Birthday doings

On Saturday I turned 33. That's right - the age Jesus died.

Kara gave me a couple of P. G. Wodehouse books and some photos for my birthday. She made me breakfast - bacon, eggs and fried potatoes.

After a leisurely morning, we went out to get some birthday freebies. A number of stores give out free stuff on one's birthday - I got a 6-inch sub and drink at Subway, a serving of poffertjes at Planet Chocolate and a drink at Boost Juice.

We then went to the coin and stamp fair at Malvern Town Hall. Kara bought me a lovely Swedish coin, commemorating Oscar II's silver jubilee.

We spent some time wandering around shops - we visited a couple of stationery shops, and found some second-hand books in an antique shop. Then we went to dinner. We had taken the 2011 Good Food Guide out of the library, and decided to find a place to eat in that. We settled on mr. wolf, a pizza place in St. Kilda, and it didn't disappoint. Kara ordered a potato pizza, and I had one with pancetta, ham and eggs - which meant that in a satisfying sort of way we had begun and ended the day eating the same food.

Finally, we went to the free concert of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. About 10,000 people who were there were treated to Bernstein, Barber and Beethoven's 5th symphony.

And today we had a wonderful tiramisu which Kara made for me:


--John

A Story of Answered Prayer

For as long as I can remember, I have desired to be a wife and mother. I distinctly remember the day my grandfather asked me the perennial question, “what do you want to be when you grown up?”. I made him guess, and after suggesting an enormous list of occupations, ranging from gynecologist to zookeeper, he gave up. “What do you want?” “To be a mommy”, I replied. That, to me, was the greatest aspiration a girl could have. I knew my mother was pretty special, and I wanted to be just like her. This was when I was about twelve years old. That desire never left me. But as my high school graduation neared, I began to have doubts as to its validity. I again had opportunity to answer the perennial question. But this time, I found that my answer would be countered with, “Yes, but what do you really want?” And I began to wonder if I was supposed to have some other goal in life. So I turned to my music—piano, viola, and theory. But I soon reached the end of my musical goals, and felt at a loss.

That was the beginning of my time in God’s school of contentment and humility. My first lesson was realizing that much of my life had been spent in the pursuit of selfish pleasure. As God changed my heart, I began to find joy and fulfillment in serving others, and especially my own family. During this time, I began to realize I had bought into many unbiblical preconceptions of what womanly fulfillment meant. I’d grown up hearing about the rebellious feminist, and found to my horror, that I was one myself. This was hard to swallow, and I began to spend time reading my Bible to find out what God had to say about His plan for me. I found that I didn’t have to leave my home to do important work. The simple task of washing the dishes grew in my estimation, as I learned that this, too, was serving God. The next lesson was the most humbling yet. I realized that I had placed my desire for marriage above God. I had allowed the lack of one thing to make life seem hopeless. When I read the story of King Ahab’s lust for Naboth’s vineyard, I saw myself.

By God’s grace, I began to get my priorities straight. And thus began some of the hardest years of my life. For, as my relationship with God grew, and as I sought His will for me as a woman, I became completely convinced that marriage was a good thing. And more than that, that it was His will for me. On the one hand, this was freeing. Now I knew what I should prepare for. On the other hand, it was discouraging, for the years passed by without a prospect in sight. It was tempting to despair.

In the summer of 2008, I became increasingly burdened to pray for marriage for myself, as well as for my single girlfriends. So much so, that for the first time, I voiced that desire in public at a ladies’ prayer meeting at my church. This was a significant step; over the years I’d become cynically silent on the subject, feeling I’d heard enough pat answers. I felt immediately rebuked for my assumptions, as several ladies began to encourage and pray for me. Something one of them said in her prayer prompted me to take a fresh look at God’s Word, and what it said about godly men. I began to surrender many of my preconceptions of how things should be. In retrospect, I see this as key preparation in order for me to be receptive to the idea of long-distance courtship.

Also that summer, I participated in a young ladies’ Bible study on prayer, at which many helpful conversations on the subject of marriage were held. I also read and reviewed Candice Watter’s book, “Get Married.”

By August, I felt that I had come to the absolute end of myself. I had studied what God had to say about marriage and godly womanhood. I had prepared to the best of my ability. My lifeline became the prayer of faith. I took comfort in Jesus' parable of the importunate widow, grasping the promise that God would hear my prayers.

