Today marks almost 2 weeks since my time of grief began. I last wrote about this on the 9th in a post titled A Double Dose Of Grief, and so this is an update. In short, I am still grieving, but now a new grief has been added to it. You see, we attended the[…]
I shaved this week for the first time in many years … the modern version, I suppose, of pulling out one’s beard. You see this was a week to grieve doubly … once for the two year anniversary of my mother’s death on November 6th, and before that for a reason that I’m not yet[…]
Today is day two of the CSFF Blog Tour, reviewing my second novel, MERLIN’S SHADOW! Yesterday I covered how God was involved in the novel of Merlin’s Blade. Today I’d like to broaden that discussion to see how God works in the real world…not just the fictional world of my novel. (For those new to[…]
Today is day one of the CSFF Blog Tour, reviewing my second novel, MERLIN’S SHADOW, strangely enough! I want to start out thanking all of the tour participants for taking the time to read the novel and thoughtfully write up reviews. And I’m even thankful in advance for any critical ones! I cannot improve as[…]
Want to find out what an ancient Halloween / Samhain festival might have looked like? I wrote about it in MERLIN’S SHADOW! Here an excerpt, edited to remove some small spoilers: “Tonight, when the moon is dark, the Picts will celebrate their pagan harvest feast of Samhain. Have you not known why they work us[…]
I wrote a new article over at Speculative Faith that covers what many would consider a brand new translation of Philippians 2:12-13. This article is based on a research paper I wrote in college and provides some excellent background into the Koine Greek behind the text. Anyway, check it out over here! When part 2[…]
It was 1995, I had just moved to Missouri, and was browsing that newly expanded thing they call the Internet. I ran across a picture of Robert Frost as a young man, and sat in shock … … I had never seen anyone who looked so much like … me! No, we are certainly not[…]
I arrived back form the western foothills of Texas on Sunday night, and thought I’d write about my experience at the Laity Lodge Writers Retreat. The Laity Lodge courtyard and fountain. (The following notes are as best as I can remember, so if I have forgotten details or gotten the order of events mixed up…[…]
This is an article I wrote for the Holy Worlds website, and I thought I should finally post it here, updated a bit. Keep in mind that although I directly speak about fantasy novels—being a published author of a fantasy series—what I say applies equally to other genres of fiction and to other art forms.[…]
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ” ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He[…]
Today is our second day of the Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour review of the young-adult fantasy novel, North! or Be Eaten in The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. Today I’m going to unfurl my wings and cover some things in depth. This also means: PLOT SPOILERS past the “Click to Read More“,[…]
A few weeks ago we watched the documentary C.S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia While not perfect, this documentary was well done, and I particularly liked the details into C.S. Lewis’s life that I had never known, such as: About his experience in the Great War, as well as what happened to him afterward. The fact that[…]
Announcing a new Christian Fantasy website: Holy Worlds! This site was originally setup by Jay Lauser. In his own words: We are here to learn what it is that makes writing Christian, and how we are to go about attaining that goal. We want always to glorify God in our writing, and to serve His[…]
I want to make known to all my Missouri and Illinois blog readers a festival that celebrates the reformation. It is Providence Church’s Reformation Day Faire, held the weekend of October 23rd and 24th (2009) near Peoria, Illinois. The festival this year celebrates the work of God in and through John Calvin. The keynote speaker[…]
Today I am reviewing VANISH by Tom Pawlik. This review is part of the June Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour, and we are reviewing Tom’s first book even though his second book, VALLEY OF THE SHADOW, has just come out. The first thing I did when I heard about this tour was to[…]
Welcome to my review of TUCK by Stephen Lawhed, Day 3. Today I want to speak to what Stephen Lawhead calls “The High Cost Of Heaven”, and explore the book’s spiritual content. To quote Lawhead: “Wily Welsh archers were not the only plaque in William’s life, however; he also suffered from that acute affliction of[…]
In my time with the Lord prior to celebrating Resurrection Sunday with my family, I found a gem in Psalm 81 [ESV]: Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon,[…]
February 19th started like any other day, except that I was going to the dentist to get two cavities filled. While there, I was given a shot of novocaine (or something like that) in my left cheek. While the dentist was administering the shot, I sensed what felt like electricity jolting my tongue, and my[…]
At the end of the last CSFF Blog Tour, Stephen L. Rice and I had a strong discussion regarding Auralia’s Colors and Cyndere’s Midnight, and in particular, on the direction Jeffrey Overstreet was taking the series. His first post with my comments. His second post responding, with more comments. Steve and I were on opposite[…]
The Lost Genre Guild alerted me to a new article out in Christianity Today called Sci-Fi’s Brave New World. The article’s focus is on science fiction, but it easily applies to fantasy as well in the sense that our current secular culture uses these forms of entertainment to find hope and meaning. The author of[…]