The Jerkrenak's Den

This Is Not the Blog You're Looking For

2008-10-24T07:11:00.003-06:00

Greetings, I have moved my blogging efforts off to a new locations galacticlore.blogspot.com head on over to learn about what's going on with Starfire, my novel that will release April 1, 2009 through Marcher Lord Press.

Marcher Lord Press Has Launched

2008-10-01T06:05:00.006-06:00

Go and find the novel(s) for you.

Hero, Second Class
Mitchell Bonds

Hero, Second Class is the story of Cyrus Solburg, a young man who dreams of being a hero in a fantasy land in which Heroes have guild fees and Villains are not allowed more than one solar eclipse per quarter.

Follow Cyrus’s quest to become first an apprentice to a hero—the righteous Hero named the Crimson Slash—and then ultimately a full-fledged Hero. Well, a Hero, Second Class, anyway.

The Personifid Invasion
R.E. Bartlett

In the future, you can transfer your consciousness into an artificial body—known as a personifid—and cheat death indefinitely. But human beings aren’t the only ones who want those bodies—Interterrestrials have found that personifids will house them very well, too.

Ashley is trapped in San Edhem, a city where Interterrestrials and humans struggle for control of the personifids. Can her siblings, Aphra and Antha, rescue her before she is lost to them forever?

Summa Elvetica: A Causitry of the Elvish Controversy
Theodore Beale

For centuries the human race has lived alongside Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, and other "demi-human" races. Each race has carved out its own lands, through bloody wars and ancient hatreds.

But now, through ecclesiastic curiosity and perhaps shrewd maneuvering, it has pleased the Sanctiff to mount an expedition to investigate whether or not Elves may be considered to have eternal souls and thus become a missionary field for the Church. Human strongmen line up on both sides of the debate, for if Elves can be considered not to have souls, then they will be rendered animals—and anyone will be justified to invade their lands and plunder their amassed gold.

The Creatures are Coming

2008-06-16T06:27:00.004-06:00

The Spore Creature Creator has proven to be a quite powerful tool. In just the last seven days over twelve thousand new creatures have been uploaded to the interesting Sporepedia™.

Here are some of the creatures I've made with the free trial version (containing only 25% of the full version's creature parts).

Here's one my wife made in about 10 minutes:

I haven't made any creatures specific to my writing yet... waiting on the full version before attempting that. But I'll post here as I continue exploring this fun tool.

You can learn more about the creature creator at www.spore.com

Spore: Creature Creator

2008-06-06T18:41:00.005-06:00

Now here is something that is right up my alley.

I've been following the development of a game called Spore for a few years now. This is an open-ended game that lets the player take a creature of their own creation from a single-celled organism to a galaxy roving civilization.

But what excites me most about this game is that later this month (June 17th), a stand-alone module is being released. The Creature Creator. This will be available as a free download (with partial content, about 25%) or as a $9.99 retail package with all the creature creation tools and parts.

I look forward to this as a tool to help me visualize and bring to life some of my own creations. They have some examples of fan created creatures that the developers re-created with the creature creator here (half-way down the page).

Check out this video of the tool in action.

A New Face in Christian Fantasy

2008-06-03T08:49:00.004-06:00

This October Marcher Lord Press, a new publisher specializing in Christian Speculative Fiction, will be launching it's three inaugural titles.

The first of these is the Fantasy lampoon,
Hero, Second Class by new author Mitchell Bonds.

Hero, Second Class tells the tale of a young Hero's apprentice named Cyrus, who's apprenticeship just happens to fall during a True-Crisis, an time full of incredible opportunities for an "ambitious hero-in-training". But Cyruses plans are complicated by "wise-cracking dragon, a self-narrating knight, a droll zombie, and an attractive young woman who also happens to kind of be a cat."

Click Here to see the cover.
Click Here to read the prologue.
Click Here to read an interview with Mitchell Bonds.

This is defenitely one to watch.

Getting back in the wierd of things.

2008-05-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm slowly getting back into the flow of writing and getting a steady pattern going. Finished one scene of my current WIP this week (which is also the one that finaled in the ACFW Genesis Contest). I'm hoping to get it done by September so that if the story manages to end up in the top three I can maximize the exposure as much as possible.

Though already the story took a somewhat unexpected turn. The scene featured one of the major supporting characters rescuing some others from a cursed village. Originally this scene was simply to be there for showing the rising stakes in the world, and just how bold the evil forces were becoming. However one of the characters being rescued seemed to be a little more important than I was expecting and the focus of the scene shifted to highlight that, costing the other two characters their lives.

I was a bit sad about that, but this new path ads a whole new sub-plot and depth to the story. One that I think will play out a theme of emotional healing and strength. It will be interesting to see just how this new character develops.

Have you ever had one of those twists jump up in your writing? Or do you have a favorite twist from a novel or a movie?

Running in Place

2008-05-04T23:03:00.002-06:00

Ever feel like you're just running in place? Maybe inside some giant hamster wheel?

I know I have, it's one of the reasons I burnt out last year. I felt like I was running as hard as I could, into a brick wall over and over again. Talking about how we need more sci-fi and fantasy in the CBA or at least from a Christian world view. In the end I felt like I was just beginning to repeat myself and had nothing new to the equation. I still pretty much feel that way.

So instead of me talking about it, I'll point you in some directions of places where you can find others who can give the arguments much better than I can. I'll also try and highlight places of success and interest for those of us interested in Sci-fi and Fantasy from a Christian Worldview.

Finally, I'm going to talk about things that come up in my own writing and reading and general life and what they make me think about. Which could be interesting... or perhaps just a good way to put yourself to sleep.

For now, head over to A Christian Worldview of Fiction for a discussion on why we need Christian SFF in relation to the defenition of good.

Be sure to check out The Anomaly, a growing community of readers and fans of SFF, especially from a Christian Worldview. And while you're there, swing by Where the Map Ends, and Marcher Lord Press for some very cool interviews, news, and a look at three very promising titles coming out later this year.

What's that word again... oh yeah Consistency!

2008-05-02T09:44:00.002-06:00

The problem with starting fresh... is starting. :)

Sorry for the big gap here, from now on, barring any big issues I plan on doing a Mon, Wed, Fri posting schedule here from now on. At least until one other change I have planned comes along, though that may be a while out yet.

I mentioned on the 21st how the healing method shown in The Begotten raised some questions for me and wondered if there wasn't something Christian fantasy writers could glean from the instance.

The main reason I started down this train of thought is that usually when a character in the story is "gifted" there tends to be more of an emphasis on the power emanating from that character themselves in a drastic and obvious way, even if the character doesn't know about the gift.

That is what struck me most about the first instance of healing, and shifted me from reading this as a fantasy mindset into a historical with spiritual elements mindset. Daria felt to me like she played just a small roll in that first healing, that came with so much effort, that she didn't feel particularly "gifted".

Though the second instance of healing was much more dramatic, and leads me to think there is a progression of the gift as Daria accepts it and grows in her faith.

So what do I take away from this?

Perhaps when we're writing fantasy, we can easily tend to fall toward the gifts of our characters (especially the supernatual ones) being too focused around that character and less around them being a conduit for God's power.

Just a thought.

CSFF: Blog Tour - The Begotten

2008-04-21T21:17:00.005-06:00

This month's CSFF feature is The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren

The Begotten in indeed an interesting novel, and hard to classify as others on the tour have stated. Currently I'm only about five and a half chapters into the novel, and it's already getting me to think. The story starts off fast and has a strong hook, then slows the pace to let you catch up with where the world is at as the first of the Gifted are brought together and an evil is introduced.

I think what has got me thinking so far is the first instance of the healing gift shown in the novel. Unlike many instances of healing we might see in a typical fantasy or sci-fi, this one isn't a near-instantaneous act. Instead, Daria (the healer) spends a grueling four hours in earnest prayer, along with many others. She even continues prayer "in her dreams" after she passes out from exhaustion. Only later when she is awakened is the healing shown.

This piqued my interest and got me wondering if I liked the instance or not. On one hand it left no doubt that the healing was coming from God. On the other, it didn't really make it seem like Daria was overly special.

There is a possibility that as the story progresses the healing gift could become more immediate and 'flashy' I suppose. Still I don't wonder if perhaps there's a lesson here for those of us who write fantasy or science fiction.

But I think I'll delve into that later this week, along with more thoughts on The Begotten as I progress in the reading.

Be sure to check out the rest of the tour:

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Jackie Castle
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Michael Heald
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Terri Main
Margaret
Melissa Meeks
Pamela Morrisson
John W. Otte
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachelle Sperling
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

Emerging from the Dark Abyss of CyberSpace

2008-04-18T09:55:00.002-06:00

Shnakvorum, Earthlings!

Wow, hard to imagine it has been over a year since my last post! Quite a lot has happened since then. Getting married and moving my new wife halfway across the country is only part of why I went dark though.

Around this time last year I reached a point where I felt like I was repeatedly bashing my head into an adamantium wall. I flamed out and really began to question if writing was something I really wanted to do.

But as with all cycles of life, my sojourn through the dark couldn't last forever. My fusion reactors are warming up, and the etherial nets are unfurling to catch the mystic currents that flow through the vast imagination.

In short, I'm back and ready to pick up the pen again. And it is fun to discover what all has changed, and what's stayed the same since I last plied these waters.

But, enough with the purple prose and mixed metaphors.

I'm back. And I've got a keyboard and am not afraid to use it.

Big, Huge, Announcement

2007-03-26T09:04:00.000-06:00

No, not a book contract, something even better.

My life is going to be changing in a big, wonderful way this July. But this announcement is bigger than just words.

Click Here to see the announcement!

A very exciting day indeed!

Editor Interview at Speculative Faith

2006-12-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

Be sure to swing by Speculative Faith today for Becky Miller's interview with Interview with Harvest House Editor Nick Harrison.

Her interview is focusing on their foray into the fantasy realm with The Trophy Chase Trilogy by George Bryan.

Be sure to check it out!

Trackers Giveaway Results

2006-12-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, so maybe I got bit by the Bug of Christmas Spirit, but I have decided that all three people who requested to be entered into the drawing for Trackers deserve to get their own copie. So Eve, Ronie and Rachelle please send me your shipping information at stuart AT ritersbloc DOT com.

I don't know if they'll make it there by Christmas, but I'll do my best. :)

Trackers: The Review

2006-12-13T05:31:00.000-07:00

Trackers is a fun read that goes deeper than one may notice at first glance, but suffers from some minor flaws that kept me from fully falling into the story in the first half of the book.

Kathryn's biggest strength in this book, is without a doubt, her characters. Each one is fleshed out and struggles within and without. Her Christians don't have an easy path to follow, and not every choice is clear cut and simple, her villains aren't 2 dimensional and cardboard, but their evil isn't watered down either. And even when she makes a very startling revelation at the end of the book that I guarantee you won't see coming, but it still makes sense, as she has laid the groundwork early on.

