Moving The CBA Mountain: Out Of Many Small Voices, One Large Voice?
Mirtika Schultz, Oct 6, 2006
I was going to post on something altogether different. However, after commenting on Shannon’s post below this one, I said to myself, “Hmmm…I should have made THAT comment my post.” So, hey, I will. Sort of. This one’s way longer. […]
The State Of The CBA Market Address, 2006
Shannon McNear, Oct 5, 2006
One of the frustrations of a Christian writer is to constantly hear, “Write your passion!” and then, nearly in the same breath, “XYZ isn’t selling as a genre, so we aren’t interested in your passion.” I’ll be honest and admit […]
No More Hiding
Karen Hancock, Oct 4, 2006
As I recounted last week, my first published novel, Arena was conceived partly in response to the market (alternate world stories being hot at the time) and partly as an allegory of the Christian life as it intersects the angelic conflict. […]
What Are We Going To Do Tonight, Brain?
Stuart Stockton, Oct 3, 2006
Evil geniuses have never conquered the world because they always invest in mediocrity. Whether it be sub-par thugs without enough brains to actually pull off a task, or superbly talented henchmen with a bit too much ambition, or perhaps the […]
What’s A CSFFan’er To Do?
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Oct 2, 2006
Most people who have read my posts here at Spec Faith or over at my own blog, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, know that I love Christian fantasy. As well I should, since I write Christian fantasy. I also believe […]
Analysis Of â€Hell Is The Absence Of God’ By Ted Chiang, Part 3
Mirtika Schultz, Sep 29, 2006
Today we’ll finish our analysis of Ted Chiang’s award-winning short story “Hell is the Absence of God.”
Fantasy Writing With A Christian Worldview or Beating A Dead Horse Part 2
Beth Goddard, Sep 28, 2006
I’ve enjoyed reading Karen’s posts and how she explains her writing journey and the expression of Christianity, of allegory, within her stories. Ultimately, we each must write the story God gives us and hope that the deep message dwelling inside […]
My Writing Roots
Karen Hancock, Sep 27, 2006
As I said here last week, when I started writing the book that would become The Light of Eidon, my initial intent was to keep the spiritual concepts concealed. This proved more difficult than I imagined, though mostly I didn’t realize […]
Mist-Shrouded Mountaintop
Stuart Stockton, Sep 26, 2006
Writers’ conferences can be strange things. They are both at once energizing and encouraging while at the same time seem to be able to suck the air from your lungs and leave you groping for the path forward. The conference […]
The Briefest Report Of The ACFW Writers’ Conference
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Sep 25, 2006
I just returned from Dallas, jetting into Ontario CA, after a significant delay at DWA, at 12:00 AM-ish. After bag pick-up and shuttle pick-up, I was in my car and on the way for the thirty-minute drive. When I got […]
Analysis Of ‘Hell Is The Absence Of God’ By Ted Chiang, Part 2
Mirtika Schultz, Sep 22, 2006
Today we continue to look at Ted Chiang’s amazing story “Hell is the Absence of God.”
Something Else To Learn From The Secular, Part 2
Shannon McNear, Sep 21, 2006
Check out this post by J. Mark Bertrand, whose work I discovered not long ago (and have greatly enjoyed): Aratus is one of the poets quoted by the Apostle Paul at Mars Hill. His Phaenomena begins in the following way: […]
My Fantasy Roots
Karen Hancock, Sep 20, 2006
Day three of the Edenstar Blog Tour… Looking through all the books listed on that site has recalled to me my own speculative fiction roots and I thought I’d start my stint of posts here on Speculative Faith with a trip […]
The Shrinking Void
Stuart Stockton, Sep 19, 2006
It wasn’t much more than a few months ago when I was feeling pretty down about the future prospects of Christian speculative fiction. I felt like we were looking at a giant gnome-built wall that had set itself up in […]
CSFF Blog Tour—Edenstar Books and Games
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Sep 18, 2006
To kick off September’s CSFF Blog Tour, I had the privilege of interviewing Bill Bader, who, along with his wife Cheryl, founded our featured web site, Edenstar Books and Games. RLM: Since you and Cheryl created and maintain a web […]
Analysis Of ‘Hell Is The Absence Of God’ By Ted Chiang, Part 1
Mirtika Schultz, Sep 15, 2006
“Hell is the Absence of God” offers an exhilaratingly plotted story with a horrifying, perplexing, brilliant, and vexing conclusion.
