Prequel Jitters

Since my next book, Eye of the Oracle, is a prequel to Dragons in our Midst (DIOM), I had a concern that the story might be too heavily tied to the original series, thus making it difficult for a reader who has never read DIOM. I worked hard to make sure the new story was fresh and had characters that would stand alone without need for knowing the other stories.

So, I decided to find someone who had never read DIOM and ask for a review. Here is what the young lady wrote,

Eye of the Oracle drew me in from the first page to the last, with its vivid settings, its lively characters, and its spellbinding story. Mr. Davis has created a masterpiece, integrating high fantasy adventure with solid spiritual truths. Eye of the Oracle is an excellent book, a must-read for any fantasy lover!

That really helped settle my jitters! I've also received great reviews from the DIOM readers I surveyed, so I'm really looking forward to the release of the book, scheduled for September 25.

May God be gloried for giving me the strength and ideas to write this book. It will be interesting to see how He uses it to build His kingdom.

Rocky Mountain High

Since the Christian Booksellers Convention is in Denver next week, I am now in the mile-high city. I came early with my wife and three of my children so we could see some of the attractions in the area. Yesterday, we rode horses and hiked at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and had a great time. I'm a little saddle sore today, but not bad.

I especially enjoyed a 3.6 mile hike from Bear Lake to Emerald Lake and back. The scenery was absolutely beautiful! The hike out to Emerald Lake is all uphill, which was helpful, because my kids were pretty tired when they got there. The hike back down hill was a breeze.

If you're ever in the area, I recommend going to RMNP. It's a pleasant drive from Denver, maybe about an hour and a half or so, depending on where in Denver you are.

Reading Out Loud

I might have mentioned this before, but I think having someone read your work out loud to you greatly helps the editing process. My wife reads my work to me, and it seems to be the only way I ever catch words or phrases that are repeated in proximity or used too often.

Also, it seems easier to challenge the logic of the story's construction. Somehow, when another person verbalizes the story, it comes across fresh and new, giving me, as the writer, a new perspective, and I tend to be more critical when listening. I might say, "That doesn't really work, does it?" and I have a chance to make it better.

For some reason, this process doesn't work if I read it out loud to myself. I don't really hear it. It's almost the same as reading it in my mind. Hearing my wife read adds another benefit. I get to hear her lovely voice.

The New Pharisees

This is a comforting passage.

Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. (Luke 6:22-23)

As our nation's culture continues to sprint headlong toward a rabid intolerance of Christianity and anything related to the faith, it's good to know that Jesus prepared us for it.

Unfortunately, many in the church share in the hatred and ostracism as they insult and spurn those who disagree with their particular doctrinal persuasion. It doesn't take much searching through "Christian" blogs to find extreme hatred toward any hint of doctrine that doesn't support Calvinism or an Augustinian form of antinomianism. We definitely have a new breed of Pharisee patroling the church, ready to verbally assassinate anyone they view to be a heretic.

I frequently experience similar disdain from those who oppose my views on holiness, but it's good to know that Jesus knew the opposition was coming. That's a comforting thought, though the leaping for joy is difficult when I realize how much people are missing when they reject the awesome, abundant life that holy living provides.

Editing

As I'm going through the tedious process of editing my newest book, it's interesting to analyze my thoughts and emotions. To me, editing feels like running. I don't like running, yet, I run almost every day to stay in shape. I hate the process. It hurts. I sweat, toil, and grumble. But when I get done, I'm always glad I did it. I am healthier, and I feel better.

I don't like to edit. I have seen these words so many times, I just want them to go away. When my editor spots a bad phrase, I cringe. Yes, she's right (some of the time). I have to change it. But if I do, I have to back and change something else, and that will lead to yet another change fifty pages ago. And, once it's all done, did I remember everywhere that new thought will affect?

So, while editing, I sweat. I toil. I grumble. But when it's done, I'm glad I did it. My book is better, and I feel better.

I think we need to invent a Gatorade for writers.

A Pure Heart - Part 4

The ability to have a pure heart comes from God, and he graciously gives us that ability.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:2-3)

I bold faced "everything" to make a point. If we cannot have a pure heart, as some falsely claim, then God has not given us everything we need to be godly. Such a belief defies this passage. Since God has given all we need to be godly, then certainly we are capable.

And we are more than merely capable; we overwhelmingly conquer (Romans 8:37). The power of God's spirit destroyed the old self and gave us a new heart. We are new creatures. The old has passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17). Thanks be to God for His awesome provision for holiness!

This is probably my last post under this topic. I will likely come back to this subject later, but probably under a different heading.

I will finish by providing a link to a tremendous sermon by John Wesley that gives his views on Christian holiness. Click Here

A Pure Heart - Part 3

Purity of heart, of course, suggests that all impurities have been purged. Paul describes the purging process in Romans 6:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:1-7)

In a Christian, the old self has been crucified. He is dead to sin, and slavery to sin is over.

Many people claim that this freedom from sin and death to sin are merely "positional," meaning that it is true only in God's perception, or a mere declaration by God, but not true in practical, day-to-day life.

