​     Despite my complaints the past two posts about the use of angels and not-Biblically-sound Christian themes, there were actually several moments in the Fallen series where I actually really appreciated what the author Lauren Kate had written.
       I know I complained heavily about the portrayal of God in these books, but the author did nail the truth on the head in one particular scene at the end of book 4. She may not have written the “Throne” as the Almighty God I believe in, but it is God who speaks “Enough!” and ends the second fall (the one that Lucifer had started in an effort to erase most of human history). It is not Luce or the other angels or even Lucifer himself that ceases the dilemma that dominates the final volume – it is God, pure and simple, who does nothing more than speak, and the evil efforts that have been made vanish completely ;-). And even though I also complained about the angels and demons not behaving as true angels or demons (especially the fact that they behave similar to each other – you almost can’t tell them apart!), the charm that Cam displays in the first book does a fantastic and accurate job of revealing the seductiveness of evil.
      Then there were several lines in the books that really caught my attention. One of Luce’s past incarnations says in book 3, “The only thing we can control is the work we do… the rest is out of our hands.” We see this theme come out again, just a few pages later, “For Daniel, an existence without scars was just another indication that his destiny was out of his hands. Nothing he ever did made a dent.” Of course, the whole point of the series is geared towards changing that destiny, for both him and Luce, but it was nice to see the truth revealed, even in a small way. Then there’s the line in the first book, where Daniel reminds Luce, “In the Bible, you know how God makes a big deal about how everyone should love him with all their soul? How it has to be unconditional, and unrivaled?” (Definitely a true fact.) And the line in the last book, “The Throne invented forgiveness, you know.” And perhaps my favorite line of the entire series, actually spoken by the demon Cam in book 4: “Mortality is the most romantic story ever told. Just one chance to do everything you should. Then, magically, you move on.” It’s a beautiful sentiment on the brevity of human life, and one that I hope I can capture in every book I write.
       However, it was the climax of the series – where Luce’s twisted triangle backstory with Lucifer and Daniel is finally revealed – that really caught my attention. Luce, as an angel, finds love with Lucifer when God leaves heaven to create the earth (a fallacy that God would need to leave His throne in order to do anything, but we’ll accept it for the sake of the story). It is this love that eventually leads to Lucifer’s ambition and revolt as well as the fall of so many of the angelic host, and it is Lucifer’s abuse of that love which sends Luce straight into Daniel’s arms, therefore making it a critical plot point for the series. But what I loved so much about that scene was how we see a tragic reflection of what humans do when they feel God is “absent,” and how they seek to fill the “hole” in their lives and souls with something other than His love. It was touching to see such a simple truth come so vividly to life, and to realize the huge consequences that can come from such a choice (ie, the first 3 books).
        Unfortunately, this revelation didn’t come until the very end of book 4. I did love and appreciate the backstory; I’d been mad at Daniel for most of the series, thinking that as angel he should know better than to love a mortal, and somehow, having Luce turn out to be an angel and therefore their sin is mutual, kind of made things better for me. But at the same time, I spent 3 books feeling frustrated with the story just to get to that point. It was a powerful moment of truth – still, I’m not sure it was worth wading through 3 other volumes to reach it.
       Next time will be the last post on the Fallen series, I promise! What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
         Until the next time, keep reading!
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     Round two of my discourse on the Fallen series by Lauren Kate has us picking up where I left off last month: that is, my concerns from the use of angels in these stories. Naturally, as a Christian and an author who incorporates Christian themes, my big issue with the angels in this series had to do with the religious implications. I suppose part of it was my own fault; I was a bit slow on the uptake. It was probably my perpetual optimism, holding out hope that the author would stop flirting with sacrilege and tie the theology in her story to Scripture in a real and meaningful way – but it took me until book 3 to realize that her religious references are mythological in origin, not Biblical. I promise I did not go into these novels intending to pick apart the author’s theology! (I firmly believe that all stories have value – the best ones teach us something, but even the ones that don’t are usually worth their weight in entertainment.) But when a series revolves around fallen angels and directly mentions religious themes, it’s kind of hard not to get picky.
