Davis Bunn's Blog, page 30

On the Horizon: My Speaking Calendar

For those of you asking about my speaking schedule, here are the basics:

July – Speaker at Craftfest,  New York City

July – Speaker at Thrillerfest,  New York City

July – Speaker at ICRS, Orlando, Florida

September – Speak at ACFW, Dallas, Texas

October – Speak in Kenya

October-November – Teach at Oxford

 

I’m also excited to share the book trailer for my upcoming book, Rare Earth, produced by Bethany House:

As always, thanks for checking in.

Regards,

Davis

Moments of Vulnerability and a Glimpse of Grace

Four days ago, I had surgery to correct a muscle issue in my throat. The easiest way to describe it is as a misplaced hernia. The muscles opened in one spot to permit a pouch to form.

No one knows why it happens, only that it does occasionally, and usually in men. It could be sports related, as my two passions—surfing and road cycling—both require the neck to remain taut in an upraised position for long periods. It is now eight o’clock at night, and my energy has returned in a surprise wavelet, really no predictable pattern to this at all. I was up at around six this morning as usual, worked for ninety minutes, and was left in a fog for hours.

The surgery went well, but apparently it was a good deal more involved than they had initially thought. My neck and upper chest areas remain very sore. Swallowing anything is such a chore. Isabella made me a massive pot of chicken soup which I have ground to mulch, and taking small spoonfulls I’m able to down half a bowl at a time. I don’t really mind it too much, to be honest. The entire hospital experience has had the feeling of a very intense spiritual gift.

Leaving the hospital after the preliminary meeting with the doctor last week (up until then, everything had been arranged by email and phone from the US), I had a very powerful sense of being close to God. Such moments have of course come in the past, but there was a particular edge to this one. I felt so intensely vulnerable, which was odd, because I’d just been told the operation would not be severe, and my overall health has been great. But entering the hospital’s underground parking garage, I had this one fleeting moment of glimpsing beyond the visit and this operation and this time of good health–to the beyond.

For a split second I was able to look out to when health is no more, and my days are completed, and the breath is gone, and life is given back to the giver of all. I almost broke down and wept in the parking lot. There was nothing particularly frightening about the experience. Rather, I wished I could somehow remain this close to God all the time.

Which of course I can’t. And so I left the parking garage and went to the Starbucks and had a coffee and read the paper. I felt very inadequate, and wished I could appreciate more, and have greater compassion for those in pain or in fear. And yet God loved me even with all these failings, enough to turn a simple doctor’s visit into a glimpse of the hereafter.

Everything I’ve been through since then has been two-sided. On the one hand, the operation was really intense, and the pain has been pretty harsh, and because they had to mash my tongue down hard to get the second instrument down, it compressed the nerve and half of my tongue and mouth have been numb since the operation. I have no taste, no feeling, nothing. The muscles at the back had to be cut a bit in order to relieve the strain on the entire passage, and I have also lost my voice. I am still only managing a whisper, and even that hurts quite a lot.

And yet, it really is all so minor. I have these flashes of worry, about the film’s p&a budget and the 2013 publishing schedule and my writing and when I can return to the current project… And then there are these other moments when I am back again in the parking garage, standing there beside my car, and knowing that I am not alone in that dark cold place. The feeling of being surrounded by an overwhelming gift of love remains with me still.

Our New Digs

You may remember me writing recently about our “other home.” See that tiny little cottage behind the plane?

Yes, that, my friends, is where we live.  We actually moved out there because it was way cheaper than our apartment in Oxford.  No, I’m not kidding.

This was the first grade-one listed manor, sort of the historical registry of homes in the US, that was granted permission to be turned into apartments.  At the time, there was no roof and the central parlor was used as a stable for pregnant sheep.

It was converted in the early seventies, and it has all the bad habits of an aging and mistake-riddled home–banging pipes, terrible plywood walls covering the old stone, man, they even chopped the biggest rooms in half lengthwise to make more apartments.  I’m not kidding.  Some of the parlors had ceilings thirty feet high, which means sure, the new rooms have fifteen foot ceilings, but the ceiling decorations are massive and hang like stalagmites over the beds.  Just silly stuff.

We live in what was originally the stable block.  It was completed in 1504, on foundations dating from a monastery erected around the year 800.  Our walls are three feet thick.  It’s just so cool.