This claim, of course, is false. First, there isn't a shred of textual evidence that this is any kind of "positional" truth that isn't also real practically. Second, the text demands that this is a practical freedom from sin. The first verse asks a question about continuing in sin, and Paul answers by saying that we can't continue in sin, because we died to it. If this death to sin were merely "positional," Paul's answer to the question about sinning wouldn't make sense. The reason he gives for not sinning is our death to sin, so this death must be a down-to-earth truth.

Thanks be to God for giving us real freedom from sin through Jesus Christ!

A Pure Heart - Part 2

It really makes me wonder when people tell me that it's not possible, even for Christians, to have a pure heart. I'm thankful that Scripture disagrees with that notion. A pure heart is not only possible; it is expected.

Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:3-5)

It seems that without a pure heart, we have no access to God at all. This fact makes me so overwhelmingly thankful that God has provided the means to have purity of mind and heart. Without His saving grace and regenerating power, I would be lost forever!

A Pure Heart - Part 1

Last night in our family’s evening devotionals, we came across this verse.

And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. (Luke 8:15)

What struck me was Jesus’ description of the heart of the people who hear the word and hold it fast. Their hearts are honest and good. When I read that, I was struck by the contrast between Jesus’ words and how many in the church describe their own hearts. Too many professing Christians say that they still have evil in their hearts or that their hearts can’t be trusted. Apparently they don’t agree with Jesus.

The Bible says that Christians are cleansed from all sin (1 John 1:7). We have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24), and we have had the flesh removed from our hearts (Colossians 2:11). It is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20), and there can be no evil in the heart of one in whom Christ dwells (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)

The heart of a true Christian is not evil. It is holy and pure. And the proof of true faith is the holy life that pours forth from this Christ-cleansed heart.

Memorial Day

I'm sure many bloggers are posting tributes to our fallen soldiers and surviving veterans, heroes who have secured so many blessings and liberties that we enjoy. As I ponder their deeds and sacrifices, my thoughts come home to my father, a veteran of World War II and the Korean conflict.

At the age of 79, he now suffers from a rare brain disease, something akin to a rapidly progressing Alzheimer's, but it also affects every motor skill. He degenerated from a hard-working man to a chair-ridden patient in a matter of weeks.

When I visited him yesterday, I meditated on his condition, weak and feeble, yet strong in spirit. Although frustrated with his immobility, he maintains a peaceful countenance. He really is a hero in many ways, not just because he fought for my freedom. I fear that he will not be with us for much longer.

May God bless him (Dan Davis, U.S. Navy) and the many other heroes who made so many sacrifices for us.

Commencement Address - A Pure Heart

On Thursday, 5/25/2006, I gave the commencement address for Cape Fear Christian Academy at Campbell Universtiy in Buies Creek, NC.

Here is a link to the text of that address: http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/CapeFear.pdf

Dreams

I have found that dreams often influence my writing. Dragons in our Midst was conceived by a dream I had about a boy who could breathe fire. At first, I wondered if I just had too much pepperoni on my pizza the night before, but when I shared the dream with my eldest son, he suggested that I turn the dream into a fantasy story.

I nurtured that spark by searching the Scriptures to see if writing in the fantasy genre might be acceptable in God's sight. In fact, I decided that fantasy is likely one of the best ways to teach truth, that even Jesus used fantasy-style stories to great effect.

Please comment. Has a dream ever sparked a significant change or project?

A Man's Home

Here is another passage that means a lot to me right now:

He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me. (Psalm 101:7 NASB)

As a father of seven, I have to take seriously my responsibility to make sure my house is a domain of truth. I cannot welcome into my home anyone who would practice deceit or spread lies. If I were to violate that principle, I would be indicating to my wife and children that such influences are acceptable.

So, while severing familial ties might be painful, I don't want my acceptance of a liar to cause my loved ones to follow in his or her deceitful footsteps. Sometimes we have to do painful things to maintain integrity and holiness.

The Finish Line

I hope to start blogging again soon. The finish line is in sight for my new book, but there is still a lot of work to do and not enough time to do it. So, I'm asking you to pray for me. I'm very excited about Eye of the Oracle, but I have to make sure I don't sprint to the finish.

Thank you for your prayers.

Comfort

I'm coming out of my blogging hibernation just for a moment. My Scripture for today was just too important and too comforting to keep to myself.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12 NASB)

When someone lies about you, it hurts, especially when it's someone who is supposed to know better. I am thankful that Jesus knows the pain and that His Spirit can comfort wounded souls.

A Pause in the Intermittent Blogging Stream

My blog posts have not been frequent in the past, and now they will become quite rare for a while. Some important issues have come up that will take away a lot of time and energy, and my writing deadlines will consume the rest of my time. I apologize to those who have enjoyed or benefitted from my scant offerings. I hope to resume posting soon.

SOTP Writing?

