Rebecca Reilly's Blog - Posts Tagged "theology"
How Can a Christian Pastor Write a Ghost Story?
I have to say, that question broadsided me. Not the question itself, but the tone in which my friend delivered it. I got the sense that by delving into fiction, by touching on a topic that may imply a spiritual realm surrounds us and influences us, she thought I’d cast my theology and my salvation out the window.
As a pastor, I had to stop, take a step back, and look at what I had written and why I had written it. This story, more than any other I’ve published, is close to my heart. Haunting Megan begins in my teenage home; the opening chapters are autobiographical. Writing them was therapy for me. Reading them provided therapy for my siblings. Much of my heroine's inner doubts and struggles were mine—as were her victories.
Haunting Megan did not begin as a ghost story. At the core, Haunting Megan is about a young girl broken by horrific tragedy, who fights for healing, and whose decisions and character are rooted in the events of her early childhood. Does she see ghosts? Yes. Are the ghosts real, or are they, as her counselor claims, a manifestation of the guilt she feels? That is something the reader has to decide.
Do I believe in ghosts? I believe in a spiritual world that surrounds us and encompasses both good and evil. I believe our spirit lives when our body fails. I believe there is so much more to God than we know, and more to being in His presence after death than we can understand.
Though Haunting Megan is not Christian fiction (it neither mentions nor promotes Christian theology), several themes run through the novel that I believe are consistent with my faith. We are all broken in different ways and need healing. Relationships need to be restored. Our past forms us but does not define us. And most importantly, love has power to heal.
So why should you read Haunting Megan? It’s a fun, entertaining, and yes—spooky read. At the heart, that’s what good fiction should be.
Haunting Megan is available for pre-order at
http://bit.ly/HauntingMeganiBooks
http://bit.ly/HauntingMeganAmazon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MQA5YSU
Rebecca Reilly is a pastor and has worked in ministry for over thirty years. A passionate reader and writer, Rebecca took on four wildly different genres for her first five books – a murder mystery at sea (Into Dark Waters), a humorous look at sex and marriage (Diary of a Christian Woman: How I Used 50 Shades of Grey to Spice Up My Marriage), a children’s chapter book on bullying (The Geek Club under the pen name Becky Reilly), and two picture books (Jammers and His Flying Bed Adventure and Heart of a Kitty). She returned to the mystery/suspense genre for her sixth book (Haunting Megan).
You can follow Rebecca on Facebook (facebook.com/RebeccaLynnReilly), Twitter (twitter.com/RebeccaReillyL), Goodreads, and at www.rebeccareilly.net.
As a pastor, I had to stop, take a step back, and look at what I had written and why I had written it. This story, more than any other I’ve published, is close to my heart. Haunting Megan begins in my teenage home; the opening chapters are autobiographical. Writing them was therapy for me. Reading them provided therapy for my siblings. Much of my heroine's inner doubts and struggles were mine—as were her victories.
Haunting Megan did not begin as a ghost story. At the core, Haunting Megan is about a young girl broken by horrific tragedy, who fights for healing, and whose decisions and character are rooted in the events of her early childhood. Does she see ghosts? Yes. Are the ghosts real, or are they, as her counselor claims, a manifestation of the guilt she feels? That is something the reader has to decide.
Do I believe in ghosts? I believe in a spiritual world that surrounds us and encompasses both good and evil. I believe our spirit lives when our body fails. I believe there is so much more to God than we know, and more to being in His presence after death than we can understand.
Though Haunting Megan is not Christian fiction (it neither mentions nor promotes Christian theology), several themes run through the novel that I believe are consistent with my faith. We are all broken in different ways and need healing. Relationships need to be restored. Our past forms us but does not define us. And most importantly, love has power to heal.
So why should you read Haunting Megan? It’s a fun, entertaining, and yes—spooky read. At the heart, that’s what good fiction should be.
Haunting Megan is available for pre-order at
http://bit.ly/HauntingMeganiBooks
http://bit.ly/HauntingMeganAmazon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MQA5YSU
Rebecca Reilly is a pastor and has worked in ministry for over thirty years. A passionate reader and writer, Rebecca took on four wildly different genres for her first five books – a murder mystery at sea (Into Dark Waters), a humorous look at sex and marriage (Diary of a Christian Woman: How I Used 50 Shades of Grey to Spice Up My Marriage), a children’s chapter book on bullying (The Geek Club under the pen name Becky Reilly), and two picture books (Jammers and His Flying Bed Adventure and Heart of a Kitty). She returned to the mystery/suspense genre for her sixth book (Haunting Megan).
You can follow Rebecca on Facebook (facebook.com/RebeccaLynnReilly), Twitter (twitter.com/RebeccaReillyL), Goodreads, and at www.rebeccareilly.net.
