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What drives you to do what you want to do? Is it purpose? Is it praise? Is it the desire to succeed - however that might be defined for you? Is it just for fun? What is the motivating force behind what you do?
I write. I can say I've been doing it since I was a child because that's true. It definitely serves a purpose in my life, and I need purpose.
When you do what you're supposed to do, all of the above items might apply.
As a Christian, my/our foremost pursuit is obedience to the Lord's direction(s). Although that pursuit will usually involve some hardship(s) along the journey, ultimately the outcome of those endeavors will be the most satisfying and feel the most complete.
What's driving you? Or who?
Father, thank you for directing me to write for you. It is the most satisfying thing that I do. Please allow the stories you give me to make an impact wherever you choose. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Decisions, decisions . . .
Carrot Cake or Chocolate Fudge Cake
Tacos, Tamales, Burritos, or Juevos Rellenos
Spaghetti, Lasagna, Pizza, or Penne Florentine
Frosted Sugar Cookie, Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip, or Fig Newtons
Tuna Fish Sandwich, Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich, Roast Beef Sandwich, or Mesquite Smoked Chicken Sandwich
"All of the above" is available.
Father, thank you for all the wonderful food in this world. Help us to appreciate all that we have. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Back in the day . . . way back, when the music was real, black and white photos were in, and I was a college freshman.
Father, I can never thank you enough for rescuing me from myself. I know it took too long, but you finally let me know who you really are when my heart was ready for truth. Thank you, Jesus.
A review has become a treasured commodity to most novelists. Amazon reviews tend to sell novels, providing they're good reviews. Most of you know how I feel about 1-star reviews: they tend to say more about the ones who write them than the book itself. They need to be aware that one person's "1-star" is another person's "5-star" - strange as it might seem.
I've received a 1-star review once. I checked out the reviewer. She liked short novels, and mine was not short. She didn't finish it. Yet she wrote a bad review. Entitled to her opinion.
If you've ever gone to my page on Amazon, you can see the few reviews. Many more readers have read my stories and told me how much they enjoyed them, but they never wrote reviews. For some, writing a review seems challenging, but it doesn't have to be. A few sentences to express your enjoyment might encourage others to take a chance on the book.
If you're a reader of novels and you find a story captivating or just plain entertaining, write a sentence or two for an Amazon review. The process is user-friendly, and it will mean a lot to the author.
We will thank you.
Father, I'm grateful for everyone who reads my novels, and I thank you for them. I thank you again and again for every inspiration, word, character, and story. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
From my novel Destination available here or here for your e-readers.
SEVERED
Now he wondered why he thought this would be a good idea as he stepped onto the first of five stairs that led up to the front door. He glanced back over his shoulder to see the lawn needed mowing and for some reason he thought of the Briggs & Stratton mower they used to have and wondered if it was still in the garage. It was amazing to see the house looked the same—a taupe color with a cream-like trim and in need of a paint job—because he didn’t look the same. He didn’t feel the same either. Or think the same. Or even act the same. Because if he did look, or if he felt, or if he thought or acted the same, he certainly wouldn’t be here now. No doubt about that. Because what he was about to face was going to tear his heart out. Again. Only in a different way.
He took each step slowly, deliberately, and when he lifted his right hand to knock on the scuffed door, he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, the pounding of his heart threatening his ability to hear himself think. He waited nervously with both hands in his worn brown leather jacket pockets, looking down and then once again back over his shoulder.
The door finally opened and he took in the briefly curious look on her face that too quickly turned to anger and then stopped just short of hatred.
“What are you doing here?” she snapped, her tone and angry expression momentarily stunning him despite his anticipation of that very response.
“I, uh, I came to tell you that I’m sorry.” He could hardly breathe, and he wished he’d thought to bring a bottle of water and taken a drink before he attempted to speak. He cleared his throat. “For all of it. For everything.”
She looked out the door past him, and it was at that moment he saw her fight back tears in those hard golden brown eyes. He’d never noticed the hardness before. Had it always been there?
“How convenient,” she said harshly. “Jail house religion? Makes you feel good about yourself now, does it?” She was struggling with her temper, and he remembered suddenly how every once in a great while she could go off like a firecracker.
“Well, no. It doesn’t exactly,” he managed to say.
