Wayfarer's Journal Blog

Tuck: Surprisingly Satisfying

2009-05-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

(Tuck by Stephen Lawhead. )

Those of you who have been following my posts on Facebook and Twitter know already that reading this book has been a struggle. It is honestly not my cup of tea and to say I enjoyed it would be deceptive. As a whole, I did not enjoy it. I'm not a big fan of this particular type of literature. But my own preferences and even enjoyment are irrelevant to the review process. A reviewer to be effective must be dispassionate in her evaluation.

Given that, I would have to say that Stephen Lawhead is certainly a master storyteller. I was impressed by his pacing. Too many writers of action-adventure fiction feel "conflict" must always involve a physical battle. One has little time to rest between fights and you feel like you are being pushed at top speed from one to another. Lawhead, however, interspersed periods of calm in between the battles. These were times when we could learn about the backstory and get to know the characters somewhat.

I have to say the characters, while distinctive, were not terribly well developed. I must preface the following by saying I have not read the other books and perhaps having read them the characters might have felt more solid. However, in most other ways this book stands on its own. I found most of the characters sort of stock stereotypes. Rhiban is heroic. Merian is beautiful and spunky. Alan is a scamp. And Tuck - well - Tuck is a classic hybrid warrior priest with Rosary in one hand and a stout staff to smash your head in the other. I do not consider that a positive character, but that's irrelevant to this review. However, I did like how Tuck recovers his Christianity at the end. I will say no more and spoil the story.

This is why I said the story was surprisingly satisfying. Throughout the book I was steaming over this supposed priest, quoting scripture and praying for the deaths of others. The number of commandments broken, the deciet, the hatred, the violence were hardly in keeping with that of a servant of the one who would not lift a hand in his own defense and healed the ear of the soldier sent to kill him. Tuck had more of Joshua than Yeshua in him. However, at the end, the victory comes as he rediscovers his call.

I would have liked to have seen this foreshadowed. I would have liked to have seen some sort of self doubt, questioning, or guilt. There were moments, but they were rare. A favorite scene in the book for me was at the end of chapter two when Tuck passes some dead soldiers and says:

"May God have mercy on their vile and wretched souls," Tuck whispered hastening away, "and grant them the peace they have denied to others." Thinking better of this crabbed prayer, he added, "Welcome them into Your eternal kingdom--but not for my sake, Good Lord, no--but for the sake of Your own dear son who always remembered to forgive His enemies. Amen."

I would have liked to have seen more moments like that in the book and fewer of Tuck praying for the arrows to fly true and "find their marks." The arrogant assumption that God must necessarily be on ones own side in a political conflict certainly has lead to great destruction of lives, communities and entire nations.

Interestingly enough, for me the most interesting and endearing character in his own way was King William. His misguided, but noble and sincere, attempt to atone for all the deaths he and his father had caused in battle was sad and touching. I would have liked to have seen more of this character. I suspect he is a more significant character in the other books. He comes across as a slightly clueless, reluctant warrior which is honestly more engaging than the cock sure Rhiban.

I warn potential readers that the book has a very high body count. Killing and bloodshed are glorified if in a "good cause." So, if that type of violence bothers you, then you might stay away from this book.

However, if you enjoy a well crafted medieval war story, this realistic re-telling of the Robin Hood myth is worth your time. Meanwhile check out the other sites on this tour.

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Keanan Brand
Rachel Briard
Grace Bridges
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Terri Main
Margaret
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Caleb Newell
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Epic Rat
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

Review of Tuck by Stephen Lawhead - The Process

2009-05-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

(Tuck by Stephen Lawhead. )

Okay, I have not read this book yet. Finals, bad health, cat ate my computer, pick your excuse it all works. Anyway, I am going to read it tomorrow and then post a review on Friday, but I thought you might like to take an inside look at the process. So, let me tell you what I am doing and thinking right now.

First, I take a look at the cover. It's a nice hard bound cover. The design is simple but elegant. I see it is book three in the King Raven series.

Oh great. Once again, I'm reviewing a book in a series where I haven't read the other books. Of course, it may stand alone. It should stand alone. Every book should be able to be read on it's own merits. Okay, maybe that's just me venting because I didn't read the other two books.

I see this is Stephen Lawhead as author. Pretty big name for our little blog tour. Now, I'll check out the cover copy on the back.

The first thing that hits me is a quote "Pray God our aim is true and each arrow finds its mark"

Oh no, not another "God is on our side and all those human beings on the other side are evil demons from the netherworld and not sons and husbands and fathers with fathers, wives and sons who will weap over their deaths" type of book. Getting a little tired of the Christian publishing world ready to justify any type of violence but will shudder if someone even mentions a sexual topic. Okay, more venting. Doesn't mean this book is really like that. I would like to see more speculative fiction that doesn't involve battles and massive killing sprees. But I'll reserve judgement. And that is a personal matter of taste and not something relevant to the excellence of the writing or story.

Apparently, this series follows the adventures of Rhi Bran also known as King Raven and is told from the perspective of Friar Tuck.

Okay, another retelling of the Robin Hood mythos. What an enduring legend. The idea of a band of outlaws, who use robbery as a form of social commentary and civil disobedience. Wonder about the theology of robbery as a means to help the poor. By the way, I wonder if they have Men in Tights available on demand.

Seems like it is a story about a rebellion to find a homeland for the peoople of Elfael.

Sounds tedious right now. Supposedly set in the latter 11th and early 12th centuries. Probably glamourizes that whole bloody era, turning local politics into a morality play of some sort with clear villains and heroes when the real characters of history are rarely either. I feel uneasy with stories set in historical times dealing with historical events which never actually happened. But then I do like the Brother Cadfael mysteries which do that. So, this might be like that. Again, I need to reserve judgement until I read the book.

Now, to read the book. I will be posting updates on Twitter and Facebook as I read the book tomorrow. Realize that these will be purely personal responses and not to be confused with a reasoned evaluation of a book based on its own merits and not my subjective responses, but you might be interested in the process.

Meanwhile, check out what others are saying about Tuck at these other blog sites:

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Keanan Brand
Rachel Briard
Grace Bridges
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Terri Main
Margaret
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Caleb Newell
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Epic Rat
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

Flashpoint is an Amazon Bestseller

2009-05-13T00:32:00.000-07:00

Frank Creed's ground-breaking Christian cyberpunk novel Flashpoint (The Writers' Cafe Press, 2007) passed a major milestone yesterday. It was listed as the top selling religious science-fiction/fantasy book on Amazon.com, the world's leading online bookseller.

The rankings, which are updated hourly showed Creed's book leading sales of the popular Dragonkeeper series by Donita Paul and the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

“I nearly fell off my chair when I saw that,” commented Creed. “I am hugely happy about this especially in light of what's coming next.”

Creed is referring to the publication of War of Attrition, the second book in the Underground series later this year.

Flashpoint tells the story of a brother and sister living in the Chicago Metroplex of 2036 in a world where all religious devotion regardless of sect is considered terrorism. Taking the “street names” of Calamity Kid and eGirl, they join a “muscle cell” of the underground church tasked with protecting – within the limitations of the “Agape principle”- Christian believers from persecution through the use of non-lethal weapons and spiritually empowered cybernetic implants.

For more information about Frank Creed or The Underground series, visit http://www.frankcreed.com

Self Publishing: Everybody's Right - Sort of

2009-05-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

If you want to stimulate a vigorous discussion among a group of writers, just raise the question of self-publishing. Almost immediately, they will gather into one of two camps. One camp sees self-publishing as the salvation of the written word. The other camp sees it as the death of literary quality. Truth be told, both are right.

The problem with highly polarized questions is that they force out the more reasoned evaluation that exists at some point between the the extremes. Self-Publishing is no exception to that rule. Rational discussion degenerates into open warfare between those claiming that self-publishing democratizing publishing providing the reader with a greater variety of reading materials than the traditional publisher driven system can provide and those claiming that self-published inevitably means poor quality.

The ugly truth is that both sides speak the truth just not all of it. Self-Publishing does create a greater variety of materials than is economically feasible for traditional publishers to produce. This is particularly important for writers and readers of niche literature. For instance, a traditional publisher warehousing thousands of copies of each book cannot afford to publish books of interest to only a few hundred people. However, the self-published author can write that book about underwater basket weaving and underwater basket weavers everywhere will rejoice to find new patterns for their seaweed baskets.

Using the internet as a distribution pipeline, readers with special interests can find the types of books they want and writers with a drive to write that type of literature can reach that audience. So, while sales of books in bookstores and through traditional publishers are down, there is no lack of publishing, buying and selling the printed word.

It's a beautiful world where self-publishing has saved the written word from extinction, then. Right?

Sorry, not quite. The other side claims, with some strong justification, that self-publishing is degrading the overall quality of printed materials. They say, that it is true we have more printed material available to readers, but just having more garbage doesn't make it any less smelly. The traditional publishing system of editors and editorial teams acting as gatekeepers produces higher quality writing and produces a better physical product.

I agree completely that most self-published material fails to meet even minimum standards of acceptability in terms of literary skill. Likewise, the physical product tends to be poorly edited and poorly designed.

When the only one deciding if a piece of writing deserves publication is the writer, there exists a huge hole for the devil to creep in. Who of us are truly objective about our own writing? We give birth to a book and it is our pride and joy. Like proud parents it is perfect in our sight and what isn't perfect, well, that just adds to the special-ness of the little tyke.

Unfortunately, most self-publishers are motivated less by a desire to fill a niche not being filled by the traditional media, but by impatience and incompetence. They don't want to go through the long process of pitching a book to multiple editors, then revising, editing, rewriting the manuscript until it is ready for publication. I can heat up a three-course meal in the microwave in 10 minutes. Why can't I get published like that? Well, I can. Just upload the text, choose a few designs, and after a few keystrokes and mouseclicks, you too, can be a published author. And you don't have to hear any editor telling you that your manuscript is not yet ready for publication or (horror of horrors) that is just isn't very good.

So, where does this leave us? It leaves us with and "embarrassment of riches." Self-publishing brings to the reading public many quality books each year that traditional publishing could not (or would not) publish. Certainly, those of us you enjoy Christian speculative fiction often depend on self-published materials to feed our hunger for the genre.

However, without any gatekeepers, all sorts of low lifes rush into the courtyard. The consumer has to be even more critical in evaluating their book purchases. They can no longer depend on a publisher to pre-screen the writing or to proofread the manuscript. They have to be more involved in the process of making an informed purchase. Perhaps, that is the biggest benefit that can arise from self-publishing.

