Ever had questions about writing but didn't know who to ask? Are you an aspiring author but not exactly sure how to get the process started? Do you always get partway into a story and then get stuck, and aren't sure how the best writers avoid writer's block? Then ASK THE WRITERS!
ASK THE WRITERS is going to be a new podcast segment at FictionAddict.com and I've been asked to join in to pose your questions to the writers. We have novelists Travis Thrasher and Sigmund Brouwer primed and ready, and they can't wait to answer your questions.
So here's what you need to do. Send an email with the subject "Ask the Writers" or go to FictionAddict.com and comment on their "Ask the Writers" post. We'll pick the top 10 for the writers to answer. NOTE: Please submit questions only about the writing craft,
process, etc. All other questions will be discarded.
A few months ago, I discovered the New Living Translation and fell in love with it. Striving for dynamic equivalence and the goal of accurately capturing the meaning of the Biblical text, the NLT translators used a thought-for-thought translating system while staying true to the literal word-for-word translation. The result is a translation that makes sense to modern times, is in modern language, yet is completely accurate and faithful to the original text.
Now the NLT is hosting a huge contest to win one of their Life Application Study Bibles (and just maybe an Apple iPad or iPod Touch!) Visit www.facebook.com/NewLivingTranslation
and click on the tab that says “Sweepstakes.” Fill out a
simple form, take a quick Bible clarity survey,
invite your friends to join and you’ll be entered to win one of the
exciting prizes.
With each
fan number milestone a new prize will be given away.
Grand Prize
Apple iPad 64G and a Life Application
Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the fifth milestone
Retail Value: $829.00
2nd Prize -
Already awarded
32G iPod Touch and a Life Application
Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the fourth milestone
Retail Value: $300.00
3rd Prize –
Will be awarded when fan count hits: 3500
Kindle DX and a Life Application Study
Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the third milestone
Retail Value: $489.00
4th Prize
Will be awarded when fan count hits: TBD
Apple iPad 16G and a Life Application
Study Bible
Awarded when the New Living Translation Fan Page hits the second
milestone
Retail Value: $499.00
5th Prize
Will be awarded when fan count hits: TBD
Apple iPad 32G and a Life Application
Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the first milestone
Retail Value: $599.00
Prize
Eligibility – Recently updated to include more
countries
Sweepstakes
participants and winner(s) can be U.S. residents of the 50 United
States, or
residents of any country that is NOT embargoed by the United States, but
cannot
be residents of Belgium, Norway, Sweden, or India. In addition,
participants and winner(s) must be at least 18 years old, as determined
by
the Company.
Choose one of
six passages of Scripture from the New Living
Translation and consider:
How do these verses encourage you to know God better?
What is God teaching you in this passage?
How does this passage apply to your life?
Submit your
answer and you’ll be entered to win.
Just for
signing up: Everybody Wins! Win
a Free .mp3 download from the NLT’s new Red Letters Project.
It’s the dynamic, new presentation of the sung and narrated words of the
Gospel of Matthew. You win the download just for entering! Or choose to
download the NLT
Philippians Bible Study,
complete with the Book of Philippians in the NLT.
Every day,
one person will win the best-selling Life Application
Study Bible!
The grand
prize: One person
will win a fantastic trip for two to the crystal
clear waters of the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore in beautiful
Hawaii.
Sound awesome? I thought so. I've already signed up. Why don't you?
It’s not enough to believe, you are called to know why you believe. In an age of skepticism
that has given God His funeral, Christians must stand up and be On
Guard to defend their faith as rational and justifiably true. And
towards this end, William Lane Craig has written this exquisite training
manual. Penned in conversational and accessible language and filled with
illustrations and diagrams, Dr. Craig’s teaching leaps off the page and into
your mind, carefully preparing you to always be ready to give a reason for the
hope that we have.
As a Christian scholar, amateur philosopher and
theologian, and voracious reader, I’ve read a good number of books on
apologetics. Many are written by the scholar to the scholar and most laypeople
would struggle with the material and not connect it with the relevance to
everyday life. Many more are written strictly at the popular level and contain
only superficial apologetics. Each of these has their place to be sure, but
with On
Guard Dr. Craig bridges the gap and without shying away from scholarly
issues manages to explain his apologetic in fairly clear and simple terms.
From evidence to the existence of God to the reality
of the Resurrection to the self-destruction of religious pluralism, Dr. Craig
expertly makes a case that the Christian faith is not only plausible, but
rational. So rational, in fact, that evidence demands one test it
experientially.
