My apologies for the light posting this last week. A few other projects have been on my front burner.

I'm back. And in the coming days, I want to talk more about audience identification and such. But today, it's all about me. (Okay, every day this blog is all about me, but at least you've been warned this time.)

In my everyday conversations with folks online and off--you know, those conversations in which I manage to slip in a casual, "By the way, did you know my first novel is coming out this summer?"--I'm finding a bit of confusion about my book's title. I tell folks it's "Waking Lazarus" and give 'em a card. Or, if it's people I'm communicting with via email, they see the name spelled out. Recently, it's communicating with folks who have received an Advance Reading Copy.

And yet, many folks seem to see/hear/think of the book as "Walking Lazarus" rather than "Waking Lazarus." Interesting. And you know what? That's groovy. Call it "Waking Lazarus," call it "Walking Lazarus," just make sure you pre-order it now.

Whoops. Slipped into salesman's mode again there for a moment. Force of habit.

So I've been thinking: why the "walking" tendency? I've come up with a few thoughts. First, "walking" is a more common word than "waking." Well, I guess I don't have any scientific data to back this up, but I'm guessing it's easier, when scanning, for the eye to see the word "walking" because it shows up more in print and everyday communication. A quick trip to Google somewhat proved this to me. Search for waking: about 27 million hits. Search for walking: more than 300 million hits.

Second, I think the term "dead man walking" entered the popular vernacular a few years ago, and when folks hear my book is about a man who keeps dying and returning to life, I'm guessing it's easy--consciously or subconsciously--to tie that together with "dead man walking" and come up with "Walking Lazarus."

And again, this isn't really an issue. If you want to call it "Walking Lazarus," well, it still works. Might be an issue down the road, when people venture into their local bookstores and libraries to ask for a copy of "Walking Lazarus," prompting a search of the inventory or catalog that turns up zero hits.

But bookstore and library folks are a smart bunch. I'm sure they find books with titles farther afield all the time. Think of the people who wander in and say, "I want that book about a woman who falls in love with one of her co-workers. And I think it has a pink cover." Tell me, realistically, how many pink books have such a plot. Dozens? And yet, those friendly booksellers and librarians roll up their sleeves and say, "You bet I can help you find that." God bless 'em.

And so I ask this of you, helpful booksellers and librarians: when folks approach you in search of some book about some guy who dies, and the title has a name from the Bible--maybe Noah or something--please smile and tell those folks you know just what book they're looking for.

David Long's "Ezekiel's Shadow."

Kidding! I'd never suggest you sell or loan any book other than "Waking Lazarus."

Unless it's "Walking Lazarus."

First, I'd like to start off by pointing out my alma mater, the never-say-die University of Montana Grizzlies, won their first-round game against Nevada in the NCAA tournament. I'm saying it now because I'm a wee bit certain it will be my only chance. Their second-round game is against Boston College.

Now, on to a subject raised in my last post, which I believe is the central question we must answer in any fiction we write. It's the question of how to get readers to "buy in" to our story, our world, our created reality. Let me start by saying, I don't mean we have to make the reader agree with everything we say, nor should that be our aim. I don't think we should care if the reader agrees with the story; we should care, instead, about whether she believes in the story. Big difference.

Here's a good place to start, I think: ask yourself what you're hoping to accomplish with the story. If your answer is, "To show people Scientology is the True Answer," or, "To convince people UFOs really exist," great. Go write the followup to Dyanetics or Chariots of the Gods, and put together your nonfiction proposal for a publisher. I wish you well.

But don't write a novel or short story. In the world of fiction, you shouldn't have too much of a social or political agenda. Fiction's primary goal, I think, should always be to entertain or engage. If you're one of those genre schleps such as myself, your primary reason for writing is to entertain. If you're one of those fancy-schmancy literary types, your primary goal is to engage. Don't apologize for either, and don't overthink either.

But do leave your lofty "To convince..." or "To prove..." or "To explain..." goals behind when you sit down to write fiction. If you don't, I guarantee you will write a wretched, horrible tale no one will want to read. Especially me.

But here's the thing: if you really believe Scientology is the True Answer, that will be naturally reflected in your writing. And your writing will be filled with passion. And it will be something people want to read. I'm not a Scientologist, but I enjoyed reading L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth. (Quit snickering about the movie; I'm talking about the book.) Sure, Hubbard was none-too-veiled in his story about the evil "Psychlos" returning humanity to barbarism (Hubbard wasn't fond of psychoanalysis or therapy). But that was okay in Battlefield Earth, because those things were natural outgrowths of a story, and natural outgrowths of the world and vision Hubbard created. I could enter that world for 800 pages, and enjoy that world, because the "rules" of that world were a natural part of the setting--not mere frameworks hammered on top of the setting.

