He’s Got Me Rereading My Own Books

Pastor Bill Grandi has three posts last week on his rereading of my Dancing Priest series. On Tuesday, Bill discussed the difficulty of reading the fourth book in the series, Dancing Prophet, because of what it was about. It was a difficult book to write, and it became somewhat prophetic, including when the Archbishop of Canterbury resigned for helping to cover up a scandal in the Church of England. 

On Wednesday, Bill discussed a conversation between Michael and Sarah Kent-Hughes in Dancing Prophet, in which Sarah observes how hard it is to be one of the workers sent in “to clean out the pipes.” And on Thursday, Bill writes about a scene in the fifth and last in the series, Dancing Prince, in which Michael’s two sons, Henry and Thomas (or Hank and Tommy, as they’re known by the other characters), are discussing “calling,” or being called by God as described in I Samuel 16:1-13, the rejection of Saul and the anointing of David.  Coincidentally, the pastor at my church used that passage as the text for his sermon this morning. 

 

Bill’s post led me to start rereading my own books. I’ve already finished the first two, Dancing Priest and A Light Shining. (Amazon has the Dancing Priest pages messed up; the Kindle version is here; the cheaper paperback price is here, but it’s still more than it’s supposed to be.)

 

Originally, I had planned on doing only those two books. They were written as one (huge) manuscript of about 150,000 words. But the publisher and I had a conversation about what might happened after Michael and Sarah returned to Britain, and it was in that conversation that I described what could be the plot lines for several more books, including what would become Dancing Prophet and its difficult subject. Two weeks later, the publisher sent me a short news clip; the difficult subject had become a horrific reality. That reality continues 13 years later, with the resignation last year of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

 

After rereading A Light Shining, it is my prayer that its subject – religious violence that nearly tears Britain apart – never becomes reality. 

A Reader Continues to Reread the “Dancing Priest” Stories

Pastor Bill Grandi is continuing to reread the Dancing Priest stories. And he’s continuing to pull lessons. He’s finished reading the third book in the series, Dancing King, and he posted twice this week about what he’s reading. 

On April 14, Bill discussed the question of “Why?”. People and organizations can tell you what they do, he writes, but they have difficulty explaining why they do what they do. He cites the example of Michael Kent-Hughes’ brother Henry, who becomes a Christian largely because his Mchael accepts him for having intrinsic value – that his worth came not from money, or power or position, but from being created as a child of God. Henry had never experienced that before.

 

On April 15, Bill cites a conversation between Michael and Jay Lanham, the young man Michael’s interviewing to be his director of communications. Jay tells Michael that what struck him about his sermons was that Michael didn’t communicate at people as an audience, but instead he talked with them as people. Again, this reflects Michael’s belief that people have intrinsic value, that they worth talking with.

 

I’ve often read and hear people speak of “communication to the masses.” If there’s an expression I can’t stand, that’s it. It’s elitist, since the speaker or writer never considers themselves to be a member of the “the masses.” It’s Marxist. And it’s ultimately dehumanizing, objectifying individual people as some large bloc of humanity that has to be communicated at, with talking points at the ready. 

 

Read Bill’s posts. And follow his blog, Living in the Shadow. He always has something worthwhile to talk with you about.

 

 

Related:

 

Rereading the “Dancing Priest” Series.

Rereading the "Dancing Priest" Series

Someone once asked me if I reread my own books after they’re published. And the answer is yes. Part of the reason is research and “story-checking.” When I was writing the Dancing Priest series, I had to reread the early books to make sure I was keeping story line, characters, and settings consistent and accurate.  

But I must confess that, sometimes, I reread the books simply for pleasure. Occasionally, I get so wrapped up in the stories that I forget I wrote them. I suppose that’s a good thing. Yes, I have favorite scenes in every book that I like to reread, but I do reread the books in their entirety, about once a year.

 

I’ve had readers tell me that they reread the Dancing Priest series, too. Last week, Bill Grandi, a pastor in Indiana, started writing about it at his blog Living in the Shadow. This is part of what he had to say about the first book, Dancing Priest; he captured the very heart of the story in just a few words:

 

“Glynn has weaved together a wonderful story that even a non-religious person would enjoy. Even though Michael is a fictional character, one begins to admire this young man and his passion for life. Grounded without being preachy, Dancing Priest is a wonderful story of faith, hope, caring for others, putting other’s interests before your own, and being sensitive to those around us.”

 

And here’s what Bill wrote about the second one, A Light Shining, after summarizing a conversation between the Anglican priest Michael Kent and a 15-year-old boy on the steps of Michael’s church in San Francisco:

 

“…Each one of us matters to God. He sent Jesus to die so that we could be forgiven. While a story written by Mr. Young, the conversation is heard all over the planet. Every person has value and merit. Each one matters. We are all sinners, for sure, but we still matter to God.”

 

It might be time to reread my books (again). Thank you, Bill Grandi.

 

Some Wednesday Readings

 

Kids These Days Need The Black Stallion – Larissa Phillips at The Free Press.

 

Grant and Whiskey at Shiloh – Sean Michael Chick at Emerging Civil War.

 

The Span of a Season – Brian Miller at Notes from an East Tennessee Farmer.

 

“Try not to think what we are going to do to ourselves”: Grant at the Wilderness and Shiloh – Chris Mackowski at Emerging Cvil War. 

 

Who controls our histories? – Barb Drummond at Curious Histories.

A Review of All 5 Dancing Priest Novels

Bill Grandi is a pastor in Indiana, cyclist, and regular blogger (two blogs, Cycleguy’s Spin and Living in the Shadow). Cycleguy’s Spin is about whatever might happen to be on Bill’s mind, and it’s always worth reading. Living in the Shadow is about his pastoral work, written largely for his flock but applicable to the rest of us as well. He often discusses what he’s working on for his sermons, inviting comment and commentary. 

He also turns out to be a faithful reader of the Dancing Priest novels. 

 

Bill has reread all five of the books, and today at Cycleguy’s Spin he’s posted a summary of each and an overall review. A writer can’t ask for a greater kindness and encouragement than that. You can read his review here.

Bill Grandi Reviews "Dancing Prince"

Pastor Bill Grandi has published a review of Dancing Prince at his blog, Cycleguy's Spin. 

"What I want to say deals more with my personal emotions," he writes. "I found myself twisting and turning with each turn of the plot. Unexpected twists. Unprepared-for turns. I simply had trouble putting the book down. If it hadn’t been for Glynn I might have gotten more stuff done at home. I might have decided to cut the grass instead of saying, “It’s too hot to do much of anything.” And doggone it if he didn’t make it hard to put the book down and go to bed!"

You can read the entire review at Cycleguy's Spin. 

Bill Grandi Reviews "Dancing Priest"

Pastor Bill Grandi has posted his review of Dancing Priest at his blog, Cycleguy's Spin. Bill is a pastor -- and a cycling pastor, so the bicycle parts of the novel faced a kind of acid test. Here's a little of what he said:

" It is no secret that I cycle (road bike).  But it is sort of hard to cycle, when ice and snow cover the roads (as they have been).  Temps the past couple of weeks  have been more like the winter weather we expect in Indiana.  Not much snow but cold, blowing wind, and Friday night we had some ice thrown into the mix.  Winter time becomes my hibernation time.  I either work a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle or read fiction books.  My latest was Dancing Priest by fellow blogger, Glynn Young.  Glynn blogs at Faith, Fiction, Friends.  This is his first book, and I certainly hope it won’t be his last."

To read the rest of his review, please visit Cycleguy's Spin.