R + F Podcast Episode 006 | Dan Brown, Ellen DeGeneres, and My Storytelling "Why"

After a few weeks engaging C. S. Lewis’s first book in The Chronicles of Narnia with our Religion + Fiction Book Club, we’re taking a step back by engaging my own storytelling “why.”The episode explores some of my spiritual and professional background, along with two clear illustrations that paved the way for my own personal storytelling mission.Both Dan Brown and Ellen DeGeneres taught in different ways a crucial insight: the one with the best story wins. That’s our cultural moment. Arguments and facts don’t win the day. Stories do.That’s why I do what I do. Why I’m trying to do what I do by telling compelling, thrilling, entertaining stories that not only offer a bit of escape but also insight and inspiration for the journey.This episode gives you a glimpse into this personal storytelling why and what I learned from Dan and Ellen.In the outro I drop a hint at the next Religion + Fiction Book Club novel on the docket — which I thought would be perfect for the start of another year.J. A. Bouma believes nobody should have to read bad religious fiction—whether it’s cheesy plots with pat answers or misrepresentations of the Christian faith and the Bible. So he tells compelling, propulsive stories that thrill as much as inspire, while offering a dose of insight along the way. Available at most online retailers and direct: shop.jabouma.com. Get full access to Religion & Fiction Newsletter at bouma.substack.com/subscribe