Author/Novel Spotlight: An Insignt into the Creation of What a Wonderful World by Dennis Bailey.

 Today, I would like to welcome back a previous guest, Dennis Bailey. He requested to return to give an insight into his new novel, What A Wonderful World. Now, I can vouch for Dennis and his novels, they are not just entertaining, but informative, Biblical-based, well-researched and speculative. That is more than enough to keep me reading! I am yet to read this, but it is on a shortlist. 

So without further ado, read on and let your interest be piqued! 

Here is a description of the novel before we start:

What A Wonderful World. 

Brandon Foxworth, an ecology professor at the University of Virginia, and his wife are watching their two children chase lightning bugs in the backyard when suddenly all the lights go out. Three days later, Taylor Grant, a reporter with the Richmond Herald, stumbles coming down the stairs of his front porch and lands on his backside in a flower bed full of dead flowers. Following the subsequent disappearance of nearly every species of bird on earth, the two men realize something extraordinary is taking place and they join forces to find out what it is. Together with Biblical scholar Marcy Cambridge, the three embark on a sometimes perilous journey to discover whether these things have their basis in science or originate from the realm of the supernatural.

An insight into the creation of What a Wonderful World by Dennis Bailey 

Hello, Friends of Perspective by Peter. 

I’m Dennis Bailey, and I’m back for a return engagement on what in my opinion is the best blog site dedicated to the promotion and review of Christian fiction on the internet. Hard to believe it’s been six years, almost to the day, since I first appeared on this site with my debut novel, Army of God, but the calendar doesn’t lie. Once more, however, I’d like to thank Peter for his gracious invitation to showcase my latest story, What a Wonderful World (WAWW). It’s a quasi-apocalyptic tale that focuses on what happens to the world should God choose to close his hand, and the efforts of a small group of people to get to the bottom of it.

This story travelled an unusual road to publication. After Army of God, I had ideas for two stories I desperately wanted to write. This one and a Christmas story about a boy who travels back in time to witness the birth of Christ but upon his return can’t get anyone to believe him. As it turned out, they ended up being competing stories, competing for which one I’d write first. In looking back, I was surprised to find out I’d actually started WAWW back in July of 2016. However, in December of 2018, while working on that story, I was overcome by what I can only describe as a severe case of Christmas fever. Despite knowing better—one of the cardinal rules of writing is to never start a new project before finishing the one you’re working on—it was too late. I’d been bitten by the Christmas writing bug and abandoned my current project to focus all my efforts on the other. 

 Fast forward to 2020. Following the release of The Boy Who Cried Christmas, I immediately returned to the other manuscript, but unlike the process of riding a bike, I found myself unable to simply pick up and start peddling. It would be another three years before What a Wonderful World would be ready for prime time. 

 As for where the idea for the story came from, that remains a mystery, even to me. All I can say is I felt led by the Holy Spirit to want to remind the world of the vast blessings of God, too many of which seem to have been forgotten or are at the very least, taken for granted in today’s modern, humanistic, and technologically-dependent culture. And though told in a dramatic and somewhat apocalyptic style, I made every effort to craft a story that eschewed direct comparisons to previous works based on the popular subject of Eschatology (End Times theology). Rather, I hoped to challenge the reader with a story equally as compelling, but revealed in a completely new and unique way. 

 And in case you were wondering, yes, the novel’s main title was taken from the Louis Armstrong classic song which, uncoincidentally, happens to be my wife’s all-time favorite tune. Hopefully, after reading the story, you’ll understand for yourself why no other title would do. 

 For a more dynamic glimpse of the story, check out the What a Wonderful World video trailer:

  

 If this has piqued your interest in Dennis' novel, check it out here: 

What A Wonderful World

About Dennis: 

Dennis Bailey is a retired police detective who turned in his gun and badge for a monitor and keyboard. He is an ardent student of the Bible who felt the calling of God on his heart to take that learning and use it to further His glory. He writes suspense-filled, action-packed adventures that feature a touch of the divine. Dennis’s first two novels, Army of God and The Boy Who Cried Christmas, were successive Readers’ Favorite Gold and Silver Medal Award winners in 2020 and 2021, respectively. He and his wife, Lee, live in Virginia, where they have a great view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in historic Charlottesville.

A note before you go:

Readers and reviews are an author’s best asset, so I encourage any reader, to consider reading What A Wonderful World and submit a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (or any other social media you subscribe to).

Reviews help promote an author’s novel to potential readers and encourage the author to keep writing. Reviews also help get the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, whether Christian or not, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.

Please note: As an Amazon Associate, I am required to disclose that book cover images or titles of novels in this post are paid links if they are linked to Amazon and result in a sale.

Novel Review: Hunter (Valiant Book 1) by Joanna White.

 I reviewed this novel on 11/05/19 on another blog, now defunct. 

Hunter (Valiant Book 1)

A reckless young woman named Averella does what no woman has ever done.

She disguises herself as a man and purposefully gets herself arrested and thrown into Zagerah. Her brother Gabriel was taken, and with his disease, he will not survive on his own. She has no idea what to expect inside the prison; all she knows is that once men get taken, they never come back.

The Hunters will find her.

Genetically altered to be faster and stronger than humans, the Hunters use their powers to find and kill every prisoner who enters Zagerah. The only ones who can defeat them, are in fact, themselves.

Jared is a Hunter. It’s all he’s known, all he remembers. He kills ruthlessly and without regret, one prisoner after another. When a new prisoner Dalex shows up, everything begins to change. Jared goes undercover to make Dalex and the other prisoners believe he is one of them, a prisoner himself.

No one knows the truth.

He will trick them.

Toy with them.

Then, he will kill them.

Perspective by Peter: 

I offered to review this novel after reading its prequel, Forgotten (Valiant 0.5) which I had bought many months ago not realising Hunter would be released so soon after this, and also offering to host Joanna in a blog tour of the release for Hunter. 

Now I am hooked! I loved the darkness and oppressiveness of Forgotten and this set the scene for Hunter. Now after reading this new tome, I am ready for Sightless, a short story set between Hunter and Shifter, this latter novel to be released in July 2019. I am so hooked on this series, I have asked for an Advanced Reader's Copy of Sightless!

I understand that Hunter was written first, in 2012 (but not released until now) and White wrote Forgotten a few months ago solely to show how Jared became a Hunter. I am glad she wrote this as I can see reading Hunter, without this prequel knowledge, it would have made it harder to understand the world of the Hunters and why and how they came into existence. The spiritual aspects would also have been missing thus adding to a lack of depth to the worldbuilding and plot development. Forgotten solves this issue! 