     Here’s a small sampling of what bothered me in these books. The 24 elders of the heavenly court turned out to be an evil sect (this is even a major plot point). An angel and a demon openly “live in sin together” – sure, they label it as a “sin,” but it’s accepted and romanticized. Lilith is described as Adam’s first wife before he met Eve (like I said before, religious mythology). And one of the best characters – a cute but crazy gargoyle named Bill that helps Luce learn to time-travel – turns out to be evil! And not just evil, but the devil himself! (Plus, we learn that he’s actually Luce’s first “boyfriend” and their relationship is the starting point for the split between heaven and hell – talk about an intense plot twist O_o.)
     There are even certain lines that rubbed me the wrong way, like Cam saying that “Good and evil aren’t so clear cut” (since when?!), or Luce’s objection to Dee’s sacrifice: “Why did something dear have to die so other dear things could live?... Had God created love to make pain feel even worse?” (book 4). For a series that pulled strongly on religious ideas, hearing the main character fail to appreciate the gift of giving one’s life for another (especially ironic since that main character did in fact have her own sacrifices to make ><) made me very sad.
     Worse than that was the author’s portrayal of God. In fact, the “Throne” (aka God) appears in a distinctly female form in the last book (despite being referred to by the male pronoun in the book before O_o). There are also parts of the story where other characters “lobbied” God, or God admits to “not knowing” something, or even, as described at the end of book 3, “He sounded tired, and pained, and less certain than Daniel had ever imagined possible.” I have issues when God is cast as a powerful being but is not omniscient or omnipotent (this was the same problem I had with the other angel book I read). I’m sorry, but anything less than an all-powerful, all-knowing Creator is simply not God.
    At the same time, I do recognize that these books are fiction. I get that. And while I love the “escape to another world” that reading provides, that doesn’t mean I put all my core beliefs and values aside when I pick up a book. (In fact, my favorite stories are the ones where I can see the truth shining through the fantasy, even if it’s not written specifically to be religious.) And when I read a story that features parts that contradict what I believe, it actually has the opposite effect: because it goes against what I deeply hold dear, it pulls me out of the story and rather ruins my enjoyment, because suddenly the fantasy world and the world of truth that I rely on are at odds.
     So I will simply say, if you (like me!) are the sort that wants to see Scriptural truth reflected in fantasy (or at least the possibility of truth applying to the story), if you want religious references to be based on the Bible even when the story is fiction – then for the sake of your sanity, don’t read this series ><. However, for those of you still looking for that little ray of sunshine, that silver lining of the cloudy sky – let me reassure you that the next post will discuss the parts of this series that I actually really enjoyed!
      What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
      Until the next time, keep reading!
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     I *probably* should have known better than to read romantic fiction involving angels. But I went and did it anyway, and now here we are! I’ll try to be as objective as possible, and clear about my opinions when the objectivity isn’t forthcoming.
     The series in question here are the Fallen books by Lauren Kate. The story follows Luce, a human girl, as she falls in love with an angel, gets tangled up in the war between heaven and hell, discovers that her past lives are connected to the angels and demons surrounding her now, and finally ends up playing a crucial role in determining the balance between good and evil. Which, on the one hand, sounds like an amazing story. On the other hand, the execution of such a story was not done in a way that I preferred.
      I’ll start by saying that the books themselves are very well-written and engaging. The imagery is very vivid – the battles between the forces of heaven and hell are very intense! And I very much enjoyed the time-traveling aspect of the third book, during which Luce is exploring her past lives in order to better understand the history of her relationship with Daniel. (A couple of my Goodreads readers compared my book, The Heart of Everything, with these – probably due to the similar theme of reincarnation for both Emer and Luce – but I’m afraid the comparison ends there.) Perhaps my favorite of her previous reincarnations was the one that took place during the ancient Mayan days: her past self was actually a human sacrifice! O_O (Though, I think I find that so fascinating simply because it’s so different and contrary to our society today.)
