More than Writers

  Why are there so many books?! Do you ever feel that you can’t cope with the vast numbers of new books pouring out from the minds of authors month by month, on top of the vast numbers that already exist, so many of them already forgotten by just about everybody? More specifically, I get that feeling when I read the notices of all the new ‘Christian books’: for example, listed in the back of Together magazine, or in the publisher’s catalogues that come with it. Surely our faith is not so complex that it needs to be written about over and over again? Surely even the complicated bits have all been thoroughly explored by now? Surely the application of it to life has been covered, with so many books out there? And even the multifarious ways in which those applications can be made, even all of them must have been discussed over and over again by now? Those excruciatingly fine theological and liturgical distinctions must have been restated numerous times? So, what possible justification ...

  I've been thinking a lot about covers recently, mainly because I have several books coming out soon and I've been knee deep in covers and discussions with both cover designers and publishers. I would like a clanging of cymbals here as this is the first sighting of the cover for the new Bertie the Buffalo Book - Bertie Goes to the Worldwide Games . The reason I include this is because it has gone through several iterations. My publishers - Malcolm Down and Sarah Grace have worked hard to bring this cover and to make sure it fitted the book. The tartan is important because Bertie and his friends are representing Scotland and will be wearing kilts. So, why no kilt on the front I hear you ask? One of the original covers did have him in a kilt on the front but it was felt a little too fussy. So, here's a screenshot of part of the back cover.  Our wee escape artist is exploring his Scottish heritage. Before you say, a water buffalo isn't very Scottish, Bertie was born on a ...

By Rosemary Johnson Today is General Election result day.   I wonder how many of you will read this post.   I’m expecting most Christian writers to be transfixed by television presenters with red stare-y eyes, grey faces and crumpled shirts, trying to work up enthusiasm for the declaration of results of some constituency they’ve never heard of, where the people taken on to do the count have been very slow. As you read this first thing in the morning, I shall be at my swimming lesson, practising immersing my head as I do breaststroke.   Under chlorinated water is probably the best place to be. So… you’re still here and you want a post on Christians and writing?   A few days ago, I attended my grandson’s nativity play, Baa… Baa… Bethlehem by Daisy Bond and Ian Faraday.   Baa… Baa… Bethlehem is written specifically for KS1 and KS2 children (two versions available), words and music.   At my grandson’s school, all of Year 1 and Year 2 - in ot...

We have just been out to Brede, near Hastings. We were visiting a lady, an avid reader but not comfortable with Amazon, who didn’t know how to get hold of our books. The lovely octogenarian made us welcome and bought no less than six volumes, so we gave her a discount. We then headed across to Brede Farmers’ Market, a Friday treasure trove, a cornucopia of generous goodness, and blew our earnings and more on sausages and sprouts and carrots, cheeses and venison and home-made bread and pies. Enough to set us up for days, with a healthy dose of cheerfulness, few overheads, no packaging, and no airmiles. We offered good value, and received good value, with money passing directly to the hands of the producer. Brede Farmers’ Market is a fine example of the approach advocated by the Transition Town movement. Transition Town thinking is a response to the impending scarcity of cheap energy, particularly cheap oil. It recommends that localities become as self-sufficient as possible –...

Once upon a time a talented American musician called Byron, was spending some time with God, seeking to understand where the music industry was going. He saw a picture in his mind of a CD with a big bite taken out of it. He knew the music industry was headed into a new world, and he got the idea that there should be a company built for Christian artists where their music could be downloaded from the internet (this all happened in 1997, pre Napster, iTunes, etc). The vision of the CD with the bite out of it led to the name Eat-A-CD – but who would take this idea and run with it? Fast forward a few years: Byron was chatting with his Scottish friend Gregor. Gregor was expressing his frustration at trying to find new Christian music, this was all the opening Byron needed to share his vision for Eat-A-CD and see if Gregor was interested in going for it. Gregor shared the idea with his brother and sister-in-law, Innes and Caroline, and the dream got that bit closer to reality. Fa...