by Jason Joyner | Jan 4, 2011 | Blog, books, CSFF, fantasy, marketing, speculative fiction
Welcome back to the second star-studded day of the CSFF Tour. We’re featuring The Wolf of Tebron, the first in a series by author C.S. Lakin.
Yesterday I gave an overview of the book, and tomorrow I want to give my review. What do I have in store for today?
A puzzle.
How does an author effectively market their book – to get it into the hands of the type of reader that will appreciate their genre/style?
I ask this today because The Wolf of Tebron is billed as a “fairy tale allegory of God’s love.” The designation fairy tale isn’t used often nowadays outside of the Disney realm. I thought it was an interesting angle to go with this book. Since this tour features fantasy and science fiction novels (more broadly speculative fiction, including alternate history novels like The Gifted series by Lisa Bergren), it is a logical book to spotlight. I don’t think anyone in our group, when choosing books, paused when they saw the description.
I think a lot of the books we feature run into a tricky problem of how to market the story. In 2010 we featured Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. It was set alternately in the 1700’s and the modern day. It was labeled as “magical realism.” What is that, exactly? And who is the market for that? It worked enough to get us to review it, but it isn’t an easy book to summarize. It is not fantasy, but there was a fantastic element that was a key plot item.
The Wolf of Tebron is probably closer to fairy tale than true fantasy, so the designation is appropriate. Will it capture a potential buyer with that moniker? Of course, it also bills itself as an allegory. True allegories are hard to find. The Pilgrim’s Progress is probably the most famous one in Christian literature. The publicity letter I received with Tebron considered C.S. Lewis in the allegorical realm. I wrestle with that. I don’t think it is a true allegory. In my mind an allegory has point-by-point connection with whatever it is trying to emulate. Yes, Aslan is a Christ-figure, but how many other direct connections are there? There is much symbolism, but I don’t think allegory is the best way to describe the Narnia series.
Enough with the nit-picking. The point is, I think speculative fiction has a harder time marketing itself because the term is encompasses several sub-genres. If a book is a mystery or a romance, there can be variations: detective vs. noir, chick lit vs. historical. Still, the category is pretty focused. Speculative fiction is a wide berth, and it is tricky when a fantasy book doesn’t match a Lord of the Rings pattern.
So the author and publisher have to call it something. For those in the tour, what do you think? Was “a fairy tale allegory” the best way to market Tebron? Is there a better way for this book to reach its readers?
Check to see what the rest of the CSFF gang is saying on Becky Miller’s post. I’ll give my review of the book tomorrow, with a little more on marketing…
—
by Jason Joyner | Jan 4, 2011 | Blog, books, CSFF, fantasy, marketing, speculative fiction
Welcome back to the second star-studded day of the CSFF Tour. We’re featuring The Wolf of Tebron, the first in a series by author C.S. Lakin.
Yesterday I gave an overview of the book, and tomorrow I want to give my review. What do I have in store for today?
A puzzle.
How does an author effectively market their book – to get it into the hands of the type of reader that will appreciate their genre/style?
I ask this today because The Wolf of Tebron is billed as a “fairy tale allegory of God’s love.” The designation fairy tale isn’t used often nowadays outside of the Disney realm. I thought it was an interesting angle to go with this book. Since this tour features fantasy and science fiction novels (more broadly speculative fiction, including alternate history novels like The Gifted series by Lisa Bergren), it is a logical book to spotlight. I don’t think anyone in our group, when choosing books, paused when they saw the description.
I think a lot of the books we feature run into a tricky problem of how to market the story. In 2010 we featured Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. It was set alternately in the 1700’s and the modern day. It was labeled as “magical realism.” What is that, exactly? And who is the market for that? It worked enough to get us to review it, but it isn’t an easy book to summarize. It is not fantasy, but there was a fantastic element that was a key plot item.
The Wolf of Tebron is probably closer to fairy tale than true fantasy, so the designation is appropriate. Will it capture a potential buyer with that moniker? Of course, it also bills itself as an allegory. True allegories are hard to find. The Pilgrim’s Progress is probably the most famous one in Christian literature. The publicity letter I received with Tebron considered C.S. Lewis in the allegorical realm. I wrestle with that. I don’t think it is a true allegory. In my mind an allegory has point-by-point connection with whatever it is trying to emulate. Yes, Aslan is a Christ-figure, but how many other direct connections are there? There is much symbolism, but I don’t think allegory is the best way to describe the Narnia series.
Enough with the nit-picking. The point is, I think speculative fiction has a harder time marketing itself because the term is encompasses several sub-genres. If a book is a mystery or a romance, there can be variations: detective vs. noir, chick lit vs. historical. Still, the category is pretty focused. Speculative fiction is a wide berth, and it is tricky when a fantasy book doesn’t match a Lord of the Rings pattern.
