New approach - lots of news!

Hi guys, and here we are back again by popular request. But it's not going to be the same-old same-old we've had before. I'll be moving back to one post a week with all the news, and hopefully some commentary on it as well rather than just dry links.

Without further ado, here is the amazing new trailer for To Darkness Fled by Jill Williamson - put together by several of her readers and members of the LGG. Well done guys!

Other news this week includes the release of the long-awaited Tales of the Dim Knight by Adam and Andrea Graham. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one. Check out their post on Top 10 Reasons to Love Tales of the Dim Knight. And be aware of the beverage ban, for your own safety!

Also newly appeared lately is War of Attrition by the legendary Frank Creed. This is an amazing book for sure, continuing right on from his award-winning debut Flashpoint. Plenty of heart-pounding action and heartfelt raw emotion in this one. Here's the link to grab it on Amazon.

Facebook News: Both the Lost Genre Guild and Speculative Faith have taken a new run at FB pages this week. The LGG one is here (or use the box at the left of the blog) and the Spec Faith one is here.

Both promise to be useful sources of updates and places to hang out and talk. Be sure you go over and "Like" them both - note that in the case of the LGG, this is a new page because the old one got overrun with spam and we couldn't remember who was the admin!

Diane Graham of the New Authors Fellowship has created an Anvil Review and Interview for Fred Warren, author of The Muse. Comment on either post for a chance to win one of two signed copies.

Bill McGrath announces the release of his novel Eretzel on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Eretzel-Sword-Fire-ebook/dp/B0046LU8II

Rick Copple got a new review for Transforming Realities: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6040268/transforming_realities_by_r_l_copple.html?cat=38

Sherry Thompson also got a review of Earthbow Vol. 2 at http://vantiltool.blogspot.com/2010/11/review-of-earthbow-volume-2.html by Forrest Schultz.

Guest Post, anyone?

If you'd like to write something for this blog, please get in touch! Make use of our wide readership and get yourself some exposure.

News for July 21st 2010

Karina Fabian explains how she managed to write 8300 words on her novel...in one day!
http://fabianspace.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-novels-journey-fueling-full-speed.html
 
Chawna Schroeder interviews Jill Williamson:
http://chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/2010/07/nine-questions-for-jill-williamson.html


Two differing reviews of Nightmare by Robin Parrish at TitleTrakk, one from Eric Wilson and one from Jennifer Bogart.

And the finalists in the Speculative category of the Carol Awards (ACFW's Book of the Year):

Kirk Outerbridge - Eternity Falls (Marcher Lord Press)

Donita K. Paul - The Vanishing Sculptor (Waterbrook Press)

Steve Rzasa - The Word Reclaimed (Marcher Lord Press) - See Steve's reaction here

Stuart Vaughn Stockton – Starfire (Marcher Lord Press)        

Fred Warren - The Muse (Splashdown Books) - See Fred's reaction here

Jill Williamson - By Darkness Hid (Marcher Lord Press)

News for June 28th

The big news of the weekend is that Jill Williamson of Marcher Lord Press has won the Christy Award in the Visionary section for her fantasy By Darkness Hid. This is a huge moment in history and a step forward for independent publishing and speculative fiction alike!
Read Jill's reaction on her blog here: http://bit.ly/bU4d9P
Read a press release with a listing of all winners here:
http://ajast.com/ChristyAwards2010WinnerPR.pdf
And you can head over to Jill's Facebook page to congratulate her: http://bit.ly/bSODg1 or at the Anomaly forum: http://bit.ly/c6FCE0

Terri Main has published another short story to go with her upcoming novel Dark Side of the Moon. Read "Fireworks" here: http://darksidenovel.blogspot.com/2010/06/fireworks.html

TitleTrakk.com is running a survey on which Narnia book you would like to see made into a movie next. To add your opinion, go here: http://www.titletrakk.com/surveys-polls.htm

News for May 21st, 2010

Bruce Parsons' Trek fanfic novel Second Federation is available at http://www.freewebs.com/adventphoenix/secondfederation.htm. The five year mission is winding down, when a rumor of a new weapon appears in Klingon space.  Will the Enterprise finish its career in a blaze of glory as Kirk and crew seek to save not only the Federation, but the Klingon people as well?

