INTERVIEW WITH JOSHUA A. JOHNSTON

 

JR: Welcome to the blog, Joshua. I thoroughly enjoyed The Chronicles Of Sarco series. It was one I found deep, complex, and one I enjoyed taking my time reading. Not only that, but I found it also brought up an interesting theological concept dealing with possible life on other planets. What inspired this trilogy? Any interesting conversations as a result?

JJ: I grew up as a big-time fan of science fiction, both on TV and in print. I loved Star Trek and I also loved Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov. But I also noticed that few of them seriously attempted to grapple with the intersection of faith and science fiction, much less under the assumption that faith could be real. So I decided to dive into a premise that I hadn’t really seen anywhere else. It was a long journey from conception to publication, but it was an amazing experience.

The conversations that have come out of them have been
the best part, especially from my Christian friends who pick up the Easter Eggs throughout the trilogy. I have to admit it’s also a lot of fun to talk about characters that only exist because I thought them up.

JR: COVID-19 has changed a lot of things in our country, not to mention internationally. How has this impacted your writing and your day job?

JJ: It’s affected my life profoundly. My day job is that of a high school teacher, and I’m also a father of two school-

aged kids. All three of us are in virtual school right now, and that means not only coming up with a completely new slate of lesson plans on my end, but also supporting the kids through their schooling. I have been working on a pair of fiction projects – one is in the midst of revisions after feedback, the other is drafted – but both of them are on pause right now while I focus my mental energies on taking care of my family and keeping food on the table.

JR: You also have written a non-fiction book that I would find useful: An Unofficial Guide To Shopping At Aldi (now in its second edition). Anything you'd like to say about this book, and is there a possiblity of sequels dealing with Kroger's or Wal-Mart?

JJ: That book is the result of a fascinating writing endeavor my wife and I took on. Back in 2016, while I was working on the second Sarco novel, I got the idea to pilot a website devoted to reviews for products for Aldi. I noticed that Aldi sells a lot of niche and random stuff, but I also noticed there weren’t a lot of places online to learn about them. Our blog, with the straightforward name Aldi Reviewer, has since taken on a life of its own, with hundreds of thousands of visitors every month. I decided to supplement it by distilling what we learned into book form. I’d love to write about Kroger or Walmart if I had time. (We did actually visit and blog about Kroger’s Aldi clone, Ruler Foods, for Aldi Reviewer.)

JR: What is the next frontier in your writing? Any way to keep up to date with your intergalactic explorations?

JJ: Like I said earlier, I’m still writing, with two sci-fi writing projects on the burner. One is a land-based science fiction novel with simulation elements (think The Matrix) while the other is a traditional sci-fi adventure in the vein of Homer’s Odyssey. They’re both separate from the Sarco series, although I have this sense that they’re all in the same universe, a little like Brandon Sanderson’s cosmere. Both novels are the first in a planned series, and as the world (and my life) settles down I look forward to getting them to a place where they can see the light of day. Readers can keep up with me over at joshuaajohnston.com.

JR: Thank you for your time, and I hope you have a blessed day.

JJ: Thank you, sir. It was a lot of fun!

WHEN MY 20 FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS GOT TOGETHER FOR DINNER.

 

Above is a picture of my twenty favorite fictional characters, who got together in my fictional world Chrysostom. We chose that place because the atmosphere kills off COVID-19 germs so they didn't have to wear masks.

Unfortunately, photography doesn't exist on Chrysostom, so I had to draw the characters, which is hampered by my  drawing skill. So if the characters look more like my impressions of them than what the author intended, my apologies. 

Allow me to introduce you to them, front row first, left to right:

Arvandus the Gryphon from the Firebrand Chronicles by J. M. Hackman. A voice of wisdom to the main character.

Drew Farthering and Nick Dennison from the Drew Farthering Mysteries by Julianna Deering. Set in Depression Era England, these two friends do a great job solving the crimes, and I love how they relate to each other. By the way, both married American ladies.

Dorann the Tracker from Tales of Faeraven by Janalyn Voigt. Some characters capture me without having a reason, and Dorann is an example.

Mortuary Beautician Hilde Higgins from the Curl Up And Dye Mysteries by Nancy Mehl. Hilde also has a pug named Watson, a fish named Sherlock, a love for cooking with Spam, and a phobia of clowns. Her boyfriend, by the way, does charity work where he dresses up as a ... oh, you know already?

Hercule Poirot. Considering that 19 of the 23 Agatha Christie novels I read features him, as well as the first two novels where Sophie Hannah picked up rather recently, no question why he's on my list.

Felix McClintock, a.k.a. The Zealot, from The Merely Mortal by J. P. Leck. His path is a little more ... what shall I call it? Intense? ... than other characters, this Christian can hold his own against evil spiritual forces and their earthly incarnations.

Arianna Sloan from the Teen Mission Series by Jill Williamson. Considering the fact that she's the same age as main character Spencer Garmond, she has a major spot in this series.

Debuggers ThreadBare and BullHammer from The Darktrench Shadow series by Kerry Nietz. Threadbare is one of the characters I can really relate to, but I also enjoy when his buddy BullHammer shows up.

