Christianity – Page 4 – Rebekah Lyn Books

Writing Life~Everyday Villians

Writers talk about the oddest things. When Rebekah Lyn and I were on our way to the Indie Book Fest in Orlando, we were talking about our characters and the books we’re working on. I told her I thought my villain might be a sociopath. For some reason I had never known that there were people in the world who had no conscience, but once I found out, I slapped that designation right onto my villain. And really what better profile could a villain have?

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had been thinking about sociopaths, or psychopaths, as they are also called. To my surprise and delight, Rebekah Lyn said she had been doing research and had a book on the subject. She offered to lend it to me and when she came to visit, she brought it.

The book is called, The Sociopath Next Door, by Martha Stout, Ph.D. When I read the title, chills ran up and down my spine. Research has shown that about 1 out of every 24 people is a sociopath. That must mean that some time in my long and happy life I must have known a few. My dear husband and I have been talking about it for the last couple of days. Every hour or so one of us will say, what do you think about so and so? Was he one, or was she one? Am I one? Are you one? Believe me if you are able to ask that question chances are excellent that you are not.

Dr. Stout treats, I would like to say ministers to, people whose lives have been made miserable by those with no conscience. Can you imagine having one for a parent? Sociopaths can lie, cheat, steal, betray, and charm—oh, they are so good at charming people. Charming is their m o, as is making a play for pity. Dr. Stout kindly gives thirteen warnings, which I am going to heed assiduously. I pray for discernment and I know God gives it to me.

It would be good for you to get the book for yourself. Maybe it will help you with your villains, too. Here are a few notes:

1. Accept that the person really is a sociopath,

2. Rely on your instincts,

3. After three whoppers cut your losses and skedaddle.

It goes on from there, but that’s enough to give you a running head start and turn an insipid character into a thrilling personality-as in thriller. A small percentage are killers, but all need human contact so they can have the pleasure of seeing others in pain, otherwise they are as Dr. Stout says, bored and hollow.

I always wondered how anyone could be a career executioner, and now I know, though they can have ordinary jobs and yes, well, live next door as well. Only two out of ten imprisoned criminals is a sociopath, most of them are too wily to get caught. But as Martha Stout says, “I vote for the people with conscience, for the ones who are loving and committed, for the loving and generous souls.” That’s me, that’s my story, and oh, I thank God for my conscience I’d rather have that than all the gold or fame in the world, wouldn’t you? Without that precious inner guide there can be no joy, no love, no happiness, and no peace.

Enjoy Writing,

Love,

DiVoran

The Emerging New Adult Genre and Christian Fiction

Indie BookFest 2013 held in Orlando, Florida — Indie BookFest 2013

This weekend I went to my first writer’s conference, Indie Bookfest 2013, in Orlando. It was an interesting experience, way outside of my comfort zone, but I am very happy I went. Peggy Martinez did a fantastic job putting this event together. One of the sessions was a panel of authors discussing the difference between the Young Adult and New Adult genres. The authors on the panel were Amy Miles, Raine Thomas, Chelsea M. Cameron, and Kristie Cook. While these authors write primarily fantasy and paranormal books, what they had to say about the emergence of the New Adult genre was interesting.

Most of the authors started out writing Young Adult books geared to kids between 11 and 16, so they were cognizant that their current fans may pick up their New Adult novels as well. The general consensus was that indie writers were the first to fill in the gap of literature targeted to young adults between the ages of 18-30; the age when we face some of our biggest life decisions. The authors on the panel cited that the inclusion of sex is the biggest difference between Young Adult and New Adult books.. They all agreed that they felt more than a simple kiss was needed, but that a fade to black was more effective than graphic details.

The discussion made me think about how I see New Adult. I agree that the 18-30 age group has been neglected in the past. These are the years when we have to make decisions about what major we are going to pursue in college, what job we are going to take, who we are going to marry, if we are going to have kids, and yes, the decision to have sex is also a big one that we are faced with as well. As a Christian, this is is probably the biggest decision. We feel temptation and desire just like everyone else, but we also struggle with our beliefs and our desire to remain pure as Christ intended until we are married.

At the end of the panel discussion there was a short question and answer period. One audience member asked the authors how they thought the image of New Adult as purely sex books could be changed. The answer that stuck with me most was for authors who are writing clean books to speak out. A New Adult book can be Christian, fantasy, paranormal, science fiction, or romance without making it all about sex. Be assured the books you find on this website that are promoted as New Adult will not encourage sex outside of marriage and the marriage bedroom door will remain closed.

If you are interested in books that don’t have graphic violence, language or sex stop by Clean Indie Reads. Lia London has done a great job gathering authors from all over the world. I think every genre is represented.

Summer Sounds

It’s summer which means in early morning it’s light enough and warm enough, to write letters to God on the back porch. Today I heard: an airplane overhead, a cardinal back in the woods, an air-conditioner coming on, the dog next dog barking intermittently, a single cicada, which is unusual, and a tapping from the renovation house next door. A rooster that lives at the end of the street continued to yodel long after he had forced the sun to come up. By the time I finished my letter to God, I was able to add a cat’s plaintive meow (the cat begs to move in with the family that lives next door to him), and a car staring up, maybe to go to the beach.

Where are your writing places and what do you hear from there?

Love the sound of the sea — Rebekah Lyn’s favorite place to write.

Have You Ever Written a Letter to God?

The best bit of advice I ever got was to write a letter to God. Why? Well, it got me started communicating with Him and by default with myself. I’ve written a letter to him almost every day

since about 1970 or so. Some were short, most were several pages long. I learned from doing it that God is always there for me and he doesn’t care what I say or how long it takes me to say it. I’ve learned that He really loves me, and that to him, I’m a unique and special person.

Now some people just talk to him, and I admire that way of doing it, but it doesn’t work as well for me. Maybe I I can’t concentrate, or I get bored with hearing my own voice, or thoughts run away with me and I get distracted. But a letter? That’s different. It’s as if my whole mind, soul, and body gets into the exchange, and exchange it is because God writes letters to me as well, in many different ways. I’ll tell you about some of that later on. For now, though how about you? Are you a talker or a writer?