Skip to content

Category: Writing

Faceplanting into Concrete

Have you ever been running along and then suddenly faceplanted into freshly laid cement? While I’ve only faceplanted into slightly hardened cement (it was no less fun, let me tell you), I feel as if I’ve been metaphorically faceplanting for the past couple months.

I suppose that it’s just the way that things go. Technical errors caused a number of problems. The live Nanowrimo writing went fine so long as I didn’t try to put it up on the Internet. Currently, my Internet speed is so low that a five minute video takes almost a full day to upload. We’re trying to get that fixed. And the software I was using to record the writing process crashed my computer on November 30. I didn’t lose more than one chapter and one video, thankfully. Eventually I’ll get everything processed and uploaded, but for now, it’s fallen to a back burner.

Other writing goals and activities have not gone as planned. Formatting difficulties as well as disappointed expectations have been at play. And chronic illnesses love worsening at times like these. I recognize that many of these issues could be resolved by hiring people to do them, but that requires money or bartering. And I don’t have the funds for anything else, and I am fairly tapped on time as well.

So I have plugged along, doing the best I can. One of the more odd recent developments is that sleep is not restful, and the insomnia has worsened. For now, I’m trying to make the most of it. I spend a lot of time in prayer and meditation as well as plotting out different stories and working on projects. But I also know that this can’t continue like this.

Hopefully as several projects draw to a close, I’ll be able to rest again. In the meanwhile, I am still trying to take time to enjoy life. The time I have doesn’t change based on whether I enjoy it.

Now it may sound like this isn’t a good start to the new year, but…I still believe it will be a great one. Hard starts don’t mean hard roads all the way through. And perhaps this is necessary. I never really learned how to rest. I’ve always been so focused on my stories and other projects that I struggled to take time for myself or to relax. (In fact, I actually don’t know how to relax very well.) So perhaps the purpose of this is to teach me what that means. Eventually exhaustion will claim me, and then I will rest. (And if it doesn’t, I’ll be contacting some medical institutions to see if they’d like to conduct a few studies. Provided they fund my writing, of course. ;))

There’s lots of writing news on the horizon. I’m participating in more events and have many more stories about to be released. I’ve decided that 2016 is the year that I move through my backlist and see what is a good fit for traditional publishing and what is a good fit for indie. But more on that later. For now…blessings and joy to you all. Have a wonderful night, and may your sleep be sweet and restful.

Nanowrimo 2015 Day 01

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRS9-TYwvzQ

Today is the first day of Nanowrimo as well as the first of a new month. New beginnings always excite me. They hold so much potential. November 1 is a particular favorite because of Nanowrimo.

I’ve been doing Nanowrimo since I was 11 though my parents didn’t give me permission to sign up on the official site till I was a fair bit older. It was a great experience with lots of fun along the way, and it stretched me. That first book was less than ideal, of course. It had so many holes and tons of problems. (I think one character’s name even changed halfway through, and many other details spontaneously changed or became contradictory, lol.) But I was glad that I did it.

I’d encourage all writers to give it a shot. While it is a great challenge to complete 50,000 words during one of the busiest months of the year, that isn’t the only reason to do it. There’s a spirit of camaraderie throughout this month as thousands of writers support one another in this endeavor. It’s about shutting off that inner critic, dig into the stories that you have inside you, and start exploring them. You can’t fail in this. You won’t do it perfectly. In fact, you’re going to miss some days. You’re going to fall behind. But that’s okay. The point is to get as far as you can and get as much of the story down as you can. Every year I have found material that I can use.

Now some of my tutees, students, and friends have asked me to consider doing an additional challenge this year: write my Nanowrimo novel live. I’ve received a lot of questions about my process as well as what it looks like when I write. And since I’m not comfortable with people sitting next to me and watching what I write, recording it through a screen capture along with commentary on what I’m doing and how I’m doing it seems like a better choice.

I finished conducting some tests, and it looks like I can do this. I’m a little concerned about the upload speeds because the Internet is often slow. It can take an hour to upload 15 minutes. So there may be some delays. My other concern is how long a video with an actual writing session is going to run. After all, writing a novel takes a lot of time. (Not really sure how long, but I guess we’ll find out.)

What I’ll do to offset this is doing a brief recap that details what I did, how it’s going, and what tools I used. That way if you don’t want to slog through the whole video, you can get the highlights.

To help facilitate this, I’ve come up with some rules for myself.

  • All the writing will take place in front of the camera. This is going to be the hardest thing for me. But when I’m not writing on the screen capture, I won’t be working on the story.
  • I’m starting entirely from scratch, and I will document the whole process.
  • If I use a notebook while on camera, I’ll be sure to show you what I’m writing if I can.
  • I will be doing minimal editing before uploading to Wattpad. I’ll include that as well.

Since I’m trying to document the whole process, I’m starting with a fresh story. I’ve had this title and cover rattling around for awhile, potentially going to one or four stories. But I’m not going to use a story that I have already started. The story will be based in part off a dream I had, but that’s more for the general premise. I don’t even have character names yet or the Scrivener files prepped.

Frankly, I’m rather nervous, but I’m also excited. This is going to be a great month. I hope that I don’t fall flat on my face. I imagine there will be a fair bit of dead space and staring at the screen because that camera is going to add loads of pressure, lol.

So what about you? Are you doing Nanowrimo this year? Feel free to let me know what your project is and leave a link if you like either here or on the Youtube video. Have a wonderful night!

 

Musings on What I Fear, Good and Bad

Tuesday night on the Wattpadres chat on Twitter, we all had a great time talking about horror and the things that terrify us. (A number of people also met an untimely end at the tiny jaws of vicious dust mites…who would have thought the dust mites would end more people in the haunted house than the zombies, vampires, and werewolves combined!)

One of the questions was what terrifies us most. Personally, I find the subject of fear intriguing especially since fear can limit and shape us in ways we don’t anticipate. For quite awhile now, I’ve practiced the Month of Fear, which has become the Year of Fear. I try to do at least one thing that makes me uncomfortable or afraid or at least pushes me out of my comfort zone every day. On the whole living in fear is something that I don’t believe to be biblical, healthy, or wise. So, since I am trying to live consciously and fully, I attack my fears and discomfort when I can.

Initially in my challenges, I chose fears that I could confront and that negatively impacted me in some way. My fear of cameras and having my picture taken was connected unfortunate incidents, bullying, and more. In confronting that fear, I attempted to tackle something that held me back and to not be hypocritical when I tell my amazing students and mentees to be bold and courageous.

Then I started to wonder about other fears. The deeper fears. The ones that really shaped me. True, my uneasiness around spiders and men with blue eyes have shaped part of who I am and came from specific incidents. My camera and mirror avoidance has resulted in certain consequences. But there are other fears…the kind that truly send chills through me and that actually change my behavior in more meaningful ways.

So what do I fear…deep down…it isn’t death. I know where I’m going and that it is but a transition. But a living death of the mind, whether my own or of others, that is horrifying. Particularly when it is multiplied.

I am terrified of being delusional, of losing my capacity to think or respond, and of being trapped in mass hysteria (doesn’t matter whether I’m part of it or am someone aware of it, it’s all terrifying). I value my mind and my independence. I love being able to think and break things apart to see how they work and understand them better. I hate being wrong, but I will take being wrong if I can still think, reason, and understand.

So…should I be tackling those fears? Targeting these core fears seems far more difficult. In fact, I don’t even know how one would begin to put oneself in those situations or whether those are fears that one necessarily wants to lose.

Fear can serve a purpose and be valuable. My fear of losing my own mind and mental capacity as well as being caught up in mass hysteria propels me to take care of my mind, conduct my own research, and remain aware. In this case, the fear is not so much crippling as it is cautionary. True, sometimes it takes unhealthy forms. When I go into a room, I’m almost always considering an escape route of some time. And if I’m stuck in a hall with lots of people or waiting in a long line (like at an amusement park), I do sometimes wonder about what would happen if some catastrophe struck such as the zombie apocalypse or a rabid wolf or a fire. It’s the same thing that happens when I’m sitting in a tunnel in my car, waiting for traffic to move along and wondering what the solution would be if water started spraying through the bricks. (Social etiquette point here: don’t share these thoughts with anyone around you unless you’re certain they’ll find it just as intriguing as you.)

Perhaps this is why I enjoy psychological horror stories as opposed to straight up monster movies as well as my general preference for complex strategizing villains. Maybe in a small way I am confronting that fear.

Regardless, I don’t plan on confronting my fear of losing my mind or being trapped in a violent mob or hysterical crowd. I think I can live with those fears. But I may see about researching possible survival methods and strategies, and I’ll continue to do what I can to keep my own mind healthy and aware.

 

Short Story on the Run: Thoughts on Beauteous Intentions

Short stories have always been my bane. With my mind leaning toward epic fantasies and tales that span the years, the shorter forms often elude me. Which is part of the reason I pursue them.

