{"id":6921,"date":"2006-10-04T22:20:02","date_gmt":"2006-10-05T03:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=6921"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:35:00","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:35:00","slug":"5181","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/","title":{"rendered":"Best-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love"},"content":{"rendered":"
CHICAGO, IL (October 4, 2006) \u2013 Three years ago, Bob Smietana ordered the relatively little-known book Shadowmancer<\/em> on a whim. The Covenant Companion<\/em> features editor had no idea the children\u2019s novel would one day be an international best seller, be translated into 43 languages, or that he would wind up helping the book\u2019s soon-to-be world-famous author write his autobiography.
\n
\nSmietana co-authored G.P. Taylor: Sin, Salvation and Shadowmancer<\/em>, which recounts the remarkable twists in the life of Graham Taylor, who once was a roadie for punk bands such as the Sex Pistols, and later became a police officer and then a vicar in the Anglican Church. To listen to Bob share one humorous moment during his time with Taylor, click on\u00a0\u00a0 \"Smietana-on-Graham-Taylor.mp3\" Midnight at the BBC.<\/a><\/div>\n
While a vicar \u2013 a position similar to that of a parish priest – Taylor grew concerned about the increasing presence of occult images in children\u2019s books. The result was the Shadowmancer<\/em> series, which includes Wormwood<\/em> and Tersias the Oracle<\/em>. In keeping with his unusual life, Taylor sold his motorcycle to self-publish his first book.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>No one foresaw the huge commercial success or that critics would compare the series favorably with the collection surrounding a young lad named Harry Potter. The allegories of good versus evil proved popular with Christians who found the J.K. Rowling collection unpalatable.<\/p>\n

Covenanters have long been familiar with Smietana\u2019s award-winning work in the Companion<\/em>. He is a frequent contributor to Christianity Today<\/em> and Religion News Service (RNS). His articles also have appeared in the Washington Post<\/em>, Los Angeles Times,<\/em> and the Chicago Tribune<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Covenant News Service sat down with Smietana to discuss his first book project.
\n
\nHow did you get involved with this project? How long did it take?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually all Harry Potter\u2019s fault. I was ordering the British version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix<\/em> when a window popped up saying, \u201cIf you like Harry Potter, try Shadowmancer<\/em>.\u201d On the spur of moment, I ordered that, too. It sat on my shelf for a few months, and then a friend from church borrowed it, so I didn\u2019t get around to reading the book for a long time.<\/p>\n

When I read it, I was hooked. I wanted to know more about the author, G.P. Taylor.\u00a0 It turns out, he was an Anglican priest from Yorkshire with a dodgy background who\u2019d\u00a0 sold off his motorcycle in order to publish the book. The more I read about his faith story – how he\u2019d been a teenage runaway, become a Christian and then been a policeman and later a priest – the more I was intrigued. When I heard he was coming to the States, I emailed him, again on the spur of the moment, to see if we could interview him for the Companion<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We hit it off during that initial interview, and that led to writing stories about Graham for other publications – Religion News Service (RNS), Christianity Today, Episcopal Life<\/em> – and then to the book. It was one of those surprises that God springs on us sometimes.<\/p>\n

You traveled to England and spent several weeks with Taylor. What was that like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I got to chase around Scarborough, Graham\u2019s home town, visited the York Minster (top photo), the largest gothic cathedral in Northern Europe, ate fish and chips fresh from the North Sea, and even ended up appearing for about five minutes on BBC radio with Graham. He and his wife, Cathy, were gracious hosts, and I had the time of my life getting to know them.<\/p>\n

Taylor\u2019s story seems so improbable. What about him intrigues you the most?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Graham seems to keep stumbling into the most amazing scenarios. Once, when he was a new minister working in Whitby (where Bram Stoker\u2019s Dracula<\/em> is set), he was asked to preach a sermon that would be televised nationally. Since it was near Easter, he wanted to preach on the crucifixion. The network thought that was \u201ctoo violent for television\u201d and asked him to preach about boats instead. He refused and pulled out. Next thing he knows, a reporter from one of the London papers is on the phone, wanting to know about \u201cthe sermon too violent for television.\u201d The sermon ended up being reprinted by the local paper and by several newspapers overseas. That kind of thing happens to him all the time.<\/p>\n

All these things happened by him taking very small steps of faith, one a time, and watching God do all these remarkable things. Plus, despite all his success, he\u2019s a regular guy. Even after he\u2019d signed a deal with Hollywood for the film rights to Shadowmancer<\/em>, he still drove a beat-up 1980s vintage car.<\/p>\n

Did Taylor set out to be \u201cThe Christian Harry Potter?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not really. He was actually more concerned about the works of Philip Pullman, who\u2019s been described as the \u201canti-C.S. Lewis\u201d for writing an epic based on Paradise Lost,<\/em> where God is a senile liar and the devil is the hero. That series of books, called “His Dark Materials,” is immensely popular.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Graham wanted to offer an alternative, something filled with swashbuckling adventure, but also offering a glimpse at a story where God is real and involved in the lives of characters. He didn\u2019t want to write a Christian book. He did want to follow the example of C.S. Lewis and Tolkein – weaving God into an adventure. But the story came first, and that\u2019s why, I think, it captured people\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

Right now he\u2019s on a book tour in local schools, bookshops, and libraries talking about The Curse of Salamander Street,<\/em> a sequel to Shadowmancer<\/em>. He talks about writing, tells stories from his life, and captures the imaginations of the kids he talks to. He\u2019s really earned the right to be heard by being a storyteller first.<\/p>\n

