The Real World of a Novelist

• A Transhuman Odyssey September 1, 2023
  This post appeared a few years back. I'm running it again as I share the September sale of books two and three. Here are the links -- just click on the titles.Killswitch  (book 2)                                            […]
• The Convergence July 3, 2023
   From the window of my home office, I gaze across a couple of acres to the gray house where an American flag wilts against a metal pole. The sky is blue with only a few small cloud puffs that are seemingly as motionless as my neighbor’s flag. It’s a peaceful scene on a quiet day […]
• Do We Still Need the Ten Commandments? June 23, 2023
   First published January 2019An article I read last week told how prominent pastor Andy Stanley declared that churches should no longer erect monuments of the Ten Commandments because the old covenant does not apply to Christians. After reading the article, and many of the heated comments that followed, I considered my own feelings when the Ten […]
• Living the Truth in an Untruthful World March 17, 2023
   In the post-modern world, a simple argument clears up a lot of the confusion, or maybe it doesn’t.  You’ve probably heard it. It begins with a question: Is there absolute truth? Answer: No, there is no absolute truth. We create our own truth. What is true for you may not be true for me. All […]
• The Everlasting Gospel February 17, 2023
  This is the last of my Gospel posts. The original post from a few years ago entitled The Everlasting Gospel reviewed all the previous Gospel posts and told of current events as they related to prophecy, politics, and persecution. I won’t review the other Gospel posts here, since I’ve just shared them over the last […]
• The Far-Reaching Gospel January 27, 2023
   Nearly four hundred years ago, a movement within the Christian community engineered the future of the church by stressing field preaching, aiming to draw in young people, the writing of innovative hymns, taking those hymns outside the church, and meeting together in small groups. The fields have become streets, and street preachers are not typically […]
• The Selfless Gospel January 13, 2023
   And my selfish pursuit of survival.Here’s what I needed: To be rescued from among the fallen, reconciled with God, restored to a condition worthy of eternity in Heaven, and redeemed from unavoidable death.So I turned to Christ to rescue, reconcile, restore, and redeem me. I needed it. I wanted to possess it. And in my […]
• The Intolerant Gospel December 30, 2022
   Tolerance, subjective thinking, and PhariseesMuch is expected of us, even demanded regarding the virtue of tolerance. At its essence, it is an honorable mindset—accepting of others and kind in speech and action. In its expression, it has evoked a cultural shift into something less generous. The finger of the enlightened often points at Christians as […]
• The Lavish Gospel December 16, 2022
   Simply put, it's more than you can imagine.Last time I wrote about The Minimalist Gospel. Not that there is any such thing. I only used the classification to describe a customized pseudo-Gospel. One filling a need in a person’s life. But not breathing life into a person’s need.I suggested a minimalist Gospel doesn’t require pain or […]
• The Minimalist Gospel December 2, 2022
   It doesn't mean giving up everything.She came to church to get things in order. She has cleaned up her life. Stopped dating men she met at bars. Got her kids enrolled in the church’s summer camp. Cleaned out her closets. Tossed a few outfits she should never have bought. And some books and movies. She […]
• The Command of the Gospel November 18, 2022
   What choice do I have?A verse well-known and repeated often by Christians is Romans 6:23:For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.Taking this to heart, we might conclude it’s all about the gift. And accepting the gift is all about choice. We […]
• The Wavering Severity of the Gospel November 4, 2022
  And the invariable tenderness of the offer. Last week I blogged about the Actual Gospel, and I mentioned a statement I’d heard that we Christians can be rough on people concerning their utter sinfulness. Maybe, this person said, the preacher’s too hard on the congregation with his constant sin bashing. The long-time believer surprised me […]
• The Actual Gospel October 28, 2022
  Is there more than one?Last week my Sunday school teacher used the term the actual Gospel, and it yelled, “Hey, I’m a title!” Titles do that. After class I told my teacher I was stealing, uh, borrowing it. I placed it at the top of the “things to write about” pile in my head and went […]
• The End of the Gospel October 14, 2022
   In years past I wrote several “gospel” blogposts. The first was inspired by a Sunday School teacher who referred to the “actual gospel.” This term jumped out at me as a title, and I wrote about it. More writings followed. I wrote about other subjects—the condition of our society, the advancement of science as it pertains […]
• Absolute Rest for Your Soul April 1, 2022
   “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 These words follow a prayer in which Jesus praises […]
• The Lonely Santa's Accidental Promise December 17, 2021
   In July Frank stopped trimming his beard. By the time the giant tree went up at the mall, the proud white puff covered his chin and spread appropriately over the top of his velvety red coat. Despite his amazing morph into the jolly old elf, he worried kids from the neighborhood would know it was […]
• Sharing Fay Lamb's New Blog October 15, 2021
  The inaugural post of Fay Lamb's new blog went online yesterday, and it's all about Our Town Atheist! Fay edited Our Town Atheist, as well as Wake the Dead. I appreciate her so much. I'm looking forward to learning about other books and writers in the coming weeks on Fay 's brand new blog, The […]
• How I First Met My Make Believe Atheist Friend September 24, 2021
  Notification came this week that my novel, Our Town Atheist, will finally release in paperback. The e-book hit the market nearly a year ago, and more than a few people have asked me when the old-school, flip-the-pages edition would be available. Here's the answer: October 15th!  You can pre-order on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3lPOk2W.By the way, Our Town Atheist […]
• The Far-Reaching Gospel May 28, 2021
   Gospel blog #8Nearly four hundred years ago, a movement within the Christian community engineered the future of the church by stressing field preaching, aiming to draw in young people, the writing of innovative hymns, taking those hymns outside the church, and meeting together in small groups. The fields have become streets, and street preachers are […]
• The Selfless Gospel May 7, 2021
   And my selfish pursuit of survival.Gospel blog #7Here’s what I needed: To be rescued from among the fallen, reconciled with God, restored to a condition worthy of eternity in Heaven, and redeemed from unavoidable death.So I turned to Christ to rescue, reconcile, restore, and redeem me. I needed it. I wanted to possess it. And […]