No, I didn't misspell STOP. By SOTP, I mean Seat Of The Pants writing, the kind of writing you do when you create a manuscript without outlines, storyboards, or snowflakes (I'll explain that later). You have a basic idea in your head, you sit down at your keyboard, and you let your imagination fly as you live the story along with your characters. It's exciting, because you really don't often know what's going to happen next. It can also be dangerous, because you might write yourself into a corner and have a problem finding a way out.

I enjoy SOTP writing. It makes every writing day an adventure. But I cheat a little. I have much of the story in my head, so I know the direction I'm going. I like to keep my ideas in my head instead of on paper, because that keeps them fluid. If I typed them out, I think I would be less likely to allow them to change as new ideas pop up. Keeping them in my head makes me more flexible.

I had no trouble doing this with three of the four Dragons in our Midst (DIOM) books, but Circles of Seven presented a challenge. There was a complexity of depth to the story with intertwined ideas from scene to scene that taxed my brain. I remember telling my editor that the story felt too big for me. I had a hard time wrapping my brain around it. Still, I finally managed to do it, and I think it worked out well.

My current book, the DIOM prequel, is making me wrestle again, even more so. The story is so huge--taking place over a multi-thousand year period, with threads of connection throughout each time period, each book of the old series, and the future books in the new series--my brain is about to spill out of my ears. I am tempted to write a summary narrative just to get it down somewhere before the details get lost in the jumble of human fraility and approaching senility. We'll see.

If you're a writer, what do you do? Are you a SOTP writer? Do you outline? Are you a snowflake addict? (See Randy Ingermanson's cool method: Click Here)

I'd like to hear (read) your experiences.

The Sex Problem

As I'm writing the prequel to Dragons in our Midst, I'm realizing that the story I want to tell cannot be fully understood without explaining some sexually provocative details. Of course I can't do that in young adult fantasy in the Christian market. And I don't want to do that anyway. I have a desire to protect young readers from an infusion of sensual thoughts in this already sex-saturated culture.

It's kind of strange, though, that the Bible is not too skittish about giving us some provocative stories. Just yesterday, in our family devotions, our Old Testament reading came from Genesis 38, and there's some pretty edgy stuff in that chapter. The details seemed important enough to include, and they gave us crucial insight into the family situation. I wonder if such a story would be publishable in the Christian market.

But, I digress.

The challenge for me is to write the story in such a way that adult readers and more mature young readers will be able to figure out what's going on, but readers who are too young to benefit from the details or might be upset by them would not catch the underlying meanings. (That was a mouthful!) I tried to do this in Circles of Seven when Billy had to face a temptation to lust, and I think it worked out well.

This new story, however, presents a more difficult challenge. The reason for the existence of a continuing antagonist requires an aberrant sexual union between an established evildoer in my story and a Bible character of ill repute. Don't hit me with the heresy club yet. This union is well within reasonable interpretation principles. The problem will be presenting this source of evil without writing anything provocative or titillating, while at the same time giving the feeling that something very evil is taking place. The sense of darkness is necessary, but I don't want any of that darkness to be left in my readers' minds.

If anyone else has gone through this process, I would appreciate any hints on what you did to pull it off.

Sprinting and Resting in Writing

As I'm working on my newest book, I'm reminded again of the importance of pace in a story. In my stories there are quite a few heavy action scenes, and young readers like those, but we can't maintain a fast pace without wearing down a reader after a while.

Every good action scene needs to follow with a substantial rest period, a time for reflection and setting up the tension that leads to the next action scene. Without the buildup of tension, the action seems frenetic and without purpose. It's simply tiring.

Also, I think the reader needs some time to catch his breath with the characters. The reader enjoys a few pages to contemplate the consequences of the action with the characters and how they must plan for the future. As each action scene is threaded together by skillful rest periods, the reader feels the motivations behind the action and is emotionally involved throughout.

So, always remember to give readers a break, one that helps them emote with the hero as he cleans his sword, savor the aroma of the meal the hero is cooking over an open fire as he chats with his comrades, and feel the energy as the hero mounts his horse for the next adventure.

What Can I Offer?

When I consider my presence on the web, I realize that most of the content is about my books and about me. There's a simple reason for that. I know about those subjects and can write about them easily. But I would like to do more. I would like to provide content that will help people, besides the pontificating and venting I do from time to time, which might provide a little inspiration.

I don't really have any writing tips that aren't already published in a dozen different books or websites of other writers. I'm not the best writer around, so aspiring writers have better options when it comes to getting the tools to tweak their own writing. I have some tips about being a father and husband, but I have already written books that pretty much cover all of that.

Until I come up with some ideas for more helpful content, I suppose it would be best to continue with what sets me apart as a writer and and continue to dwell on those topics. My readers know, or at least can sense, that I believe in writing about positive role models for my Christian characters. I don't like the sinful stereotypes that so many novelists feel they have to infuse in their characters. Our journey in faith is one of victory, not wallowing in sinful self-defeat. This, I believe, makes my stories unique, and I will continue to write about this passion.

If anyone has any ideas about what I can do to provide more practically helpful content, I would be glad to listen.