I’ll conclude this post with a reply to one of my readers’ question. Her observation about God opening and closing doors is very timely for me and my wife as we continue our journey here at Oxford.

Linda writes:

I just finished reading Book of Dreams. Once I started reading I did not want to put it down. It made me think of your book The Presence (which I read a very long time ago), the way God moves in people’s lives, one door closes, so another can be opened, and the awesome power of prayer.  Your books always bring inspiration and renewed faith in God’s love and power to me.  I have learned that things happen in our lives that we don’t always understand, but are is all part of His plan for us.  We just have to trust and believe.  Thank you for helping me remember this.

 

Dear Linda,

Your beautiful note has made my day. Thank you so much for this heartfelt email on the power of prayer. I am honored that my story had this impact, and hope you have a wonderful and blessed day.  

Warmest personal regards,

Davis

Much Ado about Marc Royce

Dianne writes:

I have read all your books except two older ones. After reading Lion of Babylon, I was wanting another “Marc Royce;” is Rare Earth a Marc Royce novel?

I had shelved Gold of Kings for over a year, then I read it and went through the following four in a month! Loved the Storm Syrell series also! When can we expect No 3.?

Enjoy all your books and feel so blessed to have a hobby that allows great authors like yourself and others, to uplift, encourage, thrill and stimulate our imaginations.

Dear Dianne,

Thank you so much for your lovely note. Yes, Rare Earth is the next in the Marc Royce series.  It’s due for release July 1 but will be available in stores by mid-June. 

As for the next Storm Syrrell book, I had hoped to get to that by year’s end, but some new events have overtaken me, beautiful things, I’ll be writing about them soon in a blog post.  Storm will now have to wait until 2013. 

 

Cheryl writes:

Lion of Babylon is amazing! Absolutely riveting and exciting. Enjoyed every word. I have read more than ten of your books; they only get better. Can’t wait for the next book.

Dear Cheryl,

Thanks so much for the brilliant note and the enthusiasm and the encouragement!  I’m hard at work on the final edits to the sequel, Rare Earth, due out in June.  I do so hope you enjoy this one as well!  

 

Gary writes:

I have finished my fifth reading of Lion of Babylon. And I am already anticipating my next read. This book, above all others, is layered and entwined to the max. I love the characters: Marc, Sameh, Hamid, Josh, Leyla, Bisan, etc. Each read I am more involved with one character than another, till I feel like I know them personally. Marc [Royce], however to me, is such a picture of Jesus: gentle, strong, decisive, caring, hurting, searching out the best for others. Wow!

My 5 all-time favorite Bunn books, in order:

Lion of Babylon - because of the depth of knowledge received, the intricacies of the plot, the many-faceted messages to be received. This is not a book of one reading. Be good to yourself and re-read and re-read.
The Presence - it hits me in the deepest spiritual place of my life, and draws me deeper still.
All Through the Night - I love watching Wayne Grusza come to Christ. It thrills me to no end. God has given me a passion to disciple young men in Christ, to see them deepen their faith, and live out Christ’s life in them. This young man is such a picture of all of that.
The Priceless Collection series – I love the development of Jeremy throughout these books, another young man like Wayne Grusza. And I just feel like I am watching Davis Bunn come to Christ and develop in Him. These are the books to read, if you really want to “get to know” the author behind them.
Last, but not least, every book and word that Davis Bunn has ever written – the journeys he has taken me on are  countless, unforgettable, and life-changing. Davis’ writing reveals his passion for Christ, for life, for love and for adventure.

I am ready for the next book, and will wait with great impatience.

Dear Gary,

Your summary of favorite stories was a walk down the creative memory lane, and really was a delight.  Your overviews of the books are so on target, it’s amazing how well you have encapsulated my aspirations for these books. 

Fun Filmwork Feedback

Karen writes:

Thanks for the sneak peek into the world of film. You also gave us a picture of the person you are and how you are guided by God. I work at a bookstore and love recommending your books to customers especially ones who have never read your books. I have compared you to Francine Rivers another favorite author. Loved the collaboration with Janette Oke!!! Keep on writing and growing in Jesus!

Cali writes:

As an emerging writer, I found it fascinating to learn about the process of script writing.  To have the actors themselves talk to you about the characters must have been like having a character in a novel develop beyond what you expected.  It’s happened to me, as I’m sure it’s happened to you, but then to have that character displayed in a person who is telling you these things must have been amazing and surreal.

