Heather Goodman has started a good discussion about self-publishing at her site. She’s mulling the age-old writer’s question: When do you self-publish? Ancilliary or corollary or perhaps embedded in this question: how much do you go with instinct, and how much do you bend to those that know better? (When is changing something for marketing [...]
The annual Spectrum series has quickly become the premiere showcase for “contemporary fantastic art.” I’ve got about half the series, and recently purchased the newest, Spectrum 15. It doesn’t disappoint. According to the Spectrum website, the magazine was established “with the intent of providing creators with a regular showcase for the best fantasy, science fiction, [...]
In the spirit of the holidays, we recently watched What Would Jesus Buy?, producer Morgan Spurlock’s follow-up to his the wildly successful Supersize Me. The documentary examines the commercialization of Christmas in America while following Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse [...]
Just how far should the Church go to reach outsiders? That’s the question being raised. From the source article, Church Tries Goth Liturgy: Churches continually strive to attract fresh faces into their flocks, and one of the challenges they face is getting the attention of younger people who may have turned their backs, according to [...]
Today is World AIDS Day, and I’m confused. Despite impassioned pleas from celebrities like Bono, and the heart-breaking statistics regarding the African epidemic, I struggle with how to respond. Mainly because of stats like these from Mission America: 1. Over 1 million people now have HIV in the U.S.(a) 2. Almost half of HIV cases [...]
Technological advance is often cited as evidence of man’s evolution. We can photograph deep space, tinker with sub-atomic particles, and increase our lifespan. So with all our brainpower, we as a species can’t help but survive. Year Million runs, quite convincingly, with that premise. The book is subtitled Science at the Far End of Knowledge [...]
I mentioned a while back about having a piece published in Raygun Revival, and am proud to announce its unveiling. The story is entitled “Father Fayad’s Curious Compatibility Projector” and, as you can probably gather by the title, it’s satirical sci-fi. Okay, maybe you can’t gather that by the title, but that’s what it is. [...]
House, the new movie based on Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti’s best-selling novel, has re-invigorated the discussion about “Christian Art.” But for all the wrong reasons. The film has been labeled “Christian horror” and received an R-rating, both of which have become points of controversy. The CBA Industry Blog, in a post entitled The First [...]
Cosmetic surgeries are down these days. It’s no wonder. Who can justify botox injections when their 401k is circling the drain? Nothing like an economic meltdown to reveal the real worth of something. But if that’s the case, then storytellers oughta be pretty jazzed. During one of our previous financial downturns, from an article entitled [...]
It’s par for the course that aspiring presidential candidates frame themselves as “Christians.” Throughout the recent campaign, President-elect Barack Obama repeatedly fended off charges that he was a Muslim. This interview provided a window into our new president’s “Christian” faith. But it also reveals the inherent difficulties politicians face in making absolutist religious claims. The [...]
