My (Long Overdue) Thoughts on Realm Makers 2015

(a.k.a. A very long-winded Thank You letter to Robert Liparulo)

I know this is way overdue, but I wanted to make sure I gave myself plenty of time to think and digest before trying to write about what the 2015 Realm Makers conference did for me.

I went to Realm Makers to meet and connect with new likeminded people, with half-hearted hopes of improving my floundering marketing strategy. (And, yes, I’ll admit it, to have a ball hanging out with a whole horde of people as crazy as me!) I did both! But what surprised me was that something else happened too—something that, quite honestly, has been much more impactful by comparison.

Robert Liparulo’s opening keynote address caught my attention with its point-blank simplicity and its call to STOP worrying about all the extraneous details and bring the focus back to why we’re writing in the first place.

Like so many other writers, I started off with starry-eyed dreams of fame, fortune, NYT best sellers, and movie deals. And, like other writers, I quickly came face-to-face with the reality that gave birth to terms like “starving artist,” and jokes like “If you want to get rich writing, the first thing to do is change your name to Stephen King,” a reality that throws you face-to-face with people who say things like “Oh, you’re a writer? That’s nice. Do you have a real job too?”

It is reality, like it or not, and every starry-eyed dreamer needs a good healthy dose of it now and then. The problem was, I overdosed. I told myself to be content with my “starving artist” status, that it was the best I was going to get. I told myself that it was okay for my books to reach only a few people—at least they reached those few, right?

Once I was thoroughly saturated with that bleak perspective, I let it make me passive. As I said, my marketing strategy (or lack thereof) was floundering. But hey, that’s okay—if God wants me to make it big, He’ll make it happen, no worries!

Enter Robert Liparulo again, with the appeal to “Be prepared when God says ‘It’s your turn.’”

It made me stop and think: If God came to me right now and said “Alright, it’s your turn to make it big! Are you ready to go?” what would I have to offer Him (or the publisher/editor/agent/movie studio/etc. He’d sent my way)? The answer was nothing short of dismal: One published novel, a 22-page ebook that sold all of six copies, the first chapters/pages of a dozen unfinished novels, 100+ story ideas, all unwritten…and absolutely no plan or strategy for how to turn that disorganized heap of raw materials into something useful and productive.

It was a major wakeup call, as if God was saying “Okay, you get it now, so what are you going to do about it?”

Now I had come full-circle, back to Robert Liparulo’s original point: Do what God has called you to do, and do it well, but make sure you’re doing it for the love of doing it. Never before had it occurred to me to think of my dreams as prayers to God to help me reach them, but as I contemplated it, I began to realize how liberating the concept was.

That opening talk sent me into the rest of the weekend with my passion for, not just writing, but for being a writer, rekindled. I took pages and pages of notes. I laid awake at night excitedly mulling over new ideas for reaching new audiences with my writing. I texted my mom to tell her how excited I was about everything I was learning. There were so many connections to be made, so much information to take in!

And then I started getting overwhelmed. I was beginning to grasp the scope of the massive undertaking in front of me, and I didn’t know if I was up to the job of tackling it. Where would I even start?

As Saturday started drawing to a close I felt myself freezing up, thinking that maybe crawling back into my Hobbit hole of obscurity where I could cuddle up all safe and sound with my self-doubt wouldn’t be so bad.

Thank God, Robert Liparulo had one more talk to give: A charge to writers to GO!

As I told Mr. Liparulo afterwards, even if that talk meant nothing to anyone else there, it meant everything to me. Even if it touched no one else at all, it changed my life. It changed the way I saw myself. It changed the way I viewed my future not just as a writer, but as a Christian, as a human being on God’s Earth. It touched on issues that I’ve spent the last year wrestling with in areas of my life that (I thought) had nothing to do with my writing.

I have always struggled with an irrational phobia of being a pest, of seeming obtrusive, of admitting that I’m not okay, of swallowing my pride, trust issues, and, at times, feelings of low self-worth, enough to ask for help when I need it. It’s far easier for me to soldier on alone than to ask for someone to hold my hand. I love taking care of others, giving advice, sharing my knowledge, and helping in any way I can, but in my twisted view it’s selfish and needy of me to ask for those same things.

To sit and be encouraged to go out and introduce myself, to make my presence known, to ask for help and advice, to attract attention, to be like that asteroid crashing into the earth…well, it was hard. And scary. My initial reaction was to think “No way, I couldn’t do that!” But at the same time, I felt a sense of peace telling me “Yes you can, it’s okay. At least give it a try.”

So afterwards, I introduced myself to Robert Liparulo, told him how much his talk had meant to me, and spent the next twenty minutes enjoying a fabulous conversation with him. Later, I tracked down someone who had raised an interesting question during the fight scene panel and asked him if he would critique a scene in my novel that was related to his question.

