From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Hi again Reader ! As promised, we are opening up Round 2 of the Theme Song for CrossFall: The Remnant Rises. This set is a bit different. I am trying for a little bit Hawaiian, a little bit like the Cranberries. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Remember, in the story, the mother is singing to her children in their mountain hideaway. We need a song that is basic enough that could be sung like that, but then that can be...
11 days ago • 3 min read
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Dear Reader, I hope this finds you well. A quick note today. Firstly-- Thought to ponder-- "Nearness to God is happiness." Charles Spurgeon I love this quote. At church we have a new song (about the same thing) which we've been singing that I can't get out of my head. My husband just translated it into Turkish from Russian. Surprisingly this song isn't in English. Essentially, the lyrics are:Let the Whole Earth Proclaim...
20 days ago • 3 min read
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Dear friend, OUR Return to Me series REVISIONS are moving forward. Thanks for being here and for anticipating these stories which will delight and challenge your soul. If you haven't read The Last Noel, make sure to absorb that story (again) before getting your hands on Vera's story (Me, Myself, and IT). Vera's perspective changes everything you know about Reuben's story. LINK (free on KU) Trunk of Scrolls News Look at...
27 days ago • 4 min read
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Dear friend, Just a quick message this week. I hope you are well. I'm neck-deep in revisions for Me, Myself, and IT. Pray for me. This week I experienced a cool interconnection of real life and fiction when my husband introduced a new song to the church congregation. Kyrie Eleison. It's so beautiful! I will record it and share it in the upcoming weeks. If you don't know, the phrase means, Lord have mercy in Greek. The...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Dear friend, I hope you had a great Easter. I was born on Palm Sunday, and this year Palm Sunday was a day before my birthday. It's a fun thing to have a birthday near Easter. I hope you had a chance to read Memento Mori message from last week. Get some tissues. This week begins the Theme Song Tournament.... Whisper Hope Tournament I wrote a song for the upcoming CrossFall trilogy. It's called Whisper Hope (aka Deep Calls...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Happy Easter Reader ! He is risen...indeed! Death Where is thy Sting? My hard-to-find novel, Tim Reynolds, Detective: The Death of Noah Black takes place in Portsmouth, Maine. The choice of location stems from a tragedy that happened there in 1798 that impacted my life permanently. It was the loss of parents Temperance and Seth Walker. I did a bunch of research when I first heard their story--and some day I have a mind to...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Hi again Reader ! In my daytime life, I'm a pastor's wife in Izmir, Turkey. We are in the middle of a huge building project where we are designing and renovating a building to create an outreach-ministry center. This week, when I visited its neighborhood, my friends and I discovered another curious project. On the street behind our new ministry center is a row of old Italian homes, from the Ottoman times (above) According...
2 months ago • 3 min read
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Greetings and Salutations Reader-- Sometimes, when you're trying your very darndest to do well at playing the game of life--the softball hits you in the face. ⚾️ 🤷♀️ Shrug. That's the way life is. I was horrified when two beta readers pointed out a blaring plot hole in Vera's story (Me, Myself, and IT). One beta reader was so kind as to speak harsh-honestly about this. Reading his evaluation, I was so very sad. I hadn't...
2 months ago • 3 min read
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Hello to March! And hello to you Reader! I have a special treat for you today--a short autobiographical story I wrote about a life-changing experience I had as a little girl in Japan. It's a bit sensitive, showing parts of my character I sure can't shake. But it was quite formative. If I hadn't survived, you wouldn't be getting this email today. Click for a free pdf download of HERUPU May you feel Gods' grace and mercy...
3 months ago • 2 min read