Blogger: The Main Features...
Cecelia performed well in her tertiary assignments, moving
on from her first degree with unique excellence before initiating post graduate
investigation. She finished two Masters Degrees, one from the University of New
South Wales, including a research project on H.P. Lovecraft, and furthermore
from the University of New England with a proposition on fairy-tale themes in Nineteenth
Century writing.
During her profession she created mechanized databases,
served in libraries, volunteered for Lifeline, ran youngsters' sport, and
provided language help at universities, schools and kindergartens. Without even
intending, she turned into her own one of a kind business, offering literacy and
numeracy support. She likewise committed a ton of vitality to her creative composition.
Blogger: Presently we ask Cecelia a few questions:
Right off the bat, have you won any awards or prizes?
Hmm. It’s not an everyday occurrence. In 2001 I was
staggered to discover that something I wrote for a Christian periodical,
The Record, earned a "Hindson Award" for highlight article. A couple of verses on Poetry Soup have
accomplished positions in peer organised competitions. In 2019, an anthology in
which I was involved, Monsters (Edited by Dean Kershaw, Black Hare Press), received a reader recommendation.
In 2020 my novel Faith and Love was entered into the Author Shout "Reader Ready Awards", a modest event that simply measures how suited a book is for its target audience, and achieved an "Honorable Mention".
Blogger: You have referenced Christian and horror as two classifications
that you write. Isn't this bizarre?
It does sound like an inconsistency. As indicated by
Philippians 4:8, the Christian should center their thoughts upon the good. As
an author and deep thinker, however I can't avoid investigating the contention
between the good and malevolence.
In the Bible, from the fall in Genesis, to the guarantee of
salvation found in the New Testament, we see the impacts of wrongdoing on the
planet, and man's aching for divine intercession. The best guarantees are obviously
to be found in the Bible, and that is the only fair ground for forming belief.
The parables Jesus told were designed to teach, and most of
them focused on the kingdom of heaven.
However in Luke 16:19-27, Jesus told a more cautionary tale, using
imagery that bordered on the horrific. This is the tale of “The Rich Man and
Lazarus”. During life, Lazarus was so underprivileged “the dogs came and licked
his sores”. Gross! After death, however, Lazarus was transported to the bosom
of Abraham, while the rich man suffered “torments in Hades”. Moreover, Abraham
refused to send a warning to the rich man’s brothers because “they do not hear
Moses and the prophets”.
According to Bibleodyssey.com, this tale reflects Plato’s
story of “Er” and a growing body of binary afterlife mythology. (See: Meghan
Henning, "Views on the Afterlife in the Time of Jesus", n.p. [cited
24 Nov 2019]. Online: https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/en/people/related-articles/views-on-the-afterlife-in-the-time-of-jesus) The Theology of the story would seem to be contradicted by 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, which proposes a
resurrection at Jesus second coming, indicating it is likely intended to be taken as fiction.
Interestingly, the disciples were familiar with superstitious
tales and cried out, “It is a ghost!” when they saw Jesus walking on water. (Matthew
14:26, Mark 6:49) The reality of Jesus saving power turned out to be much
better than fiction, and fiction ought never to be mistaken for truth. I once
endeavoured to defend the entire procedure of fiction writing in an article
entitled "Christians and Creativity". (The Record, February 3
2007, pp.10-11). In the event that you might want to peruse the article, it is
available online in the Library of Andrews University. (See: https://www.andrews.edu/library/vehicle/cardigital/Periodicals/Record_SPD/2007/2007_02_03.pdf)
Blogger: Is the entirety of your composing fiction?
I love acting. A nativity play I penned was performed
by members of the congregation of Holy Trinity Hampstead Lutheran Church in
2010. I have another nativity play half composed, which I plan to finish one
day and discharge for congregational use.
(See the bulletin of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield.
"What's on", in Pen2Paper, Dec/Jan/Feb 2011, Volume 16, Issue 6: http://www.cityofpae.sa.gov.au/webdata/assets/documents/P2P_DecJanFeb_issue6.pdf)
Blogger: Do you have any pursuits other than writing?
Yes. I love animals, especially cats. I enjoy photography. I
also enjoy home renovation and decorating. It is one of my goals to learn oil
painting and improve my art. I used to
love to sew, and at one stage had ambitions towards fashion design. If it an activity is creative, I usually
enjoy doing it!
Blogger: What comes next for your composition?
Well – at the beginning of 2019, I made the resolution
to write poetry and appear in magazines and anthologies. The reality was poetry
is very challenging and hard to write, then even harder to place. I did
however, get into writing "drabbles" or “microfiction”. I appeared in
a number of anthologies this way. I will keep up to date with the anthology
publishers next year, and also try to fulfil my aim regarding poetry.
I also have a soft science-fiction novel that I had planned
to edit and release to increase my range of speculative writing outside of
anthologies. And the final volume in my Silver Springs Christian University Series
“A Prayer for Understanding” is due for a mid-year release. Life looks good on
the writing front!
