--Marcia Davenport.

Freedom--William Safire.

The Count of Monte Cristo/The Man in the Iron Mask--Alexandre Dumas.

How Green Was My Valley--Richard Llewellyn.

Grapes of Wrath--John Steinbeck.

Ship of Fools--Katherine Anne Porter.

The Silver Chalice--Thomas Costain.

Great Expectations--Charles Dickens.

Les Misereables--Victor Hugo

From the Terrace--John O'Hara.

Advise and Consent--Allen Drury.

The Year of the French/Tenants of Time/End of the Hunt--Thomas Flanagan.

The Dublin Saga--Edward Rutherford.

New York--Edward Rutherford.

The Stand--Stephen King.

Wuthering Heights--Emily Bronte.

Jane Eyre--Charlotte Bronte. 

The Robe--Lloyd C. Douglas.

An American Tragedy--Theodore Dreiser.

Main Street--Sinclair Lewis.

Ben-Hur--Lew Wallace.

Atlas Shrugged--Ayn Rand.

House Divided--Ben Ames Williams.

October Sky--Homer Hickam.

The Killer Angels--Michael Shaara.

Jeff Shaara's Civil War Series/World War II Series.

Shelby Foote's Civil War Trilogy. 

 

Enjoy.

BJ

Memorial Day 2011

May we always remember ...

May we always be grateful to God

for our country and for those

who sacrificed to keep it free.

BJ

That's Entertainment

 

Sometimes you just want to be entertained ...

And that's perfectly all right. When Himself and I feel the need for a "happy movie," you can almost bet we'll dig out an old musical. Recently we treated ourselves to two great Meredith Wilson favorites: The Music Man and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. 

Lively, uplifting music--check. Love story--check. Multi-talented actors--check. Straight from the "golden age of Hollywood musicals"--check. 

Next up for the weekend: The Sound of Music (Rodgers and Hammerstein), which we've seen at least two dozen times ... but it never gets old. 

Now that's entertainment--then and now.

BJ

 

Hacking Away

I believe it was Joyce Carol Oates who said that a sculptor has an idea or a vision of something that's already there in a piece of marble, and it's up to the sculptor to chip away and smooth and chip away some more, and sand and dust and refine until the vision is finally released.

It seems to me that that's what a novelist does. You begin with a kind of "vision"--an idea or a character, or, with some writers, a theme or a place. There's a story there--and you know it's there--but you chip away and smooth and chip away some more and sand and dust and refine and rewrite and revise until the vision is finally released. The important thing, the engine that drives your work from the beginning, is the sense that somewhere in that cold, lifeless hunk of marble there's a "vision" that must be allowed release--and you're the one given the job of releasing it.

Observers may come along and scratch their heads while you're at work. Family members, perhaps, who don't understand why you don't get a real job or do some useful volunteer work or learn how to hook rugs or something that you'll eventually complete. Critics may exchange sly smiles and when out of earshot question why you're deluding yourself that you're ever going to have anything more than a shapeless piece of marble (or a blank computer screen or an unpublishable manuscript). The ones who love you most and consequently want to shield you from pain may try to direct your interest elsewhere, to some goal that appears more "doable," some prize you can surely attain that will make you feel good about yourself.

But the sculptor with a vision will keep on hacking away (if you're a writer, you may hear the word "hack" used in a slightly different sense) until a shape begins to emerge, and then a more clearcut form, and then more and more detail until what your imagination and your spirit first envisioned becomes reality.

So you see, the sculptor is basically a workman, and so is the writer. There's really nothing magic or glamorous about it. You're a workman with a vision who simply keeps chipping away and hacking and refining until the vision is fulfilled.

I feel as though I've been doing a lot of hacking lately, and I'll admit I'm more than ready to see this vision fulfilled! So ... back to the marble.

BJ

Meet Jake the Bobcat

Last month, I announced my , and I've been delighted by the many suggestions you submitted.

Your names were creative, intriguing, and great fun for me and my marketing team.

With so many options to choose from, selecting a winner was difficult, but I'm happy to announce that Gant's ballad-loving bobcat now has a name!

Congratulations to Evelyn Jones, who submitted the winning name, Jake.

In River of Mercy, Jake is someone Gant worked with on the docks in New York, an older man who always seemed to "have his back."