But here’s a surprising reality: the short stories can be just as shocking and have as many twists for the writer as novels.

The WattVampires announced their competition at the start of October. Competitors needed to write a short story between 1000 and 5000 words. It had to involve vampires, candy, and Halloween. Pretty open ended?

Well, I had just recently had a bit of a story dream that I decided to base this story on. Initially, I thought it would have to be a novel to adequately deal with one of the themes: living ethically and fully even at great cost and how far should one go with that cost and is it ever too much? And can it be dangerous?

The shorter length forced me to condense it. I decided to have three sections, each one focusing on the last couple hours of a Halloween night. What surprised me was how the most crucial scenes came into focus. And I finished the rough draft with 612 words to spare.

After a short break, I then edited it, polished it, summarized it, and shipped it off. A complete short story within eight hours more or less. Beauteous Intent is off to the contest!

This story will take place in a world where I’ve been developing a number of short stories. Don’t have an official name for it yet. But I’ll come up with something.

I can’t stop laughing though because Beauteous Intent is not at all what I intended. It was supposed to be spooky, chilling, much darker. But Aestan turned out to be a far more passive and gentle character than I expected and that changed everything. Despite the danger underlying his and Summer’s relationship, there was an idealism and romance that insisted on pressing through.

During the writing process, I did feel cold though. Sometimes I just don’t write with a lot of feeling, and I know that that shows through. It becomes far too intellectual (what a shock coming from the lawyer). I know what I want to feel just as I know what I should feel. And though I put myself in the character’s shoes and imagine myself in his position, there are times when it still doesn’t hold up.

However, instead of stepping away from this story and digging in later (after the deadline passed), I pushed through. And it represents one of the core questions I find myself mulling over more and more while always addressing the perpetual question of balance and too much.

I won’t win with this story (and that’s not a problem). Even though it meets the guidelines, I’m all but certain this isn’t what the judges are looking for. After all, who reads vampire stories for a story on ethical living, sacrifice, hard choices, and bad decisions? Not many. It’s more of the romantic sort of story that fits a darker Valentine theme, and it’s lacking the sensuality of most vampire romances. The other stories in this competition are spectacular and precisely what I imagine the judges are looking for without being cliché.

But there is one thing I remind myself of: let each story be what it is. There are so many stories to write. Struggling to force one story into something it is not will often just weaken it.

While I started off writing The Celebrity in the hopes of writing a story my mother could enjoy, Beauteous Intent turned out to be the better option for her. It’s funny that at a time when I feel in the most turmoil and the most frustrated something so sweet (and dangerous) would come out. But ah, such is writing. Such is storytelling.

 

The First Annual Story Fair Write Up

Story FairSo September 19 was quite a busy day. In addition to having some legal work that needed to be tended, I also had the privilege of participating in the First Annual Story Fair. This event was a joint project, created by Rebecca Sky, Malice Authors, Dilyana Kyoseva, and the Wattpad4. This kind of project takes a lot of hard work, so a very hearty thanks to everyone involved.

I was actually able to be involved multiple times, and the fair was what most fairs are: chaos and chatter with plenty of tasty options. Here are some of the highlights for me.

Fun Treasures I Came Away With

While I got to feature one of my own stories (a couple if you count the WPC2014 booth), I wanted to keep my eyes open for new authors whose stories I wanted to read. Qualifications: any author who wasn’t a fellow member of the WPC2014, lol. While there was a lot of competition, I narrowed it down to these authors of whom I had never heard:

Priestess and Dragon

 

The Priestess and the Dragon by Nicolette Andrews. This is to be released on Amazon October 17. Check it out here. If all goes well, I’m planning to read and review this book quite soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lost

 

Lost By J.S. Nox. This is a short story of travels available for free on Wattpad. Quite looking forward to reading this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catwalk

 

Catwalk by Nicole N. Gabor. While the farthest from my usual reading style, I love pushing myself to things, and this one fits the bill. It’s available for free on Wattpad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Honorary Fourth Treasure

HelNow, I am adding a fourth, but it doesn’t seem entirely honest: Frost by E. Latimer. And it’s not because it isn’t a stunning book (because it is) or that the cover isn’t gripping (because it is).

It’s because I actually already planned to read this book, and I have already bought a copy (yet another upcoming entry to review!). But I do want to give Frost a shoutout.
It involves Norse mythology; and Latimer understands the agony of writing about mythology, making it your own and customizing it, and people assuming you’re trying to rip off Marvel (I have actually had some readers argue with me that Stan Lee created Thor and Loki.

So while the fair made me more intrigued about Frost, it didn’t convince me to read it anymore than E. Latimer’s launch, blurb, and spiel. But that’s more because you can’t convince someone who is already convinced. You can pick your copy up here if you like.

Tardis
If Stan Lee did create Norse mythology, then he must have hijacked the Tardis (or perhaps the Doctor wanted to take part) and gone back a thousand plus years to create the myths. Now there’s a story waiting to be written! Which incarnation of the Doctor do you think Stan Lee teamed up with?

The Corner Booth

Nat, the amazing host of The Corner Booth, decided to host an impromptu episode of The Corner Booth, and I had the privilege of participating in it. It’s been incredible to see how The Corner Booth has grown over these past couple months. I started off watching it, but then I had to stop because small groups met at that time, and I had a house full of hungry teenagers. I also ran into problems with watching the videos (nothing on their end; it The Corner Boothwas an outdated driver). So I went from watching the first couple episodes to watching the last ones, and wow, I liked it before, and I love it even more now.

Personally, I was quite nervous doing it. Just as I was on Episode [#]. But that’s part of the reason I do it, and what makes me even more grateful that Nat has allowed me to participate. He has always been so kind and encouraging, and he pours his heart into that program just as he does with his own story (Chlorine Halos: if you haven’t checked it out yet, try it now). It’s one of the most fun online writing programs I’ve ever participated in or listened to.

He gave some previews for what’s coming up on The Corner Booth. There’s going to be poetry coming up next time around, which I can’t wait to see. And as always, Nat sounds like he’s going to be pushing everyone to excel and become stronger. So make sure that you subscribe.

WPC2014 Banner

WPC2014

And then, at two different times, the WPC2014 members and I gathered together to host a booth. It was chaotic and fun, and the responses were great. The best part of it was seeing how well we actually worked together as a team. Generally speaking, I’m not fond of working with teams. But I found with this that there’s such a thing as a good team, and that’s what those who were able to make it accomplished.

One of our most popular attractions turned out to be this little game. So if you haven’t played yet or you just want to let me know what you are, feel free to comment.Quiz

We took advantage of this time to make several announcements. Here’s what you’ll want to know:

Weekly Twitter Chats with WPC2014 starting on October 13 at 8 pm (follow @amberkbryant for more details)

A Quarterly Wattpad Profile Makeover Contest (details announced on Twitter and on our Wattpad profile October 13 at 8 pm)

We offered some great prizes. In fact, you can still sign up for this if you want. It’s open until Wednesday at midnight here! (And make sure you pick up Sarah Benson’s fantastic case study on Wattpad. It’s to the right on that page.)WPC2014 There’s books from our members plus critiques, shoutouts, and swag.

The Celebrity

At the start of the day, I had the privilege of hosting my own little booth for The Celebrity. I have a bad habit of speaking of that story almost disparagingly, but that’s not because I don’t love it. I do. It’s just that it was such a divergence from my usual writing that it really challenged me, and I’m not confident I told a good story. I did the best I could. But it was this story that really convinced me that writing good contemporary romance does take great skill. I won’t get into this too much here because I think it deserves a post of its own.

The Celebrity Story Fair Submission 03Reading the responses and seeing folks add my little romance to their shelves delighted me. It won’t be the best romance they ever read, but if it helps them escape for a time and warms their hearts, I’ll be happy.

It still has some additional edits before it gets officially released. On the plus side, the Story Fair forced me to get promotional materials prepared in advance. (Once Parnimo’s Prize is done and Ragnarok Unravels, Little Scapegoat, The Celebrity, and Of Blood and Teeth and Magic are edited and published, I will be pushing hard on marketing. Up until then, Mermaid Bride will continue to float in the Amazon waters [though if anyone wants to write a review for it, it would be greatly appreciated].)

I’ll be announcing my prize winners tomorrow. Keep your eyes open. You might be one of the lucky winners!

Brief Update on the Competition

Now as some of you may know, I was pouring heart and soul into finishing one of my romance paranormals or romance fantasies in time for Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write 2015. I’ll go into more details on this tomorrow, but short summary: in two weeks, I wrote over 120,000 words, but I only got one book done. Blessed? Battle for the Lunar Realms is now complete. It will need to be edited, revised, and then professionally edited, but I have arrived at the competition.