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem: Don't read it in a library

2009-04-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem by Karina Fabian is not a good book to read in a library. Last week I read through the book in my library, receiving disapproving looks from the librarian with every snicker. I rarely laugh out loud when I am reading, but the antics of the characters in this book did it for me.

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem is part of a series of stories written by Fabian, featuring Vern, an immortal dragon cursed by St. George to do good works. Most recently, he has been doing those good works in New Mexico as a private detective specializing in crimes related to magic. A portal between our world and the world of Faerie opened up creating a commerce between the two worlds. Vern, along with Sister Grace of the Faerie Catholic Church, fights evil on both sides of the portal usually resulting in saving one of the two worlds.

Vern's most recent (nonpaying) job is to babysit a bunch of “magicals” on a trip to a Mensa convention. Riding herd on pixies, brownies, fairies, an Indian trickster named Coyote and a Valkyrie named Brunhilde, may be in Sis. Grace's words: “ the toughest job we've not gotten paid for.”

From there the romp includes averting a dozen crises from invisible brownies to averting an interdimensional war sparked a rivalry between two fairies.

The strength of Fabian's writing lies in creating memorable characters populating improbable plots that seem perfectly credible as you read them. She has the unique ability to wrap a parody around a strong believable plot.

The stories are written in such a way that they can be read and understood easily without having read any of the other books in the series. However, in some ways, this leads to the only flaw in the story. Fabian frequently interrupts the flow of a scene by a long aside about something which took place in a previous story. Sometimes this works, but many times it is not necessary to know that bit of the backstory to understand the current plot. This is a hard balance for the writer of a series to strike. I suspect that as more books and stories about Vern emerge, Fabian will find that balance.

I can recommend this book heartily, but be warned: Don't read it in a library!

Meet Karina Fabian: The Woman Behind the Dragon

2009-04-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

Karina Fabian is the Author of Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, a glorious romp featuring a Dragon P.I., a Nun and a bunch of Magical creatures at a Mensa Convention. I'll be reviewing the novel tomorrow, but today, let's meet Karina:

1. Tell us a little about yourself? I know it is vague, but it gives the reader a chance to get to know the woman behind the dragon.

There's not that much to me, really. I had a happy childhood with loving parents and a terrific and beautiful sister. College was fun, then I did 4 years in the Air Force, where I met the love of my life, Rob, and we now have four terrific kids. We'll have been married 19 years in November, and I love him even more than when we first got married. I admire him even more, too. He's still in the Air Force--a Lt. Col. now--so we move every couple of years. I love the adventure. Most of my really good friends are online, which is wonderful since we do move so often.

I'm a Mensan and a notorious punner. I love to play with characters and clichés. I've been writing professionally for about 13 years, most of it non-fiction, but started concentrating on fiction in the last couple of years. I aspire toward getting that NYC publisher contract that will get my books on the shelves, but in the meantime, I enjoy the relationship I have with the publishers at the smaller presses I am working with now.

2. Give a short summary of the premise for MMM. (I know the dreaded elevator pitch)

I'm going to cheat and give you the Publisher's Weekly review because I think the author did such a great job of summarizing it: Religion and humor suffuse this well-imagined and densely plotted comedic mystery, based on a short story of the same title. Cursed by St. George to serve the Faerie Catholic Church, dragon detective Vern now sleuths in the mundane world. His latest (unpaid) assignment is to babysit a group of faeries attending a Mensa meeting. Vern quickly has his claws full juggling crises, from invisible brownies to two elves whose rivalry threatens to become interdimensional war. Distinctly memorable and occasionally silly supporting characters, from Brunhilde the Valkyrie to Native American trickster Coyote, steer the action. While the conclusion sticks perilously close to genre formula and the narrative is jumpy throughout, most readers will forgive the clichés (and Vern’s groan-worthy puns) and chuckle all the way through.

(Incidentally, the ending was supposed to stick close to genre--it's a parody, after all.  )

3. Give us a little background on the Vern stories.

Each one is a mystery, usually in the noir style of Sam Spade, but the cases involve magic and myth. Sometimes, some very disparate myths get combined. "Amateurs," which earned honorable mention in the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008, mixed a legend about the fairies taking the form of insects to fight their war and the Biblical plaque of locusts. Another, "Christmas Spirits," (for sale on my website) is a play off A Christmas Carol. I also have a few fun vignettes with Vern dealing with humans, especially Mundane humans. The novels get a little more complex. After Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, I have Live and Let Fly, a super-spy spoof. All are told from Vern's POV, which I adore writing. I love indulging my snarky side--I don't let it out very often.

4. People are often interested in the writing process. Where did you get the idea for a Dragon PI?

I'd heard about an anthology called Firestorm of Dragons. I wanted a story in it, so I racked my brains for a unique take on dragons, running them past Rob. After a fruitless half an hour, we went to watch "Whose Line is it, Anyway?" with the kids. It's a silly comedy improv. While watching a parody of a film noir, the thought came to me that I could do that with a dragon. Vern was born.

I built the world around Vern, giving him the background to fit a down-and-out, cynical detective: losing a fight to St. George, being dragooned into service of the Church (thus unable to earn money), getting exiled to the Mundane side of the Gap... the usual with a fantasy twist. For the first story, I gave him a simple mystery that turned into a save-the-world thing. "Dragon Eye, PI" made it in Firestorm, and I have two more stories coming out in anthologies later this year: Book of Tentacles (Samsdot, July 2009) and Mother Goose Is Dead (DragonMoon, 2010)

A lot of my ideas come from prompts--a call for submissions to an anthology, a suggestion from a friend, or some movie I've seen or legend I've read. Since I'm a seat-of-the-pants writer, I usually daydream about it, then just sit and write.

5. Have you faced any opposition from Christians related to the injection of magic into your stories? How do you respond to that?

No, I haven't. I must not run in that group. The closest I ever came was a woman at a booksigning who said I was writing about Satan. I told her, "He's not from Revelation. Not enough heads." She said all dragons are Satan. So I directed her to the other great books on my table instead.

I think if anyone had a problem with my books, I'd just direct them elsewhere. My stuff isn't for everyone, after all, and I'd be a fool to think otherwise.

6. What other writing/editing projects have you done other than the Dragon PI stories?

Infinite Space, Infinite God: Thought-provoking sci-fi with a Catholic twist (Twilight Times, 2007; available on Amazon). An anthology of 15 sci-fi stories with Catholic themes or characters; a 2007 EPPIE winner for best Sci-Fi

Leaps of Faith: Christian sci-fi...because God and science do co-exist (The Writers Cafe Press, 2008) 14 stories of science interacting with the Christian faith. 2004 EPPIE finalist for best anthology

I also have a trilogy under consideration, am working on the second Infinite Space, Infinite God, and am writing a Catholic Sci-fi novel.

7. What would you like to add about the book or yourself?

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem was a lark for me to write--something funny and silly and very low-key. I'm amazed and honored at the response it's gotten. I hope folks will like the subsequent books and stories. Vern is such fun and the world is so rich that I intend to write about it for a long time.

Incidentally, if you like Vern, please join the DragonEye, PI, website, www.dragoneyepi.net. You get a free copy of "Amateurs" plus a subscription to the DragonEye, PI, newsletter.

Wrting: A Lonely Life - NOT!!!!

2009-01-19T06:57:00.000-08:00

When I was in college journalism classes, you learned to write by being herded into a typing (yes, I'm that old, and they were manual typewriters) room, given some facts for a news story, given a 30 minute deadline and set to work. Later working on newspapers and in radio stations, and eventually in academia, the collegiality of those social writing environments were both stimulating intellectually and comforting emotionally.

You could bounce ideas off each other, ask for help, or take a break and catch up on the office gossip, which sometimes was oddly refreshing. Just the knowledge of these other writers working around you made you feel not so much alone in this great endeavor to share words and ideas with the world.

I sometimes wonder why it is that I can produce 50,000+ words of fiction during National Novel Writing Month and barely get half that done any other time. But I know why. It's the knowledge that any time I sit down at the keyboard and begin that wrestling match with my characters and plot that there are thousands of other people doing the same. And they aren't just nameless, faceless people. I get burnt out or tired or need some inspiration or a question answered, I can click over to the discussion board and take part in a "word war" or give a suggestion or two about names in the future or philosophize about whether dystopic fiction is depressing or hopeful, or just share the frustration of the writing life.

One would think with all those digressions, that productivity would wane. Yet, the opposite is true. Just as that short gossip break in the middle of covering a big story or working on that course outline in a face-to-face setting can be the refreshing break you need to push through, seeing that "wordwarrior1978" didn't quite hit your high score for the day, or simply answering the question, "What is your character doing right now?" can help me get that second wind to push through to my daily writing goal in a way working alone cannot.

So, where is all this leading? Modern internet technology, what has been called Web 2.0, has created tools for us to move away from the isolation many of us can feel as writers. We are in a position to encourage one another, hold each other accountable, motivate, inspire, stimulate, assist and even provide those "water cooler" moments of diversion that refresh.

While social networking like Twitter, Facebook, Shoutlife, Linked in and MySpace, not to mention more traditional networking like discussion boards and email discussion lists can become a time sink if restraint is not exercised, they also can provide the writer, especially the writer who works at home, with a social support network.

For instance, say you are on Twitter with a lot of other writers in your own area of expertise. You need some piece of information. You post your question. It may just sit there. Or someone might "tweet" back with an answer. Or while you are writing, a tweet comes through telling you a friend just sold the article they have been working on, and you have been following their progress. That is an encouragement for you to keep writing.

So, here is a proposal. Begin to build your own writing support network. One online resource is the Lost Genre Guild Discussion Board . People are dropping by there all day long. Lots of tips and encouragement and a great place to ask questions. The Lost Genre Guild Email Discussion Group is another source for connection through the day.

Twitter is the world wide water cooler. 140 characters to say what you are doing, ask for prayer, seek advice, or just share your day. Great for "word wars" and other writing games. You don't know what a word war is? It's simple, you post an announcement for writers to start writing at a certain time until a certain time. At the end, compare word counts. You can follow me on twitter at Terrimain . Also, if you think about it post some encouragement throughout the day. Quotes, jokes, praises are always welcome.

Then there are the bigger social networking site. If you want to connect with me, you can at Facebook and Shoutlife.