In September, one of my dearest friends began courting. And for the first time, I felt no jealousy, simply joy. Joy that God was doing great things. I thought those great things were for my friend. Turns out they were—but, in the biggest surprise of my life, I found God was working on my behalf, as well.

October 3^rd began as a normal, sunny Friday. As I waited for my family to gather for morning devotions, I began the routine check of my e-mail on my sister’s laptop computer. There was a Facebook message from John Dekker, someone I vaguely knew through blogging. The first line was all I could see: “I feel a bit awkward sending this…” And as I clicked on the message, my first thought was, “Oh, no! What did I say?” For I distinctly remembered John’s precision with words; one of our very first blogging exchanges involved me having to explain ambiguities in my writing. I was not expecting what I saw next: “pursue friendship….contemplate marriage…”. My jaw dropped. It was all I could manage to hand the computer to my mom and say, “read this”.

I was completely shocked. For, all my thought and prayers about marriage notwithstanding, I had never once thought of John as a prospect. He had similar interests in literature, yes. But he lived on the other side of the world! I really knew next to nothing about him. He was simply a name in cyberspace.

But I immediately knew that I was interested. The reason was this: I had been praying a very specific prayer that week. I had prayed that God would prompt whoever he had for me as a husband to show some initiative in beginning a relationship. There were secondary reasons for my interest: John’s taste in literature, his evident sense of humour and his work as a minister. But these were dwarfed by this one apparent answer to prayer.

The first test of whether it truly was God’s answer was my father’s response. I knew if my dad said “no”, it was a closed door. And I fully expected him to refuse. I knew he was not at all keen on the idea of internet relationships. So when my dad decided to write to John, I was both surprised and scared. A reserved person by nature, I like my life to be certain and safe. The outcome of this situation was definitely uncertain, and it did not feel safe at all. The two weeks Daddy spent writing to John felt like the longest of my life. I was still in shock, and my days became one long prayer. Prayer simply that God would make His will clear. Because, now that the opportunity had come, I didn’t know what I wanted. The decision was too big. Yes. No. Yes. No. My wishes changed daily, even hourly. So when my mom came to me on Saturday, October 18 and told me she and daddy were happy for me to pursue friendship with John, I felt relief and happiness that the first answer had come.

Now for a timeline of our courtship:

October 19, 2008. John and I begin corresponding via e-mail. I feel completely out of my depth. It is a struggle to overcome my feelings of vulnerability, and to be completely honest. I discover that I didn’t trust God as much as I thought I did, and grow in faith.

November 17, 2008, my birthday. I am no longer fearful. By now we have discussed many foundational beliefs, and I begin to feel a growing interest in this man.

December 2008. I realize it is nearly impossible to remain emotionally detached. By the second week of the month, I surprise myself by falling in love. My prayers change at this point. I don’t understand my feelings, and ask God to give us both direction, and that if it is His will for us to marry, John would propose when he visits.

January 20, 2009. It is an answer to prayer that when we finally meet in person, it doesn’t take long for us to feel comfortable together. There are no surprises: John is the same in person as he was long-distance. After spending 3 days together, I felt as if we’d been friends for years.

January 24, 2009, Saturday morning. John makes me the happiest girl in the world, when he asks me to be his wife. Eight long years of prayer are brought to fruition.

That’s our story. I’m still in awe of it all. God has blessed me far above what I asked or even imagined. There are so many things I love and admire about John. He challenges my thinking-- this even from our very first blog discussion. He is a spiritual leader. We have had the blessing of studying several books of the Bible together. He is a teacher—I learn something new, nearly every time we talk. He is considerate of others. This was demonstrated in how he was careful to spend time with each person in my family when he visited. He is deliberate and intentional in his actions. I saw this continually throughout our courtship, and was often amazed at his forward thinking. He is patient. He always waited until I was comfortable before beginning a new stage in the relationship. (e.g. moving from e-mail to instant messaging) He can talk to strangers. This is a skill I greatly admire, as it is an area I struggle with. He had ample opportunity to demonstrate it, as I introduced him to many of my friends and church family during his visit to Wichita. He is discreet. He makes me laugh! And most of all, he points me to Christ.

