Grace

Have you ever played the video game Tetris? The game where there are seven different sized blocks falling, and you have to maneuver them so that they fit together, perfectly, and when you have a solid line it disappears?

I type happily away on my computer, engrossed in a scene of drama, betrayal, fear, doubt, and growing tension, all ready to swallow the character up in a maw of darkness, or give way in a moment of light. The climax approaches —

A hideous beast falls in love with a beautiful young girl. Such is the essence of the “beauty and the beast” story type. Whether it’s an actual beast, a giant gorilla, a hunchback, a wild jungle man, or a masked mystery who haunts an opera house, the idea remains the same:

The other evening, my six-year-old brother Elijah was excitedly telling me how he loved making bookmarks. Since I had just been looking for one, I had an idea.

One day, a few months ago, I found one of my little brother’s books (entitled The Space Eagle: Operation Doomsday) laying around.

Sure this book was corny —