Still I Look to Find a Reason to Believe
Warning: Suzanne’s about to go all philosophical on you, with thanks to that famous philosopher Rod Stewart for the blog title. Yes, I minored in philosophy, so I kant help myself (bad philosophy nerd pun).
One of the themes that seems to crop up in my writing is the side-effects of this odd world we live in, straddling an uncomfortable line between faith and logic, between magic and science.
I’m trying to build a career writing about creatures I don’t believe in. I don’t believe vampires are real, or shapeshifters, or witches, or merfolk, or any of the beings that populate my novels. I’m a product of the age of science.
EXCEPT (and you knew there was a “but”) I do believe in God, in the Judeo-Christian faith of which I am also a product, despite the fact that there are witches and sorcerers and seers and ghosts and demons and all kinds of supernatural critters in the Bible.
Doesn’t make sense, does it? As vampire Aidan says in my novel REDEMPTION: “It’s just one big f***ng paradox.”
A theme that unconsciously popped up as I wrote the first two books in my Sentinels of New Orleans series (hey Tor, I’m ready to write No. 3 as soon as you say the word!) was how science has robbed the world of magic. Sure, science has a power all its own, but it’s a power that plays by the rules. It doesn’t frighten us (nuclear missiles in the hands of madmen notwithstanding), or fire up our imaginations, or burden our souls, or make our spirits soar. Magic does all that–faith in something we believe exists but can’t see.
My character Gerry, a wizard who hates the fact that he has to keep his powers hidden, says: “It would do ordinary humans good to learn there’s still a bit of magic left in the world. They’ve put all their faith in science and damned near lost their souls in the process.”
I don’t know what it all means, except maybe that while I don’t believe in the things I write about, there’s a part of me (especially the part who reads Black Dagger Brotherhood books) that really WANTS them to be real.
As Aidan says, it’s just one big effing paradox. Anybody out there got the answers?
C.J. Ellisson
Marissa Farrar
Kerri Nelson
Liz Pelletier
Suzanne Johnson
Boone Brux
Dawn McClure
Liz Pelletier loves to write dark paranormal romances, although they tend to turn into black comedies by the time she's done. 
In her spare time, she co-owns and manages two fabulously popular sites dedicated to writers and readers.
Dawn McClure is a multi-published paranormal romance author. She lives in BFE South Dakota, where the nearest mall is a depressing 80 miles from her house. 
Between the ice storms and the tornados prevalent in her area she works at an elementary school as a paraprofessional by day and writes humorous, snarky paranormals by night.
C.J. Ellisson lives near Washington DC with her husband, two children, two Staffordshire bull terriers and a young cat to whom she’s newly allergic. 
After spending most of her working life associated with real estate, she’s now pursuing a new passion of fiction writing. Her Erotic Urban Fantasy series stars a smart, strong, and slightly sarcastic female vampire running a resort for the undead in Alaska.
Suzanne Johnson grew up in Northwest Alabama in the shadow of Elvis Presley, Bear Bryant, and the annual Mule Day festivities. A finely honed sense of the absurd was inevitable.
A longtime New Orleans resident, she exorcised her Hurricane Katrina demons in Royal Street and River Road, first installments in a new urban fantasy series coming in 2011 from Tor Books. Suzanne lives in Auburn, Alabama
Kerri Nelson- After an education and career in the legal field, Kerri began to pen romantic suspense novels with a legal or law enforcement theme. Kerri is a multi-published author of romance in many different genres and her latest paranormal 
“Vegan Moon” will release from Eternal Press in September 2010.
She is a true southern belle and when she’s not reading or writing, you’ll find her baking homemade goodies for her family.
Boone Brux lives in Anchorage, Alaska, where there’s never a pesky sunshine problem during the winter. Living seventeen years in the bush gifted her with valuable life lessons like, 
Marissa Farrar, born in Devon, England, loves to travel and has lived in both Australia and Spain. She now resides outside of London with her husband and two children. 
She has a degree in Zoology, but her true love has always been writing. Marissa writes horror as well as paranormal romance. Alone is her debut novel and her second, The Dark Road, will be released soon.
Love the philosophical Suzanne!
But I have to disagree a little – I do think science can spark imaginations (take Steampunk for example). The undeniable proof a time machine may never be possible due to time line paradoxes certainly burdens my daughter’s soul (seriously, I had to hear about it all day on Sunday). And whomever has done an advanced experiment in a chem lab with their peers and had it come out perfect the very first time, well, they’ll experience a sort of “soaring” spirit – I know I sure did.
But overall, you’re right. Magic and science do inspire very different sets of those feelings in most individuals.
In my opinion, the largest divide is caused by the seeing versus the non-seeing. It’s much more socially acceptable to read about the latest science discoveries – which are backed up with reports, pictures, tests, extended studies [things you can see]- and accept them as “truth” than it is to read the similar things supporting an unpopular belief in powers of the mind, supernatural critters, or parallel universes [things some think only whackos "see"] (hey, I’m just saying, I don’t know what’s real or not).
The latter will get you labeled a kook and your friends look at you funny.
*sigh* so I guess, in the end, I have no answers either. The best thing I can say is keep an open mind.
The truth is out there. (sorry, I couldn’t resist)
Okay, I couldn’t not post here. I come from a split background. Dad is Baptist, Mom is Catholic and they never agreed on a church. We never went to church when we were young and religion was never brought up in our household. Therefore, I did not grow up with a deep faith in anything other than myself. I was taught that if I didn’t make something happen, it wouldn’t. So…..it’s a little easier for me to sit back and look at this with an open mind.
I think that people are accepting of Christianity and God as a real being-whether spiritual or historical-because that is what they were raised on. Your parents probably didn’t teach you about all the ooglies we write about at an early age, but I bet you knew who God was by the time you could talk. Faith is taught. It isn’t something that we have when we’re born. I’m proof. If it isn’t taught you won’t have it–at least not in a higher being governing us kind of way.
Before I go off rambling, my point is that the ooglies are fun because they are the what if, religion is serious because if you believe it is the what is. Only my two cents. Great Post!!!
Great comments, guys! I agree that faith is taught, Rachel. My earliest memory is eating Play-Doh in Sunday School
so you’re right, that’s been ingrained since I was old enough to understand language. I do think the human spirit has a need to believe in something, whether it’s God or nature or the power of love. There’s some grain of innate need there that each of us fills with something that approaches faith, even if it’s faith in science. Hmmm. Now THERE’s a paradox!
Wow, interesting post. am digging the comments as well. Faith/religion always proves to be an interesting discussion.
Plumb has a neat song, God Shaped Hole. For me, some of those words hit home:
There’s a God-shaped hole in all of us
And the restless soul is searching
There’s a God-shaped hole in all of us
And it’s a void only he can fill
My folks dropped me off for church, telling me I must go until I “get confirmed” then I can decide if I wanted to go on with it.
Of course I didn’t. Not until high school when I found Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Anyway. So, now, my “hole” is filled with faith. The Case For Christ, by Lee Strobel, actually uses a bit of science to show the faith, which was kind of interesting . . .
Great topic. I’ll be back to read more comments.
Have a great day.