BJ Hoff's GRACE NOTES

Pandora's Magic

2012-01-17T17:06:21-05:00

Writers--and readers--seem to have a fondness for soundtracks: film scores from movies. Many writers like them playing in the background as they work. Unfortunately, that's one pleasure that's lost to me--I get too caught up in the music and it can easily derail me from the book. I'm one who needs quiet and no distractions when I'm writing. However, I do a lot of writing away from the laptop, and that's when I'm almost always playing film scores. Actually, unless I'm writing, there's almost always music playing somewhere in my house.

I have dozens of favorite scores--some from movies I've never seen but were recommended to me. It gets expensive, though, to purchase or download many of these, and at some point I called a halt to buying entire scores, other than a very few "nust-haves."

Thanks to Pandora, the internet music service, I've found a solution. Simply type in the name of one of your favorite scores, followed by the words "film score"--"Braveheart" is one of mine--click to make it a "station," and you'll have access to lots of excerpts from some of your favorites. At the same time you'll probably discover some you might not have thought of. For example, even though I'd seen the movie, Forrest Gump, I'd forgotten what a beautiful score it had. Came across it the other day on Pandora and was surprised to realize how much I enjoyed it.

So even though I can't listen to them when I'm actually working at the laptop, I can enjoy them throughout the day when I'm "thinking" a scene. (They also help take the monotony out of cleaning!)

Writers--and probably readers, to0--often exchange ideas for favorite soundtracks. It's one way we build our "library." Some of mine include "Gettysburg," "Band of Brothers," "Dances with Wolves," "The Mission," "Braveheart," "Gladiator," "Glory," "Mr. Holland's Opus," "The Last of the Mohicans," "Master and Commander," "Chariots of Fire," "First Knight," "Far and Away," "Air Force One," "We Were Soldiers," "The Secret of Roan Innish," "Lawrence of Arabia," "Gone with the Wind," "Dr. Zhivago," "Pirates of the Caribbean--Curse of the Black Pearl," "Titanic," "Pearl Harbor," "The Godfather," "Schindler's List," "Rudy," and "Dragonheart." Also, you can almost always count on any score from Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer, James Horner, and John Williams.

Favorite Folks (as in Fiction)

2012-01-10T15:51:27-05:00

After recently reading an article about characters in fiction, I started thinking about some of my favorites: memorable folks from books read in the past and some more current, but ones I already know to be unforgettable favorites from now on.

From years past, a few I must include: all-time favorite Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird), Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre), Francie Nolan (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), Jonathan Ferrier (Testimony of Two Men), Abraham Lincoln (William Safire's Freedom), Conor Larkin (Trinity), Jean Valjean (Les Miserables), Huw Morgan (How Green Was My Valley), Douglas Spaulding (Dandelion Wine), Jo (Little Women), Harriet Delvaney (Menfreya in the Morning), Michael Devlin and Rabbi Judah Hirsch (Snow in August) Hod Pierce (The Enduring Hills), John Galt (Atlas Shrugged)--and, yes, I'll admit it: Rhett Butler from Gone With the Wind). And many, many more!

More recently, I know I'll not forget Aibileen and Minny (The Help), Father Tim (Jan Karon's Mitford Years novels), Johnny Merrimon (The Last Child), "June Bug," (June Bug), Will Mullet (Levi's Will), Amir (The Kite Runner), Odd Thomas (the Dean Koontz novels featuring that character), and "Trixie" (Dean Koontz's A Big Little Life: Memoir of a Joyful Dog [non-fiction]). Too many others to name!

Surely you have favorites, too. I'd love to hear what they are!

Resolutions? Not

2012-01-03T14:21:56-05:00

Around this time, I feel like a bit of an outcast. I seem to be one of the few I know who makes no New Year's resolutions. Actually, I've never made a New Year's resolution--probably never will.

If that makes me sound like a terribly unorganized, shiftless sloth, I'm really not. I do plan on occasion--the rare occasion. You see, after a few years of living I came to believe in the thing about "the best laid plans of mice and men ...etc." No, my way of handling the beginning of a new year is to slip into a season of prayer, to daily bring before God my family members, close friends, and those concerns and events that the rest of us have no control over.

