Last night, Linda Wagner (right) and her husband Larry (taking the picture) joined Anne and me for a late, celebratory dinner at Saltoro in Shoreline, Washington. We were celebrating, as you can see, the arrival of several big boxes of books… copies of Through a Screen Darkly. It was Linda who first approached me at Seattle Pacific University in 1995 to invite me to join a writer’s group, and who co-edited an arts magazine with me called The Crossing for... Read more
Question: What happens when a newborn baby ends up in the care of a lawless, gun-toting gangster? Answer: That really depends on the gangster. If Gavin Hood’s directorial debut, Tsotsi, is going to make a lasting impression on moviegoers, it will have to succeed on word-of-mouth reviews. It just doesn’t have the stuff that makes a flashy marketing campaign. Let’s skip the fact that most American moviegoers will have trouble pronouncing the title… Tsotsi is a tough, violent film about... Read more
I’m told that the box full of books should arrive on my doorstep this week. Some copies have already been delivered to book reviewers. Almost as long as I’ve been able to write my name on paper, I’ve wondered what this moment would be like… to hold my first copy of my own published book. I’m so weary from all of the writing and editing I’ve done recently, I hope I can stand up straight and appreciate it. It’s been... Read more
There’s a wonderful, insightful conversation here between two thoughtful moviegoers about The New World, and why it’s such a special film. This podcast is almost a year old, but I really enjoyed it. Worth the time… especially for the section about who they’d like to watch interact with Terrence Malick in a bowling alley. (more…) Read more
This year I decided to do something different to celebrate my top 25 films. You can check it out here. Read more
It was the year of the endangered baby. Tsotsi, L’Enfant, The Nativity Story, Pan’s Labyrinth,Children of Men… all of these films were focused on either infants or unborn children who are carried through terrible danger. But that was a subset of films characterized by a larger similarity…. It was the year of the nightmare. (more…) Read more
I’m rather startled to discover that, although the book won’t be available until September, you can already pre-order Auralia’s Colors!! Read more
Imagine my surprise when someone alerted me to the fact that you can pre-order my novel, Auralia’s Colors, at this Random House website! What a week. The first box of copies of Through a Screen Darkly will arrive mid-week on my doorstep, and in bookstores on February 5th. I’ve just seen a draft of the cover art for Auralia’s Colors. And now, we have a definite release date and a pre-order page for that book as well. My head is... Read more
The debate continues: Did the screenwriters for Children of Men take a novel written by a Christian, which offered a profoundly Christian vision of human depravity and redemption, and turn it into an attack on Christianity? Or were they just interested in taking P.D. James’ premise and exploiting it for their own purposes? (more…) Read more
For years, I have browsed the fantasy literature section of bookstores, and cringed at how many book covers display appallingly bad art. So much fantasy art is cheesy, ridiculously lurid, painfully derivative, and preoccupied with violent spectacles. All along the way, I’ve prayed: “Lord, if you ever bless me with the publication of a store, please, please, please… save me from a bad book cover.” And I’ve had nightmares about what I would do if the book had a cover... Read more
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