Rick Barry's Blog

The following tearful email comes from Kateryna, an interpreter for a Christian college in Ukraine. PLEASE read it to gain personal insight into the situation there. Next PRAY. Then SHARE. Apathy and wrong information are additional enemies: I don’t know what day of the week it is, I don’t know what date, and if I ask someone, I immediately forget. The countdown of life is now tallied according to the days of war. Consciousness is hazy. On the first of March, I was packing my sister’s bags to help her leave with her child when the phone rang. I heard the tear-filled voice of my pastor: “You and the other young girls of our church must urgently leave the country.” I started to become hysterical. Earlier, I had firmly decided not to do this to myself. But my mother began to beg and cry for me to leave the country. I do not remember what was around, I only remember that I was suffocating. Mom held her heart and cried. An hour later we were on the road. Tears flowed non-stop… Now I am a refugee. It seemed to me that the world had turned into a big Titanic: some Read More ...

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Yesterday, a dream came true. My latest novel, The Next Fithian, ceased to be just an idea and became a genuine book, both in paper and digital formats. Readers who had pre-ordered the ebook reported it popping onto their devices overnight. Others are already receiving paper copies in the mail. My main emotion? “Thank You, Lord!” I’ve already shared elsewhere how, years ago, Focus on the Family originally contacted me to develop some sort of big, fantastic storyline for young adult readers. At the time, sure, it was a blast writing speculative short stories for Breakaway magazine. Now, it’s even more gratifying to hold an 80,000-word novel born from those seedling installments. Because I literally prayed as I wrote each chapter, it’s no stretch to say the finished book is an answer to prayer. Does that mean my new novel was divinely inspired? I wouldn’t go that far. But I do believe the Lord blessed my desire to pen an inspiring adventure with a God-centered worldview and a wholesome hero that both youth and adults can enjoy.  What’s the story like? For me, making a comparison is tough. One reviewer described it as a mix of C.S. Lewis’s space trilogy and Hunger Games. What Read More ...

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Hello, reader friends! What does the September 14 release of my new book, The Next Fithian: An Ordinary Teen on a Strange, New World have to do with you? To help the book make a bigger splash, I’m recruiting friends, relatives, and avid-reading strangers to join a limited-time book launch team. Interested? What in the world is a book launch team? The main goal is to quickly reach Christian readers (especially young adults) with news of the new novel and accumulate at least 25 reviews on Amazon. Any book that is getting reviews looks more promising to potential readers than a book with only none. What will the launch team do? If you reply that, yes, you are willing to participate, I will email a FREE, no-obligation digital copy of the book in whichever digital format you choose (epub, mobi, pdf). This is your chance to read The Next Fithian in advance of everyone else. After that, I hope launch team members will do 3 things: Write a short, honest review to be placed on Amazon, B&N, or another e-tailer sites—thumbs up, thumbs down, or “so-so.” (Don’t pretend to like the book if you don’t. But even a lukewarm review contributes toward the 25.) Help spread the word about the book. This can be in person or on Read More ...

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Hi friends! I know some of you love to read, and some of you readers enjoy being among the first to read new books. But do you know about Booksprout? This is a site where authors offer readers a limited number of Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) of the ebook version of their upcoming release. The only “catch” is that, if you sign aboard and download an ARC, then the folks at Booksprout (and the author 🙂 ) hope you will jot a brief, unbiased review of the book online. I’m offering 20 free ARCs of The Next Fithian, and 2 of them have already been downloaded. Only 18 left! Want to learn more? Just follow this link, and they’ll explain what to do: https://booksprout.co/arc/72527/the-n... If Christian science fiction isn’t your style, please consider forwarding this offer to a Young Adult reader who might be interested. Thank you! – Rick Barry

