A worldwide fleet of Titanic novels, histories, dramas, musicals, documentaries and films have launched during this year’s 100th anniversary of the luxury liner’s maiden voyage and sinking.
Christian fiction authors, determined to find messages of hope and redemption in Titanic’s wake, have not missed the boat. The list includes, in order of release:
Promise Me This, by Cathy Gohlke (Tyndale House Publishers, February—Historical)
Hearts That Survive, by Yvonne Lehman (Abingdon Press, March—Family Saga)
Echoes of Titanic, by Mindy Starns Clark and John Campbell Clark (Harvest House Publishers, March—Mystery)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon, by Tricia Goyer (Barbour Publishing, March—Historical Romance)
Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal, by Kathleen E. Kovach and Paula Moldenhauer ( Kindle and Nook, April–Contemporary/Historical)
Voices of the Titanic, by Jim Walker (original print release 1999; E Book April, 2012)
Murder on the Titanic, by Jim Walker (original print release 1998; E Book April, 2012)
Titanic: Voyage of Intent, by Mary Davis (Kindle, Nook and Print, April–Historical)
Queen of the Waves, by Janice Thompson (Summerside/Guideposts, to be released Spring 2013—Historical Romance)
In all the publishing excitement, one author’s creative approach to connecting with readers stands out:
Janice Thompson (Queen of the Waves) balked at purchasing tickets (up to $16,000) to share in the Titanic Memorial Cruise, which will retrace the route of the luxury-liner’s disastrous maiden voyage from Southampton toward New York. In lieu of seasickness and financial ruin, Janice conceived the idea of creating a virtual cruise via Facebook—where the “tickets” are free and the conversation between classes and crew is unlimited.
Everyone is invited! Sign up as yourself, choose a real life person from Titanic, a character from fiction, or a character of your own imagination. But “tickets” must be “Facebooked” soon. The link to join is here.
This is Janice’s invitation: Friends, welcome to Queen of the Waves! On April 1st I will begin sharing tidbits (daily) about our upcoming cruise! We leave Southampton on the morning of April 10th. Between the 1st and the 10th we will talk about all sorts of things related to the era/times, and will discuss the ship (the building process, the White Star Line, etc.) I want you to feel free to chime in all along the way. ALSO (and this is very important): We can only invite others to join us until April 9th. From the morning of April 10th on, we will be at sea. OF COURSE, we will be making a couple of stops before we head out into the heart of the Atlantic, so I SUPPOSE it might be possible for a few to join us on the 11th. 🙂 I would like to encourage the other Titanic authors in this group to join in every day, posting whatever “bits” they have related to that particular day in history. Together, we will have a wonderful time! (Oh, and I plan to invite you all to dinner every night and will do my best to include the menu of the day!) Until our ship sails. . .happy packing!
I’ve signed aboard as Lucy Snape, Stewardess, Second Class. Lucy was a real stewardess aboard Titanic, a widowed, young mother needing to earn a living wage. Expecting to return to England, Lucy left her toddler daughter, Margaret, in the care of her Southampton parents. Titanic was her first voyage as a crew member. Lucy Snape is also one of the characters in Promise Me This—the woman Michael called “a flame-haired sergeant major!” She was, in fact, the heartthrob of Owen Allen—hero and gentleman extraordinaire.
I hope you’ll join us. It’s an opportunity to explore some almost-living, almost-history on this 100th anniversary.
I think we’ve worked up an appetite with these sea-going contemplations. Shall we sit in the sun awhile, sheltered from the late March wind, and, in honor of Belfast’s building of the Titanic, treat ourselves to a slim slice of Irish Soda Bread spread with creamy butter, and a steaming pot of Irish Breakfast tea? Mmmmm. Delicious!
I’ll see you here, in the garden, next week.
God’s blessings,
Comments 8
Wow, look how many authors have written about the Titanic! This was fun to read all the titles. Janice’s ideas sound fun. I will check it out.
Blessings,
Carrie
Janice is so creative–it should be a fascinating experience, Carrie!
It’s always a treat to see how different authors view and interpret the same event–especially something epic. I hope you enjoy the reads!
This will be an amazing journey! Thank you, Janice, for the invitation.
I hope to see you on board, Sherry! This should be quite an experience to remember!
Last week I visited the Titanic exhibit in Las Vegas. It was awesome and inspiring. I will be joining Janice’s virtual cruise as 3rd class passenger Hanna Youssef Razi, an actual passenger, whose bio I received at the Titanic exhibit. Happy sailing.
Your trip to the Titanic exhibit in Las Vegas sounds fascinating, Chris. I often wonder how differently the various exhibits interpret the ship and event.
I look forward to meeting you aboard Janice’s virtual cruise! What fun that you are going as Hanna, the passenger whose bio you received at the exhibit!
I just finished reading “Promise Me This” and the story made me cry, laugh and rejoice for the wonderful characters in your book. You made them come to life!!!! What a GREAT example of Christ’s love for us at this time of year by dying for us, just like Owen died in place of Michael. (Our family also went to the Titanic exhibit when it was in Birmingham a few years ago and it was fascinating). Thank you again for writing such great historical Christian fiction. I look forward to reading your other books as well. Have a Blessed Easter!!!!
Thank you so much for writing, Denise! I’m so glad you enjoyed “Promise Me This,” and the characters resonated for you.
You’ve truly captured the picture intended in the story–Christ’s great love for the world and our response to His unmerited gift of life to us. It’s just the contemplation for this Easter season!
I hope you’ll enjoy “Band of Sisters,” too, which releases in September.
God’s blessings and Happy Easter!