Thankful

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. As life gets hectic and crazy-busy heading toward Christmas, here's a holiday that literally forces the breaks onto my "run-away" life and makes me turn inward for a moment and reflect on what God has done for me. I'm thankful for so many things: my wife, my children, my church , my friends, my job and for writing.

Being a published author affords me many opportunities that I would never had experienced before. In the last month I've met three authors that are struggling through the same "find a publisher--finish the book" experience that I went through over a year ago. It's a frightening process that's very alien to people not working in the publishing industry (like me). It is great to share my experiences with them and try to encourage them to keep going. I hope they will.

A fellow author (and college alumnus) reviewed Wayback recently and posted it on his fine author blog. By permission, I'm re-posting it here. Adam is the author of Fatal Illusions, a thriller that takes place in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (or the UP as the natives call it). I hope to have a review on it soon.

My Review

I was delighted to read this new novel by author friend and fellow BJU alumnus Sam Batterman. I have always been fond of time travel stories and was especially interested to see how Sam would treat this classic but somewhat worn plot device. (From H.G. Wells to Michael Crichton, we've seen a wide spectrum of time travel sagas, not to mention numerous movies and TV shows.)

What I discovered was a novel that is really a carefully executed balancing act between suspenseful plotting, scientific research, and biblical truth. This technique is risky. Does the scientific information weigh down the plot? Are the biblical ramifications of what the story's characters experience lost in the plot? I thought Sam did a good job of striking the right balance, and he certainly put some hard work into this project. The list of sources Sam consulted for his bibliography is nothing short of amazing. This guy did his homework, and it shows!

Beyond the obvious creationism message, I was especially intrigued by scenes that describe the garden of Eden and Noah's ark. I've often wondered what the inside of Noah's ark looked like; Sam does a good job of giving readers an inside look. The main storyline of researchers sent back in time to the time of Noah's flood gains further complexity by a group of terrorists who plan to alter history in an unexpected way. I won't give away the subplot or their diabolical plans; you'll need to read the novel for yourself. The ramifications of their plans and how Sam probed the possible outcome of choices unique to two time periods definitely gave a new spin to the time travel concept that I hadn't thought of before. What a fascinating, thought-provoking read! With just enough hooks to keep the story moving forward while taking readers down a path of new possibilities and into a world we've read about in the Bible but only imagined, Wayback is definitely a worthy, suspenseful, and educational read. Definitely check it out!

Additionally, there should be a few other reviews coming in the next month or so.

I will be at Bob Jones University Campus Bookstore on December 4th for the "Light the Night" event and signing books from 7-9PM. If you are in the area, please stop by and say "Hi!"

I've started the second re-write of Maximal Reserve, my newest thriller, which I hope will be published in 2010. I have some early readers digging into it and I'm sure the story will only get stronger after they feedback to me. This novel is longer than Wayback and in some cases more complicated. I still have work to do, but I love the story so far. Can't wait to share it with you.

Blessings,

Sam

Engineering a Book - Maximal Reserve

Well, the first draft of Maximal Reserve is done. This means the general story, characters, chapters, length (and depth of the book) and basic tone of the book are complete. This doesn't mean that the book is finished, but it does mean that how the book starts, runs and ends is essentially done.

Unlike Wayback--where, to be honest with you--I had little to no idea what I was doing until the edit stage, Maximal Reserve started with the foundations that I learned along the way with my first book. I tried to take the criticisms of Wayback and my strengths from Wayback and combine them. People generally liked the story of my first book and the scene descriptions were called out as strengths with character development and dialog being areas that some felt could use work.

I agree. So, on Maximal Reserve I focused on Characters--characters that I now love. In Wayback, the science team was the protagonist (or perhaps Jim Spruce was depending on who you ask) - in Maximal Reserve you get to know the protagonist, warts and all, from the very beginning. It has the same twists and turns that my first book was known for and additional dimension -- better relationships, better romance, better emotion--better everything.