Fantasy Writing With A Christian Worldview or Beating A Dead Horse Part I
Beth Goddard, Sep 14, 2006
Much of what we’ve discussed at Spec Faith is whether {enter Shakespearen-themed music here} to write or not to write to the secular market, or if you prefer to the lost. And how do we do that when writing science […]
Why Fantasy? – Part 4
Bryan Davis, Sep 13, 2006
A fantasy-style story with Christian themes or world view seems more readily accepted in mainstream circles than Christian-themed stories in other genres. This is one of the main reasons I decided to write fantasy – I wanted to take my […]
The Joy Of Creation
Stuart Stockton, Sep 12, 2006
One of the things I enjoy most about reading and writing Science Fiction and Fantasy is the sheer joy of creating. Creating the mental images and histories when reading others works, and creating the worlds and characters themselves when writing […]
Thoughts About Fantasy on 9/11
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Sep 11, 2006
Part of the Fantasy motif is the struggle between good and evil (for a more detailed discussion, see the good-and-evil portion of A Christian Worldview of Fantasy at A Christian Worldview of Fiction). That evil exists became stamped upon the […]
Part 2: An Analysis Of Gene Wolfe’s “Bed and Breakfast”: Is It CSF? What Can We Learn?
Mirtika Schultz, Sep 8, 2006
~This will be longish. I decided not to stretch it to three parts, hence the length. Remember: I’ll be choosing a winner for a free book (Strange Travelers, Gene Wolfe) from the comments relating to last Friday’s or today’s post. […]
Something Else To Learn From The Secular, Part 1
Shannon McNear, Sep 7, 2006
Yes, I’m unashamedly riffing off of Becky’s Most Excellent Title of a few weeks ago. (AND borrowing a Mir phrase. I’m so unoriginal … but hey, there’s nothing new under the sun.) The discussion du jour on one of my […]
Why Fantasy? – Part 3
Bryan Davis, Sep 6, 2006
Sometimes I feel like the most blessed person on earth. Every single day I get messages, either through e-mail or postal mail, telling me how my books have affected someone’s life for the better. When I first began writing Christian-based […]
Interview With Jeff Gerke
Stuart Stockton, Sep 5, 2006
I’m pleased to be able to present this interview with freelance editor, Jeff Gerke. Jeff has been influential in forwarding the cause of Christian speculative fiction within the Christian fiction market. He is continuing the championing of the speculative genres […]
The Hero’s Journey—Just A Thought, Just A Question
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Sep 4, 2006
First a bit of news. There are some exciting things happening with Christian fantasy and science fiction, including the rapid development of the CSFF Blog Tour. Thanks to one of our participants, the organization has a web site, a place […]
Part One: An Analysis Of Gene Wolfe’s “Bed and Breakfast”: Is It CSF? What Can We Learn?
Mirtika Schultz, Sep 1, 2006
Note: AT THE BOTTOM of this post, you’ll learn how to win a copy of the collection in which this story may be found. This story stars with one of my favorite “first lines” of all time: I know an old couple who […]
The Unbeliever
Beth Goddard, Aug 31, 2006
The Unbeliever Finally, I’m back! Many thanks to Shannon for picking up the slack. Stealing from Stuart’s title, I’ve gotta warning of my own. I have nothing deep and meaningful to say. There is enough intellectual blogging on Spec Faith […]
Why Fantasy? – Part 2
Bryan Davis, Aug 30, 2006
I have thought quite a bit about characters we often find in fantasy literature. It seems that certain categories appear over and over, and I see them more clearly in this genre than in any other. Since fantasy stories are […]
Warning! Wild and Inane Ramblings Ahead
Stuart Stockton, Aug 29, 2006
Heard an interesting news bit today. Apparently Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest has made 960+ MILLION dollars worldwide in box office sales alone! And it has only been out 7.4 weeks. (source) That’s quite a haul. But is […]
Religion In Fantasy: The Pitfalls
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Aug 27, 2006
In July we discussed religion in Christian fantasy (see Stuart’s post, Lacking Worlds: How a Spiritual Focus Can Hamper Christian Fantasy), but I’d like to revisit the subject. Specifically I’d like to explore a question first posed by Moira Allen […]
