Fiction Friday: The Crescent Stone By Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Nov 9, 2018
Madeline Oliver has never wanted for anything, but now she would give anything just to breathe. Jason Wu skates through life on jokes, but when a tragedy leaves him guilt-stricken, he promises to tell only the truth, no matter the price. When a mysterious stranger named Hanali appears to Madeline and offers to heal her in exchange for one year of service to his people, Madeline and Jason are swept into a strange land where they don’t know the rules and where their decisions carry consequences that reach farther than they could ever guess.
Speculative Fiction Writer’s Guide to War, part 10: The Aftermath of Combat
Travis Chapman, Nov 8, 2018
In the aftermath of combat, post-traumatic stress creates changes in a warrior.
A Fatal Flaw in Pixar’s ‘Coco’
Shannon McDermott, Nov 7, 2018
Despite its strengths and its appeal, “Coco” is undermined by the vision it presents of the afterlife.
Castaways and Magnified Truths
Jes Drew, Nov 6, 2018
Novelist Jes Drew: “Even if we can’t experience that peril ourselves, we can still enjoy it vicariously, and strive to do something bigger in our small world.”
Thanksgiving Day And Speculative Fiction
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Nov 5, 2018
In many respects, we’re witnessing in the US the change in the Thanksgiving Day celebration from a major holiday to a minor one. The presence of Thanksgiving or harvest day celebrations seem more apt to be important to a culture if the people are in tune with the growth cycle. As our urban society has become divorced from the way food gets to our table, we seem less thankful and more inclined to take for granted the food we eat.
Speculative Fiction Writer’s Guide to War, Part 9: Perceptual Distortions in Combat
Travis Perry, Nov 2, 2018
Tunnel vision, slow-motion time, abnormal hearing, memory loss, and intrusive thoughts are just a few possible effects of combat stresses.
Halloween and the Aesthetic of Evil
G. Shane Morris, Oct 31, 2018
“Halloween is all about darkness and ugliness.” But Christians who say this confuse aesthetics with morality.
A Horror Newbie Discovers Dracula
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 30, 2018
This year I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula for the first time, and here’s what I thought about it.
Frankenstein 200 Years Later
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 29, 2018
The initial publication of Frankenstein sold only 500 copies, but over time the story has gained in popularity and spawned movies, a TV show, comic books, a song, toys, Halloween costumes, and has essentially taken an iconic place in Western culture.
Superheroes and Superpowers: A Glimpse into the Supernatural?
Dianne J. Wilson, Oct 27, 2018
Affinity novelist Dianne J. Wilson explores what it means to be a superhero in our times.
Fiction Friday: Unblemished By Sara Ella
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 26, 2018
Unblemished is the first in the Unblemished Trilogy. Book 2, Unraveling, is a finalist in the 2018 Christy Awards, Young Adult category.
First Man: An Example of Fearlessness
Travis Perry, Oct 25, 2018
First Man not only shows a fascinating lunar landing, it portrays a man unlike most people. Armstrong’s character gives insight in how to portray a hero.
A March of Stereotypes
Shannon McDermott, Oct 24, 2018
Taking a broad view of speculative fiction, and especially of science fiction, we may discern the march of female stereotypes.
Secularists (and Some Conservatives) Must Learn to Dance with Fairy Tales
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 23, 2018
It’s not just legalistic Christians who condemn princesses Cinderella, Rapunzel, or Elsa.
C. S. Lewis and Sub-creation
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 22, 2018
Lewis and Tolkien both claimed that fantasy could reveal Truth in a way that reality fiction could not.
Speculative Fiction Writer’s Guide to War, Part 7: The Fearless Elite
Travis Chapman, Oct 19, 2018
How likely is it to find the farm kid who is fearless in the face of danger and ready to kill the enemy? Rarer than you think.
One in a Million
Mark Carver, Oct 17, 2018
What if parallel worlds do exist? Does that mean there is a world out there where Adam didn’t sin?
Great Male Characters in Fantastic Fiction
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 16, 2018
E. Stephen Burnett asked five female friends to describe a favorite male character from fantastic fiction.
Writers Of Amish Fiction May Not Have It So Wrong
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 15, 2018
Can speculative fiction find a place for these women? Can they be our protagonists? Do we see them as worth the spotlight? Or do our female protagonists all have to do as the men do?
Fiction Friday: The Day The Angels Fell by Shawn Smucker
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 12, 2018
It was the summer of storms and strays and strangers. The summer that lightning struck the big oak tree in the front yard. The summer his mother died in a tragic accident.
Speculative Fiction Writer’s Guide to War, Part 6: Psychology of Warfare: The Act of Killing
Travis Chapman, Oct 11, 2018
The human response to killing in a combat environment is influenced by distance and method.
A Simple Line
Shannon McDermott, Oct 10, 2018
It is time to stop and ask ourselves: How much do bad adaptations of our favorite books really bother us?
Explore Lorehaven Magazine’s Fall 2018 Issue!
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 9, 2018
With your free subscription, you can read PDF copies of each issue, or explore articles at Lorehaven.com.
The Bible And Speculative Fiction
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 8, 2018
So often Christian speculative fiction authors fear the accusation of “preachy” that they don’t want characters doing what actual Christians do
Is Netflix ‘Not Safe, but Good’ for Narnia?
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 5, 2018
Netflix had acquired all rights to make films based on C. S. Lewis’s magical world of Narnia. Let us take the adventure that Aslan sends us.
Speculative Fiction Writer’s Guide to War, part 5: Psychology of War: Essential Fears
Travis Chapman, Oct 4, 2018
Essential fears shape much of what humans do on a battlefield, driving them to fight, flight, or surrender responses.
Who Says We Can’t Play In the Genetic Sandbox?
Mark Carver, Oct 3, 2018
Who gets to say what the human race can and can’t do when it comes to tinkering with the planet?
C. S. Lewis Fifty-five Years Later
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 1, 2018
Lewis showed me what a writer could do with fiction. He made me want to put truth in stories so that readers would grasp profound realities because of a simple line
Mind Games
Rebecca Bruner, Sep 28, 2018
Readers are [often] confronted with dystopian futures in which young characters are constantly being manipulated and used against their will.
Speculative Fiction Writer’s Guide to War, part 4: Spectrum of Conflict
Travis Perry, Sep 27, 2018
The spectrum of conflict shows many shades of color when we use the term “warfare,” as illustrated in Tolkien’s Middle Earth.
