Robert Roush's Blog, page 9

Responding To The Need In West Africa

I am excited to report that we have been able to donate the necessary funds to provide clean drinking water to twenty-two families for a year, thanks to your purchase and promotion of the book In The Image of Man. As we've said often times, all proceeds from purchases of this book are being donated to Living Water International.

This is perhaps the most critical time and need for these donations since we started this endeavor. The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has greatly increased the need for clean water. In addition to clean water, this outbreak mandates serious attention to education, supplies, and treatment. Providing for these needs without spreading the disease among those who are helping also requires clean water.

"The fight against Ebola demands safe water and the promotion of strong hygiene and sanitation. Government leaders in both Sierra Leone and Liberia know Living Water International as a strong water, sanitation and hygiene partner in their countries. They have asked us to support the effort to combat this virus." - Living Water International

If you are passionate about helping Living Water International fight this serious outbreak, you can head directly to their website and donate. In addition, if you help us spread the good word about the thought provoking book In The Image of Man, all proceeds will go to helping fight this epidemic. While one book won't do much, if we can get this book to take off, the potential to help can grow exponentially. We can't do this without you!

Working together to meet the needs of "the least of these."

Thanks until next time.

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover?

Obviously, this saying pertains more to people than it actually does to books. However, in the day and age when your only option for buying a book was to walk into a bookstore and peruse the shelves, what options did a person really have, but to judge a book by its cover. In fact, I may write a post sometime soon about the significance of a book's cover and what it tells the reader about the book. But, that is not the intent of this blog.

Rather, I want to look briefly at how people really do "judge" a book these days. With many of the books being purchased these days coming from electronic shelves filled with millions, rather than hundreds, of books. Is it really practical to look through the covers anyway? While it is certainly possible for a book's cover to cause someone not to buy it, the single most important factor in someone's book buying decision (or any online purchase for that matter) is the reviews and ratings.

I'm sure that everyone of you has looked at the reviews for a book or some other item and said, "wow, most people have liked this so I am willing to take a chance on it, or vice-versa"  I've included a capture of the ratings and reviews summary from Amazon for In The Image of Man. This basically says two things to prospective buyers.

First, those who have read the book enjoyed it. Or perhaps, knew the author and were biased.

Second, not very many people have read the book, or at least liked it well enough to rate and review it.

It is certainly possible that the actual text content of the reviews will help sway someone to try the book anyway. However, this isn't as likely as if a hundred people reviewed it and had positive things to say.

This is why I am running a book giveaway over the next week where someone will win a free signed copy of the newly edited version of In The Image of Man simply by writing a review and dropping me a note so I know about it. Now it might seem odd, to offer a book to someone who has read it, but many people have only read the ebook and could still use a physical copy. Also, as of yet, no one has a signed copy of the new version.

If you've read a book, not just mine, and enjoyed it, let others know. We authors, and prospective readers, need your feedback.

'Til next time!

The Unseen Dominion Series

This was an exciting, and at times exhausting, week for me. If you follow my #WritingExcerpts feed on Twitter, you would have noticed that there were no excerpts posted this week. While it is sometimes true that I simply forget to post an excerpt from my writing for a day, this week no excerpts indeed means no writing. To those of you waiting patiently, or perhaps not so patiently, for the sequel to In The Image of Man, not to worry.

One of my key accomplishments this week was the determination of the series name for In The Image of Man and the following books. As you can probably guess from the blog title, the series name is Unseen Dominion. One of the reasons, I felt it would be important to get a series name is to be able to promote Image as part of a series. This will help assure readers that their time investment getting to know the characters of Arrow Springs in Book One will reap future rewards as well. So, I spent some time this week updating the book descriptions and the book cover (as seen in this image) to reflect In The Image of Man as an Unseen Dominion novel.

