Clinch: A Novel

Click here to buy a copy of Clinch: A Novel as a paperback or ebook.

Porn & Worship?

Yeah, it's a click-bait title, but it's not really misleading.

This is another article I wrote for The Blazing Center, which has pretty much become my favorite website over the last year or so. It's the brainchild of Stephen Altrogge (an author and songwriter who's got songs in our new church hymnal!) and Barnabas Piper (John Piper's son, who has written some great books, including the newly released Help My Unbelief). I'm planning on contributing  regularly to the site, because it is awesome.

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Remember the “worship wars” of the Eighties-and-Nineties? Churches were split over whether they should start a “contemporary service” or perhaps jump into the deep end and “go contemporary” altogether. People got mad . . . like, mad. Christians turned on each other over whether we should keep singing “Sweet Beulah Land” with the organ or start awkwardly clapping along with an acoustic guitar while sort of half-knee-bouncing our way through some “Songs from the Loft.”

I was one of the few to spend time in both trenches in this particular skirmish. Full disclosure: in college, I was in a Christian rock band called “Dead Ostrich.” Yes, I know it’s a stupid name. No, I didn’t choose it. It meant something about rejecting ignorance and apathy or . . . something. Anyway, we had a song that touched on the worship wars. The lyrics included these gems:

There you sit with your hands in your pockets
Afraid to show a little emotion.
Your friends may not approve
Your family may not approve
Your preacher might not approve[1]
But I guess it’s up to you

REFRAIN
You really make me sick
You’re such a typical Baptist

Aside: we gave a copy of our CD to Rob Bell (yes, that Rob Bell) and sat in his living room while he explained that, while he really liked the song “Typical Baptist,” we shouldn’t play it at our concerts if we were trying to reach the lost for Christ. Life is weird.

Anyway.

A few short years later, as the nineties and the worship wars wound down, I—hip-deep in cage-stage Calvinism—did a one-eighty on the topic. My reason for abandoning my college angst in favor of a premature middle age grumpiness was again rooted in emotions. Having embraced a full-on Sola Scriptura stance as well as affirming the total depravity of man, I just didn’t trust them anymore. Extreme emotions threatened to get between God’s Word and me and gum up the works. Better to stick with dusty, albeit doctrinally sound, songs that would engage my mind but little else.

In the ensuing 15-20 years, my personal pendulum has, of course, swung back from the extreme position once again. I found myself having what could be described as “emotional experiences” while worshiping God, and being almost embarrassed about it. With more study, discipleship, and maturity, I’ve come to embrace emotional worship (along with those dusty hymns), while still being on guard against some of the aspects of emotionalism that caused Calvin and Luther to scowl beneath those weird aviator-slash-scholar caps they always wore. (Note to self: get one of those caps.)

Allow me then to offer four reasons to be a little leery of emotionalism in worship and one big reason not to be . . .

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article . . .

Autographed Book Sale

I've got a couple big boxes of books in my closet, making it hard to reach my vast assortment of ties, most of which I don't where anymore because they're kind of '90s, but will still never get rid of. Anyway.

In the interest of getting books out of my way and into the hands of readers, I'm offering a limited number of signed copies of the following:

The Last Con - $11

Playing Saint - $11

42 Months Dry - $10

The Christian Gentleman’s Smoking Companion - $9


If you're someone I see regularly, knock $3 postage off the price and I'll just hand it to you. Also, feel free to tell me who to sign it to or even what to write. You can Paypal me below.

 

Book	The Last ConPlaying Saint42 Months DrySmoking Companion
Inscription

 

Allow Me to Read to You

The Last Con came out yesterday. If you're wondering whether you should buy it, you totally should. You can read the back cover copy here and read some excerpts here and here.

However, maybe you don't feel like reading right now. In that case, just click PLAY below, sit back, and let me read to you. Just...just click the thing and listen. Don't make it weird.

Click here to buy it.

Launch Party!

 So my newest book The Last Con comes out tomorrow!  And what better way to launch a new book than with a party? (The answer, to quote Nigel Tufnel, is "None.") Really, it's more of a “book event,” in that the logistical setup involves rows of chairs and a podium in the front, but still. And what better place for a book launch party than the newly renovated Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, Michigan? That's a no-brainer. Right in the cradle of Christian publishing in the Midwest, flanked by a coffee bar and a great selection of music, you can't do better.  And is there a more biblical date/time than 7/7 at 7 PM? Negatory!