First Annual Story Fair

One of the things I love most about being a freelance writer, author, and an attorney who shares a firm with her husband is that I get a decent amount of flexibility. Which means that on days like today WPC2014-Giveawaywhen I have legal work that needs to get done, I can still take breaks and participate in fun opportunities like the First Annual Story Fair!

The first annual Wattpad Story Fair is today Sept. 19th at 12:00 – 12:30 and 3:30-4:00 PST. Join me and the amazing Wattpad Class of 2014 to learn about all the exciting things we’re doing for fellow Wattpadders! It’s going to be a blast!

The WPC2014 will be appearing at two time slots – 12-12:30 and 3:30-4:00pm PST. Learn more about our Profile Makeover Contests, Twitter Chats, Story Reviews, and awesome articles on how to succeed as a writer. We also have this amazing giveaway from the WPC2014 going on – Books, ebooks, interviews, chapter dedications and chapter critiques! So please stop on by!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1628644337393871/The Celebrity Story Fair Submission 03

Oh, and before I forget, I’m also being featured as an author! Yay! Today I’m focusing on my first ever sweet romance with no fantasy and no paranormal elements: The Celebrity. I’m also giving away some great prizes plus a special Reader’s Dream Package if you sign up for my newsletter http://forms.aweber.com/form/13/666935913.htm or answer questions on my Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/jmbutler1728
 or at my “booth” at the fair https://www.facebook.com/MALICEAUTHORS/photos/gm.1634720403452931/905388482877091/?type=1 .

I hope to see you there!

 

 

Movie Review: The War Room

Where do I even begin on this movie? I have so much that I want to say and so much to break down that I’m not sure I can do it all in a single blog post. But let’s get started. This is not a true movie. This is a visual sermon that is intended to be broken down into scenes that can be presented in Bible studies and Sunday School rooms to demonstrate points.

Biases

I am a Christian, and I do believe that prayer is powerful and effective. I also grew up in the Bible Belt and am familiar with Christian culture, including Beth Moore and typical Christian movies. This movie has me exceptionally torn because I want to like it and feel expected to like it because I am a Christian and this is a Christian movie. That struggle has sometimes caused me to be quiet in the past because I didn’t want to make others stumble. Right now, I plan to wrestle with it.

War Room Poster
This is the fifth Kendrick’ brothers film.

A Word of Caution
This movie is a movie for Christians by Christians. Some advertisements as well as several people have told me that this movie is called War Room so that it doesn’t scare non Christians from coming. Others have suggested that it is to lure non Christians into filling the seats. But no, please, whatever you do, do not pretend this isn’t Christian. This is not a movie for non Christians. Not at all. (And there’s nothing wrong with a movie being focused on a Christian audience.)

In fact, this would be a bad movie to show non Christians because it does not define a lot of key concepts. It uses shorthand. There’s no explanation of what prayer is nor is there a development of why prayer matters, particularly in light of God having a plan. Other concepts such as submission are thrown in without any development or explanation or nuance. But more on that later.

Basic Premise of the Movie

The basic premise of the War Room is that Elizabeth, a married career woman, learns the power of prayer to change her husband, Tony, and make him a good man. She is mentored by an older Christian woman. It is targeted at a particular audience: the Christian middle to middle upperclass within the Bible belt. The houses, the style, and everything else all corresponds to this target audience.

There really aren’t any surprises in this movie, so I’m not going to worry about avoiding spoilers. I’d rather analyze the movie as a whole and the various components rather than trying to shield these.

Let’s Start Off With the Good

One of the first things I do want to note is that Christian films are improving. The acting quality in this as compared to Courageous and Fireproof is markedly better. Ms. Clara is particularly

Steadfast, pushy, resolute, and uncompromising with that distinct old Christian lady sense of humor.
Steadfast, pushy, resolute, and uncompromising with that distinct old Christian lady sense of humor.

well portrayed. I think most of us who have spent a significant time in church can recognize someone who was quite like her.

Also kudos to the Kendrick brothers for finding a little known competitive sport: double dutch jump roping competitions. It’s pretty intriguing, and you can see some of the information on the national site here.

The movie also has a fairly color blind story. Racism is not an issue at all. In fact, areas where it might have been an issue are ignored. Whether this is good or bad, depends on your perspective, but what I do appreciate is that the story has more diversity.

Let’s Hit the Technicals

I’ll be fairly brief on this as there are other more important things. The technical side of this movie is lacking. Certain transitions, such as those between Tony’s contemplation and dreaming, are exceptionally jarring and abrupt. It almost feels as if a section is missing or they got in a hurry. This isn’t always a problem, but when it crops up, it is disruptive.

The pacing is quite poor, and the story line needs focusing. It isn’t entirely clear whose story it is. And after the adultery theme is resolved, the movie then moves into a theft and embezzlement situation and jump rope competition that feels like another movie. The overall structure and pacing was such that 2/3 into the movie, it seemed like it should be over. But it kept going.

The characters themselves are quite bland. They are nothing more than stereotypes of various tropes. They do not have histories or pasts (Elizabeth and Tony never reminisce about what they used to be like or what they used to do; pictures do not show any scenes that reveal hints about hobbies, passions, or even personality). The sum total of their characters is as follows: Tony is the driven career minded man with a wandering eye who can never have enough, Danielle is the innocent child who adores jump rope and competes, Elizabeth is the career woman, wife, and mother with a bad case of smelly feet, Ms. Clara is the wise black prayer warrior, and Tony’s best friend is the cool religious one line spitting buddy who only shows up when his one liners will move the plot forward.

There's certainly a story emphasis on God rewarding people for praying. Thank goodness no one's prayers were in conflict with another's!
There’s certainly a story emphasis on God rewarding people for praying. Thank goodness no one’s prayers were in conflict with another’s!

The passage of time is difficult to follow. Montages are used at various points to indicate the passage of time, but it’s not clear how long has passed. The movie feels as if it’s taking place within a span of days, but I think it’s supposed to take place within a few weeks, maybe a couple months.

The Message Itself

This movie seems to be about inspiring people to pray more, particularly given the montage at the end with the flag and the Christians gathering. And even as a sermon, I have a problem with this movie. Prayer is shown as being the easy solution. Despite Ms. Clara saying that prayer is challenging and it is hard to learn to fight the right way, we never see Elizabeth struggling to pray (unless you count the montage where she’s trying to create her space). Prayer is answered with a resounding yes, and everything is resolved within a matter of weeks.

Ms. Clara actually doesn’t do much mentoring that’s specific to Elizabeth’s situation except to chastise Elizabeth for whining about what her husband has done (after less than an hour of conversation), point out that Elizabeth is the recipient of grace and should extend that to her husband, and instruct Elizabeth that she should surrender to God and create a special place for prayer. Prayers are written out. The little girl, Danielle, even makes a checklist. Mercifully, we don’t see her check off every single one, but by the end of the movie, all of the things that Elizabeth and Danielle have asked God for have been given and things are better than ever. However, if you do want more technical specifics on how to pray, the Kendricks are more than willing to sell you all kinds of merchandise from the prayer journals you see featured to prayer cards to a prayer battle strategy.

Now, on the one hand, the movie presents a delightful message! We petition God, and He gives us what we request. This movie fails to address the

Why yes! This Answered Prayer document can be yours for just $49.99!
Why yes! This Answered Prayer document can be yours for just $49.99!

nuance and the long suffering required in prayer as well as the fact that some prayers appear to go unanswered. The answer to prayer isn’t always a resounding yes. Sometimes it’s a “no” or a “wait.” Sometimes we are to praise in the midst of trials and suffering. Yes, praising God is part of prayer as is thanksgiving. Not that that receives much attention here. It might get a line or two, and, after God does what the main characters want, there are periods of praise. But praising God and thanking Him when things aren’t going well, not so much.

In fact, prayer is shown as having swift results. In one scene, Elizabeth drops to the floor of her closet and prays against her husband having an affair. It’s juxtaposed with scenes of Tony with Ms. Drake, a sexy assistant with pouty pink lips. Thankfully, just as Elizabeth is finishing the prayer, Tony gets a stomachache and can’t go through with the affair.

If I were to take my cues for what prayer is supposed to look like in this, then I would presume that if I write out a prayer strategy and tell God what I want, then in a short time I will get it. In fact, Tony’s total transformation is so perfect, it’s hard to believe that this got past the drafting board. Prayer is powerful, and there are miracles. But often such growth takes time, and there are setbacks and failures. There’s no real variety to the prayers demonstrated here nor to the answers given.

Prayer closets do have value as does setting aside time for prayer. But it isn't always the easy fix presented here.
Prayer closets do have value as does setting aside time for prayer. But it isn’t always the easy fix presented here.

