Find yourself in a better story
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What the Riddle of the Magi Reminds Me to See
Good morning, friends! I’m taking a short break from the Gospel of Matthew series this week, as I am: On tour with 1:11 Ministries, celebrating the birth of Jesus through our production ADORE HIM; and Releasing a novel today! Today is the day Book 3 in The Prophet Trilogy, BELOVED, enters the wider world. I’d…
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“If You Are”: What the Temptation of Jesus Reveals About Our Deadliest Trap
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. After He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. Then the tempter approached Him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’” (Matthew 4:1-3, HCSB) For years I…
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Character Spotlight: Flora and Rechab
Yesterday I posted an intro to two of The Prophet Trilogy’s major characters: the prophets, Kol Abaddon and Alack. But for a lot of readers, it’s the women who are the stars of the series. Faithful reader and Amazon reviewer describes Flora Laurentii Infortunatia (aka “Flora the Unlucky”): Flora, a wealthy woman who befriends Rechab,…
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Character Spotlight: Kol Abaddon and Alack
What would it have been like to be an Old Testament prophet–someone who shares both God’s heart for his people and a terrible message of coming judgment? That question helped kick off The Prophet Trilogy, and it also inspired the character of Kol Abaddon. His real name has been forgotten. He goes only by Kol…
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Behind the Prophet Trilogy
BELOVED, Book 3 in The Prophet Trilogy, releases in just two weeks. As I wrap up a series that has come to mean a lot to me, I wanted to share where it came from. Of course, no book comes from one thing alone. Stories develop when a lot of smaller streams flow together into…
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12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing: “This book is like getting five self-help books in one.”
Well, it’s a banner month for book releases! 5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing released yesterday and is #1 in the Writing Reference category. Positive reviews are racking up as well. THANK YOU to everyone who preread the book and reviewed it. You are the best! If you’re a writer, I…
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Out of the Water: How History Culminates in Jesus’ Baptism
After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And there came a voice from heaven: “This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him! (Matthew 3:14-17, HCSB) This —…
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Life Between the Holidays
Holidays. I think about the word as I mouth the lyrics to “O Come Emmanuel,” a nine-hundred-year-old Christmas carol I’m listening to today because I’m already scripting a Christmas program for Soli Deo Gloria Ballet. Holidays. High points. Holy days. Life swirls around them like a river around jutting pinnacles of rock. They direct the…
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Getting Real about Wrath: An Invitation from a (Justifiably) Angry God
But when [John] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I…
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The Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing
Many of you may know that I’ve written eighteen novels plus a small host of nonfiction books, articles, and blog posts; and on top of that I have edited hundreds of manuscripts and worked with hundreds of writing students. So when it comes to books, not many things are new to me. Enter coauthoring! With…