Update on Running With the Wolves
After a year, THE 3RD COVENANT has gone out 23 times. You may ask, "Why didn't it go out 24 times if it was going out twice a month?" The answer, although somewhat disconcerting, is simple. One patron has had my book out since May 14th. It became overdue on May 29th. That's the bad news, but there is good news. In the library system our library belongs to, there are 47 member libraries. Up until recently only 3 libraries carried my book. There are now 4, and I just checked, each and every library already has my book checked out. Plus, patrons at our library have placed the book on hold (reserved so they can read it next). There were 3 holds on it until one patron received the book from another library. What I'm saying is this, even though it may look like interest is flagging on THE 3RD COVENANT, the reverse is actually true. What is the reason for this?
First, I'd have to thank Amy Berkowitz, of the Times Herald Record, for her article and review which came out June 3rd. She entitle it, "Wrestling with Murder, Wrestling with Beliefs". Suddenly a lot of local people became aware that a local author had written something they might find interesting.
Second, I received a nomination for the David G. Sasher, Sr. Award for Best Mystery Novel of 2006. This was nominated by Deadly Ink, a secular mystery writer's organization. The results of this award will be made at the end of the month during their convention (where, by the way, I will be participating as a panelist).
Third, and not to be overlooked, was a blog tour held by the Christian Fiction Review Blog (CFRB). While I am a co-founder, I didn't think it would be right for me to post my own tour. So, the other members chipped in and did a marvelous job. Posts on other CFRB Member sites added to the dynamics of this tour.
Fourth, and most important, it was God's timing. What more can I say? He knows best how to work the market. After all He is THE Author. In the book of Hebrews it says of Jesus that He is the Author and finisher of our Faith. The psalmist says that God wrote down the lines of our lives in His book before we were fashioned in our mother's womb. Like any good fiction author, God created the characters, unleashed them into the most enduring and important story of all time. He now tells us who believe in Him to have faith. He has already taken care of all that we wrongfully worry over. He knows what we are, for He made us. In one very real sense, we are characters in His book. Yet, these characters, of which I am one, He has loved so greatly that He chose to become one of these characters Himself. That character, Jesus, His teachings, His love, His death and resurrection, are the main theme of the entire book. For it is story about the characters coming to life more than just in the mind, but truly coming to life that they may become one of His children. Perhaps a good explanation would be the story of Pinnochio. The craftsman created a little wooden boy, a marionette, because he wanted a little boy so much. Pinnochio came to life, as we all remember, but was still this little wooden boy, this boy so easily deceived, so easily drawn into evil. When the craftsman goes after this wooden boy, and pours out his love for him, Pinnochio has a change of heart and becomes an obedient son to his maker. Soon after, Pinnochio realizes that he is no longer made of wood, but of flesh and blood. In the same way God created each of us because He loved us, loved us before the foundations of the world, before the book was ever opened and a single letter entered into it. In love He created you and me, to have a relationship with Him. Yet we were rebellious. We didn't even regard our Creator of anything of significance. Some doubted the existence of a Creator at all, thinking by some illogical thought, that they had somehow come into being without any assistance. Still, God loves us, just as Gepedo loved his son Pinnochio, who was not really a son, but a carved piece of wood. So too, we are but dust, which God has fashioned, woven and knit together with great care. When we receive His love we find that we become more than dust, more than just flesh and bone, but eternal. We begin to realize a spiritual body forming in us after the shape of Jesus. What a glory and a wonder to be a character in this book of God's and have a relationship with the author. Nat and I speak of this sometimes, and I must remind him that in one sense he is just a figment of my imagination, yet in quite another, he is a creation of my love. So our fellowship grows. While I am becoming more like Jesus, Nat is becoming more like me. I hope that's a good thing.