Review and Giveaway of Dineen Miller's The Soul Saver

This week I have the pleasure of reacquainting you with author Dineen Miller. I previously featured Dineen when her non-fiction title, Winning Him Without Words, was released. Now, Dineen has written a companion fiction title, The Soul Saver.

Here's a blurb about the book from Dineen's website:

Meet Lexie Baltimore, who is in the supernatural battle of her life. In obedience to God’s calling, Lexie uses her art and dreams to help others. But will she have enough courage to help herself when she becomes torn between her atheist husband and a godly man?

A widower and a father, Pastor Nate Winslow is drowning in darkness. Will he resist his treacherous assignment to win Lexie’s heart, or give in to the attraction between them?

As events unfold, Lexie becomes entangled in a twisted plot. Can she overcome the evil assailing her, or will she yield to the dark side?

I want to say that Dineen's heart for ministering to people in mismatched marriages touches me. As a woman, as a counselor, as a wife. Reading about Lexie's unequally yoked marriage was heartbreaking. I can't personally relate to that predicament, but I know plenty of women who can. I've utilized her non-fiction title in individual relationship counseling, and I know it's blessed my clients.

Now, I have at my disposal a fiction title to introduce some of the concepts in her non-fiction title a bit more...softly. And by that, I mean that reading about someone else in your predicament is easier than reading a book geared to help you in your predicament.

Dineen's book is very spiritually-focused. Lexie receives dream visions from God of a person she's supposed to sculpt, and then later on that day meets them and hears from God how she is supposed to help them. This is her calling, and she's unable to share such an important part of her life with her atheist husband. Her husband, on the other hand, a Stanford physicist, has placed all his eggs in the very wordly basket of seeking tenure at the university. Two polar opposites who experienced trauma in their family life which caused Lexie to seek God and Hugh to seek academia.

It's also supernaturally-focused, with the introduction of a real demon who takes on a major role in the story. The way Dineen portrays this demon-man is wonderfully wicked. His hold on Nate has rendered Nate to a shell of his former self, yet he's still more spiritually-minded than Lexie's husband, which of course leads to the attraction on her part. Women the world over should relate to this aspect of the novel, because less the grace of God, there we go.

By this point in the story, I was totally hooked...trying to read in the bathroom, on breaks at work, late at night. I wanted to know how it was going to go down! I got chills reading about the supernatural element and the powerful use of prayer throughout the entire novel. The fight for Hugh's soul and the takeaway lessons about God and his faithfulness engender a hope in the reader that stayed with me.

Dineen has offered to giveaway a copy of her debut fiction novel to one lucky commenter below. Tweets and facebook links will get you extra entries...just use the buttons below so I'll know. Open to the continental US and open through Sunday. Comments without email addresses will not be valid.

Let's Analyze: Do you know anyone or are you yourself in a spiritually mismatched marriage? If you feel so led, leave just their first name below so we can lift them up in prayer.

Friday Free Association Chain

The word is....

GRADUATE.

 

First commenter free associates with the above word. Second commenter takes the first commenter's word and free associates, and so on. Remember -- FIRST thing that comes to mind. Go! 

Click here for a chance to win Jordyn Redwood's medical suspense, Proof. 

3 Exceptions I Took with Neil Gaiman's 2012 Address to The University of the Arts

I watched Neil Gaiman's address to the 2012 graduating class of the University of the Arts this past weekend. Gaiman is well known to the publishing world for many mediums, including comics and fiction.

He's a success story, or he wouldn't be giving a college address. The overall tone of his presentation was very positive, and I'm glad I watched it. It was inspiring.


However, there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way, so much so that I transcribed those sections of the address for you below in red. 


1) He made freelancing sound so arbitrary.

"A freelance life—a life in the arts—is sometimes like putting messages in bottles on a desert island and hoping that someone will find one of your bottles and open it and read it and put something in a bottle that will wash its way back to you—appreciation, or a commission, or money or love. And you have to accept that you may put out hundreds of things for every bottle that winds up coming back."

This life-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates mentality doesn't sit well with me. The more I'm studying marketing and reading up on how big name bloggers got their big breaks, I'm realizing that a rise to success is actually carefully plotted out for most people.

I'm not going to discredit the Stephenie Meyers of the world who knock their first best-seller right out of the park. It does happen, just not often.

But I don't like his alternative, either. If I'm sending my bottles out carelessly, haphazardly, then yeah...his quote would be accurate. But I'm learning that I can set my bottles on a trajectory that will better my chances.

2) I'm not willing to sacrifice my integrity.

"People get hired because they somehow get hired."

Gaiman included this tidbit as his first "freelance secret" that he imparted to the graduates. He then told a story about how he lied to an editor at a magazine about where he had previously been published. He then said he made it a "point of honor" to write for all the magazines he'd named.

The fact remains that he was hired on false pretenses. Ethics aside--well no. I can't even write that. We are our word. We can sell ourselves without selling out ourselves. I work hard, and mainly work for free, in order to get publishing credits that I hope will send more bottles back to me on my desert island when the time is right.

3) Luck plays a small part in success.

The harder you work, and the more wiser you work, the luckier you get.

I'd like to think that luck will have very little to do with it if you're working hard and working wise. Gaiman said that we should view our publishing dream as a big mountain on the horizon. He said take jobs that get you closer to the mountain and refuse jobs that don't.

I say look for those jobs and opportunities that will get you closer. You don't have to wait passively on the island for jobs to come along. Your active role will be empowering, and when success happens, it won't be because you didn't seek avenues to usher it along.

Let's Analyze: Did you watch Gaiman's address? If not, you can see it here in its entirety. What do you think of his quotes above? Take any exceptions like I did?