You have written about people. How difficult was it to write in the first person when that person was someone else?<\/strong><\/div>\n

It took a couple of months to get comfortable writing in Graham\u2019s voice – and for a long time, I\u2019d listen over and over to the tapes of our interviews.<\/p>\n

Do you have any favorite stories from the book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a very funny story about him chasing a fox through his neighbor\u2019s yard in the middle of the night – the fox had killed his chickens – and then realizing he was in his underwear. Just as he turned to run home, the milkman drove up his neighbor\u2019s driveway. He dove into the bushes to hide and thought he\u2019d escaped unnoticed. The milkman drove up, waved, and shouted out a cheerful, \u201cMorning vicar,\u201d as he rode by. Those sorts of things are pretty common for him. Sometimes I felt like I was writing something out of the Vicar of Dibley<\/em> or Monty Python<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The section on how he came home broke, after running away to London to seek his fortune, and being welcomed home like the prodigal son by his mother was very powerful.\u00a0 At several key points in his life, when he was lost or very ill, people reached out with small acts of kindness and in those moments, he really felt God\u2019s presence made real.<\/p>\n

Why is his story important to tell? What do you hope readers will take away from the book besides knowing more about its subject?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A couple of things. I hope they enjoy the story because it\u2019s great fun. I feel like Larry the Cucumber, who once said in response to a VeggieTale<\/em> episode, \u201cI laughed, I cried – it moved me.\u201d This story is like that, a rollicking adventure of God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n

When he was in seminary, Graham read a book called The Sacrament of the Present Moment,<\/em> about living each moment as if you were really in God\u2019s presence – instead of constantly thinking about what will happen next. That book, which he said was the only book he enjoyed reading in seminary, shaped his life in some powerful ways. He always seemed to treat people like they were the most important person in the world when he was with them, at least during my visit.<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s seen God at work in both the joys of life and the trials of life. Not long after he became a bestselling author, he became very ill and near death on several occasions. And he really had to rely on God in those moments. He also had to realize as a pastor that he could fail, and God would still love him – that God\u2019s love wasn\u2019t dependent on Graham\u2019s success or failure as a pastor.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about hope, joy, and God\u2019s love over the long haul in the life of messy Christians.<\/p>\n

Diane Louise Jordan, who\u2019s a television presenter on the BBC, wrote this blurb for the book, and I think she summed it up better than I could.<\/p>\n

She wrote: \u201cGraham\u2019s story is a vivid reminder that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing. Not anger, not failure, not illness, not success, not church hypocrisy, not excessive rock and roll – nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: to order a copy of the Graham biography from the online Covenant Bookstore, select either Hardcover <\/a>or Softcover<\/a> versions.<\/em><\/div>\n

\n
Smietana-on-Graham-Taylor.mp3<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
Copyright \u00a9 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (October 4, 2006) \u2013 Three years ago, Bob Smietana ordered the relatively little-known book Shadowmancer on a whim. The Covenant Companion features editor had no idea the children\u2019s novel would one day be an international best seller, be translated into 43 languages, or that he would wind up helping the book\u2019s soon-to-be world-famous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBest-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CHICAGO, IL (October 4, 2006) \u2013 Three years ago, Bob Smietana ordered the relatively little-known book Shadowmancer on a whim. The Covenant Companion features editor had no idea the children\u2019s novel would one day be an international best seller, be translated into 43 languages, or that he would wind up helping the book\u2019s soon-to-be world-famous […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-10-05T03:20:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-07-06T13:35:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/extras\/fileIcons\/mp3.gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"headline\":\"Best-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love\",\"datePublished\":\"2006-10-05T03:20:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-07-06T13:35:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1590,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.covchurch.org\\\/extras\\\/fileIcons\\\/mp3.gif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/\",\"name\":\"Best-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love - Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.covchurch.org\\\/extras\\\/fileIcons\\\/mp3.gif\",\"datePublished\":\"2006-10-05T03:20:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-07-06T13:35:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.covchurch.org\\\/extras\\\/fileIcons\\\/mp3.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.covchurch.org\\\/extras\\\/fileIcons\\\/mp3.gif\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2006\\\/10\\\/04\\\/5181\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Best-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\",\"name\":\"Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"description\":\"Evangelical Covenant Church\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/author\\\/covwebster\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Best-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love - Covenant Newswire Archives","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Best-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love - Covenant Newswire Archives","og_description":"CHICAGO, IL (October 4, 2006) \u2013 Three years ago, Bob Smietana ordered the relatively little-known book Shadowmancer on a whim. The Covenant Companion features editor had no idea the children\u2019s novel would one day be an international best seller, be translated into 43 languages, or that he would wind up helping the book\u2019s soon-to-be world-famous […]","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/","og_site_name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","article_published_time":"2006-10-05T03:20:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-07-06T13:35:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/extras\/fileIcons\/mp3.gif","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"headline":"Best-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love","datePublished":"2006-10-05T03:20:02+00:00","dateModified":"2011-07-06T13:35:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/"},"wordCount":1590,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/extras\/fileIcons\/mp3.gif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/","name":"Best-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love - Covenant Newswire Archives","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/extras\/fileIcons\/mp3.gif","datePublished":"2006-10-05T03:20:02+00:00","dateModified":"2011-07-06T13:35:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/extras\/fileIcons\/mp3.gif","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/extras\/fileIcons\/mp3.gif"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/10\/04\/5181\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Best-Selling Author\u2019s Life Reflects God\u2019s Unconditional Love"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/","name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","description":"Evangelical Covenant Church","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/author\/covwebster\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6921"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9293,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6921\/revisions\/9293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}