Jake kept an eye out for the other, younger workers to keep them from getting hurt or in trouble, and is the perfect namesake for our bobcat.

Thank you, Evelyn, for your entry. Please get in touch with your mailing address via the Contact form on my web site, so my marketing team can send you your prize.

Evelyn's name will be included in the River of Mercy credits when the book releases.  She'll also receive this gorgeous print, plus a signed copy of the book.

For the rest of you who didn't win, we've got another contest planned prior to the book's release, so you'll have a new opportunity to win something marvelous. Stay tuned for more details.

Many thanks to everyone who participated. You are the best readers any author could hope for! 

Retaking the High Ground

One of my favorite books about writing is On Moral Fiction, by the late John Gardner. The following excerpts from that book are only a few of the reasons I believe OMF may be one of the most important books in print for writers in general, and especially for those of us who write from a Christian worldview. Much of Gardner's criticism was unpopular–-as is often the case today when members of the writing community venture to insist on the traditional view of writing, indeed of all the arts: that true art is moral.

Gardner says: "In the past few decades we have shaken off, here in America, the childish naivete and prudishness we see in, for instance, movies of the thirties and forties ... but in our pursuit of greater truth we have fallen to the persuasion that the cruelest, ugliest thing we can say is likely to be the truest. Real art has never been fooled by such nonsense: real art has internal checks against it."

Today "heroes" are held to be (a) unnecessary; (b) foolish; (c) archaic; (d) the creation of hack writers. But Gardner says: "Every hero's proper function is to provide a noble image for men to be inspired and guided by in their own actions ... And whereas the hero's function ... is to set the standard in action, the business of the poet (here we can also substitute writer--bjh) is to celebrate the work of the hero, pass the image on, keep the heroic model of behavior fresh, generation on generation."

Think about some of the movies you've seen and novels you've read over the past year. How many featured heroes whose behavior was heroic? I don't mean comic book "action heroes"--but characters or actors whose behavior itself was heroic.  

Have you experienced what I have all too often, the act of stopping a video less than halfway through or giving up on a novel after the first 30 pages or less–-because there's not one single character or actor whom you care about in a story so trivial it seems almost a sinful waste of a tree?

How many award-winning movies would you have given an award to? Who among today's "stars" of film and literature would you want your children to emulate, to elevate as their "heroes?"

Can we honestly take a hard, objective look at our media, our literature, our entertainment industry today and find anything more than "token morality?"

Gardner again: "The traditional view is that true art is moral: it seeks to improve life, not debase it."

Does that view any longer apply to the arts in our time? Gardner again: "For the most part our artists do not struggle ... toward a vision of how things ought to be or what has gone wrong; they do not provide us with the flicker of lightning that shows us where we are. Either they pointlessly waste our time, saying and doing nothing, or they celebrate ugliness and futility, scoffing at good."

Do I really believe it's that bad? Oh, yes. The selections in Gardner's On Moral Fiction were written in 1977 and 1978. Things have only been going downhill since then.

Although it's fashionable today–-and tiresomely predictable-–for "Christian fiction," especially fiction published in the CBA market, to be either hammered or blown off as trivial by the critics, some within the industry itself, it doesn't change the fact that those who want morality in their fiction are turning toward the very books the critics are bent on burying. Many readers might not be able to articulate the lack they sense in some of today's fiction, but they do sense the hopelessness and meaninglessness of it, and it holds no appeal for them.

Gardner says that "art is one of civilization's chief defenses, the hammer that tries to keep the trolls in their place." But if we watch carefully, we can begin to catch a glimpse of the "trolls" spilling over into all the arts, littering them with the worthless and the tawdry as never before.

Who, other than those committed to the creation of what is moral, will keep the trolls away in this generation and the next? It seems to me that the future isn't as bleak as we might first believe. I find much hope in watching the healthy number of writers--and artists and musicians--who are managing to trounce the trolls by sheer dedication and the mastery of their craft, the excellence of their efforts. There are still many who believe in the traditional view of writing and of all the arts: that it isn't art at all unless it is moral.

Several years ago, Dale Cramer commented to me that "I really believe that Christian fiction, if we can just learn how to use it to its full potential, can retake the high ground in literature."

That's as good a challenge as any I've ever heard for every writer of Christian worldview fiction.

God help us to retake the high ground.

BJ