Click here for a chance to win Jordyn Redwood's medical suspense, Proof.

Character Clinic: Julian Requiem and Laziness as a Defense Mechanism

I've got Anastasia's character from her contemporary fantasy on my couch today. Julian is a 17-year-old with innate skills for fighting who prefers not to engage in war or fight. He's a bit lazy and doesn't want to care about anything. When he was younger, his older brother found out Julian's twin sister was "working for the other side" and tried to kill her. Julian killed his brother to make sure he couldn't finish the job, but Julian's twin died anyway. Lately, he's been hanging around with two guys, Tristan and Caine. Tristan wants Julian to fight in the war, but Julian is reluctant to do anything, yet he finds himself caring about these two guys when he doesn't want to care about anything.

Anastasia wants to know: I intend for Julian to eventually reveal his past to one of his two friends – however most of the time he doesn't like to acknowledge even to himself that it happened. What might get him past this? And how to do it without him losing his careless, lazy personality? Also, from what he's revealed here, would you say he has a personality disorder? And what would be the most believable reaction from him if there was a sort of repetition of the past (the two people he cares about most try to kill each other)?

Julian really doesn't fit a personality disorder from what you've shared. He suffered a trauma early in life when his brother tried killing his sister. Since he idolized his brother before this happened, and wanted to join the war efforts to be like him, it makes sense that he would have an intense dislike for the war and for fighting...since it drove his brother to kill his own sister. That would put an intensely bad taste in Julian's mouth.

But it would also cause Julian to doubt his judgment, his decision to be just like his brother. He'd question his values, his morals...second guess how he could have blindly followed someone so intense and "off-kilter" as to kill family for what is essentially a difference in opinion.

I think this makes his preference for being unconcerned, seemingly aloof or "too lazy" to worry about the war or fight much, make a lot of sense. In a way, it's a post-traumatic response...avoiding the very subject that caused all the strife in his family in the first place.

I would think similar stakes (fear for the life of one of his friends due to overzealous warmongers, etc) might get him to break out of his comfort zone and tell about his past, to explain his reluctance to associate with the war. The idea of a repeat performance of his past is an excellent way to reach the climax of his internal and external arc. It would force him off the couch or out of his bedroom and into the fray, so to speak. I think that was a great idea you had.

So if you think of him more as being lazy as a reaction from his previous trauma, that might make writing him more easy. The fact of the matter is that he does care, he's just pretending not to. It's his defense mechanism.

Any other questions, drop them to me in the comment section below. Good luck!

Let's Analyze: What's the most recent book you've read where the hero/heroine had to encounter almost the exact same fearful situation they failed at earlier in order to complete their character arc?

Click here for a chance to win Jordyn Redwood's medical suspense, Proof.

Review and Giveaway of Jordyn Redwood's Proof

I'm pleased to introduce debut author Jordyn Redwood and her first medical suspense novel, Proof. Jordyn runs the blog Redwood's Medical Edge, which is very similar to my blog, except that she deals with medical information for writers, not psychological info. So I feel we're kindred spirits. :)

Here's a blurb about her book:

Dr. Lilly Reeves is a young, accomplished ER physician with her whole life ahead of her. But that life instantly changes when she becomes the fifth victim of a serial rapist. Believing it's the only way to recover her reputation and secure peace for herself, Lilly sets out to find--and punish--her assailant. Sporting a mysterious tattoo and unusually colored eyes, the rapist should be easy to identify. He even leaves what police would consider solid evidence. But when Lilly believes she has found him, DNA testing clears him as a suspect. How can she prove he is guilty, if science says he is not?

Jordyn's book was one of the first I've read in a while that made me think and ponder the plot for a long while after I put my book Kindle down. I even ended up talking about it's genius with my husband (which never happens) and Googling some of the medical terminology just to learn more about her fascinating premise.

So first off, the plot of this book will send you reeling. Did you read the blurb? I had to know more about why this guy was being cleared through DNA evidence, yet Lilly knew he was her rapist. I got incensed more than once as I read, completely baffled.

Second, even though her book is full of medical lingo/terminology, Jordyn does not write above the average reader's intelligence level. She utilizes Jami Gertz characters (you can click to read the post referenced, but essentially, uninformed characters in the book who have to ask tons of questions to get the understanding that the reader is seeking) very well. I was smarter when I came away from reading this book, and that's always a good thing.

Jordyn dealt with the issue of rape very realistically. This serial rapist had left a trail of women in various stages of grief and healing behind him, all of whom were portrayed true to life. She also clearly read up on serial killers, because the rapist was one sadistic, mentally-ill man. Loved getting more background on him, because it all wove together to form a perfect villain that I loved to hate.

I've asked Jordyn if I can be on her permanent influencer list, and she's graciously agreed. I am highly recommending her book to y'all.

Jordyn has also agreed to give away a copy of her book to one lucky guest commenter! This contest will run through Sunday, and is only open in the continental US. Tweets and Facebook likes will get you more entries....just tag me using the buttons below so I know! Please leave your email address in the comment in a spam-me-not format (charactertherapist at hotmail dot com).

Let's Analyze: Have you ever read a fiction book that made you smarter? Let me know in the comments!

Weekend Funnies: The Psychotropic Highway

Hmm. Not so sure this is "funny" as it is realistic. Thanks, Rachel.

By the way, I take submissions for Weekend Funnies...any picture or comic you see that relates to the world of psychology, send it on to me at charactertherapist at hotmail dot com.

Friday Free Association Chain

 

The word is........

DOLLHOUSE.

First commenter free associates with the above word. Second commenter takes the first commenter's word and free associates, and so on. Remember -- FIRST thing that comes to mind. GO!!