Christian Media, Kuyper, and My Writing

There’s a forum that I visit almost daily, and on it someone asked about media – books, movies, music, television, radio – and who limited themselves to Christian-only content. There were many people who said, yes, of course they did.

I did not. I am an Abraham Kuyper gal when it comes to the arts:

“There is not one square inch in the whole domain of human existence as to which Christ who is sovereign over all does not cry out ‘Mine!’”

Christian media is a modern phenomenon that has done, in my opinion, more damage to the arts than good. Christians of the past were the elite artists, musicians, writers, thinkers, etc… Because they devoted their lives to using the gifts God gave them to the best of their ability, whether those products were explicitly Christian or not – and many times they weren’t. Not in the sense of “Christian” we mean today, where Jesus’ name needs to be mentioned in every song, there has to be an altar call in each movie, paintings need to beautifully depict God’s creation or some religious scene. That doesn’t make good art. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that a blatantly Christian but poorly executed novel is less honoring to God than a brilliantly written novel with “secular” themes (no, I’m not speaking of books that glorify gratuitous sex or violence – that’s a whole ‘nuther post!). Why is this? Because of exactly what Kuyper said. All things belong to Christ and, in His sovereignty, He uses all things for His glory, and to bring His purposes to pass.

I highly recommend the book All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes. Corny title but great message.

“What’s Your Book About?”

If you’re an author, this is probably the question you get asked most frequently. As soon as I say anything about my novel, people want to know what it’s about. Now, I have to admit, I am terrible at giving a quick plot summary – when I first submitted my synopsis to my agent, it was two pages long, single spaced – because my book is character driven. It’s not about one thing. Not to me, at least. But, no one wants to listen to me fumble about for twenty minutes as I delve into the complexities of all my sub-plots, so I finally had to memorize a one-sentence summary: a messed up young woman spends the winter in a small mountain town and the book traces her transformation during this time. Can anyone say BORING?

So, what is my novel about, anyway? It’s titled (for now) Variations on a Life. For those of you who are musicians, you’ll understand the nuances of the word, as does my protagonist, Sarah Graham, a Julliard-caliber violinist (for those of you who aren’t musically inclined, don’t worry, it’s explained in the book). Here’s the blurb I used in my proposal:

Sarah Graham lives life hard and fast – men, booze, outrageous spending – anything to numb the bitter truth of who she is: the daughter of a murderer and an adulteress. When her father dies, she travels to the tiny mountain hamlet of Jonah to claim her inheritance. Once there, she learns her father’s will stipulates a six-month stay in Jonah in order to get the money. Fueled by hate, Sarah settles in for the bitter mountain winter and, as the weeks pass, she finds her life intertwining with the lives of the poor townsfolk. Can these strangers teach Sarah how to forgive?

That’s simply the tip of the proverbial iceberg. But there’s so much more. Bethany hasn’t given me a release date yet – it will probably be sometime in the fall of 2008 – so, as the publication time nears, I’ll share some more.

This is the way the world begins…

Yes, I’m playing with T.S. Eliot.  I remember, as a teenager, reading a snippet of his Waste Land in jr. high, in a Lois Duncan book of all places. 

This is the way the world will end -
Not with a bang, but a whimper

The words stuck to me, yes, but not just the words.  The cadence of the words.  Over the years, I’d hear sentences with this rhythm and be taken back to that book, to the scene when Karen is dumped by her boyfriend after the prom, with a pat on the shoulder and sticky maple syrup breath.  And in my first novel, I wrote a line with similar phrasing to describe how my protagonist was feeling about the demise of her marriage.  A tribute to Eliot.  A tribute, really, to all the novelists and poets I read while growing up, the ones who taught me how to write well – and the ones who good writing was not.

So, this is the way my world as a writer begins, today, with a three-book deal from Bethany House Publishers.  It’s official.  I’m a contracted writer (okay, I haven’t actually signed my name, but paperwork is in the mail).  I am absolutely amazed by God’s graciousness toward me, and when my agent called me last night to tell me, I sobbed against the refrigerator. 

Welcome to my blog, my chronicle of my publishing journey, the editorial process, the actual grinding away at my next book, and probably a bunch of non-writing related ramblings whenever I feel like it.  Hey, it’s my site – I can do that.