Funny Resemblance

Could there be a resemblance between John Owen (here on the right) and Robert Plant (top picture, right)? Or between Thomas Goodwin (here on the left) and John "Bonzo" Bonham (top picture, left)? You can be the judge.

(Thanks to Rev. Michael Brown and Dr. Carl Trueman for suggesting this thought).

Stages of Writing

I have just entered my favorite stage of writing biographies for children - the artwork! For those who are wondering how these books come about, here is a general idea:

1. First stage - research. Tons of books and articles. I study not only the person's life, but the time period. I also start reading his or her writings. I do a timeline and take lots of notes on index cards and organize them chronologically. As I study, I find names of experts and often contact them to see if they would like to help me. My main question at this time is, Why am I writing about this person? What impact did he or she make on church history?

2. Second stage - writing. This is actually a tough stage, as I have to condense everything I have read and express it in words that children can understand. My first draft is simple. I concentrate on choosing the main points I want to convey, keeping in mind the answer to my previous question. I also decide what illustrations would be needed and send the ideas to the illustrator. I also contact my map illustrator and tell him what map I need.

3. Third stage - photos. As I choose the photos, I develop and refine the text. I have finally found ways to get photos without paying a fortune. Agencies charge a lot of money for photos of paintings even if the paintings themselves are not under copyright. I found other avenues to get the same photos for free or at a low cost, from individual photographers who don't expect monetary rewards or from government agencies who ask for minimal fees. This knowledge has not come easily, but through much trial and error.

It is a painstaking, but interesting stage. I usually end up learning a lot more about the subject as I find photos, so it's a good time to write my "Did You Know?" section, published at the end of each book. I also get to know lots of interesting people. I made many wonderful friends this way. And it's encouraging to find so many people willing to help. For my book on John Owen, for example, after trying unsuccessfully to find an affordable picture of William Laud, I contacted the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who graciously allowed me to use an image from the official collection. In the process, I read some of his poetry and love it!

4. Fourth stage - review. I re-read the whole manuscript over and over. I get my kids together and read it to them so many times that they probably memorize it. Each time we find better ways to say things. They are wonderful critics and I could not do without their help. I have four children at home now, Jonathan (16), Kevin (14), Raphy (12) and Reny (10). They all bring different suggestions and perspectives.

5. Fifth stage - finding reviewers. By this time, I have contacted quite a few experts and I ask some of them if they would like to write a review. I send them the manuscript and wait for their replies.

6. Sixth stage - artwork! By this time (sometimes sooner) the illustrator starts to send me his work. This is one of the most exciting stages, as we work together on each image. It took me a while to find an illustrator who is just excited as I am about the project and who likes to work with others. I found that it's easy to find extreme attitudes with illustrators. If they are mainly artists, they might not be used to receiving suggestions and making modifications to their work. If they are mainly illustrators, they are sometimes used to being told exactly what to do, which is stressful for me, especially if I don't communicate things just right. I have finally found a good match, thank God!

In this stage, the artist normally sends me a sketch for each illustration and I approve them. Sometimes we talk about clothing, architecture, and objects fitting for the specific time period. If there are questions, I look for paintings from that time. Recently, we wondered what a young man would wear when playing sports in the XVII century, and I found that he wore pretty much regular clothes.

I love this stage because I like to see my character, whom by now I have come to love, through another person's eyes.

7. Seventh stage - write acknowledgments and send everything to the publisher and pray that he doesn't go crazy over the flood of photos and illustrations which accompany the text. I usually number them all and place the reference within the text. So far, they have put up with me...

8. Eighth stage - I get the final product back for me to check. It's hardly possible to catch every possible mistake, but RHB has done a remarkable job in this respect (besides the high quality format they have produced).

9. Ninth stage - advertising. My least favorite stage. I wish I didn't have to think about this, but I also want the book to sell so the publisher will be more likely to allow me to publish more. After I pay the illustrator, the map designer, and some photographers, I really don't make any money from this. In fact, with all the copies I give out for free, I probably end up in the red, but I have never meant for this to be a source of financial support.

10. At this point, I ask RHB what the next title should be. I suggest one or two. I get their answer, and the process starts again...

These points sound easy on paper, but I am sure you can recognize the frustrations, the excitement, the discouragement, the comfort, the questions, and the discoveries between the lines.

