The Novelist - What happens when a writer’s story begins to change the story of her life? To the world she’s Jordan Casey, creator of the wildly popular series of novels featuring international spy Rex Tower. To her family she’s Jordan Casey Kerrigan, a loving wife and mom with an almost empty nest, and an unexpectedly successful midlife career. To the diverse class of community college students she’s agreed to take on for a fiction-writing course, she’s a complex teacher determined to prove that with a plan and some dedication, any one of them can do what she does. To show what she means—and to respond to a challenge from an egotistical student—she decides to actually write a novel for the class. But not a Rex Tower novel. Not a spy blockbuster. Something more personal, something closer to home. Something that touches on her faith and might even speak to her deeply troubled younger son, Zack. But something strange is happening in the midst of it all. As she struggles to keep the novel on track, Jordan starts to realize it holds a deeper mystery than she could ever plot. And she and Zack are part of it. The stirring outcome is something the novelist could never anticipate…or dare to dream. And the truth is stranger than any fiction.
Paperback Writer - Paul James Watson is the writer of mid-list paperback novels. His humdrum life is flat, routine, and generally unimpressive, and his spiritual life follows suit. But Watson’s escape is his craft. He becomes absorbed in his novels and his character, Toby McKenna, a highly successful detective who always solves the crime, heroically putting his life on the line for justice. But there is another Paul James Watson. He is the Watson of his imagination, who is living a life in his mind of new and exciting situations, conversations, and relationships. It is not long before the lines of reality, fiction, and imagination become so entwined that the real Watson threatens to become lost.
My Thoughts - For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by those who write for a living. Especially those who write novels. Their attention to detail when it comes to characters, plot, and world-building is quite spectacular in my opinion. When these two books were donated, I thought it was funny just how similar they were. They each step into the shoes of authors who write about spies/detectives for a living, and they have reached a point in their career where they feel hollow and the passion is slipping away. But what really caused me to want to share these novels here, were the taglines on the back of each book. For The Novelist it says, “What happens when a writer’s story begins to change the story of her life?” And with Paperback Writer we get, “Paul James Watson is a paperback writer. But is he writing fiction or living it?” They seem to let us know that, “you’re about to, as the reader, discover what it feels like to be the author.” And what’s even more awesome is how that author, the main character of the novel you’re reading, gets their chance to experience a full character arc. Written by Stephen Bly and Angela Hunt, those character arcs have allegory in their veins. With the intention to show their readers a loving God. But also to show that the Author of our lives has our story written and has a perfect plan for our lives. There is a song by Katy Nicole that goes like this: “God is in this story. God is in the details. Even in the broken parts, He holds my heart.” So come on into the Cross Reference Library and check out these novels and discover their incredible messages.