Back row:

George Sullivan, director of the Office of Joint Liasions (OJL) from The Fast Track Thrillers by Suzanne Hartmann.

Brennan Caldwell from the Firebird Trilogy by Kathy Tyers. He gave one of my all time favorite quotes - "Don't think like a wasteling."

Tanner Calhoun from the Serena Jones Mysteries by Sandra Orchard. A FBI Agent with a sense of humor.

Blix, the peaceable Vythian warrior from Space Drifters by Paul Regnier.

Father Antony Sherwood from the Monastery Murders by Donna Fletcher Crow. My all time favorite character, who I also relate to.

Fightmaster Loretus from the two latter books of the Books Of The Infinite by R. J. Larson. My second favorite character. One of those who manages to be both tormentor and friend at the same time.

Ryland Montgomery, Duke of Marshington and spy, from An Honorable Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter. Yes, those familiar with the book will wonder why a historical romance shows up on my list. But when Kristi and I were in the same critique group, I looked forward to her contribution each week.

Wilder Flynn - who loves to tell stories and is obsessed with his hair - from Dangerous Obsession by Jessica Patch. This story is the third part of the Security Specialists triology, and Wilder is the director. Considering we're talking Love Inspired Suspense here, my hunch is he's more of a supporting cast member in the first two books.

Attorney Wyatt Jackson from Rule Of Law by Randy Singer. Jackson has a dog named Clients. When someone calls for him, his assistant tells them he's with Clients. He also calls his mobile home Court.

Crusader the Assassin from Numb by John Otte. He served the overly religious government known as the Ministrix to maintain order, helped by the job that he was without feeling, either physically or emotionally. But then, something happens.

Have you had the honor of reading the adventures of these characters? How would you like to join this group for dinner? What kinds of conversations can you imagine between this group?

INTERVIEW WITH MORGAN TROTTER

Today, I'm honored to interview Morgan Trotter from Huntsville, Alabama. I became acquainted with Morgan by being in a couple of Facebook groups he was in dealing with Christian music. He's since started a third dealing with current events and culture. I have enjoyed sharing conversations with him on-line for the past several years.

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JR: Thank you for your time, Morgan. I know you're a fan of Jesus music from the '70's and '80's (and probably since as well), are a singer song-writer as well, and also served as a pastor in the '90's. Which musicians had an impact on you?

MT: The musicians who influenced me the most are Randy Stonehill, Phil Keaggy, Keith Green, Steve Camp, and The 2^nd Chapter of Acts. Randy Stonehill and Phil Keaggy influenced my songwriting. Keith Green and Steve Camp influenced my outlook through their high levels of personal commitment, encouraging me to be more dedicated to Christ. The 2^nd Chapter of Acts encouraged me to be more open to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life and also taught me to listen to God and for God with my heart as opposed to just with my mind.

JR: I believe Christian music has a potential to be used to make disciples and give an answer for faith, but it also has the ability to conform to the world and may actually lead people from the faith. Is there anyone in music you consider examples of being faithful ministers in proclaiming the truth in the ways I mentioned?

MT: Some of the ones I think have been great examples to this day are Keith Green (who sadly left us way too soon), Scott Wesley Brown, Bob Hartman of Petra, the members of the 2^nd Chapter of Acts, and DeGarmo and Key (Dana Key left us too soon, too).

JR: One ministry you currently have is being a moderator for a pair of groups on Jesus Music and one on Contemporary Culture. How do you feel those groups are helping us grow in the faith?

MT: I sure hope they’re helping people grow in faith in some way. Of course, the medium of social media is limited in terms of personal connection. I feel one reason our nation is currently so divided politically and ideologically is because people are having discussions online rather than in person. This breeds misunderstanding and hostility. I doubt many people have changed their minds because of something someone said on Facebook. In light of this I’m very aware of the limitations of trying to minister or witness via social media. In the Jesus Music groups you mentioned sharing the gospel is complicated by the fact that the topic under discussion is primarily the music and only secondarily the gospel. And in fact, in one of those groups the rules prohibit theological discussions, so the amount of in-depth witnessing one can do in that group is limited. In the other Jesus music group, I’ve tried to create more of an atmosphere of openness in which spiritual and theological issues may be discussed more thoroughly. My hope and prayer is that something that’s shared there might positively influence someone’s life. I also hope those with spiritual or theological questions will feel free to ask them there.

As for the Contemporary Culture group, I created that group as a place for Bible-believing Christians to be able to discuss current events from a biblical perspective. Social media tends to create “echo chambers” in which like-minded people get together and share their views, and I’m sure that group is like that to some extent as well. But the desire was to have a place where Christians can find answers in the Bible’s truth and authority. We try to stay away from purely political discussions, but when politics intersects with matters of faith then the group is a place to discuss those things as well. I hope people in the group who are struggling with their faith or with certain issues will find it a place to ask questions and find biblical answers.

JR: Thank you for your time, Morgan, and may the Lord Jesus Christ richly

MT: And you as well. Thank you for having me, Jeffrey.

 *    *    *

What musicians and ministers have been an influence to you?

