NINE LIFE LESSONS

Polycarp, a destroyer of our gods is no ordinary novel, for while it will carry you off into an adventure, you will discover it becomes an advent

ure you are living.  Here are nine life-lessons you’ll learn from reading my book.

1.     How God grows you through your fears

2.     How God brings the right people into your life at just the right time to reveal how he is growing you

3.     How the tug of grace is far more powerful than the seeming gravitational pull of sin

4.     The book addresses the issue of why the world hates you and the only reason it should

5.     It clarifies how to find power to control your lusts, and why other methods don’t work

6.     How spiritual strength is grown out of suffering, and why you shouldn’t resent it

7.     How Christians are designed to thrive and make an impact for Christ is a godless world.   The darker the culture becomes, the more radiant Christians are designed to shine.

8.     The meaning of true discipleship from the pattern established by Jesus

9.     The awesome power of grace in the face of death to self and death in life

As one of my reviewers said; “As you continue reading, you find yourself drawn into the reality of Polycarp’s life, and before you know it you are living it with him.”  

Do you want a $50 Amazon gift card?

Have you noticed that when you've made a purchase on Amazon they tell you that others who purchased the same product also purchased other recommended products?  Every time you sign into your account, Amazon shows you products that may interest you based upon recent purchases.  Amazon has algorithms that track their customer’s preferences and they are based in part on reviews. 

This is why I’m requesting Amazon reviews and star-ratings.  I need to get my book out to people who do not know about it, and your reviews help move it into a broader audience.  So, with that in mind, I have a proposal for you all to consider.

I have two $50.00 Amazon gift cards to give away next Friday, April 3, 2015.  Here are the two requirements: 

First, go to Amazon.com and leave a review about my book – Polycarp, a destroyer of our gods.  It doesn't have to be long, nor does it have to include anything about me.  What did you think about the book, and could you recommend it?  That’s all.  Write a couple sentences or more if you wish.  You can use your name, initials or even your online alias. 

Next, using Facebook messaging or going to my website; www.polycarpthenovel.com; provide me your email address.  You know, of course, that it will never be given out or sold to anyone else.  I simply wish to stay in touch with you regarding my writing.  Email addresses are an author’s lifeline to the real world.

Next Friday (4/3), two names will be drawn for the free $50 gift card.  I’ll contact you if you won, and mail them to you.  The reviews aren't for me; I already struggle with pride and praise only makes the struggle harder, however, they are helpful in introducing the book to other potential customers.

Even if you’re not finished reading the book, you can tell people what you think.  Will you help me?  I would certainly appreciate it.  Thanks!

A stunning video of our Sun!  Truly, the heavens declare the glory of God in fascinating splendor.  Our lives can do this as well when we take time to notice what he is accomplishing in our hearts! The glory of God at work in us is the basis of my next book, a non-fiction work entitled: Understanding will keep you.  Should be out later this spring. More details to come.

(Click on the link to see the YouTube video)

Incredibly detailed images of the whole sun

I need book reviews…good ones, preferably

I love to read!  I enjoy conversing with authors through their books whether it is John Piper, Elizabeth Elliot, John Owen or Polycarp.  Of course, enjoying the fellowship of the Bible with its Divine Author is a reader’s greatest privilege.  But when it comes to buying books, and deciding on which to read, it can often be difficult when considering an unfamiliar author.  Even in Solomon’s day, there seemed to be an over-abundance of books as he stated in Ecclesiastes 12:12 – Of making many books there is no end… 

What makes the difference?  The reviews!   I’m not necessarily looking for the big name reviews, though that couldn't hurt.  I’m looking for the average reader.  I've lost count of the number of purchases I have made (beyond books) based on the thoughts and opinions of others regarding a product.

I have a large personal library, and I can tell you that most of my books were bought and read based upon the recommendation of a friend or some type of review.  That is why I need your help.  New books like mine may as well be named Discoveries In Obscurity, by I.M. Nobody.

Your reviews will help draw the attention of others who don’t know me, but are curious as to what others thought of the book. It’s an obvious hope that everyone would read my book (Polycarp, a destroyer of our gods, if you didn't“literary masterpiece!” “A must read!”  Be that as it may, a simple explanation as to why you liked the book would be a great help.

know) and provide a review similar to what my mom would say about it.  She thinks it’s a

If you leave a review on my website or my Amazon site, for example, people will be inclined to consider it.  I suppose that no review is better than a bad review, but a bad review reveals that someone actually read the book; that is the hope of every author.  Even if you read it and don’t like it, you can review it as a great, moisture-absorbent coaster, a door stop, or even a fire starter log.  

