Abingdon Press Author Linda S. Clare - Interview and Giveaway

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Linda S. Clare

A friend once asked me what my goals were as a writer. I want to connect with people, I told her. That was more than fifteen years ago and it's still true today. I write in order to build a bridge, an emotional bridge, from me to you. I began writing as a poet. My first sold poem was to the Denver Post and at age sixteen. I was thrilled to get $3 for it.

I took a lot of time off writing between high school and today--raised four children, including a set of twins,owned too many cats to remember and a couple of dogs, too. I'm a polio survivor, with my share of blessings and burdens along the way. Those burdens have given me a neverending source of writing material, reflected in my books.

More than anything, I love to write and read about God in my life. I started out with a mean angry God, but I'm crawling toward a God whose lovingcare and comfort blows me away, time after time. For years I've been seeking God, but all along, He's been hunting me. These are the Grace Notes of my life: God singing to us, God singing through us, God singing for us.


THE INTERVIEW

JA: Congratulations on being part of the Abingdon Press fiction launch. How did you hear about Abingdon Press, and what made you want to be part of this bold new venture?
LSC: My long-time pal, Melody Carlson, mentioned my name and manuscript to Editor Barbara Scott. Dumb luck or God’s hand? I prefer to see it as God’s perfect timing. Once I found out what Abingdon fiction was about, I got as excited about the fiction launch as everyone else. What a buzz!

JA: The Fence My Father Built is the story of Muri Pond, a librarian who hauls her kids to the tiny town of Murkee, Oregon, only to discover her dismal inheritance from her father: a dilapidated house trailer and a fence made of oven doors. What was the spark that ignited Muri’s tale in your mind?
LSC: My own life-long search to know my biological father was the driving force. Also, I come from a family of educators, and to honor my Aunt Shirlee who retired recently as Head Librarian for Tempe Schools in Arizona, I made Muri a librarian too. And about that fence: my newspaper ran a feature story on an old guy who lived in this dilapidated trailer in a rural area around Eugene. He’d made a fence out of old oven doors. I couldn’t get the image out of my mind, and later on, I discovered that the fence had major significance both to Muri and to the one who built it—her own father, Joseph Pond.

JA: Muri has her hands full with two unhappy children and a conniving neighbor, not to mention her own spiritual struggles. What do you think is Muri’s most admirable character trait?
LSC: Her determination. She does her best to raise the kids, even when the older one, Nova, runs away. She won’t back down when the conniving neighbor threatens to take over the very place her father had loved and cared for. Above all, Muri is a spiritual seeker, and although she starts off being rather cynical of God’s Love, she is open enough to accept God’s presence as the story goes on.

JA: What do you hope people take away when they finish reading The Fence My Father Built?
LSC: I hope readers will take away that it’s never too late to honor your own heritage. You can find your way home, to where you belong. It’s never too late to mend fences (groan) and forgive. It’s never too late to let God run your life.

JA: What’s next for you in the writing arena?
LSC: Right now I’m shopping a stand-alone novel that examines the question of how a mom who has tragically lost one son deals with her grief and also the remaining son, who has been implicated in his brother’s death for ten years. It’s called Hiding From Floyd. Beyond that, I have a series proposal for The Fence My Father Built, and a couple of other stand-alone and series ideas.

JA: You’ve co-written three non-fiction books. What’s the greatest challenge and/or joy in making the shift to solo fiction writer?
LSC: I have loved every moment of being a published novelist. When I coauthored three nonfiction books, I swore I’d never do it again—there are many challenges of coauthoring, from bumping heads over ideas to deciding which one (and often publishers only pay for one) will travel to appear on television or other media interviews. But, just this past weekend another Abingdon author, Kay Marshall Strom, and I co-hosted a three day Church and Culture Conference. After we discovered we both live in Eugene, Oregon, both have had debut novels with Abingdon, we sat down and looked for common themes in our books. We arrived at the topic of social injustice so Kay spoke about human trafficking to tie in her historical novel’s theme of the eighteenth-century African slave trade. I spoke on the contrasts between the forced Indian Schools of the early 1900s and the heritage-affirming Lillian Vallely School in Blackfoot Idaho, serving Indian children on the Fort Hall, Idaho reservation. I don’t know if tying your novel’s themes to some current issue is an original way to market a book, but we worked well together and may take our act on the road. So apparently, working with another author is not completely off the table for me.

