R.W. Holmen's Blog: Spirit of a Liberal, page 9
April 6, 2010
Welcome to my new blog
Some of you may be followers of my other blog, Spirit of a Liberal, a blog of progressive, religious themes. That blog will continue, and this new blog will not relate to the often political discussions that take place over there; instead, this blog will focus on A Wretched Man novel, writing and publishing issues, and other literary themes. To those regular followers, welcome. To new folks here for the first time, welcome to you also. All prior posts appearing here appeared first on...
April 4, 2010
February 24, 2010
A Wretched Man Novel print run
I departed on a pilgrimage in late summer 2006 without a roadmap; after numerous fascinating turns, frequent detours, and the occasional blind alley, I have arrived at journey's end—with the assistance and encouragement of many helpful fellow travelers along the way. Today, an anonymous artisan will push a button, and the first edition of my novel will spin through the rollers of an offset printing press. Soon, boxes of books will then travel their own journey to distributors and...
February 19, 2010
The lyre and the music of the ancients
What did the ancient liturgies of the Hebrew temple sound like? We have some likely lyrics of early Christian hymns, but what about the musical accompaniment? These questions came up earlier today as my publisher began to create a "trailer" for my novel's website consisting of images and background music evocative of the first century world of Paul.
The easy answer is that we don't know much about the music of our Judeo-Christian ancestors. But then we happened upon the website of Michael L...
February 10, 2010
A Wretched Man novel release date set
Regular followers of this blog know that I have penned a novel entitled A Wretched Man, a novel of Paul the apostle. For those who didn't know this but are interested, you can click on the Wretched Man tab above for prior postings about the novel.
Here are abbreviated versions of the advance reviews we have received:
a stunning fictional account of the early church…the most authentically historical novel ever written about the lives of the apostles…presents the apostles as real flesh and...
January 21, 2010
A Wretched Man novel: 3rd Review is in
A Different Voice is a website devoted to progressive, Christian educators. It reviews and recommends educational resources deemed suitable for progressive congregations.
There are many of us…progressive Christian education professionals, pastors, youth directors, parents, volunteers, lay ministers, conference staff people…who are committed to taking the Bible seriously but not literally…who believe justice and grace and compassion and love are at the core of what it means to be...
December 21, 2009
A Wretched Man novel: 2nd review is in
I earlier quoted the first review/recommendation that my soon-to-be-released novel received. Advance Reader Copies of the novel have been sent to potential reviewers in anticipation of the novel's February release. Today, my publisher advised me that a second recommendation came in over the weekend. Here it is:
A Wretched Man: A Novel of Paul the Apostle is a stunning fictional account of the early church that reads like real-life. While a work of fiction, this just may be the most...
December 17, 2009
Book Review: Paul, a novel by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
Walter Wangerin, Jr. is a prolific religious author: thirty books for young and old– both fiction and non-fiction—essays, articles, and commentaries. Educated as a Lutheran Pastor, he was the well known radio voice of Lutheran Vespers for many years. He holds a professorial chair at Valparaiso University.
Three of his novels are Biblical fiction—well known stories from Scripture retold by a master storyteller. He is not shy in his choice of subjects: The Book of God; Paul, a novel; and...
December 15, 2009
Lost Christianities by Bart D. Ehrman
Bart D. Ehrman is a popular author and theologian. He chairs the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His expertise is early Christian history, especially the collection, copying, and canonization of early texts. The term "canonization" implies that some texts were chosen but also that others were not, and Lost Christianities, The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew treats those that were rejected.
There is a scene in the movie ...
December 3, 2009
A Wretched Man novel: the first review is in.
Writing can be a solitary endeavor, but when we share our words with the world, it can be as scary as dropping one's pants in the midst of a crowd (thanks to fellow Loft writer Jim Lundin for the simile). My novel is now at the point where others are reading it, and that is daunting.
My publisher has been busy sending out "galley copies" (which they refer to as '"advance reader" copies) to potential reviewers. With a novel release set for next February, we are hoping to generate buzz and...