So the author and publisher have to call it something. For those in the tour, what do you think? Was “a fairy tale allegory” the best way to market Tebron? Is there a better way for this book to reach its readers?
Check to see what the rest of the CSFF gang is saying on Becky Miller’s post. I’ll give my review of the book tomorrow, with a little more on marketing…
—
by Jason Joyner | Jan 3, 2011 | Blog, books, CSFF, fantasy
Welcome to another Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy blog tour. This is a group passionate about quality speculative fiction with a Christian worldview, and there are always good discussions on the books we highlight each month.
I believe we’re having two tours this month, with the first featuring The Wolf of Tebron by C.S. Lakin.
The backcopy to the book says it is a “stirring allegory of God’s love in classic fairy tale tradition.” It follows the adventures of Joran, a young blacksmith with the gift of mindspeaking with animals. He has a recurrent dream that his wife is trapped by the Moon after he sends her away in a fit of anger. On his journey he rescues a large wolf, who becomes his companion on traveling to the four ends of the world to solve the riddle of his dream and rescuing his wife. Joran suffers through many trials in his journey, but in the end a sacrifice is needed to finish his task. Will Joran risk all for what seems to be a dream?
Ms. Lakin appears to be a prolific writer, as she has another contemporary book that was recently released, Someone to Blame, (the CFBA tour will be featuring it later this month). You can find out more about her from the website for The Wolf of Tebron and her personal blog.
As always, you can find different opinions from my varied tourmates below. I will have a review of the book in a later post as well.
Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Nikole Hahn
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
John W. Otte
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
—
I did receive an advanc reader copy of this book for review purposes.
by Jason Joyner | Jan 3, 2011 | Blog, books, CSFF, fantasy
Welcome to another Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy blog tour. This is a group passionate about quality speculative fiction with a Christian worldview, and there are always good discussions on the books we highlight each month.
I believe we’re having two tours this month, with the first featuring The Wolf of Tebron by C.S. Lakin.
The backcopy to the book says it is a “stirring allegory of God’s love in classic fairy tale tradition.” It follows the adventures of Joran, a young blacksmith with the gift of mindspeaking with animals. He has a recurrent dream that his wife is trapped by the Moon after he sends her away in a fit of anger. On his journey he rescues a large wolf, who becomes his companion on traveling to the four ends of the world to solve the riddle of his dream and rescuing his wife. Joran suffers through many trials in his journey, but in the end a sacrifice is needed to finish his task. Will Joran risk all for what seems to be a dream?
Ms. Lakin appears to be a prolific writer, as she has another contemporary book that was recently released, Someone to Blame, (the CFBA tour will be featuring it later this month). You can find out more about her from the website for The Wolf of Tebron and her personal blog.
As always, you can find different opinions from my varied tourmates below. I will have a review of the book in a later post as well.
Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Nikole Hahn
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
John W. Otte
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
—
I did receive an advanc reader copy of this book for review purposes.
by Jason Joyner | Aug 19, 2010 | Blog, books, Robin Parrish, speculative fiction
Robin Parrish chills and thrills in his latest book
A few weeks ago I used Nightmare, the new book from suspense author Robin Parrish, as a springboard into a discussion about the boundaries of Christian fiction. Since then, a discussion has taken on a life of its own (others started talking about this at the same time).
I got caught up in this debate, but in the meantime I finished Nightmare. So what is this book about, and does it “fit” in Christian fiction?
Nightmare is the story of Maia Peters, a college student who had an unusual upbringing – her parents were ghost hunters on a famous TV show. Maia grew up on the paranormal, so there wasn’t a lot that could scare her. When her friends drag her to the latest in theme parks, “Ghost Town,” she isn’t impressed.
That is, until a familiar face and voice form out of a mist and warn her, “The nightmare is coming.”
The face belongs to Jordin Cole, a rich orphaned classmate who has a fascination with the supernatural. Jordin had hired Maia to explore several “known” hauntings to explore these phenomena, but Maia hadn’t seen her in months. She didn’t know that Jordin had disappeared.
Now Jordin’s fiance is looking for her and asking for Maia’s help. The pair retrace Jordin’s steps, trying to find the nightmare before it comes. However, messing with the supernatural may have a heavy price to pay…
—
The Good
Robin Parrish is one imaginative fellow. He has come up with some amazing tales in his writing career. Nightmare does not disappoint. The plot alternates between Maia’s search for Jordin and the adventures Jordin and Maia have seeking out haunting hot spots. You can tell Robin did his research, as the settings are actual sites of reported paranormal activity. There’s an added bonus of grainy pictures in front of these sections. The pace doesn’t let up, and he has a gift for keeping the pages turning frantically. This was the type of book I’d pull out of my backpack in between work assignments to read “just a little more.”
