Archive for the ‘Religion’ Category

Review: The Twelve by Justin Cronin

Posted: April 10, 2013 in apocalypse, Book review, demons, dystopia, Religion, Vampires
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The Twelve by Justin Cronin. Ballentine Books, New York, 2012.

61iW1Nf7IjLIt may seem odd to some for me to be reviewing this book a day after I reviewed the devotional Hearing God by Dallas Willard. After all, if you are familiar with the first book in this series, The Passage, you might have the idea that Justin Cronin is writing horror here. But I would disagree.

While The Passage has its share of gore, and The Twelve is not too far behind, I would hesitate to classify either of them as horror, just as I would hesitate to classify Stephen King’s dystopian masterpiece The Stand as horror. I would classify all three books as books about the apocalypse. And whatever form that apocalypse may take, in the end these stories are really about how people deal with that event.

In fact, just as in The Stand, there is a lot of spiritual imagery in these two books (and to my joy I discovered that a third book is planned). Of course, there is a lot of reference to blood, and how blood can bring eternal life. There is a lot of personal sacrifice by the protagonists. And of course, there are the twelve.

To understand any more, you have to know the story from the beginning. A corporation working for the Department of Defense sends an expedition to Peru to bring back a virus from ruins there. In a sense, it is a vampire virus. Their desire is to turn this virus into something that will grant eternal life. As guinea pigs, they bring 12 death row inmates into a laboratory in Colorado and begin experimenting with variations of the virus. Of course, the 12 men escape, which really starts the story off. And from there, the virus spreads across the United States.

In addition to the 12, a young girl named Amy is exposed to the virus. She is protected by two FBI agents through most of the first book. Amy, and two a lesser degree one of the agents, continue to play a part in both books, and I would suspect the third as well.

Cronin doesn’t start Book 2 (The Twelve) exactly where the first book leaves off. Instead, he backs up and introduces characters who are there when the virus hits Denver. And then it leaps forward about 80 years. At first, it seems like there is a disconnect between what happens in different sections of the book, but Cronin is enough of a master storyteller to pull it all off. He has a long list of characters that he juggles through the telling, and in the back of this book he includes a Dramatis Personae to help you keep them straight. As I got closer to the end of the story, I found myself visiting the character list in the back more and more. But everything fits, and there are no continuity problems.

Like I said, I am not a regular reader of horror, but I do consider The Stand one of the best books I have ever read. And this book–excuse me, these books–are pretty close to the top as well.

The Good Things in Life are FREE

Posted: March 25, 2013 in book marketing, dystopia, Religion, Stories, Writing
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Infinity's reach final ebookI am excited, fearful and worried.

Well, no, not really worried. Infinity’s Reach is my 12th book, so if it does good, great. If it flops, well, I have been there too.

But it is exciting to have it show up on Amazon. I know the official launch is April 1, but I couldn’t help myself. My excuse is that the wheels of progress turn slowly and it may take a few days for IR to be available for readers/buyers.

The paper version is going to take a few more days. The ebook will definitely be available this weekend.

Therefore, I decided to throw a party. Anyone who logs onto Amazon this weekend (March 30-31) will be able to get the ebook for Infinity’s Reach FREE (at least that’s the plan). I decided to try out their Kindle Direct Plus (KDP) program, which includes five free days during the first 90 days. That explains why Infinity is only available on Amazon for the next three months. This is the first time I did it this way; I will tell you fellow authors what I think after we get into June.

Today also marks the beginning of the second week of our Infinity’s Reach Escape Clause Contest in which you hold up an embarrassing sign in public and you get a book. Yes, I just said that I was offering the ebook free this weekend, but that’s the ebook. The contest is offering a paperback version of the book signed by me (unless you don’t want me to sign it!). If you are a purist and like the feel of paper in your hands, then this is the way to go. In any case, the contest ends FRIDAY. Once again, here are the rules:

1. You have to make a sign. The sign should read: “I CAN HELP YOU ESCAPE.”

2. You have to take a photo or video of you holding up said sign in a public place.

3. Post the image of you holding the sign on your Facebook page. Send me a link to that page. If you can’t get that to work, then just send me the image in jpg form. In the case of a video, post it on YouTube or a comparable site and send me the link. Send it to this blog or to my direct email address: robinson@swau.edu.

