Time Out

Well, as I suspected when I looked at my To Do list, I did not get posts written for the three days I’ll be gone. So, in lieu of reading here at A Christian Worldview of Fiction, maybe pick up a book, preferably a novel, possibly a Christian fantasy , and spend the moments reading.

Not that I’ll be gone all that long, but I will be taking a time out (think sports, not discipline ) until Wednesday. And since I don’t post on the weekend (except, of course, for the occasional non-post), that means that I am putting ACWoF on hold for a mere three normal post days. In other words, I’ll be back, reporting about the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference before most people realize I’m gone.

I’ll probably miss you more than you miss me!

Prep and Prayer

So the one sheets are formatted and printed. The business cards are underway. I printed out directions to my first stop. I’ll be leaving my car there and continuing on with another writer friend. My greatest concern is driving across LA in rush hour traffic. People do it every day. And I’ve done it before … more often than I wish. But my first thoughts about that part of the trip tend to be anxious ones.

The thing is, God is just as in control of the drive as He is of the appointments I’ll have, the conversations and classes, all of it. Sometimes I tend to forget that and shoulder whatever I think I am responsible for. Of course, I am responsible to do my best. But I cannot control the traffic flow on the 101, or the downtown interchange.

Actually, I had a huge lesson in God’s care on the way to my first Mount Hermon conference. I didn’t know anyone going from the Southland, didn’t want to drive up by myself, didn’t want to spend the money to fly, so I checked out the bus. It was incredibly cheap, so I opted for that mode of transportation.

To arrive on time and not miss any sessions, however, I needed to take the night bus. No problem, I thought. I sleep well in cars and planes, so should have no trouble sleeping on the bus. I figured I’d arrive at 6:00, walk to a nearby Starbucks until the 8:00 shuttle pick up, then get to the conference grounds, check in and take a nap.

A good plan, but there was one thing I hadn’t realized. I had to switch buses … in downtown LA … at midnight.

Here was my report, posted to a writers’ group after the conference:

My Mount Hermon memorable moment was in transit. First stop for this poor white older single female bus traveler with Too Many Bags (both kinds) was downtown LA, for a transfer.

I might mention, I’m not the most courageous person. (i. e. I sent [another writer] about 7 dozen e-mails asking what I should expect at the conference.)

The bus trip, however, was me and God—and about 82,000 other travelers. And the homeless folk who hang out at warm places like bus stations in the middle of the night.

Faced with an hour wait, I plopped on an end seat in the terminal and determined to apply a recently read writing tip—use the opportunity to people-watch. Soon an elderly woman approached and sat next to me.

To my polite question about her travel plans, she responded, “No In-glesh.”

I dug out my rusty third-year Spanish and proceeded to stumble through a wonderful conversation with a godly Christian woman whose pastor husband sat across the aisle.

Lessons learned:
God is in the bus station, too.
Language is important.
God transcends language barriers.
No matter how much I learn about my craft, without God’s transcendence, I might as well be stumbling along in a foreign language.
Connecting with culture is easier if you know the language.
Prayer matters.

Yep, prayer matters. If you think of it over the next five days, I’d appreciate your prayers for this conference—the Big Deal things and the not so big deal things.

Mount Hermon Prep

I know this is probably not the most scintillating post you’ll read, but my head is full of preparation details for the conference.

If you’ve never been, you might wonder what the big deal is.

Well, it’s not a big deal really, and it is.

The Big Deal part is that I’ll get to meet new people, some who I’ve connected with online and others who I’ve never talked to before. I’ll get to see people I met last year or the year before, so it will feel a little like a reunion. Yep, the people at the conference are a Big Deal.

I’ll also get to learn more about writing and get to talk about writing. I want to improve my craft and to deepen my philosophy, so the classes and critiques are invaluable. Hearing other writers share what they’ve learned or the road they’ve taken encourages and motivates and challenges me. For me, talking about writing is a Big Deal.

What’s not a big deal any more is editor and agent appointments. Don’t get me wrong. I have hopes to meet with and talk to a number of these professionals. But I’ve been through the “this is the perfect publisher; this must be the one God has planned for me” saga before.

I admit, I have my favorites. I think editor X is a godly person, an individual of integrity and I would love to work with an editor like that. I think editor Y is knowledgeable and personable and would be enthusiastic and have a vision for what I’m trying to do. I think editor Z represents a house that could get my books into Important Places and give them the push they would need.

In reality, none of my impressions matter. God alone knows what is right and best and good for me, for the books I write. He will do what will honor Him, and that makes any of my thoughts and plans regarding what editor or agent to contact secondary. Not a big deal, really.