The perspective on prayer presented here is quite appealing. Nothing is hard. But it’s a far, far, far cry from reality. It does a huge disservice even to the Christian audience because it pretends to be realistic and offer solutions. I truly wish this was how prayer worked! Can you imagine if Elizabeth had just prayed that wars would end, the starving be fed, and even that her sister’s husband gets a job? Everything she asks for, she gets. But her prayers are exceptionally self focused, revolving only around her needs.This is a false picture of prayer because, while it had multiple opportunities to do so, the movie only shows one type of prayer: swift answered prayer. So while this does exist, there is far more to it than that, and that should have been addressed.

Where is the Sacrifice?

One of the bigger issues that I have with this movie as a whole is that faith and prayer are presented as easy. No one has to give up anything really. Everything is easily resolved with minimal problems.

For instance, Tony steals drugs and later returns them to his employer. But he has been found out and fired before he returns the drugs. He doesn’t risk losing his job when he takes the drugs back. And true, he says that he’s doing this just to make things right (and thankfully he doesn’t get this job back). All he is risking is jail time at this point, but even that gets wiped away. And his agitation and fear is really quite downplayed. It’s more the level you would expect if he had to give a presentation to a hostile clients.

Similarly, the CEO ultimately decides that he will not file charges against Tony. But here’s the problem. If this is intended as an example of grace (and they tell us that it is more than once), then it did not go far enough. It’s stated that stealing these drugs is a federal offense, and that means that the company is required to submit this information to the government. Failure to do so keeps them on the hook for liability. (Perhaps the confession he signs keeps him on the hook? I’m not sure.) But if the CEO chooses to absolve that and let Tony off the hook, then the CEO is the one who has to pay the price if something goes wrong. That’s the other component of grace. Grace isn’t just one person not having to pay what is deserved or necessarily be punished. It’s someone else stepping in and taking on that punishment. God didn’t just tell us that it’s all right and we’re forgiven. Jesus stepped in to pay the price. Here it seems to just be absolved through sheer desire and a willingness to accept responsibility.

Prayer takes time out of the day. But Elizabeth has an abundance of this. She doesn’t struggle to balance her responsibilities while meeting Ms. Clara nor does she struggle to find time to pray. Most mothers I know, whether career women or stay at home caregivers, must fight to get time to pray. We see one scene where Elizabeth has apparently fallen asleep in the closet, and it’s played up for all the humor they can wring from it. But we don’t see Elizabeth giving up sleep to pray or giving up time with friends. In fact, all the characters’ lives are really quite empty. Everything serves the plot so schedules don’t compete. Everyone understands as needed. It isn’t even a sacrifice for her to give up her closet to prepare a war room because she has another closets with enough room. We don’t even see her struggling to adjust to this or losing things. Maybe I’m strange, but if I gave up a closet, I would have to do some serious reworking.

More problematically though, Elizabeth talks about how she would rather not have as much money and have a husband who chases Jesus, but we don’t see that reality. The money never

No one in this world except for Elizabeth's sister actually struggles with finances.
No one in this world except for Elizabeth’s sister actually struggles with finances.

actually becomes an impacting issues. It’s only discussed and argued about. Tony does lose his job. But this only worries and stresses him a little (unemployment isn’t a big deal here; there’s no lifestyle cutbacks or losses of any kind). Elizabeth is able to immediately step into the gap and pick up more houses to sell. She doesn’t worry at all because she’s trusting God. Later on Tony gets another job offer at the community center. He’ll only make half of what he made before (but doing math from earlier in the movie, that’s still twice as much as Elizabeth is making). They say that they’ll have to cut back. But we never see this. Nor any steps that must be taken to achieve this.

Does This Movie Promote Submission in the Face of Abuse?

This is a really touchy point in the film where a lot can be misunderstood or misapplied. Ms. Clara never asks Elizabeth whether her husband is abusing her or her daughter. Nor does she suggest that Elizabeth set any boundaries or stand up for herself (this could have been a fantastic way to demonstrate how one can stand up for oneself and still rely on God!). Tony does not physically abuse her. But it could be argued that he psychologically or emotionally abuses her. He tells her in no uncertain terms at the beginning that the money is his and not hers, and he is loud and aggressive. At one point, Elizabeth speaks with her friends about this and says how hard it is to submit to her husband. Beth Moore’s character says something along the line of “sometimes submitting to your husband is ducking out of the way so God can deal with him.” It’s Christian humor, but it could be easily misinterpreted.

Even more troubling is at one point, Elizabeth asks whether she is just supposed to let Tony walk all over her. Ms. Clara says she is supposed to pray and fight this battle through God. So…

Tony is little more than a cartoon. His reason for stealing drugs? Times aren't hard. He just wants the money. But why? It would have been more compelling if there was a need of some kind or a reason. Maybe he stole them because he used the drugs to keep at the top. Or maybe things weren't as financially secure as he has led Elizabeth to believe. Instead he's just a caricature who is as bad as possible without doing anything too hard to forgive.
Tony is little more than a cartoon. His reason for stealing drugs? Times aren’t hard. He just wants the money. But why? It would have been more compelling if there was a need of some kind or a reason. Maybe he stole them because he used the drugs to keep at the top. Or maybe things weren’t as financially secure as he has led Elizabeth to believe. Instead he’s just a caricature who is as bad as possible without doing anything too hard to forgive.

in essence, yes…Elizabeth is to stop fighting Tony. She does not set up boundaries or communicate her feelings with Tony until he asks her what she wants (and then she rambles about hot fudge sundaes and foot rubs). She becomes consistently calm and soft spoken, never raising her voice or asserting any of her own desires.

I don’t think it was the Kendricks’ intention to say that prayer is the only thing one should do or that one should remain in an abusive relationship. (At least I hope not.) However, I completely understand why some people would take it this way. There is no nuance in the discussion. Ms. Clara doesn’t even listen to Elizabeth’s struggles for an hour before she’s telling her to pray. And when she has Elizabeth write down everything that Tony has done to wrong her, Ms. Clara then points out that Elizabeth needs grace too and has done wrong things. Therefore, what Tony has done doesn’t matter. She just needs to let it go.

Okay, okay, okay. I have to cut myself short here. On a very basic level, this is somewhat true. No one is perfect. Everyone has messed up at one time or another. Sin is sin. But this does not mean that everyone is mutually guilty in all situations. That’s a lazy method of thinking. If someone comes to you and says, “I’m struggling with so much pain and heartache because of what this person said to me,” it’s easy to say “hey, you can’t change what that person did. So you need to forgive that person and then move on.” But sometimes it takes a lot more. For instance, those words can sometimes settle in and create false perceptions. Forgiveness is not a reason to bury something and fail to deal with it. It sometimes takes time and must be acknowledged. This movie seems to presume that forgiveness is easy. It just takes a choice. Forgiveness does start with a choice. But to pretend that it’s as simple as just waving the magic words of prayer over one’s wounded heart does a tremendous disservice. The damage done through someone else’s cruelty and even neglect takes time to heal. But I can’t get into that as much as I would like to. Perhaps later.

This movie is supposed to be realistic. Supposedly. Yet Ms. Clara takes no time to investigate.

Abuse is a tremendous issue that the church, at least according to public perception, has not done so well in addressing. This should have been recognized and addressed to keep the story on point.
Abuse is a tremendous issue that the church, at least according to public perception, has not done so well in addressing. This should have been recognized and addressed to keep the story on point.

She simply assumes and gives her prescription. It could have actually been a great point for character development. But Ms. Clara’s failure to inquire as to whether Elizabeth is being harmed or whether she and Danielle are in danger is also what contributes to the perception that this film promotes submission in the face of abuse. As a side note, if you are talking to someone or mentoring someone, please take the time to investigate. Be responsible. Don’t assume you have the magic bullet just because you know how to pray.

Would It Make a Difference If This Was Presented as a Sermon?

Yes and no. On the one hand, presenting this as a sermon would be much better because it would better encapsulate what this movie is attempting to do. Just as we do not expect fairy tales to go as in depth in development and allow them to portray shallower characters, we allow the same in sermons and parables.

However, I think that certain areas still should have been addressed. Most importantly, 1) why

This movie is a form of Christian wish fulfillment where everything is easily resolved and all problems set aside. The dismissive yelling father who finds jumproping juvenile transforms into the enthusiastic loving father who not only supports his daughter but also competes with her in the freestyle. That journey would have been far more satisfying if there had been 1) more focus and 2) more character development. Otherwise, it feels like just having a cup of whipped cream.
This movie is a form of Christian wish fulfillment where everything is easily resolved and all problems set aside. The dismissive yelling father who finds jump roping juvenile transforms into the enthusiastic loving father who not only supports his daughter but also competes with her in the freestyle. That journey would have been far more satisfying if there had been 1) more focus and 2) more character development. Otherwise, it feels like just having a cup of whipped cream.

does prayer matter if God is in control [this is a huge question even for some dedicated Christians] 2) how do you make time for prayer in a busy schedule 3) what does prayer cost? And so on. The abuse/submission situation should also have been discussed. The movie needed more focus, but converting this into a true sermon, even a visual sermon, would have solved much of this.