Dorothy writes:

Am so looking forward to this movie when it is out. Your books are so well received in the library where I am the purchaser and I know that there will be a lot of interest in this movie. I am also anxiously awaiting your next novel…love your writing!!

Larry writes:

Thanks so much for sharing this report with your subscribers. This is just awesome! I’m not over remembering all details of recent LION OF BABYLON and so looking forward to the new novel, RARE EARTH… However, I see what you mean about “using new tools” and it’s so interesting how God can use an author to write or even ‘embed’ spiritual data/points in novels and I suppose at times the writer might not even know he did that, but by the Spirit was it so subtlety accomplished….

Barb writes:

I am amazed at how God uses us in new and different ways if we are just willing and obedient! God bless you richly – I’ll be waiting to see this one.

Dear Friends,

There have been some amazing comments on my website and emails regarding the latest blog post on my recent filmwork for Unlimited.  Thank you so much, for the wonderful and encouraging comments.  As I work to develop the novel from the screenplay—the first time I have ever worked in this order, these very warm and heartfelt comments have been a great boost.  

Thank you again for writing.  

Warmest regards,

Davis

The Writing Life: Taking Stock

In December, my wife and I bought a new home, an apartment in the Florida town just nine miles south of where we have lived for the past fourteen years.  It is only the second time we have purchased a home, and it was a big and long-awaited transition.  We sold our first home two years ago, after having it on the market for three years.

When we bought our first home, I never thought selling it would be a cause for celebration, or that we would accept an offer for half our original asking price – and then count ourselves fortunate.  Welcome to real estate in Florida.

Yes, we know it is a hurricane zone, and yes, we know there are risks involved.  But we love it here.  It is home.  And so we bought a unit that we think is extremely well built, and we feel much more comfortable about leaving this for extended periods of time in England.

The problem is, I don’t want to go.  Since our arrival, the time here has been one non-stop hurricane of events.  The purchase of our new home is a great example.  My wife and I watched them build four identical buildings in a little park-like setting, and we realized they would be perfect for us.

But they were soooo expensive.  But like so many developments these days, the prices fell and fell and fell some more, and then on the second day after our return from England, the twenty-first of December, one of the units dropped thirty percent in price overnight.

We thought, we hoped, the builders might want to get out before the end of the year, and we were right.  We countered and offered to close by December thirty-first.  They accepted, but only if we bought it before year’s end.  We had eight days to close.  For anyone who has ever bought a home, these words should send shivers down your spine: we had eight days to close.

With Christmas in the mix.

A whirlwind of writing, rewriting, editing, filming, and moving!

Our lives have pretty much stayed at that incredible pace ever since. I have been pushing on two projects simultaneously.  This rarely happens.

But one of my new book projects is a totally new concept, and I wanted to get a third of the way into it and share it with the publishers.  It is a huge new direction, something I’ve never tried before, where the publishers came to me with an idea, one they have been thinking about for ten years.

It was both an honor and a major challenge to be approached by a publisher.   As soon as I reached my goal for the new concept, I left for the film set.

What an amazing statement to make: I left for the film set.  We closed on a house in eight days in December.  I left for the film set in March.  (See my blog post, “Learning at the feet of actors,” for what the set was like).  Since my return, I have been pushing hard on the novel based upon my screenplay, Unlimited.

Of course, added into this has been the ongoing work on my three books being released this year (Rare Earth, Hidden in Dreams, and Prayers of a Stranger. Each book, once it has been accepted for publication, goes through four back-and-forth transitions between author and publisher.

   

First there are the major edits, which have to do with smoothing out the plot-line and making what can be substantial changes along the way.  Then there are the minor edits, or line edits, which deal with everything from a character’s hair color to dialogue to all the myriad of small issues that make the book whole and polished.

Then there are what in the industry are called the final passes, the galleys and the page proofs.  These are the final opportunities to correct all the small issues before the book goes to print.  And there are always issues.  At this point, my wife calls them ‘eekos’, which is the sound she makes when she finds one.  Eeeek-o!

So I had three books going through edits and galleys, and two new book projects, and a film.

So what’s the fun of moving?

