News for December 4th, 2009

Karina Fabian has handed over the presidency of the Catholic Writers Guild to Walt Staples. According to Walt, "Our 'lady of dragons' is a danged hard act to follow. I figure the first thing on my plate is to learn as much as I can about the CWG, its members, and their needs and expectations. I think I've got my homework assignment for the next year or so."

Karina Fabian also reports this new review for Magic, Mensa & Mayhem at Bitten by Books: "...a very entertaining book with a unique and extremely likeable duo in the lead."

Shelley Ledfors says: My speculative novel, "Dominion" placed as a runner up in the FaithWriters 2009 Page Turner contest. (For first chapter + synopsis of unpublished novels). I am honored and amazed! Thank-you, Lord!
Read more about Dominion here.
See the winners' announcement here.

Coscom Entertainment offers a Christmas checklist of superhero stories by A.P. Fuchs and others in his publishing company.

Adam and Andrea Graham announce: Our Second Annual Edition of Laser and Sword Magazine is for sale over at Lulu for $14.42:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/laser-and-sword-annual-2009/7987075

It is also available on Kindle for $8.00:
http://www.amazon.com/Laser-Sword-Annual-2009-ebook/dp/B002Z13KIQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259675772&sr=1-6

Bill McGrath says: I have written two new articles for my website: Mercy vs. Wisdom, and Seven Hearts. The first is about the tension that exists between mercy and wisdom in fantasy stories. The second describes using the seven gifts of Romans 12 when creating characters for your novels. Here's the link: http://www.theswordoffire.com/articles.htm

Robert Liparulo announces the release of his latest book, Whirlwind. Read all about it at his newsletter page.

Exciting news from Marcher Lord Press

This just in from Jeff Gerke:

Well, the third set of original Christian speculative fiction from Marcher Lord Press has been out for two months now and is selling well, especially through Amazon.

Marcher Lord Select, my experiment in fiction acquisitions, is also going very well. Phase 2 voting is completed and Phases 3 and 4 will be conducted this month.

The big news for this update is that I'm able to announce two of the three books that will comprise list 4, which releases in April 2010.

Jeff Gerke

Publisher

Marcher Lord Press

Announcing List 4 from Marcher Lord Press I've rarely been able to so early announce what books will comprise a release list from Marcher Lord Press. But because of a special situation this time around, I can do so. As in the previous lists, I will release three novels in the Spring 2010 list. Two of the three I can name now. The third I'll be able to name in next month's update. The special situation is that the first two books are sequels to books already released by MLP, and the third is the book that will win the Marcher Lord Select contest, which is now in its latter phases. The first book from list 4 is the eagerly awaited sequel to By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson. To Darkness Fled, Book 2 of The Blood of Kings, picks up right where the previous book left off. As you may recall, By Darkness Hid ends with characters entering the mysterious darkness that shrouds the land of Er'Rets. To Darkness Fled begins with these words: "What do you mean she's gone?" By Darkness Hid is Marcher Lord Press's bestselling novel by a wide margin and readers have been clamoring to know what happens after the cliffhanger ending of that book. That Book 2 is releasing soon is cause for rejoicing. And it's a monster too: 664 pages in its unedited form. The second book in the fourth release list from Marcher Lord Press is also a sequel. The Word Unleashed is the sequel to The Word Reclaimed, Book 1 of The Face of the Deep series by Steve Rzasa. Steve originally wrote this 2-book series as a single (massive) book. Epic space opera at its best. I divided the book into two parts. The great thing about that is that Book 2 was already written even before Book 1 released. So we are able to bring you the second installment in the release cycle immediately after the first one debuted. A MLP first. The cover at left is, as you can see in the fine print in red and yellow, not a final cover, but it gives you a good feel for the direction we're going with it. Book 2 follows Baden in his ongoing struggle, both physical and spiritual, to come to grips with what this banned holy book means and is doing to him. It also chronicles the betrayal of the secret police--Kesek--and their attempt to overthrow the crumbling monarchy binding the five worlds together in uneasy peace. List 4 is going to be a very exciting release cycle. And now you know about 2/3 of it way in advance. For the third book, I have to turn to Marcher Lord Select.

Marcher Lord Select: The Final Phases

I hope you're a voting participant in Marcher Lord Select, my acquisitions experiment in which you are a member of my editorial board and you get to tell me what book to publish next.

Marcher Lord Select began November 1 and will end on New Year's Eve, with the winner being announced at midnight.

Phases 1 and 2 are now complete. From the 36 full manuscripts that began the competition, we have honed it down to the top 8 entries.