JA: The current theme of my blog is The Year of Dreams. If you could realize one life-long dream right now, what would it be?
LSC: I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I’m ambitious. I’ve got all these stories in me that drive me crazy trying to get out. I once joked that I want to be the next Sue Monk Kidd. I think that’s grandiose but I do think I’m called to write. My dream would be that readers would clamor for my next book, and that I wouldn’t disappoint them.

JA: Last but not least, how can people keep up with your latest publishing news?
LSC: I blog at http://www.godsonggrace.blogspot.com/. On that blog I write about writing mostly (I teach writing classes at Lane Community College in Eugene) but I have started doing “selected” book reviews. And if I have personal publishing news I can’t help but write about it. I’m also Lindasclare on Facebook, Twitter and ShoutLife. And I occasionally shout from rooftops.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Muri Pond has always longed to know her biological father, who left when she was a small child. Years later, she’s still reeling from learning that it’s too late: Her father, a half-Nez Perce Indian named Joseph Pond, has died, leaving her an inheritance of property in Central Oregon. As Muri and her two children, Nova, 16, and Truman, 11, make their way from Portland out to the tiny town of Murkee, Muri has lost a lot: her librarian job, her marriage and her faith in God. When she arrives at her newly-inherited property, she’s shocked: it’s little more than a ramshackle trailer, surrounded by a fence made from old oven doors. As she tries to make the best of things, she grapples with Joe’s charismatic sister Aunt Lutie, her husband, Tiny, who keeps potbellied pigs and mountains of bicycle parts for needy kids and Linc Jackson, a conniving neighbor who threatens to sue over water rights. Muri struggles to accept her father as he was and in doing so rediscovers the faith he somehow never abandoned.


WIN THE BOOK

If you’d like to be entered to win a copy of The Fence My Father Built, just leave a reply to this blog. I’ll pick a winner at random on October 20th. Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you're the winner. (To prevent spammers from trolling for your email, please use this format with the brackets--you [at] yourmail [dot] com--or something similar.) Good luck!


Watch the book trailer for The Fence My Father Built

BOOK REVIEW - The Expanded Bible from Thomas Nelson

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Expanded Bible: New Testament reflects the latest scholarship, current English, and the needs of contemporary students of the Bible. This new testament includes a multitude of study aids and expanded translations right in line with the text making it possible for you to study the Bible while you read!

• Expanded translations bring out the meaning of words and offer alternatives.
• Literal meanings of terms from the original languages are included where they can provide more understanding.
• Traditional wordings assist recollection of familiar terms and expressions.
• Comments explain passages that can be understood better with a brief remark.
• Useful references supply rewarding opportunities for comparing other Scriptures.
• Variants display additional wording in some of the original language texts.

JEN'S THOUGHTS

The whole idea behind The Expanded Bible is that you can study the Bible while you read. Sprinkled among the text are expanded meanings, comments, cross references, etc., all meant to enhance your Bible reading experience. The result is that there's a whole lot of stuff going on withing each passage. Thankfully, a section at the front of the Bible explains what each symbol means. But until you memorize the symbols, you'll probably spend a lot of time flipping back and forth.

I took The Expanded Bible out for a test drive by bringing it along to my Monday night Bible study. I found that while this Bible is good for an at home, personal study, it doesn't work so well in a group setting. Trying to read passages aloud and explain them along the way - "That's the traditional meaning," or "That's an alternate meaning," - got very confusing. Plus, it's only the New Testament.

If you're looking for a Bible that will enhance your personal study time in the Word, you may enjoy The Expanded Bible. If you're looking for a Bible to use in a group setting, this one probably won't do it for you.

 

Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of reviewing. I am not a paid reviewer. The opinions in this review are mine and mine alone.

Joke of the Day: Some Teenage Beach Humor

This was Spirit Week at my son's school. For beach day, he put on one of his dad's Hawaiian shirts. I took one look at him and said, "Wow, you look like Mini-Dad."

Without missing a beat, he smiled and said, "Yep, I'm a real son of a beach."

What a joker that kid is! Where does he get his sense of humor?