After I've spent several days of this, I return to my usual routine of each morning rolling out the day ahead to the Lord and asking His provision for every hour of it and for those same loved ones I've previously bathed in prayer--indeed, for all who may be a part of the day to come. It seems a freeing thing to me to watch God work through each new day as He wills while I simply try to follow along and not get lost. In trusting His will for my loved ones, my work, and my entire life I can't pretend to take onto myself any specific goals or "resolutions" that, for all I know, may not be a part of God's will for me.

In truth, it took years to relinquish control, and sometimes I still battle the urge to make a list of what I intend to do, what I plan to accomplish or decide where I want to go and how I'm going to get there--not only at the beginning of a new year, but throughout the course of a day. It takes only the royal failure however, of one of these "resolutions" to snap me back to reality and turn over the reins, once again, to the One in charge.

Besides, I rather like the no-guilt feeling of not keeping my New Year's resolutions ... because I didn't make any. No pressure.

New eReader?

2011-12-29T16:20:29-05:00

Have heard from many of you that you received ereaders--Kindles, Nooks, etc.--as gifts this Christmas. You're going to love them!

Just so you know--you can find most all of my books on these devices now at very reasonable prices. Enjoy your new readers--and try out my novels on them!

Happy New Year!

Family Gifts

2011-12-26T11:01:32-05:00

My family knows well by now just how to "gift" me at Christmas: Music and books.

Music: Michael W. Smith's newest "Glory" CD (a collection that will make you weep with its sheer beauty and ... glory ...) Andrea Bocelli's new "Concerto: One Night in Central Park" (his incredible voice is a gift to the entire world) ... "The Essential Yo-Yo Ma" (one of my favorite musicians) ... "The Symphonic Celtic Album" (The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra--a new and wonderful discovery for me) ... and others. My iTunes library is going to be so bloated.

And books, of course: a pre-order for Dean Koontz's new novel, (77 Shadow Street) ... a couple of other new novels and Christmas short story collections transferred to my Kindle Fire.

The best of all family gifts, of course, was their presence--the warmth and love and laughter and memories--oh, the memories! Thanking God for all the gifts, especially those that go on shining, those that endure, through every season.

God bless you with the lasting gifts!

A Christmas Prayer

2011-12-23T10:39:15-05:00

May this be the Christmas when the world greets Him, not as a stranger to be swaddled in a manger, but as the sovereign King of everything, the Prince of Peace. May this be the Christmas when all the world becomes a Bethlehem, with every heart an open inn, where Christ, Emmanuel, may always dwell as Lord of Lords.

Christmas blessings

Write Grace

2011-12-08T09:51:28-05:00

I post this entry from my blog, Grace Notes, at least once a year, because I think it's worth remembering--a reminder for Christian novelists to hold closely in our hearts.

So--one more time ... Write Grace.

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As Christian novelists we’re continually aware of elements we don’t want to include in our work. There are excesses and "freedoms" and improprieties that simply don’t belong in the writing of those who create from a Christian worldview. Just as an artist has choices in the elements he chooses to paint, so does the writer have choices in the stories he chooses to develop, the words he uses, the imaginary worlds he creates, and the people who inhabit those worlds.

On occasion, we hear grumbling about the "restrictions" of fiction written from a Christian worldview, about too many "do’s and don’t’s." But the truth is that we have many more choices for what we can write than what we shouldn’t write: a world of choices, really--a wealth of resources from which to draw whatever we need in order to create and add richness and beauty to our creation. We can choose the settings in which we place our stories, the characters in those stories, the arenas in which they contend and struggle, succeed and fail, what they give and what they take. It has less to do with what we can't write as it does how we write it.

With such limitless material at our disposal, need we really be concerned about what we can’t do?

An element which I long ago committed to always keep as a part of my fiction is the same as that which many other Christian writers continue to include: that element is Grace. I want to write grace, to weave naturally and freely, if subtly, through my stories the grace of God ... to have story people who are not only touched by divine grace but who also extend it to others.