The Excitement over Christ's Coming

I just re-read a letter written by an early Christian to a man named Diognetus. It's a beautiful letter, written in a simple, refreshing, and poetic style around the second century A.D. I always liked it for its description of the early believers as "indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs," yet "extraordinary" because "they live in their own countries as if they were only passing through." Clear distinction of the two kingdoms.

But what impressed me today is the writer's excitement as he explains to Diognetus the wonder of Christ's coming:

"For, who of men at all understood before His coming what God is? Do you accept of the vain and silly doctrines of those who are deemed trustworthy philosophers? of whom some said that fire was God, calling that God to which they themselves were by and by to come; and some water; and others some other of the elements formed by God? But if any one of these theories be worthy of approbation, every one of the rest of created things might also be declared to be God. But such declarations are simply the startling and erroneous utterances of deceivers; and no man has either seen Him, or made Him known, but He has revealed Himself. [...And] after He revealed and laid open, through His beloved Son, the things which had been prepared from the beginning, He conferred every blessing all at once upon us, so that we should both share in His benefits, and see and be active. Who of us would ever have expected these things? He was aware, then, of all things in His own mind, along with His Son, according to the relation subsisting between them.

"As long then as the former time endured, He permitted us to be borne along by unruly impulses, being drawn away by the desire of pleasure and various lusts. This was not that He at all delighted in our sins, but that He simply endured them; nor that He approved the time of working iniquity which then was, but that He sought to form a mind conscious of righteousness, so that being convinced in that time of our unworthiness of attaining life through our own works, it should now, through the kindness of God, be vouchsafed to us; and having made it manifest that in ourselves we were unable to enter into the kingdom of God, we might through the power of God be made able. But when our wickedness had reached its height, and it had been clearly shown that its reward, punishment and death, was impending over us; and when the time had come which God had before appointed for manifesting His own kindness and power, how the one love of God, through exceeding regard for men, did not regard us with hatred, nor thrust us away, nor remember our iniquity against us, but showed great long-suffering, and bore with us, He Himself took on Him the burden of our iniquities, He gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal. For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God? O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors! Having therefore convinced us in the former time that our nature was unable to attain to life, and having now revealed the Saviour who is able to save even those things which it was [formerly] impossible to save, by both these facts He desired to lead us to trust in His kindness, to esteem Him our Nourisher, Father, Teacher, Counsellor, Healer, our Wisdom, Light, Honour, Glory, Power, and Life, so that we should not be anxious[ concerning clothing and food."

Wonderful thoughts, as we celebrate the coming of our Nourisher, Father, Teacher, Counsellor, Healer, our Wisdom, Light, Honour, Glory, Power, and Life.

"Who of us would have ever expected these things?"

Merry Christmas!

Turning in the Manuscript

Turning a manuscript to the publisher is one of the hardest things I have learned to do. It could be because I am a perfectionist. It could also be because I am new at all this and feel like I don't know what I am doing half of the time. Each time, however, God has come to my rescue at the last minute.

Even if many people had read my manuscript on Augustine, I was not totally satisfied with it until, just a week or so before my deadline, Dr. Philip Cary of Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, read it and sent me many valuable suggestions, taking the time to examine line after line, always ready to answer my questions (see an earlier post about this).

I turned in my first manuscript of my short novel on Olympia Morata in May. The corrections went back and forth between my editor and I for a few months, until she felt that it was done. Still, I was not completely happy with it. Since this is my first attempt at writing a novel, I thought I was just expecting too much. "Maybe this is all I can do," I thought.

By a turn of God's providence, I discovered only one month ago that I had to obtain permission for all my quotations of Olympia's letters and poems because, even if they were written in the XVI century, the translation I used was quite recent. The permission was given, but too restrictive. The only alternative was to re-translate everything. The letters were originally written in Latin, the poems in Greek.

I studied Greek for four years and Latin for seven, but that was a long, long time ago... Right then, a young man preached at our church. "Most of you know me for my passion for anything Greek," he said as he introduced himself. The answer! I asked him if he wanted to translate some poems for me and he said yes. His name is Chris Stevens. The result was fantastic, as he was able to catch subtle nuances that the original translator, probably not as acquainted with the Septuagint version of the Bible, had missed.

As for Latin, I was happy to discover that I can still master the language. My mother would be proud of me! I actually read each passage out loud in Latin, feeling like a teenager again. Never mind that, way back in high school, Latin translations were seen as gruesome tasks. This time I actually enjoyed them!

