Making It Personal

I believe that writers can’t help but include part of themselves in everything they compose. I know for my first four books that there were characters who reflected my personality. In The Hidden Sun the character Bertram had a lot of my quirks. (If you haven’t read it yet, I’m not going to spoil it!)

If it’s true that writers include part of themselves in their work, it’s understandable that they can be hurt if they get a bad review. People have gone as far as to call their books as their “children” and when a book is released, it’s as if the author gave birth to it.

As a man, I can’t say I can speak to how the two of them compare physically, but I can say it’s a pretty emotional experience when a book is set free for the world to be read and judged.

Why do I bring this up now? Well, the day I posted this blog is the same day my 5^th novel was “born.” It’s called Wall of Faith.

There are several things that make this book different from my other books. First, the book is told in first person, meaning the character uses “I” statements. Example: “I fell down the stairs.”

Second, the book is a different genre. My other books are liberally labeled “fantasy” (though I disagree somewhat). Wall of Faith is categorized as religious. It is, after all, the story of a young Mormon missionary.

Third, the book is based on a true story.

As of this moment, my guess is that there are going to be people who love this book, and those who hate it. I doubt many people will be in the middle. Since this is by far my most personal book, I have to remind myself not to take the bad reviews personally—though it won’t be easy.

But as an author, that’s the risk you take when you share your work. My guess is that this book will help many people who share the issues James Williams struggled with. I hope so. That was my intention.

Still, I predict there will be those that call me out for not portraying the missionary life as “the best two years.” To that, I respond, “that’s kind of the point.”