Book Club.

The Class of 1988 has produced quite a crop of authors and storytellers. Kyle Hammersmith, Twila Zehr Patterson, Sean MacDonald, and Robyn DeVries Graham have each published books since attending the Bible Institute. Three of the authors wrote nonfiction books about personal experiences, but for Hammersmith — now a professor at Liberty University — storytelling was a way to apply the lessons and landscape of Word of Life in a whole new way.

The Legend of Lake Marilee (Fiction) by Kyle Hammersmith

Lake Marilee is not only full of murder theories and a local ghost legend when young Jody Barrett comes to visit — it’s also the setting for a battle between fact and fiction, right and wrong, and good and evil. Christian apologetics meet intriguing storytelling as the lessons Jody learns about families, values, and God change the way he encounters truth.

Where have I seen that before?

When Kyle started writing his suspense novel, he turned to a familiar setting to sketch his characters and scenes: Word of Life. The novel is based in an area that mirrors Schroon Lake and Pottersville, including the central location of the Brown Swan Club (aka the Word of Life Inn). Kyle, who has a master’s in education from Ohio State University and a bachelor’s in English from Liberty University, was a chef at Word of Life in New York and Florida after graduating from the Bible Institute.

Editor’s Take: Looking for a book that will help the young people you know tackle questions of truth, postmodern philosophy, or apologetics? Kyle takes classroom lessons into real life in a suspenseful and entertaining way. This novel is great for teenagers and others who are tackling questions of truth.