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Our Story...

...and why I love the author of this blog.

My name is John Dekker. On the evening Tuesday January 20, I met Kara for the first time. Three and a half days later, on Saturday morning, I asked her to be my wife, and she accepted. How did these events come about, you may ask?

Internet relationships have been around for a while now, and in the last couple of years blog relationships seem to have taken off. I'm personally aware of Mike and Christine (read their story here), Adrian and Susan (read their story here) and Aaron and Jessica.

Well, I came across Biblio-File, and I liked what I saw. I came to it from Lydia's blog. I knew Lydia through Susan, whom I knew through Sherrin, whom I knew in real life.

Throughout 2008, I spent some time rethinking my approach to marriage. Possibly influenced by Debbie Maken's Getting Serious About Getting Married, I began to think about becoming more proactive about finding a wife. I also started to rethink what things were important to me in a future spouse. One of these was that I decided I was looking for a girl who wanted to get married – not merely one who thought she might want to get married someday.

And that's something I saw in Kara. She was happy to publicly state her belief that “desire for marriage is God-given and that intentional prayer and preparation are not wasted efforts.” She also quoted approvingly Jackie Kennedy's maxim, “I want to take such good care of my husband that whatever he is doing, he can do it better, because he has me.”

But most of all, I noticed that Kara shared my love of books. We had so many favourite authors in common: P. G. Wodehouse (which showed that she had a sense of humour), G. K. Chesterton (which showed that she wasn't afraid to draw on other theological traditions) and Douglas Wilson (which showed that she wouldn't be put off by my Federal Vision sympathies.)

And one of my most favourite books, Angels in the Architecture, appealed to her also. It's a book that I have, on occasions, given to people to explain what I am on about. It is one of the clearest statements of my worldview, and the sort of things I wish to encourage in my home. The fact that Kara rated the book with five stars on Facebook, told me that we had much in common.

Well, it does seem that one can find out a lot about an individual by reading his or her blog. This may particularly be the case with a book blog like Biblio-File. And I'm more convinced than ever that a person's books say a lot about them.

I don't think I had any explicit evidence that Kara was Reformed in her theology, but I certainly got that vibe. Similarly, I had the feeling from reading her blog that Kara wanted kids, which was really important to me also.

So, we had common interests, common theology, and from the photos I had seen her blog and facebook (we had become facebook friends almost a year earlier) I thought she was attractive. At that particular moment in time, that was enough. So I told her that I had been admiring her for some time, and would like very much to get to know her better. I asked her if I could cultivate a friendship with her in order to prayerfully contemplate the possibility of marriage.

I hardly expected her to be interested. Internet courtships are not for everyone. Neither is getting married to a pastor. Neither is moving to Australia. I am the minister of Aspendale Presbyterian Church in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and expect to stay here for several years. I knew I would be asking Kara to leave friends and family behind.

I wasn't particularly surprised when I got an email back from Kara's father. What thrilled me most was that I was still in with a chance. Mike thanked me for my interest in his daughter, and said that he would like to correspond with me first. This process took two weeks, at the end of which he gave me permission to write to Kara.

The courtship process has been a wonderful one. It lasted right on three months. Perhaps a timeline would help: (these are the Australian dates!)

20^th October – I send my first email to Kara. We quickly begin to cover some important ground theologically, as well as sharing our personal histories.

12^th November – we begin to talk seriously about marriage, and about the possibility of marrying each other. We realize that we have similar perspectives and expectations.

14^th November – a significant moment for me: Kara asks me how I feel that she could help me in my ministry. I realize that I'd made a good choice, and we talk about companionship, hospitality and what being a pastor's wife might entail.

19^th November – we start chatting online. It was so helpful to wait until we had sorted through the serious philosophical issues before we started on this. It didn't take long before we both felt really comfortable with each other.

28^th November – I ask Kara if I can come and visit, and tell her that now would be a good time to break off the relationship if she thought it wasn't going to continue. But she seemed more than happy to meet me.

8^th December – we start reading through Isaiah together, a chapter a day, emailing our thoughts to each other. This has been such a blessing to both of us.

20^th January – we meet face to face, at Wichita airport.

24^th January – after talking with her Dad in the early hours of the morning and receiving his permission, I propose to Kara at about 10am, and she immediately accepts.