If you're going to be in the area tomorrow night, come on by for a book release event. I'll be teaching you a little bit about the ways of the con man, giving some stuff away, signing books, and even providing cake.

So be there. No, I'm serious; be there.

 

Praise and Arrows, Redux

A couple years ago, I wrote a gushing review of Cliff Graham’s Lion of War series, about King David’s mighty men. I had read them all in rapid succession and have since read them several more times (as well as literally everything else by Cliff that I can get my hands on).

Cliff is what I would call a true innovator in how he produces and distributes his work. He’s not in any sense a slave to convention, which is truly odd in an industry where convention is something of a demigod. His first couple novels were published by Zondervan and sold through the normal channels for Christian fiction, becoming bestsellers (despite the potential shock value of uber-graphic war novels on shelves next to bonnet fiction). For his next few projects, he established a publishing imprint (or, he would say, a transmedia empire!) and released them himself. Demand did not, it seems, flag. It seems like almost every day, Cliff’s team was giving updates about how they were doing their best to keep up with all the orders and thanks for your patience and sorry for the delay and all that. (I’m guessing that, with the cult following his stuff enjoys, no one complained all that much.)

Here's when this former soldier and youth pastor made a couple of really groundbreaking moves. First, he released an album full of songs about his Lion of War books (especially the first book, Day of War). Only these aren’t written or performed by Cliff. No, these are songs by Trip Lee, Stellar Kart, Audio Adrenaline, and other chart-topping artists. It’s one of my favorite albums and contains the first song to which my six-year-old son spontaneously head-banged. Then the guy (Cliff Graham, not my son) announces that he’s selling memberships to something called the Warpath. What’s that, you ask? It means that you receive advance copy e-books of every single book Cliff writes in perpetuity, including his ongoing (and spectacular) “Hall of Mighty Men” short story series. If you're more of an audio book kind of guy, he's also podcasting these stories. Oh, and he's using a bunch of the money from these projects to go on sting operations to break up human trafficking rings.

Seriously.

Now he’s back on bookstore shelves with a new novel, kicking off a new series about the Exodus and Conquest, through the eyes of Caleb. The first novel is called Shadow of the Mountain: Exodus. I had a chance to read it early and, believe me, it is as good as Day of War, which is crazy-high praise. It came out a couple days ago, and you can pick it up at any bookstore.

I hope I’ve convinced you of how compelling and full of truth Cliff Graham's words are. So let me leave you with a couple quotes of particular interest to me:

1. “This is an exciting step forward for thrillers. Playing Saint grapples with complex themes as well as being richly suspenseful. Highly recommended.”

—CLIFF GRAHAM, bestselling author of Day of War

and Shadow of the Mountain: Exodus

(If you don't already have it, you can buy my book Playing Saint at your local bookstore or through Amazon, iTunes, ChristianBook.com, or BN.com)

2. “Hemingway stilled the demons with booze. I still them with the Gut Check Podcast.” 

—CLIFF GRAHAM, 4/19/2015

(He said this on the podcast I co-host with Ted Kluck, during one of the most hilariously enjoyable conversations I've had in years. You can listen to it here.)

I’m encouraged that there is more and more good Christian fiction written for men out there, and Cliff Graham’s is some of the best there is. I hope he keeps on writing until he’s an old, grizzled man, like Caleb, telling tales of Good Battle to young warriors.
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Join the Team!

Last week, I told you about my forthcoming novel, The Last Con. If you liked Playing Saint, you’ll love this one. If you hated Playing Saint . . . I have to wonder why you’re reading this blog. That’s just weird, man.

Anyway, last week, I also teased my short story Microbes to entice you into sign up for my mailing list. And I promised that I wouldn’t e-mail you more than, like, once every two or three months. That’s still the case and you can sign up by clicking here or going to my website, www.zacharybartels.com.

But if you want to join my Street Team, you'll want to send me an e-mail at streetteam@zacharybartels.com, letting me know that you're willing to help spread the word about the book when it comes out (via facebook, twitter, goodreads, good old fashioned word-of-mouth, etc.).

Over the past four months, a number of people have e-mailed me, telling me they'd be happy to help promote my books however they can. And I've said, “Wow, that's nice of you. Thanks.” But according to the publicist at HarperCollins, I should have been saying, “Well, then join my street team.”Also, I should have a "street team."

(Aside: I kind of hate the term “street team” because it makes me think of Breakway Magazine in the early ’90s with some “radical” neon design on the cover... but apparently, it's an industry standard term, so why mess with it?)

