Review: Flight School

Buy it Here
Add it on Goodreads

Description: On the verge of adult life, Chris Rivera is eager to get started on his career as a director of Christian movies. But he’ll have to do it without his best friend Ben, who has traded childhood toys for law books... and a very pretty study partner. 
Meanwhile, Jessie is getting a lot of attention from conservative neighbor John and trendy friend Galen – each of whom, for drastically different reasons, seems a little too good to be true. 
In the face of hard questions and big temptations, how do you know which choice is right? And where do you get the courage to make it?

So many books about homeschoolers either can come across as either well-intentioned books that lean toward legalism, or sound like homeschoolers gone wild now that they are ‘free’. Flight School was, in my opinion, the best book I have read about taking the next step after homeschool in a realistic yet God-honoring way. It avoids sounding legalistic (and even addresses legalism), shows some of the honest challenges, and has characters that do their best to live godly lives.

This book deeply touched me, because I could see myself reflected in some of the characters and their decisions. One example of that is the challenge they face to do what is right as they head out into the world. Each of the Rivera kids face something different, but each of them come to a point where they have to make a choice to do what they want or follow what God has called them to. There were a couple of points I was holding my breath, wondering if they would make the right choice.

The story flowed so well that I didn’t want to put it down. I can see how McIntire has grown as a writer. While this book was not an action book, the emotions of the characters kept me flipping pages. It is one of those books with enough diversity in characters that everyone who reads it will probably see themselves reflected in one or more of the people and situations.

I highly recommend this book to homeschool graduates, those how love faith-building stories, and those who enjoy contemporary books.

Was this helpful? Please vote it up on Amazon.

Book Review: Flight School

Buy it Here
Age Appropriate For: All Ages
Best for Ages: 12 - 25
Description: On the verge of adult life, Chris Rivera is eager to get started on his career as a director of Christian movies. But he’ll have to do it without his best friend Ben, who has traded childhood toys for law books... and a very pretty study partner. 
Meanwhile, Jessie is getting a lot of attention from conservative neighbor John and trendy friend Galen – each of whom, for drastically different reasons, seems a little too good to be true. 
In the face of hard questions and big temptations, how do you know which choice is right? And where do you get the courage to make it?

So many books about homeschoolers either can come across as either well-intentioned books that lean toward legalism, or sound like homeschoolers gone wild now that they are ‘free’. Flight School was, in my opinion, the best book I have read about taking the next step after homeschool in a realistic yet God-honoring way. It avoids sounding legalistic (and even addresses legalism), shows some of the honest challenges, and has characters that do their best to live godly lives.

This book deeply touched me, because I could see myself reflected in some of the characters and their decisions. One example of that is the challenge they face to do what is right as they head out into the world. Each of the Rivera kids face something different, but each of them come to a point where they have to make a choice to do what they want or follow what God has called them to. There were a couple of points I was holding my breath, wondering if they would make the right choice.

The story flowed so well that I didn’t want to put it down. I can see how McIntire has grown as a writer. While this book was not an action book, the emotions of the characters kept me flipping pages. It is one of those books with enough diversity in characters that everyone who reads it will probably see themselves reflected in one or more of the people and situations.

I highly recommend this book to homeschool graduates, those how love faith-building stories, and those who enjoy contemporary books.

Was this helpful? Please vote it up on Amazon.

Jason McIntire on Flight School

Jason, tell us what you have been up to since the last time you were on Homeschooled Authors.
Beyond writing and editing Flight School, I've helped to edit two other books for our family and two or three more for friends. I've built and rebuilt the Elisha Press website and email newsletter system. We've exhibited twice at a homeschool convention in this area, which we found to be great for establishing new relationships. And speaking of relationships, I've also joined Goodreads and met several new readers and friends that way.

There isn't really space here for the non-writing-related high points. Suffice it to say that these two years have been full of new experiences and spiritual growth.  The Lord is good.

What have you been reading lately?
In the past week or three, I've been mopping up some Kindle goodies I bought on sale in the fall – notably several works by J. Grace Pennington that I've reviewed on Goodreads.

Before that, I had an extended time of reading Scripture almost exclusively. I go through such a season every now and then, and always find it to be of great benefit. I can't explain exactly how, but my conduct and thinking are different when I fill my mind exclusively with God's Word.

You have said that Flight School almost didn't happen, why is that?
I use the writing method commonly called “pantsing” – or, to be more precise, I use no method at all. I just get a general idea of the story I want to tell and start writing it down, reviewing and editing as I go.

I will now pause while all the plotters and strict post-editors scream “WE TOLD  YOU SO!” – with some degree of justification. All I can say in my defense is that this is the only way I am able to write at all. Plotting kills my creativity, and failing to edit-in-process kills my morale.