The second, and even more necessary, activity this week included significant editing of both the e-book and physical edition of In The Image of Man to clean up many items that you, my great readers, have pointed out. If you've already read the book, fear not, none of the fixes change the storylines of the book. However, given the focus of Hearts of Compassion Publishing on providing "high quality" books while allowing the maximum impact for those in need, I felt it was important to clean up the issues in an effort to help the book match the quality of a professionally edited book. I will be the first to admit that I am learning the crafts of writing, promoting, and yes editing, thus everything won't be perfect the first time around.

As a result of these new edits, the physical book will be unavailable for purchase until later in the week. However, the e-book is already available with all the improvements. If you've already purchased the e-book and would like to receive the new and improved version, you'll need to contact Amazon's support chat and request that they push the new version to you.

Aside from proofing the physical copy for any issues, this week will be back to writing Book Two of Unseen Dominion.

'Til next time!

To Prologue Or Not To Prologue

I've often heard arguments against having a prologue in your book. And I must say, most of them are extremely valid. How many times have you started reading a prologue and thought, boy, I hope the first chapter is better written than this.

Another issue with prologues is that they usually don't start the book with the protagonist (the main good character(s) of the story). Jeff Gerke in his Tips for Writers, suggests that the first 40-50 pages be dedicated to the protagonist. Ultimately, as a writer, you want the reader to fall in love with your protagonist, or at the very least know them well enough to care what happens to them. I probably should say that I envoked his "Stop Being Teachable" tip, in which he says, "You sift through all the 'truths' about fiction writing you hear and you hang on to the ones that make sense to you."

Often in the books I read, authors use the prologue as a high intensity, set-the-stakes, mysterious opening to their story. This can have a couple issues. First, the reader gets engaged in fast-paced excitement and then the brakes are hit when the first chapter begins. This can make the necessity of description and backdrop seem boring and slow-paced. Second, many times this suspense building technique gives away mystery content that can lessen the suspense.

The final point about including important information in your prologue is that often readers don't even bother to read the prologue. If the info is important, what happens when the reader just flat out skips it?

So, if you've read my book In The Image of Man, you might be saying, "wait a minute, didn't you start with a prologue?" Or, maybe you're not, because you skipped it. :)

Despite considering the various reasons not to include a prologue, I ultimately chose to use one for one primary reason. Honesty. Image is a supernatural thriller that looks at both the physical and spiritual realms. And I wanted to strongly introduce the reader to my protagonists, Chris and Sarah, starting with Chapter One. This left me feeling that a prologue would best serve the purpose of letting the reader know exactly what they were in for, rather than popping the spiritual realm on them more than a dozen pages into the book.

What do you think, good choice or not? To help you out, especially if you haven't read Image, or skipped the prologue, I've included it below.

'Till next time.

PROLOGUE
Saturday, June 3, 1995

Mael stood in the shadow of a modern-day castle. Roses, shrubbery, and white-stone statues lined the courtyard here a fountain bubbled in the center of a dirt walkway. An absurd image of a chubby angel perched atop the fountain. Humans possessed such a weak view of the heavenly creatures. If only his angelic opposition were so inept. He stepped to the center of a manicured flowerbed and unfurled his mighty black wings. Beneath his deformed claws, raindrops pounded frail petals into the mud. A low satisfied growl echoed deep within his chest.

A presence approached. “My liege—”

Mael spun and scowled at the pathetic excuse for a demon. “Yes Leon, what is it?”

The disfigured assistant bowed to the ground. “The first has been born.”

“The boy?”
“No my lord. The girl.”

“Pity.” Mael withdrew his electric-blue sword and etched a circle with a plus in the dirt. “I should have liked our plan to begin with a first-born Adam.”

“If it please you my liege, I will dispose of her.”

Mael swept his sword back and forth erasing the symbol. Indeed, it would please him. What would please him more would be to deprive his wretched assistant of such satisfaction.

Leon licked his lips as he stared at the decimated symbol. Drool ebbed from his snout.

Mael exhaled a long sulfurous breath. “No. We will find a use for her.”

Leon bowed and stepped back. His lip began to tremble.

“Have the princes arrived?”

“Most my liege. They await your presence.”

“Show them to the bone room.”