So – why do I love this girl? She's kind, intelligent, feminine and loving. She's full of discretion, wit, wisdom and courage. She has lovely eyes and a beautiful smile. And she admires, respects and loves me herself. Why wouldn't I want to spend the rest of my life with her?

Finally, I need to emphasize that we are still getting to know each other, and I feel like I know Kara so much better than I did when I asked her to marry me. And I could swear she's becoming more beautiful every day as well.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Elements of Good Story, Part 3

Here's the last few items on the list. I'd certainly like some feed-back! Would you add anything else? What would you put in a story?

Good Laughter

One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

Example: Anything by P.G. Wodehouse

Surprise!

There’s no point in reading a story when you can guess the ending in the first few pages. I really, really, really don’t want to know the ending before I get there. If only I could apply that to my own life story!

Examples: O. Henry’s short stories, most of Dorothy Sayers’ mysteries.


Contentment

Story-world is nice for a season, but I can’t live there forever. The best stories inspire an attitude of thanksgiving to God and make me eager to go out and experience life to the fullest.

Examples: The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Elements of Good Story, Part 2

Continuing on with the list...

Quality craftsmanship

It is appalling how many books there are that, despite the good intentions of the author lose their effectiveness because of a weak grasp of the fundamentals of good writing. I try to look past atrocious sentence structure and repetitive vocabulary, but I confess that there have been many times that I’ve been tempted to get out my red ink pen!

Sad to say, the worst examples that I have seen have come from modern Christian writers. I wonder how much this low standard of excellence has damaged our testimony in the eyes of the world.

Vital description

I’m not looking for superfluous page fillers, but rather for descriptions that are important stage setting material. Every word is vital to understanding what comes next.

Example: Kim by Rudyard Kipling

Choice words

My favorite books contain a large selection of words, set together in deliciously surprising ways. P.G. Wodehouse is a master of the unexpected metaphor and simile.

Squeaky Clean

Am I the only one who doesn’t like coming away from a book feeling the immediate need to rinse my brain out?

Beauty

I love an author who can give me a glimpse of the beauty of life, even in the small things. I’ve found beauty in the oddest places, most unexpectedly in an essay on the contents of his pockets by G.K. Chesterton.
These odd moments of discovery are a major reason why I keep reading. I know I’ve found one when I feel like smiling till I burst!

Examples: Tremendous Trifles by G.K. Chesterton, Nearby by Elizabeth Yates, many passages in the works of L.M. Montgomery.

Elements of Good Story, Part 1

This series of posts has been a long time coming, I know. So sorry for the delay!

When I wrote about “Good Story” a while back, I asked for input about the things you like in a story, as well as promising to give my thoughts. I’ve come up with a list of twelve things that I feel are necessary to a good story. Certainly, not every story has all these characteristics—I have yet to find the ideal story—but my favorites embody many of them.

So, on to the list:

A framework of a Biblical worldview

The good guys win and the bad guys get what they deserve. Tragedy isn’t the end of the story, except for the lost. I want none of this raw “realism” with its continual struggle and death. The philosophy of the “survival of the fittest” is pure fantasy. In life’s story, the Christian looks forward to the happy ending.

Believable characters

I need to be able to identify with at least some of the protagonists in a story. In some way, the author must convince me that within the pages of Story-world, his characters are alive. I don’t want cut and dried stereotypes or people who have life down pat.

Characters who grow

Characters who don’t grow might as well be dead. Life isn’t static, and stories shouldn’t be either. I want to see characters that struggle, persevere, and overcome, because then I am inspired to do so as well.

Examples: They Loved to Laugh by Kathryn Worth, Brave Interval by Elizabeth Yates.

Applicability without preaching

I can only stomach so much of “and the moral of this is…” I applaud the author who realizes that most readers are possessed of a brain! However, there are some instances when the spelling out of a moral can be appropriate. The fable and fairy tale come to mind.

Agree or disagree? Have something to add?
The comment feature is easy to use. :-)

An Apology for Story

This is a paper I wrote for a local homeschooler's gathering. I presented it last night, and decided to post it here as well...

