Me, Me, ME

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Narcissism

https://www.google.com.au/#q=Narcissism

According to the Google definition it means:

1.      excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one's physical appearance.

2.      extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one's own talents and a craving for admiration, as characterizing a personality type.

3.      self-centredness arising from failure to distinguish the self from external objects, either in very young babies or as a feature of mental disorder.

This word has popped into my head a lot recently. Maybe it’s due to the election – let’s face it, the political world sure does have a strong narcissistic feel about it these days. Whatever the reason behind my word to life association, the angst this word has inspired in me has forced some serious contemplation.

What is it to have narcissistic tendencies? i.e. It’s all about ME.

As Christians we know the greatest commandment isn’t about us:

He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27 (NIV)

But the world we live in is narcissistic to the core. I could go into detail about the ME elements of social media, and the ‘what’s in it for me’ voter platforms, but what I really want to talk about is the serving vs. being served scale of Christian selling.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not sitting here in my ivory tower casting forth my judgment upon the narcissistic masses. I know, full well, that I’ve subscribed to this evil. I like to think it was always without design, but I do know I have never gotten away with it. Mostly because the Lord reminders me of His call to be humble. Like this verse:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. Philippians 2.3 (NIV)

But who does that these days?

We should. We are His servants.

As authors, it’s hard to get the scale right. We all need to sell our books. We would all love people to read them, and it seems a little crazy to be sinking a heap of support into someone else’s work when we have so little time to devote to promoting our own.

And don’t get me wrong—we MUST promote our own books. I’ve always been a big advocate about working for your own work. My contemplation is regarding the scale—the balance between accepting support and being supportive of others.

This isn’t a call to finger point or judgement (how can any of us be guiltless!). It’s a call to contemplation, and, I hope, a call to action. As our annual Christian writers conference approaches, let us band together to support each other—all of us. Fiction and non-fiction. Published and unpublished. Teacher and learner.

And remember: Writing for the glory of God means it’s never about me and my work, or even you and your work. As Christians, it’s about Him and HIS work.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 (NIV). 

Rose, who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, was born in North Queensland, Australia. Her childhood experiences growing up in a small beach community would later provide inspiration for her first novel, Back to Resolution. Beyond Resolution and A New Resolution are the second and third books in the Resolution series.

Back to Resolution won the Bookseller’s Choice award at the 2012 CALEB Awards, while A New Resolution won the 2013 CALEB Prize for Fiction. She has also released The Greenfield Legacy, a collaborative novel, written in conjunction with three other outstanding Australian authors, and has recently released the standalone novel, Ehvah After.

Her novels are inspired by the love of her coastal home and desire to produce exciting and contemporary stories of faith for women. Rose resides in Mackay, North Queensland with her husband and son.

Visit Rose at: https://rosedee.com/

Escapism vs. Reality

By Rose Dee

Escapism vs Reality

Images of inhumanity, violence, and hatred have been showing up on social media sites for months. These horrors of war play out as I scroll through my newsfeed. Some images I wish I could un-see so I can pretend they didn’t happen, but in my heart I know an awareness of these horrific events fosters a new understanding of what is worth fighting for, and what, as a citizen of a righteous country, I can do to help the innocent worldwide.

Then I sit down to my work in progress, a story about a young woman struggling to find her way through the complexities of western culture, and for once my story doesn’t feel enough. I wonder if I should be creating fictional characters with ‘real’ problems, like the ones currently facing Christians in these war-torn regions. Problems like where to get their next meal, how to protect their children, and where to run as they flee for their lives. My character, with her semi-troubled childhood and lost way, doesn’t compare with these heroic individuals who are facing terrible deaths because they refuse to deny their Lord and Savior, Jesus.

I have pondered the guts of my fiction writing ministry for some time, and have come to a few conclusions:

1. Comparing the fictional world of storytelling with the real life version of life and death is pointless. I have been given a heart and direction from the Lord to write entertaining stories with a message, not real-life stories, no matter how heroic. I need to be obedient to my God-given calling.
   
2. Nothing I do for God is in vain, even if at times my task seems insignificant compared to the problems the world is facing. At the end of the day, if He has a plan for my work, then I need to continue to the work to His completion.
   
3. No matter what atrocities face the world, escapism has always been a blessing. And the world needs more Christian escapism, stories with messages of faith holding all kinds of introductions to Jesus.

I decided to continue on my fiction path, while praying for a world in turmoil, brothers and sisters in need (no matter where they are), and the intervention of people willing to stand up. But also to continue to write my stories the way the Lord would have me write. If I do this, I know God’s mandate will be fulfilled in my life, as it will be for the world.

What are your thoughts on the role Christian authors play when looking at the current horrific events unfolding worldwide?

Rose, who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, was born in North Queensland, Australia. Her childhood experiences growing up in a small beach community would later provide inspiration for her first novel, Back to Resolution.

Her novels are inspired by the love of her coastal home and desire to produce exciting and contemporary stories of faith for women. Beyond Resolution and A New Resolution are the second and third books in the Resolution series.

Back to Resolution won the Bookseller’s Choice award at the 2012 CALEB Awards, while A New Resolution won the 2013 CALEB Prize for Fiction. She has also released The Greenfield Legacy, a collaborative novel, written in conjunction with three other outstanding Australian authors.

Rose resides in Mackay, North Queensland with her husband, young son, and mischievous pup, Noodle.

Australasian Christian Literature - An Industry Perspective.

With the launch of this new blog connecting Australasian writers, I thought it was timely to take a look at the dynamics of our industry. As a writer, knowing and understanding your industry is vital. The cogs and wheels of our literary world will influence a writer’s work, contributing to its position in the marketplace, and formulating a reader base. If we do not have an understanding of the industry, we are flying blind.

I have asked three questions to three industry insiders; Rochelle Manners - Director of Australia’s leading Christian Publishing house, Wombat Books; Anne Hamilton – Spokesperson for Omega Writers; and Jenny Blake – Otherwise known as ‘Ausjenny’, one of Australia’s leading literary bloggers.

I hope you find their answers as insightful and informative as I have.

1.      In your opinion, what sets Australasian Christian Literature apart from the rest of the world?

Anne Hamilton: This is a sweeping generalisation with all the flaws inherent in broad statements but I think there is a distinctive edgy aspect to Aussie and Kiwi romance, compared to that coming out of the States. On the other hand, we tend to be less experimental than the UK. To a large degree, the reverse is true in areas like speculative fiction. It's more conservative here - we don't have writers pushing the boundaries and coming out with horror. Even our fantasy stories tend to be a lot less dark than either the US or UK. We tend to ignore genre categories to a large degree and this can have an impact on overseas sales.

Jenny Blake: As a reader I would say the setting, language, and our unique style. We have sayings unique to us, as well as a different history and background.  As in life, our writing has a different flavour. You can see that we don't take ourselves seriously, and you can see it in characters. You can see the ‘Larrikin’ in some of the characters.

 Rochelle Manners: This is a hard question to answer. What sets it apart? There are so many things that could be suggested to be different. We have different styles, we have new authors, and we have different life experiences and perspectives. Australian Christian material doesn’t always follow all the “rules” that are often in place, especially for Christian fiction. Our books have a lot of potential locally when they relate to the Australian situation and experience. They might even be good to explore on the international front because they do relate and show the Aussie experience. What I hope can set us apart is actually the community. We can, in Australia, grow a community of Australian experience through literature that can touch lives.

2.      What do you see as the biggest hurdles our industry needs to jump in order to excel on the world stage?

Anne Hamilton: In no particular order: the tendency to ignore genre, the tendency to assume writing hasn't changed in the last fifty years, the tendency to stay with well-trodden plots and not take risks, the tendency to romanticise Christian characters as one-dimensional 'goodies', the tendency towards the formulaic especially in terms of the Christian conversion scene and over-explaining. That said, market forces tend to want the last one because that's what allegedly makes it 'evangelistic'.

Jenny Blake: From a readers point of view there are so many good books available now. In fact, I would say a glut of good books. Australian writers have to compete with all these books. It's not that readers do not want to read Australian books, as I know many are excited to read books set here, but they have to be well edited and to the standard readers are use to. Also one thing that annoys readers is not knowing what genre the book is, or reading a mislabelled book. We need to define what the book is. Cost is another issue, but now that books are available on ereader that will help. 

Rochelle Manners: Hurdles – how do we compete! We are in a small country down under and our bookstores and media in the Christian industry mostly notice what is coming from America and the “famous” well known authors, not the new ones from our own local country. There are images and reputations that need to be developed so that we, (Australian industry professionals in publishing and writing), can be seen as strong, reputable and profitable. We need to change perspective, and also simply have people know who we are - new authors and new publishers facing a big world. I think the trick is to increase networks and continue to increase profile and quality.

3. Where would you like to see Australasian Christian Literature heading in the next few years?

Anne Hamilton: YA literature today is very complex in terms of plot and character motivation. As that age group matures, I can't see the taste for multi-level plots and double or triple think changing. I think that particular audience will want the same within Christian literature. So I'd like to see us rethinking the very nature of our storylines and introducing surprises that are well foreshadowed even now. I suspect our reliance on the American model is holding us back.

Jenny Blake: As a reader this is hard to say. I would like to see more Australian books out there both set in Australia, as well as books by Australian authors set in other places. I would like to see the books on a par with the American books, and featuring our uniqueness. I would love to see more historical Australian books about our history. This also applies to New Zealand.

Rochelle Manners: We have big plans. I would like to see Australian Christian Literature first of all really touch lives and be noticed here in Australia. I would like to see us increase the digital world with Christian material that is high quality, and I would like to see us start to get noticed more on an international stage.

Note: Wombat Books have had some recent international successes including:

Puggle’s Problem (children’s literature title) translated into Korean.

Coming Home (children’s literature title) translated into German.

A Simple Mistake, Best Forgotten, and Fine Lines (fiction titles) translated into Korean.

EBP also attended the Korean Christian Rights Fair in August 2013.

Please visit me at; http://rosedee.com/