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For those reading my Lord of the Earth book, I'Ve encountered a bit of a dilemma. Originally, my first scene was about Connor at the orphanage performing his first healing miracle (curing epilepsy) as well as comforting Damiano, the new orphan, which is another of Connor's gifts. Since it's supposed to be a thriller (not just for Christian audiences), Rachel suggested a more action-filled opening. The problem I have with it (and Seabrass and John Hamler agree), nobody really cares about Connor yet and it gives away a key scene that was intended to be the climax of Connor's trip to the Holy Land, which is a major element of the story. If I remove the action scene, then the next scene after the healing miracle is an investigation of the first death of a cardinal at the hands of the Antichrist. However, there's nothing gruesome about it since that would turn off a Christian audience. The story continues back and forth between Connor and the Antichrist for several more scenes, at which point there is a (limited) action scene in the form of an exorcism. I haven't written it yet, so I'm not sure how pulse-pounding that scene will be. First and foremost, my target audience is Christians. If I can pick up other readers with an interesting story, so much the better, but they're not my focus. In short, I'm considering reverting back to the epilepsy cure as scene one.

Thoughts?
Dirk

You mean we don't have that? We definitely should.

Thanks, Amy. Don't worry about nits. If you're up to it, I'm more interested in your overall impression. I've been told it's a bit of a slow start for a thriller, which is true. It would be more correct to classify it as a Christian thriller. I wanted the introduction to Connor to come first in the book, since he's the focus of the series. FYI, I'm posting scenes as separate chapters on this site, to make them easier to write/review. There will generally be two scenes per chapter. Scene two will include the first strike by the Antichrist.

Rachel suggested a preview of a later action scene, which I'm beginning to think is an excellent idea. I'm thinking of using the climax of Connor's trip to the Holy Land as the opening moments of the book, without giving too much away. I have to write it first to see if it works.

Writing and posting individual scenes is also less daunting for me. Should give me more time for research in between posts. This book would be impossible without Google and my Catholic forum.

Just when I've been beaten into submission on this site to get rid of most of them, along comes someone who says [censored] to an editor.

Okay. Thought of several miracles that Connor can perform that are beyond anything Jesus said that any believer can do. Also, I was going to have Connor study ancient Aramaic, Greek, and Hebrew (so he can translate what he hears Jesus's aura speak in the Holy Land), but since believers can speak in new tongues, his fluency in those languages will be another sign of his supernatural abilities (he already knew those languages when he arrived at the orphanage at age seven).

I read in my Catholicism book that Jesus will return as an adult in His risen/glorified body, which contradicts the story I'm trying to tell. I threw it into my Catholic forum to see if there's a scriptural source for that. There are a few, but they're open to interpretation. Interestingly, two priests responded. One said it's a mystery and we can't be sure, although most expect Him to return exactly as He left. Of course, no one knows exactly what He looked like. That leaves me enough wiggle room to tell the story.

The bigger problem is that there are two endings to the Gospel of Mark in ancient manuscripts, a short version and a long one. The latter is considered canon in Catholicism. In it, Jesus says, "And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” This quote suggests anyone who believes in Jesus can perform the miracles that Connor does, without them being the resurrected Christ. Granted priests are believed to have some of these powers, hence the anointing of the sick and exorcisms by specially trained priests.

I'm going to have to amp up the miracles Connor can perform in act I before the cardinals debate whether or not he is Christ. Fortunately, the Antichrist is after him, so he has that going for him.

Ponder, I must.

Woohoo! I finally figured out the key elements of the Antichrist's attacks in Rome and the hunt for him throughout the book by the Italian and Vatican police. Need to add a few more supporting characters. Everyone's a suspect, including members of the Pope's Council. Many thanks to Agatha Christie and Law & Order for inspiration. I need to see if I can find episodes of the original for streaming. For some reason, Special Victims Unit replays endlessly on TV, but not the original.

MJ, I checked my settings and it's already set as you suggested, yet my forum threads still show up on Google. You don't even need to be logged into the site to read them.

I just watched Angels & Demons for the 3rd time. Lots of great suspense, especially as they're racing from church to church, looking for the missing cardinals. Nasty deaths, though. More than I want to use in my books. Mine are supernatural deaths, so I can do things that Dan Brown couldn't (e.g., a heart crushed inside the chest with no external wounds).

It occurred to me, though, as I was watching, that the Vatican police (the Gendarmerie) never called in for additional help from the Italian police to see if anyone else could get to the target church faster than the Vatican car could. The commanding officer was racing with Tom Hanks through the busy streets of Rome half the night. You'd think there'd be someone closer to the churches to call on. There is definitely cooperation with Italian police in real life because the Gendarmerie is too small. Very cool Italian car though (Lancia Delta, manufactured by Fiat). They no longer make them, so I'll be going with an Alfa Romeo Giulia (https://www.digitaltrends.com/car-revie … review/#/1). At $48K, I figured it was probably more than the Vatican would really spend on police cars, but I discovered that it's the main type of car used by both of Italy's national police forces (civilian and military).