Maybe together we can create a powerful social network of writers that cuts across the various technologies providing support, encouragement, inspiration and help to each other. It can be like the newsroom, just without the clatter of the typewriters.

Cyberpunk Author Frank Creed to appear in Second Life

2009-01-18T15:40:00.001-08:00

Christian Cyberpunk Novelist to Speak

Award-winning Christian Cyberpunk author Frank Creed will be appearing in Second Life, Tuesday, January 20 at 7 p.m. For Second Life residents the direct link to the location is http://slurl.com/secondlife/North%20Bound%20Marina/226/25/24

This will be an informal discussion in which Creed will share about his writing, his life and the state of Christian speculative fiction. Questions will be entertained by Creed. Afterwards, plans include virtual surfing and socializing.

.Creed is the founder of the Lost Genre Guild, a group of writers, editors and publishers of different types of speculative fiction with a Christian worldview.

"Christians own the copyright to demons and angels and spiritual warfare," notes Creed. "Yet, the bookshelves of Christian bookstores are almost totally devoid of speculative fiction except for some fairly sanitized young adult fantasies. Nevertheless, there is a small, but growing, group of writers and independent publishers using modern technology to make quality Christian speculative fiction available."

Creed is the author of Flashpoint and War of Attrition, both published by Writer's Café Press. Set in a future where fundamentalist Christians are considered terrorists, these books follow the exploits of a group of supernaturally cyber-enhanced resistance fighters using nonlethal weapons in an attempt to protect members of the underground church from the "Neros" or agents of the government seeking to crush the resistance and "re-educate" their members.

"I guess I created the first Christian Cyberpunk novel identified as such," says Creed. "There was a series of books published in the 1990's which might qualify as the first, but they were never marketed as cyberpunk."

In addition to writing the novels, Creed also helped co-author a role playing game based on the stories.

"I'm a gamer from way back. So, it was only natural for me to want to create an RPG where my readers could enter the world of The Underground," Creed explains.

Flashpoint has received critical acclaim and won several awards including: Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year (Elfwood 2006), CFRB Best Novel Toured Award (2007), finalist for the Pluto Award for the Best Science Fiction Novel Reviewed, and was nominated for the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Clive Staples award.

"Jesus understood the power of the story to communicate in his world. We are creating the parables of a new generation," says Creed.

For more information email Terri Main at webservant2003@yahoo.com

Lost Genre Guild: Discussion Board

2008-12-31T09:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have to admit that I'm not a great fan of discussion boards. I prefer email discussion groups. You don't have to go anywhere. You are answering your email anyway. Simple. But I have to say the LGG discussion board is great.

First, it is easy to use. So many discussion boards today are tied to social networks so you end up logging in and clicking through a bunch of different links before you get to the board. LGG can be accessed directly at http://www.lostgenreguild.com/phpBB3/index.php

When you get there, you can see all the forums at a glance. You can see which ones have new posts since your last visit and which do not. Simple, right? One click on the forum name and the threads are easy to scan and those with new posts are flagged.

You have a powerful text editor for your posts to make them look pretty. Okay, that might not matter to some people, but others of us like that.

But the attraction of this board is not purely aesthetic. We have a great group of people contributing to forums on science-fiction, horror, fantasy, writing issues, marketing and theology. There's a forum for "Shameless Self Promotion" and two "private" critique forums. The critique forums are password protected so that material posted there is for critique only and not published for the general public. You can request access to these groups.

The depth of experience of the regular posters to the board also make this a high quality discussion. There are many published authors, publishers, magazine and ezine editors, teachers and even a scientist. Lots of good help.

So, drop by. You can read the posts without having to register, but if you are interesting in Christian Speculative Fiction, we invite you to join in the conversation.

Lost Genre Guild : A personal journey

2008-12-30T11:08:00.001-08:00

Usually, during these blog tours, I give a good objective review of the book or website. Sometimes, I include a philosophical essay or interview. Today, I'm going to do something different. I'm going to get personal, because the Lost Genre Guild literally changed my life and restored something I thought I had put away forever.

I began writing my first science fiction story during the summer between 6th and 7th grades. I pounded away on my mother's 1939 Royal typewriter on some story about a time traveler from the 20th century and one from the 22nd century getting stranded in the 21st century at the home of their grandson/grandfather, the only non-scientist in the bunch. Unfortunately, I had a premise, but no story, but it started my love affair with writing in general and speculative fiction writing in particular.

By the time I hit college, I had all sorts of unfinished stories mostly Twilight Zone and Star Trek (original) inspired. In college my attention drifted to journalism, but still writing the occasional short story and saying, "When I get out of college and have the time, I'll get back to fiction writing." Out of college, I landed in radio and was writing commercials and promotions and news. And I said, when I get time, I'll write fiction.

I lost my job in radio (like Johnny Fever of WKRP said, "They all fire you eventually.") So, I had the time and set up shop as a full-time freelance writer. But I had to pay the rent. Advertising, stringing for a local radio station and writing magazine articles paid the rent. And I said, "When I have the time, I'll get back to fiction."

I wrote some stories, even started a novel or two. Tried to take the Writer's Digest Fiction Writing course. For awhile, I taught creative writing and could justify my time writing as an example to my students. But, I went to work in PR and had to write press releases and brochures. And I said, "When I have the time, I'll get back to fiction."

I got my dream job, teaching full-time, tenured at a college in a small town in the Central Valley of California. It took a few years to settle into the routine. For several years I drove 30 miles one way to work. And I came home worn out and I said, "When I have time, I'll write fiction."

My schedule cleared and I moved closer to the college. I began teaching more classes online. I got involved in internet ministry and was designing a bunch of ministry web sites and said, "When I have time I'll write fiction."

Then about five years ago, I joined the Fellowship of Christian Writers email discussion group. My fervor for writing was rekindled, but by now I said, "I'm a nonfiction writer. I just don't have the talent or skill for fiction writing. At one time I thought... but no more." But I was a whiz at marketing, and posted several things about marketing one's writing. Those items caught the eye of Frank Creed, founder of the Lost Genre Guild. He invited me to join the email discussion group. I told him. "I'm not a fiction writer. But I do love to read speculative fiction, and I'll help out any way I can."

The first several months, I felt out of my depth, fearful of contributing much beyond some marketing ideas because I was not a fiction writer. Then I noticed that while there were plenty of sites for Christian Fantasy which sometimes included science fiction, there were very few for science fiction. So, Wayfarers Journal was born. Since I had an ezine, I figured I could at least try to write something for it. I did, but didn't need it because I had plenty of better material available.

But it got my fingertips itchin' to do more fiction writing. So, all these folks at LGG were talking about National Novel Writing Month and the craziness of writing a novel in a month. So, I decided to try. My first effort was not spec fiction oriented, but I visited that forum a lot during the time and surprised myself by doing a credible job with a mystery Death Gets an "F" . Nothing to write home about, but hey, it was finished and it had words on a page and didn't read too badly.

By the time the next Nano came around, I had written three more short stories and was reading for a speculative fiction novel. Dark Side of the Moon was begun. This week, over a year later, I am within 10-15 hours of finishing the first draft. It ain't too shabby. I am working with Frank Creed and The Finishers off and on to get it into publishable shape. Frank is a fantastic writing mentor and coach.

So, I encourage you, even if you have deferred your own dreams of writing, to get acquainted with the Lost Genre Guild . Visit the website and drop by our forum and maybe join the Yahoo Group . Who knows, it may change your life as well.

Read what others are saying about LGG on the tour

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Kathy Brasby
Grace Bridges
Valerie Comer
Courtney
Frank Creed
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Timothy Hicks
Joleen Howell
Jason Isbell
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Lost Genre Guild
Mike Lynch
Magma
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
John W. Otte
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Mirtika
Hanna Sandvig
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Phyllis Wheeler
Timothy Wise

Ebook Parity: What needs to happen for the e-book industry to succeed

2008-11-27T07:31:00.000-08:00

Every few years someone predicts the demise of paper and ink publishing. This usually happens after the release of some shiny new ebook reader. Most recently Amazon's Kindle has stirred such speculation. Certainly, it is an attractive option from a publisher's point of view. With virtually no production costs profit margins would soar. So, what has kept e-books from achieving any type of parity with paper and ink?

Before beginning to answer that question, let's look at some of the "success" of ebook publishing. As a college instructor, I am seeing more textbooks come with an online downloadable version for purchasers of the paper and ink book. These versions are fully searchable and often have active links to various web resources. Of course, it is still considered an adjunct to the traditional text and not usually bought as a "stand alone."

An increasing number of reference volumes are acheiving some sort of success, especially those which might be used while a person is still at the computer. I have my E-Sword Bible open much of the time with its ten translations, three commentaries, Bible atlas, Bible dictionary and three lexicons. I rarely use paper and ink for quick Bible reference any more. Of course, for more in depth study, few electronic resources match the depth I can find in paper and ink. And I don't even know where my paper and ink dictionary is. Who needs one when you can simply right-click and pull up spelling, definitions and synonyms.

Some business oriented ebooks for the busy professional written in abreviated style and able to be downloaded onto a PDA or smart phone have also acheived some measure of success.

Lagging behind, though, are books read for pleasure such as fiction, poetry, biographies, histories, etc. Yet, even in the "successful" fields we have seen little that approaches parity with paper and ink publishing industry wide.

Okay, I can see some of you saying, "Oh, but what about ______?" I want to be clear I'm talking about the industry as a whole and not just a single success story here and there.

I also want to make clear that I am not opposed to e-books, nor do I believe they will not be a major player eventually in the field. I even have one of my books out as an e-book option. And being a gadget freak, I want a sony ebook and a Kindle both, but I can't afford them.

Which brings me to the first thing that has to happen before e-books is for the cost of the reader to fall. Sony's e-book sells for $299 and Kindle for a whopping $359. That type of sticker shock is a major impediment to widespread use of this technology. With an average savings on an e-book of only $3-5 you need to buy 60-100 ebooks before you even pay for the device. And the "cool factor" alone for most of us is not enough to shake $300 out of our pockets, especially in tough economic times.

A related issue is the cost of the ebooks. Aside from public domain "classics" most ebooks offer little savings over paperback versions of the same books. At ereader.com you can still be paying over $20 for an e-book. I can guarantee you that the author isn't receiving any higher royalties than on the paper and ink version of the book. The extra is all going into the pocket of the publisher and ereader.com. People simply are not going to pay close to the same price for something they download. Until the average price of the readers fall below $100 and the price of the books offer at least a 50% discount the average reader is not going to consider the "convenience" of carrying an entire library in their purse to be worth the cost.

