In other worlds . . .
My stories are not allegories. The Christian truths that pop out here or there are the natural ones that flow from a story couched in Christian reality.
Funny example: Several times over the past few years, I’ve had the experience of remembering something I’d read. The memory was helpful to me at the time and it was only later that I would realize it came out of one of my own stories. That may sound strange, but it really has happened.
Some authors say that their characters get out of control and do or say things the authors never meant them to. I haven’t really found that to happen. My characters are usually in full agreement with what I want them to say. However, the SITUATIONS can develop in ways I didn’t plan them to–which makes writing fun!
I haven’t read Out of the Silent Planet or Perelandra for years. I knew that I loved them, but I just haven’t reread them until recently. Now I know where I got my fascination with what a different world might look like and I have to give C. S. Lewis big-time credit for influencing me. He delights in coming up with different colors and creatures and plants. (note–he does it a lot better than I do!) It is a joy to imagine along with him and who knows what God has actually done that we just don’t know about–yet!