by Jason Joyner | Nov 11, 2013 | Blog, Bright Empires, CSFF, speculative fiction, Stephen Lawhead, The Shadow Lamp
In Which An Old Friend Comes Back To Visit, So To Speak
Welcome back to the CSFF Tour. The best in Christian speculative fiction comes through this great resource. And this month, I had a chance to read the book!
I am excited to participate because we’re featuring the latest in the Bright Empires series, The Shadow Lamp by Stephen Lawhead. This is the fourth book in the series, so we are quite familiar with the comings and goings of the various characters. Well, that might be generous.
The Bright Empires series deals with a peculiar feature – the ability to travel through the multiverse by an intriguing feature known as ley lines.
An Englishman named Kit Livingstone was living a rather uninspired life until his great-grandfather Cosimo introduced him to the family business of traveling to different dimensions.
After trips to 16th century Prague, a Stone Age hunter-gatherer camp, and an escape from an Egyptian tomb, Kit has gathered with some friends. His girlfriend Mina, the Italian priest Gianni, and the American paleotonlogist Cassandra are on the verge of a major discovery. If only they had their shadow lamps to guide them in the treacherous dangers of ley travel.
Because the journey to find the Skin Map, return to the Bone House, and discover the mystery of the Spirit Well has already claimed many lives. Oh, and it might be threatening the fabric of all creation.
For more information, you can go to Stephen Lawhead’s Facebook page or author page. Also, the fine folks below are joining in the discussion, so check them out as well.
Julie Bihn Red Bissell Thomas Clayton Booher Thomas Fletcher Booher Beckie Burnham Jeff Chapman Karri Compton Theresa Dunlap April Erwin Timothy Hicks Christopher Hopper Becky Jesse Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Carol Keen Rebekah Loper Shannon McDermott Meagan @ Blooming with Books Rebecca LuElla Miller Mirriam Neal Writer Rani Nathan Reimer Chawna Schroeder Jojo Sutis Rachel Starr Thomson Robert Treskillard Steve Trower Rachel Wyant Phyllis Wheeler Deborah Wilson
In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
by Jason Joyner | Oct 23, 2013 | Blog, CSFF, fantasy, speculative fiction
Hey. Is it that time again?
Yes it is. Time again for the Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy Tour. Speculative fiction at its finest.
This month’s feature is Martyr’s Fire by Sigmund Brower. This is the third book in the Merlin’s Immortals series. The Orphan King and Fortress Of Mist are the two previous books.
From Amazon:
Will this dangerous quest lead the outcast Orphan King toward an ancient secret—or to certain destruction?
Posing as a beggar, Thomas escapes Magnus after fifteen men, who are calling themselves the Priests of the Holy Grail, arrive and take control of the castle through wondrous acts and apparent miracles. With the help of his longtime friend Gervaise, Thomas sets out on a journey that leads him to the ancient Holy Land. Unaware that Katherine and Hawkwood are watching over him, Thomas is tested in his beliefs and comes face to face with the ancient power that the Merlins and Druids have long been searching for.
Enter the world of Merlin’s Immortals, where ancient secrets and evil conspiracies take you on a breathless adventure of discovery, intrigue, and hidden knowledge.
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I didn’t get this book, but there are people below who have and can give you more info on it. For a summary of all of the posts of the week, check out Becky Miller’s post for the latest and greatest.
Red Bissell Beckie Burnham Theresa Dunlap Emma or Audrey Engel April Erwin Victor Gentile Nikole Hahn Becky Jesse Carol Keen Krystine Kercher Rebekah Loper Jennette Mbewe Amber McCallister Shannon McDermott Meagan @ Blooming with Books Rebecca LuElla Miller Writer Rani Nathan Reimer Jojo Sutis Steve Trower Phyllis Wheeler Deborah Wilson Rachel Wyant
by Jason Joyner | Sep 26, 2013 | ACFW, Blog, conference, writing craft, Writing Wednesday
That was fast.
The 2013 ACFW Conference in Indianapolis has come and gone like a blur. It seems only a few days ago I was talking about the 2012 conference in Dallas. Sheesh.
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| The Northwest writers. |
You might wonder what happens when 580+ writer types gather in one place like that. Being a guy who likes speculative fiction, I could say that it tears into the space/time continuum, but that might be a little exaggeration.
If you are serious about writing, going to a conference is a great thing to do. You are around other creative types that understand the process, the joys and battles of it all. There are great opportunities to learn the craft and meet people to encourage and help you along the way.
For those who have gone to ACFW and couldn’t make it this year, you were missed. The conference filled up due to a lower capacity at this hotel. It was nicer than Dallas in that we were downtown, so it was possible to get out and about.
I’m proud to belong to a group like ACFW because of the fellowship in Christ we also share. It isn’t every conference where you find a couple of writers huddled in a corner discussing plots or future plans and then bowing heads to pray about the things shared. That is a special part of ACFW that is a real benefit to Christian writers.