Hunter grabs you right from the start and does not let go! You hit the ground running (excuse the pun, as all the prisoners seem to do is run from the Hunters!). And when Averella becomes imprisoned, the action revves up even further! It is then that more of the plot and its twists occur. And this is where this novel and this series, come into its own.

In this prison, Zagerah, which is not bricks and mortar prison but an area of land that is bordered by and encased by a dome that has geological features such as, volcanoes, lake and river tributary, ice caves, swamp, fogged area, wasteland, mountain plateaus, rock forest and shadow forest, cliffed area and man-made structures of a glass pyramid, invisible maze. All this becomes the hunting ground for the hunted. These are all human males from the surrounding villages of Averell who are captured by the Gredi (guards of the Aretul) and dragged to Zagerah for the sole purpose to be hunted and killed by the Hunters. If a prisoner shows Hunter potential, they are taken to the Aretul labs and genetically altered to give them specific superpowers and abilities to hunt and kill humans. Zagerah is head of the Aretul and of which the prison is named after him (although in Forgotten, it is implied that it the name is based on him as well as the prison).

In Forgotten we learn that Jared is deliberately transformed into a Hunter (also known as being one of the Corrupted) as he is considered one of the Chosen by The Father (God) and by doing so, they have prevented another of the Chosen from their quest, which is to prevent and destroy the Darkness being spread from the Dark Master over the known galaxy. We get a hint of the Chosen in Forgotten where Radon (allegory to Jesus) is sent by The Father to rescue the Chosen from the many planets in the galaxy in the fight against the Dark Master (allegorically satan). There is mention of three Chosen already saved/rescued by Radon, those of Toron, Jace and Aidan. I would love to see this backstory as another short story or prequel novella, exploring more of Radon and the quest of the Chosen to thwart the evilness of the Dark Master and his spreading Darkness over the galaxy. Future story fodder, Joanna, or are these already part of the 10 novels in this Valiant series? 

White successfully enables the reader to endear themselves to Jared in Forgotten and this is further reinforced in Hunter. Just when you get used to the Hunters being devoid of all memory of their lives before being captured, this is not so with Jared. Like all Hunters, he only knows two emotions from his genetic engineering, anger and hate. However, with the introduction of Averella (known as Dalex once she is captured and disguised as a male), Jared experiences new emotions he should not be able to, love, compassion, caring, protectiveness, wanting to belong, self-worth/esteem, wanting to do something right and a desire to be rid of the negative and destructive emotions and behaviours of being a killing machine (Hunter). One gets the feeling that this ability to experience these emotions is due to him being a Chosen, and that The Father has enabled him this ability; that it was not destroyed through genetic engineering, but maintained in order to be able to rescue and break the bondage of fear, captivity the prisoners have lived with. No prisoner has ever escaped or been released from Zagerah, hence The Father's desire and Will to have this demonic bondage and abuse broken and the prisoners released. This latter plot twist is continued in Sightless, the short story that follows on from Hunter, before the events of Shifter (Valiant Book 2), release date July 1, 2019.

It is here that this novel becomes an allegory to the story of Moses. I first heard about this when I had White as part of her blog tour to promote the release of Hunter. Whites stated on this post that,

As I finished the Valiant Series and realized each book had been paralleled with the Bible, I realized Hunter’s importance. I’d always written to inspire people, to give them worlds and books they can delve into and be able to read books ingrained in truth, that are also clean with Christian standards to them, but realizing that Hunter paralleled the story of Moses made me realize it was far more important than it seemed and it also made me realize that God had been writing the book with me the whole time, even if I didn’t realize it at the time.

You have a man raised in a different society – so Jared parallels with Moses – who are both called to do something far above themselves. They both have doubts and don’t believe they’re the right person for the job. Then you also have the people being oppressed – so the prisoners parallel with the enslaved Israelites. It wasn’t heavy handed but the themes were there.

There’s also a lot more Biblical themes throughout Hunter. One of the main ones is forgiveness. Many of the characters make mistakes and they all have to learn to forgive each other. It really touches on the bitterness and anger and how difficult it is to forgive someone. But you realize you’re no better than the one you need to forgive, it opens up their hearts to a place of forgiveness.

Hunter also is a journey of growth and hope, one where Averella has to learn not to doubt herself because others see her as weak. It’s a lesson God’s been trying to teach me that we are weak and He is strong and through Him, we can be strong with Him. That we, as Christians, are stronger together. Teamwork is another underlying lesson woven into the story.

You can fully see this parallel when White depicts Radon appearing to Jared and commands him to free His people, together with a burning tree instead of the burning bush from the biblical account. And speaking of forgiveness, White has Jared consider The Father's forgiveness through the death of Jesus from the Biblical account when Averella and the other Christian prisoners were discussing their faith and how they missed having access to the Word of God as they did in their pre-captive lives. It is a poignant moment and one that I am sure every Christian can remember when faith was ignited in our soul and spirit that led to our acceptance of Jesus as our Saviour,

"Why sacrifice himself like that? He had... so much power. So many options he could have used to escape," Jared pointed out. 

"He did. But instead, He chose to die in order to save us all. He had to take our sin upon himself so that we could be freed. Because He rose again, if we believe in Him we can join Him in Heaven," Lehlax answered. 

"He came back to life?" Jared asked.

"He did," Lehlax answered. He told Jared about sin and how bad we were separated from God, and how because of the Savior, we can be forgiven of our sins. When he alked about forgiveness for all the wrong we had done, Jarend swallowed hard.

"You mean none of it matters? None of the horrible things we do?" he asked them.

"It matters, but if you truly seek forgiveness it will be given to you if you mean it in your heart," Lehlax explained. 

And later: 

I couldn't believe that the horrible things I had done could be forgiven. It was a wild idea, but it stirred my thoughts and made me want to know more. All the men I had killed flashed in my mind at once and I thought, that man can forgive this? Is there hope for someone like me? Is there?

We were all eating and most of us had finished the meat, when Sine started humming lightly. Pretty soon others joined him. I watched them with curiosity and I could't shake that feeling that had come back: the words dancing around the edges of my closed off mind, teasing me. I thought I knew them, I thought all this seemed like something I could believe in, hope in something that could be real. God....Forgiveness. Hope.

and through his involvement with Averella and her witness to him, he further considers it,

Then you talked about forgiveness and it gave me hope that maybe....Maybe i'm not too far gone, Maybe I can be forgiven for the things I've done. 

