The theme of this week’s blogs was “Friends on the Journey” or “Gifted Friends.” Each day’s post was dedicated to a different one of the friends I’ve met whose work overlaps with mine in some way. Talking to these guys or seeing what they’re up to has inspired me in my own work over the years.
(I apologize for my formatting. The covers are all in a nice row on my screen until I publish them and call them up on my browser. If they’re side by side on yours, ignore this comment.)
Monday, in “Al, Tarzan, and Zanaan,” I introduced you to Al Bohl. Al is a cartoonist, animator, writer, and, more recently a filmmaker. Oh, yes. He’s also a singer. Sometimes I forget about his musical gifts because he had mainly shifted to art by the time I met him. He’s also a huge Tarzan fan who has made a fascinating documentary about the first Tarzan movie ever made–which happened to be in Louisiana. One of the things I’ve always appreciated about Al is the time he spends mentoring younger artists.
Tuesday, in “Chasing the Music,” I wrote about Philip Wade. Philip is an amazing composer–kind of like Bossier’s version of John Williams. (He would both appreciate and deny that comparison.) He has also tried his hand at filmmaking and is working on the final draft of a novel. He’s also has graduate degrees in history and theology. He has more interesting irons in fascinating fires than most people I know, yet manages to remain sane. He’s also surrounded by friends nearly everywhere he goes, but somehow shuts the outside world out enough to get a lot of work done.
Wednesday, in my “Mr. Mike’s Amazing Cartoons/Lost in Space and Dreaming of Saturday Morning” post, I introduced you to Mike Jones. Mike is a comic book writer and artist as well as a graphic design professor. I really enjoyed getting reacquainted with his Star Quack and Omni-Men projects this week. I also happen to know that he has more good work to come because he sent me drafts of upcoming issues of Omni-Men. I remember Mike from when we were both single guys bemoaning our outcast state, and now he’s a dedicated father of four. Time has a way of changing one’s situation.
Thursday, in “The Good Doctor’s Demons,” I blogged about Dr. Bruce Hennigan, a Shreveport physician who is also an amazing storyteller. He has written four books of a spiritual warfare/horror series. They’ve got demons in them, but they’re more horror-fantasy than dark and heavy books like The Exorcist. I’ve enjoyed getting reacquainted with his work too. Bruce has a variety of interests including psychology and apologetics. If you don’t know what apologetics is, hang on until next week.
These guys are all gifted and multi-talented, but none of us has quite managed to break the “rich and famous” barrier yet. As men of faith, they will tell you, being rich and famous isn’t really the goal, but it is a nice affirmation of one’s creative talent. Art can be a solitary pursuit, and it’s always nice to have some external validation for your work. If often ask myself if what I’m doing is job, entertainment, ministry, or therapy. (The answer to that, of course, is yes. How much of what depends on when you ask me.)
COMING UP:
For the next two weeks, my posts will be related to two of my other books. One of them, The Sign of the Sword, is a young adult fantasy inspired by both The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. Genesis and the Thoughtful Christian is my only nonfiction book to date. It’s an attempt to make sense of the apparent contradictions between the Bible’s creation narratives and the discoveries of science. It was actually part of a longer book that I’ve split into three smaller books. I’m writing about these books back to back because they have a connection. 
Both were inspired by the writings of C.S. Lewis, the author of the fictional Chronicles of Narnia series and non-fiction works like Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain. Lewis was born on November 29 and died on November 22, so it seemed appropriate to give the next two weeks’ writings a C.S. Lewis theme.