by Jason Joyner | Feb 3, 2010 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction, reviews
My wife was “Beguiled,” will you be?
In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her…
Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston’s wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.
Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything.
As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?
—
I have Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand to thank for taking my wife away for a day. I “met” both of these authors when the faith*in*fiction blog and forums were active. Deeanne was the first acquistion from that eclectic group, and Mark was the philosophical heart.
When Deeanne’s first books came out, I bought them for my wife (I’ve actually ALWAYS wanted to read them too, but I forget to grab them in my large stack of to-be-read books). She became an instant fan. When I saw that she teamed up with Mr. Bertrand, I knew I couldn’t resist.
I wondered how my wife would like this blending of the styles (since Mark fancies crime/mystery novels).
She loved it.
She finished it in one day. I have to get up quite early to get to work, but she wouldn’t come to be with me (“I only have 30 pages left!”). And before I could get my hands on it, she lent it out to a friend.
Thus, I don’t have my own opinions on the book yet, but she shared her thoughts. She loved the characterization, feeling that she really knew the characters in the pages. The suspense really drove her to stay up late and finish, as the twists and turns had her hooked. She especially enjoyed the hook at the end. Her final words to Deeanne and Mark: write another one!
Deeanne Gist, the bestselling author of A Bride Most Begrudging and The Measure of a Lady, has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People magazine, Parents, and Parenting. With a line of parenting products called “I Did It!® Productions” and a degree from Texas A&M, she continues her writing and speaking. She and her family live in Houston, Texas.
J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.
If you’d like to read the first chapter of Beguiled, go HERE
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by Jason Joyner | Nov 21, 2009 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction, reviews
From one blog tour to another, from Elven lands to cyberpunk, where there’s books, Spoiled for the Ordinary will go!
This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is featuring first-time author Kirk Outerbridge and his book Eternity Falls – A Rick Macey Cyberthriller. I mentioned this book last month due to its excellent cover art, and today is my review.
In the year 2081, no one has to die. Thanks to the Miracle Treatment from Gentec, people never age, and can actually be restored to any time in their life they want. But when spokeswoman starlet Greta Darling dies from apparent natural causes, this could destroy the product and company.
When the lovely VP from Gentec, Sheila Dunn, wants to find a reason that would show it wasn’t due to the failure of the Miracle Treatment, she turns to Rick Macey, a retired government operative who has secrets that match his formidable skills. He will need all his experience and abilities to deal with the various forces that want Ms. Dunn and Gentec to fail.
I’ve not read a cyberpunk type novel before, and it’s not surprising that this offering in the Christian fiction realm comes from Marcher Lord Press. Jeff Gerke’s publishing company is the perfect vehicle for a book that doesn’t fit with the mainstream of CBA novels.
Outerbridge has a solid first effort here. He sets a very interesting dystopic future, with the wonders of the Miracle Treatment nicely contrasted with areas of Los Angeles that are home to cybergangs due to the neglect from the government. Futuristic touches such as neural nets that provide instant messaging and computer searches with a thought, holographic ID’s, and other technological advances are well-thought out and used throughout the book.
Rick Macey is a good protagonist with some surprises in store for the reader. He is a complex individual, and he wrestles with his past and his future throughout the story. Other characters such as the mysterious Virgil and the mobster Pooly add to the colorful landscape of the story. Sheila Dunn is mixed, appearing strong, petulant, spoiled, and a damsel in distress at various times, never consistent enough to be terribly believable.
The plot overall moves at a pretty suspenseful pace, but there are several points where the narrative could be edited to keep the story sharper. There’s too much introspection, dialog, and description at times that bog the story down. The imagery of “eternity falls” is potent, but gets overdone at the end of the story.
Overall, I wasn’t sure how “Christian” cyberpunk would play out, but Eternity Falls is an interesting read that has flaws, but is nonetheless entertaining. Fans of near future sci/fi and cyberpunk should check it out, as well as suspense fans. I think Outerbridge has the potential to be a strong player in the development of Christian speculative fiction in the future.