Of course, one could argue, that many, if not the majority of e-books, are sold in .pdf format readable on any computer screen. This is true. However, backlit computer screens are hard on the eyes for extended reading and even laptops are not that portable. I'm not going to take my laptop to bed to read the next chapter of my mystery novel or pop it open next to me on the counter at the diner over lunch. Reading for relaxation needs simplicity and portability. Computers are far from simple and only marginally portable.

PDA's and smart phones provide an attractive possibility. I download books on my Palm e-book reader. I am reading Wuthering Heights right now on my Palm. However, my thumb gets tired. I have nearly about four inch by two inch screen. That means about 25 words fit in one screen. My thumb hits the scroll button every few seconds. Also you have the backlit screen issue causing more eyestrain more quickly. Improvements in screen technology will probably help correct this issue over time. But the smaller screen will still mean constant scrolling. Special dedicated readers optimized for reading at a price an average person can afford is necessary if ebooks will take off.

E-books also need to play to their strengths. Marshall McLuhan claimed that each new medium initially draws it's content from a previous medium before developing its own forms. I suspect that e-books are at that stage. Many of the "problems" with e-books result from them trying to substitute for paper and ink books rather than play to their strengths. Again, I'm reminded of E-sword. It doesn't pretend to be a "book" with pages that you start at the beginning and go to the end with. It is searchable. You open it up, choose your translation, run a search term to find your scriptures and then chose from them. Click on one and bring up the commentaries and lexicons. That's something I can't do with paper and ink. I can have 10 reference works open at one time on one screen and rapidly compare them and then move to another scripture and they all update with me at once.

The power of such nonlinear content creation is obvious for reference works. What about entertainment? Again thinking outside the chapter will help. Interactive fiction is an obvious concept. Take a mystery novel. You follow the detective and then come to a decision point like does Joe (a) interview the hotel manager (b) check the autopsy report (c) look for clues in the hotel room. The reader jumps to that scene and then has other decisions to make.

What about muliple POV's for a single story. Tell the story from the POV of more than one MC and allow the reader to switch between them. After Marianne has told her parents she is going to marry Phfttchgh a purple alien from Alpha Centauri we could continue to follow Marianne, listen in on what her parents have to say or jump to a scene where Phfttchgh tells his four parents why he wants to marry the pale pink Marrianne.

Now, good multi-pov interactive novels, that just might make me part with $300.

With nonfiction the possibilities become even more interesting. For instance, being able to cross reference several books at once. Consider reading a history of Egypt and reading about Ahknaten. Then you could highlight his name, search all your other books for that name and pull up a set of links to those references. Imbedded links to websites or online encyclopedia or journals maybe with a one-time access fee charged to your credit card for pay-as-you-go services could also be an option.

The ability to insert video and audio clips into the text is another strength. Consider reading a history book about ancient Rome and then click on a link and the author takes you on a tour of the Colosseum.

So, yes, there is a future in e-books and in paper and ink. After all, they are pretty convenient, read in reflected light, portable, relatively inexpensive and the smell of the pages is intoxicating. (Okay, that may just be me). However, for e-books to become truly an equal alternative to paper and ink the cost needs to come down on both the readers and the material and the b00ks themselves need to begin to play to their strengths and break free of the paper and ink models.

Dragonlight by Donita Paul: Of Quests, Heretics and Cuddly Dragons

2008-07-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

Dragonlight by Donita Paul proves among other things, that dragons can be cuddly. The lead character in the book, a light wizard named Kale, is a dragonkeeper. Her job is to help rebuild the dragon population in the land of Amarna by assisting in the hatching, nurturing and bonding with the various types of dragons which populate this world along with the seven "high races." Amarna is recovering from a period of warfare and times are relatively peaceful. So, Kale, her husband Sir Bardon, an entourage of dragons including the cuddly ones Kale keeps in the pocket of her remarkable wizard's cape, set off on a quest to find a colony of Meech dragons who are rumored to have come from another world and who had the ability to speak. Two meech dragons, Reginor and Gilda accompany the troup on their quest so tha Gilda can deliver her egg among her people.

Of course, things are not going to be that peaceful. A group of heretics, called the Followers, are forming a cult persuading people that they have a corner on the word from "Wulder" (the Amarnan word for God), which is actually delivered to a theocratic figure called "Paladin." Also, there are these tiny black dragons appearing out of nowhere stinging and attacking people (and particularly the dragonkeeper) with no rhyme or reason. Certainly, this time of peace is going to be anything but peaceful.

Coming in on the last book in a five book series, you do a good deal of catching up. However, Paul does a fair job of creating a good stand alone read. She has included a cast of characters in the front and a glossary in the back. I found myself using these resources frequently as new creatures like the tiny Kimmens and the furry doneels appeared. At times keeping the seven high races and the various types of dragons separate was a bit of a chore for a newcomer to the series.

Paul presents us with an enjoyable, light weight story with lots of action and fun. She creates a fairly complex world with a fairy tale feel to it. The book certainly feels like a good young adult novel. This is Disney and not Spielberg. This book won't challenge you to think much. That's not a criticism, just a description. Sometimes you don't want to think, just have some fun reading a rousing romp. There is no complexity here, just a fun story.

However, I would like to have seen more character development in this story. Except for two secondary characters most of the main characters end up the story pretty much as they started out. They tend to be rather too stereotypical in parts and I would like to see some of them struggle a bit more making decisions. It almost seems as though if one had a crisis of faith, they would be cast into outer darkness rather than allowed to struggle through it.

Also, there are times when we see a bit of sermonizing rather than letting the story itself convey the message. Here's an example: Reginor, a meech dragon, is speaking of his wife Guilda, whom he loves, but she tends to be self-centered:

"I want Gilda to discover joy again. I want her to see her self-destruction. I love her and want to shake her to make me see how her hold on life is riddled with falsehoods, and it is those lies that are killing her. She doesn't listen. She doesn't believe. there is no way I can tie her to a post and keep her from slipping away"

Kale touched his hand, "I think Wulder must feel that way at times.

Okay, Kale makes the point. This would be a good stopping point, but, no, Kale continues:

"He has always given us reason to draw near, always fed us truth through word and deed. Yet we, as his people, continue to harbor false expectations trading a glorious reality for a shabby imitation of truth"

This extra two sentances steal from the reader their own interpretation by spelling out for the reader exactly what they are supposed to learn. That is fine for a book of devotions or a Bible study, but fiction needs to be more subtle.

I have two other concerns about this book in terms of content. First, a major part of the plot centers on a likeable scoundrel named Holt who infiltrates this cult of "Followers," pretends to be one of them, and eventually, leads a rescue of some and the destruction of their village. While undercover spying and deception is a staple of secular fiction, I have serious concerns when it appears in Christian ficiton. After all, such a deception would, of necessity, require the spy to tell bald faced lies. I know it is for a good cause, but one can always find a "good cause" to sin. "I slept with him because I love him," "I embezzled money from our business because our family was facing bankruptcy," "We tortured those prisoners because we needed information," "I killed that doctor because he performed abortions."

Justification of deception troubles me even when used in a "good cause." It is way too easy for a young person to read this and take away the message that it is sometimes okay to lie, if your motives are pure.

A second concern is that near the end of the book, the cult of "Followers" who will not renounce their beliefs are arrested. Some did kidnap others and hold children captive, but to be arrested just for holding heretical views is troubling. At one time Christians were considered heretics and are still considered such in some countries. Being a Pentecostal Christian, I know that some other Christians consider some of our doctrines heretical, as some Pentecostals consider Catholicism. While God is perfect at judging doctrine, we not always are. Besides repression of heresy rarely works. It makes the heretics martyrs and strengthens the resolve of "the faithful" in persecution.

Putting these concerns aside however, I found the book an enjoyable read for anyone who is not looking for depth of character or complexity of plot. It's just a book to enjoy reading by the sea on a summer afternoon with your pitcher of ice tea by your side.

To read other reviews drop by one of the other reviewers on the July CSFF blog tour:

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Beth Goddard
Mark Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Magma
Terri Main
Magma
Margaret
Shannon McNear
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
John W. Otte
Deena Peterson
Steve Rice
Cheryl Russel
Ashley Rutherford
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Laura Williams

Whatever Happened to Heroes?

2008-05-14T03:31:00.000-07:00

Maybe it is just the incipient onset of old age, but it seems our heroes are becoming less heroic all the time. I watch a lot of TV and sometimes I find it hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Police lie to suspects, torture them, play fast and loose with the law and are excused for it. I've even seen a number of media "heroes" commit cold blooded murder out of revenge.

Admittedly in the past, media heroes were often unrealistically perfect. Believable heroes do need to have their flaws, but it seems lately that the flaws dominate over the heroism. Yes, I believe that heroes need to be human, but they should also be a bit better than the rest of us. Or at least better than the villains.

In Dante's Purgatorio, the souls travel through Purgatory between "goads" and "pricks." On one side they can see the Saints in heaven so they can emulate their good works. On the other side they see those irrevocably damned to hell to be warned not to fall back on the road to redemption. This is, of course, allegory and it is doubtful even Dante believed this expressed accurate theology. However, the principle is sound. There should always be some sort examples of moral excellence to motivate us to good works as well as examples of moral depravity to keep us from falling.

Fiction provides us with this type of allegorical vehicle to this day. By seeing fictional heroes struggling with their moral dilemmas and eventually overcoming them, by seeing a fictional character make a moral choice in an impossible situation, by seeing a hero or heroine make an "impractical" but moral choice, the reader is "goaded" to do the same in the day to day moral and ethical battles we face. When my main character chooses to do what's right rather than choosing to do what's expedient, that makes it just a little easier for the business executive to make a hard choice between profits and morality, for the student to avert his or her eyes away from the other student's exam during a test, for the spouse to bite his or her tongue before saying the hurtful thing.

Fiction can not only entertain, but can enoble it's readers. But it can only do that if we create, not perfect, but heroic characters.

Of Theology and Writing

2008-05-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

(Note: I promised to post this a couple of weeks ago, but then got ill. So, I'm posting this now in conjunction with some musings I made concerning the theology in The Begotten.)

When I was in high school, like many creative types, I didn't fit in well, was bullied, face verbal and physical attacks from my "peers." Let's just put it this way, I get a real warm feeling in my heart when I see the prom scene from Carrie.