Leon bowed then spread his black leathery wings and arose like an eagle soaring on a mountain wind. He vanished over the edge of the building to retrieve the others.

Mael descended into the ground. Rose bushes wilted as his wings passed through, leaving only thorny stems behind. Beneath the garden, he strode through dirt and stone until he reached a concrete wall. Beyond the twelve-inch foundation of the building, the pleasing aroma of death and decay greeted him. The perfect atmosphere to discuss Lucifer’s plan.

Excerpt from In The Image of Man - Copyright © 2014 by Robert Roush

Still Flowin'

Summer tends to be a slow time for book sales, especially when you're a new author trying to build name recognition. So, I'm excited to give a reasonably consistent update on funds raised for clean water.

You can see from the graphic we are making slow but steady progress toward our goal of raising enough funds to provide a complete well through Living Water International. We are now at 6.2% of our goal. But even more importantly, we've already helped over fifteen families have clean water to drink for a year. The graphic below shows how many people can be provided clean water with the purchase of a copy of In The Image of Man.

This adventure would not be possible without YOU! Whether you have purchased an ebook, a physical copy, or even if you are supporting us by spreading the word about the book, you are helping us make a difference for men, women, and children that would not have clean water to drink without you. If you want to read more about what your assistance means to those in need of clean water, click on the Compassion tab at the top of the page.

Remember, there are many ways to help and I listed them a few blogs ago. Without the vast promotional power of a major publisher or the big name recognition of a well established author, we can't make this happen without your help.

Working together to meet the needs of "the least of these."

Thanks until next time.

Book Review - Transgression by Randy Ingermanson

Imagine seeing the city of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, or at least at the time of Paul. This dream comes true for archeologist Rivka Meyers.

In Transgression, subtitled A Time-Travel Suspense novel by Randy Ingermanson, three people, from modern day, travel from the Israel of our time to the Israel of Paul's time. However, one of them has ulterior motives. To assassinate the Apostle Paul, and thereby prevent the establishment of Christianity as we know it. But is it even possible for someone to change their own past? Or is the "trajectory of the universe through phase space single-valued?"

I am a huge fan of the intersection of science and Christianity. As such, this book offered some excellent thinking points. But you don't have to be a science, software, or engineering geek to enjoy this story. There is a solid thread of romance, in addition to well developed characters, and thought provoking material.

My favorite quote from the book is, "People would question anything having to do with God, but they wouldn't question their own questions." So true.

As a huge proponent for understanding the Jewish cultural roots to Christianity, I loved the author's descriptions of the city of Israel at the time of the Apostle Paul. While I can't completely vouch for either the accuracy of the city then or even now, nothing jumped out at me as blatantly inaccurate.

Finally, if you have an e-reader, you can't beat the price, as this book is currently available for free at Amazon. However, this may lead to you wanting to purchase the next two books of the series as this was an intriguing read.

'Till Next Time!

Angels and Demons - An Old Belief?

First let me say it's great to be back with you after a lengthy break. This year my wife and I celebrate our 25th Anniversary. One of the dreams that we both had was to see the lands and castles of The British Isles. So, to celebrate our coming anniversary, we took a cruise of the British Isles. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you likely already know this. We saw some incredible sites and I've posted many great pictures, with many more that will likely make it to Pinterest. Throughout our trip we saw a huge number of statues of Angelic and Demonic creatures.

This got me thinking about how much our "modern" society has moved away from an awareness of the spiritual realm at best, or even a belief that such a realm exists at worst. First, this belief requires a significant ignorance or at least reinterpretation of the Bible. We are witnessing in our culture what C.S. Lewis called the "Materialist Magician" in his work The Screwtape Letters. People are willing to accept psychic abilities, the untapped power of the mind, the paranormal, but not the angels, demons, and spiritual realm of the Bible. The enemy rejoices at such an illogical worldview.

I will be the first to admit that In The Image of Man is a novel. It is a work of fiction and at times I take liberties that divert slightly with how I would likely interpret certain aspects of theology with regards to angels and demons. However, I cringe anytime the book is thought of in the category of fantasy. To me fantasy implies a made up world that doesn't really exist. I prefer the category speculative fiction. I believe the realm exists, but my interpretation and portrayal is certainly speculative.