4. I will be announcing it for the next week, showing examples and will be accepting submissions. I will pick a winner each day thereafter (Monday through Friday) until April 1. Winners will need to provide mailing addresses where I can send the book. If you would rather receive an e-book version (Kindle or otherwise), I can do that too. But all prizes will be sent after April 1.

5. You can enter as many times as you want, but only one prize per person. Images with more than one person will still receive only one prize.

6. Winners will be announced here daily as well as on the Facebook Infinity’s Reach fan page. I will also post the winning photos in both places.

More than anything, this is supposed to be a fun contest, so lighten up. Be creative. I plan on awarding creativity and boldness.

Another winner. Another free book.

Posted: March 20, 2013 in book marketing, indie publishing, Religion, Science Fiction, Stories, Writing
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IMG_1806The days are winding down until the official launch of Infinity’s Reach on April 1, and our contest continues.

Today our winner of a free autographed paperback copy of Infinity’s Reach is Katie Gorbea Araguz. She got a little assistance from Aaron, her three year old, and in the process won a book.

Once again, here are the rules:

1. You have to make a sign. The sign should read: “I CAN HELP YOU ESCAPE.”

2. You have to take a photo or video of you holding up said sign in a public place.

3. Post the image of you holding the sign on your Facebook page. Send me a link to that page. If you can’t get that to work, then just send me the image in jpg form. In the case of a video, post it on YouTube or a comparable site and send me the link. Send it to this blog or to my direct email address: robinson@swau.edu.

4. I will be announcing it for the next two weeks, showing examples and will be accepting submissions, but the actual contest starts Monday, March 18. I will pick a winner each day thereafter (Monday through Friday) until April 1. Winners will need to provide mailing addresses where I can send the book. If you would rather receive an e-book version (Kindle or otherwise), I can do that too. But all prizes will be sent after April 1.

5. You can enter as many times as you want, but only one prize per person. Images with more than one person will still receive only one prize.

6. Winners will be announced here daily as well as on the Infinity's reach final ebookFacebook Infinity’s Reach fan page. I will also post the winning photos in both places.

To be totally honest, right now responses are slow, so if you send your entry in today, you have a pretty good chance of winning tomorrow. So get it sent in!

Review: “Divergent” by Veronica Roth

Posted: March 11, 2013 in book marketing, Christian novels, Christianity, creativity, Religion, Writing
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Apparently I CAN walk and chew gum at the same time.

This weekend I was pleased to not only complete reading a great new book but also complete writing a great new book.

First, the one I read:

51MyTJ6IWPL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_I first heard about Divergent by Veronica Roth in Rough Writers, our creative writing group on campus. One of our student writers, I don’t remember which one (Cassandra), told me that not only was it a great book, but that it had Christian overtones. Being both the skeptic and the Christian suspense writer that I am, I had to read it. Rather than buying an ebook, which I am prone to do because of my cheapskate nature, I invested a few more dollars and got a copy of the paperback. I’m glad I did, because it is definitely a book I will want to loan out.

Cassandra was right; it does have Christian overtones, but they are very light. It’s more like the story revisits Christian principles that the main character learned growing up.

To fully understand, you have to hear the basic premise. After a big war, society decided the best way to keep the peace was to divide the population into five factions. Candor is that faction who believes in always telling the truth, no matter what. Amity is the group that believes in peace no matter what. Abnegation believes in self-sacrifice and putting others first. Erudite believes that knowledge is the key to peace, and the Dauntless faction believes that courage is the key to peace. At age 16, young people are tested for aptitude and recommendations are given them as to which faction they belong in. The next day, they participate in a Choosing Ceremony, where they publicly announce which faction they belong to. The term Divergent comes when a person shows an aptitude that qualifies them for several factions at the same time.

The main character, Beatrice Prior, is raised in the Abnegation faction, one that wears only grey, dresses modestly and never draws attention to themselves (sound familiar, Christians?). They live to serve others, always the ones to clean up when there is a mess. Because of their self-denial, they are also the people in power in the government. That causes some jealousy, and some fireworks fly as time goes on (the second book is called Insurgent, so you get an idea of where this goes). Beatrice tests as a Divergent, and so must choose between three factions. Her decision completely changes her life, and like dominoes, affects those around her.