“Good. Because I don’t feel good about you either, and you had no right to come here.” She jerked her hand up and quickly rubbed her forefinger under her eye.
“Jenni, I had to come here and tell you that I regret messing up your life. I’m sorry I upset you by coming here.” He attempted to look her in the eyes, but she wouldn’t allow more than a second of direct eye contact.
“’Messing up’ my life?! You ruined my life, Thomas! You devastated my life. I’m just now trying to pick up the pieces of it, and you have no part of it. None! So if you’re through with your cutesy little feel good speech, I’d appreciate it if you’d get out of my life for good,” she barked.
“Alright, Jenni,” he conceded wearily. “I just want to ask you one favor,” he ventured bravely.
“You’re asking me for a favor?” The incredulity seemed to ricochet around in his ears.
“Yes. Down the road, if and when you’re not angry anymore, I would ask you to find it in your heart to forgive me because I’m truly sorry for what I did to us, to you, and that it turned out the way it did for Will. I never intended to do that. I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
“He’s dead, Thomas!” She almost screamed. “I loved him, and you killed him.” The tears came in a flood now.
Her words burned through him like a precision guided laser beam straight to his heart.
“You loved me once, Jenni,” he said quietly, although at the moment he couldn’t imagine she ever had.
“Go away!” she shouted and stepped back inside, slamming the door in his face.
He turned around and fought back tears of his own. With hands in his jacket pockets he walked down the stairs and out of his ex-wife’s life.
Father, thank you for every inspiration, words, stories, and perseverance. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Five of my favorite novels:
Consent to Kill (Vince Flynn)
The Masterpiece (Francine Rivers)
Redeeming Love (Francine Rivers)
Secrets; Unforgotten (Kristen Heitzmann)
The Waves Break Gray (Sibella Giorello)
And there are so many more!
Again, Lord, thank you for your authors and the stories you give them. Your divine touch makes all the difference. Thank you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
This says everything you need to know about who I would become. Two years old here and a pose that says it all. Every time I see this old photo of myself, it makes me laugh. Who knew? I think my parents did.
Lord God, you've been so gracious to me my entire life. I can't thank you enough for your patience during the hard years. Thank you for rescuing me from myself. I will always be desperate for you and thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
The question often asked is do you as a reader prefer ebooks or physical books? Another question is do you prefer fiction or non-fiction. And still another question is do you prefer hardcover or softcover books?
So which is it for you or is it "all of the above"?
Long novels, short novels, novellas, or short stories?
Memoirs, biographies, auto-biographies, true crime?
Thrillers, mysteries, suspense, love stories, romances, women's fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, historical, historical romance, westerns, magical realism?
What's your reading pleasure?
Father, thank you for books. Thank you for readers and writers. Thank you for sharing your creativity. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
What really sells novels? Of course a good marketing team can sell a book, but that doesn't mean it's going to be a bestseller. Authors who've made inroads to their audiences and connected with their stories have proven that many of them are truly gifted writers and quite a few have proven the opposite. It so happens that both have become bestsellers based on the stories they've told.
Those stories, whether well written or somewhat poorly written, resonated with enough people to make a way for more of their work. Some are a flash in the pan and others continue to write one bestseller after another.
My question is how did they get that first success to the right people and then to their appreciative audience? Others followed the same paths with little to no success.
What really sells novels?
Father, I attribute every good and perfect gift as coming from you. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
People read books for all different reasons. Men often prefer non-fiction or thriller novels. Women are notoriously labeled as romance readers. And some people don't read much at all.
As you know I'm an author of fiction. Christian fiction to be exact, but I've been a reader of novels going back to childhood. Novels are my preference for a variety of reasons.
My question today is simple: Why do you read novels?
Father, thank you for your novelists. The beauty of imagination, the truths within stories, and all the creation of characters we can see in our mind's eye. Thank you for it all. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
A very old self-portrait back in the day following my first year on the racetrack. Liberty Lake, Washington. Loved black and white in those days. Don't know what I was trying to do here exactly - there's always something to say, you know?
Father, you waited for me. I can never thank you enough for your patience and rescue. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Requiem is Book 3 in An American Ghost Thriller Series by J. B. Turner.