The perspective on prayer here is inspiring insomuch as it promises to get us what we want. Or at least that’s how it appears. This could have been resolved by having some prayers go unanswered or things actually get harder and difficult for Elizabeth after she starts seriously praying.

Overall

I still have a lot more that I’d like to say, specifically on whether it’s all right for Christians to critique Christian films, whether the point or intentions make up for bad writing and storytelling, and whether people hate Christian movies just because they’re Christian movies. There were also a lot more missed opportunities in this movie, but I don’t have time to get into those.

However, I’m going to wrap this up right now with this: War Room is a Christian film for Christians that does not dig into the nuance of prayer or do much more than tell Christians what they want to hear. Prayer is at once simpler and more complicated than it is presented here, and while it is essential, it doesn’t always get us everything we want. For Christians who would like a night out and an inoffensive film, this probably fits the bill just fine.

 

 

The Many Problems of For Such a Time

A friend gave me a copy of For Such a Time, and she wanted to know my thoughts. It’s a difficult subject to wrap my head around. And doing a straight and simple review seemed to devolve too often into something more akin to a rant. So I decided to do something more positive and talk about the things authors can learn from this book while reviewing this.

A General Assessment of For Such a Time
First, in terms of my general assessment, no, this is not a good book. It is not a book I intend to read again, and it is not a book I recommend. The writing style is sufficient and typical for the Christian inspirational genre. It’s well crafted for a book of that genre. It also shows a desire to engage with a difficult subject matter, and, in fairness, it had potential. But having potential is not the same as realizing it.

If you really want to know about what life during the Holocaust is like, I recommend Night. And if you haven’t read The Hiding Place, I highly recommend it. Neither of these books are romanticized. They are brutal and often leave the reader feeling uncomfortable as they should. We have other genres for fun and whimsy as well as dark romances. In fact, using some of these other genres to explore concepts like redemption, bullying, and so forth can be advantageous because it removes the baggage that must necessarily come with historical fiction.

Disclaimers
I found this book very difficult to read. I made notes, but it is one of those books I find difficult not to block out. So I have done my best to make note of the key points. I hope that I have not just blocked out evidence that contradicts these points.

I cannot cover all of the issues in this book or analyze everything. There are probably some things I have missed that might seem quite relevant. I apologize in advance. I should also add that this is not generally my cup of tea. I don’t read a lot of WWII historical fiction, nor am I an expert on the subject though I have read a fair number of nonfiction books.

This book also represents my greatest fear in writing historical fiction: carelessly disregarding what actually happened to shoehorn in my own perspective and modern notions to tell an entertaining story while spitting on history.

Think About the Larger Context
One of the points in contention is whether a true conversion takes place for Hadassah. Some insist that she converted to Christianity. Some insist she did not. I assumed she did. There are a number of segments that suggest this despite there not being the explicit sinner’s prayer and repentance speech that used to be prominently featured in books like this. However, it also seems disingenuous to suggest that she did not. From the fond thoughts of a friend who consistently tried to convert her to her favorable comparisons and thoughts about Jesus, Hadassah does not display a mindset or worldview that remains consistent with a young Jewish woman. It’s far more in line with a modern evangelical woman. The miracles and favor likewise shift after her perceived acceptance of Christianity. I don’t want to go too far into this because, whether big or little, the greater problem is that this ignores one of the deepest problems: Hadassah ultimately winds up stripped of her Jewish identity, and it doesn’t seem all that important because she is with the ever so handsome commandant. The Nazis stripped the Jews of their humanity as well as their culture, thus making holding onto that culture and humanity even more important for those who survived.

While it’s true that the heroine struggles with her feelings, the struggle doesn’t line up with what a young woman in her position seems most likely to have struggled with. It’s much more angsty. It also glazes over so many issues. For instance, her being forced to eat pork is handled within the span of a couple paragraphs and has relatively little impact on the story. But this is a tremendous issue. She also turns regularly to the Bible, always opening it to just the right point. And she doesn’t just read the Old Testament, though that is where she begins. She also reads the New Testament, which is part of Christianity, not Judaism. It’s also an odd contradiction because Aric constantly insists he does not want to force her to do anything (i.e. he won’t rape her), but he forces her to do many things including serving as his secretary, typing up death lists, and eating pork.

In telling stories based off true events, it’s important to remember what is being said and to avoid, if possible, spitting on those who suffered. The cover, for instance, depicts actual women and children waiting on the platform for the train to Auschwitz. It wasn’t a reenactment. When you pick up that book, you are looking at real people who likely met their ends after horrific tortures and demeaning treatment that we can scarcely comprehend. It seems to be in incredible bad taste to profit off their images.

Don’t Forget Suspension of Disbelief
This story only works if you attempt to romanticize it to an extreme level. Yet the author never wanted to do that. She constantly reminds the reader of the foul stenches and the horrors of those in the camps. Hadassah is initially emaciated, tattooed with a number (which I believe was reserved only for those on their way to Auschwitz which she was not, but oh well, let’s up the horror), and shaved. Yet somehow Aric sees her and is stricken by her beauty. He fights through the firing squad at Dachau to sweep her up in his arms and carry her off, promising to nourish “his dove” and make her beautiful again. I would have believed that he felt great sympathy and pity for her (though why her and no one else is poorly explained at best), but not desire. Otherwise, what does that say about him? That is in the first couple chapters, and it illustrates one of the biggest issues. The story is almost impossible to believe despite it taking itself very seriously and believing that it is shedding light on a dark and tragic time.

Another similar issue that I will touch on more is that we are led to believe that Aric himself, despite being a member of the SS and the commandant of Theresienstadt, has not done anything terrible himself. Unless you count his looking the other way or following orders. In fact, he despises and resents the Gestapo and other members of the Nazi party. His rise to power within Hitler’s regime feels contrived and strange. He is an outsider, and, even at parties where other high ranking members of the SS attend, he makes comments to indicate his displeasure. The actual commandants of Theresienstadt were brutal men. While Theresienstadt was not a death camp like Auschwitz, many did die there. And while it was “better” than Auschwitz, “better” is still relative. Tremendous horrors occurred in this place such as a forced census count in which the prisoners were required to stand in freezing water for hours. Many died from that alone.

Despite the heavy use of sensory imagery, I had a very hard immersing myself in the world or believing that it was in any way a serious historical novel. It just didn’t add up. There were too many points where it was hard to suspend belief.

A Story About Redemption Is Significantly Less Potent if the Primary Argument is That The Protagonist is Misunderstood
Schindler’s List is a difficult film to watch, but one of the things that made it work was the protagonist’s gradual realization that he was viewing these people as sub human when they weren’t. The film took full ownership of the horrors that he committed. He did some pretty terrible things, and his original motives are tremendously selfish. Yet his transformation as the film continues shows a quasi redemption story. Even so it remains uncomfortable. The tone is dark. The horrors are realized. And the point is made.

One of my biggest issues in For Such a Time is that Aric is portrayed as misunderstood rather than evil. In fact, on multiple occasions, Hadassah muses that he must suffer much as she does and is similarly trapped. This might have worked to show Stockholm Syndrome or the other psychological issues that might have been at work. The human heart longs for love. But the story ignores the fact that Aric, to be in this position and to have this role and to have the power he does, would have had to do something, most likely evil somethings.

On a secondary note, the misunderstood man with the broad shoulders does not fit into the Esther parallels. This, like the “true love” that develops between them, is designed to make the story “more palatable.” Esther’s lot was a dangerous one. She likely still had encounters with Vashti, and, according to historians, as best we can tell, Vashti is believed to have potentially regained her position, meaning either Esther was cast aside or perhaps died. There doesn’t seem to be clear consensus on that. But for the modern reader, the powerful man who falls in love with the strong spirited woman who is desperate to save her people is far more enjoyable than the story of the powerful man who uses a strong spirited woman who is desperate to save her people. True love and affection provides a buffer. It allows for some protection. Plus it appeals to the romantic sensibilities that some hold dear and it makes it easier for the reader to envision herself in that place without it being “too horrible.” Xerxes himself committed his fair share of atrocities and was not known as a good or kind or even misunderstood man.

The other issue here is that ultimately it doesn’t seem to even be about redemption though that is a main point I’ve heard thrown about. None of the main characters really need it. Despite bending over backwards to show Aric as misunderstood, the author goes to great lengths to show that Nazis in general are the scum of the earth. They are porcine and disgusting. Their breath is always foul (by the way, halitosis is not an indicator of evil), and they are excessively rude. The vast majority seem to have an addiction to rape and so on. Only Aric stands alone. Thank goodness he’s handsome! Even if he does have a slight limp and a slightly crooked nose. He is a beacon of humanity and goodness among his Nazi brethren. Really…what does he need redemption from?