Another theme that is evident in this novel, is that of suffering. [bctt tweet="White addresses the age-old question from those who do not believe that if a loving God really loved us, why does He allow us to suffer, why does He not deliver us? " username="httpstwittercomPeterWilliam117"]White explains one aspect of this answer through the rebuke and scoffing from Wes concerning the existence of God and His lack of involvement in their fight for survival. Averella defends her beliefs, God's existence, this question of suffering and deliverance with this discourse, 

He is real! And He is watching out for us! He can stop it, but you know what? He won't because that's one of His greatest gifts to man - the gift of free will! Which means the Aretul, the people who run Zagerah, and event the Hunters themselves have the free will to make their own choices! God is not going to override that or force them to do anything! But He can and will protect us! If we die here, there's a reason, if we die tonight, tomorrow, or thirty years from now there is a reason for it! We don't know the reason, but He is always with us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us!" 

(This reference in the quote above of God always being with us and not forsaking us is from many verses in the Bible and this one stands out amongst the rest: Deuteronomy 31:6 New King James Version),

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

And White goes on to explain through Lehlax what we do while going through any tribulation, 

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31)

And just like any discourse in this debate over this perpetual question of suffering, some answers are not accepted by everyone, and further challenges to the Christian faith and the question of God's existence and His motives for suffering are thrown in the mix. This time, Runx challenges Averella,

"So, tell me this..... if this guy (God) is watching us and always there for us and all that, but he's not going to control someone else's choices, yet you say he will help us, then why do we still die in here? Why not pop out a miracle and save us all from the Hunters, huh?"

Averella retorts,

"He helps us, and He answers our prayers, but it's not always in our timing or in the exact way that we want it or expect it. It's quiet, it's subtle, and sometimes we might not even realize what happened."

This may sound like preaching when extracted from the plot like I have done, but seen in the context of the story and events that led to this discussion, it is powerful and adds depth to the plot, adds even more suspense and enables the reader to relate to the characters POV. And does not similar conversations occur amongst Christians and non-Christians? It is reality and in this novel setting, it is art imitating life! It is also where faith and fiction intersect!

I do have one question about this faith discourse and depiction of some of these prisoners being Christian. If these Christian prisoners have faith in God and know His Word as well as what they have espoused in their discussion, why did White not show through their fight for survival and fight against the Hunters, more prayer and living out their faith under these tribulations? Their actions in this fight and flight response of being hunted to death are very reactive and of the base nature of survival, which is fine and not to be ignored but acted upon, however, as Christians, we do not have to only rely on this survival and reactivity. We are called to be doers of the Word, not just hearers! (1 James 1:22): 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

This inclusion of prayer, living out His Word and even using the name of Jesus to come against the actions and demonic powers of the Hunters would not have detracted or lessened the suspense, action, or rivetingness of the plot. White has shown that the Hunters and the Aretul are involved in the demonic so including these spiritual warfare principles would have balanced out the demonic and shown true spiritual warfare, which is one of the pillars of this novel and series. 

However, this novel stands on its own and what White has included of the Christian faith and its doctrines holds this novel/series in good stead. I am sure it will be an encouragement to those Christians who are struggling in their faith or to those who don't yet have a relationship with Jesus that either a seed of faith may be planted or an existing one watered by the faith elements White has included here.

I respect White for dealing with the betrayal, the lies, the misunderstanding, the unforgiveness that sometimes happens in a relationship and how she portrayed the resolution of these in a positive Christian way. This supports the way that Christians are to deal with these issues and their aftermath. Just as Jesus did not give up on sinful and "fallen from grace" mankind, so based on Jesus' example, Averella did not give up on Jared despite the hurt and betrayal he caused her through his lies, and deceit as an undercover Hunter. In this age of throwaway and disposable relationships, it is encouraging and relationship-affirming to see an author deal with this God's way and not man's way.

I have stated in previous reviews that I am not a fan of the romance genre, but I do appreciate and enjoy romance when it is included as a subplot and that it does not overtake the plot. White has done this well in this novel. I loved the developing relationship between Averella and Jared. I hope to see more of these two and the development of their relationship in future novels. As with other novels where the subplot of romance exists, it serves well to break up the suspense, action and adventure and give the reader a breather from this! What a nice breather it is too! 

While reading this novel and Forgotten, I was struck by how much more of the backstory of the Aretul and the origins of this darkness, of Zagerah and the Dark Master I wanted to know. I happen to venture over to White's website and she had just added exactly what I was seeking:

• Evil Incarnate: A Detailed Look At The Dark Master
• A Man or A Prison: A Detailed Look At Zagerah
• Leader, Husband, Father: A Detailed Look At Municx
• Gone but Not Forgotten: A Detailed Look at Malik and Kellarch

• The Secret Sacrifice: A Detailed Look At Wexx (and Sine)

I would encourage White to include these documents either in a companion book about this series (there will be 10 novels after all!) or as an appendix to Hunter. If she adds any more concerning those characters in future novels, then these could be the appendix to that novel. 

Reading these backstories only enhanced my enjoyment of this novel. I am sure there would be readers who do not investigate an author's website and so would miss out on this information about the characters and the worldbuilding and its enhancement of their reading enjoyment. I mention this to be an appendix as it gives vital world-building information. As any discerning reader and fan of science fiction and fantasy knows, solid, detailed worldbuilding is essential in making it relational and believable science fiction and/or fantastical world an author creates. Otherwise, the novel falls flat and the reader does not come back for more or seeks another author who has the goods on all these issues.

White has delivered here and is well placed to further expand the worldbuilding of this series.

Strongly recommended.

To buy or preview this novel, click on the image below:

Readers and reviews are an author’s best asset, so I encourage any reader, to consider reading Hunter and submit a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (or any other social media you subscribe to).

Reviews help promote an author’s novel to potential readers and encourage the author to keep writing. Reviews also help get the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, whether Christian or not, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.

Please note: As an Amazon Associate, I am required to disclose that book cover images or titles of novels in this post are paid links if they are linked to Amazon and result in a sale.

Guest Post: Nathan Keys and His Debut Novel: The Epic of Marindel: Chosen.

I hosted Nathan Keys on 10/07/19 on another blog, now defunct. 

Today, I am hosting novelist, Nathan Keys who novel, The Epic of Marindel: Chosen is released today, July 9th. He relates the story behind how this novel was written and dwells heavily on God's involvement and inspiration.

