A New WIP

Writers refer to their current work, or the story they are working on, as their ‘WIP.’ This stands for, ‘Work In progress.’ I bring this up because, I’ve recently started working on a new WIP. My last WIP (on the back burner for a while), Wintergreen, will have to wait it appears. I don’t fully know why, but God is moving me along a different path at the moment, and all I can do is follow His lead.

I’ve always enjoyed reading romance novels (Christian and non-Christian) that are well written, involve some degree of adventure or danger, and involve characters that are usually less than perfect. One such book, written in the 1980s was ‘The Honorable Impostor’ by Gilbert Morris. The writing style is outdated, but the story line (centered around the people who eventually became the Pilgrims crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 1620, is timeless.

My stories will always involve characters that are neither perfect, nor have life figured out. Life is all about struggles and trying to figure out what God wants us to be doing. And, just like the main character in the honorable Impostor, who ultimately comes to know Christ, and who finally figures out what he’s supposed to be doing, so will my books run along this same theme.

My new WIP, tentatively called ‘Home run,’ is based on a well known parable from the Bible. It’s about the prodigal son (Luke 15). Set in the present time, Brent King takes his share of money from his father (the modern day equivalent to an inheritance) and heads off to Las Vegas. Though he intends to both enjoy himself, and multiply his inheritance (he wants to out do what his older brother did with his share of the inheritance), he quickly ends up broke and in serious trouble to boot.

This story will proceed its sequel, which will naturally be about the older brother. If you look at the Biblical account, you can see that the older brother had some legitimate grounds to be upset. At least, it seems that way from a human perspective. Well, that’s a long way off, so for now, I’m putting lots of energy into ‘Home Run’ with the hopes of completing the manuscript by the end of the year.

I mentioned I like romance with a bit of danger and depth. This is, in essence, what life is. And, that’s what I like to write about. I don’t mind telling people I enjoy romance stories, because that’s what life is really about. There is a big difference between the romantic literature I’m referring to, and the contemporary ‘chic lit’ that is less concerned with the deeper things of life. Some have called that writing ‘brain candy’ and it is true.

I hope my books won’t be called brain candy, but instead, brain nutrition!