The other Big Deal though, is getting ready for this conference. I still have business cards to prepare, one sheets to run off, manuscripts for the mentoring clinic to critique, my own pages to print for critique, shopping, ironing, packing. There’s the plants to water, the bills to pay, the newspaper, the mail, the car. Maybe blog posts to write for those days I’ll be gone—hahahah! That’s starting to look like a joke!

Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference

I admit it—I am a writers conference junky. I’d go to all of them if I could. As it is, I read about all of the ones that send me their fliers, even the ABA Maui conference and the Alaska cruises I could never afford. I’m not sure why other than the fact that I love talking about writing. Or reading about writing. Or just plain writing about writing. I even enjoy writing on occasion!

But I have to say, for the conferences available to me now, the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference is my favorite.

First, is the location—in northern California, near Santa Cruz. It’s close enough for me to drive, which keeps the cost down, but is very much “away.” The conference grounds are in the “mountains” surrounded by redwood trees. Well, it’s not the kind of mountains I grew up seeing in Colorado, but considering how close you are to the ocean, it is amazing to be so suddenly in a mountain-like environment.

And it’s beautiful. Truly. Whether it’s the purple irises waving in the planter in front of the office entrance, the meandering streams chuckling beneath the walking bridge, the evergreen trees offset by the white crepe myrtle—all of it, probably. It is a beautiful site and sight.

In that setting, then, a group of Christians, who all have something to do with writing, get together, and it is exhilarating.

Add to that some outstanding instruction and the opportunity for feedback on your own writing … for five days … and Mount Hermon moves to the top of the writers’ conference list, as far as I’m concerned.

Not to mention that the organizers have been doing this longer than any of the others. That experience makes this conference run smoothly. Even when it rains nearly the whole time, as it did last year, or the electricity goes out, as it did on the last day two years ago.

I did mention it’s in the mountains, right? Fairly rustic even though you’re only 15 minutes from Santa Cruz and the nearest Starbucks. Actually that’s only a point of reference because Mount Hermon serves its own specialty coffees in the lounge, where you can sit in an easy chair before a crackling fire.

You might have guessed—I’m going to the conference this week, and I’m looking forward to it just a little.

Prayer

And so the blog tour has once again wound down. I’m always a little sad at the end because I enjoy the buzz, the excitement, bloggers interacting with each other, discovering new authors, interesting information at featured web sites, and passing all that on to their readers. It feels like a community. Then the tour ends and we part for another month, writing—or not—about whatever else concerns us.

Sort of like church.

Members of the Church come together one or more times during a week, worship together, sing praises, learn and grow, catch up on the minutiae of life, then part company.

But there’s a way we can stay in touch when absent from each other’s presence: through prayer.

So here’s a new idea. Maybe we of the blogging community should start praying for each other, too. Why not?

Here at A Christian Worldview of Fiction, we discuss books—particularly Christian fiction, with a strong nod to Christian fantasy—and we discuss things pertaining to the Christian faith. Doesn’t it make sense that like-minded people should petition God on behalf of other like-minded people?

I think I’d like to do that on a regular basis. So be warned—if you link here or leave a comment, you just might become the subject of a conversation between God and me. If your ears start burning, you’ll know why.

CSFF Blog Tour – Randy Ingermanson and Double Vision, Day 4

Here we are for an unprecedented Day 4 of the CSFF blog tour. Well, that’s not quite true, because our first ever tour, we spent an entire week on our featured site. But since we went to the 3-day format, well, this is certainly ground breaking.

And rightly so. As I’ve tried to make clear, Randy Ingermanson is a special author, because of his writing, because of his thinking, and because of his mentoring of fellow writers.

It’s a privilege to recognize him and to focus on one of his books, Double Vision.

Much has been said around the tour about Randy’s Snowflake writing method and his award-winning time-travel and space travel novels. Randy even appeared yesterday as a guest blogger at The Bookshelf Review (an especially interesting discussion for those of you who have read Double Vision).

I think one of the key things about Randy’s writing, though, and one reason he’s won the awards and the praise from readers is because of a writing strategy he refers to as MRUs. The letters stand for Motivation-Reaction units.

I hesitate to describe this because I know it won’t make near as much sense as when Randy explains it. The short of it is, every reaction must have a motivation. Reactions are first reflexive (without thought or intend), then internal (thoughts, plans, expectations, etc.), and finally external (actions, dialogue).

It sounds simple, but I’ll tell you, it makes all the difference in moving a story forward. Randy does that better than many a writer. When a reaction comes before the motivation, a reader can be confused and a character can appear to be acting without cause. That pulls readers out of the story.

Anyway, this little tidbit is just a sample of the helpful instruction Randy gives. If you are a writer and interested in improving your craft (I hope that’s all of us! ), Randy’s resources are invaluable.

