FEATURE GUEST POST: What is Spiritual Suspense? with Author Krista Wagner

by | Sep 30, 2016 | guest post, writing

Happy Friday! It is my great pleasure to welcome fellow author Krista Wagner onto my blog. She has a great book to share, but first, here’s her informative post about Spiritual Suspense…

What is Spiritual Suspense?

Spiritual Suspense contributes significantly to the literary canon because it explores life-changing moments. Specifically, the reader can relate to the intensity of events, emotions, and spiritual changes as mentioned by https://www.thedailyworld.com/national-marketplace/best-psychic-reading-online-100-free-psychic-readings-on-love-career-and-personal-life-matters/ experts. Frankenstein started this trend in 1818, which later became popularized in the YA genre because of the need to control one’s environments and the difficulty of dealing with life and death. C.S. Lewis, over sixty years later, enhanced the delivery of the spiritual and suspenseful world through the addition of fantastical elements, appealing to the vulnerabilities and impressionable nature of youth.
Spiritual Suspense stories trigger the audience’s adrenaline by intensifying pivotal moments in a plot.  In these novels, the protagonist deals with unsuspecting turns and mysterious twists within a world where there is always a villain, but where good ultimately wins out over evil. The main character (s) experience significant growth spiritually, mentally, and emotionally–life-identifying changes.  The relationships of the protagonist are also seriously affected positively or negatively.
Notable books include: nearly all of Dean Koontz’s novels such as Intensity, The Bad Place, Lightning. His stories are filled with characters combating darkness and adversities and then brings the light into the darkness where good is victorious. He also emphasizes the intellectual capacity of his characters who show discernment and make choices judiciously. There are also the classics like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia series.
All of these writers appeal to the cognitive growth of children and young adults by having them deeply examine their own choices and the impact of those choices.

thegold1600x2400The Book

“What do you do with a secret that’s make-believe?”

The Gold is a middle-grade fantasy about a bullied ten-year old girl who stumbles upon a talking pebble.

In her latest novel, author Krista Wagner introduces us to Ten-year old Amanda who is constantly teased and tormented in school. Her home life is less than satisfactory where her widower father, often away on business trips, leaves her in the care of her indifferent teenaged sister. Worse, not a day goes by when Amanda doesn’t miss her mom. To escape reality, Amanda creates fantasy stories, but when she discovers a talking golden pebble, her imagined world turns into a new-fangled reality.

Excerpt:

“Her breath got stuck in her chest, and if she had heartstrings, like the characters in her book always did, then they were being pulled right now!”

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKe8RQg5gd4

Buy link: http://tinyurl.com/zzjdtag

About the Author

Mother of three and Adjunct English Instructor Krista Wagner has been crafting short stories of dramatic events like murder and kidnapping since she was in high school and has been writing in general since she was seven years old. Wagner received her B.A. in English from UMBC, her M.A. in English Composition with a Literature Concentration from CSUSB, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from National University. Her debut novel Intent, a spiritual dramatic thriller, was published by TouchPoint Press in 2014. . Her psychological thriller Rian Field was released January 2016. Outside of her professional life, Wagner enjoys watching suspenseful films, reading the Bible, and spending time with her family.

Connect with Krista and her books:

http://kristawagner.wix.com/the-gold

https://twitter.com/kristathegold

https://www.facebook.com/TheGoldKristaWagner

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30513683-the-gold

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