Even if some of the text does go over your head (if
you’re not reading carefully), the illustrations and diagrams provide an
excellent summary of contents. This feature, along with Dr. Craig’s personal
interludes is what makes this book unique and renders it a must-read. In all
honestly, having read much of Dr. Craig’s works, as well as having listened to
his many debates, and studied in his Defenders class, little of what Dr. Craig
said was new to me, whether principle to anecdote. Nonetheless, I continued to
find myself enthralled by the principles he sets forth. In a passionately
person touch, Dr. Craig recounts his own scholastic journey as evidence of the
provision of God.
Whether you’re seasoned in apologetics or just
wanting to know why you believe, On Guard is the training manual you
want. Dr. Craig has cemented himself as one of the top contemporary
philosophers and theologians, a brilliant man with a heart for God. This is a
book I will come back to time and time again as I continue my passionate
pursuit after God, and I would suggest that you make it the same for you.
A couple years ago thousands of teens closed the
cover on a book that challenged the myth of adolescence and encouraged them to
step up and do hard things for Christ. But what if you don’t know what to do or
where to start? What if your plans to do hard things are falling through? What
if the stories of those doing hard things seemed impossible, because, after
all, you’re just you.
Alex and Brett Harris take on the practical aspect
of doing hard things in Start Here, a book filled with
real-life stories of the Rebelutioaries inspired to do hard things. From what
to do and where to go to how to plan out your own hard thing, Alex and Brett
give advice based on their own experience and Biblical principles, then intertwine
it with real-life stories told to them by fellow rebelutionaries.
They teach you to buck and culture and show the
world that teenagers and young adults are capable of changing the world. They
encourage you not to give up when things don’t go as planned. They admonish you
to always seek the will of God and keep Him of first importance.
Start
Here is a fairly quick read that gives practical advice on
how to give one’s best for God. I’m sure it will serve as an inspiration to the
many teens striving to do hard things in their own communities and in their own
lives.
My only criticism is that I would have liked to have
seen more extensive coverage on what basis we have to do hard things. Can we do
it ourselves? Do you have to be a Christian to do hard things? While Alex and
Brett infuse their principles with Christian doctrine, I think they could have
done a more extensive job on why we should have the impetus to hard things. Namely
that God himself has infused His life in us, and we no longer live, but Christ
lives in us. Thus, the things we do, we do not our own, but rather it is
possible because of who we are in Christ.
If you loved Do
Hard Things, or read it and aren’t sure where to go, Start Here is…well…a good
place to start. You can buy it here!
Click HERE for details on how to win a free copy of Start Here! Contest ends March 19.
You
can’t simply do nothing. You must fix things. The Kings’
haven’t been able to relax since they moved into the giant Victorian mansion
just a week or so ago. House of Dark
Shadows, the first book in the series, set the stage for the Kings: a house
with portals to other worlds and other times. The story progresses throughout
the next three books in the series (Watcher
in the Woods, Gatekeepers, and Timescape) as the Kings’ learn more
about their house and face the danger that comes along with it. Warning! If you
haven’t read the previous books in this series, you will need to do so before
reading Whirlwind.
Whirlwind
starts off in a hurry and stays at a breakneck pace. For the Kings’ and Keal,
their mission is no longer just to find Mom but also save the entire planet. They’ve
been through a portal that showed them the future, and things aren’t good. But
Jesse tells them the real purpose of the portals, the responsibility of being a
Gatekeeper. You can’t simply do nothing.
You must fix things.
Set to fulfill that purpose, Whirlwind takes Xander and
David on their wildest ride yet – where the way history is written depends on
their actions. Time is winding down, Taksidian is drawing nearer, the forces of
evil are bent upon controlling the King house for its own purposes, and the
Kings can barely hold up under the strain.
Robert Liparulo continues to surprise and amaze with
the DreamHouse Kings series. One
would think after five books, the story of the house would be told and it would
be reduced to Xander, David, and gang chasing and being chased through
different times in different worlds; but Liparulo continues to add more to the
storyline, slowly revealing more and more about the nature of house, the significance
of the King family, and the personified evil of Taksidian who pursues them.
New worlds are accompanied with new revelations,
which only serve to heighten the suspense and prepare us for the series’ climax
in the upcoming May release, Frenzy. Whirlwind
is a blast, from start to finish. The stories just keep getting better
as Liparulo layers in more backstory and additional twists. Now I can only sit
and twitch, anticipating the finale to come.