Interview and Book Giveaway with Author Kerry Nietz

It's my great pleasure to present debut novelist Kerry Nietz.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kerry Nietz is a refugee of the software industry. He spent more than a decade of his life flipping bits—first as one of the principal developers of the database product FoxPro for the now mythical Fox Software, and then as one of Bill Gates’s minions at Microsoft. He is a husband, a father, a technophile and a movie buff. He has one previously published book, a memoir entitled FoxTales: Behind the Scenes at Fox Software. A Star Curiously Singing is his first novel.


Q&A WITH KERRY

JA: Congratulations on your debut novel, A Star Curiously Singing. What’s the book about?
KN: A Star Curiously Singing is a speculative Christian novel with a decidedly cyberpunk feel. It takes place in a future hundreds of years from now, where much of the world is living under something akin to sharia law.

It is dualistic society, where average people live on the streets in near-squalor and the powerful ride above them in cable car-like conveyances. This latter group is shrouded in high tech, to the point of needing specialized human “debuggers” to handle their machines.

That’s where my protagonist comes in. Sandfly is a debugger who’s summoned to solve the mystery of why a bot malfunctioned. The unusual circumstance? The bot has been to space. Deep space. Something about the trip made it malfunction. So it is a sci-fi mystery novel, of sorts.


JA: What was the “from submission to contract” process like for you?
KN: Unusual, I guess.

My publisher—Jeff Gerke—is also a former acquisitions editor who now does freelance work. When the first draft of my novel was complete, I knew there were things about it that were outside the norm for novels. Plus I’d reached the point in my writing career where I really needed some constructive input about my style.

So, I hired Jeff to look over my manuscript and see what he thought. His initial response was very positive. There were some flaws, of course. But Jeff really got my story and style, and even hinted that if the flaws were addressed, he’d be interested in publishing it himself.

I spent the better part of a year addressing those things. The back and forth continued, with me sending him chunks that I’d changed, and him commenting or suggesting improvements—until finally one of the things he sent me was a contract. Now here we are.


JA: I hear you break all kinds of fiction rules with this novel. How so?
KN: Yes, I’m the author Jeff now has to apologize for when he speaks at writer’s conferences.

The biggest rule I break is the tense. My novel is written in first person present as opposed to first person past. There are a couple reasons for that.

First, my protagonist Sandfly is this technologically enhanced individual who lives very much in the present, so the tense choice seemed to fit his personality and story.

Second, prior to this novel I wrote a memoir of a portion of my life in the high-tech industry. In that book, I wrote the prologue in first person present to give the reader a feel for what it was like to be me at that time. I received lots of compliments on the book as a whole, but the section I often got specific comments about was that very first chapter. Something about it really resonated. It made me wonder whether I could write a whole book that way.

Turns out I can.

JA: What do you hope people take away when they finish reading A Star Curiously Singing?
KN: I hope they think: “Wow, that was really cool! I’ve never read anything like it.” Then I hope they appreciate the story and the broad-stroke messages I try to convey. Also, aside from all the rule-breaking, I think I show things in this novel that have never been shown before, even in science fiction.


JA: What’s next for you in the writing arena?
KN: If this book finds favor with the buying public, then a sequel is a very real possibility. I have about 50,000 words written in that direction, in fact.


JA: What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?
KN: Given the fact that my first two published books are tech-filled stories, they might be surprised to learn that I don’t own a cell phone. It is the one glaring hole in my otherwise tech-filled façade. I don’t feel the need to have one. Plus, sometimes I like being unreachable.


JA: What’s the one far out sci-fi technology you’d most like to see become a household item?
KN: My book has a chapter where Sandfly rides an elevator to space. That’s not a household item, I know, but it is something that isn’t far outside the realm of possibility. An elevator to space—what could be cooler than that?


JA: The current theme of my blog is The Year of Dreams. If you could realize one life-long dream right now, what would it be?
KN: This is it. Having a novel published.


JA: Last but not least, how can people keep up with your latest publishing news?
KN: Either http://www.nietz.com/ or http://www.kerrynietz.com/ will find my website. Please check it out. I think it is very cool. Thanks!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sandfly is a debugger. He is property. Bought and paid for by his master, a relatively benign lord in a future Earth living under sharia law.

All other faiths but one have been banned. And the word of the great Imam is supreme.

Sandfly just wants to debug his master's robots and avoid the mental pain shocks sent from the remote triggers owned by all the masters. But now he's been called into Earth orbit. Apparently the masters have a new spacecraft—one capable of interstellar flight. And on its maiden voyage, the only robot on board went mad and tore itself limb from limb.

