Today, millions of people celebrate freedom. Some celebrate their own freedom by spending time with family and friends, going camping, eating, drinking, partying, sleeping, relaxing outside or inside or beside. For many of us, Memorial Day has become more about being free from work than having freedom.

True freedom comes at a cost. Honorable men and women throughout history, US and beyond, have given their lives so others could live free. The call and need for such sacrifice exists no less today than ever. In fact, a tweet I received today got me thinking. It challenged my respect for our service men and women, or more directly the nobility of the causes for which they sacrificed. Do I believe that every battle ever fought under the American flag, or any other for that matter, was noble? Unlikely. 

So I guess the real question is, as I asked my tweet challenger, for what noble cause will you lay down your life?

As a follower of Jesus, I follow the One who demonstrated His commitment to true freedom by laying down His life for us all.

I don't know if I will ever be called to the ultimate sacrifice of my life. In the meantime, I have committed the life invested in my first novel to providing the freedom to drink clean water to those around the world who currently don't have that freedom. Second, I am committed to investing my life writing another novel for those currently in the slavery of human trafficking. This is both the focus of the story I’m writing and the destination of any proceeds God chooses to bless it with.

Now it’s your turn: For what noble cause are you willing to lay down your life?

If you haven't heard, I finally bit the bullet and joined Twitter. Over the past several years, I have grown quite accustomed to using Facebook. Twitter? That's a bird of a different color. Well, blue actually.

I am slowly gaining familiarity with how things work in Twitter land, such as hashtags. It took a few days, but my hashtag posts are finally showing up. Of course, I then find out that Facebook has had hashtags for nearly a year. Well, I guess I'm still learning Facebook also. Though, I think the value of hashtags in FB is much more up for debate.

I do find it interesting how quickly I've connected with other users of Twitter with similar views and purposes. Some of my new Twitter followers are also FB friends, but a lot aren't. Seems like Tweeters expect a much looser connection.

So, if you are on Twitter, stop by and say hi. Oh, and check out #WritingExcerpts where I will be posting one or two sentence snippets as I write the new book I'm working on. But don't worry, I won't post anything that will serve as a spoiler. Think of them more as teasers.

'Till next time.

You've probably heard it said, "Write what you know." This is a valuable rule for writers. In fact, one of the key storylines for the current book I'm working on is the relationship between the protagonist, a father, and his teenage daughter. This, I know.

As of now, I can't envision myself writing a book with a mom as the primary protagonist. Why not? Well, certainly not because they wouldn't have the skills, knowledge, or excitement necessary to fill a role that would create significant intrigue. In fact, I know many mothers, both within my family and beyond, that would make excellent leading ladies for a novel. No, it is not the qualification of the role that would keep me from this endeavor.

Rather, it is the qualification of the writer. I have been the husband of my wonderful wife for 25 years. Likewise, I've observed her in the role of super-mom for nearly 21 years. Yet, I'm not sure I could say with confidence that I would be writing what I know.

I'm afraid this is where many of my author friends have me at a disadvantage. They can and certainly have written stories with dads as the protagonists, despite being moms themselves. Does that mean they are breaking the "write what you know" rule? No, it means that I am convinced that moms, and women in general, understand us men a whole lot better than the other way around.

Trust me ladies, it's not that we don't try. But some mysteries are too wonderful for mere mortals to ever fully comprehend. Maybe someday, I'll grow bold enough to attempt the Protagonist Mom role in a book. But for now, I'll have to settle for wishing all you moms out there a very happy Mother's Day!

'Till next time.

Have you found Goodreads?

I have to admit, until a few days ago, I had never seen this site. Whether you are an author or a reader, I highly suggest heading over there. As its name would imply, this is a site aimed at connecting readers with books they would enjoy reading. The approach is not new. Online merchandisers often use similar techniques to suggest items you might like to purchase based on prior purchases and ratings. Also video subscription companies, such as Netflix, use the same technique to suggest movies you should watch.

In order to use Goodreads you do have to create an account. However, this is quite easy as you can use your Facebook account to sign in. You can choose whether or not you want information about the books you rate and read fed to Facebook. Once you have an account, the best way to get started is by rating books you have read. This is done using the typical click-how-many-stars rating system. As you rate books, Goodreads will begin to suggest other books that you might like to read. I think this is a great way to find new authors or books that you have not tried. If you're like me, you don't have unlimited time to read books. Therefore, you often find yourself only reading authors you are certain will provide a story (or content if non-fiction) you will enjoy.

So head on over to Goodreads and get to rating and finding some good books. I can suggest at least one book you might want to either read, rate, or review. :)

Seriously though, if you enjoyed reading In The Image of Man, I would greatly appreciate your ratings and reviews. Ratings, and even more so reviews, on sites like Goodreads and Amazon are the single best way for readers to find new authors, like myself. Well actually, that's not true. The best way is word of mouth. However, most of you probably aren't going to meet hundreds of readers who like books similar to Image, such as Peretti's Darkness books. So, don't just rate my book. Rate others you've read too. This will create associations to Image that will cause it to be suggested to other readers.

Thanks all, 'till next time!