Rick Barry - WWII Buff Blending Historical and Speculative Writing

Chance to enter the drawing extended until
Wed., Sept. 23 at 6 p.m.! See details below. 

Winner announced below in the comment
section! 

Rick Barry is a fellow client of Linda S. Glaz of the Hartline Literary Agency. He has a unique story to tell in his latest novel, The Methusaleh Project. He is giving away a copy of his book to one randomly chosen reader in the U.S. who leaves a comment and email address below. Thanks for visiting!

About The Methuselah Project:

In World War II, German scientists began many experiments. One never ended. 

Roger Greene is a war hero. Raised in an orphanage, the only birthright he knows is the feeling that he was born to fly. Flying against the Axis Powers in World War II is everything he always dreamed―until the day he's shot down and lands in the hands of the enemy.

When Allied bombs destroy both his prison and the mad genius experimenting on POWs, Roger survives. Within hours, his wounds miraculously heal, thanks to those experiments. The Methuselah Project is a success―but this ace is still not free. Seventy years later, Roger hasn't aged a day, but he has nearly gone insane. This isn't Captain America―just a lousy existence only made passable by a newfound faith. The Bible provides the only reliable anchor for Roger's sanity and his soul. When he finally escapes, there's no angelic promise or personal prophecy of deliverance, just confusion. It's 2015―and the world has become an unrecognizable place.

Katherine Mueller―crack shot, genius, and real Southern Belle―offers to help him find his way home. Can he convince her of the truth of his crazy story? Can he continue to trust her when he finds out she works for the very organization he's trying to flee?

Thrown right into pulse-pounding action from the first page, readers will find themselves transported back in time to a believable, full-colored past, and then catapulted into the present once more. The historical back-and-forth adds a constantly moving element of suspense to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Rick, welcome to my blog! I’m excited to have you visit. The Methusaleh Project has a fascinating premise. What would you like to share about your book?

This story has been especially close to my heart, even more so than my first two novels, and I believe it’s my best one yet. For years, the World War 2 era has fascinated me, and I’ve read many accounts by men and women who were thrown into it and had to deal with things no human would want to experience. Airplanes have always been connected with my family, since Dad learned to fly back in the 1940s as a teenager. So, for me, penning a story about a World War 2 pilot caught  against his will in a top-secret experiment became a natural storyline.

The fact that The Methusaleh Project takes place in historical and present times and involves a science experiment, makes it look like the perfect blend of historical and science fiction. What inspired you to write such a story?

History fascinates me, especially the 1940s, when the world was going through a global upheaval, so choosing a character from the forties was natural for me.

I will confess that writing a book with alternating chapters from the past and present was a challenge. It forced me to watch my timeline carefully and to align the story with actual events that happened, both in history and the present, right up to the final edit. It was fun and exciting, but a challenge to do without resorting to time machines or anything weird. Although the story is lightly tinged by sci-fi, I wanted the whole plot to seem believable, as if an actual Methuselah Project really could’ve happened. Who knows, maybe it did!

TWEET HERE: The Methuselah Project by @WriterRickBarry is WWII fiction with a twist! #historicalfiction #bookgiveaway

What is your favorite place and time of day to write?

Unfortunately, my schedule often forces me to write in short spurts of 20 minutes here, and 30 minutes there. Sometimes I squeeze in those moments in my little home office before leaving for work in the morning. Often at lunchtime I will eat quickly, then add more sentences to the story for 30 minutes. I’ve used dead time in airplane terminals and on airliners to create. Once in a great while, when I get a rare block of two or more hours, I will write at the local Panera. In fact, my character Katherine even mentions Panera, so yesterday I presented a complimentary copy of The Methuselah Project to the manager of our local Panera and explained that part of the book had been written in her back corner. She was excited to hear it!

Has your work as a missionary impacted your writing? If so, how?

It’s probably more accurate to say that my Christian faith in general has impacted my writing. Since every novelist creates by delving into all the things stored in his heart and memories to embellish his fiction, my underlying God-centered view of the universe underlies each book. What I can say is that my many, many travels to various parts of Eastern and Western Europe have provided real-life details that I’ve stitched into the storyline for realism. 

