News for July 6th, 2009

Terri Main says: Tuesday July 7th at 7 pm (PST) we will be meeting in Second Life. The location for the meeting can be found at http://www.tinyurl. com/sllgg
Second Life is a virtual world. You will need to download software and select an avatar in order to take part in the dicussion featuring both voice and text-base chats.
The meeting will run from 7 - 8 pm.

Fred Warren wrote a new review of Leaps of Faith, the sci-fi anthology edited by Karina and Robert Fabian: http://frederation.wordpress.com/2009/07/03/book-review-leaps-of-faith-edited-by-robert-and-karina-fabian/

Bryan Polivka says: Ahoy from the land of mythical beasts, mysterious beauty, and the odd miracle now and again... Nearing Vast has seen some miracles, large and small. Here's a truly odd one. Smith Delaney, one of our favorite pirates and a most thoughtful ponderer, has turned up on Twitter. You can follow his musings from his post on his pond (he calls these musings "posts" for the obvious reason). Look him up at www.twitter.com/SmithDelaney.

News for May 22nd, 2009

Check out this new interview with Stuart Stockton at http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/2009/05/stuart-vaughn-stockton-starfire-free.html
Comment on the post for a chance to win a free copy of Starfire!

Mark your calendars: May 26th at 7pm PST in Second Life! Click here to teleport. This time we will be discussing LostCon, an in-world Christian Spec Fiction Convention. Join Terri Main and the Virtual LGG for some fellowship!

News for April 20th, 2009

Cre8iv is the Arts Show of Aloft Radio featuring interviews with Artists, Producers, Authors, Painters, Film-Makers and much more... If you are a Christian working in the arts, please email to be on a show.


Sci-Fi Authors Mike Lynch & Brandon Barr...
Mike and Brandon talk about their novel 'When The Sky fell' and how Science Fiction can be used as a means of speaking to our society...









Check out this new interview with Stuart Vaughn Stockton, author of the new novel Starfire from Marcher Lord Press. Read all about the creation of an alien language, and much more.









Terri Main says: We will be discussing the Lost Con being planned for Second Life. I got an IM from another SLer who was looking for Christian authors to read at a ministry sim she is involved with. I have invited her to come and share her plans with the group. So next Tuesday April 21 7 pm SLT (which happens to be pacific time) at http://www.tinyurl.com/sllgg
Note: that URL takes you to a SL web page where you can click on a link which reads "Teleport Now". It launches second life and when you log in takes you directly to the location.

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"Dent's Novels have Christian Message" article in the Madison County Herald, April 11, 2009. URL: http://www.mcherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090411/FAITH/904110306/1006

Midnight Diner and Narnia in Ireland

Coach Culbertson announces:

The 2nd Diner is officially to print! If you've pre-ordered one, it'll show up at your door in about 3 weeks. Should be showing up on Amazon in about two weeks or so. Vampires, demons, ghosties, bad guys and good guys, the whole gamut. Pre-sales are good up until the 28th. Just remember, the Diner is mature audiences only.

But if you can't wait and need some instant gratification, I've opened up an eBook edition of the 2nd Diner over at the http://www.themidnightdiner.com . Only ten bucks.

And, if you're in the area, there's a storytelling event in Second Life's virtual West of Ireland at http://slurl.com/secondlife/West+of+Ireland/128/128/0 - today at 7pm PST, storyteller Caledonia Skytower reads part two of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. When you get there just ask for the Library. Sounds like fun!

Publishing News

Scott M. Sandridge announces the kickoff for the podcast production of The Silverblade Prophecy - you can listen to two parts of it already:
The Silverblade Prophecy Episode 1 - Martin and Yavar Thain seek to free themselves from slavery in Vangaard. But what price are they willing to pay?
The Silverblade Prophecy Episode 2 - Three years after winning her freedom in Vangaard’s gladiatorial arena, Yavar is now married to her former slavemaster, Warlord Vrang, the very warlord she gave an oath to one day slay. When her brother is captured by her husband’s soldiers, she and Martin must once again find a way to free themselves.
Written, produced, and narrated by Scott M. Sandridge.





