FEATURED BOOK:  Paradise Unfallen

AUTHOR:  Chuck Richardson

PUBLISHER:  Robert C. Richardson

GENRE:  Christian fantasy

SERIES OR STAND ALONE:  Series. First book in a series

with the working title of: The Erimean Chronicles

TARGET AGE:  Adult

 

 

FROM TEACHING TO STORYTELLING: How I Learned to Write Fiction

 

 

by

 

 

Chuck Richardson

 

IT IS MY PLEASURE TO WELCOME AUTHOR CHUCK RICHARDSON TO THE OVER FIFTY WRITER. CHUCH TALKS ABOUT HIS LEARNING PROCESS ON HIS WAY TO BECOMING A PUBLISHED AUTHOR.

 

 

On September 26, 2022, I signed a contract with Elk Lake Publishing to publish my debut novel, True Status. It was released in July 2023 when I was 65 years old, just three months into retirement from a position developing technical training curriculum.

 

 

Five and a half years earlier, I had started writing that novel. After three years of work, I believed it was ready.

 

 

It wasn’t.

 

 

Three professionals in the publishing industry gave me direct, specific feedback. Their message was clear: the story didn’t work. It was painful to hear, but they were right. I didn’t yet know how to write a novel.

 

 

My background as a consultant and teacher showed on the page. Instead of telling a compelling story, I was trying to instruct the reader.

 

 

 

The problem was, I didn’t know how to fix it.

 

 

So I went to school.

 

 

Over the next eighteen months, I studied the craft seriously. I read novels with an analytical eye, worked through thirteen books on writing, and subscribed to multiple writing newsletters. One of the most valuable resources was K.M. Weiland’s Helping Writers Become Authors, where I read through an extensive series on story structure and theory.

 

 

Then I rewrote the book.

 

 

I cut roughly forty percent of the original manuscript and replaced it with stronger material. I restructured scenes to better align with story fundamentals and reader expectations. The result wasn’t just a better novel; it was a more enjoyable process. Writing was still hard, but I liked the story better, so refining it became exciting and fun.

 

 

Some of the craft books that helped me most include The Anatomy of Story by John Truby, The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass, Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain, Revising Your Novel by Janice Hardy, and Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland.

 

 

Lessons I Learned

1. Start before you’re ready

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly, at first. My early drafts weren’t good, but they were necessary. Improvement comes through iteration, not hesitation.

2. Learn the craft intentionally

Writing is not just self-expression; it’s a skill. Once I treated it that way, everything changed. The resources I needed were affordable and often free but were only useful once I applied them.

3. Listen to informed criticism

The feedback that hurt the most helped the most. Growth began when I stopped defending my work and started fixing it.

4. Not every “no” means stop

Even after improving the manuscript, I still received rejections. Three out of four submissions were declined. That didn’t mean the book had no value. It meant I needed the right audience and the right partner.

5. Protect your goals

Well-meaning advice can still lead you off course. Be open to guidance but stay aligned with the kind of writer and the kind of stories you want to create.

 

 

I recently published my second novel, Paradise Unfallen, this time through self-publishing. It required learning an entirely new side of the industry, but the foundation I built while rewriting my first book made the process far more manageable and quicker.

 

 

If there’s one thing I would tell new writers—especially those starting later in life—it’s this:

 

 

It’s not too late. But passion alone isn’t enough. Commit to learning the craft, accept that your early work will fall short, and keep going anyway.

 

 

Paradise Unfallen back cover blurb:

What if Adam and Eve had resisted the serpent?

Welcome to Erimea—Earth’s twin world, untouched by original sin.

Solis and Livi, the first parents of Erimea, begin their lives in perfect fellowship with God. But their obedience does not end the war. Satan and his legions simply turn their fury upon the new world.

As the population of Erimea rises, tensions crack the harmony of paradise. A powerful life-giving resource becomes scarce. Rumors spread. God is silent. And a restless humanity flirts with fear, force, and false gods.

To save their descendants from repeating Earth’s tragedy, Solis and Livi must confront deception, division, and the relentless pressure of darkness. Their journey—from innocence to holiness—will determine the future of an unfallen world.

If you enjoy Christian fantasy, biblical what-ifs, spiritual warfare, and epic worldbuilding, you will love Paradise Unfallen.

Perfect for fans of:

C.S. Lewis

Ted Dekker

Step into the world that might have been—and the war that still rages.

 

 

Chuck Richardson writes speculative fiction with a Christian worldview for people who question everything and seek truth, and he blogs about the Bible. Chuck is a former engineer, technical writer and freelance newspaper writer.

Chuck’s debut novel, True Status (2023), was a 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist.  His writing explores questions about sin, redemption, sanctification, and the battle between good and evil. Chuck’s second novel, Paradise Unfallen, imagines a world where the first parents did not sin.

Chuck is from Rome, New York, and he currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, Ruby.

Chuck’s links

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://chuckrichardsonstories.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chuck-Richardson-Stories-102476425056471

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chuckrichardsonwriter/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rcrichardson2222/

 

FEATURED BOOK:  Texas Reclaimed

AUTHOR:  Sherry Shindelar

PUBLISHER:  Wild Heart Books

GENRE:  Christian Historical Romance

SERIES OR STAND ALONE:  Lone Star Redemption Series

TARGET AGE:  17 and up

 

 

IT IS MY PLEAUSRE TO WELCOME AUTHOR SHERRY SHINDELAR TO PATTI’S PORCH. SHERRY TALKS ABOUT THE IINSPIRATION FOR HER LATEST NOVEL, THE DEVASTATING EFFECTS OF LAUDANUM THROUGHOUT HISTORY.

