CSFF Blog Tour: "Where the Map Ends" Day Three

Last day of the tour! But rather than drone on and on like I've done the past two days, I thought I would point out what's really cool about Where the Map Ends. It's not just a resource for readers or writers of Christian speculative fiction. It's actually a resource for both.

If you're an author of speculative fiction, there are a ton of resources available to you on this website. I've mentioned the insider's look of the publishing world before and the random story generator, but there's a lot more. For example, Jeff Gerke offers writing tips for authors. I'll admit, tips #16-18 depressed me, but they were still good to read.

Jeff also offers a wide variety of editing services, something that I took advantage of a few months ago getting ready for the 2006 ACFW Conference. I appreciated the insightful feedback he gave me and while I didn't take some of his advice at the time (I didn't have enough time to implement it), I will soon.

But what about readers of Christian speculative fiction? What do they get out of this website?

The answer is plenty! For starters there's the extensive book list of speculative novels. I honestly had no idea how much was out there until I found this list. I've got some reading to do apparently.

Jeff also offers monthly interviews with speculative authors that both writers and readers can enjoy. Some of the authors even leave short stories for people to enjoy.

So there you have it. Where the Map Ends is a great site for both producers and consumers of Christian speculative fiction. I know I'll be back many, many times, and I hope you will join me as well.

Be sure to check out what the other tour participants are saying:

Nissa Annakindt
Wayne Thomas Batson
Jim Black
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D.G.D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
Tessa Edwards
April Erwin
Kameron M. Franklin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Leathel Grody
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Kait
Karen
K. D. Kragen
Tina Kulesa
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nicole
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Robin Parrish
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver
Timothy Wise

CSFF Blog Tour: "Where the Map Ends" Day Two

So here we are on Day Two of our Blog Tour for Where the Map Ends.

Did you go take a look at what the other participants said about the website? I did my best to hit them all and see what was brewing on their blogs. Be sure to stop by both Mir's and Sharon Hinck's blogs as they're running contests in connection with Where the Map Ends. Mir's is pretty spectacular. Also go to Sharon's and Rachel Marks's blogs for interviews with Jeff Gerke, the genius behind the site.

For today's post, I thought I'd touch on one part of Where the Map Ends that is still on the drawing boards, namely Marcher Lord Press. When I first went to the website after it opened, this is the feature that intrigued and excited me the most: a Print-On-Demand publishing company dedicated to Christian speculative fiction!

Now I realize that it may never materialize, but something like this is sorely needed in the Christian publishing industry. It's very difficult for anyone who writes out on the edges of the map to be given a chance in the existing houses. That's not a complaint, really. As Jeff pointed out in his interview with Rachel Marks, it makes good business sense for the existing publishing houses to overlook speculative fiction. Their perception of the Christian market is that no one would read it, so why waste the money on printing books that won't sell?

But I have this feeling that this is a vicious circle and a self-fulfilling prophecy. If they don't believe the books will sell, they don't publish them. Or, if they do, they don't promote them as they should. This means that potential readers get left by the wayside.

Let me give you an example. I mentioned our blog tour on another website I frequent (Red vs. Blue). In this post, I also mentioned a new Christian sci-fi book idea that's been percolating in my brain for the past three or four months. One of my friends on the site, a guy who calls himself Batmantis, got excited. He said he loves sci-fi and he loves Christianity and he'd love to see the two together.

So a light bulb went off in my head. I sent him a link to the book list on Where the Map Ends along with half-a-dozen author recommendations. When he saw it, he wrote back, "I haven't read much 'Christian' fantasy or science fiction apart from the obvious Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Like you have said, it just doesn’t get promoted."

Now think about this. Batmantis was excited at the thought of Christian sci-fi yet he was unaware of what is already out there. We need a place like Marcher Lord Press where Christians can go to find what they hunger for if the mainstream Christian publishers won't provide it.

But as Gene Curtis pointed out in his blog yesterday, Marcher Lord will need money, willing talent, and prayer to get off the ground. I don't know if I can provide much of the first; the amount of the second I have is debatable; but Jeff definitely has the last from me.

Wow, that tirade turned out to be a lot longer than I expected. Two more things and then I'll post the long list of links.