This week Splashdown Books has opened its doors. The new venture will be publishing science fiction and fantasy and also showcasing Lost Genre titles from other publishers. Check out the Splashdown Intro, the publisher and author blog, the Splashdown Reviews site, the Lost Genre Library, and the author acceptance guidelines.

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UPDATE from Terri Main:

Even as Christian fantasy is slowly gaining ground among mainstream Christian publishers, science fiction continues to languish. Many reasons have been proposed. Some suggest that extreme beliefs about the end times discourages speculation about the future. Others point to the antagonism between scientific and religious establishments. For whatever reason, Christian science fiction has yet to catch hold in Christian publishing.

Tuesday February 24 at 7 pm (PST) we will be meeting in Second Life to discuss the place of Christian science fiction in the religious literary scene. The location for the meeting can be found at

http://www.tinyurl.com/sllgg

Second Life is a virtual world. You will need to download software and select an avatar in order to take part in the dicussion featuring both voice and text-based chats.

The meeting will run from 7 - 8 pm. Afterward will be a social time.

News from Online Worlds...

First up today we have the new-look Underground update - brought to you by Frank Creed and Cynthia MacKinnon of The Writers' Café Press - reborn as an e-zine! Content in this issue includes interviews with Jeremy Robinson and Karina Fabian (which you may have seen already if you are a regular at this blog), new reviews, articles and news items. You'll also find an Archives section with all the news from prior editions.

Spirit Blade Productions is looking for participants in their Christian Sci-Fi podcasts - are you an actor, artist, designer or musician? Maybe you'd like to be involved. Check out the Spirit Blade Operations page here.

Not exactly new, but perhaps new to some of our readers: the Anglican Cathedral in Second Life! Its leader is Reverend Mark Brown of New Zealand, with the blessing of the real life church. To read more see this article about the Cathedral; for Second Life users, click here to visit the Cathedral directly.

Online Madness - the Guild is busy!

The Web's going mad lately. Here are just a few of the mind-boggling things that are going on. Why not get along and join in?

Virtual Book Signing at Variance Publishing
Jeremy Robinson offers a world premiere - buy a book online, then meet the author via webcam and chat while he signs your book! Events are scheduled for January 22 and 24. See the site for details.

Over at Shoutlife, Terri Main and Frank Creed have opened a forum to discuss how best to go about ministry and book promotion in Second Life. Using one network to discuss the use of another - it's so crazy it might just work! Check out "Ministry in Second Life".

Steve Doyle has created a webpage for Bill McGrath's Sword of Fire series. Here you'll find video trailers, audio segments, and sample chapters.

Karina Fabian is thrilled to announce the discovery of a cover artist for her upcoming novel, Magic, Mensa and Mayhem. Check out some preliminary sketches - and some of the other finalists!

Last but most definitely not least: Alisha Paige delivers an incredibly rich in-depth interview with Sherry Thompson of the Guild, concerning her novel Seabird and the ongoing Narentan Tumults.

Phew! Enough for today...happy reading!

The Weird and the Wonderful

Looks like Monday's becoming our day to dig out some of the more quirky archives of our genre. What better to perk up the first day of the week?

Today there's more from C.S. Lewis. First, an excerpt from a lecture he gave; then a modern mash-up movie trailer for Out of the Silent Planet; and for the same book, part 1 of an animated version. If you don't know the book, this makes a good intro, and if you do know it... well, have fun!

The Everyday Invaded by the Marvellous


Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis: A Modern Movie Trailer


Out of the Silent Planet: Animated Version Part 1


Finally today we have an article that's surely of interest to sci-fi and fantasy folks. In this article about scientific experiments in Germany, it is proposed that the world as we know it could be a hologram controlled by another dimension. Sounds like great story fodder...

Don't forget the rendezvous in Second Life on Tuesday night! Pop in here at 7pm PST or see the previous post for more details.

New to this blog? Read Welcome to our world to find what we're all about.
News to submit? Yes please! Check out the Submission Guidelines.