What will your next book be about?

Years ago I wrote a series of short stories for Breakaway, which was Focus on the Family’s magazine for teen guys. The title for the series was The Next Fithian. The hero was named Rankin, a normal young man who unexpectedly receives a special title, a special ability, and an assignment too big to handle. Now I’ve expanded those short stories into a full-length adventure, which my agent Linda Glaz has begun to shop around. It’s quite different. Yet, when my wife was reading the manuscript she came to me with it in hand and said, “This is it. Whatever else you’re working on, drop it and concentrate on this!” She’d never done that before. My proofreaders had similar reactions. So, I hope some editor out there catches that same vision.

That said, I also want to write a sequel for The Methuselah Project. I purposely left a number of threads hanging. I believe readers will want to rejoin Roger Greene for his next mission.

Thank you, Rick, for joining me this week. It's been great interviewing you!

Rick Barry is the author of three novels and over 200 articles and fiction stories. In addition to being a World War II buff, he is the director of church planting support at BIEM, a Christian ministry operating in Eastern Europe. He holds a degree in foreign languages, speaks Russian, and has visited Europe more than fifty times. Rick and his wife, Pam, live near Indianapolis, Indiana. Visit him at facebook.com/AuthorRickBarry, or on Twitter (@WriterRickBarry).

TWEET HERE: The Methuselah Project: A WWII POW deals with the downside of anti-aging? @WriterRickBarry #WWIIfiction #bookgiveaway

Please leave your email address in the form of Name[at]Domain[dot]com
to qualify for the drawing next Wednesday. Your information will not
be added to any mailing list. If you would like to get my posts sent
directly to your email you must subscribe.

Anesthesia and God's Grace

Cataract surgery round two wasn’t too bad. In fact. I could see better the next day from that eye than I did after the first surgery. I was more aware of the doctor and author people in the operating room, which was kind of strange. They said the second time would be like that. I couldn’t tell you what they talked about, but I remember hearing voices. This was the result of light sedation with a local anesthetic.

Capt. Holly Hess, 2013, {PD} From Wikimedia Commons.

Sedation with local anesthetic and general anesthesia are two separate things. They both are meant to make you forget what you went through and keep you from feeling pain, but general anesthesia adds a loss of consciousness, so that the muscles are completely relaxed and the surgeon can work inside the body. At the end of my eye surgery I remember trying to talk and being wheeled out of the OR.

Sometimes it seems like it would be nice to have anesthesia from emotional pain in life, but the Lord didn’t make us that way. Memories can be suppressed and we can stuff feelings down, trying not to feel them. And I think there’s the suspension of belief we go through when faced with loss of a loved one or being given some terrible news, which allows us to begin processing our grief in a healthy way. But God never promised to put us under some kind of emotional sedation or general anesthesia, so that we’re protected from every bad thing.

For one thing, if we didn’t feel the bitter, hurtful things in life, we couldn’t comfort others the way the Lord would like us to. Our own troubles should help us to build empathy for others. As God’s word says in 2 Corinthians 1:4 “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (NLT)

From Imagebase.net

Second, if we didn’t have these difficult, painful situations, I suspect we would forget how much we need the Lord each day. At least, that’s the case in my life. Physical pain is a daily reminder of our humanness, of our mortality. Likewise, emotional pain touches our hearts, our wills, our spirits. We long for peace and love in our lives, much the way it was in the Garden of Eden before the fall of Adam into sin. These trials work patience in us, as it says in James 1:2-4: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (NLT)

The pain and burning in my eyes after my two surgeries were temporary and were there for a good reason. It’s taking awhile for the swelling to go down and my vision to be what it’s fully supposed to be. Every morning I open my eyes, impatiently hoping for improvement and sometimes I can literally see a little better. Three days after the surgery on my left eye, where an intra-ocular lens was placed for distance, I drove on the expressway for the first time without glasses or contact lenses! This was pretty amazing! And each day is a little better with my right eye, which contains the near vision lens. I’m thankful the painful part is over.