So, what does this have to do with theology and writing? Well, at one point in my life I considered writing a story for publication venting all that pent up anger from high school. In this story, the main character would return to her high school reunion and methodically punish each of her tormenters in increasingly clever and painful ways. However, while this exercise might have been personally cathartic, I could not reconcile being a Christian and writing a story which basically excuses revenge killings.

Now, some would say, it's just fiction. That is true, but when a sympathetic main character is shown as being justified sinning, then I as an author have crossed a theological line. I am in essence endorsing that sin. Now, does this mean that my main characters are all goody-two shoes who never sin. Of course not. However, if that person is a Christian, then that sin needs to be recognized as sin, addressed, and if not repented produce a deterioration in that person's spiritual walk.

This is relatively easy to do with "realistic" fiction. However, the problem of theology becomes more complex when dealing with speculative fiction. We often write about creatures, powers and activities not addressed in the Bible and which have no existence in real life. The reader grants us a willing suspension of disbelief in return for an entertaining story. So, where do we draw the line? How do we write about the fantastic or speculative and remain true to Christian theology.

I don't know that I have all the answers, but maybe some of the following thoughts can jump start the conversation.

The reality continuum

One of my concerns about The Begotten was that the story was set in a real time and place, dealt with human beings (not aliens, vampires, or dragons), and involved people making reference to real world matters including the Christian Bible. This is not an other worldly story. In other words this was set as a story that could happen without changing the reality that we know. We are not dealing with an alien theology based on a unique relationship God had with that species. Nor is it place in an alternate, fantasy universe. This is a story that could have happened. Of course, we know that the writer is not writing about real happenings, but when the setting is real, then the theology needs to closely match that of how God had dealt with humanity in this reality.

Justification of Sin

We live in a world where the only morality is practicality. Ends justifies the means dominates politics, the legal system, business, even sad to say, sometimes the ministry. This has crept into our popular culture. Books, movies and television shows have glamorized the "clever, passionate" hero willing to do anything to win. As long as the hero fights for the right side, it doesn't matter how he fights.

This even creeps into Christian fiction. A few years ago, I was editing a Christian e-zine. A woman sent me a mystery story set at a Christian woman's retreat. I forget the details of the story, but at one point the amateur sleuth wanted to get into a suspect's room, so she lied to a room clerk about losing her key to that room. When I suggested to the author that maybe this "Christian" woman should at least feel some guilt about being dishonest or find some other way to get into the room, she admitted that she had seen this done so many times in secular movies that she didn't even think about it.

In our fiction we should be careful that our main characters whom we set forth as heroes and role models do not easily sin. Note, that I didn't say "do not sin." If we are honest, we know that as long as we walk this earth we will fail God at some time. However, there is a difference between a character failing in his or her morality and justifying that failing as a "necessary" evil. Evil is not necessary. It may be expedient. It may be temporarily profitable, but never necessary. If a Christian hero begins to believe that in a story, then it must be clear to the reader that s/he is heading down a dangerous path.

Attitudes

From the days of Christ onward, pure theology has been about more than just sound doctrine and right living, it also had to do with attitude. The Law gave us a set of rules to follow. Grace sets a harder task to let right living flow from right attitudes. "Christian" heroes who seem to have no problem killing other sentient beings bother me greatly. Certainly there are times when a violent response may be required to protect life, but there should be no joy or "bloodlust" accompanying the killing. I had a Christian friend who was a police officer. He had to kill a man in the line of duty. He suffered greatly over that. He had nightmares for years. He didn't blow the smoke away from the gun barrel and quip something about "taking out the garbage."

I am reading a secular novel now about a man with special powers, but every time he uses them to create destruction he suffers headaches and sharp pains in his eyes. He can even go blind for awhile afterwards. He needs to stop the evil, but he suffers for it. I would like to see Christian heroes like that.

So, these are a few thoughts about theology and writing. I'm sure others may have their own ideas. Feel free to blog them below.

The Begotten: A "Gift" and a Challenge Part 2

2008-04-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

I must admit that when I heard this described as a Davinci Code for Christians that I was immediately concerned. It is one thing for a secular writer writing to a secular audience to use suspect "history" to create an engaging, but, let's face it, heretical story. However, a Christian writer writing for a Christian audience needs to be a bit more careful about the truth. Fortunately, most of those particular fears faded as I read the book.

Likewise, I was also fearful that the story would end up treating the gifts of the spirit like super-powers and the story would turn into a renaissance spiritual Legion of Superheroes. I loved those comics as a kid, but superpowers are controlled by the superhero. The operation of spiritual gifts must be controlled from on high. Fortunately, Bergren handled the exercise of the gifts mostly in a sensitive and reverent manner used only at the unction of the Holy Spirit of God.

So, the story was less problematic than I feared it would be. Nevertheless, I still had some concerns. Before I address those concerns, I feel I need to set forth my own background for the sake of full disclosure. I am a third generation Pentecostal. My grandparents on my mother's side were at Azusa Street and my grandparents on my father's side were at Hot Springs, Arkansas. These are two of the places where the modern Pentecostal movement was birthed. Of course, the operation of the Holy Spirit through individuals has been part of church history from the beginning. I have written extensively about the nature and operation of the Gifts of the Spirit as well as the Person and Character of the Holy Spirit, third person of the Holy Trinity.

I will try to keep denominational doctrine to a minimum in this discussion, but since this is a subject area largely ignored by denominations other than Pentecostal/Charismatic groups, that doctrinal bias (hopefully based on scripture and not just a blind following of church doctrine) will be present. I'm not apologizing, just putting my next few comments into perspective.

So, onward to my concerns.

The Problem of Assigning Authority to Non-Canonical Documents

One characteristic of many cults is what I've called the "Element of the Extra Book." Somehow the revelation of the Bible is insufficient and we need another revelation. Recently, we have seen this emerging in a revised interest in the Gnostic pseudo-gospels and epistles. There is always hidden in these type of discussions some sort of assumption that there is a conspiracy to keep these incredible revelations from Christians. They imply that Canon was decided upon by a group of men based pretty much on their own judgment of what they liked and disliked, and that they more or less capriciously made these decisions.

This view is a false view. For the most part, the canon was established based on what was already recognized as inspired and authentic by the church fathers for centuries.

for well over a century the books we find in our New Testament had often been copied together and distributed in a form not unlike the canonical New Testament of later years. The Chester Beatty Papyri contains most of the New Testament and dates to about 200 A.D. at least 100 years before the Canon was settled by the Church Councils and Synods of the Fifth Century.

As early as 150 A.D. the four gospels or “traditions” as they were often called were being distributed together. Likewise, by the middle of the Second Century, the Pauline epistles were collected and distributed as a single volume.

The Canon of scripture then was not a matter in which a group of men sat around and decided what books were and were not good ones to have in the canon. It was a recognition of what has already been accepted as inspired and authoritative.

In The Begotten a document of undetermined authorship and mysterious origin is elevated to near equality with the Holy Canon. In one instance, (see below) it is even given priority over the Word. While Bergren is careful to indicate that the document does not contradict scripture, it is nonetheless treated as scripture. Given the current world view that questions the authority of scripture even in many churches, I find it disturbing that the heroes in a Christian novel seem to need another mystical document other than the Bible to guide their actions.

The Problem of Exclusivity

While I am sure that Bergren did not intend to create a spiritual elite in her story, by default that happened. The use of the term The Gifted, by it's nature implies that the other Christians do not have gifts. However, a careful reading of the Canonical I Corinthians 12, which is our primary source of information about the Gifts of the Spirit discussed in this book, assumes that all parts of the body of Christ are "gifted" in some way. The gifts are discussed in the context of the body and the point of the chapter is not so much to talk about spiritual gifts but to correct a tendency the Corinthians apparently had of considering some gifts more important than the others and consequently considering some members of the body more important than others.

"The Gifted" are almost treated in this book like "The Charmed Ones" from the now defunct WB TV series. They are reluctantly set apart for great things, and while fallible human beings, they are still just a little bit better in many ways than everyone else. Or at least set apart form them. Perhaps it is more like an exclusive club. How many times in the book did someone say, "Are they one of us?" As opposed to what? One of "them," those other people out there who are not "gifted" like us? Again, I doubt that was intended, but unintended consequences are consequences nonetheless.

Building a heirarchy of blessing among believers is a dangerous thing. As a Pentecostal teacher, one of the things I have had to struggle with is keeping my students from feeling superior to those who do not share our belief that the operation of the gifts of the spirit did not cease with the end of the Apostolic era and the close of canon. Ranging from an arrogant assumption that we were spiritually stronger and more effective than our counterparts in non-Charismatic churches to a patronizing pitying of those who do not 'have the light' on the subject we have often been guilty of acting superior to others.

One may try to excuse this by pointing to years of persecution, mocking, and being accused of being in league with the devil by some parts of Christendom. But, there is no excuse, even that of persecution, that justifies spiritual pride. That was the sin of the Pharisees.

But one need not feel superior to others to shut them out or adopt an us verses them attitude. Certainly, we do not see overt spiritual pride in this book, but we see a definite suspicion of those outside the club leading even to a reticence to glorify God in public for these gifts. Certainly, the fear of torture and death is a deterant, yet, the early church faced the same threats and preached, healed and worked miracles on the street corner.

The Problem of Tongues

One obvious bias found in this book is a bias against the Gift of Tongues. Bergren does not deny it as a gift from God, but it is definitely treated as a second class gift. Indeed, when a woman comes to them speaking in tongues (actually praying in tongues to be accurate) she is immediately suspect, and generally discounted since the non-Canonical letter to the Corinthians they are following does not mention it. The fact that the Canonical epistle does as an equal to healing and miracles is discounted in light of the "suppressed" document.

In this case, the story defers to this document as opposed to the recognized general revelation of scripture. Now, I know this is fiction, but when the good guys discount scripture for an apocryphal document that is hardly in keeping with sound doctrine. And someone in the story should have pointed that out. However, the author's bias against tongues was too strong. How do we know this? Consider the following. First, the characters without correction defer to the seven gifts of the apocryphal document over the canonical epistle. Secondly, the one in the book with the gift of tongues is unstable, kept on the fringes of the company and eventually betrays them. This reinforces the image of people who speak in tongues as driven by emotion without ability to reason. Finally, in her study guide at the end of the book, Bergren makes it clear that she considers tongues to be of less importance than the other gifts by taking a couple of Pauline statements out of their context.