The biggest downside to this approach is exactly what the plotters told you: you can end up at the finish of the book with a story that's like a jumble of incomplete puzzles – some parts look good, but the whole doesn't fit together. With Flight School, I really thought that had happened. There were too many plots and too many loose ends, and I had already wasted too much time writing – and yes, editing – and then deleting whole subplots that failed along the way. I just couldn't see it coming together, and became briefly convinced that the project was hopeless and should be scrapped.

Thankfully, it was family to the rescue: they encouraged me, and my brother Zach helped me find a way to wind up the various strands into a coherent ending. The “waiting room” scene was basically his idea. Without it, the book would have had to go another ten thousand words and end about three more times, and I never would have had the endurance to carry it that far even if I wanted to.

Were the characters inspired by real people?
Yes. No. Maybe. It depends on how you define inspiration. There is, of course, no such thing as an original thought or character; our imagination is a mashup of what we've seen and heard. That said, I don't consciously base most characters on particular individuals I know. I do, however, draw material and inspiration from every real person I encounter.

There are some few exceptions where I actually do pretty much pull the whole character in from real life. Unfortunately I can't share them in public, lest people draw wrong conclusions about the character, the real person, or both.

If you could hang out with one of characters from Flight School, which would you choose?
Just for fun, it would be Jessie Rivera. She is, and always has been, very agreeable and easy to write. I'd probably ask her for some details about life before the Sergeant, because I never thought that out very carefully and I'm quite frankly curious.

For purposes of helping the character rather than getting personal enjoyment, I'd choose a day with Galen Gray. It kind of frustrates me that none of my characters are sufficiently on his level to knock some biblical sense into his head, and I wouldn't mind giving it a go.

There was a lot of emotion in Flight School. Was there a scene that was emotionally hard for you to write?
Probably the waiting room scene (Crush The Idols) would have been, but by then I was writing so fast that I didn't have time to really stop and get emotional. I was rather moved by the end of the parrot chapter, but not in an emotionally difficult way. A certain type and degree of sadness is desirable in fiction – it's actually part of the enjoyment, like the bittersweet feeling you get from a sad song.

What did you learn while writing Flight School?
A lot of patience and perseverance. Writing the first draft took me from October 2013 to March 2015. Also, I learned that when a particular story direction “feels” wrong, it probably is. Best to wait until you come up with a better direction, rather than to push on through with something that will ultimately hit a dead end.

Finally, I re-learned what I found out with the first draft of The Sparrow Found A House: This is a distinctively bright and happy series, and any really dark stuff (e.g. suicidal thoughts, apostasy) probably belongs in another book. I wrote my way down a lot of rabbit holes trying to work in elements just didn't fit.

What are your hopes for this book?
That people will get out of it what I intended to put into it. It's discouraging when readers misinterpret lessons I thought obvious. But on the flip side, it's a great feeling when someone really “gets it” and sees the principle I was trying to convey.

Even more than that, I want each reader to take away from Flight School what God has for them to learn, which could be something much more than I had in mind. And I want the process of writing, editing, and feedback to keep on working in my life as well.

Book this week

Due to some technical the video will be posted later this week.

Why We Write

Guest Post By Jason McIntire In an early chapter of my current work-in-progress, a visual arts instructor starts off his class by having the students write down a one-sentence summary of their own personal motivation. I believe that any endeavor should start this way - not necessarily with pen and paper, but at least in our own minds. When we start a project, we should know why. Otherwise, we'll quickly get lost in the middle, and in the end have no idea whether we accomplished our goal. So, what is my motivation for writing? In part, it's simply the pleasure of doing it. Writing is frequently fun, particularly when I'm on a roll and the story seems to tell itself. But other times it's like walking uphill through sand while carrying a can of garbage in each hand. These un-fun times aren't frequent (thankfully) but they are discouraging enough that I would almost certainly quit if pleasure alone were my goal. The pleasure of others is also a motivator. It gives me considerable enjoyment when reviewers describe The Sparrow Found A House with words like "interesting," "climactic," and "exciting." But then again, there are literally millions of interesting, climactic, exciting stories people could be reading - most of which are more so than my own work. Entertainment for its own sake is ultimately of limited value anyway. For some (few) writers, there is of course the profit motive. Personally I could not make a living selling novels if I tried, for the simple reason that I don't write the kind of fiction the mass market wants to read. In any case, we have chosen to give away complete digital versions of all our books for free, pretty much killing anything of a profit motive that might have remained. And this brings us to my greatest motivation, the one thing above all else that keeps me sitting down to write even when it's hard. That motivation is eternal impact. The real satisfaction for me comes when I hear feedback like this from a reader: "This book is not just entertaining, but an exhortation to all Christians. I will admit, this book was the first fictional one that caused me to seriously contemplate the way I live my life for Christ." That's why I write. That's also why I'm thankful that the Lord has allowed us the freedom to give away our work, something not every author has the luxury of doing. Writing is usually enjoyable for me, and it's always fun to hear that someone else liked my work. But it's only when someone's life is touched eternally that it all becomes truly worthwhile. Thanks once again to Sarah Holman for having me on the blog, and for hosting this giveaway of my book. Remember, you can also download "The Sparrow Found A House" for free when you visit elishapress.com. Enter to win below: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jason McIntire: The Sparrow Found A House

Buy it Here.