On the CSFF blog tour this week is By Darkness Hid from Jill Williamson. Here are some of the posts:

A fascinating interview with Keven Newsome at The New Authors' Fellowship: 
http://newauthors.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/csff-blog-tour-by-darkness-hid-by-jill-williamson/



And reviews and comments by:
Krysti Kercher
http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/2010/05/by-darkness-hid-csff-blog-tour-day-one.html
http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/2010/05/by-darkness-hid-csff-blog-tour-day-2.html

Fred Warren
http://frederation.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/may-csff-blog-tour-day-1-by-darkness-hid-by-jill-williamson/
http://frederation.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/may-csff-blog-tour-day-2-by-darkness-hid-by-jill-williamson/

Rebecca LuElla Miller
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/csff-by-darkness-hid-day-1/

Rick Copple
http://blog.rlcopple.com/?p=226

The Epic Rat
http://epicrat.blogspot.com/2010/05/bkrv-after-dark-there-is-always-light.html

Splashdown Reviews
http://splashdownreviews.blogspot.com/2009/08/by-darkness-hid.html

News for May 5th, 2010

The Christy Nominees list has been published! The Visionary category nominees are listed as follows:

• By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson • Marcher Lord Press
• The Enclave by Karen Hancock • Bethany House Publishers
• Valley of the Shadow by Tom Pawlik • Tyndale House Publishers

Carole McDonnell is featured in two special sessions of the online CoyoteCon Digital Author Conference which is running throughout May. One is on May 15th: The Speculative Christian. To attend, you need to register for a free session ticket. Numbers are limited. Go to http://coyotecon.com/tickets/ to book in.

Terri Main, author of the forthcoming mystery/science-fiction cozy Dark Side of the Moon, is running a contest on her Facebook fan page. In the novel, set on the moon at the end of the 21^st century, lunar residents live in underground communities which look like small towns. The main character of the book, Carolyn Masters, a professor of history at the local university, has a new house. The house is automated with an artificial intelligence unit to manage the household chores, programmed to work best if it has a name. Go to http://www.facebook.com/darksidenovel . There is a status post where you can add a comment that includes your name for the house.

News for April 30th, 2010

Aaron Marshall has been working on a website for his unpublished sci-fi epic, complete with sample chapter, character profiles, and more: http://www.tomesofatlantis.weebly.com/
You can also connect at his Facebook fan page here: http://bit.ly/b0g7q1

Nick Giannaras has started up a blog for his fantasy in progress, The Relics of Nanthara: http://nickgiannaras.wordpress.com/


Here's the first response I've seen for To Darkness Fled by Jill Williamson, reviewed by John Otte: http://leastread.blogspot.com/2010/04/to-darkness-fled.html

Krystine Kercher has begun to publish a serial story on her blog, involving an Area 51 alien with an unusual linguistic wavelength: P'olleeaster. The first episode is here: http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/2010/04/story-of-polleeaster-part-1-of-5.html

News for April 16th, 2010

Johne Cook says: The esteemed writing site, AuthorCulture, has had a lapse in judgment and has asked me to join their team posting periodic items on the writing blog. Their charter is 'inspiring, enlightening, and uniting writers and readers.' Today is my first post, and they asked me to say howdy. So allow myself to, uh...Well, you know.
http://authorculture.blogspot.com/2010/04/introducing-ac-s-newest-partner.html

This from Terri Main:
Dark Side of the Moon, a cozy mystery set in a lunar colony at the end of the 21st century, has been contracted by MuseItUp Publishing. (http://museituppublishing.com/)  According to author Terri Main, the story centers around Carolyn Masters, a history professor and former FBI profiler, who takes a job at Armstrong University on the moon. She is just getting used to 1/6 G when a colleague Juan McAlister, Astromechanics professor and leader in the Lunar Independence Movement, is murders. Together with a retired homicide detective, Carolyn must use her profiling skills to solve the murder, stop a terrorist plot, exorcise her own demons, and maybe find romance at middle age.
"I love science fiction and I love cozies, so it was fun bringing the two of my favorite genres together," said Main. "I am also excited in that Carolyn is an openly Christian character in what is an essentially secular story and this novel was picked up by a secular publisher."

And this from Jill Williamson on To Darkness Fled:

After a long year of writing and writing and writing… the second book in my Blood of Kings trilogy is now up for sale! Thanks so much to everyone who supported me by praying, or reading my first book, or telling people about it. I had no idea when I started writing just how much hard work was involved in all this. Regardless, it has been a fun and rewarding experience.