People ask me what it's like to write a book and I suspect each one is a bit different, but now I focus my answer on what I relied on for the last seven months--structure and engineering.

How can art be engineered? It has to be to work. Fiction has structure - whether it's conventional, contemporary fiction or literary fiction - there is a formula that must be considered. It's not enough to have a good start or prologue--is there enough "ummph" to make it 80,000-100,000 words?

For me the challenge is around 30,000 words where the transitions occur and the middle of the book feels like it's sagging. It takes focus and rewriting to tame a manuscript and get to the resolution in a meaningful way.

Here are some things that I kept asking myself all through the writing of Maximal Reserve:

• Is there tension - everywhere?
• How are the transitions handled between Act I and Act III?
• How does the protagonist grow during the book?
• What is the relationship between the antagonist and the protagonist?
• Do the subplots slow down the story, or support it?
• In my case, does the science overwhelm the story, or support it?

So, with 90,000 words in the bank, I can now share the synopsis of Maximal Reserve...more news will be coming...What's next? Well, I have a whole raft of early readers and critics lined up to shred the manuscript (from a critical perspective).

Will the story change as a result? Undoubtedly. This is an early look at how the book will be perceived by the rest of the world. I can't wait to hear what they think...good or bad.

Phillip Channing was just an ambitious college graduate who wanted to make his mark on the world. He didn’t know that mark would be the greatest oil discovery of all time–in the wrong place. Phillip finds the largest oil reserve in history, dwarfing the lucrative reserves in Saudi Arabia, and threatening to change the balance of power and wealth in the favor of the most unlikely country of all.

New Interview on CWW

A new interview is up on Christian Writer's World -- Characters who grip your heart. This site is run by Lena Nelson Dooley, who has dozens of books to her name. It's a great site and I'm happy and humbled to be a part of a group with such great authors.

As to Wayback news, I will be doing a book signing at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina on December 4 from 7-9P at the campus bookstore. That evening they have a special event called "Light the Night" where they turn on the Christmas lights for the season -- there are typically over 10,000 people in attendance at these events.

My second novel, tenatively called Maximal Reserve, is now hovering around 80,000 words. The first draft is done and I'm having some close friends take a reading of it and shred it. Another couple of drafts will likely insue as I get it to the best place as I can. Keep coming back to find out publishing news and date of release.

Blessings,
Sam

CHRI Ottawa Family Radio Interview

My interview with Ali Misener on Sept 9, 2009 is up.

Download it for your MP3, iPod or Zune Player here: MP3

Internet Audio Interview on BooksALatte.com

The Internet Audio Interview I did last week with Takiela Bynum is up check it out:

http://booksalatte.com/2009/09/10/wayback/

You can click on the Audio File here and play it on your Media Player or download it for your iPod or Zune:

New Reviews and More News

Greetings,

I hope you're enjoying the fall weather that is sweeping over the landscape. The weather here in Pennsylvania has been absolutely beautiful. I love the crisp, clear mornings of September.

The bookstore of my Alma Mater, Bob Jones University has Wayback prominently displayed. It's great to have their support. Here's a pic that my Computer Science professor snapped and sent me:

A great review came in from Jill Williamson, the author of the new fantasy novel By Darkness Hid, and editor of Novel Teen Reviews. Jill is an amazing author and her first book is doing quite well in the marketplace.

Here's the review, but make sure you visit her site - she has an excellent collection of literature that's suitable for the Youth and Young Adult Literature set in your life.

Review by Jill Williamson

Two Roads Corporation has been busy. They’ve discovered a way to transport people back in time. But an expedition to 100,000 BC ended in disaster as if such a time never existed.

This leads Two Roads to believe that everything modern-day science believes about how old the earth is could be mistaken. The company plans to send another team to a time period that might answer some of their questions. The team is recruited and sent to 2300 BC, the time of Noah’s Ark and the great flood. What they discover will change science forever.