     But the fact that this series utilized angels as its main characters ruffled my feathers in several ways (pun intended). Part of the intrigue for me was the question of why Daniel, a high-ranking archangel, had fallen for Luce in the first place. What could make a human so special that an angel not only falls in love, but is willing to give up everything for them? Except *spoiler alert!* the answer is actually nothing, as we discover the hidden truth: Luce is really an angel herself, cursed to live as a mortal because of her love for Daniel. So that final plot twist, while quite a surprise, actually ruined some of the angel-mortal fantasy for me.
     The ending itself is what you would expect: both Luce and Daniel give up their immortal, angelic existence to spend one mortal lifetime together. I approve, of course – making characters human in order to find their happily-ever-after is what I do in my own books. But when monsters find their humanity, that reflects the redeeming power of love. What does it say when angels (whom I believe were created to serve God) fall from their place of worship and honor to choose romantic love? That love distracts you from your intended purpose? That it destroys who you were created to be?
    Not only does the love plotline jar with what I would expect from God’s messengers, but the angels in this story don’t even fit the bill as “angels.” They behave much more like humans. I get that the author is trying to make her supernatural characters relatable, but I tend to view angels and demons as paragons of the virtues or vices that they represent. When they blend together and act more like normal people… well, that takes away from any truth or meaning that comes from these characters being members of a heavenly or unholy court. I didn’t realize I would have this opinion until after reading this series, but other than making a nice visual image of feathery wings and glowing faces, I can’t seem to see any good purpose behind using angels in romance – for these books, or any others.
     More on why these books have “Fallen” from my original highly-ranked anticipation in the next post!
      What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
      Until the next time, keep reading!
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    After my first post on building romantic relationships, I thought of something else that has a big impact on how those stories are developed. The details – those tiny tidbits and minute moments – really can make a difference in how deep the love goes. It’s the little things that help us as readers relate to the characters; it enables us to appreciate their joys and struggles more fully.
   For example, one of the aspects I really enjoyed about Midnight Sun was getting to see Bella through Edward’s eyes. Personally, I never thought much of Bella – I felt I hardly knew anything about her as a person, except that she loved Edward so much she was willing to risk her life to be with him. But here, we finally learn more about her: her memories, her previous home, the books she likes, etc. I didn’t know she loved Jo Walton’s Tooth & Claw or that the CD Phil gave her was Linkin Park; those details weren’t part of Twilight. And discovering those specifics made her more real to me.
    But learning those things did more than just help me connect with her as a person. As we found out more about Bella, we also learned that she’s not so different from ourselves – she’s just an ordinary teen girl. Understanding this makes Edward’s love for her seem even more amazing, simply because she’s so normal. His affection for her is what causes him to see her as extraordinary. Just watching her fix a bowl of cereal fascinates him – because it’s her that’s doing it. This is more than beauty being in the eyes of the beholder; this is the transformative power of love, changing even an immortal heart of stone.
    And it was all those details that, when woven together, created a fuller picture of their relationship. I fell in love with their story all over again, simply because there was more depth to it. So including details is something I try to do when I write my own stories. For instance, Zac from “It’s Complicated” lists off several things about Tess that he’s learned as they dated; Jesse and Alex remember a couple of very specific preferences from the priestess that still apply to Emer in The Heart of Everything; even “Vampire (K)night” mentions a particular breakfast tray for the lovely lady.
     The best part of learning the little things that build a relationship is that it helps us understand the breadth of real love. So often, the details that make characters fall in love are simple, ordinary things. Like Edward’s fascination with Bella, his love for her isn’t based on her being special (though his initial interest certainly was, that’s not what makes him fall for her), nor is it because she’s done something to earn his favor. She was just herself, and it was all the little things about her that kept him coming back. And those moments serve as a wonderful reminder of the amazing, undeserved love we receive from Christ; for even when we aren’t unique, aren’t worth loving, or aren’t what the rest of the world wants, He loves us anyway :-).