Buy a copy from Amazon.com   Buy an autographed copy from my website (Pay with Paypal)

Buy from the Marcher Lord Press Store   Buy for your Amazon Kindle or iPhone, or download Kindle for the PC program (free from Amazon.com) and read the Kindle book on your computer

Or special order the through your local Barnes and Noble.

Jeremy Robinson announces the release of Instinct at http://www.jeremyrobinsononline.com/2010/04/instinct-arrives-today.html. He has also given an interview at Geekscribe: http://www.geekscribe.com/2010/04/12/6484/

News for April 5th, 2010

There's a new interview with James Rubart at TitleTrakk on the occasion of the release of ROOMS, his unusual supernatural novel set mainly on the Oregon coast.
Check it out here: http://titletrakk.com/author-interviews/james-rubart-interview.htm

Marcher Lord Press is releasing three new novels, and they are all sequels of previously published authors: Jill Williamson, Steve Rzasa, and Kerry Nietz. Go here to check out the best deals: http://www.marcherlordpress.com/New_Store/Bundles_and_Specials.htm

The new issue of The Cross and the Cosmos is now available at http://crossandcosmos.com/ by clicking the image panel to the right of the page. This edition contains stories by Grace Bridges, Frank Luke and KM Wilsher.

Two new reviews of speculative fiction at Afictionado:
Deadlock by Robert Liparulo - http://www.acfw.com/cgi-bin/ezine/apr10.pl?record=7
Powers by John B. Olson - http://www.acfw.com/cgi-bin/ezine/apr10.pl?record=8

Podcasts from the Idahope Writers' Conference

Jon Colson: How to Critique

Podcast Adam Graham 5:00 am

Inspirational speaker and author Jon Colson provides insight on how to provide constructive critiques.

Click here to download.

Leave a Response »

Jill Williamson: Promoting Your Novel on a Limited Budget

Podcast Adam Graham 5:00 am

Author Jill Williamson provides her tips on how to promote your novel on a small budget. From our 2010 conference.

Click here to download.

Leave a Response »

Sherrie Lord: Let Your Characters Be Real 

Podcast Adam Graham 4:52 am

Author Sherrie Lord provides insights on creating realistic characters. From our 2010 writer’s conference.

Click here to download.

Leave a Response »

Donna Crow: Structure of a Novel

Podcast Adam Graham 4:48 am

Donna Crow, the author of more than 30 books provided her insights on how to structure your novel. From our 2010 conference.

Click here to listen.

Leave a Response »

Ray Ellis: Writing About the Police

Podcast Adam Graham 4:43 am

Ray Ellis, a veteran police officer and aspiring writer provides in-depth insights on how to write about the police, and what police culture is like. From our 2010 writer’s conference.

Click here to download.

Leave a Response »

Adam Graham: Future of Writing

Podcast Adam Graham 4:41 am

Adam Graham discusses the future of fiction writing in the era of the Kindle and the I-pad and what lessons he draws form his career of writing political columns.

Click here to download.

News for December 16th, 2009

A.L. Marquardt says: My novella "A Reason to Hope" was chosen as one of the options for AFCW Book Club of the month selection for March, 2010 . Because I'm so excited, I'm offering my book at a 25% discount HERE. If you'd rather read it now and save a few bucks, a Kindle addition is available as well as other formats through Smashwords. Links to both is included in the page linked above.
I hope you enjoy it enough you'll vote for it, but I also recommend you give the others a try as well.

Grace Bridges says: There's an interview with yours truly about Splashdown Books over at C. Maggie Woychik's blog.


New genre reviews at TitleTrakk:

By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson, reviewed by Lori Fox: "I highly recommend it to fans of fantasy, and even to someone who is unfamiliar with fantasy, and needs a good place to start."

Powers by John Olson, reviewed by Jennifer Bogart: "Powers has been widely described in press releases as the "highly-anticipated sequel to Shade”; this is clearly an understatement in my case."

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

Announcement from WhereTheMapEnds and Marcher Lord Press

From Jeff Gerke:

Greetings, faithful fan of Christian speculative fiction!

Two fun announcements today.

First, in the United States this Thursday is Thanksgiving. I hope your turkey day is incredible (and that the Dallas Cowboys are most triumphant). The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday and is the busiest shopping day of the year.

