Author Profile – Lisa T. Bergren
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 29, 2016
Lisa was born in Kalispell, Montana, on March 28 and raised in Southern California (there must be a story behind that transition!) Growing up she wanted to be “A nurse. An astronaut. Indiana Jones. A teacher. A journalist. One of the Three Musketeers.” Writing, apparently, has made it possible for her to become any of these through her characters.
The Nightmare Of Christmas
Mark Carver, Dec 28, 2016
The idealized Western Christmas is a time of jingling bells, snow (unless you live in the South with Christmas temperatures regularly in the 50s and 60s), Christmas trees, lavishly decorated homes, presents spilling out into the hallway, and a seemingly endless barrage of Christmas parties. And of course, the stories. Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, The Night Before Christmas, The Tin Soldier, A Christmas Carol, and many more. However, in many other countries, Christmas tales take quite a sinister turn.
Sci-fi and Fantasy Let Us Explore
Zac Totah, Dec 27, 2016
Wrapping your mind around the size of the universe, and our comparatively tiny place in it, gives you a new perspective and appreciation. Science fiction and fantasy do the same thing, on a different scale.
Merry Christmas
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 24, 2016
For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Fiction Friday: “Pearla’s First Christmas”
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 23, 2016
“Pearla’s First Christmas” is a short story, written from the point of view of one of the characters in the Angel Eyes trilogy, and is available as a free download from author Shannon Dittemore.
What The World Needs To Know About Christmas
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 22, 2016
Christmas is the ultimate Reveal! It’s the greatest ah-ha moment since time began.
Christmas Is Too …
Shannon McDermott, Dec 21, 2016
Christmas is a pagan holiday. I’ve heard this a lot, and I’ve grown ever more skeptical.
The Christmas Story: The First Epic Tale
Zac Totah, Dec 20, 2016
Many stories, whether written from secular or Christian worldviews, point us back to the story of Christ, implicitly or explicitly, by design or by accident.
Review: The Sword Of Six Worlds By Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 19, 2016
Validus Smith and her best friend Alex Shields know something is seriously wrong when their substitute teacher takes the side of the class bully. When he changes into a creature with fangs and tries to attack Validus, they escape by following two new students through a hole into a different world—one in which animals talk.
Fiction Friday – The Word Changers By Ashlee Willis
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 16, 2016
Once there was a little small-town girl. She grew up two blocks away from the old, creaky public library. She spent much of her time in that library, either squirreled away in a dusky corner with a book, or loading chin-high stacks of books home to read. Usually barefoot and disheveled. Always brim-full of curiosity and awe at the secret worlds she knew she’d find between those pages.
Well, When You Say It Like That…
Mark Carver, Dec 14, 2016
“A technician’s job is to find glitches, so he sees glitches. Your job is to find the enemy, so you see the enemy. Locals believe in spirits, so they see spirits. Everyone’s biased.”
Fandom Holiday Traditions
Zac Totah, Dec 13, 2016
Some of the typical traditions I mentioned beg the question, why?
Author Profile – S. D. Smith
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 12, 2016
I love to make stories. I want them to be good.
Fiction Friday – The Green Ember By S. D. Smith
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 9, 2016
“S. D. Smith has a voice for children and families that the world needs to hear.” –Randall Goodgame, singer/songwriter for Slugs & Bugs, Veggie Tales
Fantasy and Sci-fi Book Recommendations
Zac Totah, Dec 6, 2016
For book lovers, this is a joyous month. What makes a better present or stocking-stuffer than a book? Or a trilogy? Or a seven-volume series?
Speculation And Christmas
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 5, 2016
I find it amazing that our world, broken by division and disbelief, still takes from the holiday that superficially celebrates Christ’s birth, the remarkable gifts God gave when He sent “His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.”
Fiction Friday – Beast By Chawna Schroeder
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 2, 2016
When her pack scatters after a surprise raid, Beast must defend herself against slavers hunting down the loners. They are so strong, and she is only a beast . . . or is she?
30 Things Only Bookworms Understand
Zac Totah, Nov 29, 2016
Being a bookworm is like having membership in an elite club. Not everyone can appreciate the joy, anguish, excitement, and emotional ache involved in loving books.
The Fantasy Itch: Gettin’ To Be THAT Time Of Year
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Nov 28, 2016
Ah, yes, I’m definitely ready to settle down with a good fantasy. It’s that time of year! Last year I read Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, first in the Mistborn Trilogy (which, I learned, is actually a five book series). I’m thinking this year I should finish out the rest, starting with The Well of Ascension.
Even The Best
Shannon McDermott, Nov 23, 2016
Everything’s been done before. All the original stories were discovered by Adam and Eve, and the rest of us just experiment with variations on a theme.
What Are Spec-fic Characters Thankful For?
Zac Totah, Nov 22, 2016
Across genres and galaxies, to kingdoms and spaceships hither and yon, the call went forth, asking the question, “What are you thankful for?†Here are thirty of the more memorable answers.
Thanksgiving–An American Holiday
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Nov 21, 2016
One way that Christians writers can introduce themes consistent with a Christian worldview might be to include holidays like Thanksgiving. Or in the case of speculative fiction, invented holidays with a religious underpinning.
Why My Novel Bellanok Stars A Christian Pastor
Ralene Burke, Nov 18, 2016
Author Ralene Burke found a Christian pastor a perfect hero for her debut fantasy novel, Bellanok.
We Were In The Neighborhood…
Mark Carver, Nov 16, 2016
What would I do if aliens showed up? How would I react? Would it shake me to the core of my faith, like it did for the hapless puritan in Paul? Would it revive my faith, like it did for Mel Gibson in Signs? Would it encourage me to pull out my old Simon game and use the flashing lights and cool synthesized notes to try and communicate ala Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
The Need For Diversity In Christian Fiction
Zac Totah, Nov 15, 2016
The narrow approach to diversity makes itself painfully evident in Christian fiction. Why? The answer is simple. Diversity is too edgy.
The Military, Veterans, And Speculative Fiction
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Nov 14, 2016
In thinking about the military, I had to wonder about the place of the military in speculative stories. Perhaps most famous are the Storm Troopers of Star Wars, but other stories, particularly dystopian fantasy such as Hunger Games, includes a strong military—as part of the side of evil.
Fiction Friday – Kingdom At Sea, By Jill Williamson
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Nov 11, 2016
Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms and the award-winning author of several young adult books including the Blood of Kings trilogy, Replication, the Mission League series, and the Safe Lands trilogy.
Honors Villainy 312
Shannon McDermott, Nov 9, 2016
Good morning. Or bad morning – whichever is most applicable to your day, and as you all know, I don’t care.
Is Doctor Strange Dangerous For Christians?
Zac Totah, Nov 8, 2016
Will watching Doctor Strange open the door to the occult, to dangerous Eastern mysticism and New Age beliefs, to things Christians should never associate with?
Liturgy and Lunacy
Mark Carver, Nov 2, 2016
Since Christianity is such an integral part of the Western society we inhabit, it’s only natural that it will have a prominent place in our stories. It shows up in all genres but we often see Christianity or its derivatives in fantasy, horror, and surprisingly, science fiction.