In the weeks since Realm Makers, I’ve started contacting bloggers about book reviews. I’ve been more open about my work as a writer, and haven’t felt needy or conceited for doing so.

Outside of writing, I’ve been more open and honest with myself as well as others. I called a friend for no other reason than to ask her to pray for me as I went through a rough time. I’ve talked about my struggles with people, asked them for help and advice. I went to my mom and laid bare an entire pile of issues I’ve been struggling with for months. They don’t always have the answers, but they’re willing and happy to listen to me, put an arm around me, and pray for me.

And when those old fears and worries start whispering their tired old lines of “Don’t bother them, you’ll seem like a nuisance; they’re busy and your problems aren’t really that important; don’t draw attention to yourself, that’s selfish; don’t say anything, you’ll seem totally weak and needy…” Well, I just smile at them and say,

“But Robert Liparulo said I could.”

 

Realm Makers - the moment we've all been waiting for!

Christian writers, get ready for a history-making event:

The first-ever Christian Speculative Fiction Conference!

On August 2-3, 2013, writers, editors, and publishers from around the world will be gathered at the University of Missouri, St Louis, for the first-ever Realm Makers conference - a writers conference for lovers of the question "what if?", whose faith is the top priority.

Click Here to visit their homepage and get all the information you need.

~*~

I am so excited about this, I don't know how I'm going to keep it together until August. Grace Bridges, leading lady of Splashdown Books, is going to be there, as are spec-fic pioneer Jeff Gerke of Marcher Lord Press; Chila Woychick, editor of Port Yonder Press; L.B. Graham, author of the Binding of the Blade series; Kathy Tyers, author of the Firebird trilogy; and more! (And of course, for those who may care, you can meet me too! ; )

There's also going to be a costume ball on the first night of the conference, which promises to be absolutely fabulous!

If you register before June 1st, you can take advantage of an early bird discount. Registration costs go up after that, so no dilly-dallying!

Supernatural Christian Fiction - Is it Okay?

Let me start off by saying that ever since the beginning of the paranormal/supernatural fiction craze, I've been afraid that this would happen.
For some reason, Christian writers and publishers feel like we just can't let the secular publishers corner the market on paranormal/supernatural fiction. We just have to get in and get a cut of the action. So we've started seeing paranormal/supernatural titles start to drift into the Christian book market.
Now, though, the trend is even spilling over into children's fiction. This week I read a new release from Thomas Nelson Publishers, by new author Jerel Law, titled: Spirit Fighter. You can read my full review of the book by Clicking Here.
Suffice it to say I was not impressed. In fact, I was disturbed and even angered by what I read. And my review only covered a few of the issues I had with it. I could have gone on for much longer.
The thing that worries me most about this new trend in fiction is that Christians are starting to become casual and comfortable, even flippant, with the idea of spiritual warfare, and the topic is beginning to lose the sense of gravity that should accompany it.
I remember a time when spiritual warfare, angels, and demons were spoken of soberly, with seriousness and gravity - if they were spoken of at all. Very few people actually talked about such things, and those who did didn't do so often or casually.
Now, though, it's become a trendy, exciting topic that people talk about over a cup of coffee, along with the latest vampire novels. Every author puts their own twist on it; every reader has their own favorite fallen angel or half-angel character.
Now, in books like Spirit Fighter, even children's fiction has started featuring fallen angels, nephilim, guardian angels, and face-to-face battles with demons.
I'll be honest: I'm worried about the direction this trend will take people. Spiritual warfare is something we should not shove under the rug and pretend isn't there, but it isn't something we should be casual and flippant about, either. It is a very grave, serious thing, and we should not be allowing trendy fiction to make it into something we feel comfortable with. Feeling comfortable leads to dropping our guard. Dropping our guard leads to vulnerability and weakness.
Spiritual warfare is not an area where we can afford to be vulnerable and weak, my friends.

What are your thoughts on the supernatural trend coming to Christian fiction?

The Enduring Appeal of Zombies

Recently, I received an email with the following question:

I would like to read your opinion (and the opinion of your followers) on the enduring fiction of the zombie.
Why does it endure?
How does it maintain a sizable subset of fringe culture?
What is its appeal?
etc.
Thank you for your consideration of this topic.
~Zombie Hater

I thought it was an interesting question. Personally, I am not a fan of the zombie trend at all, and had never been able to understand the appeal they hold for so many people, so I had never given it much thought. However, since zombies do have a considerable presence in the world of speculative fiction, I decided it was worth looking into.
I've done a great deal of online research as well as talking to several different people about it, but unfortunately there are few people willing to field explanations as to the reason for the un-dead monster's popularity.
I did hear and discover some interesting theories, though, so I thought I'd share them and let you all decide for yourselves.

