Jesus used metaphors

In Matthew 16:11, Jesus says,

"But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

Jesus just used a metaphor!

Jesus actually used similes and metaphors, esp. when talking to crowds. Here, it seems he's using a word picture, so his disciples (and that includes us!) could get a mental picture and understand deeper truths.

I do this, too!

Read Matthew 16:5-12 again, but in verse 8, if your Bible says, "You of little faith," don't imagine Jesus berating the disciples. Instead, imagine him with a smile on his face, saying it with this sense: "You of small-but-growing faith." (Remember those old Flintstones Kids commercials?) Let His questions sink in. Pause at each question mark. Imagine the disciples elbowing each other as they stumble towards each answer. Finally, when they get it, imagine how accomplished they felt--like a child reaching a developmental milestone (standing, walking, or riding a bike).

This is our Jesus, who gently leads us.

My first Reader Magnet

For years, I've fought against a funny thing called "building an Author Platform." It's a popular activity among writers, and--up until recently--seemed to me like a distraction from actually writing fiction.

Recently, I was challenged to emulate successful people. And one of my heroes is Randy Ingermanson. (Yes, he's on my bookshelf). Randy advises building an author platform, with very practical and pragmatic goals. One of the first goals is to connect with True Fans. And the easiest way to do that is by offering a "Reader Magnet," a selected piece of fiction that is available only to readers who ask for it with their names and email addresses.

Unfortunately, I don't feel like any of my past works would be a great representation of my style, current abilities, or the main story universe (of the Solar Diaspora). So, I'm going to have to write a brand new piece.

Almost as soon as I realized that, an idea popped into my head. It's a story about two telescopes, a boy working on a vacuum farm on the Moon, and a girl trapped on a dystopian Earth devoid of electricity. In the context of the 12 Solar Diaspora novels, it's set right after Book 4 (Vertigo) and before Book 5 (Full Lunar Eclipse) and Book 6 (Miracle). It will give me a chance to whet the appetite of readers and make them curious about what led up to this moment, and what's coming next.

Photo by Leandra Rieger on Unsplash 🔗