First of all, even if you go check out Where the Map Ends today, make sure you come back on March 1st. Jeff Gerke has mentioned this in every comment I've seen on the blog tour so far, but that's the day when he's starting his speculative fiction collabrative story project. Personally, I'm fascinated by the premise, which he shared in his most recent e-mail newsletter:

On March 1 (3/1/07) I am launching the first-ever WhereTheMapEnds
Collaborative Fiction Project.

In collaborative fiction a group of participants (including you, I hope)
works together to create a story. Anyone can create characters. Anyone can
create settings. Anyone can create plot. And anyone can write the actual scenes
that will become the story.

I've always liked the movie 'Krull,' in which fantasy heroes are attacked by
laser-toting aliens in their spaceships. So that's the kind of story I've
decided we'll tackle together.

Our premise: A medieval fantasy world--with its own problems, histories,
cultures, and cast of characters--is suddenly invaded by technologically
advanced beings from space--who themselves have their own problems, histories,
cultures, and cast of characters.

Now who wouldn't want a piece of that? Whether you like fantasy or science
fiction or cyberpunk or the clash of cultures, there's something here for
you.

I've got the technical framework for the project all set up. I'm using a
forums/message board format, which others have used successfully for projects
like this. I've got all the forums and sub-forums ready to go. All I need is the
people.

I feel like I've been preparing for a party and now everything's ready: the
tables are set up, the punch is mixed, the decorations are up, and the party
favors are on every chair. I can't wait to open the doors on March 1 and let the
party begin.

I hope you'll join the fun. Whether you're a writer, a reader, or just an intrigued bystander (who might BECOME a writer along the way), you're heartily invited.

And speaking of the last e-mail newsletter, he shared a fun little tidbit that I thought I'd pass on to all of you as well. If you've read Jeff's books or visited his website, now you can see him display his acting chops too.

A friend of his submitted an entry to On the Lot, a new reality show kinda like Project Greenlight, only with Steven Spielberg involved. Jeff has a role in his friend's entry, Venusian Beauties. I watched this yesterday afternoon and loved it. I half-expected to see theater seats rise up from the bottom of the screen. That's not an insult, honestly; I suspect that's the effect the director was going for!

Anyway, after you check out Jeff's acting, be sure to check out what the other blog tour participants are offering:

Nissa Annakindt
Wayne Thomas Batson
Jim Black
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D.G.D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
Tessa Edwards
April Erwin
Kameron M. Franklin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Leathel Grody
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Kait
Karen
K. D. Kragen
Tina Kulesa
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Robin Parrish
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver
Timothy Wise

I suspect that they won't be as long-winded as me.

CSFF Blog Tour: "Where the Map Ends" Day One

It's that time of month again. We, the purveyors of Christian science fiction and fantasy, are banding together to promote our craft and try to bring it to more and more people's attention.

Why would we do this? Well, it's simple. So much of Christian literature is "safe." By that I mean it's grounded in recognizable reality, not that it's free of danger. You don't see many aliens come to visit the denizens of a prairie romance. Dragons don't swoop in to intervene in taut political thrillers. While the characters in these books may go through terrific adventures physically, mentally, and spiritually, those adventures are still infused with a healthy dose of reality. These adventures could conceivably happen to real people.

To put it another way, these adventures take place in the middle of the map, where things have been carefully charted.

That's all well and good; there are people who want to stay in the map's center. But what about those of us who want to go out to the map's edge, to see what's on the frontier in uncharted territory? There are stories out there to tell as well.

As much as I'd like to take credit for what I just wrote, I can't. Not really. I'm paraphrasing what Jeff Gerke, the founder of WhereTheMapEnds.com said here. And (as usually happens when it comes to my writing) he said it better.

This website is simply a God-send for Christian authors of speculative fiction. Jeff Gerke has been on both sides of the publishing world as an author and as an editor. As a matter of fact, he was the shining hope for speculative authors as a sympathetic ear and visionary for what the genre could be.

And now he brings that experience to us. The website is chock-full of information for writers. For example, one of the first things I discovered after the website opened was the extremely detailed article on how a manuscript becomes a book.