- One theory is that in the case of zombie movies or video games, one can experience the adrenaline rush of action and combat without worrying about the moral or emotional implications of killing another human being.

I suppose that, since zombies are supposed to be dead bodies that have been somehow reanimated, this is a legitimate point. If the person is already technically dead, you really wouldn't be 'killing' them. And, while we as humans do have a God-given right to defend ourselves from attackers (even if defending ourselves involves the use of lethal force) there is still a huge emotional cost that comes with taking another human life. I suppose, then, that using lethal force against some kind of freakish monster like a zombie would eliminate some of that cost.
So this theory does, perhaps, explain the appeal of fighting against inhuman monsters rather than against human beings. But it leaves the question: why zombies specifically? Why not trolls or orcs or Sasquatches? And of course the implications of experiencing the "rush" of combat and killing for enjoyment is an entirely separate issue.

- Another more philosophical theory is that a culture's or people group's real fears are represented and reflected in its fictional fears. For instance, one person I talked to suggested that Godzilla was originally a symbol of the atomic bomb in Japan. Likewise, early zombie-era zombies were a symbolic representation of people's fear of radiation and nuclear war. Today, they represent people's fear of terrorism.

I've seen plenty of evidence to suggest that the 'zombie' concept is indeed symbolic. The phrase 'For When the Zombies Come' has come to represent a mindset of general awareness and preparedness (e.g. I'm doing physical fitness or weapons training 'For When the Zombies Come'; I keep extra food and supplies on hand 'For When the Zombies Come'), especially as disaster preparedness becomes more popular in our culture.
In addition, I do find it rather interesting to notice that the zombies portrayed in the earlier days of the trend were slow, lethargic creatures that killed people simply by being absolutely everywhere in inescapable numbers. I can see where this could coincide with the radiation/nuclear war concept (i.e. if a nuclear weapon was detonated, radiation would be everywhere in inescapable amounts). Also interesting to me is the fact that the zombies of today have become more fast, agile, and aggressive; they could pop up anywhere unexpectedly, and even a lone zombie could pose a serious threat to someone. This would tend to correspond with people's fear of terrorism; a single terrorist could pop up in any given location and, with little effort, kill or injure dozens if not hundreds of people before anyone could stop him.
So I understand the reasoning in this theory as well. But, like the first theory I mentioned, it still leaves the question: why zombies rather than some other kind of monster? In answer to that, I have my own theory.

- The idea of heroes battling hideous and terrible monsters is thousands of years old. Even the most ancient cultures had hero-versus-monster legends and stories they loved. And with each new culture or era come new trends in how those heroes and monsters are represented. In the days of ancient Greece the trend was for cursed humans or demigods to be turned into horrible monsters. In the days of King Arthur dragons and sorcerers were the trend. In the days of the wild West, it was savage, scalp-hunting Indians. It's entirely possible that zombies are simply today's monster of choice.

I have heard recently that there are people who really believe the government is experimenting and actually trying to create zombies. For what purpose, I have no idea, but if it's true that some people believe this, I suppose their apparent fascination with zombies could stem from this belief. In my personal opinion, watching zombie movies and reading zombie books as preparation is comparable to reading Jane Austen to learn how to get married. Just because it happens one way in Hollywood doesn't mean it'll happen that way in real life.
However, if there is a portion of society that believes in the scientific possibility of zombies, I suppose it makes sense that movie, book, or video game presentations of this would be marketable.
Do zombies have a place in Christian fiction? Truthfully, I don't know. Personally, I find them completely unappealing and have no interest whatsoever in movies or books built on that theme, but I know Christians who have read and enjoyed zombie fiction. I would encourage Christians to make careful, prayerful decisions about their reading and movie-viewing choices in regards to this topic just as they would with any other topic.

Zombie Hater, while I'm afraid this probably hasn't answered all the aspects of your question entirely, I hope it has at least shed a little light on it and given you some possibilities to think about. Thanks for the question, though! You've made me investigate and learn about a topic I hadn't really given any thought to before.

For the record, anyone can send me their questions, thoughts, or ideas by using the contact form at the top of the right-hand sidebar on this page. I'd love to see more thoughtful discussion starters like this one!

What are your thoughts on the zombie trend?
(P.S. My Blogger account hasn't been allowing me to post comments the last week or so, so my apologies to those of you who have commented that I haven't replied to.)

Violence in Christian Fiction

To sort of follow up the "Arming Your Hero" series, I wanted to write a post about violence in Christian fiction. In the speculative genres, particularly fantasy, it is basically assumed that stories will contain violence, be it a sword fight, a fazer battle, storming a castle, or a good old-fashioned fist fight.
But as Christians, what should our approach to violence in fiction be? Readers, how much is too much? At what point should we put the book down? Writers, how should we handle violence when it comes up in our own stories?


