Book Ideas 2

It's been almost a year since I told you about some of the ideas I've had for future books. At the rate I'm writing them, they may cover my retirement fund and not much else. The book I mentioned last time, about a world which I made up, has undergone some extensive changes. First, I finally have a vision of what the book should really be about. I was planning on writing an allegory, similar to C.S. Lewis's Narnia series. One day, as I was reading my Bible, a particular verse jumped out at me. It said, "love the lord with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength." Instead of thinking about the commandment, like I usually do, I thought, "Interesting. So there are four parts that make up man." I began to wonder how the parts influenced each other and what their functions were. Instantly I thought of my book, and decided that each race in this imaginary world would represent one of the four parts of man. So, even though the main storyline is full of typical fantasy fare, there is also an underlying message of how each person is put together and how our different parts work together to fight against darkness. It can also represent how society works, or should work. After all, in most people, one or two of the parts are more dominant and strongly developed than the rest. It's what gives us our different personalities. Readers might be able to identify with one of the four races, and start to learn what their function should be.
I had an idea for another book, but it's not very well developed yet. I don't know what chain of events led to this idea, but for some reason I began wondering what it would be like to be a kid being raised by the devil. I began to think of all the things that Satan might say and do, and why he would be raising a kid in the first place. Eventually, it gradually morphed into an idea for a book. If I do end up writing it, I want it to mostly have a comical feel, so that it will appeal to a wider audience and be more fun to read. Of course, I imagine that it will have its more serious moments as well.
I have at least one other idea for a book up my sleeve, but I don't think I'll mention it here. It's still really rough, and I don't want to give all my secrets away. After all, if I told you everything now, what would I post about next year?
SDG

My Favorite Author

I figure that, since I'm a writer, I should probably tell you who I look up to and get my inspiration from. My favorite author by far is C. S. Lewis. At first, I was only interested in the Chronicles of Narnia, which appealed to me because of his incredible storytelling ability and imagination. Not long after, I started reading his theological works, and I was hooked. I still haven't read all of his books, and to be honest I'm not exactly sure how many he wrote, but I am slowly and steadily working my way through them as school permits. I feel like I have to get all the boring, useless schoolwork out of the way so I can actually learn something.
Lewis is my favorite author for a number of reasons. His reasoning ability is absolutely astonishing. He has a way of taking those subconcious assumptions that most of us have and sitting them front and center for analysis. When I read Lewis, I constantly find myself thinking, "I never really realized it, but I suppose I do think that way." He also has a very appealing and understandable writing style. The best way to describe it is "conversational." If you don't have a problem with his British terminology and phrasing (which is easily understood by reading in a British accent), then you'll discover one of the clearest voices you've ever heard. That, combined with his firm grasp of logic and liberal use of analogies, makes him one of the hardest people to disagree with that I know. His proof of Christian religion, "Mere Christianity," has converted many an agnostic and atheist, and would have converted me if I hadn't already been a Christian when I read it.
Right now I'm reading his autobiography, "Surprised by Joy." It's not a book I would recommend to people unfamiliar with his works. You have to read his other books to develop an interest in who he is before you can read his autobiography, or at least that's how it worked for me. With all that said, I don't think that Lewis is for everyone. People who don't enjoy logic or truth should steer clear of his theological works and limit themselves to The Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy series. For everyone else, I recommend starting with "Mere Christianity," which I think is one of the best examples of his writing.
Until next time.
SDG