Now, someone can make the case (erroneously I believe) that the gifts stopped operating at the end of the apostolic era rejecting all of the gifts. However, there is no Biblical justification for accepting some of the gifts and excluding two because they are - well a tad embarrassing. Hey, on the Day of Pentecost, the people heard the disciples speaking in tongues and thought they were drunk. Yet, I might point out that the first gifts to be expressed in the apostolic era were the verbal ones - Tongues and Prophecy. Perhaps this is because the last thing most of us are willing to give up is what we say. Paul says that the tongue is like the bit in the horses mouth. If God can control the tongue he has control of the rest of us. That doesn't make tongues more important. It just explains why so many of us would like to blot it out of the panoply of gifts.

So, these are a few of the theological concerns I have. I still find the book well written and I would probably want to read more in the series. However, in my role as a consumer advocate, I have to warn you that some parts of the theology are shaky and just remember it's a story, only a story, and your theology needs to come from the Word of God found only in the Holy Bible.

So, what is the intersection of theology and fiction writing? When do extra-Biblical issues play a legitimate role in writing? How do we bring this together? I'm not sure I have all the answers, but maybe we need to raise the questions. Let's talk about that tomorrow. Meanwhile see what others are saying about The Begotten.

Sally Apokedak
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Jackie Castle
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Jill Hart
Michael Heald
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Terri Main
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Melissa Meeks
Pamela Morrisson
John W. Otte
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachelle Sperling
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise
Karina Fabian

The Begotten: A "Gift" and a Challenge

2008-04-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Begotten by Lisa Bergren presented me with both a gift and a challenge. The gift was an interesting, enjoyable story with strong characters and well paced action. The challenge was that of theology and speculative historical fiction. In this essay, I will treat the literary aspects of the book. Tomorrow I will explore the theological ones.

This week I have been reading The Begotten along with The Order War, a secular fantasy novel by L.E. Modesitt. I hate to say it, but most of the time when I'm reading a Christian novel at the same time as a secular one, the Christian one does not fair well in comparison. This time I was happily surprised that Bergren held her own against Modesitt. She has done a remarkable job of transporting us back to the 14th Century and drawing a picture of a woman discovering and coming to terms with not only being "Gifted" with the gift of healing, but being the Nexis of a gathering of other "gifted" ones preparing for a spiritual battle against evil forces.

Bergren's characters are well drawn individuals coping with being called to a mission by God which will put them in opposition not only to an evil force, but also the religious establishment, and in the early Renaissance being at odds with the church didn't mean getting a letter of reprimand from your pastor, it meant being tied to a stake and burned in the public square. I was somewhat disturbed by the tacit approval of the Inquisition when applied to heretics instead of attempting to convert then and counter their false doctrine with the truth, but I guess Bergren was trying to be true to the mood of the time. We will talk more about these issues tomorrow.

I find the story to proceed at a reasonable pace. However, those who like a fast-paced novel may find this one a bit slow. If you are looking for men at arms crossing swords on every page or wizards blazing fire across each chapter, they is not the book for you. For me, this is refreshing. Too many of these books spend so much time keeping the "action" going that we don't have time to get to know and care about the characters.

I must say that there are times when Bergren depends too heavily on narration and inner monologue to convey background information and some of Lady Daria's (the main character) conversations with her priest seem more like sermons in disguise.

Nevertheless, on balance, this has been an enjoyable read. However, it has raised some theological questions and a few impacting the philosophy of Christian writing. I will be touching on those tomorrow. In the mean time read what others are saying about this book.

Sally Apokedak
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Jackie Castle
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Jill Hart
Michael Heald
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Terri Main
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Melissa Meeks
Pamela Morrisson
John W. Otte
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachelle Sperling
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise
Karina Fabian

CSFF Blog Tour: A time for Self-Examination

2007-12-17T09:27:00.000-08:00

We are being visited this week by a variety of bloggers. We will receive reviews of the site. Am I apprehensive? Of course, we have been online barely a year with only two issues out. There are still many "bugs" in the system. I look forward to the honest reviewers to point out areas for improvement as well as any praises.

So, I'm going to try to step back a bit and try to create an objective review. Looking at some of the things that we are doing well and the other things that can use improvement along with some direction for the future.

I think the high point of our site are the stories. I have been blessed by receiving many good solid stories which really shine. I've also received some enjoyable poetry. People have kept me up with speculative fiction news, but I have not been that diligent in posting it in a timely manner. I like our banner, which was donated by Tony Qwade.

A second area of strength, which is just being developed, is the creation of a community. For over a year WJ has hosted a speculative fiction chat in Second Life, a virtual world. We are taking a hiatus during the winter but will be back in full force in March.

Now for the improvement areas.

Editing

One of the problems with running a one-person shop is that you don't have other people catching the things you miss. A definite weakness of this site is proofreading. When I go back and look at some of the pages, I'm always pulling them up and correcting something that I missed.

Graphics

One thing about the old pulp science-fiction publications that made them so enjoyable was the art. Sometimes garish, sometimes hokey, these pictures augmented the reading. Not being a graphic artist myself, I have not done as much with the visual layout of the site. That is definitely something that needs attention.

Basic Professionalism

I generally pride myself on professionalism, but I must admit that I haven't always been that strong in doing simple things like getting an issue out on time. That must definitely be addressed in the future.

Most of these are results of what my pastor calls the "Lone Ranger Syndrome." I have been running this on my own for about a year now. This is not because there aren't people willing to help, but because I felt I needed to maintain my own control. Perhaps in the beginning, that is valid. It takes awhile for any publication to develop its own vision and voice. However, when you try to do everything by yourself, somethings inevitably suffer.

In the new year I will be engaging help from various sources. I'll be contacting artists to dress up the look of the site. I'll be getting help with proof reading and editing. I have someone who will help me with the behind the scenes business side of this.

I will be taking the month of January to pray and examine Wayfarers Journal from top to bottom correcting what I can for now, but also shaping some plans for the future.

One plan I have right now is to move away from the "magazine" model of a story site. This model is one which has "issues" coming out at a set interval. One of the advantages of the web is that you can update a site at any time. We get enough material to be adding some new material every month, but not enough to create a whole new issue. Simply updating the site when something new and interesting comes in would create a dynamically changing destination on the web. It would also shorten the time for writers between acceptance and publication of their work.

So, folks keep checking back. "Times they are a'changing" here at Wayfarers Journal. And don't forget to visit the other sites on this tour.

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Grace Bridges
Amy Browning
Jackie Castle
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Michael Heald
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika or Mir's Here
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Cheryl Russel
Ashley Rutherford
Hanna Sandvig
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

Flashpoint: Action Heroes without a License to Kill

2007-10-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

One of the things I appreciate about "Flashpoint" is the use of non-lethal defensive technology by the underground church. From tazer gloves to quick acting tranquilizer rounds the muscle arm of The Body fights the good fight without trying to kill people.

In one of the early scenes of the book the Kids see one of the warriors lay low a a gang of "Nero's" with guns blazing. They are horrified and don't want to be a part of that type of group until they learn that the rounds were tranquilizer rounds intended to stop but not kill or permanently harm the others.

This runs counter to the way the world at large (and even sad to say many Christians) view defending oneself. Lethal weapons are often the first choice. I don't have any numbers, but I'm sure the amount of money spent each year developing non-lethal weapons by the worlds governments is but a small fraction of that spent developing non-lethal ones.

Certainly, some progress has been made. Many of Frank's gadgets are based on current technology. Tazers have been around for years. Tranquilizer darts have been used on animals, but they have so far been too slow-working to immobilize a criminal before they can do harm. However, one wonders how much time and money has actually been spent trying to develop such a drug.

Ironically, some people actually view with suspicion the use of non-lethal technology. There is a thread over at the National Novel Writing Month science fiction forum about non-lethal weapons, but it is assumed that such weapons would be developed not by a humane government trying to control violence without giving into it, but by a repressive government trying to control a workforce of unwilling workers without killing them. When I point out that repressive governments usually resort to just killing a few people in front of everyone else to bring them into line and not worry about subtilties of non-lethal weapons, I get convoluted arguments about why they would find them more useful than a free society.

Perhaps it is a consequence of the fall that we tend to be violent by nature. Yet, as Christians we are called to transcend our nature and embrace the nature of Christ. Okay, I can hear the leaves of the Bibles flipping back to all those battles in the Old Testament. But folks, keep flipping. We don't live under the Old Covenant. That doesn't mean that it isn't useful for us. Paul said it is like a tutor/nanny/babysitter who gets us ready to actually go to school. However, our model for life is Jesus and not Joshua.

When creating Christian heroes, we need to consider how one acts virtuously under the worst conditions. Recently, I've heard disturbing arguments in favor of the use of torture even by human rights advocates which claim, in essence, that in extreme situations, ethics are no longer relevant. The only ethic is that of success. But, ethics and morality are all about the extreme situations. When things are going well, it is easy to act virtuously. It's when things do get extreme that we need our ethical boundaries, when we need our morality to stop us from crossing the line into the realms of evil using the justification that the ends justify the means.

Such is the spirit of our age. As writers, we don't need to transmit that message by creating "holy" but essentially amoral heroes willing to do anything to win the day.

There is also one other disturbing trend in literature and the popular culture (even among some Christian writers). It's a tendency to write off as irredeemable our villains. I'm not sure, with the exception of a demon or the devil himself, that we have the luxury of creating villains without hope of redemption. I'm not saying that they will be redeemed. I rage about the simplistic everyone-gets-saved-in-the-end stories which dominated Christian literature for so long. However, at some level the lost child of God, the prodigal rebelling against his father, the Absolom warring against David, must be seen in even the most vile villain. Remember, most of the New Testament was written by just such a villain, a zealot, an irredeemable murderer, who persecuted the church and who had a rather amazing experience on the Damascus Road.

I wonder what might have happened to Christendom, if some zealous Christian decided to save the church by killing the dreaded Saul of Tarsus.

Sometimes the worst thing you can do is kill your enemy.