You can probably see the parallels in this story and Hunger Games, and I found myself comparing several times. But there are differences too. At first I thought there was going to be a love triangle, but it ends up being more a matter of unrequited love than a triangle. Also, the story is set in a dystopian future Chicago, and having lived there, that piqued my interest. There’s lot of action as well as romance, although I found it refreshing that the suggestion of sex is there, as well as sexual attraction, without completely going there. I always believe the anticipation is more effective than the actual event, in books at least. That makes is a good young adult book, I think.

I also found it interesting that Veronica Roth wrote this book while she was a college student, which should give some of you students (Tiffany and Cassandra, I mean you) reason to hope.

All it all, I found it a great YA book, one that I know a lot of people are latching onto.

* * *

Infinity coverAnd now, on to my project. I finished the rough draft of Infinity’s Reach yesterday at about noon. The last three chapters went a lot easier than I had anticipated. That always scares me a bit, and I find myself wondering if I have missed anything when that happens. But apparently I didn’t. I will know for sure by the end of this week.

For those of you just coming onboard, Infinity’s Reach is the retelling of Pilgrim’s Progress, set in a dystopian United States after a nuclear attack and invasion by an Asian coalition army. Teenager Infinity Richards is given the challenge of crossing the U.S. to join her father in Camp Zion, which is somewhere in the West.

HotdogsMy biggest challenge was balancing faithfulness to the original Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian themes and a science-fiction story, and I found at the end that I did a pretty good job of that. This week I will focus on plausibility, continuity, and grammar issues before I begin formatting pages.

I am just as eager as you are to finally see this in print, and I was tempted to launch early. But after thinking about it, I am going to stick to my April 1 launch date, just to make sure that everything is ready for the launch.

* * *

Last but not least, I have to include my photo for the contest. This time, Pedro at the local hot dog shop here in Cleburne decided to help me out. As usual, contest rules are here. Make sure you get your entry in for a free paperback copy of Infinity’s Reach. Winners will be announced beginning next Monday!

Have a great Spring Break week!

 

 

 

A Fresh Perspective

Posted: March 6, 2013 in Christianity, fear, Religion
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Spring Break is just around the corner. But in order to get there, I have to get past a mountain of obligations. I am determined to not spend spring break working on school stuff. I have committed it to finishing up Infinity’s Reach. And so I find myself spending long hours during the week, and even weekends trying to get caught up.

I am sure you can commiserate. Everyone has been there–nose to the grindstone and shoulder to the wheel. You do that long enough and you get so all you can see is your work and nothing else, which is really depressing.

This morning I headed into work early. When I got out of my car outside my office, I heard a familiar Tat-a-tat-a-Tat. I looked up on a utility pole to see a red-headed woodpecker up there, oblivious to everything but his perennial job of drilling holes and looking for grubs. Immediately I stopped thinking about my job and started thinking about his. That got me to thinking about a particular mockingbird–the Texas state bird, mind you–who greets me every morning with a cheerful song. I think he–or she–has a nest near my office, because I see him/her every day.

And then I thought back to one of the darkest days of my life, back in 1973. I had been studying for most of a year to pass a test while I was a student in Austria. Out of 12 students who took the test, I was one of two who didn’t pass. After committing so much to a project, I was devastated. I walked away from the administration building where I was in school, praying that God would help lighten my burden and help me understand. Even though I was lost in my thoughts and didn’t pay attention to where I was going, my footsteps took me out to a pasture where I had gone to pray many late nights. And suddenly I stopped. There, not 20 feet away from me, was a beautiful deer. We stood looking at each other for quite a while before she slowly walked away.

There was no direct answer why I hadn’t passed this test for which I had studied so hard. But God’s answer was clear: don’t worry about it. Life is a lot more than just tests, or projects, or jobs. When we are dead and gone, people won’t remember us for a test we passed, or a book we got published. Those who really care about us will remember us for who we were. And that’s God’s bottom line.

Life is meant to be lived day by day. And that’s all God gives us, one day at a time.

So who are we to squander it, worrying about tomorrow?

