So Much Stuff I Can't Recall

Foxe's Book of Martyrs that is.

Pick up a free audio copy at ChristianAudio.com (offer expires ablaze at the stake at the end of May)

Should make the daily commute seem mild in comparison.

Labels: Books, Freebies

If you happen to be in the Dallas area, stop on by the Christian Book Expo at the convention center tomorrow and/or Sunday. Discount codes for online registration are available from local Christian book stores, but even without the $5-10 off admission is still worthwhile. A friend and I stopped by today; got a bag of free books; had chats with fellow writers, an acquisitions editor and an agent; sat in on some good panel discussions and workshops. Plenty for both writers and readers.

Attendance was sparse (though it was a workday), so help bring the numbers up so the industry will be back next year.

Two days of Spring Break remaining...

Labels: Books, Spring Break

If you'd like a chance to win a copy of Dark Harvest, the anthology I blogged about over the weekend, check out author Michelle Pendergrass' blog.

If contest info's not up yet, it will be sometime before the end of the 17th.

Enjoy!

Labels: Books, Contests, Freebies

(yes, class ... that's assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds.)

Looking for a good read heading on into summer? Check out Dark Harvest, an anthology of short stories written by members of the Indiana Horror Writers. Thirteen dark tales from the nation's (ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump) heartland. Twenty bucks (OK, twenty-two -- double-deuce as they say. They who? Exactly -- with shipping). A buck-seventy per story; less than that, really, because there's some nifty artwork in the book, too. Not too shabby.

Nor are the stories. Shabby, that is. Good stuff here. Haven't finished them all, but those I have, have given chills. Some have provoked thought. Yeah, I know -- scary.

Faves so far: "Goodnight" by Michael West and "Saigon Seventeen" by Michelle Pendergrass*. "Trolling" (also by West) almost lost me halfway through -- so it's that kind of story, I thought -- but it won out in the end.

Looking forward to reading the rest. You should get started.

*Yes, she's a Misfit, one of my writing group. That's why her story's so strong: good writers tend to write good stories. Duh.

Labels: Books

OK, the thing with abridged versions of books (on tape) is that they don't last very long. So I stopped by the library and picked up some unabridged selections:

• The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King.
  I've read the novel. Let's see if Anne Heche can do as good a job (or better).


• The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett.
  I've heard good things.


• Murder and Obsession, Vol. 1 edited by Otto Penzler.
  Eight short stories by the likes of Edna Buchanan, Amanda Cross, Dennis Lehane, and others.

Also, looking through my iTunes library, I came on a couple audio recordings I hadn't listened to yet: Comes a Horseman by Robert Liparulo, and Louis L'Amour's "Merrano of the Dry Country ".

After uploading everything to the iPod (and offloading quite a bit) my 30GB hard drive is down to 30MB. Gotta either make more room or listen to the audiobooks quick.

Labels: Books, iPod

Been listening to audiobooks in the car for a week or so, now that I've completed the A-to-Z odyssey. These ... not in alphabetical order ... are what I've made it through so far.

Diane - Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper
Have gone through a Twin Peaks revival here. Got Season One on DVD at Half Price for $15. Picked up the Pilot (with European "ending") on VHS for $3. And this for a buck. Not as fine as a slice of cherry pie at the Double-R, but much better than Nadine Hurley's silent curtain runners.

High Fidelity
Not what I was expecting, but still a good listen.

Accordion Crimes
Got the abridged version, so I missed a few of the "crimes," but Edward Herrmann does great voices, so it balanced out in the end.

Stationary Bike
A short story (uncollected, as far as I know) CD-set I checked out from the library. Quirky King, not terrifying.

Up next: Winter Prey, L.A. Confidential, and Jurassic Park.

Labels: Books

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Winter Haven
(Bethany House April 1, 2008)
by
Athol Dickson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Athol Dickson's university-level training in painting, sculpture, and architecture was followed by a long career as an architect then his decision several years ago to devote full time to writing.

Athol Dickson’s writing has been favorably compared to the work of Octavia Butler
(Publisher’s Weekly), Daphne du Maurier (Cindy Crosby, FaithfulReader.com) and Flannery O’Connor (The New York Times).

His They Shall See God was a Christy Award finalist and his River Rising was a Christy Award winner, selected as one of the Booklist Top Ten Christian Novels of 2006 and a finalist for Christianity Today's Best Novel of 2006.

He and his wife, Sue, live in Southern California. Visit AtholDickson.com for more information.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Boys who never age, giants lost in time, mist that never rises, questions never asked...on the most remote of islands off the coast of Maine, history haunts the present and Vera Gamble wrestles with a past that will not yield. Will she find refuge there, or will her ghosts prevail on...Winter Haven

Eleven years ago, Vera Gamble's brother left their house never to be seen again. Until the day Vera gets a phone call that his body has been found...washed ashore in the tiny island town of Winter Haven, Maine. His only surviving kin, Vera travels north to claim the body...and finds herself tumbling into a tangled mystery. Her brother hasn't aged a day since last she saw him.

Determined to uncover what happened in those lost years, Vera soon discovers there are other secrets lurking in this isolated town. But Winter Haven's murky past now seems bound to come to light as one woman seeks the undeniable and flooding light of truth.

Labels: Books, CFBA

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing

Amber Morn
(Zondervan Publishing Company - April 2008)
by
Brandilyn Collins

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brandilyn Collins is a best-selling novelist known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense™. These harrowing crime thrillers have earned her the tagline

“Don’t forget to b r e a t h e …®”

Brandilyn writes for Zondervan, the Christian division of HarperCollins Publishers, and is currently at work on her 19th book. Her first, A Question of Innocence, was a true crime published by Avon in 1995. Its promotion landed her on local and national TV and radio, including the Phil Donahue and Leeza talk shows.

She’s also known for her distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons), and often teaches at writers conferences.

Brandilyn blogs at Forensics and Faith. Visit her website to read the first chapters of all her books.


ABOUT THE BOOK

The whole thing couldn’t have taken more than sixty seconds.

Bailey hung on to the counter, dazed. If she let go, she’d collapse—and the twitching fingers of the gunman would pull the trigger. The rest of her group huddled in frozen shock.

Dear God, help us! Tell me this is a dream . . .

The shooter’s teeth clenched. “ Anybody who moves is dead.”


On a beautiful Saturday morning the nationally read “Scenes and Beans” bloggers gather at Java Joint for a special celebration. Chaos erupts when three gunmen burst in and take them all hostage. One person is shot and dumped outside.

Police Chief Vince Edwards must negotiate with the desperate trio. The gunmen insist on communicating through the “comments” section of the blog—so all the world can hear their story. What they demand, Vince can’t possibly provide. But if he doesn’t, over a dozen beloved Kanner Lake citizens will die...

Amber Morn is the climactic finale to Collins’ widely read Kanner Lake series. All first three titles in the series, Violet Dawn, Coral Moon, and Crimson Eve, were bestsellers. Library Journal placed Crimson Eve on its Best Books of 2007 list, and hailed it the “Best Christian suspense of 2007.”

A few early reviews of Amber Morn:

“… essential reading … a harrowing hostage drama.” – Library Journal

“… heart-pounding … breakneck pace … satisfying and meaningful ending.” – RT Bookreviews

“This cataclysmic ending left me breathless … Kanner Lake is the Best Suspense Series of 2007/2008.” – deenasbooks.blogspot.com

“Collins has saved the best for a last .. a powerful ensemble performance.” -- BookshelfReview.com

“… a staccato tempo … Sometimes you just have to close the book in order to come up for air.” – Dale Lewis

“…a masterpiece of page-turning suspense with a cast of dozens.” – Peg Phifer

* * * * *

What do I say? Great book. As one of the original Wilburs, it's sad to see the series come to an end. (Great Wilbur moments, though!) I take credit for half the bad guys' last name. OK, no I don't. (Really, though, I do...)

Congrats on another faboo novel, Brandilyn.

The rest of youse, go get a copy.

Labels: Books, Brandilyn Collins, CFBA

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is featuring the Christian Writers' Market Guide 2008 (WaterBrook Press) by Sally Stuart



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sally Stuart has been writing for the last 40+ years, and has been putting out the annual "Christian Writers' Market Guide" for the last 23 years. Her other writing includes several Christian education resources books, a children's picture book, a basic writing text, writing resources, and a western novel--plus hundreds of articles and marketing columns. She writes marketing columns for the "Christian Communicator," "Advanced Christian Writer," and the Oregon Christian Writers' Newsletter. She speaks and teaches at Christian Writers' Conferences nationwide. Sally is the mother of three and grandmother of eight. She and her husband, Norm, spend their free time vacationing on the Oregon coast.

Check out her blog!


ABOUT THE BOOK:

The essential reference tool for the Christian writer, Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers’ Market Guide is now in its 23rd annual edition!

Check out the section on Blogging on page 69 ... the CFBA is listed!

Writers’ Conference listings, Book Publishers, Magazine Publishers, and a Bookstore filled with the resources you need to be successful in this business. Get a Book Contract or Manuscript Evaluation, and check out the Writer’s Resource links. This book has all you need to connect to all these valuable helps for the beginning, intermediate, or professional writer.


To keep you up to date with the latest marketing news, visit Sally Stuart’s new marketing blog, Christian Writers’ Marketplace, at http://www.stuartmarket.blogspot.com/.


A new, updated version of the Christian Writers’ Market Guide is available about January 15 each year.

Labels: Books, CFBA

Around the end of summer, last year, I stopped logging the books I finished reading. I've done my best to figure out what I read, but still come up about five books short of my book-a-week goal. Here's what I read:

1. Fight Club


2. Unfortunate Events: The End


3. Masterpieces in 3-D*


4. Seventy Times Seven


5. Germ (ARC)


6. The Hard Goodbye (graphic novel)


7. Trinity (3 of 3 - graphic novel)


8. Batman Gothic (graphic novel)


9. Deadline


10. House of Invention*


11. Coral Moon


12. Lisey's Story


13. Flannery O'Connor: The Complete Stories


14. It's Not Funny if I Have to Explain It


15. 10 Classics in 10 Minutes


16. The Utter Zoo Alphabet


17. Mystery & Crime (The NY Public Library Book of Answers)*


18. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower


19. 24 Declassified: Cat's Claw


20. Star Trek: The Modala Imperitive (graphic novel)


21. Cell


22. Tribulation House


23. Unknown Man No. 89


24. Teaching for Student Achievement Guidebook*


25. The Complete Guide to Editing Your Fiction*


26. The Crucible


27. Broken Prey


28. Elementary, the Cartoonist Did It


29. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass


30. Of Mice and Men


31. A Raisin in the Sun


32. Napalm and Silly Putty


33. Secret Window*


34. Shutter Island


35. Of Other Worlds*


36. Art Masterpieces in 3D*


37. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows


38. Iron Joe Bob


39. Rising Stars (graphic novel)


40. The Death of Superman (graphic novel)


41. Firefly: The Official Companion - Vol. 1


42. How Fiction Works*


43. Coach's Midnight Diner


44. The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts


45. Soul Circus


46. The Pearl


47. The Gashlycrumb Tinies

*non-fiction; average pages per book: 266

I did manage to read a short story a week, making it through all 31 stories in the Dorothy L. Sayers anthology and 24 stories in The Art of Fiction (plus the short stories we read in class).

Although I did worse than recent years in the reading department, I more than made up for it with writing. 18 short stories and satirical "news" articles published, second-placing in the Genesis contest (opening pages of novel), two stories slated for publication this year (with another one or two in limbo). All that and upwards of $800 makes for a pretty good year for me.

How was your 2007?

Labels: Books, Writing

It's been quiet here the last couple days as I've been reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The title of this post is my favorite line from the book.

Did I like it? Yes. Did it stretch things a bit far? Yes. Were there quite a few treading water scenes/chapters spent waiting for something to happen. Yes. And in parts it felt like the James Bond flick Die Another Day, which had to make subtle and not-so-subtle references to all the other Bond flicks that had gone before. Still, enjoyable. And done. And probably my favorite after Prisoner of Azkaban.

It might be quiet here the next couple days, too, as I go and read all the blog posts I've been avoiding for fear of spoilers.

BTW: Voldemort is evil.

Labels: Books

Please sir, may I have some more...

Soitenly! <nyuk, nyuk>

I was remiss last week not to point out that y'all should check out Katy Popa's book To Dance in the Desert. It was part of the CFBA tour and I blew it. Check out the trailer, too.

(And don't miss this post at Katy's blog: Free the Jena Six. Makes me stinkin' mad...)

Book Two-oh to check out is Tony Hines' debut follow-up: The Dead Whisper On. On what do they whisper? Thursday? Empty stomachs? Marble ballroom floors? Guess you'll have to get the book.

And be sure to hunt down all the secrets in the hijacked Dead Whisper On website. (Very fun site, reminded me of the Lemony Snicket VFD conspiracy, but without the Baudelaire triplets.) Did I mention there were prizes? Well there are. Enjoy!

Book Three-oh is a graphic novel -- actually, a movie of a graphic novel. 300 is amazing to watch. Even if you're not the world's biggest Gerard Butler fan. (Hi Mir! Gotta admit, he sure is hunky.) Stylized and graphic violence and gore and sensuality and battle rhinos. But awesome (even if the battle rhino only gets a dozen seconds or so of screen time).

And if you've got a book recommendation, friend Angie's looking for 'em

Labels: Books, Friends, Movies

I missed out on the CFBA tour for Tribulation House two weeks ago. So let me make up for lost time by mentioning the book now.

This is the third in Chris Well's Kansas City Blues cops-vs-disorganized crime series. This time around a local church has predicted the Return of Christ(TM), set up an alternative Halloween spookhouse (the titular Tribulation House -- not to be confused with the rival church-sponsored Armageddon House), almost puts paying off the mob to a church board vote (several times) ... and then one of the deacons takes a mob "loan" to buy a $22,000 boat, figuring Christ's return will spare him from having to pay it back (or the consequences of not paying it back).

And that's just in the first half of the book.

Cops Pasch and Griggs are back, as is G-Man O'Malley, and plenty of comic book goodness. There are couple bargain-basement extortionists wandering around the story, a would-be city hall reformer, and the new Mr. Big on the block -- Ted Massey -- who's working a real estate angle that's got everybody wondering.

If you've read Forgiving Solomon Long and Deliver Us from Evelyn you're probably already reading TH. If not, you've got a nice little trilogy (so far) to work through this summer.

Hey, look -- here's the first chapter!

Enjoy.

Labels: Books, CFBA

One of the several things I'm trying to do to make myself more marketable in today's competitive job market is learning Flash programming. I've had Flash MX on my PowerBook for like ever, but it's not obvious how to work it, so I never got around to learning.

A few days after I got here in Texas I picked up the Macromedia Flash MX Virtual Classroom book from Half Price Books for $10 (cover price is $40, so don't tell HPB I got it for quarter-price). I've finally worked through the first half of the book and arrived at the first tutorial: make the basketball go through the hoop. The tutorial gives the big steps needed, but not "click here--no, no, you fool here!" instructions. Nevertheless I was able to figure things out.

Behold!

I'm winded from all those baskets. Someone bring me a Gatorade. Thanks!

Labels: ALSW, Books, Computers

My poem, Saint Francis and the Birds, was not the top winner on the poetry side of the contest, so no free anthology for me. But I did make the top ten, so I will be in the book. How 'bout that?

Expected release date is sometime next month. No word on price or ordering info yet. (Stay tuned.)

Read the announcement, including the list of Top 20 authors (10 poems + 10 stories), at Robin Parrish's blog.

And everyone who voted, especially those who voted for my poem, thank you very, very, very, very, veryveryvery, very much.

Labels: Books, In Print, Writing

I'm in the process of clearing my bookshelves. Too darn many books. If you want a book and it's in my discard pile, it's yours.

I'm just not going to tell you what-all's in there.

So take a guess in the comments. If you win, I'll be in touch. (Should the title appear on eBay at some point, this offer will be null, void and otherwise no-good for that book.)

Labels: Books

Yesterday I mentioned that I had yet to receive my review copy of Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide. It came in today's mail.

This is a honkin big tome. Not as big as the full-blown Writer's Digest Writers' Market, but easily on par with WD's Novel/Short Story edition. I thumbed through quickly to see if the magazines I was published in last year were listed. Most were (Ray Gun Revival, a late starter last year isn't), though some of the payment info is out of date -- again it's possible it was changed or arrived too late (if at all) to make the 2007 edition. Still, compared to WD, it has many Christian-targeted publications the big guys miss. As a place to begin your market research, it's an excellent resource.

The accompanying CD was a bit of a disappointment, though. While it contains all the information in the hard copy, it doesn't take advantage of its new-media presentation (these appear to be production documents, Word and PDF -- the PDF has the printer's trim marks on the pages). Entries aren't hyperlinked from the table of contents or index. Websites and email addresses aren't linked, either. You can fix the latter by turning on the Autoformat "hyperlinks" option in Word, then running the Autoformat (get yourself a cup of coffee while it runs), and then Save As'ing to your hard drive, but that's a lot of work for something that would've been a not-too-hard fix for the publisher to make. The CD adds some value to the book, but I can't help thinking it could have added a lot more.

Bottom line, this is a great resource for a writer targeting Christian audiences. If you're thinking and hoping and praying that this is the year you'll make it into print (or make it into print more), get yourself a copy now. (The year's almost 1/6th over, for crying out loud.)

Labels: Book Reviews, Books, CFBA

I had hoped to have been able to review a copy of Sally Stuart's Christian Writer's Market Guide for this week's blog tour. I had wanted to compare it to the Writer's Digest Writer's Market, maybe work up a grid of pros/cons, haves/have nots. Definitely a critique that was lucid, intelligent, and well thought-out.

To (further) paraphrase Judge Chamberlain Haller, "Denied."

My copy didn't arrive this week. Probably in the cargo hold of a Jet Blue or Delta flight out on the tarmac somewhere. <sigh>

Linda Gilmore's got the specs on the book over at Musings from the Windowsill. Dee Stewart highlights one of the ways the book can be put to quick use at her Christian Fiction blog. Check the CFBA blogroll to see who's got what-else going on.

And be sure to stop by Sally Stuart's website, too; lots of good stuff there.

Labels: Books, CFBA, Writing

I mentioned yesterday that one of the books I finished last month was Germ by Robert Liparulo. Today, more on the book and Five Questions with Robert.

I admit I had a hard time getting into the story. Might be my fault, I'm more of a mystery guy, not so much a thriller junkie. Despite the fact that the opening chapters were a high-speed freeway chase with guns blazing and tech gear glitching and blood and mayhem and intrigue, it took me three concerted attempts to get through the first forty or so pages. A lot was happening, but it didn't feel like a lot was happening.

That's probably a rotten thing to say, but I know there are readers who will put a book down and never pick it up again (or buy it in the first place) if they're not immediately grabbed. To those people I'd say, give it time. (It took me about six tries to get into The Lord of the Rings, so Germ's in good company. And I was reading an advance review copy, so it's possible changes for the better came before the first edition went to press.)

Things take a turn around Chapter 20 -- when the adrenaline-pumped opening is done, the stakes have been established (Liparulo's not foolin' around, folks), and most of the important backstory has been divulged -- and I found myself more immersed in the story. Cliffhangers began to appear at the breaks and, suddenly, the next three- to five-page chapters became must-reads.

I finished the book in a couple late night sittings. Up past 1am the final night to find how it all turned out. I'm happy to say I liked the result. Worth the initial effort, definitely.

If you're looking for a story with action, suspense, and more gooshy moments than a CSI marathon, give Germ a read.

And now, Five Questions...

1. Common writing advice is to "kill your darlings," those characters, scenes, moments, sentences in a book that are brilliant but just don't work with everything else. Anything in Germ that wowie-wow-wowed you when you wrote it, but had to take one for the team and ended up being cut?
   
   With most of my writing, I’d say no. I tend to write slowly, methodically, editing as I go. I also have a very clear picture of the story in my head before I start writing. Germ, however, was a bit different. I really enjoyed the characters and the story. As a result, I over-wrote. Originally, I had more backstory of Julia and Donnelley's, more about her mother, more of Kendrick Reynolds's role in the creation of biological warfare and Karl Litt, and his search for Litt of the years. My original word count was about 200,000. By the time I killed my darlings -- tightening the writing and picking up the pace -- I had about 135,000. I killed off a whole bunch of children.


2. If the director or casting agent for "Germ: The Movie" asked you to appear in a cameo, what character would you most want to play (and why)?
   
   Even though I’m not of South American decent (but rather Italian), I’d like to play Jorge Prieto, the escapee from Litt’s camp who faces Gregor’s wrath and the Deadeyes. He’s a tragic figure, who just wants to get home to his family, or at least let his family know that he had been kidnapped and did not simply abandon them. He’s a man of principle.


3. Among my favorite scenes in the book was the one that took place in Sweaty Dave's comic book store. Were/Are you an avid collector? What titles? What impact, if any, did they have on your creativity?
   
   Larry Hama is a friend of mine. He wrote many of the Wolverine, X-Men and G.I. Joe comics. I do collect Wolverine and X-Men, plus anything Frank Miller does. Larry inspires me to be a concise writer. He’s a master of word economics. Frank’s work inspires me to do my best. He really is a genius, so visually minded, and he knows how to share what’s in his head -- the most difficult part of the writing (or any artistic) process.
   
   When I was a kid, I collected Tales From the Crypt and a weird comic that didn’t last long called Plop. It featured stories of people who always got their comeuppance in the end. Real black humor.
   
   Sweaty Dave is based on a person who once stalked Larry all around New York and through several conventions. James Byron Huggins and I laughed until we were sick when we heard Larry’s Sweaty Dave stories.


4. Who'd win in a biowar fight, Karl Litt or Sato Matsushita, the plague-maker of Tim Downs fame?
   
   Oh, I’d have to say Karl would. As nasty as Sato is, Karl’s got this German (in fact, Nazi) blood flowing through him that makes him tough as nails. Couple that with the insanity that losing his family triggered -- he’s a man with nothing to lose and those are the worst to face. I have to say, though, Plague Maker is a great book and Tim is a terrific writer.


5. Any further adventures for Julia Matheson? And if you're not working on that, what are you working on?
   
   I would like to revisit Julia’s world—eventually. The producers who bought the rights asked about a sequel, which got me thinking. So, my answer is a resounding... maybe.
   
   I just finished Deadfall. It’s the story of a group of guys who go up into the Canadian wilderness to get away from it all. They’ve all had a really rough year. They encounter some rich gamer punks who are terrorizing a small town with a new weapon one of their father’s companies developed. Very high-tech. So now these guys, armed with only a bow and arrow, face off with these young people with very little moral values -- and a big, nasty, seemingly unstoppable weapon. Oh, and the good guys are also trying to save the townsfolk.
   
   It’s full of the same sort of action/adventure/suspense I put in [first novel Comes a Horseman] and Germ, but it’s very different from those books, as well, in that it all takes place in a small area of Northern Saskatchewan, there are no cops, and no big conspiracy. My intension was to write a very entertaining, fast-paced story that is also intimate and character-driven. I just finished it this week, and I think I hit the mark. We’ll see.


Thanks for playing along, Robert.

Be sure to check out robertliparulo.com for more on the thrillers, "Germ: The Video Game," a chance to win an iPod Nano, and more!

And visit other CFBA sites (see sidebar) for other blog tour stops.

Labels: Book Chat, Book Reviews, Books, CFBA

Last year I barely managed to read (an average of) three books a month. At the beginning of this year even that sounded like an ambitious goal.

Imagine my surprise when I checked my Excel spreadsheet of Books Read in 2007 (you have one of those, don't you?) and found I'd read five last month:

• Fight Club


• A Series of Unfortunate Events: The End


• [Escher's] Masterpieces in 3-D


• Seventy Times Seven


• Germ

Average length: 288.4 pages.

And, as of today, I've read the first 13 of the 31 stories in The Collected Short Stories of Flannery O'Connor.

Reading and writing/submitting things. Who'd'a thunk it?

Labels: Books