If you would like to read an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Eternity Falls, go HERE
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by Jason Joyner | Nov 21, 2009 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction, reviews
From one blog tour to another, from Elven lands to cyberpunk, where there’s books, Spoiled for the Ordinary will go!
This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is featuring first-time author Kirk Outerbridge and his book Eternity Falls – A Rick Macey Cyberthriller. I mentioned this book last month due to its excellent cover art, and today is my review.
In the year 2081, no one has to die. Thanks to the Miracle Treatment from Gentec, people never age, and can actually be restored to any time in their life they want. But when spokeswoman starlet Greta Darling dies from apparent natural causes, this could destroy the product and company.
When the lovely VP from Gentec, Sheila Dunn, wants to find a reason that would show it wasn’t due to the failure of the Miracle Treatment, she turns to Rick Macey, a retired government operative who has secrets that match his formidable skills. He will need all his experience and abilities to deal with the various forces that want Ms. Dunn and Gentec to fail.
I’ve not read a cyberpunk type novel before, and it’s not surprising that this offering in the Christian fiction realm comes from Marcher Lord Press. Jeff Gerke’s publishing company is the perfect vehicle for a book that doesn’t fit with the mainstream of CBA novels.
Outerbridge has a solid first effort here. He sets a very interesting dystopic future, with the wonders of the Miracle Treatment nicely contrasted with areas of Los Angeles that are home to cybergangs due to the neglect from the government. Futuristic touches such as neural nets that provide instant messaging and computer searches with a thought, holographic ID’s, and other technological advances are well-thought out and used throughout the book.
Rick Macey is a good protagonist with some surprises in store for the reader. He is a complex individual, and he wrestles with his past and his future throughout the story. Other characters such as the mysterious Virgil and the mobster Pooly add to the colorful landscape of the story. Sheila Dunn is mixed, appearing strong, petulant, spoiled, and a damsel in distress at various times, never consistent enough to be terribly believable.
The plot overall moves at a pretty suspenseful pace, but there are several points where the narrative could be edited to keep the story sharper. There’s too much introspection, dialog, and description at times that bog the story down. The imagery of “eternity falls” is potent, but gets overdone at the end of the story.
Overall, I wasn’t sure how “Christian” cyberpunk would play out, but Eternity Falls is an interesting read that has flaws, but is nonetheless entertaining. Fans of near future sci/fi and cyberpunk should check it out, as well as suspense fans. I think Outerbridge has the potential to be a strong player in the development of Christian speculative fiction in the future.
If you would like to read an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Eternity Falls, go HERE
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by Jason Joyner | Nov 11, 2009 | Blog, fiction, reviews
Forensics and Faith, the excellent blog by Brandilyn Collins, had a guest post from Jake Chism regarding reviewing fiction. He gives 10 quality tips for writing a review. He talks about writing an appropriate size summary, staying away from spoilers (pet peeve of mine), and not shying away from the negative.
This is a good post for all my fiction buddies out there. Thanks Brandilyn and Jake! You can find more from Jake at Fiction Addict. Sound like my type of place!
by Jason Joyner | Nov 11, 2009 | Blog, fiction, reviews
Forensics and Faith, the excellent blog by Brandilyn Collins, had a guest post from Jake Chism regarding reviewing fiction. He gives 10 quality tips for writing a review. He talks about writing an appropriate size summary, staying away from spoilers (pet peeve of mine), and not shying away from the negative.
This is a good post for all my fiction buddies out there. Thanks Brandilyn and Jake! You can find more from Jake at Fiction Addict. Sound like my type of place!
by Jason Joyner | Oct 28, 2009 | Batgirl, Blog, fiction, short stories
The harrowing (sort of) conclusion to my story, “Asking Batgirl for a Date.” See part 1 and part 2 first!
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I think the crowds followed her in. I could barely get a glance at her between bratty kids and haggard moms. Vampire girl just stayed at the cash register and glowered. Frank kept stocking new merchandise, so Batgirl and I did the customer service and clean up.
I tried to act nonchalant, but the leggings starting to chafe made it harder each minute. I’d bide my time, find the right moment. Hopefully one without a wedgie.
The right moment would be after my buddy Goose left.