Learn more about Flashpoint and Frank Creed at his website or at the Books of the Underground Website

You can order a signed copy of Flashpoint by clicking here or visit Amazon.com

Read what other reviewers are saying this week about Flashpoint on the following blogs:

Fantasy Thyme
jamessomers.blogspot.com
Write and Whine
Hoshi to Sakura
Wayfarer's Journal
BlogCritics Interview
Daniel I Weaver
Disturbing the Universe
Grace Bridges
Queen of Convolution
Virtual Tour de 'Net
Christian Fiction Review Blog
Yellow30 Sci-Fi: Review
Yellow30 Sci-Fi: Interview
Back to the Mountains
MaryLu Tyndall
Cathi's Chatter

Frank Creed: Living Life at the Flashpoint

2007-10-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

Those of you who read this blog know that I never run Q&A Interviews. There's a good reason for this. Generally speaking, I need to cut out a lot that is either repetitious or just plain boring. However, poring over the transcript of Frank's interview, I was having a hard time finding something to cut. So, I'm giving you this interview in its entirety. (Note: You can read Donna Sundblad's review of Flashpoint in the Essays Section of Wayfarers Journal)

Q: Tell a little bit of basic biographical background such as age,
family/school/work background, anything interesting about yourself
outside of writing.

A: The boring stuff. Born in 1966. Some of the cooler stuff with which He
shaped my life:
* 1984-- Achieved the rank of Eagle Scout by the BSA.
* 1984-1985-- Lived in Israel for more than ten months as an AFS
foreign exchange student, visited Egypt for a week.
* 1993-- I'd been a reader of fantasy and science fiction novels my
whole life, but the works of Theologian Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer
launched my reading list into theology, philosophy and history of
western civilization.
* 1993-- Only months later, my sister joined a Grotto of Anton LaVey’s
Church of Satan. Her soul at stake, I entered into a written debate
with her Satanic High Priest. I volunteered an Apologetic article to
the Grotto's desktop published magazine, Diabolic Creation, and
exchanged letters with CoS readers. I've debated a variety of world
views since, and have never found a credible counter to the
Cosmological or Axiological arguments for the existence of God. This
goes on the cool list, because (and I still tear-up at the thought),
after seventeen years of prayer, in January of 07, my sister accepted
Christ.
* 2004-- Married a schoolteacher from the Vancouver burbs. She moved
here to Indiana and started her own editing business, which grew into
an independent publishing house, http://www.thewriterscafe.com/ Mixed
blessing to be sleeping with your publisher--gives "fear of rejection"
a whole new meaning, I tell ya!

My life's also been tempered by fire--tough times and tragedies
necessary to torture a serious writer's soul as well. I dropped out of
college in my first year to elope, worked no job that paid more than
$8.50/hour until 1995. I was divorced by twenty-two, and lived as a
hedonist until I read Schaeffer in my mid-twenties. I've faced down a
fallen-angel who entered our home after a stepdaughter brought in a
book on witchcraft and tried to cast a spell.

Susan Kirkland (Light at the Edge of Darkness, Higher Honor), and I had
just e-mailed about this--when we look back at our sojourns, it's so
clear how he's shaped us to be exactly who and where we are.

Q: Tell a bit about your writing in general such as awards, previous publications, etc.

A: When I was seven and living in Lombard Illinois, my divorced, working
mom sent me to a creative writing program at this really-cool-humongous
building fulla books: the Helen Plum Memorial Library. Since then, I
loved reading and dreamt of fiction, but never acted on it until High
School. There, I benefitted from the encouragement of a wonderful
teacher, Mrs. Marsha Stewart of Kaneland High School, who entered my
first short-story victory in the U.W. Whitewater Literary conference.
Hundreds of students from three or four states competed and attended
lectures on fiction. At the end of the day mine won Best Short Story--I
was floored.

Between high school and the spring of 1998, most of my fiction
energies were spent creating worlds and characters in role-playing
games. My fiction meandered and jammed. Then on May ninth of 98, a
high-speed head-on collision nearly broke me in half and induced a
severe closed-head injury. That's code for: I've got a real thick
skull. After two weeks, it was the doctors opinion that even with
extended therapy, I'd only recover sixty percent of my mental capacity.

Then my pastor visited.

We enjoyed my first lucid conversation, prayed His will be done, and I
went to sleep. The next morning, I awoke mentally healed. There are a
few lingering symptoms common to closed head-injury victims, but that's
it. A fake hip and pelvis likely dooms me to a wheelchair by age fifty,
so I've got about eleven more years on my vocational-odometer as an
Subaru of Indiana Automotive auto-worker.

We ask ourselves why God drops disasters into our lives. I'm
self-educated beyond 12th grade, and now needed to replace my
blue-collar income and benefits.

Then He turned on my fiction tap. Post-accident, stories flowed. I
finished a Fantasy novella and Flashpoint, but still had to "learn the
craft", and get the polish on.

In June of 06 Lest Ye be Judged was published in Tales for the Thrifty
Barbarian: An Anthology of High Fantasy. Finally published, wahoo!

January of 07, found me jumpin on the bed, as Flashpoint won the 2006
"Elfie" for Best Sci-Fi Novel at elfwood.com. Elfwood's the world's
largest SECULAR fantasy and sc-fi art site, boasting over 10,000
members--not a friendly readership for overt Christian fiction.
In April of 07, Miracle Micro, ChairMan, and True Freedom were
published in Light at the Edge of Darkness. These three short stories
share the same cyberpunk setting as Flashpoint: Book One of the
Underground, June 07.

Flashpoint: the Role Playing Game, created by Mike Roop, is based on
my cyberpunk setting and characters, and is scheduled for November of
07.

Last year I founded the Lost Genre Guild for the promotion of
Christian and Biblical speculative fiction: sci-fi, fantasy and
spiritual thrillers. I'm thrilled by our early success--we're networked
with http://csffblogtour.com/ where one may sign-up for the
cutting-edge Latest in Spec newsletter, and http://WhereTheMapEnds.com/

Q: In 25 words or less what is Flashpoint about?

A: The dreaded "elevator pitch" *grumble grumble*:

2036: global government. The One State's only threat? Fundementaliast terrorism. A church bust in the Chicago-Metroplex, sparks Flashpoint in the Underground.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the main characters in the book.

A: Twenty year-old Dave and sixteen year-old Jen Williams are the only two
who evade capture when their home-church is raided by peacekeepers. The
pair are torn from suburban comfort and must integrate into a
muscle-cell: a team of saints working in the underground Body of
Christ. They must use their talents in an attempt to track and free all
their captured neighbors from One-State "Neros", the slang-term for
anti-Christians. Forced into spiritual growth, it comes down to a
confrontation with the antagonist that Calamity nicknames, Nasty Nero,
who ironically wants Calamity Kid to call him "Jesus" (his antagonist
role in the end-times unholy trinity).

Q: You describe this as a "cyberpunk" novel. That sounds sort of grungy like a computer with a safety pin through it's hard drive. How would you define the term?

A: Um . . . it's not a computer with a safety pin through it's hard drive?
YOUGOTTABEKIDDINME!

Cyberpunk's a sci-fi sub-genre set (say that ten times fast) in a near
future post-industrial dystopia (opposite of utopia), and deals with
the affect of technology on humanity. It's anti-religious, usually
postmodern in worldview, so to write Biblical cyberpunk is *almost*
genre breaking. Two months ago I discovered that Jefferson Scott beat
me to it with Virtually Eliminated, Terminal Logic, and Fatal Defect. I
can't wait to find the time to read these titles.

Q: What was the genesis of this novel, if you have one? Was there an ah-ha moment when you came up with the premise?

Way back in high school, it bothered-me when reporters referred to Muslim fundamentalist terrorists, merely as "fundamentalist terrorists". My sister and I were both "churched", and grew up with the idea that Scripture's fundamentally true. After reading Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth, I began making notes on my cyberpunk setting.

Cyberpunk's the perfect genre for eschatology. Flashpoint's Pre-Millennial, but I'm very open about the Second Coming. Christ fulfilled over three hundred prophecies, yet most of His contemporary Jews missed the Messiah right in front of them.

Q: Were any of your characters modeled on anyone in particular?

A: Nasty Nero is your stereotypical Church of Satan anti-Christian zealot.

A group of teens in a sanitarium were the main characters in One of the
Nightmare On Elm Street films. One of them was a cartoonist. When
Freddy Kreuger attacked the dreaming lad, said lad turned into his
cartoon character--a duster wearin' gunslinger with twin automatic
pistols. That was where Calamity Kid's look originated. I wonder if the
Wachowski brothers had the same inspiration for Neo. My favorite film
to this date is The Matrix, but I cringed as I watched it, cause I knew
Flashpoint would be seen as a Christian copy. Two reviews and one
reviewer have already described it as such. Not a bad film with which
to be associated, but all originality went out the window. *sniffle*
His will be done.

Q: Which character do you personally identify with, if any? Why?

A: Nearly all of them are aspects of or are modeled upon me at various
points of my spiritual sojourn. They say write what you know . . .

Q: You say you write Biblical Speculative Fiction. Could you define that for us?

There's been debate by Christian writers for years about whether we ought to be writing Chronicles-of-Narnia-subtlety, or Space-Trilogy-overt tales. The Editor In Chief has given us all a different job in the novelist Body of Christ, and there's no right answer. Soooo, I call The subtle or symbolic Christian spec-fic, and the overt, Biblical spec-fic. The most complete Bookstore I've ever found for both is located at:

http://www.WhereTheMapEnds.com/Booklist/booklist_pages/booklist_links.htm

This storefront is Jeff Gerke's AKA, novelist Jefferson Scott's effort.
I guess it's not surprising to find Biblical cyberpunk authors
promoting our lost genre on the Web with high-tech viral marketing.

Q: Some Christians would say that "Biblical Speculative Fiction" is a contradiction in terms. Sci-fi, horror, fantasy and such types of stories they say are inherently demonic. How would you respond to that?

A. Remember when Jesus freaks dragged Christian music into the Rock genre in the 1970s? Believers tend to shun things new to our isolationist sub-culture. It's good to honestly examine anything we do, but it requires less energy to plug one's ears and hum loudly.

Here's the trickiest argument I've seen against Biblical spec-fic:

Jesus parables were set in the real world. Spec-fic is, by definition, is not. Therefore, while some fiction may be virtuous, spec-fic is not. That does not logically follow: you can't prove a egative.

When the Lost Genre Guild blog went up, this was our very first topic. No reason to repeat what's been dissected. For detailed thoughts for and against Biblical spec-fic, start at the bottom of this page and work up:

Lost Genre Guild Blog

Q: What is the biggest challenge that you, as a Christian and a writer of speculative fiction faces in your writing other than finding > acceptance in the "mainstream" Christian publishing world?