BOOK REVIEW - SACRED PATHWAYS BY GARY THOMAS

 

Before reading this book, I've labored at worship time, having a preconceived notion on what private worship looks like. Then, I discovered this book and read it. This would be one of the five most influential books on my life.

In the first chapter, Thomas introduced the concept of spiritual temperaments -- some might consider it psychological, but I don't. He closed that chapter with a description of the nine temperaments he noticed. The following nine chapters each look at one of the temperaments, giving Biblical examples and ways to develop it, weaknesses of that temperament, and a six question quiz on how strong you are on that temperament. The final chapter encourages you to compare the scores on the tests, and gives some admonitions, such as not judging those with a different temperament.

Thomas does an excellent job of dealing with each temperament. He admits he's stronger at some than others, and tries to give a fair and accurate view of each one.

Allow me to tell a story how this book has positively impacted my life. I started reading this book as my wife and I were planning on a vacation. She always wants to get away from the city for our trip, while I'm not as excited about it. As I read this book, though, I had a hunch she was strong on the naturalist temperament (wanting to get into nature) and had some leanings to the ascetic temperament (wanting structure and solitude). So I realized her desire to get away was connected to her worship temperament, and as a result I was more prepared to encourage that kind of getting away.

I recommend this book to every Christian to understand yourself. I also believe this will help you understand your wife and possible your children (not having any kids doesn't make it easy for you to understand them). I also believe a pastor or church leader may benefit from this book to help the services be varied enough to help any temperament worship.

Allow me to add some thoughts focused on apologetics. One might assume that the activist and intellectual temperaments are the ones best suited for defending the faith. But is it possible that each temperament is capable of defending the faith in a style directed by the temperament?

If you've read this book, what temperaments are your strongest? Mine are intellectual, enthusiast, sensate, activist, and traditional in that order.  

ARE THERE IDOLATROUS PRIESTS IN OUR CHURCH? (Zephaniah Part 3)

 

"I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, The fish of the sea, And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land," Says the Lord. "I will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, The names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests-- Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, But who also swear by Milcom; Those who have turned back from following the Lord, And have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him." Zephaniah 1:3-6, NKJV  

 

 

Looking at this following section, we see the scope of God's judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. (If I forgot to mention, Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah.) But notice who he narrows in on?

 

In Zephaniah 1:4, God states He'll cut off the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests. But aren't the two the same? Not necessarily. The pagan priests are the official priests of pagan deities. The idolatrous priests are those who are supposed to be serving the Lord but are actually worshiping other gods as well as the True God.

 

One thing that is helpful in looking at the Minor prophets is to realize if they're speaking to the Northern Kingdom as Hosea and Amos focused on or to the Southern Kingdom as Zephaniah is when they're discussing priests. When the Kingdoms divided, Jeroboam of the northern kingdom allowed anybody who wanted to be priest become one, while the Southern Kingdom maintained the Levitical priesthood. 

 

Let me give you an example to distinguish pagan priests from idolatrous priests. If a secular politician is promoting secular humanism or a New Ager is propagating New Age teaching, they are the equivalent of a pagan priest. If a Christian minister stands up behind the pulpit and teaches the same secular humanism or New Age beliefs, he's an idolatrous priest.

 

Verses five and six list three specific steps taken, starting from the most pagan to the least, but all refer to an idolatrous heart.

 

First are those who worship the host of heaven on their rooftops. The Law forbade such a practice. Here is complete and blatant disobedience.

 

Second are those who worship and swear by the Lord. They, unlike the first group, are saying they serve God. But that's not enough. They also swear by Milcolm (aka Molech). They are worshiping God, but not only the true God. But is this truly worshiping God?

 

Finally, there are those who have turned back from following the Lord and do not seek Him. They are not trying to balance serving false gods with the true God, but they've stopped following the true God. In other words, they are trusting in the Lord with none of their heart but leaning on their own understanding.

 

We may not serve Baal, but do we worship Ball, as in FootBall, BaseBall, BasketBall? We may not have a golden calf carved out, but is there a golden donkey or elephant or porcupine in our hearts? We may not be trying to serve both God and Milcolm, but are we trying to blend Christianity with Freudian psychology or scientific theory?

 

Is there any secret idols in our heart? And if Judah didn't escape, should we expect to?

 

 

 

DOES THE PLOT DIRECT THE CHARACTERS OR DO THE CHARACTERS DICTATE THE PLOT?

 

One definition of "Writer's Block." Courtesy of Terri Main and Wordmaster Books.

 

Last week, I spoke of different approaches in writing, both in "blank paging" vs. "outlining" as well as how much details of the characters the author allows the reader to decide on. But let me pose a question here - is "blank paging" more of structuring the story through the characters, what they believe, what they're struggling with, and how they respond? 

One thing that's true is sometimes the characters can be mutinous when you're writing. Maybe they don't want to say the words your putting in their mouth or they'd do things something different. I've heard authors mention that happen. 

Mark White in a contribution to Spiderman and Philosophy: The Web of Inquiry, he mentions the "One More Day" storyline where Aunt May is dying, and Peter Parker (aka Spiderman) makes a deal with Mephisto (Marvel's counterpart to The Devil) that she will live on the condition that history is rewritten and Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson never existed.