The first real question is: When is violence biblically justified?
If you discuss this with enough people, it's only a matter of time until 'Thou shalt not kill' comes up. This is a relatively easy issue to handle with a quick explanation of the King James version's word choice. What they translated as 'kill' actually means 'murder' in the original Hebrew text.
If you haven't done it already, I would encourage you to study Old Testament law (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) and familiarize yourself with what it says about violence and killing.
Going into specific detail on the Bible's commands and accounts that revolve around violence would require a series of posts all its own, so for time's sake I'm going to base this post on the assumption that you all have at least a basic understanding of biblically justified killing and violence and are okay with the idea of violence in the real world as well as in fiction. (If this is not the case, leave a comment or email me with any questions you have.)

This brings us into the real issue I wanted to discuss in this post: What should a Christian writer's or reader's approach be to violence in fiction?
It is extremely important to understand that violence is very, very ugly. Over the last several decades books and movies have glamorized it into something exciting, dramatic, even artistic. You know the routine: the hero slays the dozen enemy warriors surrounding him while managing to sustain only superficial and cool-looking injuries himself, leaps onto his horse, swings the girl into the saddle behind him, rides to the arch-villain's stronghold, engages said villain in a deadly, several-minutes-long battle, slays arch-villain (sustaining another glamorous injury or two), kisses the girl, makes some profoundly witty remark, and the end credits roll. Hurrah.
Only that's not even close to what violence is really like. Real-life violence is unbelievably fast, bloody, terrifying, and horrific. A man doesn't just kill his attacker and carry on unscathed; even a perfectly justified killing has serious psychological effects on a person. A man who has been run through with a sword doesn't just cringe and crumple to the ground. Even a fight that doesn't end with a fatality often results in broken noses, missing teeth, black eyes, and more.
More recent titles in movies and literature have actually begun to show violence more realistically, but I don't see that trend as any better than the last one. Glamorized violence lulls people into a false perception of violence; realistic violence displayed as 'entertainment' inoculates people against the horror of what violence really is.
So as writers, we are faced with the task of finding a very delicate balance somewhere in the midst of all this. Where in the world do we start?
First of all, I want to make it clear that I don't have a problem with a fun, light-hearted work of fiction portraying violence in a somewhat goofy way (e.g. The dashing and witty hero makes an incredibly clever remark and all the oafish bad guys stand there dumbfounded while he renders them unconscious with a rolling pin.). With a book or movie of that nature, people understand that it's not supposed to be serious or realistic; it's fun and entertaining for the sole purpose of being fun and entertaining, and I have no problem at all with that as long as it's done in a clean and tasteful way.
But when you get into the heavier fiction, fiction intended to be taken seriously, violence becomes a much more complicated issue.
We don't want to commit the error of glamorizing violence. At the same time, though, we don't want to carry realism too far. A normal person does not enjoy seeing or reading about extremely realistic or gory violence, and we don't want to ruin their enjoyment of a story with our quest to achieve literary realism. (Besides which, a normal person probably isn't going to enjoy writing about excessively realistic violence, either.)
So where do we draw the line? How much realism is too much?
Honestly, I don't have a concrete answer or a step-by-step formula for dealing with violence in fiction. No two fights or battles are alike, and the scenarios surrounding them aren't alike either. Readers and writers have to use their own judgment in making decisions on what to read and what to write and where lines should be drawn.
In my own writing there are a lot of battles as well as fights on a smaller scale. My standard approach is to tell what happened ("He fell to the floor with a knife in his chest...", "blood poured from a cut on his face...", etc.) and leave it at that. If a character dies a violent death, I say enough to let the reader know what happens, but I do it in a relatively vague way that allows them to understand what's going on without having to read (and thereby 'see') all the gruesome and gory details. They can choose to fill in more detail (or not) with their own imagination. The way I see it, this allows me to tell the story without having to write bloody and unpleasant descriptions, as well as allowing the reader to read the story without having to read more detail than they want to.
One thing I make it a point to keep in mind when writing violent scenes is that violence is not something to be taken lightly. Ever. I'm not talking about a goofy bop on the head or a shove off the dock and into the pond; I'm talking about serious fiction. With fiction we do have some leeway to work with (simply because it is fiction and people don't read fiction expecting everything to be realistic), but as Christian writers it is still something we need to take seriously and consider carefully.
Society's persistently flippant view and portrayal of violence has greatly influenced individuals' perspectives of it--even Christians' perspectives. But maybe, if a generation of Christian writers would commit to portraying violence in a godly way--as something very serious that can't be taken lightly--we could begin to open their eyes and change those perspectives.

I think it's worth a try.

Are the lines between speculative genres becoming blurred?