What troubles me in this is that nuance should be a core element within a redemption story. People can have many sides, and rampant contradictions may appear. This story would have been far more horrifying if it had actually dealt with the realities. The Nazis were people too. They weren’t soulless monsters, and that is part of the horror. That men and women who were capable of loving one another, demonstrating compassion for friends, participating in the arts, playing with their own children, and so on could possibly allow atrocities like the Holocaust happen. No, not just allow. Participate in. Even encourage. (And this was not unique to the Nazis. At other times in history, other groups of people have determined that another is inferior or subhuman and treated them with contempt, cruelty, and dismissal. In this case, the Holocaust brought about an undeniable and horrific example of what this looks like when allowed to continue to its conclusion.) Dehumanization works both ways. The Nazis dehumanized the Jews so they could more easily dispose of them. Many people dehumanize the Nazis so they can more easily pretend they would never commit the same atrocities.

So this story might have worked if Aric had been a true SS officer. Perhaps he eventually struggled with what he was doing as he started to wonder if they are human. Perhaps he realized that he was oppressing even this young woman whom he believed he has saved. His own discovery of the way that he oppressed even her would have been a great way to show what might have happened.

And bear in mind, powerful men who have done terrible things have at times fallen in love with good women who have loved their man and fought for their people/group. But that is not every story. And in cases when this was not so, it dilutes the potency of those cases where it is true and ignores the sacrifices and struggles those brave women had to make. Sanitizing history does not make people more heroic. It makes heroism more mundane because it strips them of their humanity and makes them seem more common. In the situation of Esther and an Esther parallel story, it actually strips away one of the biggest things that Esther lost: a husband who loved and cherished her. She was alone in a palace with a man who could at any time cast her aside and whom she might not see for weeks at a time. Imagine the loneliness. The strength of character it took for her to continue to faithfully look out for and defend her people in the ways she could. All the while dealing with the pettiness and cattiness that likely went on with Xerxes’ other wives. Esther was a prisoner. Not of love but of politics and lust. She was used for her body. She had lost much, and she risked everything else by appealing to Xerxes. This was not a love story.

Remember Your Audience
One of the challenges in writing historical fiction is that the author is telling of a time when sensibilities and perspectives are not the same. So one has to bear in mind both the story being told and the people listening to the story. A number of reviewers and readers have commented on how offensive the term “Jewess” is, and it is often used to describe Hadassah. Right along with her blonde hair and blue eyes.

The term might have been acceptable at one point, but the term now has significant baggage. Similar to many others. As it wasn’t necessary to the story, it could have easily been removed. What is lost by saying that she is Jewish? Little choices like this show an odd carelessness.

Consider the Actual Point Being Made
When writing from a character’s perspective, it goes without saying that the character may not agree with the author. In fact, there should be lots of disagreement. But when a character’s perspective is given and no one contradicts that perspective, it might seem that that is actually the perspective of the author and the point of the book.

In this case, Hadassah frequently muses about the suffering Aric goes through, in between thinking of him as the Jew Killer. But she over empathizes and eventually slides into putting her own feelings and struggles aside to deal with his.

Someone needed to grab this young woman by the shoulders and say, “No! You and he are not the same! He has not suffered as you have. He is discrediting your experience while validating his own! Don’t push your own feelings to the side. You matter too!” But this doesn’t happen. The disabled help who assist around the house love Aric as do the Jewish prisoners. They all side with him when push comes to shove. All of this suggests that Aric did indeed suffer as much as the concentration camp prisoners, living with a tortured conscience as he struggles to do what’s right.
This is beyond ridiculous. It’s dangerous to get into games of “I have suffered more than you,” but that doesn’t mean that some people don’t suffer more. More importantly, it’s horrific how all of Hadassah’s loss is set aside because of the commandant’s discomfort. I’m not entirely certain what the point being made was except that he had needs…The more uncomfortable point is that all of the suffering of the Jewish prisoners and other members of the concentration camp is somehow less important than the mental anguish of the one who oversaw it.

Remember That Context Can Change Situations
Another point of contention within the book has been that Aric rapes Hadassah while others insist that he does not. Again, this is a tense issue because, technically, Aric does not rape Hadassah in a strict physical sense. However, when other reviewers have used the term “rape,” they are referring to it contextually. Aric kisses her. He fondles her. He caresses her. He makes his sexual desire exceptionally clear. He micro manages her. In the beginning, he also tells her that if he does not have her loyalty, he can throw her back into the cesspool from which she came. She cannot leave him. She cannot leave the camp. She is forced to participate in other activities that she finds reprehensible. She ultimately marries and joins with Aric after he begins to change. So clearly, no rape here? Right.

Not exactly. Not to be too technical or legal, but there are different kinds of rape. And under some legal definitions, an individual can be stripped of her ability to consent or be in circumstances that make her consent meaningless. This could easily morph into a much larger discussion.

But the people who are saying that this story involves rape aren’t wrong. The power disconnect and Hadassah’s helplessness before Aric is not addressed sufficiently. And because of the cultural baggage and awareness of history, it becomes even more problematic.

Now I realize that this can be taken too far. That’s partially why the couple’s relationship, treatment, and other factors all go in to determining what happened. And even so, this story is iffy. This could have been handled better by actually addressing the issue. Instead, the story acts as if this is little more than a businessman interested in his secretary who can leave at any point and find another job and who has the necessary strength and capacity to do so.

As writers we have to remain aware of the situations in which we place our characters. Sometimes, such as in comedy, it may not receive as much attention because the focus is on the joke and people behave more absurdly. But in a serious novel such as this one, the awareness of the situation and what it may be saying to the modern reader is essential. It doesn’t mean conflict should be avoided. But it does mean the author should know what she’s getting into and address the relevant points.

Don’t Use Disabled or Ethnic People as Props
This book is far from the only story where I’ve witnessed this. In fact, it’s really quite common. The basic scenario is this: there is a group of individuals or several separate people whom society looks down upon. These people might be fat. They might be disabled. They might be clumsy. They might be from the wrong side of town. They might have the wrong social status or the wrong pasts. They might have the wrong color skin. They might not think like everyone else. But the protagonist always stands up for or comforts these people. Often these characters feel affection for the protagonist and rally to his aid when his hour of need arises because, you know, their lives revolve around the protagonist.

The problem arises when these people are just props. Jewish children are frequently props in this book. At Dachau, Aric is drawn to Hadassah when he sees her clinging to a five year old who is shot. Instead of saving the other children who are in line, he saves her because of her compassion for that now dead child (and please, don’t tell me she was the only one. That is insulting to all the parents and adults who desperately tried to save the little ones, and most of them were butchered for their troubles). These characters are not individuals in their own right. They are props to demonstrate the protagonists’ character traits such as Hadassah’s compassion and Aric’s so called tolerance. There was never really a sense that these characters were their own entities who had stories that just intersected with Aric and Hadassah.

Maybe You Need a Disclaimer
Historical fiction provides a number of challenges, particularly when dealing with more recent events or events charged with emotions and tragedy. The Holocaust is one of those times. It’s a particularly horrific page in world history that is shocking to contemplate, and authors should be cautious when dealing with raw and potentially offensive subject matter.

Let me make one thing clear to start with. This is not about not offending people. Good literature will often perturb some people. Good literature will make people talk. But this is not that. Nor is this about censorship. People should be allowed to write what they want, but other people are allowed to react and disagree or be offended. Also just because people are upset about something doesn’t make the work good or commendable in any way.
This is a book that in my opinion should not have been written as a true historical fiction. The book generally has a dark and serious tone. It often feels like two stories are jammed together (the romance and the historical), but it’s clear that it wants to be taken seriously. The author even provides footnotes of research though it seems that the research was far from sufficient given a number of errors.

This book would have been easier to take if it had been set up as an alternative history. Not a lot. But a little bit. See, one of the horrors of the Holocaust, in my opinion, is the fact that, until the end, there were no rescues. The fight on top of the train, the daring escape, and so forth in this book all are elements of fiction, and oddly make the book feel like it wants to be an action thriller at the end. A strange choice given the rest of the story. But it seems to me that historical fiction, while being free to change many things, should not change core elements. For instance, if you write a story about the Titanic, you may change a number of things such as inserting characters who were not there or creating subplots that did not occur. What you should not do is change the core events such as the sinking of the Titanic or the shutting off of the poorer passengers down below or other similar events. As horrifying as both those are, they speak to what made this event so memorable and tragic.
So if you’re going to write a historical novel where key events change or go against history, you need to make it clear that this is an alternative version. Many people regard historical fiction as being more accurate about history than other fiction. Obviously, if the Doctor shows up or Bill and Ted arrive or dinosaurs break in, the reader knows that a lot of it has been made up with historical facts being used to supplement the story. In a story like this, it all sounds and looks historical. It even seems plausible if you don’t think about it too much or know that much about history. So at the very least, the truth of the matter should have been more clearly made. I maintain that the length of time those concentration camps lasted is one of the many abominations that came from WWII.