The story itself is fast paced and weaves the separate threads together well to create a tapestry of adventure. You truly do feel a sense of peril for all the heroes at one point, and everyone has their own crucial part to play and struggle to overcome. There were times though, when it felt like I could feel the author pulling the strings a bit, fashioning the events in ways that felt slightly off, though only two were big enough to actually trip me up and pull me out of the story.

The first came when two characters are infiltrating the stronghold of Traxx as a drugde(slave) and owner. The two are waiting in a security line, but are talking as themselves, bickering back and forth, and making reference to what role the other is supposed to be taking. It felt like they were being careless in the midst of a group of self-serving, backstab any stranger to get ahead type people, with no worries or consequences. May be a minor thing, but it broke the scene for me.

The second instance irked me slightly more as it tarnished a very powerful scene of sacrifice, as the actions that take place seem far too drastic without enough of a justification for it. I don't want to go into details, though as the scene deserves to remain unspoiled to retain what power it has.

These probably seem like minor points, but I think the strength of my reaction can go to show the actual power of the writing itself. If the story is bland and the characters weak, then you'll never get into the story to start with. But when you find yourself drawn in and held anything that can shake loose the tale's hold on you becomes irksome.

Also, if you go into the reading of Trackers with the understanding that nearly everything you see in the story is a metaphor for something in the Christian life, then you'll likely find an even richer layer to the tale. Go read Beth Goddard's interview with Kathryn to see what I mean.

In the end, Trackers stands as a fine example of Christian speculative fiction, with a wild and imaginative world, real characters, and a story that will keep you guessing and gasping. Go get it, or leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy.

Trackers Day 2: The Seams are Loosening

2006-12-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

Heya,

Main purpose of the post today is to point you all to a great interview with Kathy Mackel over at Wherethemapends.com. You can also find a "deleted scene" from Outriders at the wherethemapends.com if you click here.

Also be sure to check out Speculative Faith, where I have posted the first chapter of Trackers for your reading enjoyment.

As others have stated this is a much darker book than Outriders. Evil is growing bolder and more insidious. But even in the utter darkness of a shattered and twisted world God's light breaks through and triumphs, though not without sacrifice.

I must admit that I'm not a fan of big, convenient miracles being used to save characters from life-threatening peril. But the way Kathryn has done it in these two books manages to sway me over for the most part, especially when I finally let myself just go with her premise.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for my full blow review. Don't forget to comment and get entered into a drawing for a free copy of Trackers. And do go visit the other blogs on the tour.

Jim Black, Jackie Castle, Valerie Comer, Frank Creed, Gene Curtis, Chris Deanne, Janey DeMeo, April Erwin, Beth Goddard , Todd Michael Greene, Leathel Grody , Karen Hancock, Elliot Hanowski, Katie Hart, Sherrie Hibbs, Sharon Hinck, Joleen Howell, Jason Joyner, Karen, Karen's MYSPACE,
Oliver King, Tina Kulesa, Kevin Lucia, The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium, Terri Main, Rachel Marks, Shannon McNear, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Caleb Newell, Eve Nielsen, John Otte, Cheryl Russell , Hanna Sandvig, Mirtika Schultz , Stuart Stockton , Steve Trower, Chris Walley, Daniel I. Weaver, Lost Genre Guild, Speculative Faith

CSFF Blog Tour: Trackers

2006-12-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

December's CSFF Blog tour is featuring Trackersthe second book of Kathryn Mackel's Birthrighters Project, the first of which was Outriders, you can read my review of that book here.

Trackers picks up right where Outriders ended and all the characters from the first novel make a return appearance as they deal with the ramifications of the betrayals and battles. The stakes continue to rise as the Birthrighters struggle against their own inner temptations while their sworn enemy Alrod gains new strength through a mysterious new ally.

I will have a full review posted by Wednsday. Also, I have a copy of Trackers to give away, so just post a comment on any of the Trackers entries between now and Wednesday to be entered. And be sure to visit the other tour particpants:

Jim Black, Jackie Castle, Valerie Comer, Frank Creed, Gene Curtis, Chris Deanne, Janey DeMeo, April Erwin, Beth Goddard , Todd Michael Greene, Leathel Grody , Karen Hancock, Elliot Hanowski, Katie Hart, Sherrie Hibbs, Sharon Hinck, Joleen Howell, Jason Joyner, Karen, Karen's MYSPACE,
Oliver King, Tina Kulesa, Kevin Lucia, The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium, Terri Main, Rachel Marks, Shannon McNear, Rebecca LuElla Miller
Caleb Newell, Eve Nielsen, John Otte, Cheryl Russell , Hanna Sandvig, Mirtika Schultz , Stuart Stockton , Steve Trower, Chris Walley, Daniel I. Weaver, Lost Genre Guild, Speculative Faith

CSFF Blog Tour: Sometimes Being Eaten by a Book is a Good Thing

2006-11-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

This month the CSFF blog tour is looking at Landon Snow and the Island of Arcanum
by R. K. Mortenson.

This is the third book of the Landon Snow trilogy, preceeded by Landon Snow and the Auctor's Riddle and Landon Snow and the Shadows of Malus Quidam.

I'm still reading through the first book, but what I've encountered so far is a fun tale in an odd world with interesting characters. It's tone is similar to some of my favorite adventure games of old in The King's Quest series (slightly odd & off kilter fantasy), or the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland.

For instance when Landon Snow must discover The Weigh Down a cliff to the valley below. :)

I'll be posting my reactions as I continue through the book over the remaining days of the blog tour.

Be sure to check out the others on the tour:

Jim Black, Jackie Castle, Valerie Comer, Frank Creed, Christina Deanne, Janey DeMeo, April Erwin, Beth Goddard , Rebecca Grabill , Todd Michael Greene, Leathel Grody , Karen Hancock, Katie Hart, Sherrie Hibbs, Sharon Hinck, Joleen Howell, Jason Joyner, Karen's MYSPACE, Oliver King, Tina Kulesa, Kevin Lucia, Rachel Marks, Shannon McNear , Rebecca LuElla Miller, Caleb Newell, John Otte, Cheryl Russell, Hanna Sandvig, Mirtika Schultz , Stuart Stockton , Steve Trower , Chris Walley, Daniel I. Weaver, Lost Genre Guild, Speculative Faith

Dragons, Knights and Angels...oh my!

2006-10-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

This month the CSFF Blog tour is looking at the Dragon, Knights and Angels e-zine.

DKA is a small, but paying, publication for Christian fantasy and science fiction short stories. In fact you will find short stories or poetry there from many of those who participate in the CSFF Blog tour.

I'm not a huge fan of short stories (I like to spend long times in the worlds I visit), but for those of you who are, be sure to check them out.

Also they are kicking off their fundraising period for the next year. You can learn more details here.

Check out the other participants:
Jim Black
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Frank Creed
Christina Deanne
Beth Goddard
Rebecca Grabill
Todd Michael Greene
Leathel Grody
Karen Hancock
Elliot Hanowski
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Joleen Howell
John Otte
Jason Joyner
Oliver King
Tina Kulesa
Kevin Lucia
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Cheryl Russell
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Chris Walley
Lost Genre Guild
Speculative Faith

Zippin' along on the High Speed

2006-10-24T14:09:00.000-06:00

Howdy all (if anyone still checks on this thing) ;)

Got hooked up with Cable internet this morning, after suffering through a year of erratic DSL connection (I never knew exactly when I would actually be able to access the internet).

Already psyched from quick early tests that showed a good improvement in speed. A few days should tell if my connection will be stable, but I have high hopes.

Things on the writing front are erratic as well. Have my first novel out at to a publisher that has had it for a few weeks now. Had some little nibbles early on, but it's been all silent for a while now (which is likely a good thing...)

Seems to me the publishing world is a game of fishing between two fish. First the author dangles some bait out there hoping a publishing fish comes along and snaps it up, and then the publisher reels in the catch and hopes it is a tasty morsel that it can multiply and be productive with.

wierd.

anyway that's my random thoughts for today.

Erratically Here

2006-09-29T13:42:00.000-06:00

Howdy all,

Well nobody entered the last contest (for shame!). So I'll have to figure out something else for the future.

Been back from the ACFW conference for about a week now. It was quite the experience, and served as a good time of encouragement for me. And I did get a request for a manuscript from an editor, so we'll see how that goes. I have confidence that he'll get the story, but if it's gonna get picked up he'll have to fall in love with it, and become an infectious champion.

Just finished reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card last night. If you haven't read it, go out and get it, especially if you're a science fiction fan. Powerful book.

Also for those of you who like suspense do give Violet Dawn a read, and I'm not just saying that because my novel Starfire makes an apperance. It truly is a good book, and while I never found myself frightened, there were some definite tense moments and it kept me hooked from start to end.

until the next post,

Saree larkime.

The S-man Posteth

2006-09-11T08:02:00.000-06:00

The wierdly familiar S-man has posted once again over at the Kanner Lake Scenes & Beans blog! Tells the tale of how listening to his characters makes for a better story. The account is based on a real events in my writing life, as well as a scene found within Violet Dawn.

So as a bit of fun I have one autographed copy of Violet Dawn to give away to the person who can answer the following two questions (you can find the answers at the Scenes & Beans blog).

1) What was the name I originally gave the merchant?

2) What is S-man's real name?

Send in your answers to contest@ritersbloc.com. Deadline for entry is 12:00pm (MDT) on Wednesday, September 13th.

Have a great week everybody!

The Map is Ending!

2006-08-31T12:54:00.000-06:00

There's a new site out there for those of us who like to delve, like Reepicheep, beyond the edges of the known world. Where we can share what we find with like-minded explorers.

Where there is much more than just dragons.

Head over to Where the Map Ends. This is a new site run by free lance editor Jeff Gerke (aka Jefferson Scott) that he hopes to see turn into a launching point for everyone who seeks to venture out into the glorious unknown. He has a list of around 250 speculative fiction titles, interviews with the pioneering authors of the genre, and articles about reading, writing, and publishing.

Head over to A Christian World View to read the first part of an interview with Jeff.

Another interview will be posted next Tuesday over at Speculative Faith.

A new era is dawning. Don't get left on the map.

Conference Countdown: Look, Ma! It's Mon...er Tuesday!

2006-08-29T08:25:00.000-06:00

Ok so welcome to the late update. Only 23 days left!

A few quick tips on things to avoid when in a conference countdown.

1. Avoid anything by Joss Whedon. He'll suck you in and devour all your time until he's done with you and spits you out.

2. Avoid digital gladiators and marios that can fold themselves into airplanes....much like Joss they can devour time quicker than a shrew nibbling a grasshopper.

Yeah so... did I accomplish anything other than feeding time monsters? YES!

I'm very, very close to having my Early Bird entry finished. Actually went fairly well once I stoped my chronic procrastinating and jumped in with all ten fingers and my brain. Taking the first two scenes to crit group tonight. Will see if my forgettable character and the evil pov scene works. Or if I have to clarify better.

This has to be submitted by Friday so that's what I'll likely spend the rest of this week on.

