Tag: bell mountain series

‘The Underlying Spiritual Theme’ REPRINT

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From June 14, 2015

The other day my fellow blogger, Ajoobacats–she has a whale of a blog, totally dwarfing mine: just tons and tons of readers; I recommend her book reviews to all–honored me with a review of my Bell Mountain, which I am happy to say she liked very much ( http://leeduigon.com/2015/06/12/book-review-bell-mountain-by-lee-duigon/). I don’t think I’ve ever seen her review a fantasy before: but she admits that my book was about as far off her beaten track as she’s ever gone.

I must draw attention to one remark she made: “The underlying spiritual theme may not be in fashion…”

Well, that’s putting it mildly!

In fact, I know I’m out of fashion: it’s what I intended. The whole point of the Bell Mountain series is to “renormalize religion” by showing it to be a basic and indispensable component of the characters’ daily life, culture, and psychology: and more, to proclaim that God is a Person, the Supreme Being, who interacts with individuals, families, and whole nations.

My books have struck a few readers as odd because they have come to expect no trace of religion in any work of fiction, be it a novel, a movie or TV script, or anything else. But the total absence of God or gods in our fiction depicts an extremely weird kind of civilization that has never actually existed except in faculty lounges and some of the least wholesome, darkest corners of politics and business.

But how, asks the ninny, do you manage to fit God or religion into Zombie Apocalypse or Superheroes vs. Climate Change Deniers?

That’s the wrong question. If God is in your life, you may not have a yen to spend much time in Zombie Apocalypse. Not that you can never just veg out and relax by watching some nonsense or other. I love silly old monster movies. It’s only a problem when the nonsense takes over your life.

I believe it has done us harm, as a nation, to spend such vast amounts of time consuming “entertainment” from which the very concept of God has been excluded.

Go ahead, tell me I’m wrong.

Obstacles, Obstacles!

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OceanTime

I am trying to write a book: Ozias, Prince Enthroned, Part 2 of a trilogy. I had to shut it down for the winter. Now I want to get back to work on it–only to run into obstacles and impediments everywhere I turn.

Suddenly I’ve got three physical therapy sessions every week. The next day, I’m stiff and sore all over.

Previously scheduled doctors’ appointments.

Can’t seem to get a good night’s sleep. Worry, worry.

Now that’s funny! When I actually list these annoyances… well, they shrink. It ain’t that big a deal, I can handle it. If I had an upside-down exclamation mark, I could shout defiance in Spanish: “Alcaldes a mi!” (“Bring on your cops!” As in “I don’t care!”)

I depend on God to help me in my work; and so far He always has. My books are written in His service.

So let’s get to work already!

 

‘Ocean of Time’ (Sneak Preview)

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OceanTime

Kirk DouPonce has done it again! Can this guy whip up a book cover, or what?

I hope Ocean of Time will come out in time for Christmas this year. Meanwhile, take a good long look at that cover. Does that say “Pick me up and read me”? Does that say “Don’t you wish you knew what that’s about”?

After Ocean of Time, we’ll be going back two thousand years to another era of Obann’s history. I don’t intend it as a one-way trip… but we shall see.

‘Escape!’ (2012)

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The Glass Bridge (Bell Mountain #7)

A glass bridge–how’s that for a fresh look at reality?

Gee, this post is 12 years old. Who’d have thought I’d last so long?

So… Why write fantasy? Why read fantasy? Well, one reason would have to be to get away from the nooze.

Escape!

I now understand that a fantasy novel–unless it’s just a load of pfud–can be a parable. It can teach us truths. We see ourselves and our world from unfamiliar vantage points; we see things that we usually miss.

And no, it’s not as easy as it looks.

Another Bunch of Chapters Written

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2,000+ Sun Breaking Through Clouds Stock Photos, Pictures ...

There was the sun… behind those clouds!

As if all this rainy weather weren’t enough of an obstacle–I really do need to be outside while I compose fiction–I was wrestling with a detail of the plot that looked like it could turn out to be a serious error.

During a lull in the rain today, I sat under my umbrella and wrestled with my problem–thinking is a big part of writing a novel; don’t let anyone tell you different. Was I going to have to rewrite some of these chapters, top to bottom? And then what? I didn’t have the story firmly in hand, didn’t know what would happen next.

I always ask the Lord to guide my work–and I think today He answered me.

It wasn’t an unresolvable conflict in the plot! It wasn’t really a conflict at all. Instead, it was an opportunity. A door in my mind, a door I didn’t know was there, unexpectedly swung open. I don’t know if I’m saying this right; but now I’m very happy with a plot development that daunted me for several days.

If there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s a simple one: when you’re stuck, stop, be patient, and think! And pray.

You might be surprised by the answer that comes your way.

Lee’s Homeschool Reading List (8): ‘Bell Mountain’

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Bell Mountain (Bell Mountain, 1) - Kindle edition by Duigon, Lee. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Bell Mountain: Ages 10 and up

My stars! I’m recommending books for homeschoolers, and it never enters my mind to recommend my own books! I’ve only just realized that I’ve  left myself out.