Marcher Lord Press is taking advantage of the occasion by having our annual Black Friday Sale. From this Friday through the following Sunday (November 27-29, 2009), anyone who purchases a print book from the Marcher Lord Press Store will receive an exclusive free download...

The first four chapters of the not-yet-officially-announced novel To Darkness Fled, the sequel to MLP's bestselling novel, By Darkness Hid, the epic fantasy by Jill Williamson.

You knew a sequel was coming, but now you can read the first ~40 pages of it five months before it releases, in April 2010!

All you have to do is buy one of our nine novels (or our 1 non-fiction title, The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction) during those dates and you can receive this exclusive sneak peak.

The second fun announcement is that Marcher Lord Select is entering its second phase of voting over this same weekend.

Beginning on Saturday and ending on Monday (November 28-30, 2009), you can come join the acquisitions experiment in which you are on my editorial board and get to tell me which Christian speculative novel I should publish next through Marcher Lord Press.

In Phase 1 we had nearly 80 authors participating in this American Idol-style competition. Thirty-six of those were in the primary contest, the winner of which will be published in the Spring 2010 list. The remaining authors were in the premise-only contest, the 3 winners of which will receive prioritized acquisitions attention from me.

We held the Phase 1 voting two weeks ago and had tremendous voter turnout.

But now in Phase 2 things are getting more serious--and we need your help! Come read the first 500 words of each of the remaining 18 entrants in the primary contest. Come choose 3-6 of them to vote for--the top 8 will advance to Phase 3.

I know you love Christian speculative fiction. Come see these Christian speculative novels in their pre-published form...and have a voice in which one gets published.

Join the fun here. Look for the words "Marcher Lord Select."

-------------------------

I'll see you at the Marcher Lord Press store on Black Friday!

Sincerely,

Jeff Gerke

Marcher Lord Press

WhereTheMapEnds

The Anomaly

News for September 7th, 2009

Tony Lavoie says: I have a short story up this month at Digital Dragon Magazine (http://digitaldragonmagazine.net). It's a bit of a departure from my normal pieces. I wrote it as a story/poem, in the alliterative style of Beowulf and other epics. A lot of fun to write, not to mention a lot of pain, even for a mere 1500 words--I've never before had to work within such rigid rules (which I admit I did break frequently) for so long. Going through the process gave me new appreciation for what writers who choose the poetic formats as their venue of choice must regularly go through. :) Anyway, think "Beowulf" meets "Alien". While folks are there, I also highly recommend Becky Minor's "Windrider" serial. They'll have to go back to last month to catch the first installment, but it's really good stuff, with dragons in. :)

At Speculative Faith, Rebecca LuElla Miller has written an intriguing piece about what C.S. Lewis really intended the Narnia stories to be. Read "C.S. Lewis and Sub-creation" here.

New posts at Splashdown Reviews by Grace Bridges:

The Silver Hand by Stephen Lawhead

The Endless Knot by Stephen Lawhead

Starfire by Stuart Vaughn Stockton

By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson

The Battle for Vast Dominion by George Bryan Polivka

Update from Marcher Lord Press

Jeff Gerke says: I'm excited to report that the second release list of MLP titles has officially earned out (publishing lingo for "broken even"). After only two months, the second list is in the black. I was been thrilled that the first list had earned out in only four months. The second did it in two months. What's in store for the third list? Speaking of the third list, I now have the first book for list #3 under contract. You're going to love this thing. Think Asimov meets Muhammad in space. ;-) Marcher Lord Press was mentioned in a national publication in June. The sales event went beautifully (despite the hacking of my site). And my fiction craft book continues to wow readers. Read on to find out more. Jeff Gerke Publisher Marcher Lord Press

The Second List Breaks Even

Led by strong independent sales of The Dark Man, the author's massive marketing genius and great Amazon sales of By Darkness Hid, and strong promotional efforts for Starfire, the second release list from Marcher Lord Press has earned out. In only two months.

Not all the books have independently hit the tipping point, but put together the combined sales of all three have definitely pushed us over the top.

That means I can look forward to list 3 in full confidence that it can go forward as planned. When you're a small press, you live season to season. If season 1 does well, you can do a season 2. Now our season 2 has done well so we can do a season 3.

It shows the extreme importance of you, the loyal fan. Continue supporting Marcher Lord Press as you have and MLP can continue. Thank you for what you do!