As for pitches and such? Well come back later and maybe I'll share the short (20 or so word) summaries for each story and you can rip them all up! :D

Conference Countdown

2006-08-25T08:55:00.000-06:00

Only twenty five days to go until I leave for the Americain Christian Ficiton Writer's conference in Dallas, TX. On one hand that seems like a lot of time...

on the other... GEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I've got a lot of work to do.

So for all those wondering what an insande sci-fi/fantasy writer does in order to prep for a conference I figure I'll use this rarely visited blog as a way to chronicle the crazy steps I go through. Which is even a bit more crammed this year as I'm also participating in a paid critique session as well as the Early Bird session (where I'll be locked in a room with a bunch of other crazy writers as we hash over our novel proposals and such).

So just what is on my check-list for preparing for this conference?

1. I have to get about 10 more pages written on Chamber of Origins and about 8 on SPF 0: Zeon Star. As these are the two stories for the Early Bird and Paid Critique (respectively).

2. I have to refine my ptiches for all my novel projects so I can rattle them off and sound like I actually know what in the world I'm talking about.

3. Must pull together one sheets for my four current novel projects: Starfire, Shenkai, Chamber of Origins, and SPF 0: Zeon Star. This will most likely include coming up with some original artwork as simple text on a page looks so boring and a picture is worth a thousand words. Luckily my Starfire one sheet will just need updating from last year. Unluckily that leaves three to do.

4. I need to get my Starfire proposal updated and reworked, as well as put together a query letter for it. This most likely won't be a big deal for AT the conference, but more so on the wild chance that an edtior or an agent actually requests it, I will have one ready to go shortly after the conference.

5. Eventually I've got to pack.

So there's what you've got to look forward to here at the Den for the next few weeks.

Check back Monday for my first progress report!

SFF Blog Tour - Kathy Tyers

2006-08-22T09:04:00.000-06:00

This month's blog tour is looking at Kathy Tyers, who's work I first encountered through the wonderful Star Wars novel Truce at Bakura. She eventually crossed over to the CBA market, with the Firebird Trilogy and Shivering World.

Of these three the only one that I have fully read is Truce at Bakura. Which takes place almost immediately after the events seen in Return of the Jedi. And shows an unlikely alliance between the alliance and the empire against an invasion of lizardlike aliens. I was very impressed with the creativity and depth shown in this book. That helped move those who served in the empire from being the faceless two-dimensional villians.

Be sure to visit Kathy Tyers' website at www.kathytyers.com

You can read more in-depth discussions of Kathy Tyers writing at the other tour blogs:

John J. Boyer, Valerie Comer, Bryan Davis, Beth Goddard, Rebecca Grabill, Leathel Grody , Karen Hancock, Elliot Hanowski, Katie Hart, Sherrie Hibbs, Sharon Hinck, Pamela James, Jason Joyner, Tina Kulesa, Rachel Marks, Shannon McNear, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Cheryl Russel, Mirtika Schultz , Stuart Stockton , Steve Trower , Speculative Faithm The Bedford Review

Summer Saurian Safari Winners

2006-08-02T09:59:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Summer Saurian Safari!

And a big congratulations to the drawing winners, Sharyn and Elliot.

Your book packs will be getting to you soon, and soon you'll have even more new worlds to explore.

There's Still Time to Win!

2006-07-27T08:32:00.000-06:00

Just a reminder that entries for the Summer Saurian Safari are still open until Monday, July 31st!

So go HERE to learn how you can win one of these two book packs:

Pack #1:
The Personifid Project by R. E. Bartlett
Flight to Eden by Doug Hirt
Dragonspell by Donita K. Paul
Light of Eidon by Karen Hancock

Pack #2:
The Shadow at Evening by Chris Walley
Daughter of Prophecy by Miles Owens
Outriders by Kathryn Mackel
Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis

These packs are great introductions to some of the best Science Fiction and Fantasy the CBA has to offer! So even if you already own the books, think about winning them for that friend of yours who will enjoy them!

Blog Tour: Christian Fandom

2006-07-24T12:48:00.000-06:00

This month's Christian SFF blog tour is focusing on the Christian Fandom site. This site has over 400 pages discussing Christianity and speculative fiction. From articles discussing how the two relate, to book and movie reviews, and author interviews.

The design can be a bit intimidating to work through, but there is a wealth of resources if you dig for it.

Find out more at these other Blog Tour Participants.

Valerie Comer
Kameron Franklin
Beth Goddard
Rebecca Grabill
Leathel Grody
Karen Hancock
Elliot Hanowski
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Pamela James
Tina Kulesa
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika Schultz
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith

My Future Definition...

2006-07-18T10:14:00.000-06:00

This is kinda fun:

Stuart Stockton --

[noun]:

A hermit living in the big city

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

What's YOUR definition?

Speculative Faith - A New Blog on Speculative Fiction

2006-07-17T08:09:00.000-06:00

Speculative Faith, a new team blog of Christian authors exploring speculative fiction has launched. A group of seven authors, including myself, will be posting regularly on all things fantasy and science fiction, and exploring these genres and how they relate to the Christian faith.

To learn more about the purpose of Speculative Faith, read this excellent introductory post by Mirtika.

Look forward to seeing you there! I'll be posting on Tuesdays, with my first post going up tomorrow (July, 18th).

Take Part in the Summer Saurian Safari!

2006-07-10T09:58:00.000-06:00

In honor of the launch of the Galactic Lore: Sauria section on my website www.ritersbloc.com I am holding a grand contest, the Summer Saurian Safari! How does this work? It is very simple.

Simply head over to www.ritersbloc.com and find the answers to the following eight questions, then e-mail them to contest@ritersbloc.com with "Summer Saurian Safari" in the subject line.

Entries will be accepted until July 31, 2006, at which point two winners will be drawn from eligible entries, where upon the winners will be contacted for shipping information. This contest is limited to the continental United States and Canada. Only one entry per household.

What are the prizes?

Two CBA Sci-fi & Fantasy book packs! One for each of the winning entries.

Each pack sports a selection of some of the best current science fiction and fantasy titles available from CBA publishers.

Pack #1:
The Personifid Project by R. E. Bartlett
Flight to Eden by Doug Hirt
Dragonspell by Donita K. Paul
Light of Eidon by Karen Hancock

Pack #2:
Shadow at Evening by Chris Walley
Daughter of Prophecy by Miles Owens
Outriders by Kathryn Mackel
Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis

Now on to the Questions:

1) What was Pike riding the very first time Stuart drew him?

2) Is Rathe a soldier for the Karn Empire or the Herian Dynasty?

3) What two English alphabet characters are mentioned as being left out of the Saurian alphabet?

4) List the three badly named mountain ranges found on the early map of Dino Island.

5) What are the three terms used to refer to a Saurian race?

6) What is the great barrier that splits Sauria into two halves called?

7) What Saurian animal has a prehensile tongue?

8) What two objects did Stuart use to blow up an electrical outlet?

Remember all the answers to these questions can be found somewhere at www.ritersbloc.com

Good luck in finding the answers! Remember, e-mail them to contest@ritersbloc.com with "Summer Saurian Safari" in the subject line.

Also, for more Saurian goodness, be watching the Scenes & Beans blog, as local Kanner Lake resident, Ted “S-man” Dawson, will be sharing his own version of how Sauria came to be and talking more about the mysterious book Starfire.

Garr! Pirates Ahoy, Matey!

2006-07-06T19:21:00.000-06:00

Greetings to those of you on The Redemption Treasure Hunt! (If you don't know what I'm talking about go to http://www.ambermiller.com)

Remember the clue for this blog is: What two pirate movies are referenced on the post at Jerkrenak's Den?

When Lady Charlisse sets out to find her long-lost father, she never imagines she'll be shipwrecked on a desert island---let alone that she'll be rescued by a ship full of pirates! She finds it hard to resist their handsome God-fearing leader, Edmund. But will startling news about her heritage rock the boat?

Pirates rock and I love the movies, from The Pirates of Penzance to Pirates of the Carribean. And The Redemption looks like it will have all the action and romance of any great pirate story. Definetly something to look into!

And now! The final clue in this treasure hunt is:

How many times did the author of The Redemption go see Pirates of the Caribbean in the theatre?

GO HERE to get the answer to this final clue!

Feeling Stupid

2006-07-06T11:41:00.000-06:00

Ever have those days where it seems everybody else is 1,000x smarter and deeper and more authentic than you? I get that feeling all the time, especially when it comes to writing.

I read and hear all sorts of profound and detailed posts talking about theme, meaning, humanity, symbolism, realism, and dozens of other things in writing, and I get the feeling that all I write is schock and nobody in their right mind would ever read the stuff.

You see I never got into this writing thing as a way to impart incredible truths or new life insights to people. Those are just a side effect of the process.

What I got into writing for was the chance to discover and explore new worlds with people. To develop my own concepts on what life would be like if we lived in a world with dragons or space travel, or both.

I've never been able to fully see any of my stories as stand-alone pieces, but always more of just a little window into a portion of a span of time in a grand history and future, that gives us a little insight into a world and its inhabitants.

The act of discovery and creation is what gives me the biggest thrill in writing, as well as getting to share what I find with others. My focus has rarely been on bringing out one big truth, but more on just exploring what truths come out in the stories I write as a part of world discovery.

Anyway that's enough rambling for now, and I'm sure I'll contradict myself at some point in the future as a nother random thought spurts from my fingers.

Jack Into Some Java

2006-07-05T08:31:00.000-06:00

An interesting new blog has surfaced today. Scenes & Beans is a new blog, to be jointly written by the eccentric characters who frequent the Kanner Lake coffee shop, Java Joint.

Just from looking at the first post it has definite promise to be wildly entertaining. So check out Scenes & Beans here, and learn more about Kanner Lake here.

---

On a more personal note, I've been doing some a lot of behind the scenes work on my own website ritersbloc.com. Once this update is done the incredible world of Sauria and just how I created it will be unveiled like never before. Plus a closer look at my manuscript Starfire as well as some glimpses at other things I'm working on.

Hope everyone has had a great 4th of July!

The Story Sensei Summer Sale - A writers' summer event!

2006-07-03T11:43:00.000-06:00

From now until July 15th, Camy will be holding a fabulous contest for her Story Sensei critique service.

She will draw the names of TWO lucky winners! They will each receive:

A free synopsis critique – up to 10 pages single-spaced, a $40 value!

AND

A coupon for 25% OFF any manuscript critique – whether full or partial manuscript, any number of words. For a 100,000 word manuscript, that's a savings of $250!

In addition, EVERYONE WHO ENTERS will receive a 10% OFF coupon for any service, whether synopsis, query letter, or manuscript critique (full or partial). For a 100,000 word manuscript, that's a savings of $100, just for entering.

Go to the Story Sensei blog and post a comment to enter the contest!
http://storysensei.blogspot.com/

Sounds like a great deal, so get on over there and enter!

Donita Loves Bunnies!