Wrestling with the Titans

Posted: February 27, 2013 in book marketing, Christian novels, fear, ideas, Religion, Science Fiction, Writing
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final4I’m in good spirits this morning. I’ve been struggling with completing articles for the Spring issue of Spirit magazine, the alumni magazine that I edit. This morning, since my wife had to get up early and go to work, I got up with her. I always think more clearly in the morning, especially when I am alone. This morning I had to deal with three dogs that wanted my attention and a cat that was determined to climb into my lap, but despite it all, I finished those articles. As always, I feel as if a weight has come off my shoulders.

Last week I made sure that my classes were prepped and ready to go up until spring break, which is in two weeks. And so, with the exception of a few details, like midterm exams and grades, I am free to pursue my other job.

During the summer of 2012 I started writing Infinity’s Reach, my retelling of Pilgrim’s Progress. It’s set in a United States that has suffered a crippling EMP attack, followed by an invasion by forces from Asia. The story follows a teenaged girl from Baltimore to Tennessee and then across the United States in search of her father. I have been excited about the project for a long time, and many people I talk to about it are also eager to see it written.

But because I am retelling a story with historic popularity only second to the Bible, I am, to say the least, intimidated. It’s a juggling act. I find myself challenged to balance the Christian message of the story, faithfulness to the original work as well as loyalty to those readers who want an exciting science fiction tale they can sink their teeth into. It’s daunting, and I find myself wondering if I am up to the task.

Of course, this is not the first time I have been intimidated by a story I was writing. The Champion Trilogy, which is due to arrive this summer, took six years to write. When I got to the end of the three-book set, I realized that such a large story required a very large and dramatic ending. And I wasn’t sure that I could provide that ending. Even after writing it, I find myself second guessing what I have written. (In fact, I will probably revisit it a time or two before I release it.)

Every author suffers from the realization that the story they want to write is perfect until it has been written. When you write it, it becomes a victim of your own shortcomings as a writer. But the bottom line is, if you don’t write it–even if it not as good as you would have liked–it will never exist, other than just a daydream in your head. The whole purpose of writing is to take ideas and expound on them in a public way so that others can see what you are thinking. At least, that’s my interpretation of the craft.

But back to Infinity’s Reach. I have already pledged to myself that during spring break I will finish the last 4-5 chapters that remain unfinished. That’s my absolutely, must-do goal. My second goal is to edit it and have it ready for publication. The cover is done, as you can see above. I know all about formatting, marketing, and all the other necessities of book publishing. I just have to get the book done.

I’m not the first author to worry if his work is good enough for the public. And I am sure I won’t be the last.

We’ll see.

Status Quo

Posted: January 30, 2013 in Christianity, Religion
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photoIf you live anywhere in the Midwest, especially in Oklahoma or maybe Kansas, you know that some powerful weather came through yesterday. We got hit about 4 p.m. with winds that they estimate topped 70 mph. I went outside my office and took some photos of the clouds, which looked like they were ready to drop a tornado on us.

I got home after dark. About 12:30 my wife and I were awakened by our three dogs barking ferociously. After some investigating I found out what was upsetting them: a 10-foot section of our privacy fence around our back yard had blown down, turning our backyard and our neighbor’s backyard into the same yard.

It took quite a while to settle the dogs down. In fact, we had to take the little one into our bed before she would shut up. And then, about half an hour after that, she started up again. Eventually, I ended up sleeping in a chair in our living room to keep the dogs quiet.

Our three dogs are with us for companionship, but also for protection. And in a lot of cases, they act just like humans do in similar circumstances. They like the status quo; they don’t like it when unexpected things happen to them. If they intentionally step out of their comfort zone and do something different, that’s ok. But most of the time they get agitated when a surprise comes up in their lives.

How many of us feel the same way? We have this belief that we are in control of our lives, and when circumstances remind us that we are not, we get excited. Upset. Agitated.

Well folks, I’ve got news for you. As I mentioned in a blog a while back, control is an illusion. The only One who is in control is God. That goes for you too, Satan. You’re not in control. Only God is.

Trouble is, God is also a strong believer in the power of choice. We aren’t predestined. We can choose to live or die. We can choose to follow God or not follow God.

As for those daily surprises that remind us that we’re not in control, consider this: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10: 29-31

As soon as it got light this morning, my wife went out to fix the fence. As we started to lift the panel back into place, a pigmy goat, a billy, came charging out of the neighbors yard. He was smaller than either of my two big dogs, but apparently he was what was causing such a panic with my three dogs the night before. It took some doing, but we convinced him to go back to his yard.