Last month's sales promotion was a great success. It was fun hearing the reactions from people who got to discover the "The Istaka Passage," the 10,500-word-long set of scenes that was actually a subplot originally written for Hero, Second Class.

I've got one book for list 3 already under contract. Hopefully in August I'll be able to talk about all three books I will (he said by faith) by then have under contract.

Finally, Marcher Lord Press and our title By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson was mentioned in USA Today in June! How cool is that? That's great exposure for lil' ol' us! Check out the article.

Update from Marcher Lord Press

From Jeff Gerke: The New Books Are A Success!

Despite the delay caused by my trip to China to adopt our little girl, the second set of Marcher Lord Press titles successfully released in April.

The trip and preparation for it caused me to lose about six weeks that I would've been using to finilize the list, but we didn't have a six-week delay to the launch, as we had been expecting. By the grace of God, the books were actually shipping on April 15.

These new novels continue to receive great reviews. And, as a surprise bonus, they became available on Amazon only days after being released officially on the Marcher Lord Press site.

So if you're waiting for that free shipping or you live outside the Continental U.S., now's the time to take advantage of their availability through Amazon.

The books are also available in Kindle versions through Amazon! Thanks to MLP novelist Jill Williamson for making that happen.

If you haven't ordered your copies of all three new MLP titles yet...what are you waiting for? LOL. I hope you'll avail yourself of these new novels from the premier publisher of Christian speculative fiction.

And if you've loved By Darkness Hid by the aforementioned Jill Williamson, you'll want to catch her interview over at WhereTheMapEnds.

By the way, the MLP store site does have a place to write reviews. I'd love to see your comments on these books--both at the MLP store site and at Amazon and elsewhere.

Buying MLP novels and promoting them where you can--it's one way you can advance the cause of Christian speculative fiction. Thank you for what you do.

News for April 24th, 2009

Come chat with author Jill Williamson this Friday, April 24th, beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific in the Dancing Word chat room. Her first novel BY DARKNESS HID was just released by Marcher Lord Press. Eligible Chat Participants will be entered into a drawing to win an autographed copy of BY DARKESS HID. To join the chat go to:
http://www.centralchat.net/chatrooms/channel/dancingword - type in your name where you see "enter nick" and then click on the "connect" button. Please test out the chat room ahead of time. Those who cannot use the java program will need to use the central chat mIRC program. Go to: http://www.centralchat.net/chatrooms/cgiirc.php?c=dancingword
Type your name in the "nickname" box and click on the "Login" button.


Here are some more highlights from the Blaggard's Moon tour:
Beth Goddard liked all the pirate names and the ships' names.
Rachel Starr Thompson’s reviews rose to the level of poetry, with heartfelt musings on the deeper themes.
Brandon Barr posted a two-part interview.
Jennifer Bogart hadn’t read the Trophy Chase Trilogy, but after Blaggard’s Moon finds it calling out to her with a “sweet siren song.”
And the shortest, from John on “The Least Read Blog on the Web.” Let there be Ninjas!


Splashdown Reviews cross-posted a commentary on League of Superheroes by Stephen L. Rice.

Marcher Lord Press announces new releases

Jeff Gerke says: The New Books Are Here!

After the success of our inaugural list of Christian speculative novels, Marcher Lord Press is proud to announce the release of its second list.

By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson is a thrilling fantasy about a young hero and heroine who are discovering their abilities to "bloodvoice"--to communicate telepathically.

It is a land literally divided into Darkness and Light, and mystery surrounds both sides. Achan, a young stray (worse than a slave) is hearing strange voices in his head, and Vrell, a girl disguising herself as a boy to avoid a forced marriage, is trying to learn to block out the voices pressing into her mind.

Meanwhile, strong men with foul agendas seek them both. And a strange new voice, higher than them all, calls to Achan. Deceptions will be unveiled, foes will be found out, and identities long hidden will be exposed. No longer will they be...By Darkness Hid.

Library Journal calls By Darkness Hid a "thoroughly entertaining and smart tale" and gives it the coveted "highly recommended" stamp of approval.

Starfire by Stuart Vaughn Stockton is as original as it is alien. This science fiction thriller takes you to a world where saurians--dinosaur-like beings who speak and use advanced technolgoy--wage war against one another and seek to control devastating weaponry left over by an ancient civilization.

Rathe is a saurn from a low caste, whose only hope of bettering himself is through the combat ring. On his first mission with his new military squad, he is thrust in the middle of a destiny larger than he could ever imagine.

