Until I stumbled across this book I considered Christian fiction to be spiritual baby-food – all mushy! I saw myself as a mature Christian, dining on strong spiritual meat, quite above reading anything as trivial as ‘Christian Fiction.’
       The edition of the book I came across began with the words, “I’d love your feedback.” Well, for that, I’d have to read it, wouldn’t I?
       I did – and I haven’t been the same since.
       As I read, my soul fed on rare, iridescent beauty. I have found nothing like it. I am not an imaginative person, and yet my spirit soared as I read magnificent descriptions, and ‘listened in’ on lofty and challenging dialog. My concepts of time, space, reality, and nature were stretched – especially nature!
       I am left with a greatly increased love for, reverence for, and appreciation of, my awesome God.
Helen Hall

Early response:
       I have already managed to bite two fingernails painfully to the nub. I am hooked and cannot wait to read more.
Later:
       This book engendered a plethora of emotions in me. Could your book possibly rival John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, the book that has been translated into over two hundred languages and for generations was second only to the Bible in readership?
Nikki Johnson

One of the book’s surprises is being taken to Golgotha and allowed a glimpse of the cross from beyond a human perspective. A seasoned Christian comments:
       The most riveting and convicting portrayal of the passion I have ever encountered.
Janet Congo MFT

       Upon reading this book, I thought Grantley Morris is a genius who writes the most exquisite prose I’ve ever known.
       Excellent and highly variable sentence structure. Great technique.
Terrance J. Etalia

       Amazing material! What a gift for expressing the wonder of the gospel and biblical concepts in powerful and creative ways! Stunning! It impacted me greatly.
Ian Hutchinson

       WOW, you have such a talent with words! The way you describe the places you find yourself in is amazing and brings the scenes to life. As a writer myself I can appreciate talent when I see it! But more than this, you have really helped me ‘see’ the awesome majesty of God, and his overwhelming love toward us. What a passionate, kind, incredibly intelligent, stunning God we serve! And how did you think up so many adjectives and metaphors etc. to describe HIM, heaven and the angels? I am completely jealous! Your writing has really helped lift my faith levels, and I intend to look back at it whenever I feel a downward spiral coming on. I was especially moved over your description of the crucifixion scene. After having shared the beauty of heaven and the angels etc., and then to be faced with the reality of his death deeply stirred me and gave me such a deeper appreciation of all he has done for us.
       When I come across such writing I hold it closely because it paints for me the mental pictures I so desperately need to see and new concepts I so desperately need to embrace. THANK YOU.
       I do hope that you will share your novel with many others that they might be as blessed as I have been! Please don’t stop writing!
       One other thought: reading it felt very much like reading a play that would be seen in the West End in London. It would hold its own against A Midsummer Night’s Dream!
Jackie Butterworth

It’s riveting . . . a huge blessing!
Penny MacPherson
Spiritual Writing Coach

I never write fiction. And here I am writing it.

I always considered life too short and spiritual reality too important to bother with fiction. To my astonishment, I have discovered that the shortness of life and the importance of spiritual reality are the very reasons why I must write fiction.

The words of the greatest ever Teacher are so power-packed with eternal truth that we rarely pause to consider that he often chose fiction to convey profound truth. For him, truth was too important not to craft stories that highlight spiritual reality. The Ten Virgins, The Runaway Son, The Lost Coin, The Talents, The Sower are but a few examples. More ancient spiritual heavyweights such as King David’s prophet, Nathan, likewise used fictitious stories as a powerful way of driving truth into human hearts.

My goal is to lead readers to deep truths so painlessly that it feels like mindless entertainment. I want to stretch minds beyond the bounds of current human knowledge, so that when we leave the realms of speculation and return to hard reality, we are more inspired than ever before to seek truth. It is in achieving these goals that fiction becomes the perfect medium.

To be gripping, my writing should seem convincing. My commitment to truth, however, makes me disturbed when readers keep wondering whether I have had some of the experiences described. If I chose not to emphatically deny this, I might sell more books. But truth is sacred. If I let people think what they want, I might soar in some people’s estimation but, as everyone will eventually discover, only one Person’s opinion matters.

Although written in the first person, the views expressed do not always reflect my own attitudes, but those of the character I am portraying.

To kindly allow me the privilege of channeling funds to them, certain organizations might, with my permission, be selling this book but this in no way implies their endorsement of the content of this book. I alone am responsible for that.

How You Could Improve this Book

The only way this book could be perfect is if God wrote it without me. So astonishing is God’s love for each of us, that like a doting father with his little child, he treasures our partnership in his critically important earthly missions, even though our contribution inevitably soils his perfection.

A further complication is that each of us is wondrously unique, with differing needs, tastes, opinions, abilities, and so on. So despite my longing for this book to be perfect for each reader, not even God could achieve this without making each copy unique. Nevertheless, you could help bring this book closer to the perfection I long for, by pointing out errors, any parts that bore you, parts that appeal to you and further suggestions for improvement. Your feedback gives me a larger sample to draw upon as a basis for knowing how to best meet the needs of the widest audience.

When you are ready, please send your evaluation to novel@net-burst.com

I’ve been called obsessive. Maybe I’m just an unpracticed writer driven by a compulsion to share an experience so bizarre that nearly nine months later I’m still trying to come to terms with it. Whatever the cause, I’ve been staring at a blank screen, wrestling with where to start. Thankfully, the events seem as fresh in my mind as when they occurred.

At least it’s a screen in front of me, not paper. If this writer’s block bursts I’ll face mind-warping numbers of deletions and rewrites. I’m determined to make it a breeze for you, the reader, but to get there I’m in for more word battles than any sane person would ever volunteer for. I will be repeatedly needled to describe the inexpressible.

You don’t want to know about all my mundane years. I guess I’ll start at the point that shook my senses to such heightened awareness that it made me wonder if I had ever been fully alert until then.