Philip--A character from the Stonegate novels. Guest Post by Lucia Kaszparenko A few years ago I decided to look around for some free-lance writing work. This came about because the words of my Creative Writing lecturer kept resonating in my mind…If you are serious about wanting to be a writer then you must write every day. Practicing my skill meant that writing every day was becoming second nature and my usual routine was to get up very early and start my day with a cup of coffee and some quick writing exercises. My daughter had been writing for a free-lance website and encouraged me to check it out for some writing jobs. I thought that this was a good idea as it would inspire me to focus on my writing and develop my skills. So, one morning I sat down with my usual coffee and glanced through the jobs on offer. I was immediately interested in one particular ad that required a ghost writer for a novel which was to be the second part of a trilogy. What interested me most about this project was that this was an opportunity for me to write fiction that came from a Christian perspective…a Christian worldview. As a Christian, I feel that my creative spark comes from above, from our Heavenly Father, and thus writing faith informed fiction is a fulfilling experience for me as I can express biblical themes and religious imagery in my work. The work on offer was posted by Harry James Fox (Jim) who had already had the first book of the trilogy published… ‘The Stonegate Sword.’ I checked out this book and really enjoyed it. I felt that I would love to work together with Jim on the second book. Jim provided me with a map of Stonegate, the characters and the back story… and lots of inspiration to begin the work. Writing ‘The False Prophet’ for Jim as his ghostwriter was an exciting journey. I found that we shared a creative spark together and worked well liaising through emails and discussing ideas. I feel that I could never have written this book without Jim’s support, and his idea for the trilogy. Jim contacted me recently to say that ‘The False Prophet’ had been published and I feel very honored to have been mentioned in the Preface. The experience of writing for Jim has developed my confidence as a writer, so I cannot thank him enough for that. I would love to work with Jim again in the future as I believe that we can create more stories that embrace a Christian perspective and reach an audience who enjoy these. So here I am again with my usual coffee, practicing my writing, and reflecting on the enriching experience I shared with Jim working on ‘The False Prophet.’ NOTE: Lucia did write a novella for me that was the basis of The False Prophet. I added a dozen chapters or so to turn it into a full-length novel, but the basic ideas, much of the narrative and dialogue, and the general outline of the plot were the result of her creative inspiration. I enjoyed the collaboration with her even more than I did in writing the first novel in the series, which I had to do by myself. We later went on to be co-authors of the third book in the trilogy, "A Fire in the West."HJF
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Harry James Fox Award-winning author of Christian Fantasy and creator of the Stonegate series. Archives
February 2020
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