Before I read the article, this process was mysterious and dark for me. In a way, I understood it as well as I understand my own digestion system. Manuscript goes in one end, and after a unknown process, a book comes out the other (and please don't push the analogy too far there, even though it may be appropriate for some books). Thanks to Mr. Gerke's insight, I now have a better understanding of how it all works, what with editors, committees, and so on and so forth.

Also fun is the Random Story Generator. This thing is a hoot and a half. I don't know if it'll ever create a story seed that will grow into an actual manuscript, but it's fun to keep hitting the F5 key to see what it comes up with.

But there's a lot more there and I plan on digging through most of it. In the meantime, be sure to visit the other people on the tour:

Nissa Annakindt
Wayne Thomas Batson
Jim Black
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D.G.D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
Tessa Edwards
April Erwin
Kameron M. Franklin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Leathel Grody
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Kait
Karen
K. D. Kragen
Tina Kulesa
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Robin Parrish
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver
Timothy Wise

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction

So here's the other book I recently finished reading, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction. I'm a sucker for Star Wars novels, what can I say?

The book, set in the ancient history of the Old Republic (well before even the prequels), follows the rise to power of a man named Bane. Bane is recruited by the Sith for training to be a Dark Lord. In the end, Bane winds up reforming the Sith into his own image. I think it's safe to say this much: Bane is the reason why, in the prequels, there can only be two Sith, one master, one apprentice.

All in all, this was a good book. The author, Drew Karpyshyn, was the lead writer for Knights of the Old Republic, one of the best Star Wars video games around. He does a pretty admirable job of showing how the Sith became what we see in the prequels and even bridges the gap between the Knights of the Old Republic and the movies.

My only complaint is this: Bane seemed too tame for my tastes. Sure, he's evil, but he didn't strike me as the kind of evil you'd expect a Dark Lord of the Sith to be. Just a personal taste issue, I guess.

The one thing, though, that floored me was the way that Karpyshyn worked in another Star Wars videogame. I don't want to give away too much; suffice to say that it was a pleasant surprise to see the backstory of another game included in this novel.

So if you're a Star Wars fan, read up. If not, maybe skip this one.

Controversy Creates Ca$h

Would that the title were a typo. Sadly, it is not.

Instead, the title of this blog is the title of Eric Bischoff's book, Controversy Creates Ca$h. Personally I think the dollar sign in the title is unnecessary, but hey, who am I to complain?

I got this book as a gift from my brother-in-law for Christmas because, as I think I've indicated before, I'm a fan of professional wrestling. That's another admission that's kind of hard for me to make. Most people associate professional wrestling with slack-jawed yokels and I'd like to think that I'm anything but.

I became a wrestling fan mostly because of Eric Bischoff. One Monday evening in college, I was flipping through the channels, bored out of my mind, when I came across and episode of Nitro, the WCW's flagship show. I remember spotting Hulk Hogan in a match and I was amazed that Hulk was still wrestling. At the time, I figured he was too old to be wrestling anymore. But I stuck around long enough to catch the end of the show, which ended on some sort of cliffhanger and I figured I might as well come back and see what happened.

This was right before the Monday Night Wars started. A few weeks after I started watching, Scott Hall made his infamous appearance on Nitro and pretty soon, the New World Order (or nWo) was formed.

At the time, I was a bit naive about how it all worked. I knew that wrestling was fake, like everyone, but I wasn't sure how fake it was. I got sucked in by the work of wrestlers like Rey Mysterio and Sting. I wanted to see the nWo taken down. During my years at the Seminary, I couldn't watch the shows, but when I came to Blue Earth, I picked up where I left off.

Just in time to see the WCW bought by Vince McMahon of the WWE.

Since that time, I've made the jump to the big 'E (for better or worse, but that's another story for another day). I've learned a lot more about the business and I'm not quite as naive. But there was one thing that I always wanted to know:

What happened to the WCW? Why did it go under? What led up to the WWE buying them?

For a while, I couldn't get a straight answer. Like most victors, the WWE wrote the history of the Monday Night Wars from their side, painting themselves as the put-upon heroes by a bunch of upstarts. I could pick up bits and pieces from here and there, but for the most part, the WCW's story was never told.

And then Eric Bischoff published his book. Now, I'm no dummy; the fact that this book was financed by the WWE makes me suspect that at least some of it was fed through the WWE-filter. But at the same time, I think Bischoff was remarkably candid about his side of things.

