Litfin draws his sword

Coffee, iced water on a warm day, grapes, oranges, apple-pie-strudel, cheese-balls and crackers; all found in the library on Tuesday the 13th at 7p.m. Why you may ask? The library had a reason to celebrate. The week of April 13th was national Library week and so we decided to throw a little party with the celebration of the recent publication of Brian Litfin’s first novel: The Sword.

The library is usually known for its endless hours of studying, mountains of books, and writing of papers. However, we do like to mix things up once in awhile. We wanted to give the students a break; for them to be able to use the library for something other than studying.

The lights were dimmed and there was enough seating for the 100-120 students that showed up for the event.
There was a light buzz in the room as students grabbed snacks and chatted as they awaited the arrival of one of their beloved professors. Surrounded by endless shelves of books, aspiring writers and lovers of fiction couldn’t help but be inspired. Litfin is known for his love of castles and chivalry and made a grand entrance by drawing one of his swords at the beginning of the interview.

Professor Litfin is as Dr. de Rosset puts it, “One of the most qualified professors at Moody.” He has the ability to write many scholarly books, but he has chosen to write a novel, leaning more towards fantasy than anything else. The interview was completely light-hearted, full of jokes and teasing, for example Dr. de Rosset said, “Well my golden years are over,” to which Litfin replied, “You’re always golden in my books.” Of course there was a round of “ahhhhhh’s in the building, and this was how the interview began.

They discussed the process of the book, going from publisher to publisher to trying have someone buy it. That for Litfin was a greater test of faith and personality than writing the book. He said he had to trust that this was what God wanted for him and so it would happen. He didn’t “find himself” while writing the book, but more while trying to get it published.

At the end of the interview Litfin showed a brief power-point background of his novel. This also did not go without giggles as he used some of his typical nuances from his classes, “the no, no, yes slides.” He then read one of the scenes from the book, which gave students a mouth-watering taste for the book. It helped to have Litfin read his story as it really made it come alive; he was excited about it, which made the students excited about it.

The evening ended with students being able to purchase books and have them signed by Litfin, he autographed most with personal messages, rather than just his signature. Who knows those are first edition signed books, in a couple of years they could be worth hundreds!
Keep an eye out for other events the library puts on, it is all about books, but that’s not always a bad thing!

National Library Week Event: Book Launch of Prof Litfin's THE SWORD

Come to the lower level of the Crowell Library at 7 PM on 4/13/2010 to attend the book launch of Prof Litfin's novel, The Sword. Prof de Rosset will interview him about the book, after which he will read a portion of the story to those in attendance.

Come join us to be eligible to purchase a pre-release copy of The Sword (publication date is April 30), which Prof Litfin can personalize for you at the end of the program.

LifeWay bookstore will be selling a limited amount of copies at the event.

Refreshments will be provided by MBI’s catering department.

For more information about the book, go to http://www.chiveis.com/