White mentions that story-line didn't sit well with the fans, and for good reason. Who in their right mind would suppose Peter Parker would make a deal with the devil? That's completely out of character for him!

Last week, I mentioned that mystery writers tend to be outliners. But that's not how I wrote my mystery. I did have a schedule of events that formed the skeleton of the plot, but I had no idea until halfway through the writing who the murderer was. And then it hit me.

One reason? I had a detailed sheet for each character. It helps me remember details such as how many children they have and their ages. But I also found that the more detail I gave to the character, the more they help you write the plot. 

I know, I know. I sound like an expert when I'm not a published author yet. But I'll tell you what I'm putting my characters through for my next story so I have more rounded characters. I'll leave out what you'd expect (e.g. appearance, marital status and history, favorite foods and sports).

• Myers-Briggs Personality Test. This was not an original idea - I attended a writer's conference several years ago where the teacher mentioned this to determine which of 16 personalities each character has. Why not?
• T-Shirts, Bumper Stickers, Refrigerator Magnets, and the Like. That idea came to me when I noticed a couple of T-shirts people wore and what it revealed about the people. In fact, years ago I wrote a blog on it titled "Ye Shall Know Them By Their T-Shirts" - I put a link to it. Jill Williamson has a character in her Mission League series who has an awesome T-shirt collection.
• Term papers, Seminars, and Items They've Written. Many of my characters from my mystery are published authors.  Papers they wrote and workshops they attended will tell you about their interests and areas where they have some expertise.
• "The World's Smallest Political Quiz."  This is a ten question quiz which determines not only how they fit on the conservative/liberal continuum, but if they are more Libertarian or Statist. If you want to see that test, you can click here.

If the characters are Christian, I have a couple more tests for them to take.

• A Spiritual Gifts Questionaire. I'm not sure which one I'd use, but the point is if they're a Christian, they'll have a Spiritual Gift, and that might affect their approach to life as well. In the previously mentioned series, Jill Williamson had the spiritual gifts of the characters show up in the plot.
  
• The Spiritual Temperment Test in Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas. The author lists nine spiritual temperments. My characters will have these as well. 

 Sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it? But of course, I don't have to include all the information for each character in the book. 

Are there any characters in a story you've read that stand out, and would character charts be a key in their standing out?

BOOK REVIEW: THE MISSION LEAGUE SERIES BY JILL WILLIAMSON

Is something wrong with me? My all-time favorite series is about a group of people young enough to be my children, and close to being young enough to be my grandchildren!

Or I can put it another way: I'm a fan of a group of Christian teen-age James and Jane Bonds! 

The story focuses on Spencer Garmond, who is being raised by his grandmother after his mother dies, allegedly by the hands of his father. He is recruited during his freshman year of high school into a group called The Mission League, which his parents and grandparents were a part of.

Except Spencer is the rare non-Christian in his group. He's not used to hanging around "churchers", and isn't certain at first he wants to. Still, he joins the group (it beats the option of being sent to military school). He just hopes it doesn't mess with his dreams of playing Division I Basketball.

Then, he learns he's a possible "Profile Match" for a prophecy people in the group have had for decades. Additionally, he sees similarities between a cult group and a successful movie series.

The course of the book follows his years in high school and trips to Russia, Japan, the Alaskan wilderness, and Cambodia. Of course, he has normal everyday experiences like being chased by wolves, interrogated at knife point on who "The First Twin" is, facing multiple kidnapping attempts, and rapelling down a cliff with a pair of young ladies on a single harness.

This series - consisting of four full novels and a pair of novellas - is aimed for a young adult market. One could debate if it's a straight adventure or if it should be considered speculative with the emphasis on prophecy, but whatever you want to call it, it's exciting and enjoyable. And did I mention this was my all-time favorite fiction series?

Since the focus of this blog is spiritual and deals with apologetics, I'd like to deal with an interesting theological concept in this book. When a recruit joins the league, they are given a spiritual gift inventory so they know what their strengths are. 

But would a non-Christian like Spencer have spiritual gifts? The predominate view would be no; this novel takes a different view. Not only that, but Williamson chose not to give him gifts one might easily allow an unbeliever to have prior to faith like mercy or leadership or teaching. No, she gives Spencer the gifts of prophecy and discernment.

So, for those of you who enjoy answering the questions I leave at the end of my blog, do you believe God gives people who will be Christians Spiritual gifts prior to their rebirth or at least abilities and interests that will develop into Spiritual gifts following conversion?

Also, anybody else read and enjoy this series? And if not, when are you going to remedy that?

 
 

 

IS GOD REALLY GOING TO JUDGE THE EARTH? (Zephaniah Part 2)

 

 "The Great Day Of His Wrath" by English painter John Martin, 1851-1853.

Last week I looked at the first verse of Zephaniah last week, which merely introduced Zephaniah. As far as geneology, it was the most detailed of any prophet, but not much more than that. So what is Zephaniah's message?

 "'I will utterly consume everything From the face of the land,' says the LORD." Zephaniah 1:2, NKJV.

