Dragon Lake Books

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We can all prophesy

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I’ve always had a hankering to be a prophet. Being able to know the future, have the power to perform miracles… The prophets were the original super-heroes.

Skip ahead a few hundred years and prophecy was redefined: “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.”

Prophecy is still a gift from God when it comes to knowing the exact words to say that will strengthen, encourage and comfort someone in need.

Each time we choose to speak strength, encouragement and comfort, could it be that we are taking God’s gift and using it as intended?

The importance of relevance

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Everything we say and do (and write) will only matter to someone else if it is relevant to them.

I’ve seen this before with my writing. My original blog used to get the odd hit every other day, often from Eastern European countries or Russia giving the impression that only bots were landing there. Every now and then though, I’d post something and manage to share it with the right people and see a huge spike in hits.

I found this happen again this weekend. Two weeks into this new blog, daily hits averaging around seven a day and then I post my notes from Amazon Academy…

250 hits in one day. All because I posted useful notes for writers and shared that post with other writers…

This other screenshot is also encouraging. I wanted to reach out to English speaking writers and saw the greatest hits from UK, US, Canada and Australia:

Whatever we do in life, relevance to others is vitally important. As a writer, I want to sell books to readers who will enjoy what I write. That means I need to identify how to reach those readers, what sort of books they are already buying and work out what they need to hear to encourage them to try my books.

But the same principles can be applied to whatever we do. In your day job, working out who your main customers/stakeholders are (hint: your boss will be number one!) is vital. Learning what they want and trying to improve on that is a way to get noticed and make your customers happy.

I can also see this applying to my relationships. How can I be more relevant to the people that matter in my life? Are my words and actions meeting their needs?

How about you? Can you see ways to be more relevant?

The Sound Track to Fallen Warriors

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I listen to a lot of music when I’m writing. Sometimes to block out distractions, sometimes to get me in a particular frame of mind.

It took me ten years to write Fallen Warriors and in that time I’ve gone through a lot of albums!

Here are eight of my favourites…

The Altar and the Door by Casting Crowns. I got this album in 2008 and immediately found the theme of the songs closely matched where I wanted to go with my story. Songs for Christians who know they are sinners, who know they’ve failed and that in spite of everything, God still loves us and has a purpose for us.

Brand New Eyes by Paramore. Once I got into Paramore, I found myself playing this album on loop. Anger, rage, injustice – music to get your heart pounding!

The Lord of The Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring by Howard Shore. I don’t listen to a lot of classical music, and maybe some of you will tear into me for daring to claim this is classical… but this is such an evocative score. The string instruments are beautiful, lifting the spirit before bringing such fear and tension.

Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette. Another angry album, but with a greater sense of wit. If I’m trying to write from a woman’s point of view, I’ll start here!

Shelter by by Sons of Korah. Some music is like a gift direct from God. I wouldn’t have chosen to buy this album (I think it was a gift from family), but it is one of my all time favourites now. The haunting strings, the powerful beats and the devastating lyrics taken straight from the Psalms.

Refuge by Sons of Korah. It took me a while to look for another Sons of Korah album. I am so glad I bought this one. If anything, I find this one even more intoxicating than Shelter. At some points the singing is like a Dervish and I can imagine David dancing in a frenzy of worship.

Paramore by Paramore. I didn’t like this album when I bought it soon after I started enjoying Brand New Eyes. A very different album, not as tight, the music more eclectic and yet over the past year I’ve listened to it more and more and it has replaced Brand New Eyes as my favourite Paramore.

Battlestar Galactica Seasons 1, 3 and 4 by Bear McCreary. Battlestar Galactica remains one of my favourite TV series. The stunning story arc was everything I could have hoped for in a Science Fiction epic. Without Bear McCreary’s music, I doubt the series would have been as good. Those drums were and are incredible.

This is what I’ve been listening to while writing Fallen Warriors. Do you use music when writing? If so, what do you listen to and why?

(I’ve used Amazon Associate links above and will receive a small commission if you buy any of these albums from Amazon using these links)