Dancing Priest

Author and Novelist Glynn Young

Glynn Young

In Praise of Art Museums as Sources of Inspiration

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I’d heard that, as you age, you often become more interested in art. What I didn’t expect was to discover how that growing interest in art would affect my fiction writing.

I wasn’t a stranger to art, but I can’t say it was a major preoccupation, either. I had two semesters of art history in college; I took two, because the same textbook was used for both, and it was more expensive than the tuition. I’m also not an artist.

I know when my connection of art to writing fiction started. It was some 50 years ago. We were young twenty-somethings living in Houston, and we saw two exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts. One was the works of Paul Cezanne, and it was stunning. But the one that captured me was “Master Paintings from the Hermitage and the State Russian Museum, Leningrad.” Houston was one of five cities hosting it. 

To continue reading, please see my post today at the ACFW blog.

Painting: Lumpeguin, Cigwe, Animiki, by Anselm Kiefer, from collection of the artist on display at the St. Louis Art Museum.

Some Reviews of “Brookhaven”

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Reviewers have had kind things to say about my novel Brookhaven. Here are a few of them.

Outstanding novel about the Civil War

“Though this is a novel, the author has included a lot of historical information about the Civil War times that amplifies the horror and destruction of this brutal war and its aftermath. The reader will find inspiration in the determination of the main characters. The book offers something for almost every reader– historical insights, a bit of romance, family dynamics but, most of all, the book highlights the indomitable human spirit to survive the tragedy and almost unimaginable hardship brought on by the Civil War.”

Beautifully written. Impossible to put down.

“This wonder of a Civil War novel captivated me from the first page. Set ostensibly in 1915 when the only female reporter for the NEW YORK WORLD is sent south to learn details about a mysterious Confederate spy, author Glynn Young spins a family saga that details the heartache and loss not only of the war specifically but the broken relationships and twisted lives that came out of those devastating years.

“What begins as a mystery to solve quickly evolves into an elderly man’s own story of the nation’s worst war. Set primarily in the town of Brookhaven, Mississippi, and the homes of a family still caught in the grasp of the war’s aftermath, the story moves back and forth between 1915 and the 1860s, taking readers on a personal tour of troop movement in the eastern border states, battles of Gettysburg and Wilderness, General Lee’s surrender, and ultimately, a very satisfying finale.

“As I read, the book and its characters felt very real. Not my ancestors, certainly, but people I learned to cheer for and care about as the ways of war and the world had their effect. That turned out to be not too surprising, as the author wrote an end-of-the-book note that BROOKHAVEN was inspired by tales he heard from his own family as he was growing up.

Finally, marvel of marvels for people like me who always “want to know more” after I’ve finished a historical novel, author Young provides readers with a comprehensive bibliography at the end of the book that ranges from general Civil War books, to books about the war in Mississippi, to letters and memoirs that offer personal insights into those years.”

Beautifully told, fascinating in historical detail

Glynn Young has crafted a beautiful, engrossing story that shines with historical details. I’ve always loved historical fiction and Brookhaven does not disappoint. The many twists and turns in the story made this one a page-turner for me. The author’s note at the end of the book relates how the book was inspired by an old family story, which I found to be so interesting. I could tell by the way the author handled the characters with such integrity that this story holds a special place in his heart. This book kept me company over the holidays and through a winter snowstorm. It was a very good companion.

“The Prodigal of Leningrad” by Daniel Taylor

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I’m trying to remember when I first became interested in Russian history. Most likely, when I was 10, and one of my Christmas presents (my mother knew me) was a Horizon Caravel book entitled Russia Under the Czars. I must have read it a dozen times. And I still have it.

My senior year in high school, I discovered Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Cancer Ward, and The First Circle. In college, I took two semesters of Russian history, and I was glad I knew more about Russia’s past than most people. The professor was a great lecturer; he was also an unapologetic defender of the Soviet regime.

In my first job as a newspaper copy, I still remember editing the front page to include the announcement about the publication of Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago, Part 1. It was first published in French in Paris, and that publication led to the Soviet Union expelling Solzhenitsyn from the country. As soon as the English version was announced, I placed my pre-order at the Cokesbury Bookstore in downtown Houston, Texas. I read it almost immediately, and the next two volumes that followed.

Fast forward 40 years. I had read two novels by Daniel Taylor, Death Comes for the Deconstructionist and Do We Not Bleed?. I liked them both. I was surprised when I saw the title of his upcoming new novel, The Prodigal of Leningrad. It was a decided shift from his previous works to a story about a docent at The Hermitage museum in Leningrad during the German siege of World War II. 

I knew the basic historical facts – how German and Finnish troops essentially encircled the city for nearly 900 days, with German planes bombing at will and all supplies cut off. Some 650,000 Leningraders died, many from starvation. The siege began in 1941 and lasted until 1943.

