The power of the story to affect reality

I recently read this article by Carl Kirby, a former air traffic controller for the Chicago O'Hare International Airport. The article addresses how science fiction stories made him question God's existence and also God's goodness. We often stay "but it is just entertainment, it isn't real." While that is true in its strictest sense, we often do interpret reality through the fiction that we read and see.

However, if the story can be used to make people doubt God, it may be able to do the reverse and present a strong case for God and the Bible. I had already thought about writing a science fiction story and this article may prove to be a catalyst to help me get going on it. I'll set up another blog to follow the progress on that story so that this blog and focus more on the Will of the Author series.

Update: I've created a new blog to outline and follow the creation of my science fiction story.
http://thealiensfromearth.blogspot.com/

Starting Book 3 and revising Book 1 and Book 2

Well, I've just started work on Book 3. For the next few weeks, I plan on writing the draft for the book while I am also re-reading books 1 and 2 to revise, edit, and make other various alterations, additions, and some deletions. Overall, I have been pleased with the works. It is fascinating to read a story that I wrote and feel like it is someone else's book, yet at the same time know that it is my own.

Some additional artwork

It has been a while since I last posted, but here is some additional artwork that I was sent regarding concept sketches. One is a layout sketch for Teran's first encounter with Axile, the immensely strong and friendly Syntar.

The other is an inked version of Teran's encounter with Dothar along the road. I was actually sent two inked versions of the meeting on the road, but I felt that the first one on the right was the better of the two. Here is a copy of the other one for your comment.

National Day of Prayer

This is a prayer that was offered for the National Day of Prayer by R. C. Sproul, a Christian theologian that I highly admire. I include it here because it is a prayer that is also based on the main theme of the stories I am trying to write: the overwhelming sovereignty of God. Please take the time to read it and if you are willing, to make it your own even if the U.S. District Court says that such a day violates the Establishment Clause.

Our Father and our God, indeed You are our God, and Your sovereignty extends over all things. That as God, Your relevance and Your dominion can never be restricted merely to the realm of the spiritual or the religious, but that your sovereignty extends over all creation, over every aspect of our life and of our culture, over our government, over our church, over our schools, over our health, over our wealth, over our thinking, our planning, and our crying. And so we, as your people, are pleading with you to have mercy upon us, to give us leaders who have a regard for You, who will regard Your name as holy, and who will understand that in whatever office they hold, they are to be your servants, for you have ordained them. And we ask that you would bring new life to your church and that we may begin our repentance at our own house and in our own churches as we plead with you to have mercy upon us as a nation, as a people, as a culture that the light of Christ may be rekindled with great glory and intense brightness in our land, and that there would be a revival of a knowledge of Thee without which our land will mourn and our people will perish. And we ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Concept cover art for book 1 of the Author series

This was originally a cover art pencil sketch that my sister did for the book. I colored it for a class assignment and created a flier. Once I get the book finalized, I'll see if she can create an inked version.

This is taken from a scene in the book where Teran (boy in the foreground), Elaina, and Gwydon (man in the background) are fleeing from the enemy, who is torching a farm house that they had recently been staying at.

My sister sketched this when I said that I needed something for the cover that would draw people's interest into reading the story. This was the first concept she came up with and I really liked it. I'll post up some additional concept art for the story soon.