Why? Better question: does it pose any risk to humans?

When Sandfly reviews the bot's files and replays its last moments, he hears something strange playing in the bot's ears as they orbit Betelgeuse.

He hears singing.

Is it just solar winds interfering with the robot's wiring? Or is it something else?

As Sandfly pieces together the clues, the masters spread the trap before his feet. Everyone is racing to the same conclusion, but only one side welcomes what that singing represents.


WIN THE BOOK

If you’d like to be entered to win a copy of A Star Curiously Singing, just leave a reply to this blog. I’ll pick a winner at random on October 15th. Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you're the winner. (To prevent spammers from trolling for your email, please use this format with the brackets--you [at] yourmail [dot] com--or something similar.) Good luck!

Interview and Giveaway with Marcher Lord Press Author Kirk Outerbridge

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kirk Outerbridge developed a passion for storytelling at an early age. Through years of reading Fantasy and Science Fiction novels, comics, table top gaming and watching endless hours Japanese anime, he developed a keen sense for what made stories enjoyable and more importantly—what didn’t.

While pursuing an engineering degree in college, Kirk endeavored to tell his own stories, choosing writing as the easiest and cheapest medium to master—or so he thought. Several years and several hundred thousand words later, he produced a Sci-fi trilogy that shall never (God willing) see the light of day, but that did teach him much needed lessons about the craft of writing fiction.

After college Kirk returned to his homeland of Bermuda where he reunited with his childhood friend and future wife, Ria. But before marrying his lovely wife, Kirk entered an even greater marriage and devoted his life to Christ in 2002.

With a new found direction in life, writing fell by the wayside but the urge to tell futuristic stories never left. After much prayer and contemplation, Kirk purposed his writing for God’s Will, seeking to draw to Christ those who shared his passions for all things futuristic and Sci-fi.

Kirk currently lives with his wife Ria and 18 month old son Miles in beautiful Bermuda. He is a faithful member of the Church of Christ and is a professional engineer employed by the government

THE INTERVIEW

JA: Congratulations on your debut novel, Eternity Falls. What’s the book about?
KO: The book is about a genetic breakthrough called “the Miracle Treatment” which grants eternal life—that is, until one of the earliest clients of the Treatment suddenly dies of natural causes.

The company’s Marketing VP, Sheila Dunn, is convinced there is some religious sabotage at work and hires religious counter-terrorism expert, Rick Macey, to uncover a religious conspiracy plot that may not even exist.

With only days before the media blows the story wide open, Rick and Sheila must work together to solve the case. If they fail the lives of millions of clients and the Miracle Treatment itself could be destroyed forever.

JA: I’d love to know about the moment you found out your book was going to be published.
KO: It was a very exciting moment, but it happened quite simply. I saw an email pop up that said. “Hey Kirk. Want to be a Marcher Lord?”

To understand what it means to be a Marcher Lord, you’d have to visit my publisher’s website over at Marcher Lord Press. I’d been working with Jeff Gerke, the publisher, on various other projects so we had a relationship prior too, but still it was an unexpected and exciting message to get.

JA: You’ve said that you write Christian cyber-punk. For those who might not be familiar with the concept, how would you define it?
KO: It’s probably easier to describe the cyberpunk first. Cyberpunk is a subgenre where the embracing of technology (usually through the direct interfacing of man and machine) has in someway caused great social imbalance and the fringes of that society rebel against the masses to try and restore order. Although my work has the technology portion, my society has moved beyond the angst and found balance. Some call this cyberpunk 2.0.

The religious aspect is something I always found missing in cyberpunk and Sci-fi in general. The belief in “something”, rather Christian or not, is a big part of who we are as human beings. To portray realistic characters and problems I just had to include it, and as a Christian it provided the perfect avenue to tell people about God.

JA: What do you hope people take away when they finish reading Eternity Falls?
KO: Foremost I hope they will come away feeling they were entertained. Secondly, I hope they would have had an opportunity to reflect on the big questions in life and hopefully make some decisions to answer those questions.

JA: What’s next for you in the writing arena?
KO: I’m currently working on the next book in the Rick Macey series, tentatively title The Tenth Crusader.

JA: What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?
KO: I burn trash for a living.