He bobbed a head above the crowds. I couldn’t miss him. I didn’t need him here.
“Dude, what’s with the…”
“Don’t! Just, don’t go there.”
“Okay man, chill. So how’s the working man?”
“You know,” I looked at the last item I’d picked up. “Gotta keep up with the bloody chainsaws.”
“Dude, who’s that superchick over there?”
What was her name? I can’t believe my nerd breakout cut her off from giving it to me. Brilliant.
“You think I’m going to tell you? You’ll just blab about some embarrassing moment.”
Goose thought about it. “Like the time you choked on the communion wafer at church?”
“Exactly. Now go look for a costume. The manager doesn’t seem to like me talking.” And if I’m going to be talking, I want it to be with her.
“Okay, I’ll let you get back to…” he looked at my get-up one more time, “work.”
I heard him muttering something about a pirate hook hand on his way to the food court. Finally, I could work my way over to Batgirl. I had to at least get her name! Now, where was she?
I turned around and saw her in the Star Wars section as an unhappy looking patron turned from her and stomped toward the monster manager.
I had a bad feeling about this.
Two rambunctious kids dueled with lightsabers by me. I chased away the padawans and took the toy weapons over toward Batgirl as the woman returned with our boss.
“This is the rude girl. I can’t believe what she said to me!”
Frank’s green lips frowned. “What did you tell her?”
Bat’s eyes filled her mask holes. “She asked me where our Star Wars stuff was, and when I brought her here, she wanted to know the sizes we had in the Slave Leia outfits.”
The woman cut her off. “She said I was too fat for it, to not bother with trying it.”
The image of this lady in a metal bikini shivered my spine.
“I didn’t say that! I suggested that it might not fit and recommended an alternative.”
“It came across that I was fat. My boyfriend wanted me in the slave outfit, not Leia’s stupid white gown. Now our Halloween will be ruined!”
The discontented customer wailed loudly at this, as Batgirl looked dumbfounded at the accusation. Frankenstein stood with an expectant glare. I thought he was going to blow his fake bolts off.
“Do you have something to say?”
“I’m sorry she’s upset, but I didn’t mean to insult her. I was trying to help.”
“You know this is the second complaint I’ve had this week.”
“That lady was going to let her little boy be Freddy Krueger! All I said was I didn’t think that was a good idea.”
My hands shook the lightsabers as I watched the back and forth. I couldn’t believe the scene developing.
“If you’re going to insult my customers, maybe you don’t need to work here.”
Her bottom lip trembled a little as she responded. “Mr. Stein, I am not trying to insult anyone, but I am not going to lie about things. I have to be true to who I am.”
Was his name really Stein?
Not important. Frank huffed at her strong words for a moment, struggling for an answer. The wanna-be Leia goaded him. “If this type of miscreant is working here, I’ll take my business elsewhere.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to be true somewhere else. Get your things, clock out, and go home. You’re fired.”
Her jaw dropped. “But Mr. Stein, I don’t have a ride until the mall closes today. Can’t we all calm down and talk about this?”
“No, I can’t lose business in this economy. You’ll have to find somewhere in the mall to wait, I guess.”
“Dressed like this?” she asked with a quivering voice.
“Not my problem.”
She burst into full blown tears walking to the back room for her things. I didn’t realize I was standing there slack-jawed, but Frankenstein turned his anger toward me. “I don’t think this concerns you. Get back to work.”
I turned to put the sabers back when Batgirl came out of the back, still crying. She had her mask off, but even with red, puffy eyes she still radiated a beauty and a strength. I couldn’t believe Frankenstein was such a monster.
My chance with this angel was walking out the door. A split-second decision.
“Wait up…Batgirl! I’ll give you a ride home.”
Frank glowered at me. “If you leave, don’t bother coming back.”
She looked at me, hopeful.
The game?
Or the girl?
“Let me get my jacket.”
I ran to the break room and back out as fast as I could manage in my outfit. Frankenstein stomped a boot as I ran past, shouting that I must not have needed the money that badly.
No, I just had a new priority. Goodbye football game.
“Hello Batgirl.”
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