First question is what this is referring to. Is it talking about the near event of Babylon conquering Jerusalem? Or is it describing God's ultimate judgment on the nations in the last times before He returns as King? I believe the answer is yes.

Psalm 24:1 states the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. In both Testaments, it deals with God punishing the nations as well as His chosen people. God is capable of bringing catastrophic judgments on the earth.

But most people fall into two groups. One are those who believe a God of love cannot cast the lost into hell or send physical judgment on the earth. Others believe God will punish the wicked (meaning our enemies) but not His people (that's us).

Peter tells the believers to "conduct yourselves throughout your stay here in fear (1 Pet. 1:17). Paul wrote that we should "cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1).

Whenever we hear about fear from most preachers and teachers, it is to tell us to fear not, quoting "God has not given us a spirit of fear" (2 Tim. 1:7) and "Perfect love casts out all fear" (1 John 4:18). It is true through the Scripture we're to trust God to protect us and that is to not fear.

But then we read repeatedly we're to fear God, and so we take the encouraging message to not fear and apply it to those texts to say it doesn't mean what it seems to say but is really telling us to be reverent and honor Him. So we end up letting our conceptions dictate the meaning of Scripture.

The reality is that we sometimes have no fear for God in the literal sense, which may result in not having fear in the sense of reverence either. Many who oppose eternal security/"once saved always saved" claim the adherents of that view are saying we can do anything we want and still be saved (and unfortunately some of those adherents have that mindset). 

We don't expect chastisement (Heb. 12:5-11) and don't seem to tremble at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 3:10-17; 2 Cor. 5:9-11). As an eternal security advocate, I don't fear losing my salvation, because this is a judgement of works, not sin like the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). But believe me, my knees are knocking at giving an account of my life before my Lord and Savior.

I do believe that while there are applications of Zephaniah 1:2 and following having taken place when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C., the complete fulfillment will take place in the future. Both believers and unbelievers will face the consequences of their answers.

So if we believe that God will someday judge the world, how will that affect the way we live? What effect will it have on how we relate to others?

 

The Issue Of Sovereignty In Novel Writing.

I remember when I was doing critiques as an ACFW member. I was reading one novel where the male lead was knocked out and put in a death trap inside a house. He made it out unharmed but still bound. 

Then, he heard footsteps. Was it the bad guys to make sure there job was finished? No! God was good: it was his buddy who came to see if he was okay.

The author then submitted their synopsis of the story for feedback. When it got to the scene I mentioned, the author again mentioned God is good in allowing the hero's friend to come instead of his foes.

Is God good? Absolutely. And in the novel itself, the hero was definitely saying God is good. However, the fact that good guy showed up instead of the bad guy had nothing to do with the goodness of the Lord, but the goodness of the author. (Unless you are such a strong Calvinist that you believe every word a novelist writes has been predestined.)

In a sense, could a novelist/screenwriter be viewed as a small 'g' god? They have the ability to create a world with people in it. The places may resemble real life places (e.g. my novel takes place in Indianapolis.) Or the places are fictitious but still operate in our reality (such as my favorite coffee shop which closed half a dozen years ago in real life but still is open for business in my novel.) Or the writer is a sci-fi or fantasy writer where you have your complete world with creatures that you don't have here.

The first two books I read on Christian writing were How To Write (And Sell) A Christian Novel by Gilbert Morris and Writing For The Soul by Jerry Jenkins. Morris made it clear from the start that we shouldn't just start writing but in advance divide the book into parts and chapters. Likewise, he has a detailed list on what each character looks like as well as other info. 

Jenkins has a completely different philosophy. You may or may not know that when he and LaHaye started writing Left Behind it was supposed to be a novel, not a series. It didn't turn out that way. He also likes getting interesting characters in a room together and see what happens. Jenkins tells readers that he didn't kill off a character - he found them dead. Likewise, he keeps the descriptions to a minimum, allowing the reader the honor of deciding what a character looks like.

Now, there are times descriptions help. Remember the story I mentioned at the top of this blog? The hero's friend was named Billy Bob.  How many of you have a picture of a white guy? I did. The author was creative in having an African American with that moniker. 

However, the story I was critiquing was a sequel to a published novel. She mentioned Billy Bob's ethinicity in the first book; she forgot to mention that in book two. So I had an incorrect picture of the character as I was reviewing the second story, before I had a chance to read the first one.

Another writing book I read was Writing Killer Fiction: The Fun House of Mystery And The Roller Coaster Of Suspense by Carolyn Wheat. She mentioned that most mystery writers plot it out like Gilbert Morris, while suspense authors are more apt to just write without planning ahead.

So let me close this with two questions. The first is how you'd write. (And if I'm blessed to have any authors as regular blog readers, please tell me about your writing). The second is from those who know me which one you think I would lean towards. I'll answer the second question next week.

INTERVIEW WITH JOHN OTTE

 

I have yet to interview Allistair MacLean or Agatha Christy. Possibly because they exited from the earth's scene before I started doing author interviews. However, when I get a chance to interview on of my favorite authors, it always turns out to be a blessing, and this interview with John Otte (pronounced Ought-Tee) is an example.