One continual challenge that keeps writing interesting for the Christian author is the exploration of the ways in which grace makes a difference in our lives and in our world. Although there is a line of thought that would have us believe that for fiction to be "realistic" or "convicting," it must also be void of redemption and tenderness and hope, in truth that's dishonest fiction. It's also unrealistic fiction. For the Christian writer to even make a pretense of writing a novel without hope, without grace, would be a lie and an affront to everything we believe. I can't imagine writing in a more bleak or desolate climate.

Some of the finest novels I've read, both literary and commercial and whether published in the general market or in CBA, do far more than keep grace a peripheral element of the story, but instead allow it to be an essential part of the story. We spend much time in our fictive worlds among our story people. I want those landscapes to be fertile and rich, and no matter how troubling the times or severe the struggles or torturous the pain, no matter how much fear or even violence is inflicted, I want to provide my readers with at least a glimpse of hope and grace by the time they finish the story.

That's not always an easy task, but as Christian writers, I hope we always have the courage and the conviction to "write grace."

The Kindle Fire

2011-11-17T17:50:58-05:00

Walt Mossberg headlined his recent article about the new Kindle Fire by calling it "A Grown-Up E-Reader with Tablet Spark." I was intrigued by his description, because that was exactly what I was looking for when I ordered mine. Now that I've had some hands-on experience with the device, I'm happy to say I got exactly what I wanted--and a little more.

Before I placed my order, I'd read a number of conflicting reviews about the Kindle Fire. Some I found to be right on target; others not so much. I'm not all that tech savvy, but because of all the buzz going around about this device--and because several friends have asked me about it, due to their own interest in purchasing one--I thought I'd comment briefly on my initial impressions.

First, it is not an "iPad killer," as it's been often dubbed. The KF lacks many of the features found on the Apple iPad. There's no camera (but for the life of me I have yet to figure out why anyone wants a camera on the iPad, awkward as it is to use. I much prefer the camera on my phone or, better yet, my Canon.). The KF has only 8 GB of built-in storage--but that doesn't really matter, given Amazon's unlimited cloud storage. It's smaller than the iPad at 7"--but that's a plus in terms of portability and holding it for any length of time when you're reading. The KF has no calendar or notepad. But it does have Amazon as its mother ship, and that's a very big plus.

Whether or not you'd be happy with the Kindle Fire depends, in my opinion, on your expectations for the device. In other words, what you want it to be. In my case, I primarily wanted the "grown-up e-reader" Mossberg mentioned. I like the options of reading in black on white, white on black, or the sepia/cream--my favorite. I also wanted a slightly smaller reader than the iPad that wouldn't become tiring when held for any length of time. I also wanted easy access to Amazon content, the ability to quickly check my e-mail while using the device rather than having to switch to another unit, and a better web browser than the one used on the earlier Kindle keyboard unit. The KF's browser is a little slower than the iPad's, but still quite an improvement over the older Kindle's. As far as I'm concerned, the "extras"--including movie, TV, and music streaming, plus several apps--are just that: extras.

As much as I appreciate my iPad, I have to admit that I also apreciate a few features that appear on the KF and not available to the iPad: An appealing and reasonable price. The size and light weight more desirable for an e-reader. Easy access to the Amazon marketplace. And unlimited cloud storage. The ease of use and great display I'd grown used to on the iPad are benefits of the KF as well.

I didn't want or need a "genuine tablet" to take the place of my iPad. I would never trade the work capability and utility of the iPad for the Kindle Fire, which is basically a device for Amazon content consumption. I wasn't looking for a mini-computer. There's not one out there that can begin to compare with my MacBook Air. I simply wanted exactly what Walt Mossberg wrote about: "a grown-up e-reader with tablet spark." That's what I got, and I'm completely happy with it. While I don't regret the bloated price I paid for my iPad some time ago, I'm very pleased--and somewhat impressed--with everything Amazon managed to cram into the KF for what even the critics concede to be a most reasonable price.

There are far more technical reviews all over the internet to help you get a better fix on the different devices available. This is just my way of providing a little more non-technical information for those of you who are still trying to make a decision between a full-fledged tablet or a unit that more closely resembles the Kindle Fire.

Good luck!