Eric Ortlund teaches Hebrew and biblical studies at Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan, Canada. He’s also fascinated by modern fantasy, horror, and ancient myth. Eric has interwoven these disparate interests into his new novel, Dead Petals. Zombie tales and Biblical scholars fascinate me, especially when they collide. So I hunted Eric down and grilled [...]

One sociological theory suggests that how people dress is indicative of a society’s trajectory. The theory goes like this: When the lower class try to dress like the upper class, a society is on the incline. When the upper class try to dress like the lower class, a society is on the decline. In other [...]

I am not an advocate of Purity Culture. Raising four kids helped me reach that conclusion. Two boys and two girls, all now married, with seven grand-kids in tow. Along the way, we had our chances to be Purity Culture reps. We homeschooled our kids and Modesty / Purity Culture was big in homeschooling circles. [...]

Despite having no dog in the fight, I am quite fascinated by the ongoing discussions about the direction of Christian fiction, particularly as it involves speculative fiction. Most recently, that discussion has centered around the sale of Marcher Lord Press, the most identifiable name in Christian speculative fiction. While there’s been much discussion about the [...]

That was pretty much the response I got from one Facebook friend when I asked about reading Brandon Sanderson. I’m regularly hearing good things about Sanderson’s novels, but his catalog is so vast I had no idea where to start. So I needed some feedback. I received lots of helpful suggestions. Until one guy wrote [...]

I tackled Melville’s Moby Dick almost a decade ago. It was long, rambling, lyrical, surreal, insightful, and maddening. I loved it. So I was a tad puzzled when so many of my critique partners panned it. Verbose and boring, they said. And WAY too long. It left me undeterred about reading other “classics.” Robinson Crusoe, [...]

Numerous theories have been floated about the contributing factors to the tragic massacre at UCSB last Friday night and the possible motivations of the shooter. Some blame the Men’s Rights Movement (MRM). Some ponder how Asperger’s and other social disorders lead to isolation and relational awkwardness. Others see it as a possible extension of our [...]

I’m quickly approaching another one of those forks in the road. You know, that familiar juncture that most writers reach, the one where you have to decide whether to seek traditional publishing or to self-publish. (Cue screeching violins and hair pulling.) I’m considered a hybrid author because I’ve done both — two trad novels and [...]

One of the arguments used by proponents of heterosexual marriage is that the Church has historically believed — two thousand years worth of believing, in fact — that homosexuality is an abnormal, immoral lifestyle. Opponents of this longstanding Christian position often counter by citing the Church v. Galileo. In his review of Matthew Vines’ “God [...]