Lately the speculative genres of fiction are growing a great deal in popularity. So, with competition on the rise, spec-fic writers are all trying to make their own contributions distinct, unique, and original. Experimentation is a natural first step on a quest for originality.
The result? New genres and sub-genres of speculative fiction are making their debut and getting a pretty good reception. Writers are looking at established concepts with completely new perspectives and new approaches. And they're beginning to experiment with crossing and combining different genres.
My friend Heather has started introducing steampunk concepts into some of her fantasy stories. My own fantasy WiP has some sci-fi-like concepts in it regarding the story world's technology and scientific developments. Falls the Shadow, a multi-author novel I am privileged to be a part of, fits into the steampunk, science fiction, alternate history, and futuristic genres, all with no trouble.

So what does this mean for speculative fiction as a whole? Are the lines between genres blurring? Is this a bad thing?

Readers, what do you think about this trend? Do you think it will make it harder to find a book you want to read if there is one particular speculative genre you like and one you don't?

Writers, what do you think? Have you experimented with crossing genres in any of your writing?

Aliens in Christian Fiction

A commonly-seen element in science fiction is the existence of aliens. They show up in a variety of ways and forms, from Star Trek-style aliens (different enough to be noticeably alien, but still human enough to be attractive to one of the main characters), to deceptively human-looking spies sent to scout planet Earth, to utterly inhuman monsters bent on devouring everything. It's a broad idea, and writers have basically unlimited room to work.
But how do aliens fit into Christian fiction?
First, let's make sure we're clear on what an alien actually is. I'm sure most people probably visualize a rather scrawny, huge-brained, big-eyed creature something like the little guy on the right (couldn't help myself--I thought he was kinda cute). Really, the word "alien" just means "foreign, not native, etc.". "Extra-Terrestrial" means "from outside of Earth". That's all there is to it. Neither of those terms suggest anything more by their definitions. Pretty cut and dried, right?
Yes... and no. With accounts of UFO sightings, alien abductions, events like the Roswell incident calling into question the Genesis account of creation, and even (more recently) the notion that a highly intelligent extra-terrestrial race was actually responsible for 'seeding' the beginnings of life onto our planet and kick-starting the evolutionary process, the whole alien issue can become difficult.
Difficult, yes, but thankfully not complicated. For writers and readers alike, the important thing is to know where you stand--and make sure it's on a biblical worldview.
If you don't know where you stand, or you're not sure what a biblical worldview of aliens would actually be, I advise you to read Gary Bates' book Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection. Click Here to watch the author's YouTube discussion of the book, or Here to order it from Amazon. You'll come away from reading Alien Intrusion with a much better understanding of the reality behind accounts of UFO sightings and abductions, and what the Bible actually says about 'aliens'.

Really, the issue is more complicated for those who are just reading science fiction than for those who are writing it. A Christian reader trying to discern godly use of aliens and related concepts in fiction from ungodly is probably in for quite a time of it.
For writers, though, it's much more simple (especially if you just stick with the dictionary definition of 'alien'): establish a biblical worldview, keep your writing solidly within those bounds... and go for it! Whether you're creating an entirely fictional universe with creatures and characters from multiple planets, writing a civilization of intelligent beings into a far-flung corner of our own Milky Way, or bringing in visitors from a parallel dimension, you have an entire universe's worth of space to play in. There are countless ways to execute this. One of the most unique I've seen is in Tom Pittman's online novel, Lazir, in which aliens have come to Earth from an alternate dimension--a world that never suffered the Fall, as ours did--as missionaries. You can Click Here to read Lazir on Tom Pittman's website. (Be forewarned: the book needs a sequel desperately. I've been lobbying for one since I read the book, but so far no luck.)

While the alien/ET/UFO thing has grown into somewhat of a monster in our culture, it's not something we need to be afraid of as writers and readers. Sure, it can get touchy and weird in the hands of the right (or wrong) people, but if we have a godly and biblical worldview to stand on, it's a pretty simple matter with a lot of potential. Let's not treat it like a case of leprosy. Let's take it captive and use its potential for God's glory.

What are your thoughts on aliens in Christian fiction? Do you have a favorite example?