2006-06-22T08:34:00.000-06:00

I have the incredible pleasure and privilege being in a face-to-face critique group with Donita K. Paul. And one of the biggest things I have learned that Donita loves bunnies. There have been quite a few times when we've been sitting around the table, listening to a member reading a scene, when all of a sudden Donita shouts out "Oooh! Bunny!" and everything comes to a quick stop as we all look at the little furball scamper across our host's back yard. And then just as quick it is back to work.

It is a joy to be able to work with Donita because she is such a humble and loving person. Always seeking to bring out the best in others. In fact I have often felt that she is the earthbound embodiment of an Emerlindian Granny. Quick to laugh and with a real talent for encouragement and mentoring young writers. Which is also apparent on her website, where she actively interacts with her readers and encourages them to excersise their creativity (the Dragonkeeper.us library is made up of reader submitted stories and information as well as Donita's own bits).

She has made an impact in my own writing as well, far more than just mercilessly slaughtering my commas, but in helping me gain confidence (along with the rest of my group) and pushing my rough talent toward a polsihed craft. Even if it took her over half the book to realize that the Saurians weren't wearing little shorts, but were in fact just wearing their thick skin (and battle gear when appropriate).

To know Donita is to love her, because she loves openly and widely. And that warmth comes across through her characters and her writing style.

Dragonknight, is the best book yet in this series. Following Bardon's "sabatical" as he tries to decide if he truly wants to be one of Paladin's knights. The book starts off with Bardon saying, "People. Always too many people." and that sets the mood for this book perfectly. The wide and varied cast of characters that fall into Bardon's life will charm your socks off. But most of all, seeing Bardon growing and realizing where Paladin and Wulder are calling him, and how he responds, is what it is all about.

The Dragonkeeper chronicles are all about journeys and quests, but the outer ones are simply there to highlight the true quests within these books. The inner quests that each character must go on as they continually discover that what Wulder has planned is far more than they ever would have done on their own.

So be sure to check out the beautiful and wild world of Amara, where dragons fly, and wizards dwell, and where the impossilbe happens every day.

A Wandering Quest...

2006-06-21T08:37:00.000-06:00

Dragonquest once more follows the adventures of Kale, a young Orant girl who has discovered that she is the dragon keeper.

Kale has finally reached Paladin's academy in Vendala and has been doing her best to stay out of trouble. But all too soon she finds herself appointed guardian of an irrepressable doneel child, attacked by deadly spiders, and sent on a quest with the stoic Bardon. And most incredible of all, Kale finds herself raising the Meech dragon, Regidor, who hatched from the egg she rescued in Dragonspell.

Donita K. Paul's characters once again rise to the fore in this novel. I especially loved the new male characters, Bardon and Regidor. The quest does wander all over the land of Amara, and the tension is kept light for the most part, and it can be hard to feel any urgency to what the characters are doing. Thankfully the wonderful characters make the journey an enjoyable one.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Fantasy Tour focusing on Donita K. Paul's Dragon Keeper Chronicles. You can find links to the participants here.

A Humble Beginning...

2006-06-20T06:58:00.000-06:00

Kale grew up as a village slave, with no grand future ahead of her. But that all changed the day she found the egg. And just like that her world was turned upside down and she found herself on the way to the city of Vendela to become Paladin's servant and train in his academy. But just when her destination is within sight, Kale finds herself propelled on a much longer, more perilous journey than she ever imagined.

In Dragonspell, Donita K. Paul introduces her readers to the fantastical world of Amara, where the noble Paladin rules and dragons of all shapes and sizes roam the skies. Filled with colorful characters, exotic locations, and a scheming villain, Dragonspell weaves together a delightful adventure as Kale, with the help of her newfound comrades must learn to accept her destiny as Dragonkeeper.

What I especially love about Donita's world are her characters. They are all so unique, colorful, and real, you feel connected with them almost immediately upon them appearing on screen, especially the main characters such as Dar, Kale and Leetu Bends. You truly begin to care about each of them and seeing them grow is part of the thrill.

Learn more about the Dragonkeeper Chronicles at: http://www.dragonkeeper.us

Soon There Be Dragons

2006-06-16T13:18:00.000-06:00

Next week is the big fantasy tour focus on the wonderful Donita K. Paul and her Dragonkeeper Chronicles. The official dates are the 20th - 22nd.

I'll be reviewing the books as well as talking a little bit about how Donita has helped engage readers in the world beyond just the books.

Here's a list of those who will be participating:

Sally Apokedak
Valerie Comer
Johne Cook
Janey DeMeo
Beth Goddard
Rebecca Grabill
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Marcia Laycock
Shannon McNear
Matt Mikalatos
Mirtika Schultz
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Steve Trower

Cya next week!

Scenes & Beans Bloggers Announced

2006-06-12T07:42:00.000-06:00

A few months ago suspense author, Brandilyn Collins, announced that as part of her promotion for her new Kanner Lake series she would be starting a new blog that would feature posts from characters in her books.

Naturally those characters can't post for themselves, so Brandilyn opened up auditions for readers to have a chance to audition for those parts themselves. She got over fifty audition posts back in response and has finally announced those who will be writing for these characters over the first year.

So head over to her blog and find out who will be writing which character: Forensics & Faith: The SBGs (Scenes and Beans Bloggers)!

Intentional Themeing

2006-06-06T09:59:00.000-06:00

So, yesterday I did mention that there was an intentional sub-theme that I wanted to work into Starfire.

The basic elements needed to weave this theme into the story were already present when it struck me. The events and characters naturally lended themselves toward this. And in fact this is a theme I intend to look at throughout the entire trilogy.

You see, I wanted to explore the relationships between Christians and Non-Christians as well as the dynamics of sharing faith and how the way we live our lives impacts our witness and how others view Christianity.

Much of this idea was sparked by my reading of Permission Evangelism by Michael Simpson.

This book discusses much of how the world already has a pre-made mindset of just what it means to be a Christian, and what people will immediately assume when they hear that term.

I wanted to explore that through the relationships between three of my main characters (Rathe, Struth, and Goshren) in Starfire. To look at how our typical "Christianese" and comman language can affect someone coming from a totally different worldview.

We're living in a culture that no longer accepts that there is an Absolute Truth out there. And that views Christians most often as angry, close minded, bigots. Or just simple minded fools.

Yet, even when I was in college, we were taught ways of evangelising that didn't take this into account.

Now you won't find Earthling/American Christianese in Starfire, but a reader familiar with the common platitudes and sayings within the Church will probably be able to pick out some of the Saurian equivalents.

I guess this would be my "preaching to the choir" theme. Where I try and show that we as Christians need to remember that we need to be sensitive to not only the message that we speak, but the message that we live.

You Can't Handle The Truth

2006-06-05T09:42:00.000-06:00

Thanks for your comments Camy & Gina. Indeed, making sure that the framework of the story and the foundation of the spirituality mesh is always a tricky procedure.

Which is one reason why I took the time to make sure that the “Christianity” of Sauria was firmly enmeshed with the world and its history. In doing so, it let spiritual aspects arise not only from characters but from world history and events itself.

By the time I began work on Starfire I already knew most of the basics about how their version of Christianity had come about. The choosing of the “chosen people”, some of the major world changing events, and the current air of religious tolerance within the regions affected by the story.

And so I didn’t think about it much when actually forming the plot for Starfire since so much of what the book’s plot dealt with would actually bi-sect with the spiritual events of the past, present and future, even if the main characters had little to no clue about exactly how or even that it was happening.

Starfire, when first began was simply the telling of a young soldier, caught up into world events he wasn’t equipped to understand. You see, Rathe is destined to fulfill a prophecy that was made. But unlike most characters in Sci-fi or Fantasy tales who are destined to fulfill a prophecy, he knows nothing about it.

Rathe has gone through his life with only one purpose, to rise out of the social status he was hatched into. No mysterious mentor appeared to guide him to the truth. Most believers of the time aren’t even all that familiar with the prophecy. And even those who are in the know can’t operate with total impunity due to their persecuted status within the Karn Empire.

And of course the forces of darkness aren’t just lying still and keeping quiet during this time. But they aren’t totally obvious about their influence either (unless you know what to look for).

But all of this is going on in the background. Coming at this story from Rathe’s point of view, all you see is his quest to save his Empire, and his slow realization that there may be more to his eventual choice than it seems.

Out of this plotline the basic theme emerged, spurred on by the interaction of the characters. The basic theme (that I see in it) that materialized?

How can one do right if they do not know what is true?

Or

No matter how noble your intentions, if you reject the truth, you can do no good.
Or if you want to go to Scripture:

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Prov. 14:12

How well does this theme come across? Dunno yet. Haven’t heard much feedback on it yet. ;)

There is a secondary theme within the story though that I did place on purpose.

We’ll talk about that one next time.

From Firm Foundation to Fertile Soil

2006-06-01T18:30:00.000-06:00

OK back some 15 days or so ago before I vanished, I talked about how I set about putting down a firm foundation for my stories taking place in my Saurian mythos by determining the salvation method.

What this did for me was give me a good idea what the rest of the spirituality of my characters would look like as they experienced their "Christianity". Due to the fact that I settled on a method of salvation that as basically the same as on earth it enabled me to make the "Chritianity" of Sauria recognizable.

This left the ability for a Christian Theme to rise naturally out of the simple interaction between the "Christian" characters and the world around them. Simply due to the fact that the world was centered on a Christian foundation.

Did it work? Good question. I'll begin outlining the thought processes I went through while writing Starfire and looking at how the Christian foundation of the world influenced the story and the characters and brought the theme to light, in the next post.

Enough is Enough!

2006-05-31T14:27:00.000-06:00

Ok enough of my little *hide in the real world* pity party. :p

Time to climb back on the keyboard and pretend like I know what I'm doing again.

Anyway Now that I've driven off what few reader's I've had I can feel free to re-pickup my blathering about theme in my writing that I was doing before I went into hermit mode.

So if you happen to trip over this... please don't blame the dog.

More "soon"!

Focus on Christian Fantasy Blog Tour

2006-05-15T17:09:00.000-06:00

Sorry for my absence over the last week.

This week there is a blog tour starting looking at the Focus on Christian Fantasy section over at www.christianfictionreview.com

I'll be sharing my thoughts on his section, as well as the genre of Christian fantasy as a whole over this week.

Be sure to swing by Beth Goddard's Blog for a listing of other's who are participating in the blog tour.

A Firm Foundation Pt. 2

2006-05-05T08:15:00.000-06:00

So I had come down to two basic ideas for how to handle salvation in my mythos.

1)Have an Earth Centric method. Where the Christ died once for the entire galaxy and all other worlds had a "revelation" given to them that pointed to some distant sacrifice.

2) Follow in the tradition of Narnia and have the Son of God gave himself in sacrifice for each fallen world.

There were pitfalls and bright spots for both of these options, but in the end I decided to go with #2.

My main reasoning was because I didn't want Earth to be a focal point of the stories, but rather to be on equal footing with the rest of the galaxy. Also this allows me to give as an authentic "Christian" experience and lifestyle as possible on any planet, no matter at what point in the timeline they are visited.

