 Finding Inspiration in the Darkness D.L. Koontz Hi friends. I’m honored to join Carol here today! She asked me to offer a writing tip for beginning writers, along with a favorite scripture passage. First, let me explain that I write Christian inspirational romantic suspense, with a twist of paranormal. No, no need to read that twice. Yes, I said paranormal. Think Rebecca meets Ghost meets Twilight meets Gone with the Wind. Then mix it with books by Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti, and you’ll get a good idea of what I write. In a time when the Christian market leans toward the safe and comfortable, I’d like to counter that books about spiritual warfare and darkness can be the most uplifting and inspirational of all. And that leads me to a favorite verse: “…for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5-6. As I wrote my series (The Crossings Trilogy), I prayed. A lot. I kept feeling it placed on my heart that we can’t write safe all the time. Warm and fuzzy helps to build the Kingdom, but it doesn’t help to fortify it or turn us into soldiers for Christ. Sometimes, when you want a compelling character arc that offers suspense and nail-biting unknowns, you have to depict the wrong way to go about things. Talking with ghosts would certainly be one of those ways, don’t you think? And that led me to oft repeating Hebrews 13:5-6, resting in the assurance that God would never leave me and had a purpose for this series. Finally, it taught me to encourage other writers to pray before they write. Pray hard and pray a lot. Then, write from that focus. Don’t write because you think a Harry Potter clone will make you famous and wealthy. The Bible taught us that, for Paul, the demonic exists. For Paul, there clearly was a realm where demons walked the earth and harassed people. And the Bible also teaches that the dark side exists. What could be more inspirational than to portray—via fiction—how to overcome that present darkness? (Ephesians 6:12) One reviewer wrote that “D.L. Koontz graphically tears back the veil between our world and the spirit world.” That may sound daunting and dark to you, but to me it means I’ve hit my mark and made people think, all while resting in the knowledge that He will never leave me nor forsake me. D.L.Koontz is the author of Crossing into the Mystic and Edging through the Darkness, the first two novels in The Crossings Trilogy. She hails from Pennsylvania, but now lives on a cattle ranch in southeast Georgia where she juggles writing with endlessly going to town for supplies. Find her at www.dlkoontz.com.
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