I came across Nathan and his novel from his GoFundMe advert on my Facebook feed. When I read the campaign, the blurb for the novel, and the vision he had for it, I was impressed. This encouraged me to review it so I contacted him for a review copy. I am so glad I did and it was a well-constructed story, replete with biblical truth and allegory that it was awarded the Reality Calling Christian Redemptive Fiction Award.

My review can be found here that also contains his Award.

Now before we begin, here is what The Epic of Marindel: Chosen is about: 

Long ago, the elven Kingdom of Marindel governed the realm of Tyrizah from its place on the back of a giant sea turtle. But when a great evil was unleashed, the Era of Peace came to a tragic end. Thousands of years passed, and Marindel was all but forgotten.

Connor, a young farmer with a wild imagination, always longed for adventure. When bizarre events cause him to realize his role in the greatest story of all, Connor embarks on a quest to defend the Great King’s daughter from a wicked sorcerer, whose darkness grows with every passing day.

Tarento, a promising Samurai warrior, is disillusioned with the grandeur of his own kingdom. But when he hears the voice of a King he cannot see, he discovers his destiny to save the people of Felidae from impending disaster.

As their journeys entwine, Connor and Tarento will travel across the realm, uncover the mysteries of Marindel, and face unimaginable odds in their fight to survive. Tension broils in the city of Cloud Summit as diabolical factions vie for control of the Kingdom of Armavir. The adventurers must make a daring rescue attempt—but at what cost?

Now I will hand you over to Nathan so he can recount how his Award-winning novel came to be. 

The Epic of Marindel began with a dream.

I had given my writing gift to the Lord several years prior, telling Him that I didn’t want to write a book unless it was something that would give Him glory, and empower readers with hope and purpose. Four years later, I began to sense my imagination was gearing up for something.

One night, I had a vivid dream of a girl in an underwater world using magic to make plants grow. When I awoke, I asked the Lord what it meant. He said, “This is where I’d like you to start.” In that moment I understood that the dream was a symbol of Eden, before the fall, with mankind (the girl) exercising God-given authority (magic) to make plants grow (cultivate creation, create life, etc). Over the next few days, I spent time praying and processing how to begin. On August 1st 2014, I began writing the first chapter of The Epic of Marindel: Chosen, with only a minimal idea of where it would go. Since then, it has taken a life of its own, and has been prophesied to reach the nations. I’m honored to be used by God to use my writing gift to craft such an incredible story and share His glory with the whole world!

The purpose of The Epic of Marindel, as a complete series, is to tell the story of Jesus’ pursuit of His Bride, the Church, with emphasis on the events leading up to His second coming. The primary audience is a group referred to as “the generation of the Lord’s return,” those who will be alive to witness and experience the final days. The Epic of Marindel, while it is a riveting adventure story that many people will enjoy, is also a discreet warning letter to the Bride of Christ: “See yourself in this story, and understand the urgency of the times. The final days are coming, and they’re coming fast!”

Even in Chosen, Book I of the series, several characters describe a coming conflict, the likes of which the realm of Tyrizah has never seen. In the following excerpt, Prince Eli describes the conflict to the protagonist, Connor, and the role he will play:

“The times are changing, and tension builds between the forces of good and evil in this realm. A time is soon coming when all the kingdoms of Tyrizah will be deceived by the (Great) Serpent, and they will try to destroy Melody once and for all. Even then, out of every kingdom, a remnant will remain steadfast to resist the will of the Serpent. Against all odds, they must unite as one to defend her in her darkest hour. Only through their courageous love and sacrifice will Melody remember the love of the Great King. Only then will she call for the Great Prince of the Sea, and only then can there be everlasting peace in the realm of Tyrizah. … Connor, you are the Final Seer. It is your word, your devotion to truth, your courage, and your leadership that will rally the remnant of every kingdom to stand as one in the final days.”

The Final Conflict, as I call it, will develop and unfold over the course of the series. Characters such as Connor will undergo immense trials and challenges over the course of several years in order to be prepared for the Final Conflict. At the same time, some characters will be involved in realm politics, where the reader will see the gradual unification of the realm against Melody (who represents Israel) and all followers of the Great King.

What does that mean for us? I believe we are in a very similar time here on Earth. We as the people of God need to be aware of what’s happening around us, in tune with the Spirit at all times, so that we will not be alarmed when the real Final Conflict begins. We know how the story will end; there are hundreds of Scripture passages where Jesus, the apostle John, and others tell us what is going to happen. While I don’t intend for The Epic of Marindel to be a play-by-play strategy book for surviving the End Times (that Book has already been written), it is my hope that it will awaken the souls of Christian readers to the urgency of these matters, perhaps in ways that eschatological debates and sermons may not be able to do.

What is the response I’m hoping for? I’d encourage readers of The Epic of Marindel: Chosen and of this blog post to develop a deep friendship with God, practice obeying Him in simple things, study His plan for Israel in the Scriptures, and always keep watch, so that when trials and persecutions escalate on a global scale, we will all be united in Christ together, ready to herald the coming of the King of Kings.

Don’t wait! Start now! It will never be easier to seek after God and His purposes than it is right now. Who knows? You might be a “Connor” with a big role to play in the grand finale. And the only way to know if you’ve been chosen for such a task—and then to prepare for it—is to commune with Jesus every day. That is the greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind, and all of your strength.” Trust me, He will show you just how significant your life can be if you tune your heart to hear His voice and spend time with Him as with a friend!

The Final Conflict isn’t so intimidating once you realize how “in charge” He really is.

Why do the nations conspire
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
 “Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.”

 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger
    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
“I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

Psalm 2:1-6

If you want to follow Nathan on social media and keep up to date with his writing and the continuation of The Epic of Marindel, he is found on the following media platforms:

Facebook                                     Instagram

If you would like to investigate this novel further, click on the image below:

About Nathan Keys:

Nathan keys is an award-winning epic fantasy author based in San Diego, CA. It is his dream and vocation to write empowering stories that will not only captivate readers but leave them with hope and purpose.

Nathan has been fascinated with storytelling from an early age. As a child, he invented worlds and creatures, played pretend, and told stories to anyone who would listen. He completed his first “novel,” an 85,000-word fanfiction, at age 13. He spent high school summers creating plotlines for role-playing games on a forum site, where many concepts for characters, creatures, and kingdoms in The Epic of Marindel were first developed.

The Epic of Marindel: Chosen is his first published novel. The first of many.

In addition to writing, Nathan works full-time in the biotech industry, serves as a vision lead at the San Diego Kingdom Writers Association, and is a hospitality shift lead at All Peoples Church in San Diego. During his free time he enjoys hiking, exercise, travelling and visiting coffee shops, breweries, and wineries with good friends.

Readers and reviews are an author’s best asset, so I encourage any reader, to consider reading The Epic of Marindel: Chosen and submit a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (or any other social media you subscribe to). Reviews help promote an author’s novel to potential readers and encourage the author to keep writing.

Reviews also help get the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, whether Christian or not, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.

Interview with Danny Knox and His Debut Novel: Speak and Evil Bound: On Earth as it is in Heaven

 I interviewed Danny Know on 18/09/19 on another blog, now defunct.

Today, I am interviewing debut novelist, Danny Knox about his recently released novel, Speak and Evil Bound: On Earth as it is in Heaven. I discovered this novel on Amazon and I was intrigued by the theme of its description, 

Imagine if the Lord literally answered the prayer that he encouraged his followers to pray – “Let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”. Imagine he actually did “deliver us from evil”?

I contacted the author and offered to highlight this novel. He chose to be interviewed.

So sit back and let's see what motivated him to write this intriguing novel with a theme that is important and relevant to our Christian walk and being a disciple of Christ.

Welcome, Danny, thanks for stopping by!

Let’s start with you telling us a little about yourself?

As a computer system’s professional, I don’t come from a career that typically leads to fiction writing. This is not the first career change that was by God’s design and not my own.  My degree from college was in agriculture mechanization, but I did not work in that field for many years before discovering my true passion. I have been working in corporate information systems for over 35 years. I recognize God’s leading in my life and follow the opportunities. It seems this time it has led to writing a book.Even my wife was surprised to see that side of me emerge.

I have three daughters in their twenties and a granddaughter. They are all close by and we visit often. I have been married for 28 years. I am very involved in my church in Austin, Texas, in various roles including nursery care, technical lighting of services, a small-group leader, leading disaster relief teams and wherever I am needed.

Thanks, Danny, now let's see what your novel is about:

Imagine if the Lord literally answered the prayer that he encouraged his followers to pray - "Let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven". Imagine he actually did "deliver us from evil"?

Is it possible that everyone has an innate understanding of their relationship with the Creator and has a suppressed understanding of the potential that it holds? This story challenges the dogma of science, society and religion and presents familiar scriptures in a light you may not have considered before. You may find there is profound wisdom in having faith.

Take a refreshing break from dramas about dystopian societies, betrayal, terror, hate and crime. Experience realistic examples of joy, hope and accomplishment that materialize in unexpected ways. The story is fiction, but it's very important to consider.

What inspired you to become an author? Has it always been a desire of yours to write?

I was surprised to find such great satisfaction in writing. I had some things that I wanted to be able to say to my adult kids about the times that we are living in.  I consider it very reasonable to believe that God is involved in all aspects of life, continuously. There is a lot of pressure to buy into the post-modern perspective that intelligent people do not believe that. In order to be able to make myself clear, I started trying to write out how I could best express myself. A long-time friend, Steve Solmes, suggested making my message into a story and then it became a novel.  Steve suddenly passed away earlier this year, so I was compelled to dedicate the book to his memory because it was by his urging that I took on such a big project.

This is your first novel. Have you always had a desire to do something like this?

I was surprised to find that I enjoyed writing. It was just about a year ago, I began to try to write down some effective ways to communicate with my children and their friends about my Christian perspective and why it is reasonable to have faith in God. I know there is a lot of pressure to buy into the post-modern perspective these days. Especially on college campuses. I needed to be able to communicate in a way that they would be willing to hear what I was saying and not dismiss my comments as coming from an uninformed, out-of-touch older person. 

What was the surprise about finding joy in writing?

Writing became a surprising joy when I first started trying to write fiction in 2018. It was a release from the frustration of seeing society decline with hopelessness to make a difference. The escape to the fantasy world was a relief, but then it became encouraging to think that a story may also change minds about what should be considered acceptable. Although it is considered an artistic effort, it expresses passion for change. There have been other fictional books that made a significant social difference.

You make reference to your story being realistic, but biblically relevant. Can you give an example?

I start each chapter with a Bible verse that seems to be relevant to situations in the storyline. The story takes place in the period of the Millennium Kingdom. The attempts at creating a utopia on earth have been catastrophic with horrible consequences in our history. Without giving too much of the story away, I imagined God answering the Lord’s Prayer to “deliver us from evil.” When evil is bound, the Millennium Kingdom is the utopia because it is governed by the Spirit of God from within each individual with sovereignty over all governments.

The Amazon description for this novel states,

Imagine if the Lord literally answered the prayer that he encouraged his followers to pray - "Let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven". Imagine he actually did "deliver us from evil”?

Is it possible that everyone has an innate understanding of their relationship with the Creator and has a suppressed understanding of the potential that it holds? This story challenges the dogma of science, society, and religion and presents familiar scriptures in a light you may not have considered before. You may find there is profound wisdom in having faith.

Take a refreshing break from dramas about dystopian societies, betrayal, terror, hate, and crime. Experience realistic examples of joy, hope, and accomplishment that materialize in unexpected ways. The story is fiction, but it's very important to consider.

Is this what motivated you to write this novel? What further background can you provide?

This novel was a labor of love for my family. It is fiction and so it is meant to be entertaining, but it is also intended to be thought-provoking. The characters in the story are meant to be familiar to the reader in their life circumstances and their perspectives. Through the examples of interactions in the book, I hope that the reader becomes more confident, against the pressure to suppress expressions of faith these days.

I could not understand the Speak and Evil Bound part of the title. It seems to conflict with the “On Earth as it is in Heaven” part of the title. I ask this as I consider that if I question the meaning of this part of the title, others might as well. Can you explain this and how you came up with this title?

 I am really glad you asked that question. I thought of it as a working title for a long time, but I got confirmation to keep it from several people once they understood what the book was about. “On Earth as it is in Heaven”, as the subtitle, is meant to help clarify the meaning by observing that evil has no participation in heaven. The title may not be clear immediately, but by the end of the third chapter, it is clear that it is in reference to Revelation 20:2 in which that ancient serpent, Satan, is bound for a thousand years.

If you have had any readers read this before publication, what have their responses been?