     What do you think?  Share your thoughts in the comments section!
     Until the next time, keep reading!
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   Romance novels are the highest-selling genre of books in the world today. Yet, they are also unique in that the major plotline of their stories isn’t driven by a series of actions or events. Instead, love stories revolve around the building of a relationship. These books are written across all settings and time periods, and can be flavored with elements of any other genre on the market (sci-fi romance, paranormal romance, western romance, historical romance, contemporary romance – the list goes on and on). But at the end of the book, the focus is solely on whether or not the characters in question get their “happily ever after.”
     I’ve done posts before that cover my opinions on certain types of romance novels; in particular, I recall some two-parter posts that centered around Katie MacAlister and her supernatural stories versus her contemporary novels. Recently, I finished Charlie N. Holmberg’s Numina Trilogy (see separate post for details!) and I found myself reflecting on the specific ways in which she develops her romantic subplots. Now, Charlie N. Holmberg doesn’t write what I would label as “romance.” Her genre is much more fantasy. But every novel of hers that I’ve read has had an underlying love arc. And perhaps it’s because the romantic angle isn’t her main focus that the relationships she builds between characters are so intriguing.
     I think my favorite love story of hers will always be Followed by Frost (there’s always something about that first book you read by an author you love). The relationship between Smitha and Lo was so subtle that it actually surprised me! I really and truly didn’t see it coming until the very end. Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet had a similar feel to it – you don’t realize how Fyel and Maire are connected until almost the end of the novel, when the truth of their past finally comes to light. The Paper Magician series was much more obvious and probably my least favorite. The love plotline for The Fifth Doll was almost nonexistent (I changed my mind – that one is probably my least favorite) and Veins of Gold was sweet, with a lot of learning to trust, both in another person and in one’s own heart. The Numina Trilogy by far took the longest, but that length, coupled with the breaking and rebuilding of faith in one another, made their love feel very strong by the time they reached the end. All in all, these books are wonderful examples of how to create love without sex.
     Now, romance is definitely a main part of my genre. I can’t pare down to a bare-bones approach on the love angle, because that is certainly a major part of my stories! But perhaps I can take a page from Ms. Holmberg’s books (metaphorically, not literally) when it comes to how I build those relationships. Bigger is not always better. It’s amazing how much you can do with a simple kiss, a single lingering glance, or even just the brush of two hands. And jumping into bed together doesn’t make the relationship stronger; building trust does (it’s kind of like real life in that way). I can’t be so subtle that you miss it for the first half of the book (or the story will probably feel rather empty), but I can keep my readers guessing. There’s something to be said for not giving it all away at once, and that applies to many different levels of romance! Going forward, I may try to take the long road when it comes to creating love – it may not be as flashy or exciting as other novels in this genre, but I can guarantee it will well be worth the wait ;-).
      What do you think?  Share your thoughts in the comments section!
      Until the next time, keep reading!
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      My husband and I recently read through The Place of the Lion by Charles Williams. It’s not a thick book – rather skinny compared to most – yet I feel as if I deserve a medal for completing it. You see, it’s not exactly what I’d call an “easy read.”
        On the surface it’s a religious fantasy story about supernatural powers appearing on earth and the one man who is brave enough to stop them. But I must admit, there were several paragraphs where, after having read every single word out loud, I would step back and think, What the heck did any of that even mean? Maybe it was the author’s complex literary style. Maybe it’s because the words were in English but ordered with British syntax that doesn’t quite make sense to an American like me. And I’m fairly certain that some of the words were twisted variations of what we find in today’s dictionary. But in the end, all I really know is that I’m glad the book is over – read it only if you dare.