Age Appropriate For: 10 and up (for brief mention of drug dealing)

Best for Ages: 10 and up

Description: What if your new stepdad was a Bible-toting Army Sergeant? Fifteen-year-old Jessie Rivera is living every teenager’s nightmare. Her widowed mom has married a man who wears his heavy Christian values like his sergeant’s stripes – on both sleeves. Glenn Sparrow is persistent, immovable, and not afraid to be firm. Worse than that, he’s loving, kind – even fun – and he has Chris, Moe, and Katie completely won over. But Jessie is determined that she won’t be won over, or give up her “freedom” without a fight. She knows what she wants, and it isn’t what they’ve got. Or is it?

Even before I picked up this book, I was impressed with the author. You can get a free copy of his book on his website, no strings attached. That right there showed me that his goal was to bring glory to God, not to make money. The book confirmed that first impression in the best possible way.

Jason is a very talented writer. Although my values are more like Mr. Sparrow (the Sergeant), I found myself understanding Jessie. She and her siblings were well developed. As she struggled to understand and accept the changes around her, I felt her pain even though I knew those changes would be for her good.

I loved the plot of this story. A family transformed by the love of a stepdad and God was heartwarming. Sometimes, living in a Christian home, I need to be reminded of how different my life would be without faith. Without getting into anything objectionable, this book reminded me of the transforming power of the love of God.

A couple of times the book felt a little preachy or a situation felt set up to teach a lesson. However, most of the messages, including the salvation messages didn’t feel that way. They were just woven into the story very well.

This book would be a great family read aloud. I do suggest parents of young children read ahead to the end because as there is mention of a bad guy who is pretty mean and is doing some illegal things. It does not go into any detail, but parents need to be aware. I found it not in the least disturbing and wouldn’t mind handing the book even to a younger child.

I highly recommend this book to new Christians, families going through major changes, or those who want a wonderfully written reminder of why we chose the path of faith.

Was this helpful? Please vote it up on Amazon and like it on Goodreads.

Book Review: The Sparrow Found a House

Age Appropriate For: 10 and up (for brief mention of drug dealing)

Best for Ages: 10 and up

Description: What if your new stepdad was a Bible-toting Army Sergeant? Fifteen-year-old Jessie Rivera is living every teenager’s nightmare. Her widowed mom has married a man who wears his heavy Christian values like his sergeant’s stripes – on both sleeves. Glenn Sparrow is persistent, immovable, and not afraid to be firm. Worse than that, he’s loving, kind – even fun – and he has Chris, Moe, and Katie completely won over. But Jessie is determined that she won’t be won over, or give up her “freedom” without a fight. She knows what she wants, and it isn’t what they’ve got. Or is it?

Even before I picked up this book, I was impressed with the author. You can get a free copy of his book on his website, no strings attached. That right there showed me that his goal was to bring glory to God, not to make money. The book confirmed that first impression in the best possible way.

Jason is a very talented writer. Although my values are more like Mr. Sparrow (the Sergeant), I found myself understanding Jessie. She and her siblings were well developed. As she struggled to understand and accept the changes around her, I felt her pain even though I knew those changes would be for her good.

I loved the plot of this story. A family transformed by the love of a stepdad and God was heartwarming. Sometimes, living in a Christian home, I need to be reminded of how different my life would be without faith. Without getting into anything objectionable, this book reminded me of the transforming power of the love of God.

A couple of times the book felt a little preachy or a situation felt set up to teach a lesson. However, most of the messages, including the salvation messages didn’t feel that way. They were just woven into the story very well.

This book would be a great family read aloud. I do suggest parents of young children read ahead to the end because as there is mention of a bad guy who is pretty mean and is doing some illegal things. It does not go into any detail, but parents need to be aware. I found it not in the least disturbing and wouldn’t mind handing the book even to a younger child.

I highly recommend this book to new Christians, families going through major changes, or those who want a wonderfully written reminder of why we chose the path of faith.

Was this helpful? Please vote it up on Amazon and like it on Goodreads.

Interview with Jason McIntire

Jason, Welcome to Homeschool Authors. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a twenty-five-year-old child of God, living with a fabulous family in a beautiful piece of Missouri. We work together, play together, and love life in Jesus. I believe we enjoy each other more in one day than some families do their whole lives. Anything good in me is the work of the Holy Spirit. For everything else, I take full credit!

Describe your homeschooling experience in three words.
Designed by God.
Our family started homeschooling in 1979, before it was even a word. There was zero support and no premade curriculum. That left complete freedom for the Lord to direct our schooling, just as He directed the rest of our lives. During twenty-six years, my older siblings and I went through the entire gamut of school experiences. In the early grades we had desks, a blackboard, lunch boxes, and wall decorations. Later it became less formal, with self-study taking over toward the end. But throughout, we lived in such a stimulating home environment that you simply couldn’t avoid learning every waking hour.

What inspired your family to start Elisha Press?
Back in the eighties, Mom wrote a series of Christian novels just for us. We always wanted to publish them, but never found a practical way to do so. The technology has been around for awhile, but it was hard to see a path for distribution.
Then, last fall, I read about another fiction book that was leveraging the homeschool blogosphere for reviews and promotion. I said, “We could do that!” Those were probably the four most time-consuming words I’ve ever uttered. Publishing is tough, but worth it whenever I hear that one of our books has impacted someone positively.

What caused you personally to start writing?
That was so long ago, I’m really not sure. Mom’s writing undoubtedly contributed, as did the example of my older siblings. My oldest brother and sister produced several long stories for us, including two fully-illustrated comics – one long one in English and a twelve-part series in Latin.
I don’t remember writing very much in school, beyond what was required. The first decent piece I ever finished was a novella – a sort of tract interspersed with comedy and concluding with a tornado. I wrote it when I was fourteen. The only copy is in a vault guarded by fierce lions, and it’s staying there. (Okay, not really – but don’t expect to see it published any time soon!)

What inspired you to write The Sparrow Found A House?
Nothing terribly interesting, I’m afraid. I knew I wanted to write about spiritual transformation, because I see that as the greatest need in the church today. I thought it would be interesting to put it in the context of a whole family and not just one individual. From there I played around with different scenarios. The basic premise and characters came together in two hours of brainstorming. I like to work with a very loose outline, filling in scenes and building sub-plots as ideas come to me.

What is it about?
The four Rivera siblings, public-schooled and ordinary in every way, find themselves with a new stepfather. Glenn Sparrow is not only a conservative Christian, but a retired sergeant in the US Army. He’s also kind, charming, and really quite fun. This makes things rather difficult for Jessie, the oldest girl, who has quietly vowed to resist the Sergeant and all his works. She watches in disgust as her siblings and her freedom gradually slip away into his hands. For her, homeschooling is the last straw – the compulsion to act. And act she does, but not exactly in the way she planned.

Who will like The Sparrow Found A House?
Anybody who wants a breather from the thrills and chills of fantasy and romance. “The Sparrow Found A House” is a very down-to-earth story; the characters could be people you know.
If you think about it, most of the Nineteenth-Century classics were about ordinary people and contemporary situations. Obviously I’m not putting myself in the same universe with Dickens or Austen, but if you like that genre of character-study fiction, you’ll probably like “The Sparrow Found A House.” I’ve been told that it’s rather entertaining and funny – but it’s not the ticket if you’re looking to smell gunpowder.
You’ll also like “The Sparrow Found A House” if you enjoy really clean, biblically sound fiction. Our decency standards and statement of faith can be reviewed on our website.

Where can people get it?
The best place is our website, elishapress.com. If you have a Kindle or other e-reader (a phone will also work, or even a free program on your computer) you can download the e-book for free. Giving away products is not exactly standard industry practice, but we feel that this is the right thing to do for us. It’s about maximizing eternal impact for as many readers as possible.

If you decide to get the softcover edition of “The Sparrow Found A House,” you can also order it on our website. Use the discount code HSA62213 to take $4 off the price. That code won’t work at Amazon, but the book is available there in both print and Kindle editions. The Kindle is priced at their minimum level of $.99, for those who don’t want to load the file manually.

How does you faith effect your writing?
In every way. The Gospel is my guide, my goal, and my motivation. I try very hard not to “pop through the page and preach,” but I believe that there is something to be learned from every situation in life. In my writing, I like to explore how biblical truth plays out in those real-world scenarios.

Do you plan to write more books?
Lord willing, I hope to write another novel this coming winter. The cold months tend to be the best time for me, as there isn’t the temptation to spend evenings outside. Of course, even during the winter, there’s always the temptation of miniature pool, foosball, Catan, etc. And if I stay as busy as I am right now with editing and promotion – plus my full-time paying job – I may not have much time to write. Life is different every day, and that’s what keeps it exciting.

Do you have any final thoughts?
Sarah, thanks for having me on your site. If you don’t mind, I’m going to borrow a final thought from the best source I know. This is what guides all my writing, and indeed all my thinking. “Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there by any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Philippians 4:8 forever!