"mindwar" by andrew klavan: guest post & giveaway

IS GOD ALLOWED IN STORIES?
by Andrew Klavan

Here’s something funny I’ve noticed. If you mention God in a story, or if you have a character who believes in God and prays to him, people notice it. Sometimes they accuse you of being “preachy,” or writing “propaganda.” There’s one reviewer (I won’t mention his name) who mentions my religion every time he reviews one of my books. It’s not that he’s unfair or unkind. Sometimes his reviews are good, sometimes they’re bad, but he always mentions that I’m a Christian. He never mentions that other writers aren’t Christians. Other writers are just writers. But my religion is always identified whenever he writes about me.

In England, a big bookstore chain said they would cut the orders of my Homelanders books if I wouldn’t edit mentions of God out of the story. When the lead character Charlie West talked about something he had read in the Bible, they wanted me to rewrite it to leave the Bible part out. When I refused, they actually did cut the orders of the books too!

So let’s think about that for just a minute. Most people here in America believe in God and, in fact, most Americans would identify themselves as Christian. Most people pray when they’re in trouble and a lot of us pray when we’re not in trouble too and a lot of us go to church and so on. So if I’m writing realistic American characters, the very high odds are that they’re going to believe in God and they’re probably going to be Christians. If they don’t pray, if they don’t believe, that would make them extraordinary. That would make them noticeable.

So shouldn’t reviewers point out when writers don’t include God in their stories? Shouldn’t the reviewers say, “In the latest book by this non-Christian writer, the hero never prays, even when he’s in trouble! That’s not very realistic, but still it was a good story...” They should, but weirdly, they never do.

Interestingly, MindWar is about a guy who’s so angry about the things that have happened in his life, he’s lost his faith in God and stopped praying.  But of course, that doesn’t take God out of the story, any more than it would in real life.

About the book (from Goodreads): Rick Dial has the potential to be a hero. He just doesn't know it yet.

Rick's high school football team couldn't be stopped when he was leading them as their quarterback. He was going to Syracuse on a scholarship. But then his dad abandoned them and a terrible accident left him crippled.

Certain his old life is completely lost, Rick spends months hiding away in his room playing video games. He achieves the highest scores on so many games that he's approached by a government agency who claims to be trying to thwart a cyber attack on America that would destroy the technological infrastructure of the entire country. The agents say that the quick-thinking of a quarterback coupled with Nick's gaming experience make him perfect for this assignment. The problem is that there are no extra lives and this isn't just a game . . . but Rick doesn't have many other options at the moment.

Entering "The Realm" gives Rick the one thing he thought he'd never have again: a body that's as fast and as strong as he ever was before the accident. But the more time he spends in The Realm, the more questions he has. What secrets are these agents keeping from him? What really happened to his father? How many others have gone into The Realm already . . . and failed? And perhaps most important, is he the hero they think he is?

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About the author: Andrew Klavan is a best-selling, award-winning thriller novelist whose books have been made into major motion pictures. He broke into the YA scene with the bestselling Homelanders series, starting with The Last Thing I Remember. He is also a screenwriter and scripted the innovative movie-in-an-app Haunting Melissa.

Connect with the author on his website, Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook.

About the giveaway:
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Blog tour organized by YA Bound Book Tours.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook free from the publisher via YA Bound Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."