Torn between his desire to protect a small saurin in his charge and the counsel of a prophet representing a God he doesn't believe in, Rathe is forced to make a horrible choice, one in which he will cause suffering no matter what he chooses.

Starfire is utterly unpredictable and irresistably engaging. As Christian fantasy novelist Donita K. Paul says, "I was thoroughly enmeshed in this out-of-this-world world!"

The Dark Man by Marc Schooley is difficult to classify. It is equal parts near-future adventure, dystopian America, spiritual and psychological thriller, and romantic espionage spy drama.

And also helicopter gunships. And a building that talks. And a screaming banshee. Plus bombs, disguises, Ferris wheels, and a mysterious wooden puzzle box.

It's a Christian Twilight Zone that is impossible to put down--or forget.

Charles Graves is a master of disguise who infiltrates the final cells of the underground church--and brings them down. But this futuristic Saul of Tarsus has his own Damascus Road experience, and suddenly he must help the very ones he sought to exterminate.

If only his dead brother would leave him alone. And the talking wood-block puzzle.

The Dark Man is intense psychodrama with masterful writing and deep Christian thoughtfulness.

By the time you read this, all three of these incredible new novels will be available for purchase.

BONUS: If you buy one or more of these books within the first week of April, you will receive a free download of the PDF versions of the book(s) you purchased. While you're waiting for the novels to arrive in your mailbox, you can begin reading them right away. And when the hard copies actually arrive with their beautiful covers, you'll want to crack them open and read them all over again!

I know that you and your fellow fans will understand that the divinely ordained timing of the adoption of our precious special needs daughter has slightly impacted the ship dates of the new Marcher Lord Press books. But you'll still be able to enjoy them on April 1. Read the trip journal here.

Genre Videos and Upcoming Releases

Here are three genre videos for your viewing pleasure. First is Jeremy Robinson's latest video blog in which he talks about his podcasting activities and marketing by authors and publishers.
Then comes a video made by Ezlo from the Lost Genre forum. It's actually a short supernatural movie based on a story by Ezlo.
Finally, in a rare captured moment, J.R.R. Tolkien tells how he came to begin writing about Hobbits.

Jeremy Robinson Video Blog #6


Matters of Life, Death, and Headaches by Andrew Bunk


Tolkien on Hobbits


Marcher Lord Press has announced the release list for April 1st. Here's what Jeff Gerke said about the new lineup:

The books comprising the second release list of Marcher Lord Press are Starfire by Stuart Stockton, By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson, and The Dark Man by Marc Schooley.

Starfire is one of those kinds of books I created Marcher Lord Press to publish. Because of Stuart's subject matter the book is all but unpublishable at traditional Christian houses. It's a far-future, non-earth, non-human science fiction novel. Not a humanoid in the bunch. But it's terrific and needs to be published. If the regular houses can't do it, let's create a house that can. Oh, wait, that's what I've done! :D

Starfire is the story of Rathe, a member of a race of talking, machine-using dinosaur people. (No, really.) Rathe is trying to make his mark in his military unit while concealing the secret of his quick advancement through the ranks. The empire he serves is at war with an enemy that is on the brink of discovering the secret of a lost civilization--a civilization whose Starfire weapons system will assure victory to whichever side seizes it first. A mysterious follower of an all but forgotten God warns Rathe not to use the weapon as he has planned to.

By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson is a wonderful fantasy with dual protagonists. Each is something other than what he or she appears, and both are learning the dangers of who they are. Both hero and heroine find they are capable of bloodvoicing--a powerful and feared form of telepathy. While our heroine strives to keep her identity hidden, our hero must learn who he truly is. Though when the world finds out, it will likely mean his death. Meanwhile, a different kind of voice is calling...

The Dark Man by Marc Schooley is the first novel I acquired for the second list. This book is so imaginative it defies all categorizations (except "Amazing"). It's a near future urban thriller about a master of disguise whose job it is to infiltrate the last remaining Christian cells and bring them down. But this futuristic Saul has a Damascus Road experience and becomes a figure like Paul. With helicopter gunships. And a dead mother who may not be dead. And a child's wooden box puzzle that kind of talks. A lot.

The impulse that launched Marcher Lord Press is very much alive in these new selections. Incredible imagination, masterful writing, and subtle (or not so subtle) Christian content.