I’m very excited about my upcoming release, called Saving Ebenezer: The Continuing Saga of a man named Scrooge. It is a novella about the aftermath of Ebenezer Scrooge’s change from a miser to a philanthropist and what that means for his faith.
Today I want to share my vision for the book, but first, let me show you the first line:
“Tiny Tim was dead, to begin with…”
For those who have read A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, you’ll recognize that line immediately. “Jacob Marley was dead: to begin with,” is how Dickens begins his classic. I had hoped to capture the setting as instantaneously as Dickens did, and I believe I accomplished that mission with my reworked first line.
But why? Why start with Tiny Tim? Because, at the end of A Christmas Carol, Dickens tells us that Scrooge became like a father to him, and that he actually saved him. So, I start seven years later with a tragedy…not due to Tim’s disease, but due to a simple bout of pneumonia. That’s where we get to my vision.
Vision point 1: Life is full of tragedies. How we respond to them is largely a factor of our internal faith, fortitude, and relationships with people who can support us through our pain. Scrooge has built his relationships based on his philanthropy, and as such, doesn’t know who to turn to when life deals him a crushing blow.
Vision point 2: Our faith defines us, not our philanthropy. This is not true in the secular world as much, but as a Christian, I wholeheartedly believe this concerning eternal matters. Do I believe in Jesus as my savior? Do I rely on him for my soul’s security? Am I, to put it in Christian-ese, born again? Scrooge cannot answer yes to any of those questions. It’s something that I want to make any reader ask themselves.
Vision point 3: Gotta get to the point. And that point is the gospel message. What started as a great plot idea became an opportunity to witness on God’s behalf, so I took it. My hope for you is that you’ll read the book, realize that you know a couple of people who might also enjoy a good book that will share the gospel message with them, and send them a copy or give them yours.
I have several other mini-vision points and a couple of goals for the book, but these are my primaries. If I succeed with these three points, I count the book’s story line a success.
Your feedback means a lot to me. Do my vision points make sense to you? Do they seem to match what God would want? Give me your thoughts! Write me at dan[at]navychristian.org and let me know what you think!
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