     I will say, there were a few scenes where the symbology that was utilized was rather fun – particularly the religious representations. There’s a scene midway through where the hero, Anthony, tangles with the forms of the lion and the serpent; he refers to it as Ephesus, “where St. Paul had trouble with the wild beasts.” There’s a scene late in the book, when two of the characters are taking shelter by a lamb, while the lion pursuing them is unable to draw near. And of course, the grand finale, where Anthony takes on the form of Adam himself, but instead of naming the creatures as was his role in Genesis, he names the invading “powers” and by doing so is able to send them back from whence they came. It was comforting to see that even when the text “waxes philosophical” and loses comprehension, the light and truth of God still shines through.
       All that being said, this is NOT my type of book ><. Not to read, and certainly not to write! The abstract and the complex are fun for some folks, but personally, I don’t want to struggle to understand what I’m reading. Much like my beef with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, I want to be able to enjoy the story, and to take some meaning away from it. I admit to having scenes in my own books that don’t exactly drive the plot. But all of it will at least make sense! No aimless musings that leave the reader adrift in the sea of philosophy here, I promise! ;-P
        What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
        Until the next time, keep reading!
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     I love Charlie N. Holmberg. Perhaps you’ve picked up on that, given that I’ve done more blog posts on her books than any other author XD. But in case you hadn’t noticed, there it is. I love her work and intend to read every single novel she ever writes!
     Today I’m writing about her Numina Trilogy: Smoke & Summons, Myths & Mortals, and Siege & Sacrifice. These three novels, set in the dark and industrialized Dresberg, follow Sandis, who is a “vessel:” an unwilling member of the occult, used as a host to summon ancient spirits from the ethereal plane into the physical world. After crossing paths with Rone, a thief for hire, the two band together. In their quest for mutual freedom, not only must they go up against Sandis’ former master, the terrible Kazen, but also the governing authorities and the local mob. Eventually, all must join together to battle against the ultimate evil – but the hidden truth behind what’s coming is something that none of them ever expected.
    Hopefully, that description was just intriguing enough to pique your interest, without giving anything away ;-P. This series was extremely well-written with fantastic imagery. But… it felt slow. Maybe that’s because of my reading pace; 20 minutes only twice a week makes for a long read on any book. Still – the first two novels seemed like just a warm-up for the third. The two main characters, Sandis and Rone, literally spend all their time running and hiding for all of books 1 and 2. Nothing much happens beyond building/ breaking/ rebuilding of trust – which is great for the romance part of the story, but doesn’t do much to move the rest of the plot along. You don’t even learn the full scope of the evil that’s coming or the real truth behind the “occult” until the last book. The question I found myself asking was, “Will the ending be worth the wait?”
    The short answer is: yes! The ending is hard-won: they fight (and sacrifice) dearly for it. The solution that’s needed to overcome the looming evil arrives at the last moment (of course) and ultimately, it’s not anything “new” or “different” – it’s just a matter of using what they have in the right way at the right time. Yet by the time we get there, both the characters and the audience are so desperate for resolution that the answer, while simple, is still a great relief. The monster is destroyed. Our heroes live to see another day. It doesn’t matter that it took three books to get to this point; you’re just happy that they’ve made it!
      Also, the author provides a solid three chapters of wind down at the end of the last book (a big sticking point with me, as many of you already know). Once you discover the truth behind what’s happening, you realize that the ending requires more than just the defeat of a demon. All of which is provided! The characters finally find peace and happiness and set off on their individual paths into the future (well, Rone and Sandis go together, of course ;-P). And that’s all I really need.
      The goal with my own books, of course, is to reach a similar point of satisfaction and resolution by the time I end the story. I want all the loose ends tied up and I want to feel like the tale is complete. Hopefully I’m getting close! Of course, if there are any incomplete story arcs… I suppose that’s what sequels are for, right? ;-)
        What do you think?  Share your thoughts in the comments section!
        Until the next time, keep reading!
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     ​I started a post last time on the C.S. Lewis’ space trilogy, and as often happens, I discovered I had more to say than room to say it in! So I’m back once again to hash out the merits of this particular series.
