A book club's take on The Defilers

Last night, a book club invited me to come discuss my novel The Defilers with them.

It was great to get back into the story and answer questions about how characters developed, why I chose the subject matter, and what the writing to publishing process involved.

And it was good to hear the varied responses to the novel.

I'd say for the most part it seemed to get favorable ratings. Many said they had trouble putting it down, even though some found it scary and not something to read at night, especially alone in the house or cottage!

One gal even had a horrific nightmare that sounded like a bit of demonic oppression that she thinks was triggered by the story.

I had not intended the novel to be scary but suspenseful. But spiritual warfare--the subject matter of the novel--can be frightening, especially to those who are spiritually sensitive.

Some did not like the title and others told me they would not have read the book had they not been assigned it by the book club. One woman told me she hated the book for the first half. Hated the characters, the community, everything. Had it not been assigned to the book club she would have put it aside. But then she warmed to the story and by the end, she was glad she had persisted to finish it and saw how "well-constructed" it was.

They found the subject matter intense and in some cases troubling, the characters well-rounded and believable and I think they appreciated the Nova Scotia setting.

One really good thing to come out of last night's meeting was this: they want to know about the other Canadian Christian writers out there writing great mysteries and contemporary fiction.

I will be most happy to tell them about Keith Clemons, Linda Hall, N.J. Lindquist, and so many more.