We are afraid of losing control. We are afraid of surprises–at least the unpleasant kind. And when things appear to challenge us–even something as small as a pigmy goat–we sometimes come unglued. What we need to remember is that we were never in control in the first place.

Someone much wiser, stronger and more caring is. And I am grateful.

I apologize. OK, maybe not.

Posted: January 15, 2013 in Christian novels, Christianity, Criticism, Religion, Writing
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Back in the late 90s, when I was a book editor at at Seventh-day Adventist publishing house, I had two friends who wrote a couple of books about how the world was going to end. One of them had his office right across from mine, and shared his work as he was writing it. As I read his work, I didn’t say anything, but thought to myself, “I could write this.”

About the same time, I got into a theological discussion with another editor, who happened to be a former Seventh-day Adventist pastor. I offhand made the comment that, “If Jesus were to come tomorrow….” to which he promptly responded, “Jesus can’t come tomorrow. There are specific signs and events that we know are going to happen, and it would take at least six months for these things to unfold.” To that I responded, “Who are you to tell Jesus what He can and can’t do?” All along through the Bible, people thought they had God all figured out, only to have Him surprise them in one way or another.

ITC small fileAnd so I got the idea of writing ANOTHER end time book. I say ANOTHER, because my denomination is kind of weird in that respect. There are many who don’t believe in reading fiction at all, fiction being defined as anything that didn’t actually happen. The cardinal exception to that is, of course, end-time books. As you can imagine with a name like Seventh-day ADVENTISTS, most of our identity is tied up either the Seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) or the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (the Second Advent). And so even the traditionalists cut authors like me a little slack when it comes to telling a futuristic story like my book, If Tomorrow Comes. When I took this writing project on, I wanted to be faithful to the events that my church believes regarding last-day events, and yet interpret them in a way that people would not expect. And so I wrote my book.

It was published in 2000, was held in great acclaim by many people, loved by kids, and yet very few people bought it. Two years after it came out, the publishing house decided to take it out of print.

And so when I started my self publishing endeavor with Prevail Publications last year, one of the first projects I made available was a rewritten edition of If Tomorrow Comes. The original was published through a Seventh-day Adventist publishing house and sold through Adventist Book Centers; the new edition was made available through Amazon. I didn’t explain, I didn’t apologize; I didn’t hedge my bets. I just put it out there.

And it is actually doing quite well. In six months as an e-book, it has sold well and received more comments on Amazon than it ever did with the original printing. Many are very positive; some are not. Here’s an example of one of the critical ones:

“The book is well written and has an engaging story line,.. however the author makes assumptions that there is only one denomination and one way to worship that sets Christians apart and provides pleasure to God. The majority of this book seems to revolve around whether or not one chooses to worship on Saturday or Sunday,.. if you worship on Sunday,.. you are going to Hell. While the author is holding strong to his own doctrinal beliefs according to his own denomination, I find it short sighted, divisive and without substance. Christianity is not about a specific denomination, theology or dogma,.. it is about following what is put forth biblically and I believe the type of division that denominations and the understandings of man do far more to divide the church and limit God than it does to recognize His omnipotence, His mercy, His love and works against the Church Jesus envisioned as being one.

“Due to this I give the book 2 stars and will avoid this author in the future.” –Randy

I’m sorry Randy felt that my writing was “short sighted, divisive and without substance.” His is one viewpoint, and there are many others who disagree with him. But he is entitled to his point of view, just as I, as the author, am entitled to mine. I didn’t intend to deceive anyone. All I did was tell a story based on my view of what might happen in the last days of Earth’s history.

I have read my share of books that I have disagreed with, and I never felt like I was deceived, just because the author saw things differently than I did. Unfortunately, I find too often in Christian churches that we get defensive if someone expresses a belief that’s different than our own.

And so I thought long and hard about how I should react to his comments, and a few others. And my final conclusion is this:

Thanks for buying my book. Thanks for reading it. I am sorry I don’t believe the same way you do.

OK, maybe I’m not. But have a nice day anyway.

Is There Such a Thing as Christian Horror?

Posted: October 10, 2012 in Christianity, creativity, demons, fear, ideas, Religion, Stories
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A month or two ago, I had a fellow Tweeter ask me what Christian suspense was. I politely told them that Christian suspense was just suspense writing with a Christian theme. That got me to thinking about a question that came up in my blog about a year ago: Is there such a genre as Christian horror?