An Apology for Story

Apology: A formal justification, defense. A desire to clear the grounds for some course, belief, or position.¹

Story: a connected series of events, real or imagined, with a common theme.²

Story. It is something we’ve all grown up with. Some of my earliest memories are of snuggling up close to my daddy, listening as he spun a tale of childhood—of playing cowboys and Indians with neighborhood children, of hearing the early morning clatter of pots and pans as Grandma cooked breakfast.

Later, my mother would spend hours reading to me. I followed Laura Ingalls across the open prairies, chanted the rhymes of Dr. Seuss and rejoiced when Peter Rabbit didn’t get his milk and berries.

As I learned to read on my own, I discovered that there truly is no “frigate like a book,”³ to take me to worlds unknown. I have never traveled beyond the borders of my homeland in the flesh. But in my mind, I can taste the tang of salty ocean breezes, see the rugged beauty of the Scottish highland, and traverse the staggering expanse of the Arabian Desert. I have friends from every age and every race. I know peasants, knights, farmers, painters, explorers and kings.

Books, but especially storybooks, have become integral and vital parts of my everyday life.

Imagine my surprise when one day I learned that it is not so for many people. For many, reading stories is considered to be an occasional luxury, or even as something to be shunned.

Imagine my amazement when one day I read that “modern Christians have forgotten the art of storytelling.”⁴ It truly is a sad loss. When I see bookstore shelves filled with the disposable cotton candy that is storytelling today, I wonder why.

As I pondered these disturbing facts, I began to wonder if it is because we have forgotten the importance of story. And even more importantly, whether we’ve forgotten the Storyteller.

Have you ever wondered why God chose to communicate to us in the way He did? He could have given us a list of the “Top 10 things you need to know about life.” He could have given us an encyclopedia of important facts. But instead, He told us a story. A story so incredible that it would sound like a fairy tale, if we didn’t know it was true. God’s book is a gripping tale of Paradise Lost, of a “poisoned” fruit, and a generational curse. It’s a story of a captive maiden saved by a knight in shining armor. It’s a tale of epic battle between a king and a wicked dragon. It’s about the beggar girl who marries the prince.⁵

Why read stories? We read stories because it is the natural way that we, as humans, learn. As Douglas Wilson wrote, “when it comes to having a need to orient all beliefs within a story, mankind is incorrigible…We do this for the same reason that we stick to the ground when we walk—this is how our Creator decided to do it.”⁶ A story takes abstract, dead ideas and resurrects them into vibrant life.

It sounds novel, but it’s true: I have learned more from stories than from sermons, lectures or textbooks. This is because through stories I see an author’s worldview fleshed out. My view of life is expanded, and I see the world through new eyes.

It is easy to unthinkingly absorb the ideas of our age, to allow our mental vision to become narrow and self-centered. But in books, the distance between our time and the wisdom of the past becomes only a thin veil.⁷ In books, my mind steps from it’s own small box and moves into the realm of wise men. This is how we escape the modern foible that C.S. Lewis called “Chronological Snobbery,”⁸ that prideful idea that we have all the answers and therefore have no need to learn from the past.

Stories don’t have to have a moral spelled out to be valuable. In fact, I admire authors who respect their readers enough to let them find the lessons for themselves. C.S. Lewis, speaking of writing for children, said, “Let the pictures tell their own moral. For the moral inherent in them will rise from whatever spiritual roots you have succeeded in striking during the whole course of your life.”⁹ He brought up a point that is worth dwelling on. No art form is neutral. It is inevitable that an author’s worldview will be laced throughout every word he puts on paper. As Christians, we need to be acutely conscious of this and look at every story through the glass of the Greatest Story.

This is the starting point in appreciating great stories. How familiar are you with God’s story? Do you know the Author of that Story? If not, don’t leave tonight and grab Alice in Wonderland off the shelf.¹⁰ We need to get our priorities straight: put first things first, and become totally immersed in the waters of God’s word.

Once a person has done this, an exciting thing happens. He can begin to use his imagination to fulfill through story the mandate that God has given to live in His image, to be fruitful and to take dominion over the earth.¹¹ J.R.R. Tolkien’s theory of “subcreation” is built upon this premise. An important aspect of this type of writing is the use of “eucatastrophe”, that is, the happy ending in the midst of overwhelming odds. “Eucatastrophe” is the opposite of tragedy, something that is unthinkable for the Christian. Tolkien, in his essay entitled “On Fairy-Stories” described his idea of eucatastrophe as a “sudden and miraculous grace…. it denies….universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world…”¹²

Stories are important to me. They can be beautiful, thoughtful, and extremely influential.
My desire is that someone here in my audience would be inspired to see, first of all, God’s word, and then other books, in a new light. I hope someone here will begin to read more widely and to write stories to the glory of God.

