11/09/2009

Guild Member Spotlight: Rebecca Ellen Kurtz

Welcome to our ongoing series of conversations with Lost Genre Guild members. Catch them here on Mondays!

Rebecca Ellen Kurtz

When did you join the LGG? How did you make the connection?

I found LGG when I was researching for a genre for my own book. I began reading about the LGG and thought, "Wow, these are the books I would like to read." I didn't even know what speculative fiction was, but finally realized that is what I was writing. I was going between Mythic Fiction, Supernatural Thriller, Action/Adventure/Romance (what the film script was listed as), and then Amazon put it under Horror/Occult for the demons, vampires, and exorcisms. I joined....well, definitely less than a year ago. I'm thinking last spring.

What's the first thing you remember that happened in the Guild?

I remembered thinking, "Wow, these people communicate a lot."

Tell us some good things that have transpired from belonging.

Some excellent connections have been made with people who write stories like mine. It has helped me find books to review for my blog: Godly Goth. It's wonderful to know that there are others out there that enjoy and write speculative fiction. Authors understand promotion and marketing, and some of the authors on LGG have reached out to help new authors in promoting and marketing their novels.

What's your genre and subgenre? Why do you think that is?

Supernatural Thriller/Mythic Fiction/Romance. Well, we have angels, demons, Nephilm and mortals caught up preparing for the final battle of Armageddon. Raechev and Caleb (Nephilim/ brother and sister) return to their home town of Nineveh where an archaeological dig has stirred up some mysterious supernatural deaths. They get caught up in their fallen brethren's plans and are hunted by some mysterious archaeologists who seek out supernatural entities.
The premise of Sons of God is that the N'filim, the descendants of angels and mortals, are the basis of all world mythology. The novel series includes Thor, Loki, Nimrod, Sekhmet, Osiris, Sokar, Mithras, Ishtar, and several more. Of course, some serve Elohim while others plot to rebuild a strong N'filim army before the Battle of Armageddon to defeat God. Scholars acknowledge that the Greek gods closely resemble what the Hebrews would call fallen angels living amongst and having children with mortal women. We still hear tales of Hercules, Medusa, Thor and other half divine heros and villains who survived a great flood. In Norse mythology, great battles were fought between the gods (fallen angels) and cannibalistic giants before a flood wiped out the giants for the humans to repopulate the earth. Celtic mythology of the Tuatha de Danaan continues this trend and has documentation for their ancestors originally hailing from the Middle East where tales of the N'filim were first recorded. In almost every ancient religion there are tales of angel-like/divine creatures mating with humans and/or animals to create their god-kings or a superior semi-divine race worshipped by humans.

Do you like to read the same genre as you write? What other genres interest you? Favorite authors?
Pretty much, but I also greatly enjoy romances. Although each of my novels has some romance in it, the novel itself is not a romance. Favorite authors include Lynn Kurland, Francine Rivers, Frank Peretti, Stephanie Meyers, and Dan Brown (not for his "facts"). I am still searching for authors to love though now that I know where supernatural thriller authors have been hiding - LGG & Where the Map Ends.

Tell us about your published work, and where we can go to find out more.

Sons of God: Supernatural Thriller/Mythic Fiction/Nephilim/Vampires/

Romance/Messianic Judaic Author

According to the Christian Fantasy Review, when thinking of Sons of God, "one should think of Twilight, the Mummy movies or Indiana Jones full of paranormal activity. But this one has a Biblical worldview....In fact, it is a romance at heart."

Sons of God tells the tale of a 3,000-year-old half-angelic, half-human female warrior who disguises herself as a treasure hunter for mythic items while hunting down her fallen brethren who've committed atrocities against mankind. But now, in the present day, some mysterious murders begin occurring at the archaeological dig at Nineveh, and she must return to face her worst mistake. The most fascinating aspect of this mythic thriller is research from the Old Testament on this supernatural race and historical accounts of these blood-drinking tribes, which introduces an alternate vampire theory. It raises the question - is this semi-supernatural race mythical or not? Sons of God has been dubbed the Da Vinci Code for Twilight, Hancock, & Indiana Jones fans.

