Bret Lott's "Letters and Life" is a call to arms for Christian writers. It is what have wanted to say but been afraid if I said it I would never be published in the Christian market. Lott's calls writers who are Christians to be brave and embrace that one of the best ways to reflect Christ is to peruse excellence, creativity, and art in our craft.

Lott confronts the false dichotomy between the sacred and secular and makes the case that the words of a true writer come from within the deepest part of who they are. They, therefore, always reveal our beliefs, regardless of what we may call ourselves. A writer who is a Christian will always communicate the heart of God if he is in right relationship with Him. These revelations are present whether or not the writer is explicit about it, or it is revealed in subtler, yet often in more profound and powerful, ways.

Lott calls Christian writers to stand against the pressure of the Christian publishing market to water down their art to the lowest common denominator and settle for the mundane offerings of disguised how to books: "How to Overcome...", "How to Pray", "How to Read the Bible", "How to raise Kids", "How to have the Perfect Marriage", "How to Be a Leader". It is the writer's call to reveal that God is so much deeper than teaching us how to perform.

Lott does all this through sharing life with his readers. The book contains five essays followed by the sharing of Lott's life and journey as a writer. The only thing that I felt missing was Lott carrying his suggestions and advice out of the world of only fiction and broadening it into nonfiction. However, this is minor in that much of what he writes is easily transferable. "Letters and Life" is a great and much needed book for Christian writers everywhere.

I found beginning his book with the Apostles Creed a refreshing and welcome perspective in light of our current zeitgeist; but the rest of Brett Lott's book is ruminations (albeit, interesting ruminations).