Now things get really tough. In Phase 3, you and your fellow editorial board members will read the first 30 pages of those 8 entries and will vote in mid-December to narrow the list to the top 3 candidate manuscripts.

Then you'll read an additional 30 pages of the remaining 3 entries and vote, in late December, to pick the book that will fill the third slot in the Spring 2010 release list from Marcher Lord Press. Pretty cool, huh?

But if that weren't cool enough, consider this: I will be holding a drawing to give one or more prizes to people who vote in Phase 4. Not only do you get to decide what book I publish next, you could take home awesome MLP swag. Prizes to be determined, but could include MLP books, apparel, artwork, and/or sundry goodies.

The other part of Marcher Lord Select is the premise-only conest, the top three winners of which will receive priority acquisitions attention from me. That contest is also in its latter phases and has some incredible Christian speculative fiction creativity.

Phases 1 and 2 of that contest are complete and the initial group of 49 entries has been reduced to 20. In Phase 3 you'll read the 1-page synopses of these 20 entries, and in Phase 4 you'll read the first 500 words of the remaining 10 entries. The top 3 winners will be announced at midnight on New Year's Eve.

Both contests are terrific fun and you're able to rub elbows with many other folks who love Christian speculative fiction as much as you do. So come on out to The Anomaly forums and join the party.

Thank you for your support of Marcher Lord Press!

Jeff Gerke

Publisher

Marcher Lord Press

Guild Member Spotlight: Steve Doyle

Steve Doyle

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

In the summer of 2006 Frank Creed posted a message to "the Herscher Project", an international group of writers to which we both belong. He told us about an Christian spec-fic anthology that Dan Weaver was putting together. I signed up and wound up submitting two stories, one of which was accepted for publication in Light at the Edge of Darkness.

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

The name change. The group was originally called Christian_Fic_WRE_Crit_Group where WRE stood for Writing, Reading and Everything. That's quite a mouthful and the group set out to create a more easily recognizable name. The Lost Genre Guild was the result of that effort.

Tell us some good things that have transpired from belonging.

One good thing is that I became a published author. Previously I'd only had a poem published in an anthology which probably accepted everything by everybody everywhere. The other good thing is all the folks I met along the way, writers who are more than willing to help out other writers.

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

Speculative fiction is not the norm for me. I usually write paranormal, though my WIP is an historical novel.

Do you like to read the same genre as you write? What other genres interest you? Favourite authors?

I do enjoy reading mysteries and ghost stories as well as history and historical fiction. Many of my friends write fantasy so I read a lot of that as well. Some of my favorite authors include Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allen Poe. That guy Frank Creed is pretty good too.

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

Other than Light at the Edge of Darkness, I've had stories published online at Residential Aliens and Flashes in the Dark, and in an anthology by cyberwizard productions called Strange Worlds of Lunacy.

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

Right now I'm behind on a short story for the Herscher Project #42: The Meaning of Life, entitled "The Accidental Immortal". I'm in the final stages of finishing "The Casebook of the Paranormal Research Institute", a collection of stories based in and around London. I've also written a few stories for a second casebook which take place in New England. For more information on that I've put together a section at my website. My main WIP is the historical novel, "Seeds of Greed" which takes place in Plymouth, MA around the time of the American Revolution. There's a section of my website devoted to that, including a bit about how I got started on the project and some weird things that have happened along the way. A few of the chapters are posted there as well, although they're only at the rough draft stage.

How has the LGG helped you in your work?

Besides the wealth of knowledge various members bring to the table, in all areas of writing, publishing and marketing, and the critique circles, one thing I think helps is the level of commitment and support they have for each other. No matter what you're personally going through, the members of the LGG go out of their way to let you know you're not alone.

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

Maybe the "Lost Genre" will become obsolete as more and more people come to realize that Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror can be written by and for Christians who enjoy a good story without excessive gore and violence and without a patronizing, be-warned-lest-ye-be-lost type of message.

Your best writing tip?

Advice I should follow myself--Write! What else are you up to that our readers would find interesting? I run a blog called New Book News which features books by new-ish authors. I'm also kicking around the idea of a paranormal book based on stories by people who believe them. Many folks tell me they've had personal experiences they can't explain. I think it would be fun to put together a collection.

Something you reckon not many people know about you?

"The Casebook of the Paranormal Research Institute" had been accepted by a publisher specializing in "writings pertaining to the Pagan, Gothic, Occult and Vampire Communities". We couldn't agree on some of the contract terms, but had we gone ahead I would have the distinction of being published at both ends of the spectrum.

Your website or social media profile?

Doylebooks.com is my main website. I keep a profile at Doylebooks.com/Myspace and a more active one at Doylebooks.com/Facebook.