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Wherefore art thou--WAIT!--a Medieval Christian author??
When I first decided to try my hand at a novel, it took a few tries for me to pinpoint the right time period. I considered writing present-day but not for long, and while most of the books I have read are westerns (I'm pretty sure I have read all but a handful of Louis L'Amour's books), writing a western just didn't feel right.
Christian historical fiction has always been my favorite genre, and one of my favorite authors as a teenager was Lori Wick. It was she who introduced me to my first medieval novel with, The Knight and the Dove. It wasn't, however, my first encounter with the medieval era:
On faith alone, my parents moved our family of six to Idaho when I was ten. My mathematician father had accepted his first position as a preacher in a small town which couldn't afford us ($75 per week--YIKES!). We were eighty miles and two hours from the nearest grocery store, and it was in this small mountain town of two hundred residents that I attended one of the last one-room schoolhouses in existence, a school which is still in operation today.
There were twelve of us students from grades K-6, and we worked individually with regards to our Math, English, Spelling and Reading. History and Science, however, were taught to us as a group, and we spent semesters and even years studying a single topic. One such topic was homemade paper, another was bats, and still another, the continents of the world. The medieval time period was my favorite of those topics, and our teacher was also fascinated--we studied it for nearly a year. That was my first exposure to anything medieval, and I loved it; so much so that, as a child, my dreams became saturated with medieval lore.
When I became an adult, as my reading branched away from Christian, medieval novels became my passion. I couldn't get enough of them, and although I considered other time periods, when I picked up my pen, I felt led to write a christian medieval novel. And not only medieval--early medieval. Certainly, my choice was a risk; however, I am a firm believer that, despite the constraints placed upon Christianity throughout this time period, God was as active as ever, though more likely than not, behind the scenes.
"God's word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword," explains the writer of Hebrews (4:12), and I'm wont to believe this true--yesterday, today, and forever! The Medieval periods were dark, not only in that we actually know very little about what truly went on during that era, but also in terms of morality. Yet I am also a firm believer that "where sin increased, Grace abounded all the more!" (Romans 5:20)
It is therefore my intent with my novels to show these truths evident; to remember, especially now, that no matter how dark our world becomes, no matter what may arise in our future or who chooses to suppress the truth of our Christ, He will forever reign supreme!
Despite the times in which we live, all hope is not lost; our God is living and active, and His power is as real today as it has ever been. It may seem as if the deceiver is gaining ground, but the battle is not lost; our God remains in control and in our Christ we can have hope! No matter what fear sends our way, He will always be victorious!
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Nearly all the books I have read are historical fiction, though I do enjoy an interesting variety of nonfiction. A few of my favorite nonfiction books are: God's Smuggler, by Brother Andrew--Powerful!; Bruchko, by Bruce Olsen; Gifted Hands, by Ben Carson; Mere Christianity, by CS Lewis; J Hudson Taylor: A Man in Christ, by Roger Steer (on which I wrote my middle school term paper :); and The Light and The Glory, by Peter Marshall and David Manuel.