So, what’s in it for you if you sign on? First, you’ll feel a distinctive warm sensation in the cockles of your heart, as you help out a young author with the release of his sophomore book. Also, you’ll get some exclusive content in your inbox from time to time (starting with the first couple chapters of The Last Con and the sample Chapter I wrote for the as-of-yet untitled Playing Saint sequel). But wait—there’s more! Ginsui knives! I’m giving away ginsu knives!

No, I’m not.

But I do have in my possession two Advanced Reader Copies of The Last Con (which comes out July 7) that I am planning to give away in a couple weeks. And they’ll be going members of the Street Team. Click here to e-mail me about joining the street team (clearly I can’t stop saying "street team," despite hating the term, and can't decide if “street team” should be capitalized or not), or just do whatever you do to compose an e-mail and address it to streetteam@zacharybartels.com.

Also, it’s my birthday today. And all I want for my birthday is your unswerving dedication to promoting my books. Or, ya know, some K-cups and a Monte Cristo.
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The Con is On in Sixty Days

It’s the seventh of May. In two months, my next book The Last Con hits bookstore shelves. I’m really excited about this one and can’t wait for you to read it.

When people hear I have another book coming out, “Is it a sequel?” is the most common question. The answer is, no, it doesn't involve Parker Saint or the Jesuits Militant (although, literally ten minutes ago, I was finishing up a book proposal for a second Parker Saint book). It does, however, contain a lot of the same elements: snarky humor, shadowy societies and religious orders, a conflicted protagonist, and an ancient Christian relic. Add to all that mob enforcers, elaborate heists, con men, kidnappers, and computer hackers.

Here’s the back cover copy:

The Knights of Malta were there when Jerusalem fell, they were there when the Templars disintegrated, and they’re there now . . . waiting in Detroit for a born-again con man trying to save his family.

Former con man Fletcher Doyle is finally home after six years in the pen. He’s working a menial job, regaining his bearings in the world, and trying to revive his relationships with his wife and twelve-year-old daughter. No easy feat.

But when Fletcher and his family go on a mission trip to Detroit—in the company of the condescending church leader who also happens to be his landlord—Fletcher finds his old life waiting for him. Within hours of arriving in the city, he’s been blackmailed into doing a job for a mysterious criminal who calls himself The Alchemist.

A series of relics hidden by the Knights of Malta, as ancient as they are priceless, are in the sights of The Alchemist. What he needs is a gifted grifter with a background in ecclesiastical history . . . what he needs is Fletcher Doyle.

Between hiding his reawakened criminal life from his wife, and trying to hide her from their relentless landlord, Fletcher is ready to give up. But when his family is drawn into the dangerous world he can’t shake, Fletcher is forced to rely on his years in the game to save the only people who mean more to him than the biggest con in history.

If you’d like to receive the first couple chapters in your inbox, and have a chance to win an advanced copy, six weeks before it comes out, check back here on Monday!
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TED!KLUCK!

One of my favorite authors happens to also be my friend, as well as my partner in running an indie publishing empire and epic podcast. But you can know that my fandom is not the result of some kind of nepotism, since I was a fan of his writing first, before worming my way into his life like some sort of social deer tic.

 Anyway, Ted's writing is incredible. And he writes a ton, about divers topics. Yeah, I said divers. For example, Ted is well-known for his books Why We're Not Emergent and Why Love the Church, which are about social and theological trends in the Church, as well as books about Mike Tyson, semi-pro football, international adoption, and a Christian view of sports.

Ted's got two new books coming your way:

Everyone on my facebook feed is talking about this phenomenon. The Drop Box movie is coming back out after a successful initial run and this book is killing it on Amazon. Here's the blurb I wrote for the endorsements page:

"The Drop Box is the kind of book we all need to encounter from time to time, to sort of reboot the way we look at the people around us. Reminders of the depravity of mankind are best served like this, as appetizers for a celebration of the Redemption we have in Christ and how he continues to work through broken vessels to bring his love and mercy to every corner of this sin-cursed world. This could easily have been a book that made the reader feel helpless and insignificant in light of such an overwhelming endeavor of love; instead, it inspires us as we follow the author on a journey from San Clemente to Seoul to Sundance, to find God working in the most unexpected places, and to sacrifice our idols—trading them for a cross. After reading The Drop Box, I feel the way people must feel after a chemical peel—a little raw, but in a good way, a way that feels new and cathartic and full of hope."
                              -Zachary Bartels, Author of The Last Con and Playing Saint

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This one is coming out in August. It's very telling that Ted's writing can make me (the quintessential "I don't follow sports" guy) care—and care deeply—about athletes,their lives, and their struggles. I am greatly looking forward to this one. What a fascinating dynamic between the fans, the players as they strike, and the scabs (who Ted would never actually call "scabs.")