The Race Question

The Bible tells us that humans are all one race, one blood, and scientists--even secular ones--confirm that. We may have different facial features, different skin tones, and different genetic tendencies, but we are all one race. (Next time you get a political phone survey that asks your race, try telling them 'human' and see what they say.)
But in writing speculative fiction, we have a little bit of freedom to play with that. God created our world with only one race of sentient creatures created in His image, but who is to say He might not do things differently in another world?
J.R.R. Tolkien's writing is the obvious choice as an example. Middle Earth is populated by several different races: humans, hobbits, elves, dwarves, goblins, and usually there are a variety of sub-categories within each race as well. In that case, each race is basically a distinct creature all its own.
In the fantasy world where my current WIP is set, the term 'human' refers to any creature with a living soul; physical characteristics have nothing to do with it, so even sentient dragons are considered human. Needless to say, there are distinct races among the humans in that world, some more drastically unique than others, but each with its own characteristics and traits.
And there could be many other ways to address the issue of race in fiction, too. Maybe there is a fictional world where no creature is 'human' as we know it. Perhaps in one world, elves and dwarves are just variations within the human 'species'. We serve a creative God, so I'm sure there are millions of ideas out there that we haven't even thought of yet.

What is your approach to race in your writing?

Finding Ideas for Fantasy-world Cultures

Part of the joy of writing in the speculative genres is the fact that we get to build whole worlds and cultures entirely from our imaginations. In my opinion, it's probably the most fun part.
But our imaginations have to have raw materials to work with, building blocks to use as foundations for our constructions, and that's what I'm going to talk about in this post.
Most fantasy fiction is set in a world/culture that is basically European in nature. Castles, knights, dragons, enchanted swords, elves, and fairies are standard fare, finding their roots in Western European history and legend. But there are lots of other exciting, colorful, mysterious, and intriguing cultures out there, all of which have tons to offer spec.fic. writers. Personally, I've become totally hooked on studying cultures that are foreign to me and storing what I learn for use in future fiction projects. I recently took a college course on ancient Chinese history, and now I can't wait to write a fantasy culture using some of the elements I learned about. My new ApricotPie fantasy serial does have a Western European flavor, but from the Victorian era rather than the commonly-used Middle Ages. Simmering on the back burner, I have fantasy stories based on ancient Mayan and Arabian cultures.
And there are so many more that could be used. Grab yourself a history book and start asking questions. What might a fantasy culture based on the Eskimo lifestyle look like? What literary possibilities await in the medicinal magic of the Australian Aborigines? What if the builders of the cave dwellings in the American southwest weren't Indians at all? Which might an elf prefer: the precision of the Greek parthenon, or the onion-dome style of St. Petersburg?
You might choose to take the route of historical fantasy. On the other hand, you might create an entirely new world. And remember, you're not limited to using only one culture from our world for one culture from your world. Mix and match! There are plenty of questions to be asked and speculated upon there, too. That's why we call it speculative fiction, after all.
What real-world cultures are your writings based on? In what cultures do you find the most possibilities for speculative fiction?

Post-Apocalypse... a very confused genre

A speculative genre that seems to be growing at an inordinate rate these days is the Post-Apocalyptic genre. And everyone has their own ideas of what exactly 'the Apocalypse' will be like: from movies and books like 2012, The Book of Eli, One Second After, I am Legend, Lucifer's Hammer, and The Road, everyone is bringing their own presentation of the end of the world to the table.
Of course, as with many popular buzzwords, the term 'Apocalypse' has become warped in its definition by overuse. Webster's Dictionary defines 'Apocalypse' as: 1) the last book of the New Testament; book of Revelation. 2) a prophetic disclosure; revelation.
Seems cut and dried, right? Apocalypse=the end of the world, or a revealed prophesy. Unfortunately, due to gross overuse, the 'Apocalypse' has come to refer to any huge disaster--and sometimes even not-so-huge disasters. Back in January a blizzard plowed through my area, dumping eighteen inches of snow on us. Granted, here in the Ozarks it's pretty unusual to get a snowfall that big, but still--it was only eighteen inches. And yet I heard multiple people referring to it as 'The Snow Apocalypse'. (Seriously? If a little snow constitutes the Apocalypse in your book, what are you going to do in the event of something really disastrous? But I digress.)
The Post-Apocalyptic genre brings a lot of unique elements to fiction: the possibilities for nuclear weapons, asteroids, world war, inter-planetary war, and world-wide cataclysm to name a few. Any of those elements could hold a lot of possibility for a writer willing to make it work. Unfortunately, the genre often drags a lot of very dark, dystopian elements onto the stage with it too. Human beings degenerated to the point of utter brutality, cannibalism, widespread human trafficking, and the ever-popular zombies all pop up frequently in works of Post-Apocalyptic fiction.
These issues, along with the very nature of 'Apocalyptic' fiction, can make it a tough area for Christian writers. Sure, I've heard the arguments for pursuing realism in fiction, but the point remains that as Christians we know the real Apocalypse will be when Christ raptures His church and unleashes the tribulation on the earth (and the Left Behind series has pretty much cornered, captured, skinned, and filleted that market; let's not beat that dead horse any more!).
What are your thoughts on Post-Apocalyptic fiction? Do you think it has possibilities (aside from Left Behind spinoffs) in the world of Christian fiction?