Non-believers probably wouldn’t raise an eyebrow about the question, but most Christians are probably shocked that I would even raise the question. For a great deal of what a Christian does is colored by the advice in Philippians 4: 8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Most of the time, this translates into a PG view of the world.

Whether they admit it or not, Christians believe that evil things happen in the world, some of them tied to demonic activity. It’s just that we try not to think about them, and we rarely talk about them. There are two dangers here that I see. By not talking about them, we have a tendency to forget they exist and in the process forget the actual nature of evil in the world. Secondly, as a writer, my job mandates that I actually look at and reveal those things that people don’t talk about.

The implications scare me to death. It’s one thing to be an atheist or agnostic and do some investigative reporting into areas that you don’t believe in. It’s another to know that they do exist, and to actually talk about them. But one of the things I encourage my students to write about are the things they are afraid of.

I am still thinking about this, with some ideas swirling around in the back of my head. One of the points that’s important in all of this is to demonstrate that as strong as evil is in the world, God is stronger.

Beyond that, I welcome all comments.

 

Just the Right Words

Posted: October 8, 2012 in Christian novels, Christianity, Religion, Stories, Writing
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Years ago, back in the Stone Age, I used to write music. I started while I was a student in Austria, namely because I had access to my roommate’s guitar (without his permission) and no access to a radio. Later, when I was back in the U.S., I kept it up and formed a Christian folk band at our college. One of the things that mystified me was that there was no relationship between how hard I worked on my songs and how they were received. Some songs I would labor over for months. Others would come to me in a moment of inspiration, and 20 minutes later I would have a song. And it always caught me as ironic that songs that were almost an afterthought often struck a chord with someone.

These days, I don’t write music anymore. But I do put words together for other reasons. Not only do I write novels and short stories, I write articles and opinion pieces for magazines and newspapers. And occasionally I’ve been known to present a sermon or two.

And it’s the same old story. Sometimes inspiration strikes and the words come easily. A moment of epiphany. In my 40 years of writing, I have had exactly three moments like that; situations where I knew exactly what needed to be said and the words flowed from my pen or my computer like butter. I remember waking up early on a Sunday morning one time after a very vivid dream, sneaking off to my living room while my wife was asleep, and writing a short story that became the kernel of what was later one of my first books.

But the vast majority of the time writing is work. I smile when I think of my early fantasies of being a writer who would sit around coffee shops, writing only when the muse struck, and turning those moments of inspiration into cold, hard cash and adulation by fans. Not likely. Writing is hard work.

But that’s not really the point I am getting at. In all those million or so words I have written, I can never quite predict which books and which ideas will strike a chord with a person. And I have come to the conclusion that having an effect on people, and hearing of their reaction, is the greatest reward I can ask for as a writer.

Back in the 90s, I was an assistant editor of Listen magazine, a publication directed at teaching kids to stay away from drugs, including alcohol and tobacco. I got invited to come to Canadian University College in Alberta for a weekend. I don’t remember what I told them that weekend, but I do remember laboring over the sermon that I gave. Just before we went onto the stage in the very large church, I warned the person in charge that I tended to be very short with my sermons, telling her to not be surprised if I stopped after 15 minutes. She laughed and said, “Yeah, you’ll just be getting started after 15 minutes.” True to my word, 15 minutes after I started my sermon, I sat down. And I quietly laughed to myself as the people on the platform looked at each other in confusion, not sure what to do.

Three years later, I was at a series of meetings in Portland, Oregon, when a speaker got up to present something. And I was floored when she actually quoted from that sermon that I had given that day. I didn’t remember the gist of the sermon–I still don’t remember it. But apparently I had made an impression on one person.

There have been numerous situations when my words–as a writer or a speaker–have impressed someone. And to my chagrin, I imagine there have been some experiences I am not aware of when my words of actions have affected someone in a negative way as well. The important part I always need to remember is that I can never predict which words–and which action–it will be that will have a positive or negative effect.

Most of us will never get rich as writers, and that’s probably just as well. Wealth is overrated. But we can savor the moment of allowing our words to affect someone in a positive way. Our goal should be to have more positive influence than negative–in our words and in our actions.

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