N.C. blogger turns to novel-writing

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:59:13 -0500

One of the state's most prolific bloggers has gone old-school.

Liberal blogger James Protzman, one of the founders of the influential progressive group blog BlueNC, has written a novel called "Jesus Swept."

The book focuses on the boundary between religion and politics in American life, something that Chapel Hill resident has often written about in a more sharp-tongued manner on his blog.

In a press release, Protzman said the novel is a response to the growth of cultural power among religious conservatives and a "challenge to those who believe their ideas about what is right and good are morally superior."

Drawing on the works of goofball rabble-rousers Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Robbins, the novel centers on a 19-year-old who becomes "a new Jesus" after finding a silver bracelet at Myrtle Beach.

It is published through Kitsune Books of Florida and available at Amazon.com. Protzman says he is at work at a second novel, to be called "Plaid."