Discussion Day 2

So it's discussion day number two and we'll be taking a look at another excerpt from the same Christian novel. Again, I'm going to tell you which book it is soon, but let's hear your thoughts on this excerpt. Remember it's a discussion so let's have fun! 

Daynia wasn’t sure if she should feel happy or not. She’d been trying to put as much distance between them as possible, but this act of kindness could serve as a game changer.

“Thanks for doing that, I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime Daynia,” he sighed. “You do know that I still care for you right?”

“Did you ever care about me Richard? Come on, answer that question honestly. Did you ever care about me? After everything you put me through, you’ll say that you cared about me?”

“Daynia, look, I’m sorry ok. I know this past year was horrible for you. I was confused about a few things and I mistreated you.”

“Confused? Is that how you act when you’re confused? You lie, cheat and treat people like crap when you’re confused? Ever heard of taking a moment to gather your thoughts? You ignored me, stood me up and made me look like a fool for a year and a half Richard! God forbid that you ever get confused again!”

That last comment hung in the air and continued to sting long after it was said. She was right to be angry with him. He’d been a complete idiot. She was the perfect girl and he treated her like trash. Now there really was no hope for the two of them ever getting back together.

“I’m really sorry Daynia,” he breathed, the sound barely audible. “I know I hurt you, and I’m very sorry. I know that my apology can’t make things better, but I need you to know that I’m really, really very sorry and it makes me ashamed when I think about all the things I did to you.”

“I’ve already forgiven you Richard; I didn’t need your apology to do that. I just don’t understand why you did this to me, that’s all. I mean, the usual excuse that most men give isn’t even applicable here; we had sex every time you wanted to. I did whatever you wanted me to even though it went against my conscience. I was always available whenever you wanted me to be. I never nagged or accused you of anything. I trusted you whole-heartedly Richard. I’ll never understand why you needed to have so many others.”

Richard was silent for several moments. Daynia was spewing venom and it scared him.

Finally, he broke the silence. “I hate to say this Daynia, but maybe you should have nagged and accused. I know you knew what was going on at some point. You may not have had proof, but you had to know that I was lying to you all that time.”

“What!” Daynia shouted angrily.

“Hold on,” he said. “Just let me finish.”

He covered her hand in his with a gentle touch that sent her heart into a nose dive. She fell silent, but before she could succumb to the emotions that threatened to overcome her, she yanked her hand away.

“I’m not saying this is an excuse. I’m just saying that it was easy for me to keep going because you never held me accountable for my actions. You went along with everything I suggested in spite of your convictions. I don’t know if you've ever realized this Daynia, but we men, we’ll misbehave until a woman shows up and hold us accountable. That’s just how we are.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard Richard. There is no way that I’m responsible for your ridiculous behaviour.”

“I never said you were responsible hon, I said you never held me accountable for it.”

The air in the car was suddenly filled with a level of tension that was incomprehensible. Daynia willed the line of traffic ahead of them to disappear, yet their slow crawl towards the city and her home continued at the same agonizing pace. 

Let's hear what you think. 

Discussion Day 1

The following is an excerpt from a Christian novel -  I'll tell you which one in a few days. Today, I would love to hear what you think, not about the story, but about the discussion the characters are having below. Weigh in, air your views, agree, disagree and send your friends to do the same. 

As the weeks rolled by Daynia finally began to heal. Her friends all stood by her, much to her surprise. Ashley held her pitiful form several times while she cried helplessly, but those occurrences were becoming less frequent and she could now function normally at work. She found her way back into her circle of friends with ease and they made her feel like she had never left.

At church, the expected stares accompanied by whispering was almost non-existent and only occurred among the older more judgmental members who’d gone passed the age where they remembered the indiscretions of their youth. Daynia theorized that they remembered quite clearly but chose to remain in a state of total denial as they could not live with their own consciousness. Whatever their reason, their whispering didn’t bother her too much because her God did no such thing. She’d received total forgiveness again and even though she was beating herself up for making the same mistakes all over again, God didn’t hold it against her so she walked with her head held high.

***

“It’s so hard for a Christian woman to find the right mate,” said Ashley. She and Daynia were walking along the beach having some girl time. Ashley made a special effort to do things with her friend these days. She needed the company to help keep her focused.

“Yeah, it is isn’t it? He has to line with God’s plans for you, he has to share your passion for God and he has to be willing to wait for sex.”

“Yup, it’s a tall order, even for men with the best of intentions,” said Ashley.  “That’s why we need to wait for God to do the picking; we can’t do a good job by ourselves.”

“You picked a good one.”

