Hello, All. As I was putting together my blog post this time I thought that I might do something different. Several years ago I wrote a short story about what it might be like if the church in the United States was undergoing persecution. This is a little different subject matter for me but I thought you might enjoy it. I will be posting it in two parts. The following is part one: SPECIAL DELIVERY - Part 1 The young man knocked on the oak door and then stuck his head in the office. “You wanted to see me, Mr. Robertson?” “Sit down, Thomas, and close the door,” the well-dressed man said gruffly. The college student crossed the room and dropped into one of the arm chairs directly in front of Mr. Robertson’s imposing desk. “Thomas, as one of the Educational Administrators of ... Read More about Part One Of An Original Shortstory By Alan Harris
A Larkin in the Grave is Worth Two in the Bush
I don’t suppose my title will ever make it to the list of top ten proverbs, but it has meant a lot to me. Read on a bit, and I will try to explain what I’m talking about. I am very concerned that what I write honors God. That is a valid issue because sometimes I get so caught up in telling an interesting story that I forget my ultimate purpose of honoring God. The more I concentrate on trying to communicate in my writing a message that I believe God wants me to tell, the more challenging the writing seems to become. In my stories of the one inch tall Larkin people, I have tried to show my children and my readers the value of godly character, courage, and compassion. I have hidden in my stories lessons on loyalty, faithfulness, resourcefulness, discipline, devotion to duty, ... Read More about A Larkin in the Grave is Worth Two in the Bush
The Blessings of Larkin Nights
It just never gets old. We were able to connect with my oldest daughter Lisa and her family this past week. We don’t get to see them very much, and it was my first time to actually hold my newest granddaughter. We had special meals and lots of planned activities to make sure we got all the fun we could out of the weekend, and the icing on the cake was that we got to have one of our Larkin Nights. Many of you readers know about Larkin Nights, but for you newbies I will explain. I originally wrote my stories for my own children. (I still do.) Whenever I would finish a chapter, our family would have a special evening that we eventually referred to as “Larkin Nights.” At those times my wife would prepare a special meal and, after we all helped clean up, we would go into the den and discuss ... Read More about The Blessings of Larkin Nights
A Treasure Chest Waiting To Be Opened
If you’ve read my first book, Tales of Larkin: Hawthorn’s Discovery, then you remember that the hero Hawthorn, as he found himself in various difficulties, kept wishing that he could talk to the Maker. If you haven’t read my book, then you’re kind of confused with my last statement. I will explain. Most of the Larkin think that only the Shaman, their clan religious and civil leaders, can pray to the Maker. They believe that the great Maker of All That Is can only understand a special language and that only the Shaman can speak that language, hence, Hawthorn’s dilemma. It takes most of the book before he understands and is convinced that anyone can pray to God. I hope you treasure that gift, but if you’re like me you probably take it for granted. Take a moment and think about what it ... Read More about A Treasure Chest Waiting To Be Opened
How To Write A Story That Is Eternally Significant
The ability to tell stories is a gift that God gave all of us. When He made us, He included in our unique wiring imagination, creativity, love of adventure, and a sense of humor--all of those things needed to both tell and enjoy a good story. It’s clear that I’m not just making this stuff up, because the Bible is literally full of stories. Jesus constantly used parables, i.e., stories, to teach. In fact, in Mark 4: 34 it says that Jesus did not speak to the people without a parable (story). Since God gave us our ability to tell stories, then I believe that we as story-tellers need to use our stories to glorify and honor the Maker and His Son Jesus, as well as God’s words. To point people anywhere else with my stories is, in my opinion, to use my gift in vain. So how do we do ... Read More about How To Write A Story That Is Eternally Significant
Thoughts on My Favorite Characters
When I first started writing, I believed that if you just had an interesting story, then you would have a successful book. So I set about trying to write what I thought was a really engaging tale. I had only completed a couple of chapters when I realized that having an interesting story-line wasn’t enough. If there were not also interesting characters, then even an exciting story would fall flat. It took me a while to figure what made a character interesting, and I’m still not sure that I can absolutely define it, but I learned what personality traits that I enjoyed the most. I also discovered that the stranger the personality, the more fun I had writing about them. I’ve blogged about this before, but some of the characters were so strongly imprinted in my mind that they actually told ... Read More about Thoughts on My Favorite Characters