Am I making any sense here? I hope so. Because I ain't done yet; more to come next week.

Yesterday, I stumbled across the first "outsider" review posted for Waking Lazarus at Blogcritics.org, written by Ms. Violet Nesdoly. This being the first review of my first novel, I was a bit nervous as I read, dreading I might see suggestions that the book would make fine toilet paper.

Thankfully, the review didn't mention toilet paper once; in fact, it was quite positive and insightful. That's what actually made it nice--Ms. Nesdoly obviously "got" a lot of what I'd hoped was going on in the book--even when it came to how the faith elements were handled:

Although her dependence on prayer [referring to Rachel, a character in the book] and hearing the internal voice she thinks of as the voice of God...seemed somewhat slight and subjective theologically, I appreciated Hines' attempt to spell out Christian experience in understandable non-jargon language.

Yes, this was indeed my approach, so guilty as charged. (And that's also a topic for discussion, because I think it's at the crux of every fiction writer's struggle: how do you get people from diverse viewpoints to buy into/identify with the themes and questions in your story? I'll be spending a bit more time on that in a post later this week.)

For now, though, it's all about me, me, me and the review of Waking Lazarus. Did you catch the part about "confidence with language and storytelling skill"? I did. About 100 times. I also caught "intrigued from start to finish," "cutting a new swath," and especially "quite an accomplishment (that) will no doubt make a big splash when it's released this summer."

I certainly hope Ms. Nesdoly is an accurate predictor of the future.

The last month or so, I've been checking my email each morning, and getting wonderful emails from other writers--writers who have read WAKING LAZARUS, and are sending me their thoughts. The endorsement game. We're just about to the end of that road now, and I have to say I'll miss that in the way a recovering junkie misses meth.

This is seriously addictive, opening your email and getting nice words from people you admire and respect. The list of current endorsements is on my reviews page, so I won't repeat them here. But man, it's fun getting emails from authors I've read and loved. (Still waiting to hear on a few more in the next couple of days, too, so I don't have to go cold turkey on this addiction just yet.)

I appreciate this because, well, these fine folks don't HAVE to read my book, or say anything about it. They're taking time out of their own schedules to do it. That means something. It also strikes me that this is a fine and worthwhile part of the creative process, this encouraging of others--perhaps more so in publishing than in any of the other entertainment arts. Yes, films rely on reviews, but you don't see Robert Altman films getting blurbed by Martin Scorsese. In writing and publishing, it seems to me, there is a special cameraderie among authors, and a desire to help others along on their own journey to publication. That whole standing on the shoulders of giants thing.

And so, thanks to the giants who have allowed me to stand on their shoulders. Especially because I weigh far more than the average cheerleader.

In the meantime, however, I need to go read through all these endorsements again. One more fix.

Today I noticed, after wandering over to the B&N site to peek at the page for WAKING LAZARUS, that there's a slight typo on my author name. I'm listed as "Hines L. Hines."

Which really, when you think about it, has a certain cadence and rhythm. Makes you remember the name a bit more, because it's two repetitions in one name, simply offset by a middle initial. (And REALLY makes you wonder what that middle initial stands for, doesn't it?) It also has that certain, Butros Butros Gali kind of appeal to it. I mean, come on: name me just one other Secretary General of the UN. Just one.

My point exactly.

My problem, it seems, is that I'm enjoying romance/chick lit novels. My first romance offering was Deeanne Gist's A BRIDE MOST BEGRUDGING last year. Since then I've read others, including Marilynn Griffith's PINK and now, A FAMILY FOREVER from Brenda Coulter.

The setup for Brenda's latest has a nice, built-in hook: a woman's fiancé dies just before their wedding. She discovers she's pregnant, and her late fiance's brother offers to marry her. Good conflict, right? Especially when you consider this is an inspirational romance. That tiny bit about the protaganist being pregnant before getting married--well, that's a detail that brings extra angst and conflict to the main character.

Okay, now we get to Tony's problem. Normally, this isn't the kind of book I read--unless, for instance, the young woman in question has telekinesis (shades of Carrie, no?). Or maybe everyone turns into zombies. Or, um, a serial killer starts stalking our heroine.

Okay, so maybe I have much deeper problems than a recently-discovered affinity for romance fiction.

But I digress yet again. Even though Ms. Coulter's book lacks many of the classic supernatural/horror elements I love in stories, it really isn't lacking anything as a novel. Coulter's writing is tight and crisp--and downright playful at times. The story moves along at a brisk clip. And (this is a big one for me) I actually cared about/identified with the characters.

If the recent books I've read are any indication, inspirational romance is a diverse and, yes, enjoyable genre.

Just don't tell anyone I said that.