Speculative Faith was the volunteer-led website that preceded Lorehaven. From 2006 to 2021, hundreds of Christian fantastical writers added their voices to this team blog. Many of those creatives now continue this work at Lorehaven. This archive preserves all the original SpecFaith articles and reviews. You may find, however, some outdated bios and missing images as well as occasional formatting glitches! Please note that some reviews have been updated and republished to Lorehaven.

On The Back Cover 2

Do you ever pick up a good-looking novel to read its back cover, and find only endorsements? I prefer reading something about the actual story. —E. Stephen Burnett in March 2012

Done To Death: Who Are We Trying To Reach?

Who is it that actually reads Christian fiction? I’ll give you a hint by re-asking the question: Who is it that actually reads CHRISTIAN fiction? I know, it’s a stumper. —John Otte in March 2012

Not A Waste Of Time

I wasted my childhood. Also the first half of my teenage years. At least, I thought I did. After all, practically all I did for all those years was read fiction. —Rachel Starr Thomson in March 2012

Spec-Faith Flashback: Jill Williamson

From our archives: Author Jill Williamson recalls how she actually wrote her YA sci-fi novel “Replication” before her fantasy “Blood of Kings” series. —Jill Williamson in March 2012

Sex In The Story 6: Heroes and Heroines

Amidst belching sitcom dads, raging feminists, over-angsty teen-boy “chosen ones,” or inhuman “warrior princesses,” we find God-glorifying men and women in many stories. Here are a few. —E. Stephen Burnett in March 2012

Speculative Death: Life and Death Among The Immortals

Immortality would be paradise, right? —Fred Warren in March 2012

Why Speculative, Now?

I love that I’m providing an option that offers a little light, in a very dark sector of publishing. Seriously, head to B&N and you’ll see the shelves. There are vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, half-angels, half-demons, dark angels, trolls, etc. Why are kids drawn to these characters? —Lisa T. Bergren in March 2012

Sex In The Story 5: More Male Mythologies

We may always have sex caricatures in stories, and they may balance each other out. But how do we cure stock males, gender-neutrals, bad boys, men-children, faith-based supermen, and Prophesied Heroes™? —E. Stephen Burnett in March 2012

Dark Is The Stain: The Fast

Just as I’ve learned there’s many ways to fast, so there are many ways to prioritize so as to focus on writing productivity. —Kaci Hill in March 2012

Bringing The Personal To The Universal

Great fiction is made up of themes: Love and longing, coming of age, voyage and return, fathers, sons, daughters, mothers, overcoming the monster, death, birth, and more. These are universals, themes that can be, on one level or another, understood by any man or woman. —Anne Elisabeth Stengl in March 2012

Done To Death

Tropes can pop up just about anywhere, even in Christian speculative fiction: hackneyed plots, characters, and themes. What do our readers think has been “done to death”? —John Otte in February 2012

Sex In The Story 3: Trans-Gender Issues

“The Church is too feministic!” “The Church is too chauvinistic!” Either extreme will affect our real-life thinking, and will infect Christian stories’ characters, replacing them with caricature-icons. —E. Stephen Burnett in February 2012

Dark Is The Stain: The Song & Dance

Jesus was frustrated because whether he calls his people in a spirit of celebration or comes weeping, they reject him. Christian storytellers can likely relate, when despite their efforts and pleas, they can’t please the audience. —Kaci Hill in February 2012

Advice From “The Story Of My Heart” Part II

So it seems that I stirred up a little bit of discussion two weeks ago with my odd little pyramid based on something I learned from the “story of my heart,” a tale of aliens searching for grace that I […] —John Otte in February 2012

Owned

I got “owned” by a grandmother this weekend. —Fred Warren in February 2012

Readers And Writers

Special thanks to all those who participated in Spec Faith’s Shredding, Round Two. I couldn’t help but think as I read through what everyone had to say, how vital it is for writers to hear from readers, not just other writers. —Rebecca LuElla Miller in February 2012

Genesis Of A Winning Novel

With the 2012 ACFW Genesis Contest now open (until March 2) for unpublished novelists, Matt Jones, winner of last year’s contest for best speculative novel, shares his experience. —Matt Jones in February 2012

Sex In The Story 1: Shooting Up Heroine

Action heroine Black Widow is annoying some fans of the forthcoming “Avengers” film. How come? Is a story’s female character only strong if she is fighting men or bad guys? —E. Stephen Burnett in February 2012

Give ‘Em The Hook

A hook isn’t so much a trick to ensnare a reader as an invitation for them to enter the story. —Fred Warren in February 2012

Spec Faith Shredding, Round 2

Now comes the “shredding” part. In the comments tell us why you made your selections, or why you did not find a submission compelling. Please make your remarks constructive, but at the same time be honest. —Rebecca LuElla Miller in February 2012

Magic Realism, Part 4

A writer cannot achieve his purpose. The reader must. So the purpose must be well communicated, then endorsed by readers. So why put a seeming out-of-place event in a story, or even base a story around one? —C.L. Dyck in February 2012

Secrets Of The Pyramid Scheme

Do most Christian speculative readers enjoy those stories because of their intrinsic value? Or do the majority of readers enjoy such reading mainly because of their own hopes to climb the pyramid and write their own novels? —E. Stephen Burnett in February 2012

Advice From “The Story Of My Heart” Part I

Okay, so my last six articles have been about aliens. Maybe I should explain why a Lutheran pastor has little green men on the brain so badly. —John Otte in February 2012

Let’s Look At Openings – Round Two

Back in September we gave five different writers the opportunity to have the openings of their work posted here at Spec Faith and to receive feedback from you, the Spec Faith community. It’s time for Round Two. —Rebecca LuElla Miller in January 2012

The Indie Fork

Seven years ago, I would have told you: I’ll never self-publish. It seemed pretty clear to me. I wasn’t impressed with the products that usually emerged in that sector of publishing and it seemed, in so many ways, a cop-out–giving […] —Rachel Marks in January 2012
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