I’ll close with a quote by Douglas Wilson: “…this is the fundamental theology of story. God so loved the world that He sent His Son. And God so loved the world that He told us the story of what He had done. And so should we.”¹³

Notes:
¹Websters New Collegiate Dictionary (G & C Merriam Co., 1974), 53
²My own summary of various definitions.
³Robert N. Linscott, Selected Poems & Letters of Emily Dickinson (Anchor Books, 1959), 184
⁴Douglas Wilson, “Love Story.” Credenda/Agenda, Volume 15, Issue 6:4
⁵Genesis 3; Isaiah 27:1, 54:5-6; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-10
⁶Douglas Wilson, 4
⁷Metaphor inspired by Elizabeth Yates, Nearby (New York: Coward-McCann Inc., 1947), 46
⁸Walter Hooper, C.S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide (Harper San Francisco, 1996), 553-554
⁹ C.S. Lewis, “On Three Ways of Writing for Children,” in Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1966), 33
¹⁰No insult to Lewis Carrol implied. I highly appreciate his stories.
¹¹Genesis 1:28; Colossians 3:17
¹²J.R.R. Tolkien, quoted in Tom Shippey, J.R.R. Tolkien:Author of the Century (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000), 211
¹³Douglas Wilson, 4

Copyright 2006 Kara J. Alumbaugh

Good Stories: An interview with my family

Several weeks ago, I posted a favorite Theodore Roosevelt quote: “I am in the mood for a good story. Of course, I am always in the mood for a good story.”

As I posted it, I began to wonder “what is a good story?” It was a question I’d never really pondered before. I know I love a good story, but the qualities that define a good story have never really come into the forefront of my thoughts.

I decided to do a little survey of my family members. Interestingly, no one brushed me off saying, “who cares?” or “it doesn’t really matter”. Story is important to us.

First I headed to my bedroom, where sister Tine was busy typing up her latest tale. She didn’t hesitate at all to answer my question, emphatically stating: “A good story is exciting. It has a little bit of everything—something funny, something serious. It’s true to life. It doesn’t make you wish you lived somewhere else. But fairies are OK sometimes. Most mysteries I don’t like. I write my books the way I wish other books had been written.” She turned back to her own story.

This was promising! I left to get my mother’s opinion. It was characteristically brief: “A good story is humorous and true to life.”

I had to dig a little to get taciturn Matt to answer, but once he did, he expressed ideas that are a common thread throughout all the responses I’ve received so far: “ It’s intriguing and holds your interest. It has a good plot and storyline. Not boring!”

I had to giggle when I heard Timmy’s ideas: “No kissing. No walking around talking about nothing. There should be bears and snowballs.” How like all little boys!

This was too good to keep to myself. I was telling Mommy about it when Daddy walked in. Pencil in hand, I again asked “what makes a good story?” He didn’t have to think long: “A good story has human interest. It stirs your emotions.” Probing, I asked which ones. “You’ll get a good laugh. Be moved with compassion.” The conversation took a lofty turn. “A good story shows you the brevity and value of life. You experience life’s joys. A good story takes you to places you’ve never been to meet people you’d not otherwise meet.”

It was the next day before I could ask busy college-going brother A. It was possibly a reflection of his current workload when he immediately said, “A good story keeps me awake. It has a combination of good dialogue, mystery, adventure, comedy, tragedy, and love.” (We’re not talking to a 9-year-old now!) “A story has to have all elements of life. Love and hate. You can’t understand one without the other."

Being an interviewer is fun. You can ask all the questions you want, and never have to give any answers. I won’t be so provoking as that. However, I will postpone the moment of my own answer!

It’s time for you, my reader, to respond. What features of a story draw you in? What are things that make you want to read a book again? Negatively, what things about a story repel you? I’m thinking of fiction in particular, but the question could apply to nearly any type of book. Remember, “story” is simply a connected series of events.