Christian Author Featured on SciFi.com

Jeffrey Overstreet, author of Auralia's Colors, is featured in a short article on The SciFi Channel's news site: SciFi Wire. He talks about the inspiration behind his debut novel and his plans for the next book in the series.

I've been an avid reader of his blog Looking Closer for about a year now and I read his movie reviews over at Christianity Today. He has interesting and thought-provoking perspectives on films. His commentary on The Golden Compass is a prime example. Sometimes I agree with him, sometimes I don't but that's what makes reviews fun. Overstreet has definitely emerged as one of my favorite Christian film critics.

Things like this give me hope for the Christian sci-fi/fantasy genre. Quality writing by Christian writers can rise to the top and influence our society, one sci-fi lovin' fan at time.

Congrats Jeffrey! And keep up the good work!!!

(Hat tip to SF Signal)

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Sue Dent's Trailer

Sue Dent is not your typical Christian author. But that's good. Take a look at a trailer spotlighting the woman behind a new breed of Christian fiction.



For more info visit www.neverceese.com

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What happened to R.L. Stine?

Back in middle school, R.L. Stine books used to be hot property. His Fear Street series were the talk of the classroom. My friends and I would trade books and desperately wait for the newest edition. Then there was the rise of his Goosebumps series and the Saturday morning TV show...and just like that he disappeared off the charts. Well, at least to me because I went to the 8th grade and thrillers just weren't cool anymore. I wonder if Stine has struck a cord with today's Radio Disney tweens? I checked out his site and it says he's bringing Fear Street back...best wishes with that Mr. Stine and thanks for making reading fun.

So what books did you love when you were younger, then totally abandon and remember like ten years later?

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Children of Men

This movie looks really good and it opens for wide release on Friday. Here's the plot courtesy of IMDb.com:

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

Children of Men looks like it has all the right ingredients: action, adventure and maybe a little romance between the two lead characters. Check out the website, it's wicked sweet and if the movie is anywhere as cool as the music playing on the page then I'm going to have blast watching this film.

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The Princess of Neptune

I stumbled upon The Princess of Nepture by Quentin Dodd when I was doing a Google search for books similar to the one I'm writing, to see what the market is like and to check out my competition (all that good stuff writers should do). Dodd's story is very different from mine but we do share the Google phrase of "intergalactic teen". So for the mere fact that we write in the same sci-fi teen book genre I checked out his site and was really impressed. His books would probably be in the "customers who bought this item also bought" section of Amazon for my future novels. Maybe I can email him and get some tips. The target audience for my sci-fi works are teens and twenty-somethings. A big emphasis of my style is that I include multi-ethnic characters and characters of several races and various backgrounds. So that includes Native Americans to Filipinos and everyone in between. But let me get back to how I was impressed by Dodd's stories. From the sample chapters I read from The Princess of Neptune, he writes in a witty first-person point of view. The characters are funny, engaging and very human (well, except for the aliens--but I imagine that they'll even be pretty relateable to us earthbound people).

I bookmarked his site and plan on heading down to the library and to see if they have his novels in their collection. If not, I'll check out Barnes & Noble or Borders to see if they have it in stock. I'd definately like to buy this book and see what happens to the "punk-rock teenager and her pesky younger brother". I'm adding The Princess of Neptune to my list of sci-fi books to read just under Sue Dent's Never Ceese and the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield.

So if you're a fan of teen sci-fi in the vein of Melinda Metz's Roswell High series or Bill Myer's Forbidden Doors series then check out Dodd's site and you just might find your next favorite book.

Happy Reading!

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I won a book!

If I had a choice between winning a Tiffany & Co. diamond ring or a year's supply of free books from my favorite publishing house, I'd pick the books, no doubt. If it was a diamond tennis bracelet I just might think about it for a few minutes (I like shiny bracelets) but I'd still end up picking the books anyway. That's how much I value a good read.

Yesterday, God brightened my day when I checked my email and found out I won this month's Kathryn Mackel book give-a-way. I got to choose which book I wanted (I felt like a kid in a candy store) and I happily chose Outriders.

In my slice of the world, books are a girl's bestfriend because diamonds can lose their glitter while well-written words can sparkle for a lifetime.

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Vampires and Werewolves

The Underworld films are a couple of my new favorites. I enjoyed the fresh Romeo and Juliet spin they put on the classic vampire and werewolf story. Plus, Kate Beckinsale's character totally kicked butt.

I was delighted to find another interesting spin on the vampire/werewolf story courtesty of a post from Spoiled for the Ordinary's blog. "Never Ceese" by Sue Dent tells the story of:

an English manor owned by Richard, the vampire who righteously is the bain of his neighbor's existence, what with the missing goats and all! Then enters Cecelia, better known as Ceese, the young werewolf maiden who's arrived via invitation by Richard's aging companion, Penelope. Ceese and Richard would prefer to tear each other apart, literally, but they are drawn together by their mutual love for Penelope. She is dying and has one request...that the two of them love one another.

Reviewers said this novel deals with the lead characters seeking a cure for their spiritual curses and ponders on the path if they can get into Heaven if the curse is lifted. I hope this book lives up to its hype because right now I'm really excited about reading this one.

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