I have some friends that want more details. Here’s a running list, and feel free to contact me if you have questions about anything here.
*I didn’t know much about Robin Jones Gunn, the keynote speaker, but she was a joy and such an encouragement. She spoke like a true storyteller and helped put things in perspective for all of us. I think she was exactly the person needed there.
*If you can go to a James Scott Bell lecture or workshop, do it. There’s a reason he is spoken of so highly in writer circles for the craft. He presents so well and lays out the tricks and tips he’s learned in such an entertaining and helpful way. I’ve read his book Plot & Structure, but this brought it home even more. The only downside is that it was a full-day workshop, so I had to miss out on some other interesting possibilities.
*I need therapy now thanks to Tosca Lee. She presented a class on making unsympathetic characters sympathetic. She had us write about betrayals, loss, fears. I thought I had dealt with those issues, but she dredged them all up. Actually, this was quite helpful in making my bad guy better.
*Storytelling games with speculative fiction writers beats all. Just sayin’.
*Leave it to Peter Leavell to get one hooked up with the cool crowd.
*The costume night was a big hit and a very smart, diplomatic move by the conference organizers. No one got kicked out this year! Good job Robin and company.
*Pitching to agents and editors was much easier the second time around. Though I still wish I would have brought chocolate as a bribe. Just in case.
*I would like to see some way to gather and encourage the men at ACFW. We are outnumbered by far and I think it would be a boost to have some fellowship in some way.
*There is still a lot of talk about traditional publishing vs. small press vs. self-publishing electronically. The issue is big and is still in a lot of flux. Check out Rachelle Gardner’s ebook for the same content she shared in a class there.
*There are a lot of creative people out there who love the Lord. I pray we all look to see how best we can serve Him and others with our gifts. Perhaps some of us should be broader in scope – finding ways to reach out to the general market or provide quality stories with heart that prepares the way for their readers to be more open to the spiritual.
*The elevators were a great place to meet and greet. Sometimes we got really close on the elevators. Seeing as there were only four and the stairs weren’t handy.
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| “Are you my mummy?” |
It was a great time, and despite some last minute doubts, this conference turned out better than last year for me at least.
And yes, I’m wearing a fez. Fezzes are cool. (Bonus points for the reference there).
by Jason Joyner | Sep 19, 2013 | Blog, goofiness, pirates, Talk Like a Pirate Day
Arrr, yeah!
It be that favored holiday of this here blog, International Talk Like A Pirate Day. For years Spoiled For The Ordinary has championed September 19th as a high day of silliness and pirate-y things. This year be no exception.
For today only, get the excellent pirate novel Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrisey free on Kindle, Nook, or whatever preferred vessel o’reading ye have.
Here be some other fine pirate tales from the master story-teller George Bryan Polivka. This blog has featured these tales before as well.
The Library of Congress has some excellent reading for you scurvy dogs that can actually read.
I may not fancy these Buccaneers, but anyone who has a pirate ship in their stadium is a salty dog.
And these rascals of the Seven Seas ‘ere not to be trusted. They make break out in brawlin’ or a piano duet at any time. ARRR!
by Jason Joyner | Aug 28, 2013 | Blog, rules schmules, writing craft, writing rules, Writing Wednesday
As an aspiring writer, there are rules of fiction that I must live by. Show, don’t tell. Stick with one point of view a chapter. Don’t use passive voice. Kill all your adverbs.
All of these rules are very helpful for writers. They become rules because they do help books sound better. They help a writer.
However, there’s a backlash going on in the writing world. People are starting to ask question about the rules.
Jeff Gerke is a writing teacher, author, and publisher. On Facebook,
he started a discussion about the writing rules out there because he wants to write a book about the rules. In his book
Write Your Novel in a Month he argues that the only rule that can’t be broken is to be sure to engage the reader.
Finally, Rachelle Gardner, a respected agent with one of the top writing blogs, just talked about the rules being tools overall. They can help when a book isn’t working, but if it works to break a rule for the situation, then it’s okay.
This has helped me a lot. I know that I need to listen to advice from those who have experience. But I’ve also gotten conflicting advice. I got knocked off my groove for a couple of months after some bad feedback from a writing contest. Now I’m getting back into it and I’m realizing that I need to serve the story overall and use the rules as those tools, not as a bludgeoning hammer to force something into place.
I’m thankful for these people speaking up about the rules being more, well, guidelines to steal from a certain pirate captain. Hopefully my writing friends can be encouraged in the same way.
SO: any writing rules you’ve run across that have been used against your writing that really needed to be broken? Share them here and I’ll pass them on to Jeff Gerke for his book.
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P.S. Did anyone notice the writing rule I broke in the first sentence?
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P.S.S. Can you believe I’ve finally gotten a Writing Wednesday post out?
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