And now, on our bonus day, take time to read what the other bloggers have discovered about Randy and Double Vision.

Nissa Annakindt
Jim Black
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Frank Creed
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Tessa Edwards
April Erwin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Leathel Grody
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Karen
Tina Kulesa
Lost Genre Guild
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Caleb Newell
Nicole
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
Robin Parrish
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Tsaba House Authors
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver

CSFF Blog Tour – Randy Ingermanson and Double Vision, Day 3

Randy Ingermanson is a thinker. He may be part of a dying breed, which would explain why he characterized himself as he did in his comment to yesterday’s post.

Here are some of the teasers he has on his fiction page at his web site:

Several of my novels are about time-travel. A number of hot-shot physicists have thought hard about the possibility of traveling through time. Click here to learn more about the physics of time-travel.

My novel Premonition deals with James the brother of Jesus. There’s a bone-box in Jerusalem with the extraordinary inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” Some scholars believe this bone-box belonged to the real James. Click here to learn more about this controversy.

Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ has stirred a lot of passions. Is the movie really anti-semitic? Or is it great art? Is it possible that it’s both? Or neither? Since a number of my novels deal with friction between Jews and Christians, I’ve thought hard about these questions. Click here to read my thoughts on this controversy.

That Randy traffics in ideas and does not settle for easy or popular answers comes through in his fiction. Double Vision is no exception despite the lighter tone and romantic suspense tag.

By the way, if you would like to read Double Vision, I suggest you stop by April Erwin’s site. She is running a contest for an autographed copy of the book.

Check out what the other bloggers on tour are talking about in connection with Randy and his work, especially Janey DeMeo, who made a special point of posting her review before she left on a ministry trip to Africa:

Nissa Annakindt Jim Black Grace Bridges Jackie Castle Valerie Comer Karri Compton Frank Creed CSFF Blog Tour D. G. D. Davidson Janey DeMeo Tessa Edwards April Erwin Linda Gilmore Beth Goddard Marcus Goodyear Andrea Graham Leathel Grody Katie Hart Sherrie Hibbs Sharon Hinck Christopher Hopper Jason Joyner Karen Tina Kulesa Lost Genre Guild Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium Rachel Marks Shannon McNear Caleb Newell Nicole Eve Nielsen John W. Otte Robin Parrish Rachelle Cheryl Russel Hanna Sandvig Mirtika Schultz James Somers Tsaba House Authors Steve Trower Speculative Faith Daniel I. Weaver

And don’t forget – the tour continues tomorrow!

CSFF Blog Tour – Randy Ingermanson and Double Vision, Day 2

I hate messing up. Especially at someone else’s expense. Yet, when I do, I so often see God’s grace at work. Just last week I messed up getting the March blog tour started, but I’ve seen God’s grace extended through a great group of bloggers who are making this tour great.

I’m particularly glad because, of all people, this was Randy Ingermanson’s tour.

Randy has played a significant role in my writing. I mentioned yesterday that he is key for all Christian speculative writers because he broke a barrier that had been in place. Yes, the debris is still blocking a lot of progress, but more and more writers are stepping beyond it, something that would have been impossible had Randy not started pounding away at the structures that barred SFF from Christian publishing houses.

But Randy also has made a difference in my own writing. When I first attended the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference back in 2004, he and Brandilyn Collins co-taught a major morning fiction track for beginning and intermediate writers. Somewhere between 100-150 of us enjoyed 8 hours of excellent instruction. Imagine my surprise when I realized they both also manned a critique table in the afternoons and that I could have these knowledgeable, proficient writers actually give me feedback on my manuscript.

Our appointments were supposed to be 15 minutes in length, but Randy took the approach that he’d spend as much time as needed. My appointment was quite looooonng as I recall. Also invaluable.

When the 2005 Mount Hermon Conference rolled around, I discovered that Randy was teaching a mentoring clinic, meaning that he moderated and taught a group of 12 or so. Each of us submitted writing ahead of time and received critiques from the others, and from Randy. What a boon. I’m happy to report that a number of those writers have since had a novel or novella published. I know this because Randy went one step further and set up a Yahoo email group for us so we could stay in touch.

And now Randy has expanded his teaching to online helps. Even in 2004 he had an extensive section on his website dedicated to writer helps, but his work has grown.

I personally have subscribed to two of his e-zines: The Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine and The Mad Genius Writer E-zine. The first is self-explanatory. The second I’ll let you discover what it’s about on your own.

There’s one point I don’t want to slide past. All of Randy’s writer helps would be nothing if he hadn’t first established his credibility with award-winning writing. If you have yet to discover Randy Ingermanson, the writer, I suggest you start with Double Vision.