I wondered what would Daniel Taylor do with that setting. Far more than I expected, as it turns out. It may be one of the most Russian novels written by a non-Russian that I’ve read. It is a story of war and deprivation. But it is also a story about the Soviet Gulag, art, fith, and one of the most extraordinary paintings in the Hermitage – “The Return of the Prodigal” by Rembrandt.

Leningrader Daniil Aslanov works as a docent at The Hermitage. He’s an outstanding tour guide, and his favorite painting is “The Return of the Prodigal.” But all of the valuable art orks, including his beloved Rembrandt, have been removed and stored in safety, in case the Germans break through. What is left are empty frames, but Daniil can still talk about the missing paintings. He talks with his friends as well, which can be a dangerous thing in Stalin’s Russia. For at least two of them, he is in danger simply for not reporting what they talk about – criticism of the beloved ruler, the Soviet system, and anything that might be considered disloyal. Which would be anything at all.

Daniil’s story is paralleled by the story of his grandfather, whom Daniil believes is dead but is still very much alive in the Gulag. The grandfather was an Orthodox priest, and that was his crime; the Soviet regime has murdered thousands of them. But in the camps, even atheists come to appreciate this aging man who doesn’t judge, who sits with the dying, and who gives final blessings to the dwindling few who still believe. 

The siege, the mass starvation, the bombing, and the corruption of the Soviet system will lead Daniil to a particular end. Like depicted in the Rembrandt painting, the prodigal will return.

Daniel Taylor

Taylor is the author of The Skeptical Believer, Tell Me a Story, Creating a Spiritual Legacy, The Myth of Certainty and several other books. He’s contributed to Bible translations and is co-founder of The Legacy Center, created to help families and individuals find their stories, values and meaning. He’s also a contributing editor for Christianity Today’s Books and Culture Magazine. Taylor blogs at Neither/Nor: Ruminations of a Spiritual Traveler. Death Comes for the Deconstructionist won Christianity Today’s best novel award in its annual book awards and the Illumination Award for best fiction by an independent publisher.

The Prodigal of Leningrad connects art, faith, and a terrible time in Russian and human history to tell a story of how one man finds his soul. It’s a remarkable story.

Related:

My review of Death Comes for the Deconstructionist.

Do We Not Bleed? by Daniel Taylor.

Painting: The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt van Rijn, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.

“Island Games” by Luke H. Davis

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DI Gareth Benedict and his team are assigned to help police the Island Games, a sports event held every two years and attracting teams in some 13 sports from various islands, and not only those around the United Kingdom. This year, the island of Anglesey off the coast of Wales is the host, and teams are coming from as far away as the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

The reader knows, before the police forces do, that the games have also attracted two assassins. We don’t know yet their intended targets, but we will. 

Benedict, for his part, spots some vandalism on the Falkland group’s tour bus, and when he raises a concern at the initial meeting of all the police forces, the local Anglesey police, nominally in charge, don’t take kindly to his concern. But when a drone is used to shoot and wound the elderly team physician, all the police have to pay attention. And the district superintendent puts Benedict and his team in charge of the investigation. Another attack doesn’t end in wounding; this time a cyclist from Estonia doesn’t escape the bullet.

Luke H. Davis

Island Games by Luke H. Davis is the second in the DI Gareth Benedict series, and it’s a rollicking good tale of not exactly competent villains, grudges buried in the past, a bit of good fortune, and steady and slogging police work. The police team face an almost impossible task of identifying and tracking down the villains, and it’s only casual glimpses and solid guesswork that begin to give the game away. Davis throws in a bit of what might – or might not – develop into a police force romance. And the author has done his Welsh homework – the context of Wales rolls seamlessly through the story.

Davis teaches at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis and chairs the Bible Department there. He’s also taught at schools in Louisiana, Florida, and Virginia. He describes himself as “Presbyterian body, Lutheran heart, Anglican blood, Orthodox spirit,” all of which have served him well in writing the Cameron Ballack mysteries. He has published three Ballack mysteries, Litany of Secrets (2013), The Broken Cross (2015), and A Shattered Peace (2017), and Joel: The Merivalkan Chronicles Book 1 (2017). He blogs at For Grace and Kingdom.

The bad news is that Island Games ends all too soon. The good news is that the third in the series, The Dark Road, is due this summer.

Related: 

Redemption: The Church in Ancient Times by Luke H. Davis.

Reign: The Church in the Middle Ages by Luke H. Davis.

Reform: The Church at the Birth of Protestantism by Luke H. Davis.

Renewal: The Church That Expands Outward by Luke H. Davis.
Reading a Novel that Stars Your Hometown.