I'll admit - if I ever get my murder-at-an-apologetics-conference-mystery published, John would be high on the list of people I'd like to write a blurb. One reason is because he's a very good author. The other is he's a Lutheran minister. I've had the privilege of reading both his novels and his theological non-fiction.

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JR: You are one of those writers that I'm not sure which I admire more: your night job or your day job (Lutheran minister). How much overlap is there between these two ministries? How does one strengthen or challenge the other?

JO: I’d say there’s a fair amount of overlap between the two. In terms of how being a pastor (specifically a Lutheran one) informs my novel writing, since I’ve primarily written Christian fiction, I definitely bring my “theological baggage” along with me in writing those stories. There are a surprising number of Lutherans in Christian speculative fiction specifically and Christian fiction in general, but we have a unique “flavor” to our theology that can serve as a counterpoint to the prevailing viewpoints that you find in Christian fiction. It’s not that I set out to layer in Lutheran stuff, it’s just a part of me and my worldview so it’s naturally going to emerge.

As for how the crossover flows in the opposite direction, members of my congregations, both past and present, will tell you that I’m an inveterate storyteller. If I can put a story in a sermon or Bible study, I’m going to. And being a writer means that I’m going to show a little more care in telling those stories, especially if it’s one that I’ve made up.

JR: While not the first novel you wrote, your first published fiction is the Failstate trilogy (also including a pair of e-book novellas). I absolutely loved that series, but I also found that the final one brought up some theological questions concerning parallel universes. What inspired that series?

JO: I didn’t originally plan for that to be a trilogy at all. I wrote the first book as a stand-alone novel. But I was certainly open to writing more. The first book was inspired by a situation at a writers conference where I felt very much like Failstate in the first novel: the loser outsider who felt that life should be treating him better, envious of other people’s successes. As I was processing my experience, my wife suggested that I should write a superhero story for our oldest boy (he was about three or four at the time, if memory serves). Everything just kind of gelled and the result was Failstate.

As for the rest of the trilogy, I originally pitched three other books with the middle two being a slow burn to what would eventually be known as Failstate: Nemesis. My publisher at the time wasn’t impressed with what I came up with for books two and three and suggested we condense it down into one. So I had to cherry pick the details that had to be in there and invent a story that they could be included in. My agent suggested including zombies. And thus Failstate: Legends came to be.

JR: You also have a two novels (I don't know if it should be
considered a series) dealing with a universe ruled by the Ministrix and the Praesidium. (Numb, by the way, was the above mentioned first novel; The Hive was written afterward.) How far are we from that basic concept in our society? What problems does our divided society face and what answers are there?

JO: I fear that we’re getting closer and closer to it each day. I see many Christians who are heeding the siren call to political power and influence, especially as our place as the center of Western society has slipped in recent years. That makes us nervous and uncomfortable and, when people get anxious, they tend to do whatever they can to find stability and security. While I’d like to think that most Christians wouldn’t fall for the Ministrix’s pitch, I worry that a surprising number might. And while I don’t think many people would be satisfied with the completely antireligious state of the Praesidium, I fear that parts of our society may be inching in that direction as well.

I’m no prophet, so it’s hard for me to diagnose the division and chart a course forward. I would say, though, that the best solution for Christians is to remember two things: our privileged position in society is an aberration and not intentional. We were always meant to be outsiders and countercultural. If the world is shifting away from us, that’s fine. We remain what God calls us to be: salt and light.

JR: A series you wrote that I enjoyed as much was a non-fiction blog titled the Lutheran Difference. Could you tell us about that? 

JO: Like I said earlier, I know that in certain pockets of American Christianity, Lutheranism is kind of a mystery. People know who Martin Luther is and they acknowledge his contribution to the Protestant Reformation. But then they try to lump us into groups that we don’t fit in, such as Protestant (technically, we’re not) or Calvinist (no way) or Arminian (the fact that I had to look this up to make sure I spelled it correctly should tell you how well we fit in this group also). We don’t hold to what many would consider “typical” American Christianity’s beliefs about conversion or baptism or communion or any of that stuff.

So I figured that, since I’m in sort of a unique position being a Lutheran pastor on the one hand and a Christian author on the other, that gave me a unique opportunity to share a little of who we are and the theology that shaped me and continues to shape us. My intention wasn’t to argue with anyone or try to convince them to become Lutheran. I just know that there’s a rich diversity of theological thoughts and traditions; it’s always helpful to understand them to enrich your own faith or, at the very least, understand where people are coming from.

JR: Thank you for your time, John, and may the Lord Jesus Christ richly bless your ministries.

JO: May the Lord bless you as well! This was great!

 

Reader, have you seen any situations where fiction and theology blend?

 

BOOK REVIEW: THE BENEDICT OPTION BY ROD DREHER

 

I first read this book the better part of two years ago. Immediately I re-read it so I could write a review on it. Why? because I thought this was a book that needed to be read. And I've just read it a third time.

This is one of the rare books that I want to recommend others to read so I can sit down and discuss it with them. I don't agree with everything author Rod Dreher proposes. But this is an important book that I want to learn how to work it into my life. Some who disagreed with this book point out it's more Orthodox/Catholic than Evangelical, but I don't consider that a problem. Rather, it is a call to stand against the real and common enemy. 