Alex and Brett Harris are Rebelutionaries. Who knew that when they called on young people to Do Hard Things that the response would be so great. Now the Harris twins are back with the sequel. Start Here is about how to practically apply the concepts discussed in Do Hard Things. Mainly, it's a manual that will get you started on doing hard things in your life, whether that's witnessing to that kid down the street, taking that full-time job, going to that college, whatever.
Now for the fun part. I have two copies of Start Here and I really only need one. So, I'm giving one away. Comment below and tell me what your hard thing is, and what you plan on doing to accomplish it. Friday, March 19, I'll look over the comments and choose one at random to get a free copy of Start Here.
Of course, only one person can win. So I want to direct the rest of you to BooksChristian. Right now, you can get an autographed copy for $11.95 and have $2 of that go towards Help for Haiti, which is run by Samaritan's Purse.
The Bible. It sits enshrined above all the rest of
ancient literature. Crafted over the course of millennia in different language,
by many authors of varying societies, covering many genres – prophecy, poetry,
practical advice, biography, didactic teaching, even romance! – threatened with
destruction, but always rising up to outlive its pallbearers, most read, most
quoted, most defamed, most translated, most paraphrased, most abused, Most Holy
Word of God.
How do we even begin to approach a book that with
much a vibrant history? How does one interpret such an ancient text? How can we
unlock the mysteries that lie upon the fragile onion-skin pages? Is it really
the Word of God? If so, what does that mean? How do we read it? How do we
interpret it? And perhaps more importantly, how do we apply it?
In Grasping God’s Word, J. Scott Duvall
and J. Daniel Hays tackle this monumental task of explaining how to have a
hands-on approach to reading, interpreting, and applying the Scriptures. First,
they teach you to read the Bible critically. This isn’t your momma’s devotional
reading! Sit down with pen and paper and carefully take the text through the
Interpretive Journey. Answer these questions: What did the text mean to the
original audience? What are the differences between that audience and a
contemporary audience? What is the abstract theological principle the text is
teaching? How should Christians apply that abstraction in a concrete way today?
After teaching you to read the text, they move on to
an interpretation of the text. The basic premise here is that a text without
context in a pretext for a proof text. They will teach you how to see the
Biblical passages in the light of historical, cultural, and literary contexts,
as well as help as see past the cultural and other biases we might impose upon
the text. The third section teaches us to interpret specific portions of
Scripture. For instance, OT prophecy cannot be interpreted in the same way the
proverbs can, or the way Jesus’ parables can.
Perhaps the most important thing this book teaches
is that the Bible is not a systematic theology. Rather it is compilation of
history in which God manifested theological principles. These abstract principles
are timeless even if their cultural specific application in the Bible is not.
We must take these abstract principles and integrate them into our own culture
in order to accurately apply the Bible’s teaching.
For any person wanting to learn how to seriously
study the Bible, Grasping God’s Word is an indispensible resource. It’s a
must-have for any Christian, because it strives to correct one of the most
troubling aspects of today’s Christianity – a populace ignorant of and
misinterpreting and misapplying the Word of God. To Duvall and Hays, I thank you for your study
on this topic. It is a much-needed resource for today’s Christian.
It was with a mixture of excitement and fear that I
opened the brown paper-bound package, not sure if I could trust the letter that
had been tucked under the thin twine and held the package together.
Here’s something
special…I knew you’d like it. – The Historian, Ted Dekker
I would have doubted the letter’s sincerity had it
not been for the wax seal keeping the letter closed. I knew this symbol. The Circle. But what was this package,
and how did it end up here? It had no stamps, no address, and just merely sat
on my porch, like a ticking time bomb ready to explode.
I pulled away the twine and carefully unwrapped the
package. A book. Manuscript form…just a bunch of pages piled together, no
binding at all. The pages were creased and yellowed, spotted with water marks
and crinkled on the corners. I took out the first page, shook off the dust, and
read.
To Kill With Reason by Thomas Hunter
The Thomas Hunter?! I considered the note that went
along with the book. Dekker had chronicled Hunter’s story in a series of
history books he called The Circle.
He had made mention of Hunter’s past as a failed novelist before he
became…well…the Thomas Hunter. If I
remember correctly this would have been the first novel he wrote, the second
being Superheroes in Super Fog. This
was truly historic. But that fact barely registered, because I was already
sifting through pages, anxious to get to the story.
~~~
Kevin Richardson has a dark and troubled past to go
with his dark and troubled present. Now he’s a freelance hitman—a killer, if
one was to use the crass term—for the CIA, having carried out 24 hits in his 4
years working with the organization. In his past, he was the American son of
coffee plantation farmers living in Venezuela. And when the drug lords had
decided that his parents property was better suited to growing cocaine, they
gruesomely murdered them, leaving Kevin to barely escape.