 

 

BREAKING THE CHAINS: THE HIDDEN CIVIL WAR

 

 

by

 

 

Sherry Shindelar

 

 

Texas Reclaimed is a story of victory, redemption, and the rebirth of trust. It is a story of courage and of freedom from the chains of the past and the chains of addiction. It is a story that honors the Civil War soldiers who survived their wounds, only to return home to fight another battle: dependency on the opioid-based medicines that had helped save their lives.

 

 

I first heard of laudanum when I watched the movie Amazing Grace about William Wilberforce’s eighteen-year battle to end the slave trade in Great Britain. Wilberforce played a pivotal role in ending the slave trade and eventually slavery itself in Britain by speaking, campaigning, and introducing bills into the British parliament. However, Wilberforce was also addicted to laudanum, a tincture of opium.

 

 

It wasn’t his intention to become dependent upon a drug. A doctor prescribed it to him when he was twenty-nine years old for ulcerative colitis and other health ailments. Laudanum was used to treat a number of health issues and ailments in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, and no one, including doctors, had much understanding about addiction and dependency. The word addiction didn’t even exist as we use it today. But the soul-deep struggle was very real for too many people, even a man of faith like Wilberforce.

 

 

Addiction is pernicious, and laudanum took its toll on Wilberforce. He suffered physically, mentally, and spiritually from its poisonous effects.

 

 

Years later, I learned that even some of the nineteenth-century authors that I admire, such as Louisa May Alcott and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, struggled with laudanum dependency, as well.

 

 

In the nineteenth century, doctors and the public viewed opium, in its various forms, as an essential medical tool. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were wounded in the American Civil War, and many more suffered from debilitating and potentially life-threatening illnesses. A Civil War medical manual, quoted in Dr. Jonathan Jones’s Opium Slavery, states that opiates were as “important to the surgeon as gunpowder to the ordinance [military weapons].”

 

 

Unfortunately, the medicine that saved their lives, too often, enslaved them for years after the war. According to Dr. Jones, “Veterans, their families, and communities struggled to cope with addiction’s health and social consequences, which included much victim-blaming that compounded suffering unnecessarily.” Too often, society’s reaction hindered instead of helped the men’s recovery.

 

 

My heart went out to Wilberforce, the tens of thousands of soldiers, and others enslaved to laudanum or other substances through no fault of their own. For many, once infected, it could be a lifelong battle, one that many did not win on their own. But there were victories.

 

 

And I love to write about soul-deep struggles and victories.

 

 

My hero, Ben McKenzie, is a Federal Cavalry captain captured and imprisoned in the notorious Andersonville Prison Camp. He barely survives the harsh conditions of the camp. His best friend, Jeb Scott, does not. Ben makes a deathbed promise to his friend that he will look after Jeb’s mother and sister who live in Texas.

 

 

Ben aims to keep that promise, but the medical treatment that he receives after his release from prison camp leaves him dependent upon laudanum. My story starts a year later. Ben determines to break the chains that are eating away at his self-respect. He throws away his bottle of medicine and heads to Texas to keep his promise.

 

 

I asked a friend of mine about his own deliverance from addiction. He had this to say, “It was a lifetime ago, my addiction was strong, but my pain was stronger. I’ve lost so much in my life, but then I found that God’s love was deep, and He was even bigger to forgive. Out of His mercy He set me free, and through His grace He healed me from my past.”-Rev. Mark Little Elk.

 

 

That is my prayer for all of those who struggle. And I look forward to sharing Ben McKenzie’s story with you in Texas Reclaimed.

 

 

Blurb for Texas Reclaimed

Can love blossom between a woman haunted by her family's past and a man with a war-scarred heart?

Cora Scott is determined to hold onto her family's Texas ranch and provide a stable home for her young half brother, Charlie, despite the mounting challenges of post-Civil War frontier life. But when a scheming creditor threatens to seize their land, she must accept help from Ben McKenzie, a former Yankee soldier sent by her late brother. Though Ben's generosity and strength draw her, the man's private struggle she stumbles upon—too reminiscent of her father's alcoholism—makes her question whether she can trust her heart to him.

Ben McKenzie arrives in Texas intent on fulfilling his promise to his dying friend to protect Cora and Charlie. While using his inheritance to save their ranch, he battles not only the loss of their cattle but also his dependency on laudanum—a medicine that turned into a curse after his imprisonment at Andersonville. As his feelings for Cora deepen, he must choose between his promise to his father to take over their Philadelphia newspaper and his growing dream of a life with Cora in Texas.

When a Comanche warrior begins courting Cora and Ben's responsibilities in Philadelphia threaten to tear them apart, they must decide if their love is strong enough to overcome their fears and forge a future together on the Texas frontier

 

 

 

Originally from Tennessee, Sherry Shindelar loves to take her readers into the past. A romantic at heart, she is an avid student of the Civil War and the Old West. When she isn’t busy writing, she is an English professor, working to pass on her love of writing to her students. Sherry is an award-winning writer: 2025 Maggie winner, 2023 ACFW Genesis finalist, 2023, & 2021 Maggie finalist, and 2022 Crown finalist. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband of forty-one years. She has three grown children and three grandchildren.

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