You can check out Ted's blog and his podcasts (yeah, he has two and yet claims not to "be on the Internet") here.

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The Last Con

My next book The Last Con is now available for pre-buy. Here's the synopsis:

Former con man Fletcher Doyle is finally home after six years in prison. He’s working hard to restore his relationship with his wife and twelve-year-old daughter, but it’s slow going. He hopes that the upcoming inner-city mission trip will allow him to demonstrate his newfound faith and honorable intentions—that is, if he can keep himself from murdering Brad, the uptight and condescending church leader who also happens to be his landlord.

But within hours of arriving in the city, Fletcher can feel the pull of the life he thought he’d left behind. And when he runs into his old partner, he finds himself blackmailed into doing another job for a mysterious criminal who calls himself the Alchemist.

Between trying to hide his reawakened criminal life from his wife and the ever-present Brad, and trying to keep the Alchemist from bringing it all crashing down, Fletcher is in over his head. When the unthinkable happens, Fletcher will have to call on his years in the game and his fledgling faith to find an ancient treasure—and restore his family.

It is currently available at Amazon, iTunes, and christianbook.com.

How to Make a Book Signing Interesting

A month before my book came out, the events coordinator from favorite book store in the world (Baker Book House in Grand Rapids) contacted me to ask if I would be interested in doing an in-store event for Playing Saint after it came out.

I was sort of torn; while my buddy Ted and I had done an event there for our book Kinda Christianity, which went fairly well, I had the standard fear of being the sad author sitting all alone behind a folding table with a stack of my books. They've actually done a great job of promoting it and a few carloads of my parishioners are making the trip, so that's covered, but that still leaves the question: in the Internet age, how do you make a book signing worth the trip?

I've been thinking about that for a few weeks now, and I think I think I've put together an odd enough agenda, as well as a decent assortment of prizes (beyond copies of my own book) to make it fun, funny, and memorable.  However, if you have any additional ideas for what elements would really make a bookstore event, feel free to let me know in the comments below.

If you're anywhere in the vicinity, you should totally come. Pics to follow.

JF Penn Interview

Today, I was interviewed by NYT Bestselling author JF Penn.

Click here to read the rest of the interview.

Four Point Five

So, the publicity team at HarperCollins excitedly sent me the following review last night, from RT Book Reviews.

“Bartels’ debut novel is a page-turner from the very beginning.  His excellent use of foreshadowing and his glimpses into the past create a story that readers can’t put down.  In the vein of Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti, Bartels weaves the supernatural into the natural in ways that are gripping and realistic, adding a shocking surprise that will leave readers stunned. ★★★★½” —RT Book Reviews

An Interview with Carrie Stuart Parks

There's a new book you need to read, called A Cry from the Dust.  It's exciting, full of suspense and twists, and fascinating, full of conspiracy and historical revelations. The author, Carrie Stuart Parks, is a forensic artist who has worked with law enforcement, as well as being the protege of the incomparable Frank E. Peretti.

Here's an endorsement I wrote for the book:
“Things I loved about A Cry from the Dust: the fascinating and painstakingly researched historical tapestry into which the story is woven, the frantic but intensely believable arc of events that makes you hold on extra tight, the compelling and flawed heroine who has absolutely no idea she's the heroine. Part CSI, part Lie to Me, and all relentlessly original, A Cry From the Dust blends rich characters, little-known history, and a dose of conspiracy into a very modern storytelling style. Can't wait to tear into Gwen Marcey's next adventure.”

You can buy A Cry from the Dust here (and you totally should).

I'm jazzed that our publisher is cross-promoting our books (meaning, a chapter of my book Playing Saint is featured in the back of A Cry from the Dust and vice versa) and I was lucky to have a chance to interview Ms. Parks a couple weeks ago.

You have one of the most fascinating backgrounds of any novelist I've read (forensic art). How did you get into that field?