A: Finding the fans. I'm forty years old, a lifelong genre fan, and a
Christian. A year ago I could have counted the number of authors listed
in Jeff's bookstore on one hand. I gave-up trying to find spec-fic in
Christian bookstores the year before Steven Lawhead's Empyrion was
published. I scanned shelves for a couple more years when Peretti's
Darkness books came out, and gave up again. IMHO, there are tons of
Christian fans that don't even know we're alive, which was why I formed
the Lost Genre Guild. We're wracking our brains and using the Web to
get the word out--pun intended.

Q: What do you see as the future for Biblical speculative fiction?

A: In my lifetime, Peretti was the only really big Biblical spec-fic
novelist since Lewis'. The hopes of publication has been grim for a
long time. The Lord of the Rings and Left Behind films seem to have
cracked the Dam, and I'm very hopeful. As Jeff's booklist proves,
publishers are more willing to gamble lately. The Jan Dennis Agency
represents Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, Jerry Jenkins, Stephen Lawhead,
Robert Liparulo, Eric Wilson, T. L. Hines, Donita Paul, and James
Beauseigner. This man's doing something right, you'd do better to ask
him! Here's an interview with Jan:

Q: Writing an action-oriented book with Christian characters can't be easy After all, they can't just be James Bond with a cross, joking about killing over the corpses of the "bad guys." Still, you have to keep the storyline moving and that may involve some violent elements. How do you as an author write strong action scenes which are still Christian in nature?

A: This goes to motivation. Had I understood the Bible's thunderous answers as a kid, I'd have not lived as a hedonist until my mid-twenties. Francis Schaeffer's The God Who is There, He is There and He is not Silent, and How Shall we Then Live, to use his own phrase, tore my roof off. Using classical reasoning, he laid bare the foundations of meaning, but this wisdom was stuck in big heavy words. I always knew I wanted to write, but now I knew why: to clearly illustrate Biblical answers to the world's great philosophical questions with modern entertaining fiction.

Entertainment is fiction's first job. Even Lewis' Space Trilogy was a little too subtle for what I
had in mind, and his prose too high. My eye landed on action-packed page-turning realistic pulp.

I got into the habit of keeping spec-fic notes from Role Playing Games, so my sci-fi and fantasy gaming folder transformed into two separate three-ring notebooks with organizer tabs. I grew up with movies, and tend to be very visual. In one of my tabs I listed "archetypes". For action pacing, I listed Raiders of the Lost Ark and Die Hard. For strong characters I listed Hannibal Lechter, and Doc Holiday. Then I set about making 1) God pleasing, 2) fast-paced, 3) character driven fiction, 4) in modern English.

One of the slogans at the Subaru plant is "Quality's built in, not added on." You have to start with the intent of glorifying God--everything else conforms to that. We live in a real and fallen
world, but Biblical fiction must conform. The beauty of cyberpunk is that one can use technology, like non-lethal tranquilizer rounds, tazer net-guns, and chipped sunglasses to push the envelope.

Q: If you could say anything you want to our readers, what would that be?

A: Do what He made you to do. Have the faith to live at the intersection of your given talents and passions, and do all things to His glory.

Then again, I say that to everybody

Learn more about Flashpoint and Frank Creed at his website or at the Books of the Underground Website

You can order a signed copy of Flashpoint by clicking here or visit Amazon.com

Read what other reviewers are saying this week about Flashpoint on the following blogs:

Fantasy Thyme
jamessomers.blogspot.com
Write and Whine
Hoshi to Sakura
Wayfarer's Journal
BlogCritics Interview
Daniel I Weaver
Disturbing the Universe
Grace Bridges
Queen of Convolution
Virtual Tour de 'Net
Christian Fiction Review Blog
Yellow30 Sci-Fi: Review
Yellow30 Sci-Fi: Interview
Back to the Mountains
MaryLu Tyndall
Cathi's Chatter

Terri Marathon's Town Meeting Goes Weekly!

2007-10-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

For nearly a year, a few of us have been meeting in second life to discuss spirituality in speculative fiction on a monthly basis. Now, we are going to a weekly schedule. We will still be meeting at 7 p.m. (Pacific, U.S.) at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Paradise/146/145/23 .

Hope to see you there tomorrow!

New Location in Second Life for Spec Fiction Chat

2007-10-04T02:18:00.000-07:00

Next Tuesday is our monthly chat in Second Life. Up till this time we have been meeting in my Chalet on a small lot. It's a pleasant little place, but we have some bigger plans. Our hope is to develop a speculative fiction center in Second Life. So, we acquired a larger location in wonderful neighborhood. I invite you to visit anytime. If you are a Second Lifer, you can use this SLurl to teleport directly to the new place:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Paradise/146/145/23

If you are not a Second Lifer, you can join for free at Second Life. Once you download the software and log in the first time to customize your avatar, simply paste that URL in your web browser then click teleport on the page it brings up. That will launch the software and take you directly to my place.

We have a lot more room for bigger meetings and eventually a "library" of links to spec fiction web sites and author sites.

Should be fun.

Book Launch Party in Second Life

2007-09-27T00:04:00.000-07:00

Flashpoint by Frank Creed launches September 29. The book is published by The Writers' Cafe Press. Flashpoint is a Christian Cyber-punk novel and is Book One of the Underground series. You can read Donna Sundblad's review of Flashpoint here.

We will be helping with the book launch party in Second Life, a virtual world which is attracting a lot of attention. You will need to sign up at Second Life and download the software.

Once you download and install the free software, log in and design your avatar. Then on September 29 at 7 p.m. Second Life Time (Pacific Time) you can "teleport" directly to the Writing and Performance Center in Second Life by pasting this URL into your web browser:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%204/238/83/25

New Issue of Wayfarers Journal Online Now!

2007-09-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you only receive these blog posts through the RSS feed, if so, you may not know that Wayfarers Journal is an ezine of spirituality based science fiction. We just updated the site with all new stories and poems. So, if you have not done so already, drop by today at http://www.wayfarersjournal.com

Thanks.

The Return: "I don't like Science Fiction"

2007-09-19T14:51:00.001-07:00

As I have been reading reviews of The Return I noticed a theme emerging. A lot of people said, "I don't like science-fiction, but I like The Return." I have to admit that Austin Boyd has done a remarkable job of spinning a good story of suspenseful intrigue set against the background of such "science fiction" elements as cloning and space exploration. However, I think the comments have as much to do with the conception many people have of science fiction.

Most people today think of science fiction only in terms of space opera. By that I mean stories like those found in Star Wars and Star Trek (Although Roddenberry did a good job of elevating the series' above that of pure space opera.) Personally, I enjoy a good rousing space opera, but that's not all there is to science fiction.

Print science fiction, more than that of cinema or television, tends to transcend the action-adventure stereotype of the genre. Boyd's book is in that tradition. It is more thoughtful than the shoot-em-up stories that have come to dominate the genre. In this regard he is preserving the traditions of classic authors such as Assimov, Clarke, Heinlein, and Bradbury.

Kudos to Austin Boyd for writing a story with cross-over potential.

The Return: Down to Earth Science Fiction

2007-09-19T12:20:00.001-07:00

The Return by Austin Boyd draws you into an exciting, adventurous world of intrigue without sacrificing believability. Reminiscent of some of the better writings of Arthur C. Clarke, Boyd keeps the science fiction rooted in the constraints of known science. Set only a few years in the future, the story revolves around John Wells. Wells, who believes his family has been killed, leads a mission to Mars, only to discover that they were not alone on the Red Planet. The "Martians" they discover are members of a secret colony planted on Mars by a wealthy industrialist. The colonists are followers of a charismatic cult leader, Malcolm Raines, who plans on saving the earth by cloning perfect individuals. The colony lives in near ideal (if you can call living on a lifeless planet in a tin can ideal) circumstances tempting the NASA team to simply join up and remain on Mars.

As I said in my previous post, if you like The X-Files, you'll find this an intriguing read. You have it all: intrigue, suspense, cults, cloning, conspiracies. This is intelligent science-fiction. If you are looking for action-adventure, firefights in every chapter or burly space jockeys punching it out, look elsewhere. This book challenges you to think.

The strength of the book lies in its roots in the real world. Boyd's experience as a spacecraft engineer brings authenticity to the science which lays the foundation for science fiction. The spacecraft and Martian habitats described do not depend on some sort of imaginary future technology. They could be built today. This gives the story a sense of immediacy often lost in the more Whiz-bang styles of science fiction.

Even his treatment of cloning, which is frequently distorted by science fiction authors, avoids the hysterical or the fantastical. He doesn't treat the clone as some evil, soulless entity, but rather as sympathetic victims of a religious fanatic.

The plot is intricate with frequent shifts of focus from Mars to Slovenia to Washington D.C. This can be confusing if you don't read carefully. It didn't bother me, but a casual reader might become confused. This is a book which requires the reader to be engaged throughout the book to keep track of the storyline. Personally, I like that. However, if you prefer to let a story flow over you, without engaging with the story yourself, this might not be the book for you.

The main weakness I saw was the lack of depth in many of the characters. The characters generally seemed to be vehicles for the story to be told. In other words, there was this great plot and you need to populate the plot with the people. That's how it felt when reading. We don't get a feel for the motivations of the individuals we just see what they do. The realism of the plot and setting does not always extend to the characters. For instance, conversions of attitude are often much swifter and quickly made than in real life. When a revelation shaking the underlying foundation of the followers of The Father Race on Mars is revealed, they tend to accept it repentantly without much trouble. Even if one is a willing participant in a "holy hoax" they will usually continue to defend it, if they are true believers. Here are several people who have committed themselves to the extent of exiling themselves from the Earth as part of a religious belief. It is unlikely that one revelation would undo that belief. They would probably even defend the hoax on the basis of serving the greater good, as Jerry Falwell did when caught spreading untrue rumors about President Jimmy Carter. We are very good at excusing bad behavior in the pursuit of a good cause.

Even given the lack of depth in the characters, this is a good story and a worthwhile read.

You can also read other reviews and comments from these blog tour participants:

Trish Anderson
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Grace Bridges
Amy Browning
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Lisa Cromwell
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Merrie Destefano or Alien Dream
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Christopher Hopper
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Kait
Karen
Dawn King
Tina Kulesa
Rachel Marks
Karen McSpadden
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Deena Peterson
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Chawna Schroeder
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise