Writing can be a solitary endeavor, but when we share our words with the world, it can be as scary as dropping one’s pants in the midst of a crowd (thanks to fellow Loft writer Jim Lundin for the simile). My novel is now at the point where others are reading it, and that is daunting.
My publisher has been busy sending out “galley copies” (which they refer to as ‘”advance reader” copies) to potential reviewers. With a novel release set for next February, we are hoping to generate buzz and to obtain some favorable comments to use in marketing. Yesterday, the first comment arrived. Here it is:
A Wretched Man is a powerful recreation of the world of Paul, James and Peter that pulls no punches! In this highly readable novel, based on contemporary scholarship, Paul comes alive as a complex individual. What accounts for his visceral attack on Torah? What was behind his careful avoidance of James and Jesus’ first followers in Jerusalem? What drove him on to the ends of the earth, setting up the infrastructure of a new religion? It’s all here as Holmen explores Paul’s inner turmoil and the likely motivation behind Paul’s beliefs and actions. Agree or disagree, this book opens up the reality of the world of Paul and his contemporaries in a way no other work does. Real individuals, with passions and agendas, step on to the world stage.”
Barrie Wilson, Professor, Religious Studies, York University, Toronto. Author How Jesus Became Christian.
Whew. That wasn’t so bad.