He claims that the WCW going under wasn't his fault (which is the widely believed story that circulates among wrestling fans). Instead, he says that what destroyed WCW was the merger of AOL Time Warner with Turner Broadcasting. This brought in people with no vision, no creativity, and no tolerance for what WCW was doing.

Maybe that's what happened; maybe it isn't. I suspect we'll never get an unbiased version of the Monday Night Wars.

The book itself was both interesting to read and frustrating at the same time. In some ways, it was nice to read Bischoff's side of things and he certainly doesn't seem to hold back in what he thinks. But that's only if he wants to share what he thinks. I got the feeling that there were a lot more stories he could have told but didn't. Worse, there were times when he glossed over stories that should have been told.

Also frustrating were the number of typos in the book. You'd think that a good editor would have caught the multiple misspellings of the last name "Steiner", but apparently not.

The one interesting thing that I gleaned from this actually has to do with writing, believe it or not. Bischoff said that in the beginning of the Monday Night Wars, he had his staff follow a five-letter formula that helped them put together their shows: SARSA, which stands for "Story, Action, Realism, Surprise, and Anticipation." He said that if an idea had all five elements, it could fuel a storyline for two years. If it had four, it could be used for a few pay-per-views. If it had three ... well, you get the idea.

I think that's not a bad thing to keep in mind for writing in any medium. All stories should have the SARSA elements, even if they're set in not-so-realistic places or even if they're an inner-journey through a person's psyche. If you can keep at least four of the elements going in your writing, you should do okay.

So anyway, this was a pretty decent book if you're a wrestling fan. If not, maybe not the book for you.

The Gilmores Have Jumped the Shark?

Okay, painful confession time. I'm a fan of Gilmore Girls.

I know, I know, I know. It's a chick show and I'm a guy! How on earth did I ever get swept up into this show?

It's my wife's fault. She watched this show faithfully before we got married. After we were married, I would vacate the room on Tuesday nights when this came on. But my wife, she gets into her TV shows. She would say things very loudly or laugh or gasp or something and I think at one point I got suckered into going into the living room to see what the big deal was.

It was all downhill from there. Matter of fact, my wife does this to me all the time. That's why I'm a fan of America's Next Top Model and have been known to sit through episodes of Trading Spaces from time to time. But those are stories for another day.

So why did I get hooked on Gilmore Girls? One reason: Amy Sherman-Palladino. Her writing kept me hooked. In the first seasons of the show, the dialogue was extremely fast-paced. More importantly, it was sharp, clever, and filled with references from pop culture, literature, movies, music, and more. In short, you never knew what the Girls were going to say or reference. The stories were intriguing and the denizens of Stars Hollow just goofily endearing enough to keep me coming back.

But sadly, Gilmore Girls has, in my opinion, jumped the shark this season. It's time to let the Gilmores go before their legacy is completely trashed.

Most fans know this already, but Amy Sherman-Palladino left the series at the end of last season (or at least she was supposed to). Perhaps this knowledge has tainted me in regards to this season's episodes, but in my not-so-humble opinion, this season has been just awful.

For starters, the dialogue is too slow. I bet the actors love the fact that they don't have spew words like an auctioneer on crack anymore, but the show has lost some of its zing.

Second, the references aren't there. Oh, sure, they try from time to time, but for the most part, they just aren't there. As a result, the show doesn't seem as witty or smart anymore. It seems like any other drama on TV.

Third, the whole show is wrapped around the Gilmore clan a little too tightly. Sure, it makes sense to follow them since hey, the show is named after them, but part of the fun when Amy was at the helm was seeing the bizarre antics of the denizens of Stars Hollow. I miss Kirk. I miss Taylor. I especially miss Michel, the sharp-tongued concierge of the Dragonfly Inn. And what about the Troubador? He annoyed me in the early seasons, but he's become one of my favorite minor characters. I loved what Amy did with him, especially when she flooded Stars Hollow with would-be troubadors in the last season finale.

To put it bluntly, the show has lost that special magic it had for many seasons. From where I'm sitting, there are two solutions: we either beg Amy Sherman-Palladino to come back and fix this mess, or we let the show retire with what little dignity it can muster.

But hey, what do I know? I'm just some crazy guy who got roped in by his wife.