From Imagebase.net 

This time has reminded me how precious my eyes are, along with God’s gift of sight, and how much I rely on them. How blue, bright, and beautiful the sky appeared to me this morning while out on my walk! My fears of having my vision changed permanently have been replaced by acceptance and thankfulness. I hope that I will be more sensitive to others who haven’t been as fortunate. Between early onset of glaucoma and cataracts, I am blessed to live in an age where my sight has been saved by modern medical technology, at the hand of God’s grace.

Saturday Spiritual Uplift - Out of our Control

Out of our Control 

For the first time in my life I was driving a brand new car. We had leased a minivan, cherry red, one of my favorite colors, and I was returning from errands while my mom watched the kids for me. I waited to turn left on a four-lane road with no left turn lane. 

A minivan, driving the opposite direction crossed the line, careening toward me. My first thought was wondering if he thought he could turn left into the house on the right side of the street. Where did he think he was going? Barely having time to breathe a prayer for help, I held tight to the steering wheel, watching as the driver ploughed into the front end of my car, crushing the front bumper and the hood. The airbag inflated, then popped, skinning my arm. Other than that minor injury and the stress being hit head on caused, I walked away unscathed. God had protected me during an accident I hadn’t caused and couldn’t prevent.

I’m sharing this story, because so many God fearing parents today, myself included, have been watching some of their children take a path away from God. Some of these young people are making choices, which may cause irrevocable damage to their lives, others will live through the consequences that could have been avoided, but still be hurt by them. For many of us, it’s like watching a car wreck waiting to happen. We can do nothing in our own power to change it. We can cling to the Lord and pray, we can encourage each other with His word and wait on Him, while finding what we can be thankful for.

That day long ago, when I walked away from that demolished car, God woke me up to how fragile my life was. Yet he protected me through it and my children had been safe at home. The car had been stationary, so there was probably less damage due to a lesser impact than if I'd been moving.

Though we can’t always see it, the Lord is working and He is waiting, with even a deeper love for our children, for them to come back. He is with you as you wait on the road with the ring and the robe and the hug, for your prodigal to return.

In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food

enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ (Luke 15:10-24, NLT)

Saturday Spiritual Uplift - Staying Close

Staying Close

As I started reading Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, all over again on January 1rst, I was struck by her candid sharing in her Introduction. She spoke of times when she felt Christ’s presence. This gave me a sense of longing. Somehow in the busyness of the holiday season and changing my routine, I found it harder to spend time alone with the Lord and really listen each day.

"Kittens spooning" from Wikimedia Commons
by Eli Duke

When my oldest son, Matthew, was an infant, he greeted me with smiles and jabbering first thing in the morning. When he was big enough to stand by the railing of the crib, he would reach his arms out to me. I would pick him up and change his diaper. Then we would settle down, so he could nurse, happily content. The nearness and warmth of my chubby baby and the fact that I could quench his hunger and give him a sense of security, made me happy.

I suspect that maternal instinct in me may be what makes me say, “Aww,” at the sight of a photograph of puppies or kittens snuggled up with one another, or with their mamas. Perhaps the positive experience I had with my own mother, knowing I could go to her when I needed a hug, makes me feel that way. Or maybe it's just the universal need humans have for love and acceptance.

When I was going through a difficult family time years ago, with no answers in sight, I would picture myself like a little child, sitting on Jesus’ lap and being held. That thought gave me the sense of security I needed at the time. And now, when I read my Bible and talk to Him, I ask the Lord to speak to me through his word and I wait for that clear sense of His direction. But it’s not always easy. Often it’s so difficult to quiet my heart and not jump ahead and worry about the day’s upcoming tasks. Yet Jesus is always there, waiting for me to return, whether I deserve it or not. Unlike a human parent, He is never too tired to nourish us with His word or hold us close and He wants to share His love and wisdom to light the way for us.

By Károly Brocky (1807-1855)
[Public domain], via
Wikimedia Commons
{{PD-old}}

t’s a New Year and time for me to start sitting quietly with the Lord each day, whether for 15 minutes or an hour, it’s the best way to be refreshed and carry on with the tasks He’s given me.

He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. (Psalm 91:4, NLT)

Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. (Luke 18:16, NLT)

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. (I John 2:1, NLT)