All this unexpected extra work, however, served another purpose. It was buying some time. Enough for my friend and former editor Heather to email me and invite me over. I had sent her my manuscript months ago, asking if she could review it, but she had never answered. I found out why. She had been fighting cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. Being in remission, she was now willing to read my manuscript.

"I need to send it in by Friday," I told her.

"Send what in by Friday??? This is Wednesday night!!!"

I really didn't expect her to do it, but I told her Monday would be OK. She must have worked late into the night, even Thursday, after a day spent watching her three young grandchildren (triplets). Her comments came in three messages, insightful and discerning, probing me to draw deeper into the wells of my mind to find more convincing and poignant explanations of various concepts and emotions.

Her questions were incisive. I had written this book with young Christian girls in mind, mostly Reformed Christians, and many statements were unintelligible to other readers.

"I have been bought with a price," Olympia's father said in my manuscript.

"Who bought? Who sold? What price?" asked my friend.

Well, tomorrow is Monday and the manuscript is done, thanks to Heather, thanks to Chris Stevens, and thanks to God. This time, even I am satisfied with it.

Happy Birthday Augustine!

Today Augustine is 1655 years young. Yes, just read any of his writings, especially his Confessions or some of his letters and sermons, to see how young he really is in his constant quest for truth and sincere communion with God.

I will celebrate his birthday with the prayer that the small biography I wrote for children will help many to appreciate his writings and have a greater desire to know and love God. (Click on the links on the left side of this blog to see the cover and some sample pages of my book on Augustine).

The cake on the left is an attempt, by Pasticceria Colzani, in Cassago, Italy (supposedly the same place as Cassiciacum, where Augustine spent some time preparing to be baptized and join the visible church) to reproduce the cake Monica prepared for her son Augustine on his 32nd birthday. It is made of the same ingredients described by Augustine: spelt flour, honey, and almonds - very healthy in today's standards.

On that grey and rainy day, the cake brought joy and comfort to all: Monica, Aeodatus (Augustine's son), Navigius (Augustine's brother, who apparently had a propensity for sweets), his friend Alipius, maybe his friend and host Verecundus, and some disciples. In fact, it prompted a three-day discussion on the pursuit of happiness, and the treatise De Beata Vita (On the Blessed Life) was the happy result.

The desire for happiness was very important for Augustine, an inborn, universal instinct which is meant to lead us to true happiness in God. For Augustine, happiness is... ultimately, to enjoy God forever.

John Calvin Still Travels

About two months ago, a man contacted me from Austria. He needed a translation of some documents because he is trying to claim his Italian citizenship, which will allow him to continue his missionary work in Europe. In the course of our transaction, I discovered that he is the principal of an International Christian School in Vienna, and I introduced my book on John Calvin to him. He liked it so much that he ordered four more copies.

Just today, he sent me his school's newsletter with a picture of the book being offered to the school librarian. You can see the Austrian band on the same page.

I am really amazed and humbled by all this. I am glad that the book sells well because good sales will prompt the publisher to continue the series, and I believe the series is absolutely needed. But if the books are well done it's all because of God's providence and mercy in spite of myself - as my publisher and some of my friends can attest.

God's Encouragement

Finally, after many months of hard work, the second book in my series, Augustine of Hippo, is at the printshop! It is scheduled to be published on November 20th by Reformation Heritage Books, Grand Rapids, MI.

Of course, I am very excited.

The only setback has been the news that my Italian publisher, Alfa & Omega, could not afford to publish this high-quality, hard-cover, heavily-illustrated book, in Italian. I understood their problems. Still, I was quite disappointed. I believe a book on Augustine will be very well received in Italy, as it appeals to Protestants and Catholics alike. I was begrudgingly prepared to look for another publisher there.

But God was ready to surprise me. After hearing John Calvin, the first book in the series, read during Sunday school class, a member of the Reformed church in Novate Milanese offered to help fund the printing of the second book. I am waiting for a final decision from the publisher, but things definitely look promising now.

I am amazed at this encouragement from God. My vision for these books, as I explained before, is to give our children a simple picture of God's work in His church throughout the ages, with clear references to the historical context and an easy explanation of the progression of theological thought (I am writing an article for Modern Reformation where I explain why Church history is an essential part of our children's curriculum). It's wonderful when others share and support this vision, and especially when God's hand is so visibly at work.