The book market is competitive, and I need an edge, and reviews help provide it.  If you need some prompting to aid you in writing a review, let me give you a few suggestions.  You don’t have to address them all, for short recommendations tend to be read over long ones.

How to give a review (good or not so good)

1.      Provide adjectives that describe the reading experience (energizing, sad, boring…)

2.      What were some aspects about the story that you really liked

3.      What event or character impacted you?  How did it affect you?  Did you cry, laugh; did it make you think?

4.      In very small letters, if the story had a problem, what was it?  How can your opinions help me with my next book (which I have already begun).

5.      Be honest!  And, don’t mention in the review that you know me (if you do).  No one wants to hear what a great person you think I am (well, except my mom, of course).

6.      Don’t give up the book’s secrets.  No spoiler alerts, even though the hero does die in the end of my book.

7.      Rate it.  If on Amazon, one star is very poor and not recommended.  Five stars is an excellent rating, and highly recommended.  On other websites, simply state whether you think others will like it or not.

8.      What if you hated the book?  Don’t hate me in your review; tell us why you disliked the story, or how I told it.  And then don’t let my mom see it.

9.      If you discovered some typos, which is often the case for the first edition, that’s easily changed, so no need to address it in the review.  Please message me on Facebook or drop me an email, and I’ll get it corrected in preparation for the next printing.

Let everyone know what you thought of the book, and my sincere thanks for your help!

Why read this novel?

December 6, 2014

We live in a culture that likes to be governed by the “how to’s of life,” when we should be more inclined to learn by “observing how.”    Learning by seeing and participating tends to cultivate a desire to learn and lends itself to the discovery of new approaches and methods.  I’m not undermining book learning, but more, focusing on the creative use of facts.  You know what I mean; the difference between knowing something and using what you know or are learning.

Novels are often an overlooked means of combining learning with observation.  We understand the importance of a good biography, why can’t we see a novel in the same light?  Of course, some novels are equivalent to mental cotton candy, and serve no real purpose but to bring their readers into a fairy-tale life.  That being said, even in those, principles of right and wrong can be identified, as are the rewards or consequences of decisions.

A recent study from Emory University concluded that reading novels can help boost brain power.  “The neural changes that we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist,” says neuroscientist Gregory Berns, the study's lead author. “We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically.”

For most of my life, I have loved reading, but resisted reading novels.  “They’re a perfectly good waste of time,” I often thought to myself.  But a few years ago, during my consulting days, a close friend recommended that I read the book “The Goal; a management-oriented novel by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt.  It was great, and let me see how principles of leadership dovetail with the real issues of everyday life. 

That book sparked the thought for my novel – Polycarp, a destroyer of our gods.  I wanted to help and edify others in their spiritual growth, and this seemed like a great avenue.  I desire to help Christians know more than just theology.  My passion is for the follower of Christ to live in the reality of how God trains and disciples us in living out the theology of His truth.  He wastes no moments, no trials, no blessings or people.  Everything fits our lives to draw our focus to Him and his work in our lives. 

Polycarp was born into slavery, was mentored by the Apostle John, and provided stable leadership in the church when the apostles died.  How could God take a boy from slavery and make him a champion of truth?  History reveals that such men are not made out of an easy life, but as trained and disciplined soldiers of the cross.  They are made to make in impact on their generation and generations to follow.  It’s the experience of God’s guiding grace in the face of trials and the cruelty of life that prove the greatness of God in our lives.

Guy de Maupassant a nineteenth-century French writer and considered by many the father of the short story said: “The public is composed of numerous groups whose cry to us writers is: ‘Comfort me.’ ‘Amuse me.’ ‘Touch my sympathies.’  ‘Make me sad.’  ‘Make me dream.’  ‘Make me laugh.’ ‘Make me shiver.’  ‘Make me weep.’ ‘Make me think.’” 

This is what I have strived to do in Polycarp, a destroyer of our gods.  When you are finished reading it, I hope you see yourself as one being trained and formed by the one true God to have a life that destroys the gods of men.   

Take a look at my novel.  Enjoy it, and let it challenge you by waking spiritual desires and stirring godly passion. Ultimately, let it serve as comfort and as a comparison as you look at your life in light of the life of Polycarp, a destroyer of the gods of mighty Rome.

Read it!  Give it a review!  And please, recommend it!