Nathan Stone takes a break in Miami and visits an old dive bar. After a beer or two, a pretty girl who bears an uncanny resemblance to his institutionalized sister walks in and sits a seat away from him at the bar. Always on his guard, he soon suspects the worst, chastising himself for taking time in the surveillance-filled city of Miami. He knows they now know where he is.
The woman has no idea what she's in for - she's just trying to do the job for which she was hired as a two-bit actress desperately trying to make some money. Stone knows they have no choice but to run, and the Everglades offer their best chance of surviving whichever operators have been selected and sent to kill him and now her since he thwarted the "honey-trap" plan.
Their struggle in the Keys and Everglades is real. She (Beatrice) is definitely not cut out for survivalist existence which she makes annoyingly clear ad infinitim. However, because Stone continually educates her as to the dangers of their being caught, she finally appears to become more compliant, but inevitably resorts to something stupid just when Stone thought he could trust she understood how deadly those pursuing them were.
Meanwhile, the heads of this cabal are fracturing but adamant about continuing this Commission and eliminating Stone.
As stated in my review of Reckoning, the portrayal of this cabal is not without merit. It's well done, well-written - even though in this story Beatrice was always tedious to read. I'd have knocked her out cold more than once, but she is just one more thing in Stone's life that reveals to him that he still can discern right from wrong, that perhaps his conscience - and his heart - are not seared beyond redemption. And now, since Rogue, and during Reckoning, we're rooting for him to annihilate these evil faux-patriots and finally be able to experience life without having to assume they're coming for him. Which is sadly still the case.
Highly Recommended.
(Lots of profanity.)
Father, please continue to bless and protect J. B. and his family and please provide those stories you have just for him to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Reckoning by J.B. Turner is Book 2 in An American Ghost Thriller Series.
In recent times the average person, who usually hasn't paid a great deal of attention to the agencies of the USA, has become aware of tawdry, lawless, and unconstitutional actions of these agencies. "Deep State" is now a fairly common term used and understood by various media personnel and depicted in films taken from novels such as the Jason Bourne Series created by Robert Ludlum.
In the first book of this series (Rogue), we meet Nathan Stone, and there's nothing to particularly like about him in this state. Nathan Stone was revived after an assignment went badly wrong, redesigned with plastic surgery, trained as - in MK Ultra style (research it and remember the Jason Bourne films) - an assassin at the highest level. In fact, millions of dollars were spent on rebuilding Nathan Stone into the killing machine with no conscience that we read about in our first introduction to him. Juiced and ready for his deadly assignment, he completes his task but then figures out what's about to happen to him. As a result, he does irreparable damage to those who "created" him.
Reckoning picks up after Nathan Stone has disappeared to Florida where his older sister permanently resides in a mental institution for killing their terribly abusive father as a child. She's all that Nathan has in the world, and the facility where she lives takes wonderful care of her. However, when Nathan takes a call he hoped he'd never get, he realizes "they've" found him and got him for another assignment because they've managed to take his sister out of the facility and are holding her captive until this job is done. They've become fully aware of what he exposed to a journalist when he "went rogue" and destroyed their people and the facility where he was taken to be reconstructed and trained.
From that moment on this is a bona fide thriller and details what is called "The Commission" consisting of retired upper military, former and present CIA, and other clandestine members. When he went rogue, he only knew of five members, but he learns the web is intricate with tentacles reaching into every agency of law enforcement.
At the end of Rogue, Stone had the beginnings of a return to a hint of conscience, morality, a line not to be crossed, and a desire to thwart the kind of people who made him what he became. That persona grows in Reckoning along with a new determination to eliminate the kind of evil people who operate under the guise of "loving America" in a globalist-controlled kind of way.
Turner gives the reader a solid picture of what the cabal looks like and how they operate around the world. The story is closer to fact than fiction. If there's a weakness, it's going on the assumption that the Feds can provide us with help and rescue when under attack from this cabal. Reality has shown evidence that the Deep State is alive and well and functioning as intended in all levels of government and beyond.
For thriller lovers, truth lovers, this series is hard and fast, violent and terrifying, sad and sorrowful, but Highly Recommended.
(Lots of profanity.)
Father, you know what it takes to do all that we do. Thank you for giving us our abilities and insights. Apart from you, we can do nothing. Please continue to guard and protect JB in all he does and writes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.