Not Everyone Who Hates a Book is a Hater
Everybody knows that haters are gonna hate. People love saying that. But some people hate for a reason. There are many legitimate reasons to despise this book. And it’s not as easy as saying “oh, people don’t like characters converting to Christianity” or “readers just don’t like Christian stories.”
That may in part be true. But this book was nominated for a RITA, so it’s hard to claim that it is just being summarily rejected. However, the difficult part here is that certain individuals refuse to see this from any perspective but their own. And to the Christian inspirational readers who are insisting that there’s nothing wrong with this and it’s just prejudice against Christians, please, please, please stop! I say this as a fellow Christian who believes that conversions can happen from anyone and anywhere.

The mere act of a conversion is not the problem in this book. It is the conversion with the presentation and the other historical elements that all combine to create the problems and make it unpalatable and unreadable for many readers. It also ignores what so many Jews did suffer. Many did convert to Christianity to escape the Holocaust, and they were caught too. Also many were blond haired and blue eyed. That was not a guaranteed protection. It’s important to remember that just because something seems normal in one’s own life and like a positive thing (aka conversion to Christianity) doesn’t mean that it will come without baggage to others. And when other people were butchered for their beliefs and their cultural identity, that makes the conversion that much trickier.
If you read the book through a particular lens, it seems harmless and possibly sweet. But that lens requires ignoring a number of atrocities and pretending that the others who disagree are just haters. These sorts of stories can happen. Of course they can. But just because something can happen doesn’t justify it happening within a story. The characters and the plot and the events must work together in such a way that makes it believable.
Additionally, there’s room for various interpretations. One reader made the point that she had thought Hadassah was sympathetic to Christianity at the start of the book and so read the book as a continuation of her self discovery. I hadn’t thought of that. It didn’t strike me as that way, but I can see how that might have been the intent.
The world is a much bigger place now. And as authors, we have to bear in mind how things might be taken. We can’t always protect against every negative interpretation. Sometimes the purpose of the story and its overall message means that some people will be alienated or offended, and nothing can be done. But this book does not accomplish that. It does not tell of the power of Christ’s redemption in converting the most hardened SS officer into someone who cares about the poor and downtrodden. It does not really tell anything of value that could not have been told in another forum and with better taste with less offense and less baggage.

Stop Hammering in Your Point
This isn’t exclusive to Christian inspirational stories though they are the most frequent offenders, in my opinion. But the author starts every single chapter with a verse from Esther that corresponds to that section of the story. It became exceptionally hamfisted and frustrating, and, even if the story was such to keep me engaged all the way through, the verses out of context pulled me out of the story and said “hey, look at this, look at this! It’s an allegory! This means it’s especially important and look at how clever this is.”

Apologize if You Get It Wrong
People sometimes complain that our culture has become too apologetic. People say something, it’s taken out of context, and an apology follows. While I can certainly think of a few occasions when it seemed like overkill and exceptionally vindictive for people to demand blood, this doesn’t seem to be the case.

Historical fiction sometimes sits easier when it is clear that it is diverging from history, but writers must be cautious about doing so in a manner that doesn’t spit in the face of those who endured it.

When I went to Ms. Breslin’s website, all I found was her discussion of the awards this book has been nominated for. Nothing about the uproar or the disapproval or the frustration readers have felt. I recognize that this can be quite upsetting, but many of these people have raised legitimate concerns. A simple letter addressing her intentions and what she meant to do could go a long way in resolving some of these matters such as the use of “Jewess” and how seriously this book is meant to be taken. Perhaps something will come eventually.

Story Review: Beggar Magic

I keep intending to get Talk Story to Me up and running again. I’ve been reading so many great books, and there is so much to talk about! But thanks to the mighty Thor (my cat, not the Norse god of thunder), the tripod was destroyed. It was really quite impressive.

Beggar MagicAh, but I still have a camera, you might say. True. Or rather I did. However, Loki (another cat, not the Norse god of trickery) has confiscated it. I heard a strange clumping sound and looked up just in time to see Loki disappearing down the staircase with the camera in mouth. I started to pursue, but Maelona and Sophie (neither of whom are Norse or Celtic goddesses but simply cats) both tripped me at intervals. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs (intact, blessedly), Loki and the camera had vanished. I have a checklist of all the possible places it might be. However, I have yet to find it….in time though.

I haven’t been idle though. I’ve been working on ways to improve my review system to make them more helpful. I don’t think that an actual number based system actually does much. Rather it’s the analysis on key points that can help readers determine whether a book is for them. So I have created some categories. Feel free to recommend any more if you like.

General Summary

But that doesn’t mean I should refrain from reviewing the splendid books I have found. The first one I’m pleased to review is Beggar Magic by Heidi Lynn Burke or H.L. Burke as her name is displayed on the book. I am not friends with the author though I am in a writing group with her. I bought this book on my own because it looked intriguing.

And appearances were proved correct. The cover of Beggar Magic suggests a story of two key individuals, music, mystery, and fantasy elements. It delivered on all that with a fairly creative premise. In Geila City, the primary location for this story, magic isn’t just figuratively musical, it is literally musical. It exists throughout the world and allows for a variety of uses, being known simply as the Strains. A quasi caste system exists with the nobility being capable of using the Strains in more powerful and creative ways and the Common folk having to make do.

The story follows the adventures of Leilani, a Common, and a Highmost girl named Zebedy. The two come from different worlds, and, in a subtle “grass is greener on the other side,” both envy the other. While Zebedy shows great potential with her use of the Strains as well as imagination, Leilani is strong and independent. Their friendship isn’t supposed to last, but it grows as time passes. At last, Zebedy goes on to further her strength and education, and she invites Leilani to come and essentially be her assistant, which is a great honor. From there, mysteries develop, both as the two young women learn how to function within this system and as blank spots where the Strains do not exist crop up.

World Building

I’ll talk about this more in plot, but this book has a very gentle and slow pace. The world building reflects that. It focuses in on the more minute areas of this world, and it also shows on a more intimate level how much the Strains influence the world. Even those who cannot use the highborn magic still rely on the Strains. In fact, not being able to hear or sense the Strains is horrifying for those who are used to them. Only a few types of individuals are unable to hear them, and many are looked on with suspicion. For instance, anyone who kills is forever cut off from the Strains.

The rest of the world itself is fairly typical low fantasy stock. It has a calm pastoral feel with a combination of more formal school manors and a higher education system as well as a mystery. It has enough of a familiar feel to let the reader feel comfortable in exploring the new concepts without being overwhelmed. As such, the book is great for those who want something with fantasy but don’t have to learn an entirely new language or culture that goes with it. But the uniqueness of the Strains and their interaction in the world should also satisfy those who want something new and intriguing in the fantasy realm. All in all, a well struck balance that is hard to achieve.

Characters

The characters are just who you would expect in this sort of story with a few twists. Leilani is outspoken and independent, the strong willed commoner who has to learn how to keep her tongue in check. Not much scares her. Zebedy is, as is often the case, the more privileged and shielded noble who doesn’t really understand all that the world is about. And then there is the inevitable villain and possible love interest. When these characters enter the scene, you may recognize them at once, but I won’t reveal their names just in case.

One character who struck me as particularly interesting was Brick. I haven’t run into many stories that tell the story of a character with disabilities in a way that lets the character be himself. It takes a certain skill. Even though Brick reaches his initial conclusions quite swiftly when he is otherwise more deliberate, he is one of my favorites. He complements the other characters well, and he has some of the best secrets.

Plot

Oh, the glorious plot. As I mentioned above, the pacing is actually rather slow, but don’t mistake slow for boring. The beginning reminded me of some of my favorite stories as a child, the gentle introduction to a new world that lets you experience it. I don’t think I’m giving away too much to reveal that this is how Leilani and Zebedy meet. They are both quite young, one is lost, and the other finds her and helps her to her home in what results in a quiet tour of the countryside. After that, things pick up.

There really weren’t a lot of surprises for me in the book, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I attribute a lot of this to the narrative. It’s an exciting book that doesn’t leave you desperate to know where the plot goes. But whenever I set it down, I wanted to come back and find out the next twist.

The twists themselves are handled quite well. One minor point for criticism is that, in the end, a couple things may seem too convenient. The discovery of one relationship and the fulfillment of one of the character’s dreams as well as a healing could be seen as too saccharine.

And at first, I thought this fell into the all too common trap of “yay, everything is well and good! There’s nothing bad in the world.” And while the one discovery is rather convenient, these developments aren’t undeserved. The worldbuilding and the clues themselves are sufficient to point to this being a conclusion. I wonder if I would have liked these two twists more if the story had been darker at points, but, in fairness to the author, these moments are earned and well told.

