My Christmas Gifts

So to me books for Christmas are like toys for kids. I love it. I love reaching into a bag and pulling out some great title I know I’ll just love. Or seeing the square wrapped gift and wondering just what title will appear when I pull away the wrapping.

This year I got four books. But I knew about all of them because I was the one that had to place the order on Amazon. Heh heh.

Two of the books I received are fiction. You see, I recently bought Out of Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis. It’s the first of a trilogy so I wanted the other two. And I got them. Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. I am looking forward to reading them and seeing where it takes me and the interesting Dr. Ransom. I’ve read the first few pages of Out of Silent Planet, and I must say, it certainly appears to be a good read.

The other two books I received are the ones I was recommended by the literary agent. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers and Plot & Structure. The books arrived a few days before Christmas, and I was given the great pleasure of picking one book to have then. I chose Self-Editing. I’ve read and highlighted and noted the first three chapters. I must say, I’m looking forward to all the editing I’ll be doing to my story after I finish this book. And I can guarantee that I will be reading this book numerous times within my life. But it’s definitely not something for everyone. If you’re not interested in writing, no need to read it. Haha.

I will tell you more about the books as I read them. I’m not sure where I’ll start. I may put Self-Editing to the side so I can get the Lewis trilogy out of the way before I plunge into Self-Editing and Plot & Structure since I want those to be fresh on my mind when I go back to edit my own story.

Either way, you’ll hear about what I’m reading soon.

Two Things I Love

Reading and writing.

So I bought a new book. Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis. It's the first of his space trilogy. I have yet to read it and I've had it for over a week. Usually by now I would be done with it, but with how busy this week has been, I probably won't get to it until after Monday.

Now onto writing. I've edited the first six chapters of my story, and even added a new beginning. I think it works well with what the story needs to accomplish. I haven't had much time to edit this week though . . . once again, been busy and won't be able to do much until after Monday.

And now something I did last week. I got to talk to an author over the computer just a little last week. It was great. "Who?" you ask. Robert Liparulo.

I asked him if his gruesome scenes make him cringe. He said that they do, but he has to do research for them so he gets to warm up to them first, a luxury the reader doesn't have.

Haha. No kidding.

I told him about my friends' reactions to the first chapter of Germ. He said that first chapter is always the kicker. He had an "old lady book club" (his words not mine) choose Germ, and he got an email after they read the first chapter. He told them if they could get through the first chapter the rest would be fine. He said he later got emails from them saying how they loved the book.

That was cool. It was really nice that he took the time to answer me.

And if you read this, THANKS!!

The Reader As A Writer

So I actually wrote a story.
And I sent it to an agent in September.
The agent sent a reply back a little over a week ago.
He told me that my project has merit and that I show potential. Yet, it's not what they're looking for at this time. He then listed two books to help me out. One is on self-editing. I definitely need that one and hope to get it in the next couple weeks.
I've also been going through writing tips from http://wherethemapends.com -- which I recommend to any person that wants to improve their writing ability. There are some tips which I already have applied and some that I'm like "OH! Duh! Should have realized that one!"

So I guess we'll see where this writing thing takes me. Maybe one day I'll post a blog telling everyone to go check out my book and tell me what you think. One day.

Field of Blood

I just bought a new book by an author I've never read before.
The author: Eric Wilson
The book: Field of Blood

This book is the beginning of a trilogy, and I am already anticipating the next book of the series. It doesn't come out until August 2009. I can tell it's going to be a long wait.

Field of Blood is an amazing story full of suspense and twists you never see coming. I love how it entwines Biblical history, making you wonder "Is it possible . . . " This book certainly got me interested in researching some of the mentioned findings--such as: What really happened to those raised in Matthew 27? And why were those boxes empty?

I know some Christians would ask how I could read a book about "vampires" and undead, but I honestly think this book is told in just the right context.

My only complaint is this: Why do I have to wait so long for book two?!?

More Recent Reads

So I posted about Dekker's books that I've read recently. Now let me post about the other author I've been reading: Robert Liparulo.
I first read a Liparulo book in 2006. It was Comes a Horseman. The book blew me away.

A couple months ago, I got a hold of four more of his books. Each one was great.

Germ: This one is GOOD, but it's pretty discriptive. The first chapter alone had me cringing. I let a couple friends read that chapter, and they both went "Eww!" My boyfriend started reading it before I did, and he called me after that chapter just to ask if I was really going to read the book. If you can't handle gory descriptions, I don't recommend this book. If you can, however, this book is great.

Deadfall: I'm wanting to say this book is a more action-packed, hunter vs hunted version of Monster by Frank Peretti. It's a great book, and it's not AS graphic as Germ.

