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George MacDonald was a good thinker in some arenas, but he was a universalist, and not solidly biblical. However, C.S. Lewis said George's books baptized his imagination. Lewis's baptized mine.

If you haven't discovered audio books, you don't know what you're missing. The great thing is, you can listen while driving, doing dishes, working on a car, running, biking, you name it. I love audio books, and so does my wife Nanci.

I really felt that The Chasm could be enhanced with the illustrations. I searched around for different potential illustrators and finally found Mike Biegel. It was the right fit. I wanted that contemporary feel that is sort of a graphic-novel-sketch approach. I think Mike nailed what I was looking for and it definitely enhances the book. The illustrations allow you to grasp the heavy imagery in The Chasm. It amazed me how much work Mike was willing to put into them. I'd recommend him as an artist any day!

While The Chasm is unique, those who have read Edge of Eternity will see that I extracted and then rewrote as a standalone some chapters in the middle of that earlier novel. Since I first wrote Edge of Eternity in 1999, I’ve wanted to do this. I believe God can use it as an imaginative way of conveying the gospel to people who need to envision the old story in a fresh way.

Books in a series and stand-alones each have their advantage. I like the continuity of characters in a series, so you don't have to reinvent every one each time.

There’s no need to read Edge of Eternity first. If you read The Chasm first, you may decide you want to go back to read Edge if Eternity.

No, Money, Possessions and Eternity still has a very distinctive place by giving a fuller treatment of all the things that are dealt with briefly in Managing God's Money. Most of Money, Possessions and Eternity is not in the smaller book, though most of the issues in it are touched on in Managing God’s Money. Managing God’s Money is a much smaller book, but still covers the whole gamut of stewardship issues.

I seek to read and think and use my imagination, and improve my writing skills. I ask God for ideas and help, and I sense Him answering those prayers. Whether we build or draw or fix things or make a home for our families, God wants us to yield our gifts to Him, and depend on Him for the next step, even the next breath. I don't always succeed, but that's what I seek to do in my writing.

I like both Lewis and Tolkien, but I do think that the more explicit approach—if not over the top—is more effective in terms of touching people with the gospel.

I like Chris Tomlin and others, but I often listen to classical music while writing as it fuels the imagination and inspires, while not distracting me with words. When you are writing words you don't want to be hearing them! (I don't, anyway, though some writers are different.)

The Chasm is in some ways the most purely imaginative book I've written, yet it has some gritty references to the struggles and dead end streets of this life.

In this short video, Randy Alcorn answers the question "Will There Be a Sun and Moon in Heaven?"

This is my third and possibly last blog on this subject. But given its importance to the gospel of Christ and the health of Christ’s body, I make no promises.

I mentioned in an earlier post Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. I read it several weeks ago. It contains some good and accurate things here and there, but unfortunately its central message is in explicit contradiction to Scripture and historic Christianity.