Now it’s revenge that drives him. To kill those who
kill. To Kill With Reason. Hunter weaves an intriguing plot of under
the table international relations, Islamic extremism, and a cartel leader who
wants it all. When Kevin defects from the CIA and goes after the cartel leader
who killed his parents, he will uncover a much larger plot…one that could kill
millions. The fate of the world just might lie within the soul of this tortured
jungle boy.
After reading it, one can pinpoint all the reasons
why Hunter was a failed novelist.
Storylines not well fleshed out, events happen out of left field, characters
act out of character, clichéd dialogue…not often, just not enough for it to
work flawlessly. But perhaps it was fate that caused this, for it put him on
the path to be in that alleyway when the single silenced bullet that changed
everything crashed over his head and assured his part in the annals of history.
But despite its roughness, To Kill With Reason
shines like an uncut gem to give us insight into Thomas Hunter’s life. The
jungle boy life of Kevin is not too far from Hunter’s childhood as the son of a
missionary. Part of the mystery, part of the intrigue comes from knowing that
it comes from Thomas Hunter, who, it is alleged, got the story idea from the
Historian Ted Dekker himself. (One can note the similarities with Dekker’s Thunder of Heaven.) Moreover, as the
story progresses, the writing improves and you can witness Hunter improving his
craft and getting to understand his story and his characters.
To
Kill With Reason has its flaws. But it also has some
great moments that give us hope that the fledgling writer might persevere and
emerge from this good first attempt. Of course we now know that Thomas Hunter
was destined for things greater than storytelling, and instead became a part of
the magnificent story of redemption known as The Circle Series. Perhaps had fate not intended this for him, his
craft might now rival that of Dekker himself.
~~~
I carefully
gathered the pages and wrapped them back in the paper, doing so delicately so
as not to crinkle the paper further. Something so special deserved such
caution. This would be placed in a special hiding place next to another unique
book, a blank book – something called a Book
of History – which I had also happened upon. These would I treasure always.
As I began to tie the twine back around the package,
I noticed some small writing on the inside of the paper. In my haste to get at
the contents, I had completely ignored the packaging. The writing was faded and
barely discernable, yet the message came through clear.
This story is not
just for you, This is a story meant for all. Tell them that they too can read
this novel. That they too can experience the story Thomas of Hunter wanted to
tell the world. Tell them. Tell them everything...http://bit.ly/dx3cXb
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of
God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for
nothing!”
– Gal. 2:20-21, NLT
Galatians is one of the books of the Bible most near
and dear to my heart. The Galatians, having been saved by faith, were now
adding “rules for rules sake,” claiming that following the Jewish law was necessary.
This almost extended to the point where they were claiming that one could achieve
salvation through works, rather than through Christ alone.
I see a strong parallel between the church at
Galatia and many of the churches of American Christianity. The general idea of
salvation appears to be one of “if my good outweighs my bad, I will be saved.”
Galatians challenges this idea, reminding us that salvation comes by faith in
Christ alone. As Dr. Warren Wiersbe puts it, Galatians teaches us to Be
Free and exchange legalism for true spirituality.
With clarity and conciseness, Wiersbe offers
valuable insights into the Biblical text. Written in a manner suitable for the
layperson, Be Free is easily accessible and communicates clearly even to
those without an extensive background in theology or Biblical training. When
reading, I found myself repeating key phrases and sentences aloud in order to
commit them to memory, just because it expressed the truth in such a memorable
manner.
The Be series is a classic in layperson
commentaries, and every Christian should take the time to study Dr. Wiersbe’s
groundbreaking achievement. Though they’ve been around for quite a while – Be Free
was first penned in 1975 – the truths it contains are timeless and now
available in a new edition through David C. Cook publishing company. You can purchase the volume from them HERE.
To complement this release of Wiersbe’s
commentaries, Cook is also publishing a Bible Study Series, which is perfect
for small groups or Sunday School sessions. The guide integrates both the
Biblical text and the commentary to create a study certain to get your small
group talking. Whether in church or home, for small groups or individual
reading, read by scholar or layperson, this is a commentary that you should
read and refer to often.
So here's what you need to do. Send an email with the subject "Ask the Writers" or go to FictionAddict.com and comment on their "Ask the Writers" post. We'll pick the top 10 for the writers to answer. NOTE: Please submit questions only about the writing craft,
process, etc. All other questions will be discarded.