And let’s not forget the move.  For those of you in the know, let me add that we are moving from a house to an apartment.  And my wife does not like to throw anything away.  Nooooooo.

Actually, the move turned out to be fun.  I know, that’s not possible.  But it was.  Isabella has been as busy as me, and perhaps at times even busier.  I will not talk about her life here, I’d need another ten pages, and it’s two in the morning, and I have a book I’ll be working on at dawn.

Most of my blogs are done in the wee hours, when a transition is coming up and I find myself stunned by all that’s happened.  Like now.  It helps me sort through the whirlwind, these quiet moments in a dark house.

Back to the move.

As I’ve mentioned before, the people who bought our home couldn’t move in because their company needed the husband to stay on and not retire.  We didn’t know where we were going, if we were staying in Florida because of Isabella’s work, so we rented it back.  And we insisted on a three-month opt-out, because we didn’t want them telling us we had to leave when we were in England, and giving us thirty days to get out.

The problem was, we closed in eight days.  We didn’t need three months.

But we had it anyway.

Amazingly, our new apartment was the same deal as our old home.  The previous folks had bought it as a retirement place, but never retired.  So it’s four years old and never lived in.

Last month we took the tags off the dishwasher.  It needed painting and carpeting and other stuff.  And we had ninety days.  Ninety days!  The painter and his entire crew came down with the flu and had to put off our job for two weeks.  We said, okay, no sweat.

Moving can be utterly horrid.  But if you take out the pressure of having to get it done, and you factor in all the stress we had in our professional lives, hauling boxes down to a new place became a, well, hobby.  It was our downtime.  We filled up our little SUV and we carried our boxes in and walked around the place, anticipating the day we could call it home.

When the movers finally came for the big stuff in mid-March, we were ready.  So ready.  And so calm about leaving the first home we had ever bought, the place we had thought we would never leave.  Back before we endured four hurricanes and burst pipes and blown-out windows and a new roof and four new a/c units.

But that was the home where my study was in a cubby at the top of the stairs on the third floor, with seven sides and seven windows and water to the east and the west, and all the world was green and blue.  That was the home where I wrote a dozen novels, and dreamed big, and loved my wife and our home and my life.

But it was time to move on.  I went back by the house today to check on mail, and realized it’s not mine any more.  There was an official ‘vacant’ notice in the mailbox and the drive was empty of all but sunlight and memories, most of them very good indeed.  We have moved.

Time to embrace change

The problem is, I don’t feel like I’ve had a chance to settle.  I’m not ready to go back to England.   It’s really bothered me.  We moved in three weeks ago.  Immediately after I go teach in Colorado and Tampa we’re supposed to make the change to England.

Next week I need to go to Nashville to meet my new publishers, and then six days later we leave.  I’m not ready to go.  I want to sit on my new veranda and drink my coffee and watch the green world out back of our new home.  We have bunnies and osprey and so many different kinds of birds and some very nice neighbors.

Then today two things happened.

First, I got my teaching schedule from Oxford.  And that, folks, is another sentence I never in a thousand years thought I would ever write.  But it’s come.  I am a lecturer in Oxford’s new creative writing program.  The pay is laughable for part-time lecturers in England, set by the state at a level so low a secretary here would fall out of her chair.  No kidding.

But hey, this is Oxford, and I am loving it.  So I got my schedule, and I’m doing tutorials, which are the crown jewel of Oxford’s teaching program.  All six of my tutorial students were in my class in the autumn, and I am really looking forward to seeing how much they have progressed with their writing.

And then tonight I got up and couldn’t sleep and was walking around our new home, padding from room to room in the dark, and came into my office, and turned on my computer, and drew up photos I took of a favorite bike ride I took last autumn through Alesbury, a village rimmed by prehistoric planted stones, like Stonehenge but not in a neat tidy circle.

Forty miles.  Eight mile-plus climbs.  From there I had climbed the Ridgeway, up to a Neolithic road that was old when the Romans arrived.  I then descend into a hidden valley, with one road that runs straight and true for nineteen miles.  And in that entire run I might have passed two cars.

In my mind, I’m already overseas and it is green as only England can be, and the wind is my dear friend.  I then mentally climb back up to the Ridgeway, and over the peak, and then swoop down a three-mile descent to the plains of Wiltshire and my car and home.  Because that is what awaits me.

Our other home.