Cyberpunk Novelist Frank Creed to Appear at Second Life

For Immediate Release:


Award-winning Christian Cyberpunk author Frank Creed will be appearing in Second Life, Tuesday, January 20 at 7 p.m. For Second Life residents the direct link to the location is slurl.com/secondlife/North%20Bound%20Marina/226/25/24 (or you can become a Second Life resident by going to www.secondlife.com and downloading the software).

This will be an informal discussion in which Creed will share about his writing, his life and the state of Christian speculative fiction. Questions will be entertained by Creed. Afterwards, plans include virtual surfing and socializing.

Creed is the founder of the Lost Genre Guild, a group of writers, editors and publishers of different types of speculative fiction with a Christian worldview.

"Christians own the copyright to demons and angels and spiritual warfare," notes Creed. "Yet, the bookshelves of Christian bookstores are almost totally devoid of speculative fiction except for some fairly sanitized young adult fantasies. Nevertheless, there is a small, but growing, group of writers and independent publishers using modern technology to make quality Christian speculative fiction available."

Creed is the author of Flashpoint and War of Attrition, both published by The Writer's Café Press. Set in a future where fundamentalist Christians are considered terrorists, these books follow the exploits of a group of supernaturally cyber-enhanced resistance fighters using nonlethal weapons in an attempt to protect members of the underground church from the "Neros" or agents of the government seeking to crush the resistance and "re-educate" their members.

"I guess I created the first Christian Cyberpunk novel identified as such," says Creed. "There was a series of books published in the 1990s which might qualify as the first, but they were never marketed as cyberpunk."

In addition to writing the novels, Creed also helped co-author a role playing game based on the stories.

"I'm a gamer from way back. So, it was only natural for me to want to create an RPG where my readers could enter the world of The Underground," Creed explains.

Flashpoint has received critical acclaim and won several awards including: Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year (Elfwood 2006), CFRB Impress Award for best novel toured (2007), finalist for the Pluto Award for the Best Science Fiction Novel Reviewed, and was nominated for the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Clive Staples award.

"Jesus understood the power of the story to communicate in his world. We are creating the parables of a new generation," says Creed.

For more information email Terri Main at webservant2003@yahoo.com

Online Genre Events This Week

Today is the first day of the Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog Tour, and this month it's featuring...us! So all of these people are going to comment on Lost Genre activities, one of which is this blog. Check out the links below to see what they say. We'll be back tomorrow with a collection of quotes from those who post today.

Brandon Barr Justin Boyer Keanan Brand Kathy Brasby Grace Bridges Valerie Comer Courtney Frank Creed Amy Cruson CSFF Blog Tour Stacey Dale D. G. D. Davidson Janey DeMeo Jeff Draper April Erwin Karina Fabian Andrea Graham Todd Michael Greene Katie Hart Timothy Hicks Joleen Howell Jason Isbell Cris Jesse Jason Joyner Kait Carol Keen Mike Lynch Magma Margaret Rachel Marks Rebecca LuElla Miller Nissa John W. Otte Steve Rice Crista Richey Mirtika Hanna Sandvig James Somers Robert Treskillard Steve Trower Speculative Faith Jason Waguespac Phyllis Wheeler Timothy Wise

Also tomorrow: Terri Main is hosting the next Lost Genre Chat in Second Life. Here's what she says...

We are going to restart our meetings in Second Life. Tomorrow [Tuesday December 30th] at 7 p.m. Pacific time also SLT we will be meeting at my place. The SLURL is

http://slurl.com/secondlife/North%20Bound%20Marina/227/25/25

If you are an SL resident just click that or paste it in your browser and it will take you to a webpage that will open your SL software and drop you into my living room landing zone. I built a stage there to land on I hope it works.

If you are not an SL Member, you can join at http://www.secondlife.com . You do have to complete a "training course" on Orientation Island the first time you log in. So, if you are planning on joining add about a half hour to set up your avatar and complete the course.

We will be having a general discussion about Christian Speculative fiction. After the new year we will be having chats with authors and themed chats. Right now, we will be going on alternating weeks. But maybe we will be able to go to a weekly schedule if some others want to help out.