I adore books that present theories of Intelligent Design and Creationism. Men and women willing to stand up against the “proof” that Evolutionists claim is so absolute are brave. I think the public should view science like a jury views a man on trial. Unless it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, it is not fact. And as of right now, no scientist can prove how the world came to be beyond a reasonable doubt.

This book was a joy to read. It starts out with the gripping premise of time travel and takes us to earth, 2300 BC, before the flood. I enjoyed reading what earth might have been like and experiencing how things might have happened. This is a book I will keep around for my kids to read as they get older, to keep their minds open. This book has some great characters from all spectrums of scientific beliefs, which brought great conflict to the story. I liked the antediluvian city and people. I liked that they were advanced and that the Garden of Eden was still there. There were so many interesting ideas presented here. It was so interesting.

The book shifted characters a lot. I prefer a few main characters to follow that I can really grow to care about. Also, the first few chapters simply explained how everything worked. I supposed that was necessary, but it slowed down the story in the same way Michael Crichton’s scientific descriptions tend to go on and on. So if you loved that about Crichton, you’ll love that about Batterman. Once the team went back in time, I was hooked. I recommend this book for anyone looking to open their mind to a Biblical view of creation and the flood. It was well-written, well-researched educational entertainment. Very fun.

Age Range: 16 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Part of a Series: No
Pages: 315
Publisher: VMI
Released: 2009

I also had an Interview with Takiela Bynum of BooksALatte.com - it's an audio interview and it should be up very soon.

Next week I have an interview with CHRI - Family Radio of Ottawa, Canada on September 9 from 4:40-4:45pm.

From a sales perspective, Wayback has climbed (crawled?) to 2nd place in the Futuristic Fiction category on the STL-Distribution site. This is across all publishers in the Faith Community that STL services, so I'm pretty happy about that.

I am continuing to work on MidCycle, the sequel to Wayback. The word count is around 80,000 words and I'm still going. MidCycle will be a longer book than Wayback.

The book will explore the following areas that I just barely touched on in Wayback:

• Who were the men with sloped foreheads – why were they in positions of authority?
• What happened to Cameron and Alicia and why couldn't they come back to the present for 30 years?
• Why the USS Liberty was spared – and the implications of that action.
• The map that was found in the Ark library, what were the other cities like?

I'I' I'm also working on a book called Maximal Reserve (tentative working title). This is not related to Wayback and it's a pure techno-thriller. That book is hauling along nicely and I'll share more details about it as the fall comes into focus.

BleBlessings!

A Nice Review from Beth Murschell on Facebook

I just finished Sam Batterman's debut novel, *Wayback*, a futuristic Christian novel published by VMI which hits the finish line at 315 pages.

The plot: Indiana Jones meets Stargate Atlantis meets Jurassic Park meets Noah's Ark meets the Time Machine. Seriously. An evolution/intelligent design/creation debate is framed by a plot-driven time travel device.

The gist: A team of specialists travels back in time to witness key moments in the earth's history. What they find changes everything.

What I liked: unique plot, memorable moments/visuals, and concrete detail (seemingly authentic--either an impressive amount of research or a fertile mind, probably both).

The early chapters were a bit text-heavy in part because of the debate material, but by the last several chapters, the pace had quickened.

Characterization was a bit sketchy in favor of plot. Understandable, as there's a LOT of plot. :-)

In the main, he resists the impulse to over-spiritualize the way many Christian authors do. I may quibble with the occasional premise, but there's a lot of food for thought here. John Morris of the Creation Research Institute gives him props for authenticity.

On the whole, I'd say Sam has a good first outing, and I look forward to reading his next book, whatever it may be. Go get a copy of Wayback and see what you think.

http://www.amazon.com/Wayback-Sam-Batterman/dp/1933204877

Reposted with permission from http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=123838111458&ref=mf