Needed Immediately: Influencers for My Two Upcoming Novels

Dear friends,

I would like to invite you to become an influencer for my upcoming novels, Rare Earth and Hidden in Dreams.

What’s an influencer?

In a word: You.

Influencers are people from all walks of life who are willing to get the word out about my books.

What’s in it for you?

In exchange for being an influencer, you get a free copy of my book BEFORE it gets shipped to bookstores. You can either keep the book or give it away.

How to become an influencer

My publishers have generously made available a total of 100 copies of Rare Earth and Hidden in Dreams. The first 100 people to contact my assistant, Laura Christianson (laura@bloggingbistro.com) will receive a free copy of either book (or perhaps both of them!).

If you are part of a group and everyone in your group would like a copy, please send Laura the mailing addresses of EACH individual in your group.

If Laura has already contacted you about participating in my upcoming blog tour, you’re already on the list. However, if you’d like to request an additional influencer copy on behalf of a friend, just send her that person’s mailing address.

What I need from you

Please email Laura the following three items by Friday, May 4, 2012, if possible:

Your postal mailing address (U.S. preferred)
Which book you would like to receive, if you have a preference.

Rare Earth (Book 2 in the Marc Royce series… Book 1 is Lion of Babylon). Rare Earth can be read as a stand-alone story, so if you haven’t yet read Lion of Babylon, you won’t miss anything critical. Shipping to stores June 11, 2012, from Bethany House Publishers.

Hidden in Dreams (Book 2 in the Dreams series… Book 1 is Book of Dreams). Hidden in Dreams can also be read as a stand-alone story). Shipping to stores mid-June 2012, from Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

One-to-two sentences about how you plan to share the book(s). See the list below for 15 fun, easy ways you can spread the word among your circles of influence.

15 fun, easy influencer activities

Put the book on your desk at work and give it to the first person who asks about it.
Give a copy to the father figure in your life for Father’s Day.
Read and discuss the book with your book club, small group, or neighbors.
Host your own version of Oprah’s Book Club. Have an in-person or online book discussion.
Donate a copy to your church library, public library, or bookstore and ask the librarian to display it in their “new books” section.
Leave a copy in the waiting room of your doctor’s or dentist’s office. Put a sticky note inside the front cover, inviting the recipient to read it and pass it along to a friend.
Review it for the newsletter of your association, company, or church.
Give a copy to your clergyperson or a church leader.
Write up your thoughts about the book and email it to your own ‘influencer’ list.
Post a mini review to Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, christianbook.com, goodreads.com, shelfari.com… you get the idea.
Mail a copy to an overseas missionary or send it with someone who is going on a short-term mission trip.
Tweet or post a Facebook update about the book. Be sure to include a link to www.davisbunn.com so people can learn how to order.
Invite me to make a “virtual book tour” visit to your blog, online discussion group, or podcast.
Send a copy to your local government representative.
Give a copy to a pre-Christian friend.

I recently received a note from a man who wrote:

 “I am not yet a Christian, but am trying to get to know God better. Someone sent me a copy of Book of Dreams and I found so much that resonated with me as truth… and something I needed to know more about.”

While both Rare Earth and Hidden in Dreams have a Christian message, my foremost aim in writing them was to build a powerful link between strong entertainment and a message that lingers long after the book is set aside. Whether that message is one of healing or inspiration or challenge, my hope is to bind each reader more closely to his or her walk in faith.

 Ready to become an influencer?

Email Laura Christianson right now: laura@bloggingbistro.com, or call her at 425.244.4242 (after 10 a.m. Pacific time).
Be sure to include your mailing address, the title of the book(s) you’d like to receive, and a sentence or two about what you plan to do.

Thank you so much for helping me grow my network of readers. Your assistance and enthusiasm means the world to me!

P.S. Feel free to share the link to this post on your own blog, or to reprint the entire article on your blog. The link to this post is http://www.davisbunn.com/blog/?p=2720

Tweet This:

 Get free influencer copies of upcoming novels RARE EARTH and HIDDEN IN DREAMS by @davisbunn. Order yours now: http://ht.ly/aAJzA

Learning at the Feet of… Actors

There is a great deal of newness to my life right now. I think this is one of the most remarkable components of this stage of my artistic career, how the past two years have catapulted me into a completely new direction. I worked very hard to make this happen, so I can’t say the overall result is unexpected. But so much of what makes up this transition is revolutionary.

