Behind the Stories

Rating:
Summary: Appeals to a certain audience
Review: Diane Eble interviews 40 of the top writers of Christian fiction (a burgeoning market that was virtually non-existent 20 years ago) in Behind the Stories. A notable inclusion is Jerry B. Jenkins, ghostwriter with Timothy LaHaye of the popular "Left Behind" and "Left Behind Kids" series'.

Each author's story is told in its own chapter, and the chapters are grouped into sections according to how the authors perceived and/or answered "God's call" for them to write Christian novels and stories, although they could all be lumped into a single category: "God calls, the author resists the call, God encourages them to persevere, author becomes and continues to be successful." A common thread of humility runs through all the stories-none of the authors included seems to have known they were talented at writing fiction until God showed them through their successes that it's what they were meant to do (and sometimes not even then.) The book seems aimed at a Christian audience, and at the end of each author's personal story is a mini-sermon interjected by the author to encourage readers to answer God's call for their own lives, whatever it may be-writing, cooking, keeping house, or simply maximizing the opportunity to witness for God in their current line of work and daily life.

Behind the Stories will appeal to fans of Christian fiction, and generally anyone who embraces the philosophy of living according to a higher spiritual plan and purpose for their life. Biblical and doctrinal references keep the book from being accessible to a more general audience, who may be put off by the heavy-handed spiritual message.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh, but Filtered, Air
Review: This is a great idea. I couldn't pass it up when I caught the ad in a book club mailer. Any aspiring Christian writers will find encouragement "Behind the Stories" of these authors.

The good: I appreciated the variety and sheer number of Christian authors represented in this volume. Each had a tale of struggle and triumph on the road to publication. I found worthy lessons in each chapter. Randy Alcorn's financial sacrifices, Dee Henderson's steady planning, Bodie Thoene's physical limitations...all of these, and more, were uplifiting and challenging to any would-be authors such as myself.

The bad: The editor decided to underline the evident lessons with spiritual platitudes and trite endings. The stories--as should be, from any fiction writers--spoke for themselves. Unfortunately, the mini-sermons wore on my patience. In addition, I got the feeling at a number of points that the authors' true struggles had been tidied up a bit for the Christian audience.

Thankfully, the authors who do attempt full disclosure manage to breathe fresh air into this book, even if we can't fully appreciate it. Still, any fresh air is worth it in the lonely world of a writer.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh, but Filtered, Air
Review: This is a great idea. I couldn't pass it up when I caught the ad in a book club mailer. Any aspiring Christian writers will find encouragement "Behind the Stories" of these authors.

The good: I appreciated the variety and sheer number of Christian authors represented in this volume. Each had a tale of struggle and triumph on the road to publication. I found worthy lessons in each chapter. Randy Alcorn's financial sacrifices, Dee Henderson's steady planning, Bodie Thoene's physical limitations...all of these, and more, were uplifiting and challenging to any would-be authors such as myself.

The bad: The editor decided to underline the evident lessons with spiritual platitudes and trite endings. The stories--as should be, from any fiction writers--spoke for themselves. Unfortunately, the mini-sermons wore on my patience. In addition, I got the feeling at a number of points that the authors' true struggles had been tidied up a bit for the Christian audience.

Thankfully, the authors who do attempt full disclosure manage to breathe fresh air into this book, even if we can't fully appreciate it. Still, any fresh air is worth it in the lonely world of a writer.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring!
Review: What an inspiration it was to read about the faith journeys and writing journeys of some of my favorite Christian authors. I thought I would just skim through and read about the authors I'm familiar with, but each story was so interesting and unique that I read the book cover to cover--and found some new authors I'd like to try out. This book was a great idea! I'm always curious about the authors of the books I read. I can't believe someone didn't think of writing a book like this before.