To one Christian Barnes & Noble manager, Sons of God is a perfect gift for any teen who is being drawn into the rapidly growing genre of Twilight, House of Night, and other YA books in the horror/occult genre. Blessedly, the Sons of God series is pro-God and anti-occult. Although just getting into several B&N stores, Sons of God has already made it to the Amazon Best-Seller List several times.

If you wish to read the article based on the research found in Sons of God "Are the Hebrew N'filim the foundational element of all world mythologies and vampire lore?" please scroll to the bottom of the spotlight interview. Other sites that have reviews, interviews, etc are also at the bottom.

What are you working on right now? How's progress?

I'm reviewing editors' comments for book 2, Nimrod, in the Sons of God series, and I'm writing book 4, Caleb.

What are your dreams for the future of Christian speculative fiction, and for yourself within that?

For authors to be able to write realistically. Oftentimes, the guidelines for Christian fiction is too goody two-shoes. It's unrealistic, and you can't connect with the too-perfect protagonist.

Your best writing tip?

Write with all five senses.

What else are you up to that our readers would find interesting?

I am also a screenwriter and producer. I've written and produced various television shows and am awaiting feedback from one of my scripts currently in script competitions. I just received notification today that 1636 has made it through the second judging round at CWA. From 2000 down to 75 scripts. I also have a couple of producers requesting the script for Aryan State which I need to finish soon, and I'm helping some Messianic rabbis organize a pastor's convention for those wanting to know and understand more of the Hebraic roots of Christianity.

Something you reckon not many people know about you?

Uh, I perform exorcisms? Also, I'm one of Elohim's seers.

Your website or social media profile?

On the Facebook Fan Page, I give out free prizes, interesting tidbits, and sneak peeks at upcoming novels in the Sons of God series, and I really need to update my IMDB page.
Author Site: http://www.rebeccaellenkurtz.com/index.html
Ephesus LLC Site: http://www.ephesusmedia.com/
Supernatural Blog: http://rebeccaellenkurtz.com/blog/
Godly Goth: http://rebeccaellenkurtz.com/GodlyGoth/
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1982238/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/REKurtz
Myspace: www.myspace.com/reksonsofgod
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sons-of-God-Messianic-Fiction-Novel-Series/163712519464

"Are the Hebrew N'filim the foundational element of all world mythologies and vampire lore?" E-zine article by Rebecca Ellen Kurtz, best-selling author of Sons of God.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Are-the-Hebrew-Nfilim-the-Foundational-Element-of-All-World-Mythologies-and-Vampire-Lore?&id=2460249
http://www.ideamarketers.com/?articleid=577907
http://www.articlealley.com/article_932312_51.html
http://www.easyarticles.com/article-346932.htm
http://www.buzzle.com/
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/religion/article_918.shtml
http://www.a1articles.com/article_932312_51.html
http://vampiresweaters.com/articles.php
http://geniusfind.com/gfanswers/Zeus.html

Interviews
Rebecca Ellen Kurtz, author of best selling novel Sons of God, by Karina Fabian at Virtual Book Tour de `Net
http://virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com/2009/06/sons-of-god-by-rebecca-ellen-kurtz.html

Podcasts or Web Chats
Rebecca Ellen Kurtz on the Author's Insight (podcast)
http://www.emeraldbookcompany.com/authors/kurtz/
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9bd904284f9d8228694e

Reviews
Sons of God by Phyllis Wheeler at The Christian Fantasy Review
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/2009/04/27/sons-of-god-by-rebecca-ellen-kurtz-a-review/
Amazon Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Sons-God-Rebecca-Kurtz/dp/0982313500/ref=pd_rhf_p_img_1

1 comment:

Brandon Barr said...

Great interview.
Wow, you have unique gifts...preforming exorcism...

Also, what's it mean to be God's seer?