Obviously the language and exact details of each world would differ, but the core essence and truths would remain the same. Which in turn helped me define what the spiritual rules of the mythos would be.

What does all this have to do with the Theme of crafting my theme?

Just wait and see.

A Firm Foundation - Pt. 1

2006-05-03T05:26:00.000-06:00

It may look like I have drifted away from the Theme topic, but I haven't. Sink your claws in and hold on, eventually it'll all make sense (I hope).

I was in college, studying communications and reading R.A. Salvatore, Dennis L. Mckiernan, Weis & Hickman, Robert Jordan, Stephen Lawhead and Randy Alcorn (to name a few) and some Star Wars novels, while playing games like StarCraft, HalfLife and EverQuest, that I finally decided that what I really wanted to do was write science fiction and fantasy from a Christian worldview, and got mostly serious about it.

I already had a world in construction ever since Jr. High, and had ideas to write stories about it for a while. I had even written a few short stories set on Sauria (and had a few aborted attempts at starting a novel). But one thing was tripping me up. I knew that if I was going to write in my worlds from a Christian worldview, I needed to figure out how that would work.

There was one catch though. I couldn't go all wonky and willy nilly with the allegory or playing fast and loose with the way God and Salvation worked. Not because I didn't think one could do that and still display God's truth. But because of one little detail.

Those of you who absolutely hate story spoilers, run away now! (If you could scream like a little girl while fleeing I'd appreciate it.)

You see, there was the little problem of Earth. Yep there it is. You are all at the mercy of my wacked out whim!

With Earth being a part of my major mythos I had to decide how I was going to handle the whole Salvation thing on all the other planets out there. Especially since interaction between them wasn't going to be limited to a few individuals (like say in C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy, or Roger Elwood's "The Wandering").

No, there was going to be galactic interaction on a massive scale.

After much thought I figured I had two basic ways that I could go.

Jumping On the Themewagon!

2006-05-02T07:25:00.000-06:00

*note to self, don't end a post with "More thoughts tomorrow" unless those thoughts are already written.* :p

Spent a distracted weekend trying to finish saving Arcadia from an evil Valuian admiral. Didn't quite make it due to also finishing off a short story for the DKA Magazine short story contest. Glad to have that thing behind me. With around 30 entries it will take them a while to sort out the winners. But should hear back by the end of the month I think.

So one of the big themes out there these days is Theme. OK so that's one of the many ways to come about it. Becky has been mulling over the whole issue of theme over at her blog for the last 27 days. Lots of deep thought going on there.

So here's my thoughts on how I go about finding and crafting "Theme" within my stories.

First off the importance of a clear and didactic theme depends on the type of book that you're wanting to write. If you're aiming for a world changing, lasting two hundred years type of story, then yeah theme is going to be very important. I'd say right up there on an equal level to the actual story.

If all you want to write is a fun novel that can maybe help a person through a tough day, or just provide a few hours of enertainment. Then having a huge and deep theme isn't necessarily as important. Though it still needs to be there.

Personally I fall somewhere between the two.

I also firmly believe that readers, bringing their own life experience with them, will discover their own themes and symbols within a book. Things that you as an author never paid much mind to will jump out and speak volumes to the reader. Especially if they are actively looking for symbolism or a theme.

So how do I go about crafting the theme? I'll talk about that in the next post.

Three down, unknown number to go...

2006-04-27T17:52:00.000-06:00

Yes I am prescient.

Got a rejection letter today from an agent for Starfire. A nice, little non-form letter (as my other two have been as well).

One more notch on my writing ladder. :)

more thoughts tomorrow.

That Terrible "M" Word...

2006-04-26T09:38:00.000-06:00

No, i'm not talking about "monkey" *shudder* I'm talkin' about "Market".

It's one of those words that comes up alot in writers circles. Do you "Write the story that is driving you?" or do you "Write for the market?"

Foot, meet dead horse! Start kicking. ;)

The current marketplace kind of glares over at sci-fi with a disdainful smirk and says "Thou dost not bring in the green!" and has a rather prickly relationship with fantasy that does bring in some green, but not the big bountiful heads of cabbage that things like suspense or chick lit seem to.

If you want to write sci-fi or fantasy that can slip into the current market write it either for Young Adults. Or make it a smaller portion of the story. (Near future sci-fi or jurrassic park type technothrillers are probably your best bet there. For fantasy either go heavy on the supernatural thriller or aim at the young adult market.)

Of course keep in mind that the market will probably change by the time you're done writing the "perfect" book for it. :)

My advice is write a story that engages you and carries you away with it. But be aware of the realities within the market.

My sci-fi trilogy, currently working on the second book, focuses on a main character who is Saurian (well actually all the characters are Saurian for the first two books). It's the start of a story that has been building within me since Jr. High. I love it. I love where I want to take it. The world feels almost as real to me as a foreign land I've never been to.

Of course this about the last thing the market wants to see right now (other than maybe a vampire western story). "Why would adults buy a book about alien dinosaurs?" :p

So I have to be realistic, and while I continue to push and prod at the market, seeing if I can find a crazy publisher willing to take a very big risk, I keep my expectations in line with where the market is. I know that most publishers in CBA are most likely going to be at best very leery of it.

So what does all this rambling mean? Do I have a point? I think so.

Basically it comes down to this. Especially if you are writing your first novel.

Write the story that is burning inside of you. I believe that will lead to your best writing (and the desire to make it better than your best). But also be aware of the market and align your expectations accordingly.

If you have multiple stories screaming to get out and one matches the market better than the other. Go with that one.

In the end you have to come to peace with this question for yourself. If being published is the ultimate goal for you, then yeah trying to aim for the market may slightly increase your chances (if you are really good at blasting womprats in a t-16 at warpspeed on the otherside of a wormhole).

But most people, that I have heard from, who suddenly find themselves riding high on that marketing wave, were writing those stories long before the market cared.

So for me. I'm stickin with my Saurians. With maybe some little detours to meet up with the inhabitants of Drennor, or to hang with a giant slug, a stickman and a bubble.

Eventually the market might just catch up with me. And if not? Well, then at least I'll have truly gone someplace no other human has been. God will be there with me, and teach me through the experience.

And in the end. That's enough for me.

Dude, You Need a Breathmint!

2006-04-25T11:21:00.000-06:00

Ok, in the last "How to Speak Saurian" post, Camy left a request for a translation of "Dude, You Need a Breathmint!"

Now Saurian's aren't known for their pleasant breath and so I can see why she would want to say this. Unfortunately, Saurians do not have breathmints. They do however have similar things. For most in the Karn Empire there is a small insect known as a becta that, while in its larval form (called a pictr), secretes a tangy secretion, that smells and tastes something like cinnamon, that many of the smaller swotelakyoch (bloodbonds/clans) are fond of sucking on. Though it is too small for the larger Saurians to get much use out of.

The larger swotelakyoch of Saurians lean more toward a "mouthwash" of sorts made from pulverized bokesh fronds and blite seeds. This gives their breath something of an ashy scent. This is called bokel.

So what you could happily say (depending on size, naturally) would be either:

Saurn, joestach narta loktoe pictr. (or Male, go eat a pictr.)

or

Saurn, vane koetuh bokel. (Male, drink some bokel.)

And just as a fun bonus, here's an excerpt (slightly edited to be spoiler free) from my currently homeless novel where just such a line would be very handy...

Excerpt from Starfire
He looked toward the door. Struth stood in the doorway, a look of concern on his face. Somehow the medic’s presence seemed to ease the chill clinging to him.

“I’m here, Struth.”

Struth stepped lightly across the room. “Are you all right?”

Rathe shook his head.

“Let me take a look at you,” Struth said. He crouched next to where Rathe lay.

Struth looked into each of his eyes, then pulled a small light out of a slot in his left gauntlet, and said, “Open wide.” He shone the light down Rathe’s throat and eased his head between his spread jaws. “Say something.”

Rathe felt his tongue slap against Struth’s neck as he spoke. “You tase tewwible.”

Struth withdrew his head and glared at him. Rathe realized that after what he had done, that might not have been the best thing to say. Struth pressed his head against Rathe’s side.

“Take a few deep breaths,” Struth said. After a short pause, he pulled away. “You seem fine physically. Though it is obvious you threw up recently. What happened?”

---

So there ya go. :) Everyone go out and have a breathmint!

Explore the Cradleland

2006-04-20T09:40:00.000-06:00

Ever wonder what life was like before the Flood? Author Doug Hirt did. And the Cradleland Chronicles show his vision of what that life might have been like.

You can venture into this world and the just launched www.cradlelandchronicles.com. This site features a glossary, maps, timeline. As well as an article by Doug explaining his vision for writing this series.

But perhaps even more exciting, starting next month they will be offering the unabridged audio edition of the first book Flight to Eden as a free podcast. Two chapters every Monday, Wednsday, and Friday.

So get on over there and explore the Cradleland!

The Allure of Fantasy - Part II

2006-04-20T07:51:00.000-06:00

For those interested, Crosswalk.com has posted the second part of an article discussing the allure of fantasy to young people. This part focuses on how to discern what is good fantasy, and continues with quotes from Bryan Davis, Donita K. Paul, and R.K. Mortensen.

Missing Pictures

2006-04-18T23:25:00.000-06:00

Just in case you're wondering where all the pictures have gone around here. I'm changing hosts for my main website (www.ritersbloc.com) But if things go ok you may not even have noticed by the time you read this post. ;)

Until then, just draw your own pictures and slap them in the blank boxes on the screen. :D

The Allure of Fantasy

2006-04-13T10:25:00.000-06:00

Crosswalk.com has posted the first part of an article on the allure of fantasy to young readers.

It includes quotes from Donita K. Paul author of the Dragonkeeper Chronicles, Bryan Davis author of the Dragons in our Midst series, and R.K. Mortensen author of the Landon Snow series.

It presents a good look at how fantasy is drawing in our youth, and how the genre can be used to help point them toward God.

Laugh Out Loud in Saurian

2006-04-10T22:03:00.000-06:00

It is time once more for another session of How to Speak Saurian.

There were two requests from last week so I'll jump right in on that.

Becky wants to know how to say "LoL" in Saurian.

There isn't a technical straight across translation since there isn't a real instant-messaging system where this type of short-hand is used. So we'll go with the full on "Laugh out Loud".

Which translates to: Hoko kom moke. or for LoL! = HkM!
(short o, short o - short o - long o)

Next, Beth (being the sneaky lady she is) wants me to translate Lothlorien.

However, since Lothlorien is a Proper noun and a distinct place, the actual translation would remain: Lothlorien.

But, I'll be sneaky myself and point out that in Saurian, Lothlorien would indeed be spelled differently. So here is how you spell Lothlorien in Saurian:

So there you go. That's how you spell Lothlorien in Saurian. :)

Keep the phrases coming!