My review of Litany of Secrets.

My review of The Broken Cross.

My review of A Shattered Peace.

My review of Tough Issues, True Hope by Luke Davis.

My review of Tides of Death by Luke H. Davis

How Scott Adams Made Me a Hero

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In the fall of 1995, I was helping the company’s IT function plan for its annual conference in March. They needed a keynote dinner speaker, and they looked to me to see if it were at all possible to get Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic.

It’s hard to understand now, but the Dilbert carton was growing in popularity, and Adams – himself a former IT person – was considered the patron saint of IT. He wasn’t as well known outside of the function, not yet, anyway. But he soon would be.

How I came to be on this committee is a story in and of itself. Earlier that year, I’d asked IT for help in setting up a company web site. I was told they couldn’t help, and by the way, the web was just a flash in the pan, because the future was – I am not making this up – Lotus Notes. So, I’d gone to an outside firm. 

Scott Adams in 2017

We were a week away from launch when the company hired a new VP of IT. At his first senior staff meeting, he had everyone introduce themselves and what areas they were responsible for. When they finished the roundtable, he asked, “Who’s in charge of web development?” No one said a word, until one person volunteered, “Well, there is this guy in PR.” 

I was descended upon by IT people suddenly anxious to help. I remember saying, “Please, just stay away. We’re ready to go live.” 

I mention that story because it’s a Dilbert cartoon if there ever was one. 

As a result, the new VP made sure I was on the planning team. And they were looking to me to see if we could get Scott Adams as the keynote dinner speaker. Everyone agreed it was a long shot.

In late October, I contacted his representative, who in turn passed me to a speaker’s bureau, which did call me back. He had had a cancellation for the time we were requesting in the spring, and he would do it. I couldn’t believe it; it had been relatively easy, and the fee was well within our budget. They faxed the contract, which I quickly signed and faxed back.

The people in IT were overjoyed. They thought I was some kind of magician, but it was really only a combination of circumstances. 

Then, on Nov. 9, 1995, Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, announced he would be discontinuing the comic strip at the end of the year. As newspapers everywhere looked for a replacement, the choice was obvious – Dilbert.

Scott Adams and Dilbert suddenly rocketed to household names. At first, I worried that they might cancel, but, no, it was full steam ahead.

We arranged for transportation from the airport to the hotel, and he said he would find his way to the convention center. Dinner was at 7, and he arrived at 6:15. I met him in the lobby and introduced myself. I then took him into the dinner room, where servers were still setting up. He had requested an overhead projector, and he checked the equipment and the microphone.

At dinner, he sat with the Chief Financial Officer, who was over the IT function, the VP of IT, and several other senior executives who had apparently arranged to attend the dinner to hear him, including the company’s CEO.  I worried a bit about the CFO; he was a stern, dour figure, not known for having a sense of humor and often frowning at anything not connected to the business. I was sitting nearby in case of an emergency, and all seemed to go well.

As dessert was served, the chairman of the meeting introduced Scott. A senior IT manager, the man was literally bubbling with excitement. In the room were almost 500 people. 

The book he autographed for me

Scott’s presentation was “The Cartoon Strips That Didn’t Make It Past the Censor.” He showed the strips, telling the story associated with each one. I don’t think anyone on the room stopped laughing. The dour CFO was laughing so hard I thought he’d fall off his chair. When Scott finished, he was mobbed, and he spent at least an hour autographing Dilbert books people had brought to the speech. Including me, and you can see my personalized one above. (I still have the book.)

The CFO made a point of congratulating me for the arranging what he called “the best after-dinner speech I’ve ever heard.” 

I walked him back to his hotel. We talked about Dilbert, drawing cartoons, and the presentation. He said that when Bill Watterson made his announcement, he and his cats did a conga line to celebrate. I told him that his cartoon strip had managed to capture the idiocies of corporate life (and corporate life in the 1990s was saturated with idiocies). I also said that a few months ago, I had stuck a Dilbert cartoon on the door of my office, and it had become something of a shrine, with people sticking up their favorites on the door. (HR tolerated it. Barely.)

That was Scott’s genius: He captured corporate life as millions of us were living it.

People said afterward it was the highlight of the conference. Scott Adams was the perfect speaker, and a perfect gentleman. He was funny, and he knew how to use self-deprecating humor (the only safe kind). He struck me as someone who loved his work, and he was still somewhat bewildered by what seemed like instant fame. And as the years went by, he never lost it that sense of surprise and wonder.

And now he’s gone. The creator of Dilbert, the Boss, Catbert, Dogbert, and Ratbert belongs to the ages.

Related:

Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Dies at 68 – Fox News.

The Scott Adams School 01/13/26 – Scott’s final message.