      All three books (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength) have the flair of sci-fi/ fantasy tales, but with a strong undercurrent of Christianity underneath. They both fuel the imagination and guide the moral compass. However, I think my favorite book of the trilogy is the middle novel, Perelandra. I loved watching the story of Genesis unfold in a new and different world. The concept alone intrigued me: what if the Garden of Eden occurred over again? Could it be possible to avoid the tragic falling of mankind?! It was both exciting to see a firsthand account (written as a story instead of as Scripture) and refreshing to have an alternate ending from the one we are so painfully familiar with.
    I particularly enjoyed meeting and observing the Green Lady – her faith in Maleldil could put some of the most pious Christians to shame :-P. One of my favorite scenes is where Dr. Ransom asks her, “‘And have you no fear […] that it will ever be hard to turn your heart from the thing you wanted to the thing Maleldil sends?’” To which she replies (continuing with the swimming metaphor established earlier), “The wave you plunge into is maybe very swift and great. You may need all your force to swim into it. You mean, He might send me a good like that?’” I loved the fact that when Dr. Ransom considered the unknown and unexpected as something to be fearful of, she thinks of such a challenge to be "a good." We are so conditioned to be afraid of what we don't know or weren't anticipating. Yet here is someone who immediately accepts that whatever is sent her way, especially if it is difficult to overcome, is something good. It warmed my heart and made me smile to see such faith in action!
    The only tricky part of reading C.S. Lewis is that unless you are familiar with his style and are actively looking for religious references, his use of them in his stories may surprise you. He weaves his fantasies so well that the Christian elements tend to sneak up on you until they are suddenly made clear. For example, it’s never clearly defined that “Maleldil” is Christ, though that’s the only explanation that makes sense once you sit back and think about it. But the references in this series are all made in the Old Solar language and have just enough sci-fi to them that they could be dismissed by the nonbeliever, should they choose to ignore them.
     I suppose that’s why I prefer to make the faith connections in my books a little more direct – I don’t want readers to mistake what I write for anything other than what I intended it to be. Of course, the advantage of vague religious references is that they appeal to a wider audience. You can potentially reach more readers if your book doesn’t have the “Christian” label screaming at them from the front cover. Perhaps someday I’ll try being a little more subtle and see how that goes ;-P. But for now, I think I’m content for my writing to be exactly as advertised.
      What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
      Until the next time, keep reading!
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          It is an undisputed fact that C.S. Lewis is a brilliant author. He is well-known for The Chronicles of Narnia (which I mentioned in my post on backstories), as well as several Christian novels and more. His space trilogy – consisting of Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength – merely serve as further proof of his literary genius.
           The space trilogy follows the adventures of Dr. Ransom as he fights evil across three different worlds: first Mars (Malacandra), then Venus (Perelandra), and finally Earth itself (also referred to as Thulcandra or Tellus). The first two novels are very much like sci-fi adventures. In Out of the Silent Planet, Dr. Ransom discovers the existence of other beings on Mars as well as the truth about good and evil in the universe. In Perelandra, the story of the Garden of Eden is reenacted on the planet Venus, and Dr. Ransom is the one who must prevent Earth’s tragedy from reoccurring. Finally, the battle hits home in That Hideous Strength when Dr. Ransom and his followers face off against evil brewing in their own neighborhood of Edgestow, England.
         I thoroughly enjoyed the series, though I preferred the first two books to the last one. That Hideous Strength is rather lengthy and tends to wax philosophically at times. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the conclusion to that last book. True, everyone “got what they deserved:” the villains are made to pay for the errors of their ways, and the heroes receive their due rewards. Even the animals all find happiness (thanks to the lingering presence of Venus)! But it’s a very quick ending compared to how long it took to reach it. Any of you who have read my previous blog posts know how I feel about quick endings (see my post on Jane Austen, for starters), and while Mark and Jane are clearly reunited in the last chapter, you aren’t given any details on how that reunion unfolds.
