…98…99 …100! Okay, now I’ve calmed down. Yesterday a writer friend emailed me that my most recent Novel Journey post was being talked about by a well-known Christian author. My post was decidedly provocative — Want Readers? Then Shut Up! The author provided a link to my article and then proceeded to, um, misinterpret me. [...]
The more serious world events get, the more necessary satire, parody and humor become. One can only take so much “Breaking News” before needing to chill with The Simpsons, Stephen Colbert, or Jon Stewart. I was reminded of this while re-visiting Jacques Barzun’s massive tome, From Dawn to Decadence. At one point, Barzun upends the [...]
Recently, I’ve been enjoying author Rachel Held Evans’ blog. She’s a self-professed Christ-follower, a skeptic, and the purpose of her site is “to reassess the fundamental elements of Christianity [in the] context of a postmodern environment.” For the record, I am fascinated by, even sympathetic toward, many aspects of “postmodern Christianity.” The Gospel was never [...]
Are publishers looking for books that have depth (expansive storyworld, dense characters and complicated plot) or books that are simple (modest characters, uncluttered plot, and broadly accessible)? I’m still not sure. Of course, when pitching your book, the rule is always simplicity. You’ve got sixty seconds to distill your story’s characters, conflicts, plot twists, and [...]
Does God still use natural disaster as a means of judgment? After the strange meteorological display in downtown Minneapolis last week, some are revisiting that question. Reporter Jan Markell, in a piece entitled, Was God in the Whirlwind?, chronicles what happened: Wednesday, August 19, was an average day. It was cool with not enough humidity [...]
In re-posting the Christian Speculative Fiction Panel, I perused the discussion again and was reminded of an observation I have that remains unaddressed. My second question to the panel concerned the disproportionate popularity of speculative themes in the general market as opposed to the Christian market. For instance, of the 50 highest-grossing movies of all-time, [...]
This is a re-post, in its entirety, of the series that ran at Novel Journey. I’ll be archiving it in the Interviews section of this website as well as including a sidebar link. * * * When it comes to Christian literature, the genre of speculative fiction – sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc. – is one [...]
This Monday, after 90 minutes of system crashes and time outs, I was fortunate enough to secure two free tickets to “Avatar Day.” That’s what Twentieth Century Fox is calling Friday, August 21, 2009. At selected IMAX theaters around the world, Fox will screen 16 minutes of footage from James Cameron’s much anticipated 3D sci-fi [...]
Now that PETA has officially denounced the re-signing of Michael Vick to an NFL contract, I am even more in favor of him playing. Why? To me, the issue is not sincerity. This appears to be the defining factor for some folks. Is he sincere? But that question is virtually unanswerable. There’s only two people [...]
Bono famously sang, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” It’s a sentiment that can be problematic for Christians. On the one hand, our spiritual quest is over. By believing in Christ we have found what we were looking for, we have come home, we have discovered the Truth. But on the other hand, [...]