As some of the other blog participants have pointed out, Randy’s character Dillion is one of the truly unique, memorable characters in Christian fiction. If nothing else, a writer can learn a great deal about “voice” by studying this novel. But apart from all the learning, this is an enjoyable story.

From yesterday’s posts, let me recommend a few you shouldn’t miss. Sharon Hinck posted her tribute to Randy and his influence on her writing (and hers is much more impressive than what I shared, because she has contracts for 7 books, after all! ). Both Karri Compton and John W. Otte have reviews of Double Vision.

I’d also like to welcome to the tour the Tsaba House Authors. Be sure to stop by their blog and leave a comment. And enjoy exploring the rest:

Nissa Annakindt
Jim Black
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Frank Creed
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Tessa Edwards
April Erwin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Leathel Grody
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Karen
Tina Kulesa
Lost Genre Guild
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Caleb Newell
Nicole
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
Robin Parrish
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Tsaba House Authors
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver

CSFF Blog Tour – Randy Ingermanson and Double Vision

Well, as I confessed over at Speculative Faith, I dropped the ball last week in preparing for our March CSFF Blog Tour. Consequently, it will be a wonder if anyone else posts on our featured book and author.

I am sooooo sorry about this! This month we are highlighting Randy Ingermanson and his novel Double Vision.

The thing is, every aspiring writer of Christian science fiction or fantasy owes Randy a debt of gratitude. He authored or co-authored some of the first speculative fiction in the CBA. And did it well. His first novel, Transgression, a time-travel story, won the 2000 Christy Award, Futuristic category.

Along with John Olson, he went on to publish Oxygen and The Fifth Man, the latter a Christy Award, Futuristic, finalist.

His writing set the gold standard for speculative fiction—a good thing in my opinion because he set the bar high.

The problem was, fans of science fiction didn’t know to look in Christian bookstores for the genre they loved. And back five years ago even, not many Christian fiction titles found their way into secular stores. Consequently, publishers concluded there was no market for Christian SFF.

And the truth is, science fiction in the secular market has also taken a back seat to fantasy. Of course we fantasy writers aren’t seriously unhappy about this. But in an ideal world, there should be room for both because there are definitely fans of both.

At any rate, this week I’ll be looking at one of Randy’s latest books Double Vision, a “soft science fiction” title the publisher promoted as romantic suspense.

Also, some time this week, be sure to stop by the sites of our other participants and see what they have to say about Randy Ingermanson’s wonderful website and about Double Vision.

Nissa Annakindt
Wayne Thomas Batson
Jim Black
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Tessa Edwards
April Erwin
Kameron M. Franklin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Leathel Grody
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Kait
Karen
Tina Kulesa
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
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

So What Are You Reading?

I was doing some search on the web this past week and ran across this definition in the database in a public library in Indiana:

Christian Fiction

These are books in which Christian faith is an important element. The list includes several genres.

Well, why is it a secular organization can nail down what it is Christian fiction writers are doing when we seem to struggle so mightily with our own concept of it? “Christian faith is an important element.” Succinct. Clear. Encompassing those who plant and those who water. And that the definition says “Christian faith” is good. Not “Christian works” or “what a Christian should look like.” The primary source that informs a person of the Christian faith is the Bible, so with that in mind, I think this definition is sound.

Now to the question. What are you reading? Any Christian fiction of late? I hope so. Given the power of story and the improvement in Christian fiction, I think there are some deserving books that we should be buying, reading, discussing, and encouraging others to read.

What are your top three, published within the last year?
Mine would be The Restorer, Sharon Hinck (April 2007, NavPress); Waking Lazaras, T. L. Hines (Bethany); The Legend of the Firefish, George Bryan Polivka (Harvest House).

Have you blogged about them?
I’ve done reviews of all three books.

Who have you told about the books?
Uh, I maybe am not doing so well with that one. Mostly I just talk about books on-line.

What was the last Christian novel you bought?
Hmmm, that would probably be Trackers, Kathryn Mackel (Thomas Nelson); The Secret Life of Becky Miller, Sharon Hinck (Bethany); Waking Lazaras, T. L. Hines (Bethany); A Bride Most Begrudging, Dee Gist (Bethany)—all Christmas presents. Let’s see, that was three months ago?

So why am I putting myself through the third degree? Here I am, someone who aspires to write for a Christian publishing house, who believes in Christian fiction and is involved in promotional activities (blog tours, Latest In Spec), and still I am not doing some of the simplest things that can help keep Christian fiction alive and improving.

And now, how about you—what are you reading? Seriously. Leave a comment and let me know what you’re reading and what was your last Christian novel. And any other answers/observations you wish to give.

Speaking of Latest In Spec, have you seen the March issue? I think it came out great, an attractive tool to pass on to bookstores, friends, schools, libraries, wherever readers can be found.