Left Behind: Eternal Forces Previews

2006-04-10T10:04:00.000-06:00

Some of you may know that in addition to being a bit of a sci-fi/fantasy freak, I am also a gamer (which isn't that big of a stretch I guess). Of course the drawback to being a gamer, much like being a sci-fi/fantasy fan. Is the fact that not a whole lot of games necessarily match up with the Christian worldview. And those that have, tend to be pretty bad from a gameplay point of view. But there is one game coming out later this year that does look to show some promise. All thanks to two (possibly shudder inducing words: Left Behind.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) Game based on the best-selling novels by Jerry Jenkins and Tim Lahay. For those of you unfamiliar with what an RTS is, it is a game in which the player builds and controls armies of units and send them out in conquest of the opposing army(ies).

My first reaction to hearing about Eternal Forces last year was one of shock and unbelief. Why in the world would anyone base an RTS game off of novels that revolved around a central cast and where it the heroes were all non-violent (more or less, from what I remember). It just seemed like someone thought "Hey RTS games are popular, lets make one of those!" To say I was instantly turned off would be pretty much accurate. Though I did have some morbid curiosity in the game.

However, this week a new round of previews have popped up at some of the major gaming sites, that are making me step back from my initial kneejerk reaction. It actually looks like the team developing this game may just be well on the road to making a fun RTS.

Based totally within a painstakingly accurate rendition of Manhattan, Eternal Forces, has the player waging war for the souls of the neutral units. Having a spiritual morale meter that must be maintained, for every unit in the game. You don't pump units out of a factory like in traditional RTS games, but instead go out into the city and convert them by raising their spiritual morale to an appropriate level. Certain actions can raise or lower a unit's spirit, and if it gets low enough they will revert to neutral, or even join with the forces of evil. So the main point in this game isn't to win a war of attrition by killing off your opponent, but instead "save" the opposition by converting the soldiers. In fact entering into wholesale slaughter is a bad idea since killing will lower the spiritual morale of your units meaning you might win the battle but lose your army.

So I have gone from revulsion, to cautious optimism in regards to this game. The fact that not only has it gained attention from the mainstream gaming media, but it also getting some favorable previews, means that it could help bring games based on a Christian worldview up to a more acceptable standard, much like where Christian fiction was a decade or so ago.

You can view some previews at:
Gamespy
IGN
Gamespot

I'll be keeping an eye on this and post any further thoughts as more details get revealed.

Muze Cheechae Ork Saurian

2006-04-05T16:42:00.000-06:00

Yep, that's right! It's time for another session of How to Speak Saurian!

First we'll take care of last week's request by Shannon, for her favorite phrase "Whatever".

The direct translation of the words in "Whatever" are "What = Peejee" and "Ever = Tagan". (Long e, Long e - Short a, Short a)

However the "Whatever" of slang that Shannon refers to isn't really the direct meaning of those two words combined. It is basically a "Ok fine do/say what you want cause I don't care/I'm not getting through to you." Which from a Saurian stand point (we'll say specifically Karnian in culture, most likely a somewhat stubborn female of a younger age).

The proper slang would most likely be something more along the lines of "UlotPorl" Which litteraly reflects that the person thinks you have an "Empty Voice".

So there you go Shannon, "UlotPorl"
(Emphasis on Short u, Short o, Emphasis on P, or as in pork. And don't pause between).

So there you go.

Anybody out there have something non-insulting they wish they knew how to say in Saurian? Just leave your phrase in the comment section and I'll translate it next time.

It's high kickin', ya glean it?

2006-04-03T08:41:00.000-06:00

Book Review: Outriders

Outriders, by Kathryn Mackel, is one of those books that will grab your imagination and take it for a wild ride through a familiar, yet alien land. With full characters that make you care, and excitement that can get your pulse racing.

Generations after warfare and pollution poisoned the planet and destroyed civilization, one group of survivors remembers their heritage, their birthright. From their sanctuary, the Ark, sunk deep below the arctic ice they train their young to be outriders who do the impossible. To return to the surface world and save the original creation and spread the forgotten Truth. But these young people face more than a poisoned world.

So called sorcerers, wielding the last remnant of science that helped destroy mankind, create abominations by transmogrifying animals and humans to suit the whims of their warlord masters. Only by holding to the Truth that they know, can the outriders hope to overcome the mogs and the greater evil that festers in this poisoned world.

Kathryn Mackel has created a tale full of biblical symbolism and imagery, one of haunting beauty and terrible destruction. All of her characters come through as full people, who each struggle with their own human natures (or fully give in to them) while seeking to fulfill their mission. You come to care for each of the main Characters as soon as you meet them, even when it is clear they are being hard headed and foolish.

One thing I thought Kathryn did extremely well was the "jangle" of the rookie outriders. It came off as totally believable and fluid, but not impossible to understand. However, some of the action scenes felt a bit muddled, and the world-building didn't always hold up for me, but that was easily forgiven in the scope of the journey each character took.

If you like strong action and adventure founded strongly in Christ, then this book won't let you down. Give it a chance and don't dismiss it simply because the setting seems so wild. And even if you don't like it, get it for a young man in your life, a son, nephew, grandson or just some kid in the youth group. They'll love it.

As for me, the sequel can't come out soon enough.

Useful Saurian Phrases?

2006-03-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

Or maybe just a way to insult someone without them knowing it?

Here's how to say the three phrases left by the commentors.

For Tiff: And your point is?

Translation: Koebae checkuh dulvee shool?
(long e, short a - short e, short u - long u, long e - school without the c)

For Camy: Bite me!
(Please note, this is not something smart to say to a Saurian. You DO NOT want them to bite you.)

Translation: Nirt dine! Or if you wish to make it a command: Nirt'Dine!
(short i separate from the r sound - long I, silent e) (Command: same as before but with a clipped "eh" between the two words and no pause aka: Nirt'eh'Dine)

And for Steve: Who left that time machine on my sofa?
(I think it was Scott)

Translation: Do jilatim men mekin kitark goch rukote dinevee?
(long O - short I, short a, Short I - Short e - Short e, short i - short i, AR like Bark - short u, long o - long I, silent e, long e)

And how would you use these in a conversation? Easy you burst wildly into the living room and shout:

You: Do jilatim men mekin kitark goch rukote dinevee?

Kids/Spouse/Friend/Parent: *Blank and befuddled stare* Huh?

You: Koebae checkuh dulvee shool?

Kids/Spouse/Friend/Parent: What kind of gibberish is that?

You: Nirt dine! *Grab time machine and storm out of the living room*

Tune in next week for more Muze Cheechae Ork Saurian!

Forward Progress

2006-03-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

Bit of an update on my writing life and what's going on there.

Been fairly busy this past week. As far as my first book is concerned, I've been working on getting it into the rounds. One query is off, and a proposal is nearly finished. Lots of waiting will quickly ensue. :)

The sequel is progressing well at this early stage. I got a 600 word synopsis put down for it so I know what I'm doing. And have the first scene done. This is shaping up to be a rather dark book, as the consequences from the events in book 1 play out. Plus there is a big twist in this book that I've been waiting to get to ever since the idea for this story emerged. Gonna be lots of crazy stuff going down, but have to do the work to get there first. I've also got the framework down for four new characters, not quite sure on their personalities yet, but they have all come through some hard times.

Anyway, enough of boring you with my hum-drum writing life. Check back later today and I'll post the phrases left in Monday's comments in their Saurian form. And will have a review of Kathryn Mackel's outriders up soon as well.

Saree Larkime!

Learn to Speak Saurian!

2006-03-27T22:33:00.000-07:00

Freak out your friends! Dismay your Parents! Drive yourself to the loony-bin! For today's little foray, here's how you would quote John 3:16 in Saurian (not in actual-Saurian alphabet).

John Chae:Tovaktrk

Glozm VorTolKo trm sarreeim vor soreevo men sorko kannueim vor to koebae tol chomve sorko, men dasto doe mrjil slovo sorko ol thow oytok, seena tifil wow larkime.

So feel free to use this next time somebody asks you to quote this iconic verse! Or paint it on a big board and take it with you to the next big sporting event to give a classic witness a new twist. ;)

Or if you want to frustrate people just write this on a board:

Dul thor thow tu cheechae nivail.

And when they ask you what it says, you can honestly answer: You do not want to know. :)

Do you have a favorite phrase you want to learn to say in Saurian? Post it here and I'll translate it and put it in the next "Learn to Speak Saurian" entry.

What hangs on a wall, is green, and whistles?

2006-03-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

Movie Review: MirrorMask

If you're looking for an weird and twisted fantasy movie to rent, might I recommend this new picture from Jim Henson Productions and director Dave McKean. Here's the official summary:

MirrorMask centers on Helena, a 15 year old girl in a family of circus entertainers, who often wishes she could run off and join real life. After a fight with her parents about her future plans, her mother falls quite ill and Helena is convinced that it is all her fault. On the eve of her mother's major surgery, she dreams that she is in a strange world with two opposing queens, bizarre creatures, and masked inhabitants. All is not well in this new world - the white queen has fallen ill and can only be restored by the MirrorMask, and it's up to Helena to find it. But as her adventures continue, she begins to wonder whether she's in a dream, or something far more sinister.

This movie is filled with interesting and quirky characters both at the circus and in the dream world, that really give a sense of mystery and insanity to the world born from Helena's own artwork. One thing I love about it is how Helena never really questions the world she finds herself in, but simply goes along with it, from escaping the shadow by riding a book to thwarting a sphinx's riddles with one of her own (that Bilbo Baggins might have been proud of).

One of my favorite sequences comes a bit over half-way through the movie and involves one of the sweetly creepiest renditions of Close to You I can ever remember hearing.

Overall, this is a bit like a darker, more twisted Alice in Wonderland or Labrynth and if you liked those, be sure to give this one a try.

One Last Word on the Krikicho

2006-03-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

Just to kind of give some closure to the whole world-building series here's one final post.

With the timeline, geography, some basic social ideas and the physical characteristics down I've gone as far as I can without a story to build the rest of the world around.

While I've been putting all the above stuff together, various ideas and images will have been popping into my head about what kind of story would be a nice introduction and overview of the race.

For the Krikicho I was thinking a nice short pirate story would have worked well. In a world where there was an ancient high-tech civilization that got wiped out leaving some stores of technology and knowledge behind, a thriving privateer/tomb raider/profiteer type of culture could easily arise.

So I was leaning toward telling the tale of a young privateer Krikicho and his run in with the forces of that expanding empire. Something of a classic formula that would give me a format to explore more of the precise social aspects, the tech used, and other such things. Getting to see the world on a much closer scale.

Someday I'll get around to that story. Just too much to do and not enough time. :)

Any quick questions before we leave the Krikicho behind and head off to Sauria and other mysterious lands?

The Beast is Returning

2006-03-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody.

ok so it's been over a month since my last post, and the poor Krikicho are hanging out wondering what's going on.

Unfortunately they are going to have to hang out for a while longer. I am doing a bit of re-prioritizing and am putting all extra-stories on hold right now so I can focus on the sequel to my first finished novel Starfire.

