 Ask the author
Maureen Lang
Next release: Springtime of the Spirit (March), the final book in “The Great War Series.” Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers What turned your focus to World War I in “The Great War Series”? Family history. My grandfather was in the Signal Corps in the First World War and gave me a whole box of pictures from France during that time. He’d written on the back what was going on in each shot, and it’s fascinated me ever since. What can readers expect in Springtime of the Spirit? I learned so much writing this, mainly because the political drama of 1919 Germany seems to touch on many topics we hear about in the news today: How big do we want our government to be? How much should we depend on government to take care of us? Does faith play into the design of government? Questions like those fascinated me, but to make the story fun instead of a textbook, I knew I wanted to include a romance. So my hero and heroine explore things like socialism and faith, and since they’ve survived different war experiences, they have very different opinions. How they work through those differences—eventually risking their lives in the process—is where the romance and drama really mesh together.  How did you tackle the classic question about God and suffering--how could God allow war?
Anyone who’s lived long enough has probably asked why God allows suffering, and after the brutality of war, it seemed especially appropriate for my characters to question this. At one point my hero, whose faith is solid, says that if God had stepped in to end a war that we started of our own free will, He would have to step in and stop other mistakes we make as well. Where would our free will be then? As my hero says: Doesn’t having to allow the little mistakes mean His having to allow the big ones, too? Do you have a fondness for a particular character in the series? I do love Christophe, the hero in this book. However, my absolute favorite in Springtime of the Spirit is Annaliese, my heroine. She’s so determined, so sure of herself and so totally unafraid to do what she thinks best. And she has absolutely zero fear of speaking in front of the biggest audience she can draw—something I always admire, because I possess not one ounce of such a talent. What are your thoughts about Christian romance as a category? I love Christian romance, and I read quite a bit of it. Falling in love is exciting, and to see two people withstand obstacles for love makes great reading. That said, I do pray for the genre—actually for all of Christian fiction—that in the hope of coming up with new and different stories, we’re mindful of “pushing the envelope.” My prayer is that we—and I include myself in this—will still create stories God wants to read. Where to next in writing for Maureen Lang? I’m heading into an even more romantic thread with my next project, this one between a thief and a sheltered young woman aspiring to become a thief as well—until God catches their attention. My settings are headed home to the USA, placing my next story in New York City during the 1880s. No more wars for the time being, but hopefully just as much excitement.
See Author Corner at www.christianretailing.com for more on this author.
ECPA Fiction Top 10 1. Unlocked, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan) Inspired by the true story of Mitch Thatcher—a teenager on the autism spectrum who experienced an “unlocking” of sorts when he became part of a musical theater group—Unlocked has brought hope to families struggling with autistic children. Thatcher also created a Facebook page to inspire others in similar situations. 2. The Twelfth Imam, Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale House Publishers) 3. Her Mother’s Hope, Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers) 4. Her Daughter’s Dream, Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers) 5. Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers (Multnomah Books) 6. The Thorn, Beverly Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) 7. The Shack, William P. Young (Windblown Media/Hachette Book Group) 8. In the Company of Others, Jan Karon (Viking Adult) 9. Immanuel’s Veins, Ted Dekker (Thomas Nelson) Thomas Nelson gathered reader reviews in advance of the book’s release. The frontmatter of Immanuel’s Veins includes six pages of comments from these readers, speaking to how it impacted their lives. 10. Sarah’s Choice, Wanda E. Brunstetter (Barbour Publishing) The ECPA list is compiled from sales of Christian books in hundreds of Christian retail outlets nationwide, collected using Pubtrack Christian (www.ptchristian.com). December best-sellers are for the four-week cycle ending November 20, 2010. All rights reserved. © 2010 ECPA. www.ecpa.org.
New fiction releases coming next month: Beside Still Waters, Tricia Goyer (B&H Books) Griselda Takes Flight, Joyce Magnin (Abingdon Press) Home Made Haunting, Rob Stennett (Zondervan) How Huge the Night, Heather Munn and Lydia Munn (Kregel Publications) On Hummingbird Wings, Lauraine Snelling (FaithWords) Patchwork Dreams, Laura V. Hilton (Whitaker House) The Alarmists, Don Hoesel (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) The Corruptible, Mark Mynheir (Multnomah Books) The Daughter’s Walk, Jane Kirkpatrick (WaterBrook Press) The Deepest Waters, Dan Walsh (Revell/Baker Publishing Group) The Final Summit, Andy Andrews (Thomas Nelson) The Judgment, Beverly Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) Wolves Among Us , Ginger Garrett (David C. Cook)
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