We have another guest this week, the talented Carol Raj as she talks about how Jesus enjoyed fiction as well.
The End of Summer Brings New Beginnings
As summer comes to a close, there’s a change in the air. Refreshing breezes replace energy-sapping humidity. Petunias die, and the rhubarb long ago wilted away. But the tomatoes in the garden can be eaten like apples, and colorful mums brighten garden centers.
Most of all, the end of summer means the start of school. As a child, I loved school. It meant shopping to buy new gym shoes, the smell of a new box of crayons, and the potential of notebooks not yet written in. Fall was my New Year, not January 1.
And though most of the names escape me, I still recall many of the teachers I had. There was the second grade teacher who prominently displayed my story about a duck and made me determined to become a writer. The sixth grade teacher who, instead of reading a children’s book to the class, read portions of my first – and very flawed – novel.
Some people believe fiction is worthless. They say they read only non-fiction so they can improve themselves or learn new facts and figures. They can’t waste their time on make-believe.
It’s a good thing Jesus didn’t feel that way. We read articles today about children who run away from home. We read and often we forget. But His poignant story of the prodigal son stays with us. And any rendition of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol affects us more than 1000 lectures on generosity.
My debut novel, The Curious Prayer Life of Muriel Smith, features a retired teacher who wants to accomplish something important before she dies. Teaching is a low paying job with little respect and many jokes about short days and summers off. How many teachers like Muriel feel they’ve wasted precious years on ungrateful students? Maybe one of those teachers changed your life. Or opened new interests and set you on a different path. Why not write them a note of appreciation? As for Muriel, I’d love for you to read her story and tell me what you think.
You can connect with Carol on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/carol.raj.79
Blurb:
One unlocked car door, one glance to the left, and suddenly seventy-one-year-old Muriel Smith is hurtling down the road at an alarming thirty miles per hour.
Will the teenage boy who carjacked her really shoot to kill?
Muriel can’t die yet. Not till she’s accomplished something on earth. Not till she’s seen her great-grandchild.
But if Muriel Smith’s survival depends on her driving skills, she may not live much longer.
How could God have gotten everything so wrong?
To learn more about The Curious Prayer Life of Muriel Smith, check out the book on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Curious-Prayer-Life-Muriel-Smith-ebook/dp/B07V39G9PR/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+curious+prayer&qid=1566051254&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Much fiction is well-researched and can be educational……
You are correct. If you get an author who researches well, you can learn a lot.