JA: What’s the one far out sci-fi technology you’d most like to see become a household item?
KO: It would have to be the direct brain to computer interface. Amazing possibilities there.

JA: The current theme of my blog is "The Year of Dreams." If you could realize one life-long dream right now, what would it be?
KO: Well I can honestly say that I already have realized a life long dream in the publication of my first novel. I guess the next dream would be to write full time. We’ll see what God has to say about that though.

JA: Last but not least, how can people keep up with your latest publishing news?
KO: You can sign up for my publisher’s newsletter here. Or catch the blog updates on my website here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the future, death is only a problem if you can’t afford the price. Such is the promise of Gentec Corporation’s “Miracle Treatment”, a genetic anti-aging elixir that grants eternal life—or does it?

When a Gentec client suddenly dies of natural causes, the powers that be will stop at nothing to ensure their version of eternity remains unchallenged; even if it means concocting a religious sabotage conspiracy to cover a lie.

With the media about to blow the story wide open, the credibility of Gentec and the lives of millions of clients rest on one man’s ability to uncover the truth. Enter detective Rick Macey, religious counterterrorist expert and Gentec executive Sheila Dunn’s last hope for salvation. Now with the clock ticking and the corporate brass seeking their own solution at any cost, Macey must track down a religious zealot out to destroy the Miracle Treatment for good.

But when Macey finds himself not only falling for his client, but confronted with the possibility that the culprit could hold a connection to his shaded past, the truth suddenly becomes a dangerous thing. Only through a test of faith can he stop the crisis before it’s all too late and eternity falls.


WIN THE BOOK

If you’d like to be entered to win a copy of Eternity Falls, just leave a reply to this blog. I’ll pick a winner at random on October 14th. Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you're the winner. (To prevent spammers from trolling for your email, please use this format with the brackets--you [at] yourmail [dot] com--or something similar.) Good luck!

Penny Lane like you've never seen it before

The blog's been pretty quiet lately because I've been crazy-busy. But now that I've got a temporary lull, I thought I'd share something fun with you. Check out this Literal Video version of the Beatles' Penny Lane.

(Thanks to Chip MacGregor who posted this on his blog, which is how I found out about it.)

CFBA presents IT'S NOT ABOUT HIM by Michelle Sutton

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
It's Not About Him
(Sheaf House - September 1, 2009)
by
Michelle Sutton


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michelle Sutton, otherwise known as the Edgy Inspirational Author, is Editor-in-chief of Christian Fiction Online Magazine, a member of ACFW, a social worker by trade, and a prolific reader/book reviewer/blogger the rest of the time.

She lives in Arizona with her husband of nineteen years and her two teenaged sons. Michelle is also the author of It's Not about Me (2008) and It's Not About Him (Sheaf House 2009). She has nine other titles releasing over the next three years.




ABOUT THE BOOK

Susie passed out while drinking at Jeff’s party and later discovered she’s pregnant. She has no idea who the father is and considers having an abortion, but instead decides to place her baby for adoption. Following through ends up being more wrenching than she imagined, but she’s determined to do the right thing for her baby.

Jeff feels guilty that Susie was taken advantage of at his party and offers to marry her so she won’t have to give up her baby, like his birth mother did with him. But Susie refuses, insisting he should marry someone he loves. Can he convince her that his love is genuine before it’s too late? Can she make him understand that it’s not about him—it’s about what’s best for her child?

If you would like to read the prologue and first chapter of It's Not About Him, go HERE




JEN'S THOUGHTS

In It's Not About Him, Susie must deal not only with the heartbreaking decision to give her baby up for adoption, but the aftermath of that choice. Meanwhile, Jeff feels guilty for not protecting her. Adopted himself and longing to find his birth mother, Jeff doesn't want to see another child go through what he has and tries to convince Susie not to go through with it. In the end, Susie and Jeff discover it's not about either one of them. It's about what's best for the baby. And through their sacrifice, God works all things to good in their own lives.

Michelle Sutton creates real characters who act the way real people would. She doesn't shy away from the ugly truths or the cold hard facts. Young people can relate to her characters, because they speak from the heart.

Michelle dedicates this book to mothers who have recognized the needs of their children and chosen adoption over abortion. As one of those women, I'd like to thank Michelle for addressing such a sensitive subject with such honesty and compasion.