Wayne Thomas Batson
Teacher of middle school students, spinner of pirate yarns, doorman for The Door Within, husband, father.

Christopher Hopper

Author, musician, pastor, traveler, visionary, consumer of sushi, husband, father.

The CSFF tour for November is featuring a collaboration between these two authors, Curse of the Spider King, first in the Berinfell Prophecies. I introduced the book yesterday, and will review it tomorrow. Today I wanted to tell you about these men, as there’s more than just a book involved here.

Unfortunately, Spider King is the first book I’ve read of either author (a problem I shall have to remedy). However, I’ve known about and followed these guys for a while. I am very pleased that the CSFF is featuring their work because they are serious about reaching a young generation with the love of Jesus and the love of literature and creativity. These are two things I can certainly get behind.

Wayne is a public school teacher, who decided to write for those he worked with day to day. Christopher has grown up in ministry, and among his many hats he works with teens and college aged folk. If you check out their sites, they are not shy about wanting to reach kids. They also do their part to foster a greater appreciation of reading, especially fantasy. They’ve done tours, spoken at schools and churches, and supported other authors, hoping to make a difference in their realm of influence.

Wayne asks on his blog for people willing to pray and support their work, that doors will be opened. As he points out, in a battle artillery is needed to weaken the defenses of the enemy. As Christians our weapons are spiritual, and our warfare is through prayer and the Word. I encourage all interested in the next generation and in good art to support these guys, as they walk out their hearts.

A few more points of interest:

Ryan Heart has a great interview with Wayne and Christopher.

Robert Treskillard has a good opening for the Berinfell Prophecies (even if he is biased ;-)).

There is also a special contest by Wayne and Christopher, and if you are going to point young readers to their books, you should also direct them here!

Finally, check out the rest of my tourmates, as Becky Miller keeps an updated list of who has posted, and I’ll have my review tomorrow!
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