I was an artist. My dad was the director of the N. Idaho Regional Crime Lab. He needed someone to prepare the trial charts and diagram the crime scenes. He hired me because he said I was the best artist he knew. I was the ONLY artist he knew. Ha! In 1985 he sent me to the FBI academy to learn more about forensic/composite art. Interestingly, ten years later, I was hired to teach the FBI artists. Starting in 1988, I taught forensic art across the US and Canada. The biggest thing I think I bring to the field of forensic art is my ability to teach anyone (without learning disabilities)  to draw a face:

Is it unusual for someone to be both a forensic artist and fine artist?

Hmmm. There are a couple of us. I was an award-winning artist first. Signature member of the Idaho Watercolor Society. I have a few folks that I trained that were first artists. Some of my students learned how to draw from me and went from there.

How did you make the leap from visual artist to the written word?

As a teacher, I used words as well as visuals to teach art techniques. When I started writing fine art books, I just wrote down what I said in class. When I wrote a book on signs of deception, I fictionalized some of my cases, and from that, I felt I could … just maybe … write fiction.

Were you a fan of Frank Peretti first, and then become his neighbor? Or vice versa?

I had NO clue as to who he was. He became my “neighbor” (in an Idaho sense--about four miles away.) I live on a ranch that’s been in my family since the 30s. He was my husband’s banjo-picking buddy.

Would it make you think less of me--as a person--if you knew that I went three days and nights without turning my bedroom lights off in 1988 because I had read This Present Darkness and I was freaking out that demons were flying in and out of my house? Acutally, that may be more of a rhetorical question...

Naaaa. I spent the night sitting upright in bed, terrified after watching The Exorcist. Then there’s the small matter of not swimming in ANY body of water after Jaws.

The Mormon church and its history are at the center of your debut novel; do you have a background in Mormonism? If not, what drew you to this topic?

I’ll go into a slightly different answer than what I wrote in the author notes. Or maybe I should say, I’ll explain a bit further back.

I started studying the LDS church when I became a close friend of a staunch Mormon. We talked about beliefs at length, and I got to wondering just how far “off” from Biblical Christianity someone could be and still be saved. I mean, there are some pretty meaningful differences between different Christian denominations: pre/mid/post trib, speaking in tongues, Calvinism vs Arminianism. It was a dedicated, two year study. Sadly, I determined that someone believing in the tenants of the LDS church did not know the Biblical Jesus. Jesus is not Satan’s brother, was not born of a physical union between God and Mary, and is capable of completely covering our sins, and through grace alone are we saved. This actually gave me a heart to reach Mormons. They really want to know God, to worship, to live moral lives.

How much of your protagonist comes from you yourself?

Gwen is prettier, younger, and slimmer! She is less secure, gets more rattled at things, and doesn’t have as … rip-snorting? sense of humor. The knowledge of all things forensic art is totally me. We’re the same, but different. (how’s zat for a dumb answer?)

Have you ever gotten a little too personally wrapped up in a case?

I have followed cases, but getting personally wrapped up is very unprofessional—in fact, the first name for this debut novel was “Superman Syndrome,” a negative term to describe someone who gets too involved. I have cried with victims and prayed for victims.

When will Gwen Marcey's next adventure be hitting shelves?

I just turned in book #2 about the Phineas Priesthood and Gwen. I suspect next August, unless something changes.

How many books in this series do you have under contract?

It was a three book deal.

How many germs of stories in your head?

Several strong ideas, one pretty complete plot. The books involve a lot of research, so I have to look for the story idea long in advance. Then I have to figure out how a forensic artist would become involved. I don’t want a “Murder She Wrote” situation where Gwen shows up and someone dies. I mean, you lose a lot of friends that way. No one wants to invite you over… I also have to like the subject because of the time I’ll be researching it. 

What are some other themes you want to explore in future novels?

I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you……….

What was it like being mentored in writing by Frank E. Peretti?

OOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh, it was heaven. I would bring over a chapter or three, sit at his kitchen table, hand him a copy and have my own along with a highlighter, pens, post-it notes, and my computer. Barb would serve munchies and lattes. I’d read, Frank would comment. I kept a few pages to show my notes (scrawled EVERYWHERE.)

Which of his books is your favorite?

Well, I have to confess that the YA series, the Veritas Project, is loosely based on my dad and I working together in the crime lab. I tend to like his later books.

What's the most bizarre case you actually worked on as a forensic artist?

I did a TV special for the History channel where I interviewed and sketched folks who claimed to have seen bigfoot…..LOL. We are consulted for local forensic artists to work on “The Dead Files.” I did refuse to work on a case where the person wanted me to age Amelia Earhart. They said she survived and was a Tupperware salesperson in New Jersey…..sigh.

