Resources by Topic: Randy's Books

Every novelist knows that movies don’t just have plots, they have themes. And in the exploration of those themes there is inevitably a message, whether or not it is carefully crafted.

Some months ago I was contacted by Time magazine reporter Tim Newcomb, who asked me a number of questions about the Courageous movie and the novel. 

I just read the Courageous novel yesterday. That's right.....all 375 pages in one day. It was incredible! The best $11 I have spent in a long while. And the best book I can remember reading. Time to apply it all now! Go get the book, or better yet, gift it to someone! -M.H.

In this audio clip, Randy Alcorn talks about his novel Safely Home, and the painting that inspired him to write it.

Recorded at the 2011 International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in Atlanta.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked on my Facebook page is, “Will there be another Ollie Chandler story, a follow up to Deception?” 

In this under 3 minute clip, Randy talks about his favorite chapter in the book that discusses how Christ is the only answer who is bigger than the questions.

When I wrote Deception, the spiritual themes are interwoven into the central plot, the murder mystery. Ollie’s recognition that everything is not as it appears applies not only to the murder, but to the larger issues of his life.

I like reading murder mysteries—particularly the Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout. I love Sherlock Holmes. In fact, every chapter of Deception starts with a great quote from a Holmes story. It was fun matching those with the contents of particular chapters. Many people enjoy murder mysteries, so there’s potential for a wide audience.

The main character, Ollie Chandler, is an unbeliever. He blames a God he’s not sure exists for the loss of his wife to cancer; he’s haunted by the death of another loved one; and he’s alienated from his grown daughters.

I remember various secular media interviews where they couldn’t figure out how a murder mystery could have a spiritual theme! They would say things like wow, that was an interesting story, and….that other-worldly stuff was…well, it was different, wasn’t it?

In this 20 minute interview, Randy talks with interviewer Wayne Shepherd about the Courageous movie and novel.

I have seldom so much enjoyed putting a book together as I did We Shall See God. (See my previous post for more on Spurgeon and why I decided to compile the book.) When Oasis Audio asked me to read the audio version of We Shall See God, I replied, “Yes, under one condition—that you get a great voice actor with a British accent to read the Spurgeon part. Then I’ll just read my own. No way can I read Spurgeon.” Well, they got award-winning audio reader Simon Vance, and he did a wonderful job! Here is the first ...

Charles Haddon Spurgeon preached to perhaps ten million people in his lifetime, often speaking ten times a week at various locations, including congregations his own church had planted.