 I asked a church leader from the megachurch that I attend to read it and give me feedback. After he read it, he was very enthusiastic and asked me to speak to his large class of mature couples about the book’s message, last Sunday. I also asked the people in the homegroup that I lead to read it and give me feedback, and they were also excited for it to be released.  A church sceptic that is a friend also read it and his feedback was that the story was entertaining and caused him to think about some things that he would not normally have taken the time to consider.

 What other Biblical themes or messages have you included?

Evil does not express itself only in the horrors that we see on the evening news. That is not the evil that we need to be delivered from. The evil that we are unable to escape is in our human nature. Maybe our selfishness, greed, lust, hate and deceit are primitive characteristics that caused our ancestors to thrive in competition with others. My argument against that scientific wisdom is that there must be an even more primitive nature before evil possessed us that prevents those characteristics from destroying us, which can be revealed. If we were created in the image of God, those characteristics are not really representative of who we are. It requires God’s power to escape them and then the full potential of being like God can be revealed. We are missing out on the reason for life by not pursuing that relationship more enthusiastically.

Let's take a break from this interview so readers can preview an excerpt you have provided. You also why you chose this excerpt:

I chose this excerpt to represent Speak and Evil Bound because it conveys the underlying theme of great confidence that God is participating in the moment and demonstrates the uncertainty that adds tension to make the story compelling and a page-turner. The story follows very believable events that echo scripture in both the Old and New Testaments. The characters are intended to be recognizable as people that you may know, if not yourself.



Setup for the excerpt: David was on a business trip to Chicago. A long-time Christian, he began noticing that his interactions with people were very different on this particular day. Since he was always considering how God was involved in every activity, he realized that the Spirit was making a big move in the world. He responds enthusiastically by heading for the most unlikely place in Chicago that people would acknowledge the living God. The discussion is a snippet of a longer conversation with a cab driver.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Start of Excerpt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He continued, “I think you are probably going to get murdered today. Is there another way?” We had arrived at the church parking lot.

“I am not going to try to do anything to get killed,” I said, “but I am firmly convinced that this is what needs to be done right now. If I do experience violence, then I know that a life cut short serving God is a fuller life than living many years serving myself.”

I handed him the money that the meter indicated, plus a generous tip, but he put up his hand and shook it back and forth. “I will pay your fare,” he insisted. “That is my way of participating in God’s work that you are doing.

You are talking like a jihadist if you were talking about the Muslim faith. You must be expecting a big reward in heaven.”

I replied, “Oh, there’s that selfish perspective that characterizes evil that I was talking about. I don’t have any anticipation of what I will receive as a reward. I can’t imagine what heaven will be like, but I trust God completely because of the example of all he has given me that I did not earn. Maybe I have the conviction of a jihadist, but not the hate of a militant. I will leave it up to God to deliver his wrath on evil. My role is to show the limitless mercy and love of the Spirit.”

When I stepped out of the cab I was struck by a definite chill in the air. There were sirens in the distance. I wasn’t sure which way to go but trusted the Spirit to guide me. I walked down the sidewalk between the deteriorating row houses, toward some people I could see one block over. Some small kids were playing in a yard with a high chain-link fence around it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of excerpt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What kind of reaction are you hoping to receive from readers?

 I wrote my book as a novel because I considered it important to entertain the reader in order to get them to hear my message. I hope that I am able to create a desire for a world that doesn’t exist and to understand that the only way it could exist is by the power of God to rescue us. There is a nihilistic perspective that is evident in popular entertainment choices, rampant depression, drug use, suicide and violence. I would like my readers to consider other possibilities and to see examples of responding differently and to become more hopeful.

 What was the hardest part of writing your novel?

 Developing the story and writing was a real pleasure and very satisfying. Thinking about publishing and making it available for everyone to read caused me to recoil many times. I have always been shy. I am uncomfortable exposing myself in my writing for everyone to see what is going on in my head.  As a first-time writer, I had my doubts about many things, but I got the editorial help that I needed and am very proud of the end product.

Who is your favourite character in Speak and Evil Bound

There are a lot of characters. Many of them represent me at different stages of my life. My passion is representing how good God is despite how broken we are. Ace is a character who is easy to hate at first, like Paul in the New Testament. When he realizes his relationship to the Creator of the universe he struggles to become different and then ends up accomplishing great things.

This is your first novel, did you plot it all out before you started writing (plotter) or did you write as it came to you (pantser, as in writing by the seat of your pants)?

I did not follow a traditional plot, but I knew the end message of what I wanted the story to accomplish. There were many sections in the book that took me by surprise in the way they developed. When I sat down to write a chapter, I was pretty sure how it was going to be laid out, but often had to work to make the tension and pace appealing and that is where surprises came in.

How has writing and being an author impacted your relationship with Jesus Christ or vice versa?

I’m surprised at how easy it is to talk about my faith with anyone now, because everyone is interested in the fact that I wrote a book. As I describe the story, I am really demonstrating my faith that God is participating in the moment. I have found myself in conversations that I would not have started before.  Trying to explain the storyline is an opportunity to talk about how having a relationship with God is only possible by rejecting our embrace of the evil nature and accepting God’s grace. He really wants that relationship with you that leads to meaning in life.

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

I have started a book that is related to Speak and Evil Bound. It may seem like Speak and Evil Bound should be a series, but I am reluctant to commit to that for several reasons that would require possibly sharing too much about the story in this interview. I would like to write some short stories relating to Speak and Evil Bound and put them on my website to establish community with the readers. I love being in this story and I am hopeful there will be a demand from readers to hear more about it.

Where can readers find you? What are your social media platforms:

My website is CrossedFeathers.com

My author Facebook page is www.fb.me/AuthorDannyKnox

I am available by email at Danny.Knox@CrossedFeathers.com

Any closing comments before we go?

Thank you for this opportunity, Peter. I look forward to following your blog and seeing what God is doing through your blog and other Christian writers.

Danny, it has been my pleasure and I have enjoyed interviewing you. You are welcome to stop by at any time to discuss any future novels or anything relating to your writing. 

If any reader would like to investigate this novel further, click on the image below:

Readers and reviews are an author’s best asset, so I encourage any reader, to consider reading Speak and Evil Bound: On Earth as it is in Heaven, and submit a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (or any other social media you subscribe to).

Reviews help promote an author’s novel to potential readers and encourage the author to keep writing. Reviews also help get the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, whether Christian or not, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.

Please note: As an Amazon Associate, I am required to disclose that book cover images or titles of novels in this post are paid links if they are linked to Amazon and result in a sale.