If your readers take one thing away from A Cry From the Dust, what do you want it to be? Aaaah….just ONE?

Christian takeaway and emotion: a feeling of satisfaction, that even through the darkest days, God has a plan for our lives. We may not know it at the time, but someday we will. In the meantime: all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.

Non-Christian takeaway and emotion: A satisfying story with a strong protagonist, life problems they can relate to (acting out kids, divorce), and a message of hope.

Mormon takeaway: I wove actual events from the LDS past together in such a way that should they research it, they’ll be shocked that it’s true. Within this story are additional points I want them to examine: does God change his mind? Did Brigham Young and early leaders re-write their history? What happens when someone has complete power and control (in the past: Mountain Meadows massacre.)I hope they will experience a cognitive dissidence.

Cancer survivor takeaway: the humor of being bald. And how useful it can be at times. :)

 
Carrie Stuart Parks has also written and contributed to more than twenty instructional books and DVDs about drawing (particularly drawing people and faces), some of which you can find here.

Book Giveaway!

So my book Playing Saint comes out on October 7. Three weeks later, we're having an in-store event at Baker Book House in Grand Rapids. Thankfully, it's shaping up to not be my worst nightmare (i.e., me, card table, stack of my books, sadness), but I'd still love to have more people coming.

SOOOO, I offer this small incentive: if you live close enough to come,  click over to the event page and RSVP. At the end of the week, I will pick four people to receive Advanced Reader Copies of the book, a couple months before it even comes out.

If you live far away from Grand Rapids, I feel sorry for you, but you too can be in the running for a book by tweeting about the book or the event (include my twitter handle, @AuthorZBartels and hasthtag #PlayingSaint).

99 Days and Counting...

We’re into the double digits until the release of my debut novel Playing Saint.

 Added a countdown to my webpage. It looks something like this:


Too soon?

Playing Saint Available for Pre-Order

 

Click here to visit the Amazon pre-buy page.

Got It Covered

So the cover is complete. I'm pretty psyched about it. I'm thinking it will help the book jump off the shelf and grab people's attention in October when it is released.

Great New Books to Check Out!

I will be unleashing some awesome news (and visuals) re: my upcoming book Playing Saint very soon!

In the meantime, here are some other great books to check out:

Great deal and a giveaway with the release of Terri Blackstock's latest thriller.

Lip Reading, the latest from Harry Kraus, about an impossible choice: save yourself or help millions?

And check out the ebook giveaway of Lynette Eason's Too Close to Home. FREE for Kindle and Nook.

You Changed My Title.

So I'm experiencing all this Big Publisher stuff for the first time, firsthand. (My wife works for a major publisher, frequently from home, so I've watched much of the process from a detached distance many times over.) You tell yourself you're going to be ready for the editor's notes and the possibility that they might change your title and not like your cover concept, and you're going to be the least-difficult author they've ever had. 

But then it actually happens. And you feel the little man who lives in your ego poking his head out, saying, "You're wrong; all my ideas are perfect."  <sigh>

The title I wanted for my book was Demoniac. I thought it was punchy, evocative, memorable, etc. They thought it sounded like a horror story (when it's actually a character-driven suspense-slash-action-slash-comedy with supernatural elements). They also thought people would have a hard time pronouncing it (is it a long or short O?) I hated their first alternate suggestion, but tried to get used to it. Then I finally told them I hated it and together we came up with a title we can all love.

The new title is Playing Saint.  It's got layers of meaning (i.e., the main character Parker Saint is acting the part of a Christian and someone else is "playing him" as well). It's punchy, it rolls off the tongue easily, and I think it's fairly memorable.

And here's the thing: it's way better than Demoniac.

The same thing is true about the notes I received from my editor and a freelance editor. Some of them would have changed the essence of the story, so I pushed back on those. Others were obviously great ideas. Still others needed some time to digest and some back-and-forth to refine.  But at the end of the day, it will be far better. The book on bookstore shelves next October will be far and away better than the book that would have existed if I had gone the self-controlled imprint route again.

You may be worried about getting tied to an agent and submitting your work to publishers, afraid that you'll lose control and what comes out at the end of the day won't really be you. But the truth is that it will be the best version of you it can be.

And I think, especially for a Christian, the exercise of letting go and listening to others and letting them improve you, is a vital one and will serve us well in developing our character and refining us as people and as disciples.