My intent is not to get people to obsess themselves with the unseen world, but to spur an awareness that we seem to be losing. I like the way theologian Wayne Grudem addresses our need for awareness in his Systematic Theology book (page 405).

"Scripture makes it clear that God wants us to be aware of the existence of angels and of the nature of their activity. We should not therefore assume that its teaching about angels has nothing whatsoever to do with our lives today. Rather there are several ways in which our Christian lives will be enriched by an awareness of the existence and ministry of angels in the world even today." 

So it might just be a good idea for us to become aware, though not obsessed, of the battle that is waged around us. Remember, "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)

Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. Again Grudem states on page 420.

"If Scripture gives us a true account of the world as it really is, then we must take seriously its portrayal of intense demonic involvement in human society. Our failure to perceive that involvement with our five senses simply tells us that we have some deficiencies in our ability to understand the world, not that demons do not exist."

As you might read if I sign a book for you:

Remember, believing is seeing! - 2 Kings 6:17

'Till next time.

Keepin' It Flowin'

I just received notification that the next round of royalties are on their way. As I will likely miss a couple weeks' posts soon, I thought I'd get this to you and let you celebrate with me.

You can see from the graphic we are making slow but steady progress toward our goal of raising enough funds to provide a complete well through Living Water International. We are now at 4.5% of our goal. But even more importantly, we've already helped over ten families have clean water to drink for a year.

This adventure would not be possible with out YOU! Whether you have purchased an ebook, a physical copy, or even if you are supporting us by spreading the word about the book, you are helping us make a difference for men, women, and children that would not have clean water to drink without you. If you want to read more about what your assistance means to those in need of clean water, click on the Compassion tab at the top of the page.

Remember, there are many ways to help and I listed them a few blogs ago. Without the vast promotional power of a major publisher or the big name recognition of a well established author, we can't make this happen without your help.

Working together to meet the needs of "the least of these."

Thanks until next time.

Win 1 of 5 Signed Books on Goodreads

.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; background: white; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important; text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; border: 1px solid #6A6454; border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596; outline: 0; white-space: nowrap; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; } Goodreads Book Giveaway In The Image of Man by Robert Roush

Giveaway ends July 22, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win It's here! Hearts of Compassion Publishing has teamed with Goodreads to run our first ever Book Giveaway.

Enter between June 22 and July 22, and you will be in the drawing, to be conducted by Goodreads, to win one of five copies of In The Image of Man, signed by ME. How weird is that?

But even if you enter, you don't have to wait to win to start reading, you can swing by Amazon and pick up the e-book. And don't worry, if you're name isn't drawn, you can still get the book at Amazon or CreateSpace. :) Don't forget proceeds are going to provide clean drinking water through Living Water International.

Stay tuned for more great news next week!

Spirit Bridge by James L. Rubart

Without a doubt James L. Rubart is one of my favorite authors in Christian Speculative Fiction. His stories combine great story lines, believable characters, and important life lessons. Spirit Bridge is no exception. This is the third, and in my opinion the best of three books in the Well Spring series which started with Soul's Gate and continued with Memory's Door. 

These books present a unique allegorical look at the spiritual realm and the battle that each of us engages in on a daily basis. Each book leaves you thinking about your own spiritual condition and teaches many valuable life lessons. One such lesson in Spirit Bridge is found in the admonition for one of the characters to, "turn for good from thoughts that are lies, and believe fully that you are loved simply because of who you are." As children of the King of kings, this is a message all of us need to remember.

Another aspect that makes Jim's books so powerful is his understanding and portrayal of real characters. As a creative type, I loved the statement in the book that, "The highs are sky high and the lows are the deepest valleys for many, many artists. For them to be able to tap into the emotional depth you see in their novels, songs, and paintings, they have to be able to experience great sorrow along with great triumphs."

I would highly recommend this series of books, and especially Spirit Bridge.