I’ve been surprised, over the years, at how much Bell Mountain has been enjoyed by children whom you’d think were too young to read a novel. Most of the time it’s Daddy or Mommy who’s read the book to them. I’m very happy that my book can be read aloud to 8-year-olds–or even younger–and give them pleasure.

And of course it’s just the first book of a series… and the series has now grown to 13 books, with two more yet to be published… so it should be able to keep you interested for several years. Somehow the books have proved equally appealing to children and adult readers.

In Bell Mountain, a boy named Jack dreams a distant mountain is singing to him. Scripture says there is a bell on the summit of the mountain, waiting to be rung; and God will hear it. Jack believes he has had this dream because God wants him to ring the bell. He sets out for the mountain, accompanied by his friend, Ellayne. The story tells of their perilous journey to the mountain-top–along the way encountering strange beasts, strange people, miracles, treachery: everything that makes life worth living. Or at least worth reading about.

Click “Books” on our home page for descriptions and sample chapters of all 13 books in the series. Available from the Chalcedon Foundation Store at http://www.chalcedon.edu/ .

My Eureka Moment

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I’ve come very far along with The Silver Trumpet (No. 10 in my Bell Mountain series), having been at it since April: 40 chapters, in fact. Even so, as of yesterday, I had absolutely no idea how the story should end.

Years ago, my procedure was to dope out the whole plot, along with all the subplots, before I wrote a word. Everything was on color-coded index cards, with extra material, like detailed biographies for all the major characters. in notebooks.

I don’t do it that way anymore. Instead, I just send up a prayer, asking the Lord to give me the story He wants me to tell, and start writing. I generally don’t know where I’m going till I’m almost there, and I get a lot of surprises along the way.

Yesterday I went to the eye doctor and couldn’t write when I got home, my eyes being too dilated to see properly. So I sat outside, taking advantage of a gorgeously sunny day, with my Mr. Cool sunglasses and a nice cigar, just sitting.

And then, as Rocky Graziano used to say, wham!–it hit me. The whole climax of The Silver Trumpet flashed into my brain in less time than it takes me to tell you about it. It was God answering my prayer, and in a way He has done several times before. I have to say it’s kind of overwhelming!

And I love it.

Now I can go straight ahead and write the rest of the book. I know what I have to do, and all I’ve got to do is write it. I asked the Lord to lead me, and He has.

If I can just get it all done before the cold weather kicks in…

6,000 Hits This Month!

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Image result for images of chalicotheres

The critter depicted above is one of the knuckle-bears of Lintum Forest, first seen by Jack and Ellayne in Bell Mountain. I’ve posted it to celebrate the surprising fact that this humble blog has recorded over 6,000 views this month.

I thought I was years away from doing that, and I must thank my loyal readers for proving me wrong.

Can we do it again? Well, there’s only one way to find out…

Don’t Let Real-World Politics into Your Fantasy

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Today is primary election day in my home state. As usual, by the time our primary rolls around, the issue has already been decided.

I’m trying to spend most of the day outside, working on The Silver Trumpet, my new Bell Mountain book. Notice it is not called The Silver Trump. Because nothing knocks the stuffing out of a fantasy more than an incursion of our world’s news and politics.

Readers in some future generation will find it irrelevant, and will probably have no idea what you’re talking about, nor will they care. Readers in the present time will find it annoying, and feel imposed upon.

Don’t go to the trouble of creating a quasi-medieval setting for your story, only to torpedo the whole thing by having one of your knights or wizards gabbling about “diversity” or “climate change.” If you want to write it as a satire, in which some royal wannabe stirs up the peasants by telling them that the nobles “didn’t build that” castle, yatta-yatta, well, tally-ho and good luck. Your satire might even be funny. But fifty years from now, all it’s going to get out of a reader is a big fat “Huh?”

Not that fantasy ought to be irrelevant. It should focus on big issues like love, loyalty, sacrifice, etc., that will still be big issues a hundred years from now–not fleeting, ephemeral concerns like who’s gonna use what bathroom. Those matter in the here and now, and we have to deal with them. But I pray they will someday become as truly trivial as they deserve to be.

Let the stuff that deserves to pass away, pass away. I’ll do my level best to keep it out of the world of Bell Mountain.

 

‘The Thunder King’: Rescued!

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I guarantee you won’t be able to sell many fantasy/adventure novels if they’re packaged as books on “Labor & Industrial Relations.” Such has been the fate of the paperback edition of my fantasy novel, The Thunder King, on amazon.com.

How this could have happened is beyond anyone’s power to explain.

But thanks to the two amazon.com reps who helped me this morning, I am overjoyed to report that this problem will soon be taken care of. Sometime next week, The Thunder King, No. 3 in the series, will be categorized as “fiction, science fiction and fantasy, Christian fiction” along with the other seven in my Bell Mountain series.

“I don’t see how you could have sold many copies of this book as ‘Labor & Industrial Relations,'” said the rep at amazon’s Author Central. I think that must be the understatement of the year.

I could tell this error was hurting my sales. With all the other books, the numbers go up and down. But for The Thunder King the numbers never, never changed. It never bettered the rank of 3 million-and-change. Ugh!

Anyway, now it’s going to be fixed, and I pray I finally sell some copies.