Dreher sees five historic events from the past seven centuries as being not causes but influences to the current time, culminating with the sexual revolution. He sees the solution as one more influenced by Benedict's monasticism than the typical political activism we see today. It is not that Dreher recommends withdrawing from society, but it is more on Christians unifying into strong communities in a society that marginalizes us. He deals with important issues like politics - he feels the emphasis should be local, but the major national emphasis should be on religious liberty - education, church life, community, sexuality, and not being dependent on technology.

I showed this book and another with a similar theme to one of my best friends. That friend said by looking at the back cover he could tell the other author was mad at the church and that he didn't need to read that. Not true about this one - my friend said that he thought it was worthy of reading.  

Allow me to look at this book from an apologetics persepective. I believe this strongly recommends defending the faith through orthopraxy. You are probably more familiar with the word "orthodoxy" which means "right thinking;" "orthopraxy" refers to "right living." A lot of times our priorities and worldview as Christians is too much like the world. Dreher's approach is encouraging the church to be the church, to be the alternative to society's mess.

 

 

IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH ZEPHANIAH, RAISE YOUR HANDS! (Zephaniah, part 1)

 If you're like me, you probably never heard a sermon preached on Zephaniah, and probably have never covered it in a Bible study or Sunday School class. I taught on it in Sunday School almost 20 years ago because I wasn't familiar with it, and memorized several passages, and learned to love this book! So I'm sharing this on Sundays over various weeks.

I'm sure that a prophet often feels like this addax from the Louisville Zoo - all alone in the open, vulnerable to attack on any front. (Okay, in reality this antelope does have some off-camera companions, and in the zoo there's no predators to worry about, but let's go with this analogy.)

One thing about the prophets (in this blog, I'm considering Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist, and the 16 writing prophets) is we don't know much about the prophets. 

With some, we're not sure if we know them by their name or just by a description - for example, "Malachi" means "messenger."

Occupations? We know Ezekiel was a priest and suspect Jeremiah and Zechariah were as well. Daniel was one of Babylon's wisemen, and Amos was a shepherd and fig picker. Otherwise, we're not sure.

Marital status? Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea were; Jeremiah and Daniel weren't. The other fourteen? Some are assumed to be unmarried but there's no definite record.

Finally, how about geneology? Looking at the nineteen considered prophets, we know Zechariah's grandfather's name. We know the father of nine others, and nothing about eight more. 

This brings us to Zephaniah. No, we don't know if he was married or what he did for a living. Zephaniah was definitely his name (and that of others in Scripture), but we're not absolutely certain of its meaning - it can be translated "Yahweh has concealed, "Whom Yahweh has hidden," or "Yahweh lies in wait" (which fits Zephaniah 3:8). But we do know his geneology, which goes back five generations.

The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. -  Zephaniah 1:1, NKJV

 Zephaniah has the longest lineage of any of the prophets. It also lets us know that he's of royal lineage: his great great grandfather was King Hezekiah. True, it doesn't say for sure, but to me its logical that considering it's the last name given and that it's a recognized name, as well as the time span - reigning king Josiah was Hezekiah's great grandson - it seems likely.

I mentioned the reigning king. Josiah was a good king who led in a reform. However, most consider those reforms to be superficial. Josiah had three sons (and a grandson) become king after him, and none followed his example, and the people didn't seem to be bothered.

I did make a comment of prophets feeling isolated like the addax pictured above. Zephaniah may have felt that way in his ministry, but he did prophesy in the same time as Jeremiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Urijah whose short and tragic ministry is described in Jeremiah 26:20-23).

So what was the message God gave through Zephaniah. You can wait until next week for Part 2. (Or you can read the book of Zephaniah - it will take 15-20 minutes to read the whole book.)

WHEN FICTION READING IS WORK

 For the most part, I enjoyed my reading assignments in High School. But I remember a Room 222 episode when I was in 6th grade where the students wanted to read Catch 22 instead of Silas Marner. 

Plus, I said for the most part. I had a class on Sci-Fi/Literature Of The West in High School. I enjoyed reading the assigned short stories from the Science Fiction Hall of Fame anthology (and also read the unassigned ones). I struggled more with the two novels from the Western side of the semester. Both of them were deep in themes, and I found the latter pretty depressing.

I am sure being a professional book reviewer would not always be fun. I'd probably be expected to read books that don't interest me or that make my blood pressure boil.

For the most part, being a book influencer is fun. (A book influencer receives free books for the purpose of reading and then posting an unbiased review.) Yes, I put a priority on that novel so I can get the review posted early enough. But the authors that I am regularly an influencer for are ones I'd read if I wasn't doing that job.

But then there's reading for research. Most of the time, one thinks that research takes place in the non-fiction section of the library. 

However, this year I read a trio of Hercule Poirot novels back to back to back. I have seen the David Suchet adaptations of all the Poirot novels (as well as the six by Peter Ustinov and the Murder On The Orient Express adaptions featuring Albert Finney and Kenneth Branagh, but those aren't relevant to the topic). As I was thinking about part 2 of a mystery trilogy I'm writing, I realized there were some slight similarities to three of the Poirot stories. So I read the original to see what Agatha Christy did, noting the similarities and differences between what I'm doing and giving me food for thought.

