Writing Fiction in the Real World

First off I want to thank Ellen Gable who invited me to do this Writing Process Blog Tour. Ellen is the President of The Catholic Writers Guild and is a very accomplished writer in her own right.  I have her book links at the bottom of this post.  Be sure to check them out! Here’s a picture of one of her latest books.

I am currently working on a new book that takes the conversation between God and man fast forward.But a little background to start with: I began working onARAM because I was interested in exploring how humanity first began to realize that God is One and how humanity saw itself in relationship with Him.  The whole Deliverance Trilogy explores that journey from blind ignorance toward faith filled hope.  It is not only the journey of all of mankind, but the journey of an individual soul as well.  How do we come to terms with the God who made us and learn to accept His right and purpose in our lives?

The next books I worked on, Georgios I and II move the conversation forward into the revelation of Christ.  Georgios, a descendant of ARAM, is a young man searching for his father and runs head long into the strange, rather unbelievable, message of Christ – God has come to save humanity.  Georgios is set on the island of Patmos, on the open sea, in Rome and on the Celtic islands in the second century AD.

My next book, Melchior, a descendant of Georgios, is set in Briton in the fifth century right after the Anglo Saxon invasions.  It is a story that draws us into the formation of the church and her greatest scholars who kept the faith alive in a long trial of darkness. It is about a man trying to hold his family and his faith together, but finding hate and a desire for vengeance vying for control of his soul.

I have plans to continue the Melchior lineage, but I felt compelled to jump ahead to end of the conversation between God and man.  So the book I am working on now, The Last ofHer Kind, concerns how God might draw humanity into the next phase of our existence. How would we respond if we seriously faced an end of the world as we know it – not through mass destruction but through…well, I don’t want to give that away yet.  Just know that the story ends well.  I have hope, and so does humanity, no matter how painful the challenge to accept an unknown future.  It is when we allow God to become Master of our Fate that we enjoy the greatest peace.

My work is different from  the most historical fiction in that I do not focus on particular historical events or persons, but rather on the stages of humanity’s relationship with God. Each books is connected in their shared lineage and though the setting is in the past or future, the issues and struggles are still ours today. We are all connected to the same genesis, traveling along the same journey. We all can trace our roots to the dawn of creation and we all face the same end. Humanity, whether we like it or not, accept it or not, is in this journey together.

I write these stories because they are the ones that attract me.  I once read a monk proclaim that the moment he accepted the truth of God’s existence, he had no choice but to spend his whole life getting to know Him.  I feel kind of the same way.  My writing is my weak and imperfect effort to get to know Him – and to take some friends along with me.

I write when ever the opportunity arises.  My usual schedule is to write after dinner when the kids are playing or studying.  After John died my schedule got muddled.  I have had so many things to attend to that I have had to focus on less literary issues.  But God seems to want to encourage me – He gave me several circumstances where I have had to wait for something (to get fixed or finished) away from home.  So I took my writing along and moved ahead.  Funny how that works.

Well, you know probably waaay more than you really wanted to about A.K. Frailey, but now I am now going to introduce some other authors who you really should get to know:

Denise Y. Montgomery is a Catholic wife and a homeschooling mama of six children (and one dog). She holds a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature with a focus on Creative Writing from SMU. When not teaching Algebra, changing diapers, and cooking meals, Denise writes short stories and is working on a homeschooling book and her first novel. On her website www.DeniseYMontgomery.com, she composes book reviews, thoughts on writing, flash fiction as well as conducts author interviews. In 2011 Denise formed the Catholic Writers of St. Louis group www.CWStL.wordpress.com

Visit Denise at:

www.DeniseYMontgomery.com

Connect on Linked-In

Follow on Twitter

Also I wish to introduce: Charlotte Ostermann.  She has a new book coming out very soon!  Keep your eyes glued – I am really looking forward to it!  Here are some links you can use to get to know Charlotte better: