Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Stephen Lawhead Spirit Well CSFF Tour - Day 3


The Spirit Well
Book Three in the Bright Empires series - by Stephan R. Lawhead


Blog Tour - Day 3  No Matter Where You Go, Then You Are
 
(click image for Amazon link or click link below) The Spirit Well - available from:


You can add the Amazon Audible version for $9.99 when purchased with the eBook, to switch between reading and listening to the book - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0095PEMIW/ref=kics_hp_dp_narration


Author’s Web site -            http://www.stephenlawhead.com/
Author's Facebook Page -  http://www.facebook.com/StephenRLawhead

 
I received a review copy of The Spirit Well from Thomas Nelson in conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour


I wanted to return to something that came to mind during yesterday's blog. As each traveler followed their ley line, they didn't always end up at he same place or even time. I'm not sure if it was intended, but couldn't the landing time have been what each needed to grow into the person they needed to become? Kit landed in a quiet, fairly peaceful time. He needed the introspection from that period. Mina landed centuries ago, but followed a trail forward to end at a monastery, where she found fulfillment in quiet servitude and worship. Cass landed in a near modern time, so the change was less abrupt, and she found answers to her question.
 
A theme that seemed to run through the Spirit Well, is that nothing happens by chance. each landed where they did for a reason. I think Lawhead used this part of the plot to show readers that God is in control. Even in the small things, he can use us and others to nudge someone in the direction they need to go. Like the cast of characters in The Spirit Well, life often doesn't make sense. Just when we think we have things figured out, we gain new knowledge and opportunities. The Lord wants what is best for us in the long run. As Kit, Mina, and Cass found, no matter where you go, then in life you are, and The Lord is there with you.
 
I had one last question about ley travel. While you can't meet yourself, could you send a warning back from a future event? Guess we'll have to wait for the next book to find out more about Stephen Lawhead's Bright Empires universe. Hope it's soon.


Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Stephen Lawhead Spirit Well CSFF Tour - Day 2


The Spirit Well
Book Three in the Bright Empires series - by Stephan R. Lawhead


Blog Tour - Day 2  Are We Then Yet? Traveling the Ley Line Express.



 
(click image for Amazon link or click link below) The Spirit Well - available from:


You can add the Amazon Audible version for $9.99 when purchased with the eBook, to switch between reading and listening to the book - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0095PEMIW/ref=kics_hp_dp_narration


Author’s Web site -            http://www.stephenlawhead.com/
Author's Facebook Page -  http://www.facebook.com/StephenRLawhead

 
I received a review copy of The Spirit Well from Thomas Nelson in conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour


The newest ley traveler, Cassandra Clark, begins the book as a healthy skeptic about much of life. Disappointed by what once excited her, she seems like a ship without a rudder. Luckily she finds new direction in her life as she travels the ley lines. Her next trip ended in a different place, and as she found out, a different time. Gone were the arid plains of darkened ash. Her new landing spot was still dry, but at least there were other people. This is where Cass first encounters the Zetetic Society and learns there really is life after ley travel.

Kit takes an odd turn in a cave, following someone or something, and surprises a hunter in a nearly modern setting. Problem is, Kit has almost forgotten how to speak after living among the River City Clan for so long, and the stranger he meets doesn't speak English. Dressed in rough animal skins, and sporting untamed hair and beard, Kit doesn't make a very good first impression. When he's brought to town, many of the locals think Kit is crazy and want to lock him up. He's passed from one group to another, with no one wanting to take responsibility for "the loco man in the desert." Kit takes solace in his memory of his friends in the caves. He realizes he was contented while living there, and ready to take on life with a fresh determination.

Mina goes searching for Kit, and instead finds new direction for her life too. A series of clues and circumstances leads her to find a new friend and a mentor in an unexpected place and time. Thanks to her new training, Mina is able to plan her trips up and down the ley lines to arrive within a day of when she wanted. As she returns to the monastery, time and again, Mina develops a peaceful spirit by living and working among the nuns and friars.

Ley line travel provides a life changing result in all three characters. Each find their way as they seem to land in places and times that will help them the most. Some even find or renew their faith. But that's tomorrow's discussion.


Day 3 Blog: No Matter Where You Go, Then You Are

Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Monday, October 22, 2012

Stephen Lawhead Spirit Well CSFF Tour - First Day


The Spirit Well
Book Three in the Bright Empires series - by Stephan R. Lawhead


Blog Tour - Day 1 Ley Lines and Time Streams and Newbies, Oh My!


 
(click image for Amazon link or click link below) The Spirit Well - available from:


You can add the Amazon Audible version for $9.99 when purchased with the eBook, to switch between reading and listening to the book - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0095PEMIW/ref=kics_hp_dp_narration


Author’s Web site -            http://www.stephenlawhead.com/
Author's Facebook Page -  http://www.facebook.com/StephenRLawhead

 
I received a review copy of The Spirit Well from Thomas Nelson in conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour




The Spirit Well is third book in Stephen R. Lawhead's Bright Empires series. Mina and Kit return in the newest addition to The Bright Empire series by author Stephen R. Lawhead. If you read The Bone House, book two in the series, you may remember Kit was stuck in the distant past. He was in a time long before recorded history. It seemed like life was exceptionally hard, but Kit's character finds his place in their society as he learns to communicate in a kind of basic telepathy. Yes, that makes sense. Language hadn't been developed this early, and the River City Clan needed a way to communicate. Lawhead's explanation sounded believable and it doesn't conflict with many scientific theories about early man's physiology. The amazing breadth of knowledge encountered in Mr. Lawhead's books never ceases to amaze me. With so much research, I often wonder how he finds time to write.

While Kit wanders around the Ice Age landscape, Mina procures a new, improved ley line detector model from her friend, Gustavus. The new model tracks directionally a little too efficiently for Mina, so she leaves Prague for an extended time in search of Kit . She finds a ley-travel mentor in an unexpected place and time, and learns time isn't always linear when it comes to ley travel. She answered one of my questions. Why don't ley travelers ever run into an earlier or later version of themselves; like Marty in Back to the Future?
Cassandra Clarke is the newbie ley-traveler. She happens upon a ley portal during an palaeontological dig in the American Southwest. This Ghost Road, as it is called by Native American Shamans, leads Cass to the strangest place yet in the series. Arid volcanic gravel covered the ground as far as she could see, only broken in the far distance by black hills. Cass didn't know how she had arrived, and what's worse, didn't know how to get home. No one knew she was gone and wouldn't know to look for her.

  Tomorrow I'll discuss how moving in four dimensions makes it that much easier to get lost. Even if you return to the right place, returning to the wrong time is even worse.
  And what does the Zetetic Society really know about traveling the ley lines?


Day 2 Blog: Are We Then Yet? Traveling the Ley Line Express.




Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Friday, October 12, 2012

Frank Creed
 returns with more tales from
The Underground seriesin

Devil's Hit List
is now available in print
http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Hit-List-Frank-Creed/dp/1927154316
 and as an e-book
 Kindle e-book

Disclaimer stuff: I received a free copy of the Devil's Hit List from Frank Creed to help with my blog review by being an early reader. I appreciate getting my hands on an early copy to learn what's next for Calamity Kid and e-girl. I still want a print copy to go with my copies of his first two books in the series that I also purchased.


 Devil's Hit List is book three in this exciting dystopian thriller of a near future world ruled by the One World Order. As you can tell from the book covers, thanks to
author Caprice Hokstad's website for gathering all three covers in one image, each new book cover pulls farther back than the previous. I wondered if the author planned this to illustrate how the main characters' influence was began locally, but spread outward with each new book.

 Is Frank giving careful readers clues about his next book?



Virtual-e kill people? You may think, yeah, right. But in just the last few years at least ten players have died from exhaustion, starvation, and despondency from losing a favored game character or item. As games grow more realistic, and players unplug from the real world in favor of more enjoyable virtual worlds, is virtual-e so far off? Maybe author Frank Creed doesn't just write about a strange, new imaginary world, but gives us a peak at the kind of world we can expect when we take our focus off The One and place it on fleeting happiness fixes; virtual or otherwise.

More Frank Creed Connections:

My publisher has other great Christian spec-fic: http://www.splashdownbooks.com/
 

Here's an excerpt from the book, to give you a taste of the fast paced action scenes I've come to enjoy after the first two books in The Underground Series:

After catching the train that way I sat on the cattle car’s floor to catch my breath. Those all around me, at least twenty of them, wore a black bandanna somewhere on their person. I wondered if Barren or Legacy knew which gang this was. The two still had their pistols out, but aimed at the floor.


 The gangers stood loosely with their hands ready to grab concealed weapons. They appeared perturbed at having their space invaded by outsiders.

 The muscles in my back, shoulders, and arms tightened, a feeling in my gut to which I was unaccustomed. Any sandman has little usual concern for a threat to his safety. We’re pretty tough. So my fear was unusual. I swallowed.

 I followed my instincts and pushed to my feet. I turned my attention to Legacy and Barren. “Had you two not bolted like fools from the river, you’d not have had to barge in on these fine people.” Then I spoke to the rest of the car’s passengers. “Thank you for allowing us passage in your car. Please forgive my friends’ rudeness. Can we all just get along now?”

 Barren replied, “Hey now, you know an open and empty cattle car is just too perfect for our needs. What did you expect us to do?”

 “We have no idea if we crossed cameras just now, and there’s a manhunt on for me.”

 “You’re wearing your floppy hat,” said Legacy. “What are you afraid of?”

 “He’s afraid of fear,” said Lethe.

 Barren and Legacy shared a glance and shrugged.

 “Hey!” said one of the gangers who wore his bandanna as a do-rag.

 We all looked at him.

 He spoke to his friends. “That stud called him Calamity, and he talked about the manhunt that’s playin’ out. Meet Calamity Kid, y’all. How much is the price tag on your head, Mr. Calamity Kid?”

 “Aw, y’all just hopped the wrong train,” said another, taking a step forward.

 Wisps of smoke, fallen angels, coalesced from the gangers to hang in the cattle car’s center.

 I fired off a combat prayer about spiritual cover and swallowed again, but found my throat dry. I thought fast, and spoke faster, the tenseness creeping up my neck and scalp. “And how could you lads collect the millions on my head? You think the FBT wouldn’t just save itself that kind of money and rehab every last one of you?”

 “Mebbe we’ll try anyway,” said another pushing off the wall of the cattle car. “Mebbe we’ll just show you why you shouldn’t hop into a car full of Latin Kings.”

 Swarms of glitter appeared in the cattle car and swirled at the smoke. Both kinds of angels disappeared.

 I opened a map of gang territories on the lenses of my comshades to double-check what I already knew and sat down. “You’re headed to North Aurora, aren’t you?”

 “So?” asked the ganger who had started it all, the one with the do-rag.

 “Good thing I just paid my dues to you guys. Two days ago you found a dark red pickup with a white cap. The keys were in the ignition and three cases of industrial circuit boards were in the back. That was me. You’re welcome.”

 Do-Rag looked to one of his buddies who nodded and shrugged. “Then how ’bout you get these guns outta our faces and we’ll let you ride in our car.”

 I gestured to Legacy and Barren, who holstered their pistols and joined me on the floor of the car. Lethe and e-girl sat cross-legged, one on either side of me.

 The Latin Kings relaxed, and leaned against the wall again. I overheard one mutter, “He looks bigger in his pics. You’d think a sandman would be bigger.”

 “Thanks, y’all,” I said with a wave.

 “An enemy of the state is a friend of mine,” said another of the gangers.

Want more of the Devil's Hit List? Check out these other blogs in the tour for excerpts, or just buy a copy or two for you and a friend to enjoy.

R. L. Copplehttp://blog.rlcopple.com
Ryan Grabowhttp://www.egrabow.com/rm.php?e=Prime
Grace Bridgeshttp://grace.splashdownbooks.com
Caprice Hokstadhttp://caprice.splashdownbooks.com/
Diane M. Grahamhttp://dianemgraham.com/blog/
Travis Perryhttp://travissbigidea.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Rogershttp://jfrogers.blogspot.com/
Greg Mitchellhttp://www.thecomingevil.blogspot.com/
Paul Baineshttp://www.pabaines.com
Keven Newsomehttp://www.kevennewsome.com
Kat Heckenbachhttp://www.katheckenbach.com/
Timothy Hickshttp://fantasythyme.blogspot.com/
Robynn Tolberthttp://ranunculusturtle.blogspot.com/
Fred Warren
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

24 Hour Short Story Contest

24 Hour Short Story Contest


Writer's weekly offers a quarterly 24-hour short story contest. The next contest runs from Saturday, January 12th at noon (central time) through Sunday, January 13th noon (central time). Your $5.00 entry fee provides a PDF download containing rules and information. At noon on the day of the contest, Angela Hoy at Writer's Weekly will email the beginning sentences to expand upon and the maximum word count. Everything else about the story comes from you, the writer. After a final edit, make sure to upload your new creation to the correct link in time for verification before the deadline.

The top three winning entries win cash prizes from $200 to $300. Honorable mentions win a year-long Write Markets Report and an ebook. Another sixty entries can win door prizes, so the chances of winning something are pretty nice.


For more information

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Monday, September 24, 2012

Writers Digest Tutorials Free Trial Weekend

Free Trial Weekend


This is a nice offer from the folks at Writer's Digest Tutorials. I have a subscription, and there is lots of good material offered. The offered code WDT4FREE  is good for a full four day trial to all of their video tutorials. You won't get those video unavailble except for PRO subscribers messages during the free trial either. You can access the full tutorial library during your trial.

I'll admit that I questioned how I would gain from from watching a few videos over and over. Well, this is nothing like those sites that reel you in with big promises and then forget about new material. So far, since I tried the service, one or two videos have been added each week. One of the features I like is the ability to search by writing area, genre, or expertise. Another thing I like is the ability to rewind the video to see or hear a section over without needing to restart back at the beginning and wait to find the desired sections.

Trial Link:
Writer's Digest Free Trial Weekend Offer

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Live and Let Fly by Karina Fabian

Live and Let Fly


by
Karina Fabian 


I won a drawing for a free eBook, and Live and Let Fly was my first choice!

Vern's back! And he has to help save the world again. This time Vern and Sister Grace must save both worlds, both their old and new. Things have gotten so out of hand that the Dragoneye P.I. team join forces with the CIA to rescue super-star sensation Rhoda Dakota and avoid inter-world Armegeddon.
That new person on the book cover, hiding in the dark sunglasses, is none other than top CIA agent, Stan Rakness.


Vern, Sister Grace, and Agent Rakness travel to exotic Idaho in search of their prey where they find eyes everywhere.

Live and Let Fly continues in the grand Vern tradition of Dragon Eye, P.I. Vern's wise cracking remarks, Sister Grace's patience, and loaded with puns. Live and Let Fly is a fun read with great action.
I really enjoyed it!

How to enjoy the latest Vern story too:

Posted by at 4 comments:
Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Relams Thereunder

The Ancient Earth Trilogy - Book One by Ross Lawhead




Blog Tour - Day 3


Portals, Yfelopes, and a Langtoor, oh my!

(click image for Amazon link or click link below) The Realms Thereunder - available from:


I received a review copy from Thomas Nelson of The Realms Thereunder
in conjunction with the February CSFF Blog Tour


Wayne Shepard interview of Ross Lawhead on The Realms Thereunder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMBpp1tHzkk&feature=player_detailpage


After fighting their way through chilly rapids and underground caves, Daniel climbs the rung to above and first sights Langtoor. A huge tree, elaborately carved from stone, it serves as both a barricade to enemies and a beacon of hope to friends. When I first read about Langtoor, the Tree of Life leaped to mind. It holds great promise of protection but also a warning to those who would shun the pro-offered peace.


Ecgbryt describes Yfelopes as twisted humans who have given into their foul ways. Humankind is like this, having turned from what is right and good in the Garden of Eden, they gave into their baser instincts until forcing the removal of everyone but Noah and his family by way of the Flood. When one of the evil ones is loosed in Oxford, Daniel feels obligated to remove it as soon as possible before it can take more humans down with it. Yfelopes also seemed to reflect the influence of sin on a person. The stronger the hold of Evil, the darker the creatures' spirit.


On day two of the blog tour, I mentioned the difference in response to the Realm between Daniel and Freya. I thought this might reflect our own responses to the gift of Salvation. Do we freely accept Christ's and follow as Daniel in the story, or do we take Freya's path of withdrawal and denial? Freya tries to return to her old life, but the Realm keeps calling for her and reminding her of what happened. Daniel didn't want to go back to his old life. He had a new life; a new beginning.


Nioergeard struck me as the promised land built on and of the rock. It it stable and study, a real 'rock of ages'. The city isn't a collection of buildings and monuments, but a growing living community that holds back the darknesses. Made of stone, like the Langtoor, Nioergeard seemed to build upon the work begun with the stone tree. As the city grew, so did it's connection with Langtoor.




Swiogar and Ecgbryt are part of the mighty warrior army held in readiness for the great battle between light and dark. No one is sure when this will occur but they await the time of their need. Christians are advised to be diligent and ready for we know not when our Lord will return. Ealdstan has watched over his people through history. The first chapter with the smith shoeing the horse with golden horseshoes comes to mind as part of long-term preparations. Daniel and Freya are told that Ealdstan has had many names through history as he guided and directed many peoples. Ealdstan takes a long-term approach to life too. He keeps his eye on the prize and doesn't let inconsequential things make him lose site of the goal.


That was something a got out of The Realms Thereunder. We should fight for what is right, and remember what our true allegiances lie and what goal we should strive for. I really enjoyed this book. It was a little confusing at first, but once I saw how the time lines would rejoin the various stories it made for a thoughtful and fun read.


*Participants’ links:
Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Jeff Chapman
CSFF Blog Tour
Theresa Dunlap
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Tori Greene
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Rebekah Loper
Marzabeth
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Joan Nienhuis
Crista Richey
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Shane Werlinger
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant









Posted by at 3 comments:
Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Relams Thereunder

The Ancient Earth Trilogy - Book One by Ross Lawhead
Blog Tour - Day 2
A thousand years? Is that too long to sleep?

(click image for Amazon link or click link below) The Realms Thereunder - available from:

I received a review copy from Thomas Nelson of The Realms Thereunder
in conjunction with the February CSFF Blog Tour


Wayne Shepard interview of Ross Lawhead on The Realms Thereunder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMBpp1tHzkk&feature=player_detailpage

The story begins a half-millieum in the past with the tale of blacksmith who meets a strange man one night who requires his services. After shoeing a horse in a hidden cave with golden shoes, the blacksmith is taken to another cave for payment. When the blacksmith returns to the hillside, the cave opening his re-hidden and the old man is nowhere in sight. The Realms Thereunder cuts to modern day where two teenagers are missing for over two months. The two missing teens are Freya Reynolds and Daniel Tully.

Daniel comes from a broken home. He has little in the way of family, friends, or fun. Readers are introduced to Daniel as he hunts a strange man-like creature with needle-sharp teeth through downtown Oxford, England. Daniel becomes the hunted and is forced to kill the creature. Flash back eight years before and after a miserable birthday morning, Daniel and Freya accidently open a portal to the Realm Thereunder; a place in the far past. Daniel soon acclimates to life in the Realm, and feels like he's found his place at last. He has a purpose and others need him. He's no longer seen as an outcast but as a young warrior. Daniel found a new self confidence and courage during his journey.


Freya comes from a middle-class family and shares birthdays with Daniel. In current day Oxford Freya is an obcessive compulsive who feels she needs to pass through arches, doorways, and entrances multiple times. In her classes at Oxford she keeps to herself unless it is to argue with an instructor about existence of worlds and beings that are viewed as fable and myth. Freya knows better, she's experienced both and it terrifies her. Freya followed Daniel into the Realm and found she couldn't return by the path taken. Rather than the excitement and new life Daniel found, she instead found despair and worry of never returning home. Instead of embracing the adventure, she responded by withdrawing into herself. From the Realm Freya found fear and near-panic of the unknown.

Inside the bowels of the church, Daniel and Freya follwed step after step down a curving stairway that opened on a small room with two sleeping figures on stone tablets. The two warriors were dressed in armor and were covered by a light coating of dust. After waking, the two introduce themselves as Swiogar and Ecgbryt, two sword brothers placed in near-suspended animation awaiting the great battle. The pair find they have slept for a thousand years and were awakened by Daniel and Freya's accidental visit. Swiogar and Ecgbryt have fought evil together in the past, and question why they were awakened now. Perplexed at finding two children, the group leave the sleeping vault to journey to fabled Nioergeard for answers.

At the city carved from rock, the four travlers are introduced to Modwyn, Nioergeard's Lady. Regally dressed, she exudes a quiet power and grace before the weary four-some. Modwyn is introduced as the ward and protectress of Nioergeard. Standing on tradition , Modwyn asks Daniel and then Freya if each will accept her hospitality. It seeming a type of legal binding that all provided an assurance of good character and support. Once plegdes are accepted, Modwyn warms to the teens and sends them to their rooms to rest.


Finally, I wanted to mention Ealdstan, the ancient and very wise ruler of Nioergeard. After passing door after door and climbing stair after stair, Daniel and Freya meet Ealdstan in a distant part of the castle. He seemed half-senile at first, by the way he dropped off at the end of a discussion or in mid-sentence. But Modwyn explains that Ealdstan is thousands of years old, and spends much of his time contemplating matters of the kingdom. This explained to me that he had little use for speech, having spent so much time alone. It wasn't that he was some type of backroom Wizard of Oz trying to hide behind a curtain, rather it was the fact that his farsighted planning had saved the city much over the centuries.

Day 3 Blog: Portals, Yfelopes, and a Langtoor, oh my!
Day Three I'll discuss some possible symbology and thoughts while reading The Realms Thereunder.

*Participants’ links:
Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Jeff Chapman
CSFF Blog Tour
Theresa Dunlap
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Tori Greene
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Rebekah Loper
Marzabeth
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Joan Nienhuis
Crista Richey
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Shane Werlinger
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant





Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , ,

Monday, February 20, 2012

The Relams Thereunder

The Ancient Earth Trilogy - Book One by Ross Lawhead


Blog Tour - Day 1

A First Novel with a Great Story!


(click image for Amazon link or click link below) The Realms Thereunder - available from:




I received a review copy from Thomas Nelson of The Realms Thereunder
in conjunction with the February CSFF Blog Tour


Wayne Shepard interview of Ross Lawhead on The Realms Thereunder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMBpp1tHzkk&feature=player_detailpage


The Realms Thereunder is the first full-length novel for Mr. Lawhead. He's worked with his father, author Stephen R. Lawhead, on a speculative fiction trilogy, created a graphic novel that he both wrote and illustrated, and even published a couple of poetry books in a series named "The Colour Papers." Well, I wondered, he definitely has the credentials but can he write? When I heard that this month's CSFF blog tour review was for a portal story set in England with some good ancient Celtic characters and a bit of fantasy, I immediately thought of Stephen Lawhead. He's one of the few Christian authors I've read who could pull all that off in a book or series.

Apparently Ross Lawhead has inherited the writing gene. He's created an original story in The Realms Thereunder that pulls the reader into a period existing only in time's misty past. Portal stories and time travel are too of my favorite genres. Lawhead has managed to unite the two in a compelling novel. Some reviews I've read about this book suggest the use of Gaelic and Old English only confuse the reader. But someone who thrives on Early Middle Age life and it's history, will appreciate the detailed research this story must have required. It's not like the Wayback Machine on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show where every historical figure spoke 1960's English. If you were transported to the past how much would you actually understand of what's being said or not said? Sure the words sound funny to the modern ear, but that just allows the reader to puzzle out meanings at the same time as the two protagonists.

I enjoyed The Realms Thereunder. I wasn't too sure about the jumping back and forth between the past and the present, but there's a lot of back story to explain and it's all important to the storyline and how the trips to the under realms changed Freya and Daniel. Whether the change was for the best or worst depends on the viewpoint. We can't always make a big difference in life, but sometimes a chance meeting or action sets a much larger chain of events in motion. Ross Lawhead manages to stack each seemingly unrelated event like a house of cards. Each part depends upon every other part and in the end you just step back and wonder how we got there so quickly without seeing it coming.





Day 2 Blog: A thousand years? Is that too long to sleep?
Day Two I'll discuss some of the original characters created for the story and how the Realms changed them.

*Participants’ links:
Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Jeff Chapman
CSFF Blog Tour
Theresa Dunlap
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Tori Greene
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Rebekah Loper
Marzabeth
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Joan Nienhuis
Crista Richey
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Shane Werlinger
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant

Posted by at 4 comments:
Labels: , , ,

Sunday, January 29, 2012



Nice Materials At Holly Lisle Writng Site - Some free!






I just signed up for Holly Lisle's 'How To Write a Series' online course. The description was good, but I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I joined her other two major workshops, How To Think Sideways and How To revise Your Novel. One of the things I like about the Holly Lisle courses are the amount and breadth of material in her lesson. The first lesson included six down loadable-videos ranging in length from just under 15-minutes to over 27-minutes. Averaging 20-minutes each, the six videos are over two-hours long. In case students want to review the presented material, each video includes a transcript. Another documents include text and illustrations of the covered material. As a visual learner, these videos and handouts made learning the material easier.






In the first course, How To Think Sideways, one student commented that there were more than two-thousand pages of printouts included. At the time, I thought this might be an exaggeration. No, if anything this guess was way, way short of the documents. I'm not sure of the total number of pages, but know I printed two reams of paper without making it half-way through the lessons. I mentioning all this because the courses cover so much, and you have a lot more to show for the class than many other courses I've seen that cost much more.






Here's the free material link I mentioned above:







This page describes her free seven-lesson Plot Outline Course, and provides the download. The sample illustrates her teaching style - not dry and boring or rambling with over-sized words - so you can decide if you would like to buy more of her material.

Here is the main web page: http://novelwritingschool.com/

Along the right are free articles, and the many writing courses and clinics available.







Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)