Several reviewers commented that this was a book to read with the lights on. There was one section that seemed a little creepy to me, but nothing that was excessive. I can see how some people might get freaked.
Finally, that cover ROCKS! Best one I’ve seen this year.
The Critique
Robin is also very intelligent, and he writes with a specific voice and a fluent vocabulary. After reading all of his books, I feel his characters sound too much alike. Maia didn’t seem to be too feminine (which was her character), but I never felt she had a “female” voice. Then again, Robin always seems to have very intelligent characters, so perhaps this is natural. Not a big deal, but something I noticed in this book.
The “Huh?”
I think every book has a “huh?” moment. Robin is proud of his geek cred (since he blogs for ForeverGeek). So I was pretty shocked when I came upon page 259. There is an otherwise excellent Star Wars reference, but “Wookiee” is misspelled! Don’t worry Robin, I blame it on the editors.
The Verdict
As far as Nightmare goes, it is a very entertaining, suspenseful read. It also makes one think about some mysteries in our world in regards to the paranormal. The book doesn’t spell it out for the reader – we get to think about it. I recommend this book to any fan of suspense, paranormal, or horror fiction.
Now where does this book belong in the library of Christian fiction? Well, *looking at his watch* we’ve run out of time. Check back next time with my thoughts on this…
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 19, 2010 | Blog, books, Robin Parrish, speculative fiction
Robin Parrish chills and thrills in his latest book
A few weeks ago I used Nightmare, the new book from suspense author Robin Parrish, as a springboard into a discussion about the boundaries of Christian fiction. Since then, a discussion has taken on a life of its own (others started talking about this at the same time).
I got caught up in this debate, but in the meantime I finished Nightmare. So what is this book about, and does it “fit” in Christian fiction?
Nightmare is the story of Maia Peters, a college student who had an unusual upbringing – her parents were ghost hunters on a famous TV show. Maia grew up on the paranormal, so there wasn’t a lot that could scare her. When her friends drag her to the latest in theme parks, “Ghost Town,” she isn’t impressed.
That is, until a familiar face and voice form out of a mist and warn her, “The nightmare is coming.”
The face belongs to Jordin Cole, a rich orphaned classmate who has a fascination with the supernatural. Jordin had hired Maia to explore several “known” hauntings to explore these phenomena, but Maia hadn’t seen her in months. She didn’t know that Jordin had disappeared.
Now Jordin’s fiance is looking for her and asking for Maia’s help. The pair retrace Jordin’s steps, trying to find the nightmare before it comes. However, messing with the supernatural may have a heavy price to pay…
—
The Good
Robin Parrish is one imaginative fellow. He has come up with some amazing tales in his writing career. Nightmare does not disappoint. The plot alternates between Maia’s search for Jordin and the adventures Jordin and Maia have seeking out haunting hot spots. You can tell Robin did his research, as the settings are actual sites of reported paranormal activity. There’s an added bonus of grainy pictures in front of these sections. The pace doesn’t let up, and he has a gift for keeping the pages turning frantically. This was the type of book I’d pull out of my backpack in between work assignments to read “just a little more.”
Several reviewers commented that this was a book to read with the lights on. There was one section that seemed a little creepy to me, but nothing that was excessive. I can see how some people might get freaked.
Finally, that cover ROCKS! Best one I’ve seen this year.
The Critique
Robin is also very intelligent, and he writes with a specific voice and a fluent vocabulary. After reading all of his books, I feel his characters sound too much alike. Maia didn’t seem to be too feminine (which was her character), but I never felt she had a “female” voice. Then again, Robin always seems to have very intelligent characters, so perhaps this is natural. Not a big deal, but something I noticed in this book.
The “Huh?”
I think every book has a “huh?” moment. Robin is proud of his geek cred (since he blogs for ForeverGeek). So I was pretty shocked when I came upon page 259. There is an otherwise excellent Star Wars reference, but “Wookiee” is misspelled! Don’t worry Robin, I blame it on the editors.
The Verdict
As far as Nightmare goes, it is a very entertaining, suspenseful read. It also makes one think about some mysteries in our world in regards to the paranormal. The book doesn’t spell it out for the reader – we get to think about it. I recommend this book to any fan of suspense, paranormal, or horror fiction.
Now where does this book belong in the library of Christian fiction? Well, *looking at his watch* we’ve run out of time. Check back next time with my thoughts on this…
—
