Q & A

It's been long enough since I've answered some of your questions on Grace Notes that I now have a growing collection to keep me busy. I thought I'd take a stab at a few today. Thanks for your emails and your interest.

Q.    What are you currently working on?

A.    The third book in the Riverhaven Years series. Note a title change: at the back of Book Two the title for Book Three was listed as Gideon's Hope, but the actual title is River of Mercy. 

Q.    Do you have a favorite Bible translation?

A.     I use a number of different translations, mostly to clarify certain passages. More and more for my own devotional reading I turn to the NLT and the ESV. 

Q.    Do you choose the titles for your books or is that done by the publisher?

A.    We usually work together on titles. I send some ideas to my editor, and we brainstorm back and forth until we come up with a few we both like. He then takes them to the publishing committee and they give their input until a consensus is reached. Sometimes it's an easy effort, other times it takes more back-and-forth discussion.

Ideas on cover art are worked out much in the same way. I give them my ideas, based on scenes I've completed or have in mind, and we often float other ideas as well until final decisions are made. I find both processes fun to work through. While I always appreciate the consideration given to my ideas, I realize that in the long run the publisher is in the best position to know what will work best. 

Q.    What do you consider the best book on writing novels?

A.    There are several excellent books on writing fiction, but it would be difficult to label any one of them as "best." Writing fiction covers way too vast a territory for one book to stand alone as the ultimate. My personal favorites, though, are four titles by John  Gardner: On Writers and Writing, On Moral Fiction, The Art of Fiction, and On Becoming a Novelist. There's a list of some of my other favorites on fiction writing in a sidebar at Grace Notes, under the heading "A Writer's Bookshelf."  

Q.    What's your favorite ice cream?

A.    LOL! Dark, dark, darkest decadent double chocolate fudge. 

BJ