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Years ago, I received an unexpected phone call. Michael Ross, then-editor of Focus on the Family’s Breakaway magazine, asked me to brainstorm a big, bold adventure for teens: “Maybe fantasy. Maybe science fiction. Maybe both mixed together. I don’t know. Just make it big!” Such an intriguing challenge! I accepted the assignment and developed a 3-part Christian sci-fi story, The Next Fithian. Those three installments reaped enthusiastic reactions from readers. However, after Part 3, that assignment was done. I moved on.  As years passed, my Fithian characters refused to let me forget them. They kept coming to mind, urging me to create an exhilarating, novel-length adventure for them. At first, I refused. I was giving priority to my novels about World War II airmen.  Gradually, though, I noticed something. Whenever I attended homeschool conferences to sign books for shoppers, teens visited my table to chat. What were those teen guys and girls wearing? T-shirts. Specifically, T-shirts portraying the Avengers, Spider-Man, Captain America, the Hulk . . . It was obvious what kinds of adventures these young adults were into. I began to wonder—what kind of uplifting novel could I pen for Christian fans of the Marvel universe? In reply, my thoughts jumped back to The Read More ...

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Hi friends! In recent days, the folks at Celebrate Lit have been running a blog tour for my new Christian suspense novel, Methuselah Project S.O.S. So far, 20 book reviewers have read and written up their personal impressions of the story. (And I’m pretty thrilled that the great majority have really enjoyed the story, even when it was outside their normal genres.) If you’d like to learn more about the book or to see what these reviewers are saying about it, check out this link for Celebrate Lit. While there, you will have many chances to win a FREE copy of the book along with a $25 Amazon gift card. Leaving a comment on any of the bloggers’ reviews will add more odds of winning. But don’t delay–this blog tour will soon run out! Blessings to you! Rick Link for Celebrate Lit: http://www.celebratelit.com/methusela...

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For anyone interested, I’m sharing here an interview with me from the Hoosier Ink website: Hello everyone! For your reading pleasure today, I’m happy to catch up with longtime friend and writing mentor, Rick Barry.  DARREN: Rick, thank you for taking time to “e-join” us to bring everyone up-to-date on your life events and writing journey. RICK: Thanks for the opportunity, Darren! DARREN: Where in the world are you now and what have you been up to? RICK: For the past 2+ years, I’ve been in northern Alabama, where I’m a caregiver for my mother. Since I can’t really fulfill this role of caregiving while holding a full-time job, I live in her home and do freelance writing, editing, and translating to earn income. DARREN: I know you’ve recently published a follow-up novel to The Methuselah Project, can you tell us a little bit about that novel? RICK: The follow-up book is titled Methuselah Project S.O.S. Although it’s a sequel, I purposely crafted the story in such a way that readers can understand and enjoy it even if they never saw the first book. The action takes place a few years after the original story. Now, Roger Greene is a pilot in the modern Air Read More ...

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Once again, The Suspense Zone is offering chances to win 5 different suspense novels. One of them is my latest, Methuselah Project S.O.S. To learn more about each author and their books, or simply to enter the giveaway, follow this link to The Suspense Zone and click ENTER NOW at the bottom. https://www.thesuspensezone.com

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Not long ago, The Suspense Zone contacted me and asked if they could feature me and Methuselah Project S.O.S. on their site. I said, “Sure!” Their interview with me won’t go live until January 25, but for all of January, you can submit your email address for a chance to win a free paper & ink copy of my latest, Methuselah Project S.O.S.! PLUS — While you’re on that site, you’ll see other new suspense novels by talented writers. Check them out! You can submit your name for a chance to win each of those, too. Here’s the link: https://www.thesuspensezone.com/conte... I wish you well! Rick

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Hi friends. Fellow writer Karla Akins asked to interview me for her website. As a bonus for visiting the interview, leave a comment on that page, and Karla will pick a random commenter to receive a free, signed copy of my latest novel, Methuselah Project S.O.S. Blessings to you! – Rick Barry Here’s the link to Karla’s interview: https://bit.ly/387x17T

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