Voice

This was  H.L. Burke’s first book for me. And, as I am also preparing to review Land of Ash, I can say that I quite love this author’s voice. It’s very gentle. Almost poetic without becoming purple prose. There’s a great deal of creativity, and you can see the love and care that went into crafting this story and world. This book really is its own creature, and it’s well worth the trip.

Would I Read Again? Would I Recommend?

Yes, I would certainly read this book again. Actually I already had to take another read. It’s a sweet and pleasant story. Easy to get into and easy to relax while reading. The world building was intriguing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Currently it is available for free on Amazon from August 2 – August 3. But if you can purchase a copy for full price, I’d encourage you to do so. H.L. Burke is precisely the kind of writer I want to encourage to keep writing with my sales. Check it out here.

Written Review: Summoner: Novice

SummonerAs much as I love Amazon, I have been having problems with them for quite awhile. My reviews keep vanishing, particularly for indie books (but not just indie books). And when I have tried to get them reinstated, they insist that I know the author and thus that invalidates my review. I have been trying to get this fixed for awhile, but I’ve decided that my reviews will now focus primarily on my blog. That doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying. I know that Amazon reviews, in particular, are gold for the authors.

So to all my author friends, my apologies for the delay. I have posted Amazon reviews for many of you, but of the 80 reviews I wrote for this year alone, the vast majority have vanished. (I suspect it may be because, starting in January, I started putting disclaimers of potential biases relevant to the book

So I’ll start trotting these reviews back out now, thank you very much. And we are going to start with a written review of Taran Matharu’s Summoner Novice. Now I already reviewed this one on Talk Story to Me, but I promised a written one. Let’s prepare to dig a little deeper.

Short Summary of Review

A well crafted fast fantasy epic that is easy to read and perfect for young middle grade and older. High rereadable and great for reading aloud.

Disclosure of Potential Biases

I met Taran Matharu through Wattpad before his novel was accepted for publication, and I consider him one of my writing friends. However, as my friends will tell you, that doesn’t mean I love everything they do. Also he sent me an ARC for a fair and unbiased review.

Additional biases: I love fantasy.

Added perspective: the other copy I bought has vanished from my home. My teens and tutees keep borrowing it, and so far they all love it.

World Building

Fantasy is becoming an increasingly difficult genre to write in, at least if you go by what the critics have to say. One of the most common complaints I hear is “oh, heavens, look, another book with witches, werewolves, vampires, sorcerers, elves, dwarves,” or whatever else. Allow me to get something off my chest right here and now: that is not going to change. Whining about it and pretending that authors who do use these elements are somehow lazy is misguided. You don’t have to like it, but that doesn’t mean that the author failed or that there’s something wrong with using classic fantasy races.

What matters is how the story is told and whether the reader wants to keep going. So Taran isn’t going to get any markdowns from me because this book features orcs, elves, dwarves, and so on. In fact some of the twists and developments work because the reader is familiar with the common stereotypes and tropes associated with these races. It’s an easy starting point. Young readers, in particular, or those readers who don’t have a lot of time to invest in a lot of new knowledge, have a cheat sheet if you will.

Let’s take the dwarves for example. Many of the core elements of the dwarves remain in place. They are short, stout, and fiery tempered. They work with metal, and they are secretive. But the dwarves in Summoner: Novice are quite distinct from dwarves in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings. Taran Matharu has his own reasons for why dwarf women are rarely seen, and the dwarves themselves have a complex culture and even a heavily spiritual focus. The customs and interplay of culture take something quite familiar and gradually alters the reader’s perception of it. The dwarves are my favorite culture represented so far, though the series is not yet finished. In future books, I hope to see the elves, orcs, and other races developed more.

Good Guys

Not only is Othello one of my favorite Shakespearen plays, but he is also my favorite character in Summoner: Novice. Othello is brave but calm and steadfast. He also demonstrates the importance of growth and handling conflict in an appropriate manner.

Minor Spoiler: throughout the book, we see Othello has conflict with his brother, Attila. He loves his brother. Because they are identical twins, he gets the same tattoos and markings as Attila to ensure that they cannot be told apart. Dwarves are frequently targeted, and racism worse than pre Civil Rights movement in the United States for people like the dwarves. Attila makes a number of bad choices, and he relies, to a certain extent, on Othello covering for him. Eventually that comes to a head, and Othello has to decide whether to keep covering for his brother.

Fletcher, the main character, is a fairly typical fantasy protagonist. But, as with the dwarves, I found the familiarity was used to keep the reader comfortable while drawing in more and more details. Fletcher grows as an individual, but more importantly, Taran Matharu subtly explores the concept of the “other” in this far better than in most. Fletcher does not fit into his community. He is an easy target because he is clearly different. And, while he makes friends when he leaves, he never fully escapes that.

In an interview, Taran Matharu discusses how his own experiences with racism and bullying shaped this novel. I see this coming through most clearly with Fletcher and Othello. In fact, their friendship, which develops swiftly, seems to be based on this shared understanding, though it is not explicitly discussed. Fletcher doesn’t try to equate what he has experienced with what Othello has endured, and several scenes would, in my opinion, be quite good for initiating discussions with younger students about racism, its impacts, and cultural structures.

Minor Spoiler: One of the things I appreciated is that while Fletcher is more powerful than the average commoner who has summoning abilities, he is not the most powerful student. He still has room for growth, and he struggles at various points. In fact, he strikes me as being a largely B level student.

Bad Guys

So, villains are so often crucial for me. The villains in this case are pretty stock. Various baddies show up, and they are generic. You identify them. It’s not surprising who they are. And Taran Matharu doesn’t put in any twists here, though, in all fairness, fully developing the villains and making them more sympathetic would have probably unbalanced the story. Plus these villains are the kind of villains you love to hate. Rook, in particular, is absolutely despicable. I swear the man probably eats kittens for breakfast with the dried tears of orphans as his breakfast aperitif.

That didn’t detract from the story for me. I didn’t find myself wanting to know more about Tarquin or Isadora or Rook or any of the others. Sure, they were what you’ve seen before, but sometimes it’s nice to not have to deal with constant shades of grey. Sometimes it’s just nice to know that you can confidently dislike people. There really are terrible people out there. Not every horrible person is a thick wall with a broken heart quivering in a crystal bowl. Plus there are some other characters who are gruff or who are initially misunderstood, and they are more explored. The bad guys are not presented as bad guys just because they were a certain type of person. They earned their baddie badges.

So while the bad guys didn’t stand out for me, they didn’t take away from the story either. I think it was a tradeoff, and a valid one.

Magic

Magic may not be necessary in a fantasy epic, but Taran Matharu brings his own fun twist to the powers in this world. Not everyone has the gift, but those that do can summon demons from the ether. It’s a complex system with rules similar but distinct from Pokemon and Magic. And Taran has added some fun twists that reminded me of modern video games. There’s a lot of familiar and unique faces. Hydras and wendigos show up at points, but there are also unique ones known as shrikes and fire salamanders like Ignatius (who steals the show; I swear Ignatius has a cat spirit).

To my readers who are worried, don’t worry. These demons aren’t the minions of Satan or the legions of darkness. They are actually just monsters that can be tamed. Oddly, this is in line with a number of early translations where, when a creature was a monster, it was translated simply as “demon.” There’s lots of reasons for this, and part of it was to signify that you probably shouldn’t go petting it or trying to cuddle. And I wouldn’t recommend that you pet any of the summoned demons here on the head. However, in terms of good and evil, they’re fairly neutral. Their capabilities much like the summoning power itself can be used for good or evil.

Pacing

I don’t have too much to say on this, but it’s an important point for every story. The story starts off quickly, and it keeps going. I didn’t find myself getting tired, and I read it easily in an afternoon. Nor was I bored. It was easy to stay engaged with the story. If you had to set it down for awhile, I don’t think you’d have a problem picking up right where you left off.

Ending

Overall, it was a satisfying story. It does deal with consequences, and while many things are dealt with, Fletcher’s past does catch up with him. And it does end with a cliffhanger. There was a very satisfying battle, and then boom! But this wasn’t a case of the author wrapping the book up too quickly. It is labeled as a series, and there is a sequel coming out in 2016, which will be great. And I can’t wait to see what happens.

Overall Consensus

Yes. This novel has definitive rereadability. I enjoyed it the first time, and I enjoyed it even more the second time. I’ll probably read it a third.

This was an enjoyable fantasy epic. I didn’t have any major problems with it, and I enjoyed the experience. This book did just what fantasy is supposed to. It takes you off to a new world, introduces you to some fun friends, and offers you a good time. And even though this is Taran Matharu’s first published novel and it is quite good, I’m thrilled to see how he continues to grow and develop. Because it’s going to be great.