Novel Review: Those Who Dwell Upon the Earth by James D. Sanderson

I reviewed this novel on 07/10/19 in another blog, now defunct.

Those Who Dwell Upon the Earth. 

What will we do when the nations of the world finally resort to the ultimate violence - nuclear weapons? When the world economy collapses. When the world goes to war? Will we choose even more violence and chaos to solve our problems, or will we find some other way?

Will we Christians choose to follow Christ, building loving communities, caring for others, finding forgiveness and living the way of nonviolence? And if we do choose this way, what will that look like?

'Those Who Dwell Upon The Earth' is a novel about a small Christian discipleship group that decides the time has come to choose this new way. Over time their tiny community grows into a full-blown movement. At that point, they are seen as a threat to the authoritarian government that has taken away our civil liberties. Who will prevail?

Before the end times come the bad times - the Troubles. How will we as Christians respond?

Perspective by Peter:

I was asked by the author to review this novel. I was intrigued by the description that asked so many pertinent, challenging and confronting questions for Christians:

• What will we do when the nations of the world finally resort to the ultimate violence – nuclear weapons? When the world economy collapses. When the world goes to war? Will we choose even more violence and chaos to solve our problems, or will we find some other way?

• Will we Christians choose to follow Christ, building loving communities, caring for others, finding forgiveness and living the way of nonviolence? And if we do choose this way, what will that look like?

• Those Who Dwell Upon The Earth’ is a novel about a small Christian discipleship group that decides the time has come to choose this new way. Over time their tiny community grows into a full-blown movement. At that point, they are seen as a threat to the authoritarian government that has taken away our civil liberties. Who will prevail?

• Before the end times come the bad times – the Troubles. How will we as Christians respond?

Sanderson sets out in this novel to answer those questions and show how it could be done and the price to pay in doing it. It is a very biblically based novel. Sanderson weighs heavily on this and it pays off. He has obviously done his research both Biblically but also politically, economically and socially.

This would be the only novel that I have come across that explores in great depth what it means to live for Christ and live out His teachings in the worst possible scenario. It is confronting to read and imagine as we currently live in the opposite culture and economy. But we all know that as Christians our future before Christ returns is going to be problematic and instead of being materialistic and self-reliant as we are now it will be the opposite of this in that futuristic world ".....where nations of the world finally resort to the ultimate violence – nuclear weapons? When the world economy collapses. When the world goes to war? When the human race chooses even more violence and chaos." We will have nothing to rely on as it will be all stripped away. This novel shows that. But what is interesting and contributes to our difficulty in being prepared for this is in today's world is that we do live more of a life that is self-reliant and materialistic, even amongst Christians. Not all, but maybe the vast majority. And as soon as we become Christians, we should be living reliant of God and living out the Bible's instruction for living and those of Christ's that the Bible mentions here in whatever period of time we find ourselves in.

Sanderson successfully shows what it is like once those conditions in the future have occurred. It is bleak, most of the population are destitute unless they are wealthy by being in the corrupt and greedy elite that exists. The division between the rich and poor is the greatest of all time in this novel. It is very obvious. It is black and white. You are either in the poor group or the greedy, corrupt elite group or you are not. This latter group exists from the levels of authority up, the police force, manufacturing, the levels of local and federal government.

Against this setting, Sanderson has created his novel. He shows us another way, a way that is of Jesus and outlined in the Bible. Here his research into past revolutions pays off. He uses the main character of Jesus (same name as Jesus Son of God), but not the one and same. This character is called Jesus as his mother had a feeling he would be destined for doing some good so she named him after her Saviour.

Jesus shows pretty much that he is human only, he even has his doubts, as we all do. The death of his wife from the greediness and corruptness of the hospital and government system fueled his motivation to seek a better way of living and providing for everyone's needs on every level. Fighting this greedy and corrupt way of life following the Troubles (the period of time before the current setting of this novel, where the Great Collapse occurred, followed by the Great Bombardment, then the Great War, that lead to the Great Dark Age that is now the setting and time of this novel).

Jesus of this novel becomes convinced that the non-violent way of protest and revolution is the way to behave and live in this Great Dark Age. Sanderson pulls together so many biblical tenets, sayings of Jesus, Biblical references that is is very convincing. One has to only look at this life on earth tho see that he lived and preached a non-violent way. However, the violence he showed in the Temple was righteous anger towards those who had denigrated the Temple and used it for a purpose it was not meant to have. This is very different from the motive of violent revolution and protest by mankind since then.

I can only think of one term to describe how the Jesus of the novel, encouraged, modelled and lived in this oppressive, corrupt Dark Age. That is Kingdom Living. It is not only based on non-violence but on building a self-sustaining community where everyone places the other above themselves and lives to provide for each and every one of them. Hence, we have Jesus setting up in this community, a clinic for the sick, barter system and a type of monetary system, food provision, sanitary and hygiene, nurture of the land for best produce without depleting the soil of nutrients (very much a throwback to what we now know about leaving the land fallow). Interesting that in this community there is no need for any "Police" or justice system as everyone was mentored to live fair and justly and to be treated the same. Sounds idealistic but that is only because we have never experienced that in any of the government systems in the past or even the present. But the main difference here is also that in the community that the Jesus of the novel creates, the Spirit encourages them to become followers of Christ (therefore Christian) either upon their entrance into the community or later as they experience life where all their needs are met and they see the benefits of non-violence toward each other but especially towards their oppressors, those of the greedy and corrupt elite and of the local and federal government. Reminds me of the lyrics to one of the songs I grew up with,

"We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord And we pray that our unity will one day be restored, And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love Yeah they'll know we are Christians by our love, 

We will work with each other, we will work side by side, We will work with each other, we will work side by side And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride, And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love Yeah, they'll know we are Christians by our love.".

 Every instance where Sanderson has the Jesus of the novel, espouse more of the Biblical tenets of living like this and of non-violence is one refreshing and uplifting account. Sanderson uses this novel to not only do this to the Christian reader and challenge the non-Christian reader as well but to show how this message is just as important in the past but more so now. We are heading for this more and more each day. Persecution of Christians in third world countries or those countries who are intolerant of any other religion or belief that poses a threat to them (and Christianity appears the only belief system that poses this) is not nowadays just confined to those countries with this track record. Western countries are following suit. Slowly, everything that shows you follow the God of the Bible or live the way encouraged therein or says anything against society's way of life is considered hate speech and treated as terrorism. The penalties do not sway from either a monetary fine, imprisonment or death.