Falls the Shadow

Coming to The Lost Scribes blog May 15: Falls the Shadow.
The first Christian steampunk novel of its kind, by authors H.A. Titus, Elynn W. Marshe, and Mary Ruth Pursselley.


Imagine a world where technology has replaced the need for traditional education... even the need to read. Imagine entire sectors of cities being abandoned as rapid technological advances render them obsolete. Imagine libraries falling into disrepair and decay, the books inside moldering away, ignored until they are forgotten...

until an experiment, using computer viruses as weapons of war, goes tragically wrong.

Welcome to Shandor Rei.
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Amid the wreckage of a swift and devastating war, life goes on--as a fight for survival. Poverty, starvation, violence, and oppression haunt the streets and the broken people who live there.

One chance for recovery and freedom remains: thousands of books, buried deep beneath the rubble in the ruins of a bombed library.

A teenage boy named Skylar dreams of finding lost books and learning to read, but has his doubts about whether they could still exist after so much destruction.
Maricossa, an agent of The White Tiger, has been ordered by the oppressive government to find and destroy any books that may have survived the bombings.
Libretto con Brio, a spunky teenage girl, has dedicated her life to making sure no one finds the books she protects--ever.

When circumstances bring the three of them together, a battle of ultimatums, loyalty, deception, and trust begins. No secret is safe. No outcome is certain.
No motive is clear, for "between the motion and the act... between the emotion and the response...
Falls the Shadow."
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Visit The Lost Scribes and become a follower to watch Falls the Shadow unfold, starting May 15, 2011

lostscribes.blogspot.com

Coming Soon: The Lost Scribes

A team of Christian writers who don't believe in playing it safe when adventure waits beyond the borders.

A revolutionary approach to multi-author fiction writing.

A groundbreaking expedition into the uncharted world of Christian steampunk.

A new story about to unfold.

Coming May 1, 2011

Watch The Writer's Lair for upcoming details!

Transcendent...

I imagine I'm not the only writer of speculative fiction who has been asked a question along the lines of: "How can you use your stories to tell people about God if the stories aren't set in the real world?"
I love being asked this. If the person asking is not a Christian, the question gives me the chance to tell them about my Savior. If they are already a Christian (in my personal experience, the people asking this question usually are), I get an opportunity to talk with them about God and, hopefully, help them see Him in a way that maybe they hadn't thought of before.
My God is not limited by the confines of a single universe. To me, the idea of stories set on Planet Earth being the only stories that can be used to show God to readers equals the idea that God is not great enough to extend into other universes.
My God is the God of all creativity, imagination, and originality. Just as I don't put every single idea I have for subplots, character quirks, landscape features, plot twists, and architecture designs into one single novel, I don't believe for one instant that God put every single idea and feature He ever conceived inside this one little universe we live in.
My God transcends the bounds of our universe's space and time. He created a solar system in which the planets go around the sun, a world of four seasons, a man of the dust of the ground, an endless vacuum hostile to life surrounding our tiny little home planet, but His creations do not limit Him. My God existed before Time and Space, and He exists outside of them. The fact that He created them does not limit Him to existing within their boundaries.
My God's imagination is a diverse one--the same mind that conceived the red storm on the planet Jupiter imagined the whiskers on a mouse's face; the same breath that ignited the inferno of the sun breathed life into Mankind--but I believe that even the vast diversity and variety of our world do not begin to do justice to the creative powers of His mind.
My God transcends the bounds of my imagination, and of yours, and of our universe. Of course it would be just as easy to share my God with readers through stories set only in the 'real world'. My question is: Why would I confine God that much?
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Have a blessed Easter, everyone!

Numbers Worth Noting

Rachelle Gardner, an agent with Wordserve Literary (and a fantastic source of practical information about the publishing industry), began taking a poll on her blog a few days ago with the intention of learning more about her readers. One of the questions was "Do you write primarily fiction or non-fiction?" followed by "If fiction, what genre do you write in primarily?". 26% of responses came back "Fantasy/Sci-fi," followed by 21% in the "General/Other" category (which could potentially contain other speculative genres such as Alternate History, Steampunk, etc.). Out of the seven genre choices available in the poll, both of those percentages led by considerable margins (at least 10 percentage points).
This, while certainly the most recent, is not the first encouraging sign I've seen regarding the growing trend in Christian speculative fiction. On his website, Where the Map Ends, Jeff Gerke has posted interviews with many authors of Christian speculative fiction; read them, and you'll see some very positive and optimistic attitudes about the future of the Christian spec. fic. industry.
A lot of Christian publishing houses still seem wary about the speculative trend, but personally I think that the industry is on the cusp of what could be a massive revolution. As a Christian writer of speculative fiction, I'm extremely excited to be riding this wave. God has already done some great things in the industry, and I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing what else He has in store for the future!
What about you? Are you encouraged or discouraged by what you see in the world of Christian speculative fiction? What course do you think the trends are taking?

