Author Spotlight: Harry Wegley

Hi friends! Today, our author spotlight is on Harry Wegley! Everyone, say hello to Harry! Without further ado, let's get to know Harry and his book Riven.

 

Author Bio:
H. L. Wegley served as an Air Force Intelligence Analyst and a Weather Officer. In civilian life, he worked as a research scientist, publishing in the scientific literature, then developed Boeing computing systems for 20 years before he and his wife retired near Seattle, where they enjoy small-group ministry, their grandchildren, and hiking the beaches of the Olympic National Park whenever the sun shines. He is an award-winning author of inspirational thrillers and high-action, romantic-suspense novels.

Can We Ever Recover What We Once Had?

As with most of my stories, my current 3-book Riven Republic Series derives its plot from a problem impacting the people of our nation. The problem in this series is a deep division in our nation driving it toward civil war.

My problem as an author is not simply to point out issues but also to show a real-world solution for them. The fragmentation of America stems from two incompatible worldviews, politically we call them leftist thinking (Marxism) and right-wing Constitutionalism. What one view calls good, the other calls evil. There is no significant common ground and no peaceful resolution to the conflict unless hearts and minds are changed at a very deep level.

This is not the first time in our nation when opposing views on morality became problematical. In the 1660s, declining church influence and membership, a breakdown in moral standards, and religious skepticism coming from the Enlightenment began replacing God’s wisdom with man’s thinking. Breaking the moral impasse and turning the American colonies in a better direction began with a concern in the hearts of the people and ended with a movement of God upon their hearts—revival, the first Great Awakening.

The revival created a unity between the colonies that had not existed before. That bit of history gave me a solution to the division in present-day America. But how does one show, in a 300-page story, problems that span a nation, that span the ideological spectrum, and are so intense that they might lead to war? I selected one state as a microcosm of America, chose characters who represented the opposing factions, and then raised the level of conflict to the point of warfare. I modulated the conflict between characters to parallel the conflict in a divided America.

The hero of book 1, Riven, is Zach Tanner, a radio talk show host. Here’s how Zach describes a divided America in the opening chapter:

“America may not be where it was on March 4, 1861, when Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated. But many of the divisions that led to that terrible Civil War exist today—divided views of our national history, divided views of our founding documents, of our monuments, of most of our symbols, of what it means to be a patriot, and what it means to be an American.

“We are engaged in a cold civil war but one that will grow hot given the slightest provocation. I believe many provocations are coming, and the incompatible political ideologies on the right and the left prevent any resolution but a violent one, a rending of our nation. It will not play out as it did in 1861, but every American will know that we are at war when one group crosses the line, a point of no return, leaving a riven republic. And as the nation fragments in a de facto secession and struggles against itself, the question on each true American heart is, can we ever recover what we once had?

“The courts cannot save us from ourselves. No part of the federal government can. Maybe if enough pulpits echo the call to revival, God will move as He has in the past. Maybe the hearts and minds of millions will be changed, and we will find unity once again.

“At this critical juncture in American history, it appears that only an act of God can save this nation.”

As Zach said, the division in our nation penetrates so deeply into core beliefs that we need another Great Awakening. To unify the nation, the God who knows the hearts of people must act to change hearts and minds. The Riven Republic Series is predicated on that assertion.

My hope is that readers will enjoy an entertaining story—a story populated with larger-than-life characters and filled with action, conflict, humor, and a budding romance—yet will ponder the deeper spiritual issues and needs that apply to Americans today. 

 

 

 

Author Spotlight Harry Wegley @sallyshupe1 #christfic

Purchase Link for Riven:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085NBQ3WL/

Social Media Links:
Connect with H. L. (Harry) at:
Website: https://www.hlwegley.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HLWegley
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4460203.H_L_Wegley

Friends, I sure hope you enjoyed getting to know Harry Wegley and Riven.


Thank you so much for joining us, Harry!


If you're an author and you'd like to be showcased here, just let me know. Must be inspirational or clean, can be fiction or nonfiction.
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