“Yeah, Daniel’s great, but don’t forget that I had to wait a while before he came along. God had to fix him first. In his previous state, I wouldn’t have gone within ten feet of him.”

“So that’s the trick really, we gotta wait till they’re ready.”

“Yeah, take Richard for example, he’s not a bad guy, he just wasn’t ready.”

“Oh come on Ash, you’re gonna tell me that a man who spent a year and a half lying to me is a good guy.”

“Yes Dayn, that’s exactly what I’m saying. He needed time to deal with the ghosts from his past. They don’t go away just because you’re now trying to live for God. It’s a process and he didn’t go through his process."

Daynia walked along silently whilst she pondered what Ashley was saying.

“We all had ghosts remember,” continued Ashley. “You have that horrible relationship with your family and all those bad relationships. I had to learn to love myself and treat my body with respect. Remember how I used to dress when I first started coming to church.”

Daynia laughed out loud. “Yes! I do. Those outfits were rather… um interesting.”

“Exactly! Now, I’m a glamor queen without showing my goods to the whole world. I went through my process. You were doing a good job with yours before Richard. You just need to keep pressing. Know what you want for your life and focus on that.”

Daynia stared at her friend for several moments. “When did you get so wise?” she asked, laughing.

“Oh I don’t know, it just happened,” responded Ashley as she tossed her hair back and held her head high in a look of mock sophistication.

“Whatever!” laughed Daynia as she pushed Ashley into the incoming tide. 

So there it is...let's hear what you think!

The Real Reality

So today, we're going to step away from the usual focus of this blog for just a little bit, but don't worry, I promise that you will still learn something.

Last year around this time, I released a new novel called Finding Romeo, a fictional story centered around two Christian young people. It's a romance novel, but I like to call it real life romance, cause let's face it, this stuff really happens in real life. In order for you to see where I'm going with this post, I gotta tell you a little bit about what happens in the novel so bear with me just a little bit.

See, my heroine, Daynia, is a Christian young woman with a desire to get married, just like most Christian young women her age, but she's been hurt before, also just like other young women her age, so she's a bit vulnerable. In comes Mr. Prince Charming himself, ready to sweep her off her feet. Richard (his name) is a church goer, so in Daynia's mind he must be a Christian right? Well...you decide. Anyways, they meet, they date and Daynia falls in love and (GASP)....Daynia let's her guard down and THEY HAVE SEX!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I did it! I dared to put a sex scene (watered wayyyyy down of course) in a "Christian Romance Novel". Why you ask? Because in real life, people who are struggling to live a Christian life make dumb mistakes and have sex. Trust me, it happens. How do I know? CAUSE IT HAPPENED TO ME!

So what's all this about today you ask? Well, you see... I was pretty discouraged about this book less than one month after it's release. I submitted it to fellow Christian authors for their honest review and THREE of them came back saying that they would NOT review the book. Why you ask? Because two Christians (dramatic gasp) had SEX! How dare me right?

Well yes I dared! Now that I've had a whole year to stew on my decision, I stand by it. You see, when I wrote this book, I had no plans for it to be another wishy washy romance novel where characters face unrealistic situations, hate each other for a while and then finally fall in love and ride into the sunset. There is more than enough of that out there. Several years ago, when God gave me the mandate for my life, it was to help others with my experiences. Well, Finding Romeo is my experience. Daynia is me.

You see in real life, we do dumb things. Really, really dumb things. We don't pay attention to warning signs, or to God's voice for that matter. We plunge ahead with decisions without thinking and we put ourselves in situations that are down right dangerous. Finding Romeo is my reminder to other young Christian women my age of the crappy stuff that happens to us if we don't pay attention or take heed. Daynia gave in to her beau and gave him herself, over and over again as a matter of fact. In return, she had to sacrifice her spiritual life and her heart. Richard didn't love her, as a matter of fact, he only kind of liked her. She was the girl he filled his spare time with whilst he tried desperately to get his ex back, the real love of his life. Daynia was warned but she ignored her friends. Like I said, Daynia is me (the exact details of her story aren't quite mine but you get the point).

So Christians, ladies, friends. Christianity has rules, things we should do and things we should stay away from, but let's be honest with our selves. We break the rules ALL THE TIME. Can we stop pretending that we don't and deal with the issues that cause us to break the rules. There's always a reason that we end up doing something that we really didn't want to do. Sit back a moment and consider the root cause of some of your actions. You'll find it so much easier not to make the same mistake twice, or three or four times....like in my case.

Be blessed today folks and have a good one. Oh and if you're interested in reading my Christian novel where two Christians are dumb enough to have SEX (dramatic gasp) then you can click on the cover below and get yourself a copy!