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Essex
author spreads God's word through fiction
The Avenue News, May 7, 2003 by Jean A. Flanagan
Who killed
Pamela Morrison and why? Why does defense attorney Carla Summers
believe the man who admits stalking the victim is innocent
in her death? How can Carla move forward from her painful
past and start trusting people again?
These questions and many more are asked and answered in Melody
Ravert's first published novel "Shadow of Death."
Essex
resident Ravert grew up loving to write and loving The Lord.
As a youngster, she had a fascination for superheroes, fairy
tales and romance. She wrote short stories and plays, mostly
with those themes.
About
two years ago, a friend suggested she check out the internet.
Ravert found a web site that specialized in romance stories
and would accept submissions from unknown authors.
"I
was writing romance and erotica under a pseudonym," Ravert
said. "I loved to write, but I wasn't at peace with myself.
I felt that God had given me a gift; a passion, and I struggled
with how to give Him the glory through my writing."
Ravert stumbled on a few web sites that specialized in Inspirational
Romance and Spiritual Fiction and found very little under
the category of Christian Mysteries. "I found one author,
who became my favorite, Terri Blackstock," she said.
"She writes Christian suspense. She puts characters in
real-life situations, but their Christian values come through.
I thought, I can do that."
Once she decided on a genre, Ravert set to work on the story.
She enjoys television shows like "The Practice"
and "Crime Scene Investigation" and thought a female
defense attorney would make a good main character. "Carla
is a Christian woman, but there's not a lot of me in her,"
she said.
"Shadow
of Death" took about a year to complete. Then came the
daunting task of getting it published. "I sent it to
several publishers and Publish America said they would publish
it," Ravert said.
Although she does her own marketing and promoting, Ravert
said she's gotten a lot of help along the way. "Walden
Books in Frederick and the Barnes & Noble store in Belair
have been very supportive," she said. "The managers
really go out of their way to help young, local authors."
"Shadow of Death" is actually the first in a series
of three books. Ravert is working on the second, entitled
"Avenging Sword" which is about racial prejudice
and street gangs in Chicago.
Now, Ravert admits, she has no first-hand knowledge of either
of those subjects, but she is willing to learn. "I'm
told the truth is in the books, at the library," she
said. "And I do a lot of internet research." While
Ravert admits the subjects she writes about are controversial,
she believes God has taken her down this path for a reason.
"Christian murder mysteries are like contemporary church
services," she said. "They're not for everybody."
"But I want to write about real people in real situations
and how they keep their Christian faith; about the fact that
bad things happen to good people. I write what I would like
to read."
Ravert will participate in a workshop for new writers at the
Towson Barnes & Noble on Friday, May 30 from 7 - 9 p.m.
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