On the set of UNLIMITED, the movie with the market in the background. Joe Scott, writer, Davis Bunn, writer, Chad Gundersen, producer

A New Set of Tools

In many ways, working as a screenwriter is like a skilled surgeon learning a new field of medicine, say, pediatrics. A great deal of what I know can be directly applied. But at the same time, there is a very real danger in assuming I know what I need to. This is a crucial issue.

I have often worked with successful pastors who are finding it extremely hard to say what they want in a non-fiction book. Because they are successful at the pulpit, they assume they will be successful on the page. This is totally not true. In fact, it is often necessary for them to unlearn certain aspects of their work in order to write a solid book. The success they know as a pastor does not translate. They must learn a new set of tools.

Much of the unexpected newness comes from learning this same lesson. Which is ironic. Because I have said it so often to others, you might think I would already know this myself. But it is not true.

I will talk about two specific new items here. The first is the collaborative nature of screenwork.

When I write a novel, I am one of many. Most novelists prefer to ignore this fact. But it is true. I write the story, and then it goes through a very detailed and technical editorial process. Then it is taken by the marketing team, who often will re-title the book. Less than half my books carry the title I have lived with for the year or more that it took to write it.

Then there is the sales campaign, and the interviews, and the PR work, on and on, the number of participants extending out through the world, getting this book into the hands of as many readers as possible.

But it is still my book. My name is the one on the cover. I am the guy in the spotlight.

In screenwork, nothing could be further from the truth.

When I talk with beginning screenwriters, I often hear them refer to the project as ‘my film’. I have to tell them they simply cannot say this. Not and be allowed to sit down with a director or a producer. Both of these people will boot the would-be scriptwriter right out the door. Because it is not their film and never will be.

A screenplay is like a blueprint.

And once the architect finishes the first draft, that is when the real work begins. And as many as a dozen sets of hands will work on the story before the first inch of film is shot. That is the world of film. Either you accept it, or you grow increasingly bitter with the process.

The second unexpected newness is the intensity of the set. I am on my flight home now, leaving behind the sites in El Paso where Unlimited has been filmed. I was both working on the film project and working on the novel. This happens occasionally, switching the order around, doing the screenplay first and then the novel.

The Godfather is an example of this order, as is Love Story. Adapting the story from script to film means a great deal of new research, because of the depth that a novel will reach which is not required for a good film. Nuances of the characters must be revealed, and a stronger sense of three dimensional flow is required in the plot. So I have had some extremely busy days. But beautiful. And one reason for this amazing wonder is, as I said, the intensity that surrounds a film set.

The level of professionalism is extreme.

Each component of the film is critical, from lighting to cameras to set design to wardrobe, on and on. And each one of these groups are here because they are passionate about film and extremely professional in their approach to the project.

And the reason that I was accepted on set was because I adopted the same approach. I might have been the screenwriter. But this was no longer my project. I was just one of many.

And the newcomer. Everyone else had worked on multiple projects. My first day out there, they watched. Would I play the prima donna. Would I object to the alterations that were happening to my work. Would I demand a central spot.

Instead, I remained at the very fringe. Like the wedding banquet Jesus described, I held back and settled down at the far border of the set. And I watched.

So people relaxed. When I was invited forward, I did not comment about the film at all. How could I? I have no real idea what’s happening. I was like a newborn, assaulted by so many new sensations I could only catch glimpses of what was happening, with no real understanding of the entire process that surrounded me.

The chief cinematographer explains to me that they are shooting ‘filler’ shots, walking around the barrio and capturing images that will add to the overall feel.

Questions, questions, and more questions

On the flight out, I had an idea. I knew I was the outsider here, and I also knew that many producers and directors bar screenwriters from even entering the set, precisely because they want to claim the work as theirs. I wanted to show them from the outset this was not my plan.

When I was invited to become a part of the process, really enter in and work around the people, I started approaching one actor after another. And I interviewed them.

I asked them to tell me who the characters were. Not what I had written. What they had made of these characters.

What was the backstory?
What did they bring to the moment when the cameras caught them?
Where did they come from?
Why did they act as they did?
Who drove them?
Where were they going next?

The questions caught everyone off guard. The director, the actors, the cameramen, everyone. No one had ever known a writer to do this before. Which surprises me, because it seems the natural thing to do.