The Dreamhouse Kings series--
House of Dark Shadows: This one introduces you to the King family as they make the transition to their new, mysterious house.
Watcher in the Woods: You continue to learn about the family and their secrets, but you also learn about secrets of the house.
I'm looking forward to the next books in this young adult series.

Recent Reads

I have read quite a few books in the last couple months. Most have been Dekker books--nine of them in fact. The other four were by Robert Liparulo.

First of all, I finished what has been published of the Lost Books. Renegade and Chaos both throw twists that are completely unexpected and tie in other books. I am looking forward to the last two of this series.

After finishing those two, I got to read Sinner. This is Ted's latest book that you don't want to miss. Billy, Darcy, and Johnny are in a battle of power and persuasion.

Then I moved on to Ted's older books that I had yet to read. The Caleb Books and Martyr's Song Series.
Blessed Child introduces you to a child so innocent and yet full of wisdom and faith. A Man Called Blessed takes you on a journey of rediscovering faith and love. Both of these books make you take a fresh look at your own faith.
The Martyr's Song series is powerful and beautifully tragic. It shows that the tragidies of this world are nothing to the joy of the love and beauty of being with the Father. It also shows how heaven fights and weeps for us and how we must sometimes fight and weep for others. They say you can read it in any order, so here's what I suggest: The Martyr's Song, When Heaven Weeps, Heaven's Wager, Thunder of Heaven.

I'll get into Robert Liparulo's books next post.

Since my last post

So I had a chance to ask Ted Dekker if he enjoys leaving readers thinking "Oh my gosh! What? What's next?" His answer? He laughed and said it was his favorite part.

I've read a few more Dekker books since, and they all leave me going "Okay . . . let me think about this for a while. So many unanswered questions!" But I love each book. They're great, and I recommend them to anyone. The only person I don't recommend them to would be my grandma. She's not much of a Dekker fan. But hey, she still likes the Blessed and Martyr Song series, so it's all good.

Infidel

Assuming you have read Chosen, you know from the end that Johnis's mother is possibly alive. From the beginning of this book, I knew that his mother was going to be a focal point. But the question I had was this: Is it his purpose to save his mother, or is it a trap? (I won't answer that because it would give it away.) The Roush warn him against going to save her, but what son or daughter wouldn't want to save a loving parent? I know I certainly would.

In trying to find a way to save his mother, he tells Silvie, Darsal, and Billos about the visions from touching the books with his blood. Then the four of them cut their fingers and touch the book. From then on, Billos seems completely enthralled with the power of the books. My mind was screaming "DANGER!" from the moment Billos found out about the books' power.

Honestly, when this book ended, I stared at th last page, and said: "OH MY GOSH! Dekker did it again! He's leaving me hanging until the next book." Now I just have to wait for Renegade and Chaos.

A neat fact about the book: We finally meet another Roush! Actually, quite a few.

One question I have: I thought their eyes were green. How are hers blue then???

This book is considered juvenile fiction, but I definitely recommend it to anyone that loves a good series. I only have one warning when it comes to reading books by Ted Dekker . . . once you start reading them, it's impossible to stop.

To read or not to read . . . good grief!

I have a mentally painful dilemma with which to deal. Having just finished my twenty-first Dekker book, I have to wonder if the mental challenges I face after each book really make his books worth reading. Let me present the argument in my mind.

The book I just finished is Infidel, the second of The Lost Books. Since I finished, my mind has been in a craze to find out what happens next. Thankfully, I only have to wait till May . . . since I only found Infidel this weekend after four months of searching for it. Let me first make it known that none of this is a question of Dekker's writing ability--even those that don't always like Dekker (hard to believe those kind of people exist) would say his writing ability is phenomenal. The way he tells the story draws you in as if you're watching it unfold before your very eyes, the characters completely unaware of your presense. Speaking of characters, he does a great job there too, well developed and believable.

The themes of his writings are certainly ones that we all need to think about. All of his books seem have one consistant theme, the battle between good and evil. Evil comes in many forms, and he shows that well in his stories: the Horde, Black, Braun, or the core of our very selves.

There is only one thing that I don't know what to do with. It's the fact that the ending usually has me wanting to do a mixture of two things: To thank Ted for the fantastic writing that had me turning pages all the way to the end, or to hit Ted over the head with his own books for leaving me hanging and filled with questions!

I mean, good grief! Could you leave me in more suspense? He just disappears! So now my mind rages in wonder . . . Where did he go? To what other books does this book connect? Is she really the one that I read about in the sample in the back of Adam??

So to read or not to read?

Well, if I do read, I'll just repeat this crazy cycle again. If I don't read, I will be left wondering!

I say READ!