What's that mean for this blog? Well just means that the focus will shift a bit, but that it will hopefully be a bit more frequent in updates, as I track my efforts to get Starfire published, and explore my process of writing the sequel.

Plus I'm still going to try and post reviews of books & movies that catch my interest. Won't be an every day type post, but I will commit to putting something up (even if it is just a "Learn to Speak Saurian" post) at least three times a week.

Until next time,

Sare larkime!

Has anyone seen where I left my train of thought?

2006-02-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

I can be so random in where my attention lands. Always tough to keep going with one big project over a span of time. I tend to be way too ADD for that. :)

Recently began work on a new fantasy novel, though not set in the typical medival europe fantasy setting, with your usual races. Mine is closer to a steampunk/just-pre-industrial revolution setting. Been a fun world to get into, though it has hampered the time spent here (as well as my exploring Blizzard Entertainment's wonderful fantasy World of Warcraft). :p

One of these days I'll figure out the key to harnessing my spazzistic attention and not bounce around so much. But I'll try and get on with the Krikicho and Och soon. :0)

Ten Thousand Years Will Give You Such a Crick in the Neck!

2006-01-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

Howdy to you lurkers out there! Camy puts us all to shame with her prolific postings!

Camy asked:
I like how you're so incredibly logical and methodical about this. I think I'd just throw some species into the story and make it up as I go. Do you really do all this before you write their story?

Yes & No.

This is the first time that I've ever attempted to go bit-by-bit and actually chronicle the race construction. Most of this is usually done in my head, with just the sketches as reference points. By the time I've got the species sketch and the planet sketch a story idea will already be beginning to form, and that helps kick start some of this other stuff.

I'm already getting to the point now where I’m really going to need a story framework to give me the characters that will unveil more of the world. But I’m not quite there yet. (I'm currently working on a new novel that takes place in a setting where all this stuff is still mostly just in my head).

Today we need to construct a timeline of major world events that occurred on Och over the past ten thousand years. These will be events that will have shaped the Krikicho culture worldwide in one way or another. May not have a direct impact on the story I end up writing, but will help when developing the characters. Some of this will correspond with similar biblical events on Earth, while others will be totally unique.

0 – Creation of Och, Fall of the Krikicho

2,123 – The great Freeze, the Ice caps form

4,620 – Ika'cho led through the Mikatha desert to found the holy nation "Ika'kroch"

5,032 – Krakicho Empire formally established, rules fifty percent of the exposed coastlines of Och

5,713 – Ika'kroch nation is absorbed into the Krakicho Empire

6,413 – Incarnate Savior

6,793 – Krakicho Epire fragments due to civil war

7,401 – First Deep-Sea Colony established.

8,240 – Chikaoch Syndicate's bid for world power thwarted through a catastrophic tech-plauge, 90% of Krikicho bio-tech killed.

9,352 – Ikochia declared Matriarch of the Kikako Sovereignty, begins campaign to bring all Krikicho under her banner.

10,000 - Classified

Obviously this is a very vauge time-line with large gaps and such. But the local history directly related to a story best comes from the characters themselves. What this does for me is help germinate ideas for legends & myths that may play into a story as well as what kinds of things characters may come across in terms of ruins from the past or ancient artifacts. And just helps get an idea of how the culture has been shaped.

Thoughts? Accusations?

Time to talk Time

2006-01-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, I admit it, I've been a total slacker over the last few weeks. I'm bad like that (horrible cycle for a writer to go through). However it's never to late to pick up where we left off (assuming anyone still comes round these parts *waves at Camy*).

Anyway let's look at what we've gotten to so far in world creation through a quick summary.

We have the crustacian like race, the Krikicho, that live on the planet Och, a mostly temperate planet with two large ice caps. We know the Krikicho live in costal cities for the most part, with a few floaters and some under the ice.

To get more detail we're going to have to narrow our focus to a single time and place and develop the world for that area, from which the rest of the world will eventually bloom.

First we need to decide the timeframe that we want to develop, this will give large influence on the culture that you eventually come up with. Is it near the dawn of civilization? Or perhaps during a time-frame that is equivalent with the middle ages? Or perhaps the golden age of the Roman Empire? And when in the overall planet history does this timeframe take place.

Since Och is a planet that takes place within an already built mythos of worlds I have some framework it has to fit into. First, it must have 10,000 of it's years pass from creation to "modern" time (the equivalent of today in Earth time. This mythos runs on a young Earth creationist timeline). However those "years" don't have to equal 1 earth year.

Just to make things easier & more relevant in the long run, I’m going to develop the Krikicho culture for modern times, or 10,000 years post creation. Now this doesn't mean that their culture will have to equal the tech of Earth. It can surpass or be far behind. Or just be totally weird. It all depends on what happened in the previous 10,000 years in Krikicho culture, both on a micro and macro level.

So, tomorrow it will be time to put together the timeline of Och.

Make sense? If not I blame the late night :)

I'm not dead yet!

2006-01-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the sudden lack of posts. ;) Got totally distracted and brain numbed by Season 1 of Stargate: Atlantis and Smallville Seasons 1 and 2.

Must learn restraint!

Will get us back on track here shortly.

Friday Fancies

2006-01-06T00:38:00.000-07:00

Friday Fancies

Taking a break from world building today to turn attention to a couple of books I read recently. Probably do something like this every Friday, just for a change of pace and to take a moment and see what’s happening out in the other worlds.

Both of these books come from the new line Realms fiction an imprint of Strang Communications.

Daughter of Prophecy
Miles Owens

Daughter of Prophecy (DoP) is a fantasy tale that centers around a young maiden named Rhiannon, who was prophesied to be the Protectoress of the Covenant, the binding agreement that keeps evil out of the lands of the Faber Dynasty. Sixteen years after her birth and the prophecy a group of winged horrors, creatures of darkness, attack Rhiannon. This attack signals a weakening of the covenant, and Rhiannon must discover just what it means for her to be the Protectoress of the Covenant.

This is a fine first novel for Owens, and he does a good job of keeping this story from falling into just another warrior maiden tale or other clichés of the fantasy genre. He also weaves in strong Christian elements, especially with an emphasis on the importance and power of prayer and confession.

The forces of evil must be confronted on both the physical and the Spiritual planes if they are to be defeated. And for the prayers to be effective, a clear and unhindered connection with God is essential. Which leads the main characters to face their pasts, relinquish their dreams, and make hard decisions about their dealings. There are times when this can make the spiritual lessons a bit heavy handed, and one character's "breaking" felt a bit too abrupt, but it worked for the most part.

On the downside, I found this book's pace to be far slower than I would have liked. Much of the conflict is based on Clan politics, especially a controversial wool sale. Not exactly exciting stuff, and it dragged the story down for me early on. However, once the sale is over, the pace picks back up. There is also a tad too much telling, and I found the plot a bit to predictable at times.

Still, the action is well written, and Owens has opened the portal to a world ripe for exploring. I look forward to the sequel and discovering how Rhiannon adjusts to the path she has been set upon.

Buy Daughter of Prophecy from Amazon.com

----------------------------------

The Personifid Project
R. E. Bartlett

The Personifid Project is a Science Fiction novel with a most interesting premise. In the distant future, science has discovered the means to not only detect souls, but encase them in artificial bodies, Personifids, to stave off death.

When Aphra, a secretary at the Sevig Empire Corporation, overhears a sinister conversation, she fears for her life. Her fears are confirmed when she witnesses the "discontinuation" of a fellow employee. Soon she is fleeing assassins, reliant on the help of strangers, and desperately trying to find out what is going on.

This is a story much in the tradition of films such as I, Robot, Blade Runner, Minority Report, or Equilibrium, though without the detective angle. A vision of the future where society seeks to stave off death through aritficial means, and keep the "bad parts" of human nature suppressed with drugs and virtual reality. And ask the question, "Can we really separate our evil nature from our good?"

The Personifid Project is a briskly paced story, with lots of action, and a few good twists. Also the vision of a post-apocalyptic earth, where people must live in shielded cities or underground, is well realized. With a good array of believable technology that bridges the gap from present to future.

However, a few things really irked me. For one, the reader is forcibly kept out of hearing the sinister conversation that Aphra overhears at the start of the book, even though we are in her point of view. This creates a bit of a false feeling suspense as we have Aphra thinking about how horrible what she heard was and how she races to cover it up through the rest of the chapter, until she finally confides to her home computer. It made me feel a bit cheated.

Bartlett also falls into the pitfall of a bit too much telling when describing certain technologies or cultural bits of the story. Perhaps just a stylistic irk for me, but I prefer these things to be blended a bit better then have the story stop for a paragraph explaining why Cantabrian security is different than other places (as just one example).

I also had a real hard time connecting with Aphra. I never really felt sorry for her or like rooting for her. She was too whiney, oblivious and self-centered, and never really seemed to grow out of it.

Still there were plenty of other interesting characters, such as the minor but fun Chickenwing. And Aphra's bounty hunter brother, with his penchant for odd computers.

Overall the book rose above the irks for me and I enjoyed the tale. Bartlett has created a fun futuristic world full of wild possibilities. If you like futuristic Sci-fi be sure to give this one a go.

Buy The Personifid Project at Amazon.com

World Building - Discovering Och

2006-01-05T01:21:00.000-07:00

Over the last two days we did a quick initial sketch of a new race, the Krikich, the crablike inhabitants of the planet Och. And touched lightly upon some basic traits, and some vague social traits.

However before we jump into discovering the culture any deeper we need to know more about the planet on which they live.

Designing a planet is much like creating a race. Lots of following your intuition and not being afraid to be a bit silly at first to lay the groundwork to be built upon later. And so to start, out pops the trusty pencil again.

The idea here is to make the planet seem like a good fit to the race it is designed for, but not make it feel too flat or like a one-trick-pony. Basically take Earth, and mix things up a bit. Alter the climate slightly in one direction or another, flip up the continent placement, and maybe toss in a couple of oddities that can make things interesting.

The planet Och is split into thirds climate wise. Two thirds are giant ice caps, while a broad temperate zone runs between.

There are eight continents, of which only three are exposed. Two protrude partially from the Northern ice cap. The other three are completely encased, one in the North and two in the South. The bulk of Krikicho live within the Temperate Gap, though there are a fair number who live beneath the ice.

Two moons orbit the planet Och. The largest of the two is in a stable, circular orbit around the planet, while the smaller is on an oval, slingshot orbit. These two moons come into alignment once every year, by Krikicho reckoning, when the smaller moon is in the near end of it’s oval. This causes tidal anomalies that only occur at that specific time, and hold special significance to the Krikicho.

That’s enough for now. More specifics can come in time, and will vary a bit by location. But this gives us enough of a big picture view to have a common ground to make sure the details stick together right. And, as a bonus, gives all the overly scientific fans lots to argue about.

It’s at this point that we’ll have to start getting more specific about things, and begin laying out political borders, social history, language and spirituality. Still I think you will find that even those start out just as more sticks in the framework.