In submitting book proposals, one item is a comparative analysis, where you mention what books are similar to yours and why yours is unique. I struggled with my first novel's proposals because mine is unique in theme. But it leaves me wondering if I should read two books that I never believed was worth my time reading: Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code and Jonathan Cahn's The Harbringer. Personally, I have no interest in either. But will reading them help me get my novel published?

Yes, I did have a different mindset on reading the Poirot trio I mentioned, but more often than not, I enjoy the reading that does more closely resemble work than fiction reading normally is.

Have you ever read fiction where it was to some degree a chore rather than just fun? How has that benefitted you?

INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTOPHER SCHMITZ

JR: Welcome, Christopher. You have edited a pair of devotionals out in the Faith In Fiction series. What inspired these books, and how did you line up the topics and authors (including Kerry Nietz, who I interviewed for this blog recently)? Also, are there any more of these in the works?

CS: There are definitely more in the works. It all came together as an idea that I had while at a writing conference and thinking about collaborating with authors for networking. I belong to a few writing groups and had some ongoing devotional conversations with some other writers; most of these folks I only know in an online capacity, but some of them have attended the same events as I have and we wind up getting together in real life at events (just did a few days ago, in fact.) I do as many shows as I can. I was pretty pleased to get to know Kerry and reached out a while back when an author friend (who is somewhere on the spectrum between athiest and agnostic,) mentioned that the Amish Vampires series gave him real hope and genuine interest in faith-based fiction. Kerry did the foreword for the first book and then contributed in book 2. A third book is underway as well.

JR: You have written several novels, most recently including Rise and Fall of the Obsidian Grotto, Book 1 of The Esfah Sagas. Would you like to share anything that you've written that might be used

as an example in the above mentioned devotional series you're editing?


CS: I write. A lot. So many books… and I might never get to all my ideas. Currently I’m writing Book 6 in that series and co-writing Book 5. The Esfah Sagas is actually a continuation and rerelease of an old fantasy series from the 1990s that I was a fan of and which was put out by TSR (Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, etc.) and I secured the rights usage earlier this year making this the only TSR fantasy property not owned by Wizards of the Coast. In the series I lean a little more Tolkien in how I present good and evil and use archetypes… what I really mean is that it comes from the faith-based worldview that I possess, but is not directly religious. My Kakos Realm series, however, is overtly Christian in nature.

Part of what we did in the Faith in Fiction devotionals is use an existing book series with a large following/fanbase and write a series of devos around themes, characters, events, and concepts from the books which aren’t necessarily faith-based themselves. For example, in the second devo, I wrote a series of pieces on concepts from Dune (knowing that the Villenvue movie is releasing this year). Secondly, authors wrote a second set of devos around the series that they wrote. My second set, following the Dune entries, draw on my ongoing my Sci-Fi series, Dekker’s Dozen. One reviewer said “it’s like Firefly and Farscape had a baby!” Which is neat since I’m a guest at a SF convention next month where an actress from Farscape is also a guest.

JR: You also have some non-fiction titles, such as the just released Muzzling Jesus: Liberty, Faith, Politics, and the Mask Debate. I am definitely interested in hearing about this book, but I'd also like to know the similarities and dissimilarities of your approach to writing fiction and non-fiction.

CS: My nonfiction comes out from issues that I feel need to be addressed head-on and have a lot of supporting data or research that is being ignored. I originally published my first novel (The Kakos Realm 1: Grinden Proselyte) with a traditional publisher, and then set fiction aside for a long while. I was doing ministry and went back to seminary for a few years. Through a few years I had been collecting data about pastoral attrition, job retention, and transition (all christianese for pastors quitting or getting fired.) That turned into my return to writing with Why Your Pastor Left which blows open some secrets that churches keep swept under the rug. Then I launched back into fiction again.

Muzzling Jesus is borne from two things: 1) my frustrations over COVID and the illogical ways it is being used to advance political, economic, and personal agendas and 2) the theology leanings that I’ve been building upon these last 2 decades I’ve been in active ministry. I am very much an advocate of freewill and the power of choice. The book has a few word studies, lots of scripture, and something like 70 news articles cited that demonstrate the lunacy and hypocrisy of them times we live in. It’s a book that will probably make me more enemies than friends, but that just means I’ll have more time for writing J

JR: What lies in the future? Also, anything from your past writing that you'd like to mention?

CS: My magnum opus is still on the way. While I’m still continuing my Dekker’s Dozen series and the Esfah Sagas, my Shadowless series will come soon. It’s very much like Stephen King/Ted Dekker’s writings and I describe it like City of Ember meets I Am Legend. In a post-apocalyptic world where only a few hundred humans remain, they live in an underground bunker with miles of tunnels covered with light panels so that not even a shadow exists: mankind is that afraid of the dark. And then… the lights begin to go out.

JR: Thank you for your time, Christopher, and I hope you have a blessed day.

CS: Thanks for reaching out! I’d love if people checked me out on Amazon or at my website www.authorchristopherdschmitz.com