Harmony of the Spheres

I'm currently reading the book Galileo, part of the Christian Encounters series, by Mitch Stokes. In the early pages of the book, Stokes briefly outlines the essentials of Pythagorean beliefs, namely: that the universe at its core is fundamentally mathematical.
Astronomer Johannes Kepler believed that the precise mathematical movements of the planets actually produced music--"the harmony of the spheres".

It's not exactly hard science, but it got me thinking about the possibilities of a universe where the movements of the planets and other heavenly bodies do produce some form of celestial music or other phenomenon.
What might such a world be like? What sort of mysteries might such a universe hold?
What adventures might await an ambitious explorer?

Riese: Kingdom Falling

Once again, a subject mentioned in a previous post has been found to deserve another post all its own. : )
Riese: Kingdom Falling is a web series, the first season of which can be viewed on Syfy.com. Season One consists of ten episodes, each averaging about 7 to 9 minutes long, so the entire first season comes out to about the length of a normal movie.
The series is set in the fictional country of Elysia, a nation that has been overthrown and taken over by a religious coup. Riese, Elysia's rightful princess, escaped the murderous rebels who murdered her family, and is now running for her life trying to avoid being hunted down by the usurping empress Amara. She has Fenrir, a wolf, to help her, but the two of them are up against armies of huntsmen, the fanatic religious group called The Sect, and ruthless, brainwashed cyborgs.
Riese is very well-produced, and I was delighted with how clean it was, especially for being a secular production.
There are some definite religious aspects to the story, and the devoutly religious characters are the 'bad guys', which was somewhat of a concern for me. Riese is labeled a 'heretic' for refusing to accept their religion, but whether she conforms to another religion or not is not made clear. Also, The Sect's beliefs are in no way made to resemble Christianity, which was a relief.
There is a scene where Riese wakes up in a hospital after suffering a severe injury, and the doctors have removed her shirt to treat the wound. In another scene, Empress Amara is consulting one of her advisers while changing her clothes; she is standing behind a dressing screen so all you can see are her shoulders, but I still found that a little weird. Later, when Riese learns the fate of her younger brother, she uses a derogatory name for the man responsible (I don't approve of the use of the word, but in all fairness, he really deserved it).
If you watch the series and, toward the end, suddenly begin to worry that a very inappropriate scene may be approaching, don't fret. I thought the same thing, and was almost furious at having watched so far only to have to turn it off. But as I said, don't worry. You think it's coming, but it doesn't.
On the whole, this is a great series full of action, suspense, and loads of steampunk flavor. For anyone who wants to really get acquainted with the steampunk style and genre, or for that matter anyone who just wants a great story to watch, I recommend Riese: Kingdom Falling.

Steampunk

I know I 'defined' the steampunk genre in my last post, but like so many of the speculative genres it can be very broad, and it is very new and unfamiliar to most people, so I thought I would take the time to expand on it a bit.
Personally, I have fallen in love with the steampunk genre and its quirks, styles, and attitude. Once I learned the definition of the term and began looking into books and movies that fell into that category, I realized that steampunk is more than just Victorian-era science fiction. It is, essentially, a style all its own that can be used in Victorian sci-fi type settings (e.g. The Young Sherlock Holmes, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), but that can also be carried over into alternate history, or even entire worlds all its own.
No matter what path you take, there are countless possibilities with steampunk.
Take the historical route, and you have all the trial-and-error inventions, cultural quirks, world-changing conflicts, and political issues to work with. Science was really beginning to 'take off' during that time. Archaeology was becoming a very popular topic of interest. Steam-powered machinery was revolutionizing the industrial world (as well as contributing to the term 'steampunk' itself). Social, religious, and personal conflict erupted in the wake of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. The medical field saw significant advances--sometimes in the wrong direction, but advances nonetheless. Inventors all over the world were racing to create the next revolutionary device. I don't think I really have to say it: there is a lot there for a writer to work with.
Of course, with steampunk you also have the option of building a whole world all its own. One might ask: 'If steampunk is based on our world's Victorian era with a sci-fi twist, how can it be set in its own world?' Really, to pull it off you just have to familiarize yourself with the steampunk style, the kind of technology that fits with the genre, etc., and build your world based on that.The best example I have seen of this so far is Riese: Kingdom Falling, a web series produced and hosted by Syfy.com. Although, I am currently part of a multi-author team that is working on a steampunk/alternate universe production, which we hope to be officially announcing soon. Stick around for more on that at a later date!
What are your thoughts on the steampunk genre? As I mentioned in the last post, I believe it has the potential to be the next big trend in speculative fiction. What do you think?