        But instead of being disappointed, I’m starting to wonder if there is a lesson that can be gleaned from fast conclusions. I prefer the drawn-out variation that really allows you to see how the rest of the characters’ lives are going to go; I want to know that from this point forward, things are going to be better than they were earlier in the story. But perhaps that’s not the point. Perhaps sometimes the point of an ending isn’t to show that the characters will now and forever henceforth live happily ever after. There may be times where an ending is written to show that despite whatever troubles the future may hold, the current crisis has been resolved. In these cases the ending is more of a “pause point” than a true conclusion; even if no more books are written, it’s understood that the major battle was won, but the fight for life still remains. The characters may have more work to do – we just aren’t joining them for the grueling task of day-by-day living.
          Now, I still like longer endings that really allow the story to wind down! I want all the loose ends to be tied up and I want to know that the characters are better off now than they were at the beginning. (Otherwise, what was the point of bothering to tell the story?) So as far as my own books are concerned, there will still be epilogues and possibly several chapters of resolution. But – as extensive reading tends to do – I find that my world is broadening and my acceptance of what is “different” from my personal preferences is indeed growing ;-).
           What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
           Until the next time, keep reading!
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       So, I teased you last time by saying I’d tell you my favorite part – and here it is! My favorite part… the point in the story that almost made me cry, it gave me such joy… was on page 613. And I quote, “And then I did something I hadn’t done in a century. Curled there in a ball on the floor, motionless with agony… I prayed.”
     I KNOW, that’s probably the most “nerdy Christian” thing I could say ><. Out of all the scrumptious drama that fills this novel, that’s what I love most?! But let me explain why.
       I love Edward. I care about him as a character and I don’t like to see him truly suffer. And coming from someone who at other points in the original books thinks his soul has already been lost, those last two words tell me something we all want to hear from our friends when they are hurting – that he hasn’t entirely given up hope.
         Like so many of us, he prays for the wrong things ><. He prays for what he thinks he needs, not for God to do what He has planned. He can’t comprehend a future filled with happiness, so he prays only for the next best thing. But he prays. Whether or not he truly believes, whether or not he “does it right”… he admits he can’t do this alone. He seeks aid from the only higher power he knows of, the only one capable of answering his prayers. And it was in that moment of admitting his own weakness that I saw a glimmer of hope. If he could believe, if he could trust in a plan that he can’t see or understand… well, that’s the point where God steps in, and miracles occur :-).
         Of course, we all know that everything worked out for him and Bella eventually. But perhaps this explains a little of what we see in New Moon, when Bella gets him to admit that he does hope for something more beyond immortality (i.e., when he whispers, “Carlisle was right,” in the moment that he thinks he’s died), and when he FINALLY realizes that being with Bella is where he’s supposed to be (because being anywhere else nearly gets them both killed). But it was beautiful to see that beginning moment, during his darkest hour, when hope first began.
      I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that. Action and adventure can get old. Even love stories sometimes start to sound the same. But the miracle of hope – the realization that there is something more, that there must be something more, because we are not enough… eventually leading to the realization that it’s not really even about us, we are merely pieces of the puzzle, players on the stage… and the single best thing we can do is to accept what we are given, and trust that all will be as it was meant to be… that’s the kind of story I always love to read. Because that’s the kind of happy ending we can take with us when we finish the book, and apply it to our own lives. And that’s what I’ll be striving to write. Those magic moments, those little wonders, those twists and turns of fate (to paraphrase a song by Rob Thomas); as an author and a reader, that’s what I live for ;-). Look for moments of hope in all my books – I promise you, they’ll be there!
          What do you think?  Share your thoughts in the comments section!
          Until the next time, keep reading!
P.S. – If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends!  Here’s a link:
​www.lynnwallaceauthor.com/blog-on-books-and-writing/midnight-sun-part-2-more-than-just-an-obsession
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