These people had been living inside the heads of these characters for weeks and weeks of prep work. Of course they had studied these issues. They are, after all, real professionals. Three of them are stars in the making. Perhaps four.

One of them, Roberto Amaya, literally stole every scene of Courageous that he appeared in. He was great to talk with, by the way. He plays an orphan who wants to take over the Christian home where he was raised, and has a beautiful sister, Sofia, who plays a major role in the orphanage, and yet who exasperates him with every breath. Seeing the two of them work through this, and discussing their relationship with Robert, was like mining pure gold.

One of the great challenges of writing solid fiction is managing to give each character a unique voice. They must stand out as having their own story, and sound like this, think like this.

Learning to separate the characters from one another is a powerful component of becoming a successful novelist. And here I was, talking to one professional after another, who had spent months doing this work for me.

Of course I talked with them.

And what a joy, what an indescribable delight it was, to learn at their feet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Virtual Day on the Set

Join me at my Facebook page Tuesday, April 24 for a day on the set of UNLIMITED. I’ll be posting updates throughout the day about my experiences on the set.

Click the “Like” button, above, and you’ll receive all my updates in your News Feed.

Readers Comment About ‘Lion of Babylon’

Eva writes: 

Lion of Babylon was very insightful; enjoyed this novel more than any I’ve read in years. A breath of fresh air, filled with hope. Loved it!

Sarah writes: 

I really enjoyed Lion of Babylon. What an adventure. What a wealth of information.

They just have to be true about what’s happening in these countries like how people are treated and what goes on in daily life. Very interesting. Kept me up late reading but I love it. Now I’ll wait until a sequel comes along! (smile!)

One thing in your book that spoke to me was: Am I speaking to God in prayer when I have a need? Am I in the Word of God?

Sometimes it’s easy to get so busy we leave it out of our lives then something reminds us again and we’re back on the right track again. Know what I mean?

The character, Sameh, asked similar questions like the part where he said something about forgetting to lift up his needs in prayer. Yep. Just like me.

Valerie writes: 

I found Lion of Babylon on the New Book rack at my library. Made me a fan immediately. I’ve now read The Black Madonna and The Damascus Way. Can’t wait to find the rest of your books!

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for these very kind notes. It was indeed a delight to learn that the story has resonated, as the spiritual theme centers upon the missionary church in today’s world. I wish you every blessing in your own search for His wisdom in your life, and send you my hopes that God remains close as breath.

You’ll find a list of my books in print here (and for books in a series, it tells you which order they go in). And here is a downloadable PDF of the list of all my books, both in and out of print.

By the way, The Black Madonna is Book 2 in the Storm Syrrell Adventure series, and The Damascus Way is Book 3 in the Acts of Faith series.

Readers Comment About 'Lion of Babylon'

Eva writes: 

Lion of Babylon was very insightful; enjoyed this novel more than any I've read in years. A breath of fresh air, filled with hope. Loved it!

Sarah writes: 

I really enjoyed Lion of Babylon. What an adventure. What a wealth of information.

They just have to be true about what's happening in these countries like how people are treated and what goes on in daily life. Very interesting. Kept me up late reading but I love it. Now I'll wait until a sequel comes along! (smile!)

One thing in your book that spoke to me was: Am I speaking to God in prayer when I have a need? Am I in the Word of God?

Sometimes it's easy to get so busy we leave it out of our lives then something reminds us again and we're back on the right track again. Know what I mean?

The character, Sameh, asked similar questions like the part where he said something about forgetting to lift up his needs in prayer. Yep. Just like me.

Valerie writes: 

I found Lion of Babylon on the New Book rack at my library. Made me a fan immediately. I've now read The Black Madonna and The Damascus Way. Can't wait to find the rest of your books!

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for these very kind notes. It was indeed a delight to learn that the story has resonated, as the spiritual theme centers upon the missionary church in today's world. I wish you every blessing in your own search for His wisdom in your life, and send you my hopes that God remains close as breath.

You'll find a list of my books in print here (and for books in a series, it tells you which order they go in). And here is a downloadable PDF of the list of all my books, both in and out of print.

By the way, The Black Madonna is Book 2 in the Storm Syrrell Adventure series, and The Damascus Way is Book 3 in the Acts of Faith series.