But that’s for next week. Friday we’ll take a break and look at a couple of books I recently read.

World Building - Inhabitants Pt. 2

2006-01-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the feedback! I hope some people out there will try and create a new world of their own along side mine as we go through. Would be fun to see all the variations that come out at the end.

Quick Responses:

Tiff: You’re right, every writer creates a world specific to their story. Some just tend to be a bit more exotic then most. I can’t imagine all the research most historical and contemporary authors have to do to make sure that their worlds are accurate and believable. I’m certain that most people who feel like they couldn’t come up with a sci-fi or fantasy tale due to world building, just need to take another look at the process and think a bit sideways of normal and they could write a fun tale. Especially those who are fans of the genres to start with and are familiar with the basic tennents.

That’s why I’m doing this, to try and help them see how the process is similar to character and setting creation in stories outside this genre (or I think it is anyway).

Heather: Shnakvorum! Characters do drive so much, and it’s always fun to see what kind of secrets they give up as things progress. Hope you stop by often!

Camy: Glad you like the tutorial and lessons. Hope you dive in and give the stuff a try.

On to the Inhabitants Pt 2:

So we’ve got the basic sketch of the race for the new world. My next step (often blended with the actual creation of the sketch/description) is to examine the concept and see what it tells me about the probable lifestyle. You’ll want to keep this plausible and realistic. Might help to try and catch some nature shows that give abilities to similar creatures for inspiration. Sometimes you can just play off of what it feels right for your creature to be doing.

This race is crustacean in nature, large fiddler crab claw, flat head with multiple eyes and mandible mouth, segmented neck, flat shell body with six segmented legs. They stand about six feet tall, and are about as long as they are tall, usually just a few inches shorter, sometimes up to two feet. Colors range from red to light, dappled blue.

While amphibious in nature, this race prefers the water, and can live in both salt and fresh water. Those who live in salt water for long periods of time grow large spines on their carapaces from mineral deposits as their bodies process the salt, while those in fresh water have only small knobs.

Their cities are built along the shores of lakes and oceans, both in and out of the water. Smaller settlements can be found along streams and rivers. Also some have forsaken land all together and have “roaming” cities that ride the undersea currents of their planet’s oceans.

Judging from physical appearance and makeup, this will also probably be one of my “naked” races. Ones that may adorn themselves with trinkets, but don’t really wear any clothing for protection or covering (other than battle armor in many cases, though these guys seem to have that built in).

And looking at them, they need a clicking sounding name. Something like Krikicho (with short “i” “o” and a hard, guttural “ch”).

Ok, so there is some very basic, groundwork for the Krikicho. Looking through my list of named planets, looks like # 824 has a nice matching name: Och. We’ll talk more about language and how the greater mythos you insert your race into may affect that later on.

For now you might see the early signs of society starting to emerge from the race description. But before we delve into that, we’re going to pull out a bit farther and discover just what kind of world Och is.

But that’s for tomorrow.

World Building - Inhabitants Pt. 1

2006-01-02T23:55:00.000-07:00

When I start a world, I almost always begin by first creating the race that will inhabit that world. Now I know I’ve already said that I have a list of 1,000 named planets (too much time that freshman year of college), but that is all they are, names. Mist shrouded objects waiting for their natives to appear and make it all clear.

So, to clear away that mist, I must first make contact with the natives. It isn’t that much different than what most writers do when discovering their characters for the first time, but just on a more general basis.

The way I go about this is to grab a pencil and doodle out a quick sketch. Sometimes I’ll have something in mind, sometimes I just start with a squiggle and add a swoosh, then a dash and let the creature emerge. Most of my current races came about in just that manner, arising from the margins of my college class notes. Not super detailed drawings, but basic sketches that capture the essence and can be refined later as the world and race matures.

If you can’t draw a dot to save your life, don’t despair. Instead try using the same technique, but instead with your words. Write down bits of description for your race until you start seeing the whole picture. Or assemble it in your mind first and then write down the description.

The main thing here is that you need to be open and free, don’t bind yourself down by saying that looks stupid, or that’s silly, or that’s not original enough! Feel free to draw on what you have experienced to enhance your race. I pulled almost all of the inspiration for mine from mythology and nature. Go to the zoo, watch some cartoons, check out some books on prehistoric life. You’ll find a ton of crazy things you can manipulate into your initial sketch/description.

And remember this is a concept, it is there to capture the basic essence of your idea for the race. Something to build off of. It isn’t meant to be perfect or the final iteration.

Anyway this is getting long so I’ll just drop in the sketch of the new race I’ll be making the world for and we’ll talk more about the process tomorrow.

Questions? Comments?

World Building - Introduction

2006-01-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great holiday week with a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Now we start As promised, we’re going to open up ’06 here at the Den with a look at my world creation process. Hope everyone finds it interesting, and joins in on the fun. At the end of it all perhaps we’ll get a chance to look at the worlds that you create (if you want).

I know world creation can seem a very daunting task, one that can be attempted only by the genius or the insane or just the geeks. However, I think a lot of what keeps people from trying, especially those who love the genres, is the mystique and intimidation factor of just how much work appears to go into worlds. And yeah, there is a lot of work that goes into it. But worlds don’t spring forth fully formed in moments, most of the time.

Also, don’t worry about not having a story to go with your world. While often a story will come, and then you discover what world it came in. Sometimes, some of the most exciting stories come out of the process of creating the world.

If you want to watch a fun, and short little documentary on world creation pick up a DVD of The Dark Crystal and check out the special feature: “The World of The Dark Crystal Making of Documentary”

Shoot out any questions or comments you have. And tomorrow we’ll get started at creating a world with the piece I start with just about every time. The people who live on the world.

Of Birdhouses, Wardrobes and Wuchak

2005-12-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

Sister took her kids and I off to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Electric Safari last night. Really cool, walking through the zoo keeping the animals up late (or seeing the ones that sleep all day actually moving) while there are thousands of strings of Christmas lights strung around all over the place.

Was especially fun watching my lil’ niece (somewhere between 3 and 5yrs old) running around oohing and aahing. However, in typical fashion I couldn’t let the night go by without making a fool of myself. And so when my niece ran up to a bird house and ever so eagerly opened the door and peeked in side, I let out a little “Raarrwrrr!”

Poor, girl. I think I have given her a permanent fear of birdhouses.

Anyway, on to the thing about that movie that had a very big closet thing in it.

It’s been a few years since I last read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe so my memory is a bit fuzzy on the specifics, but from what I could tell the movie is indeed a fairly faithful adaptation, incredibly well done if you compare other book > movie translations.

Over all I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and thought that the additional scenes helped flesh the narration out so it flowed well as a movie.

Things I enjoyed:

The kids were very well cast and nicely acted (as if you haven't read that in every review out there)

Loved the battle :)

Minotaurs rocked!

Beavers rocked!

Rocks rocked!

Things that Irked:

Alsan felt diminished to me, not quite as majestic and powerful as he could have been. Kept waiting for a roar that would totally shake the theater.

Peter’s reluctance to lead.

No reference to the deeper magic.

At least a year until Prince Caspian shows up.

One thing that watching this movie did help reassert for me is just how much a person’s world view can shape their understanding and watching/reading of a movie or book.

The same way Christians can find Christian themes in things like The Matrix or Star Wars, is the same way non-Christians totally miss those themes in works like The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia. Our central beliefs, and the things we are most familiar with are the correlations that will jump out at us from the pages/screen and touch our core.

For instance, to someone not that familiar with Christianity, Aslan’s line of “It is finished.” May hold no more weight than any other line in the story. But to a Christian who is intimate with the story of Christ’s passion, it resonates and communicates much more than just those three words mean.

It’s something I’ve tried to keep in mind in my own writing. Always looking at each scene and character not only from where a reader might be coming from with a worldview, but also making sure that the characters stay true to their own worldviews.

Something to think about, and to maybe expound more on later.

Anyway time for today’s “Learn to Speak Saurian”:

I’m sure lots of you will be having guests drop by your house this Christmas. You’re going to need a way to greet them! And so here is how you say:

“Welcome, friends, to my home!”

Remember sound this out in English phonetics:

“Shnakvorum, reekoeyoech, cheechae votae dinevee.”

Also, with all those wondrous gifts you’re going to need to say “Thankyou!”

Which is simply: “Wuchak”.

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Continuing the Bloggification Process

2005-12-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

So what exactly am I going to talk about on this thing, something to actually draw interest and get people excited, and provide some kind of service. :)

Well amid the random mumbling, I decided I need to actually have something of value. So I wondered what I might be able to do.

So, beginning in the new year, I'm going to walk through my world creation process. Something that I started fifteen years ago, and over time have refined in order to have a way to populate at least some of those thousand worlds with unique and interesting peoples.

Probably nothing incredibly insightful or dramatic, but it might help other writers, especially those who don't write sci-fi & fantasy, get an inside look at one way that us crazier writers go about bulding our worlds and stories.

I'll still pop in random bits such as "Learn to speak Saurian!"

In fact let's start with the very important holiday phrase:

"I love your food!"

This phrase in Saurian is:

"Dine saree koytie dulvee!"

Just sound that out phonetically with a hint of a roll on the r.

Your mother won't know what to say. :)

Oh and I finally saw Narnia yesterday. But I'll talk about that tomorrow. ;)

So, what is up with this funky named den thing?

2005-12-20T22:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it’s a blog thing. Guess that means I need to actually write stuff. So since this is the first official post, (ignore that bit of oddity below this one) guess I’ll just introduce who I am to the echo out there (and Shannon).

My name’s Stuart. And I’m possibly human. Actually most of the evidence seems weighted toward that conclusion, but there are a few naysayers out there.

Maybe because I write science fiction, have three alien alphabets, one partial language, and a list of 1,000 named planets and 50+ races (technically there should be 1000, but I’m a procrastinator).

I just finished my first novel that takes advantage of the above oddities (well, one “race”, world and language, and a tad bit of the alphabet). Tells the tale of a young warrior who discovers an ancient artificial intelligence that leads him on a quest that has him deciding between the fate of his empire and the fate of his world. Nothing too heavy.

If you’re still reading this, I bet you’re wondering what the heck a Jerkrenak is, and why does it have a den. Well, maybe I’ll tell you one day if you stick around long enough. But for now, I will only give this itsy bitsy clue.

Anyway, I envision this blog as just a way to ramble on a bit about whatever comes up, be it my writing, as I begin work on the epic sequel to my first novel in which the young warrior meets a voracious creature that loves to spit. Or on books I’m reading, movies I’ve watched, or general thoughts about Life, Christianity and Everything.

Don’t know exactly how often these random musings will pop up, but if a week goes by without anything showing up on here, feel free to scream at the monitor. If you yell loud enough I just might hear you.

Saree Larkime

Some Kind of Freakshow

2005-12-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

So, this is a blog huh? Guess it's about time I caught up with the current trend and started something going here...

will post a formal introduction later on, just wanted to see if I could get this new fangled contraption working.

maybe someday I'll even look into those mystical devices known as "cell phones."