I can see why Sanderson calls this novel a novel of social protest. In the guest post concerning the background of this novel, he states, in response to the increasing division between the rich and poor,

‘Those Who Dwell Upon The Earth’ is a novel of social protest much like John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.  One of the primary criticisms of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ was that it presented a philosophy of communism. It is that same criticism that is likely to be levelled against ‘Those Who Dwell Upon The Earth’.  When, in the extreme case of corruption, violence, and oppression in a government, the common people are forced to rise up and take control of the mechanisms of power, some form of communism may be the result.

There are several differences between a communist state and a church community.  First and foremost is belief in God and the Bible, and a commitment to following the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  There is a huge difference between a totalitarian police state and a loving and benevolent Father God.

The second difference is found in the voluntary nature of giving and sharing in the Christian community as found in Acts 2:42-48, and other places, and the mandatory ‘sharing’ that is found in a communist system.  Being forced to contribute does not lead to loving care for one another. It leads to deceit and fear and anger.

The third difference between a communist state and a Christian community is the general sense of wanting to comply with God’s will, as opposed to being forced to comply with a central committee or power, or a single dictator.  There are many other differences as well.

‘Those Who Dwell Upon The Earth’ anticipates what it would look like for a small Christian disciple group to act and lead in a world that has suffered the great agony of financial collapse, nuclear bombardment, and another world war.  How would their way be different from the way of the world?

What we see in this novel is not a turn toward communism, but a way for people to move forward in the loving embrace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This is truly a different kind of Christian fiction. It is literary, intelligent, action-packed – being thrust forward by a sense of community movement – and very important for today’s Christian trying to ‘make it’ in the real world.

Even when I read that before this novel, I knew I was going to be challenged and may be convicted of some of the attitudes and behaviours I have allowed to exist and influence me. But this is the beauty and success of fiction. It not only entertains but educates, instructs, uplifts and edifies, the latter three I see more and more in Christian fiction when the author is obedient to the Spirit and is writing for Him. I applaud Sanderson for writing this novel. As Christians, we are to encourage each other, we are to be a conduit of the Spirit, we are to show each other how to live according to what the Bible and Jesus teaches. Sanderson has found an effective way to do this.

To contrast the way of non-violence to achieve a revolution against the corrupt, greedy and unjust government system, Sanderson shows how the ends do not justify the means. To illustrate this, he has two opposing factions, the Fist of Christ and the Bright Star who use violent means and other tactics to overthrow this government and its greedy and corrupt system, but who end up becoming corrupt themselves and not unified, not at peace with themselves or achieved their aims. Sanderson even has these two factions meet with the Jesus of the novel to discuss tactics and each of these factions does not understand his non-violent means and they leave empty-handed. In the end, it is this community and those like them that are non-violent based and live according to the tenets of the Bible and the direction of the Spirit that are the ones that are successful and a force to be reckoned with in this revolution against the corrupt ruling system.

I would say this is not a character-driven novel, but one that is mainly plot-driven. Due to the message that Sanderson wants to portray as discussed above, it needs to be this way to show how the dynamics of this message play out. However, I agree that as far as showing Christians/humans showing care and concern for each other and the love of Christ and being Christ-like toward each other and everyone else, you would expect that the author would show at least enough characterisation to make them credible and relatable for the reader and for same to see how this is possible in real life and not just as part of the plot of a novel.

I found Jesus of the novel to be very much like Jesus of the Bible without considering him to almost be God-like in this depiction. This former Jesus shows if we are in tune with the Spirit by humility, obedience and constant communication through prayer, and living out His tenets, those in the Bible and being a conduit for the Spirit, we can be transformed by Him. This character seems to be the only Spirit-filled character in the novel. But he does stand out as a Pastor to follow not just because we follow Pastors but in this case, because he does live as a man of God and one where God is with him.

Through the Jesus of the novel, Sanderson shows how we need to be very conversant with the Bible and its tenets, equally with those of Jesus and what He instructed us to do contained in this book as well. And not just to be conversant with this but to have the understanding of what it means in order to live it out as our modus operandi. It is more of a way of life, it becomes part of your faith and motivated by the Spirit that lives inside you and the transformation that only He provides and achieves in you.

This is one very different novel that what most Christians will read. I can see it being criticised for being preachy, but for such an important message Sanderson has been instructed to deliver, to place too much emphasis on the action and plot arcs would water down this message and make it invalid. If I was this author, I would ignore all criticisms of such and any others. This is a spirit-filled novel, it is rich in the Word, rich in its tenets, examples, bible verses and stories. It is one with an important and timely message for those Christians with discernment for all and anything relating to the Spirit and what He wants his followers and those seeking Him to hear, in this case with increasing persecution of Christians and the eradication of all things Christianity and God wise before the "Troubles" to come leading up to the return of Christ. Those who feel it is too preachy or saturated with the message of the Spirit can always cease reading, close the book and their hearts to this message and move on.

Sanderson has thought, due to the nature of the message of this novel, that a Reader's Guide is warranted. I highly recommend this. It gives a summary of events in each chapter and some snippets of the themes running throughout them. However, this does not replace reading the novel as you get the full appreciation of it when you do so. It also contains more of his reasons for writing it and about the themes and message of the novel, together with the structure and style of the novel. Finally, at the end, there are Discussion Questions for Group Study. For those readers who would not be in a group study, I found these questions good to answer myself. 

Highly recommended.   

The three ratings below are based on my discernment:

World Building 5/5 

Characters 4/5 

Story 5/5

The two classifications below are based on the booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland:

Spiritual Level 4/5

Enemy Spiritual Level 3/5

Overall Rating: 4.2/5
______________________________________________

Spiritually, based on my review and on the aforementioned reference booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland (Radiqx Press) and that Those Who Dwell Upon the Earth contains elements of the criteria of what constitutes Christian Redemptive Fiction outlined in this booklet, together with David Bergsland, we bestow to James Sanderson, the

Reality Calling Redemptive Fiction Award

Congratulations, James!

To Buy, Share or Preview this novel or the Reader's Guide, click on the images below,

Readers and reviews are an author’s best asset, so I encourage any reader, to consider reading Those Who Dwell Upon The Earth and the Reader's Guide and submit a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (or any other social media you subscribe to).

Reviews help promote an author’s novel to potential readers and encourage the author to keep writing. Reviews also help get the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, whether Christian or not, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.