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The Warden and The Wolf King Book Review — Part 1
I was sitting at an outdoor table under a tent with my son Sean when Andrew Peterson plopped down next to us and began to eat his dinner. It was a cool September evening in Nashville at the 2012 Hutchmoot. Talking to Andrew was like talking to a long lost friend. The conversation meandered to children, much like the three jewels of Annieria in the Wingfeather Saga. Andrew scrunched up his face, shoved his nose in my son’s face and proclaimed: “You better behave, Sean me boy, or your father’ll have you hoisted up the petard!”
I’m sure Andrew doesn’t remember this. He said things like that to everyone at Hutchmoot, but we remember it well. And, it is that spirit of random abandonment to reality that flows through the Wingfeather Saga.
Being a alumnus of two Hutchmoots, I can easily see in Andrew’s writing his love for Buechner, Lewis, MacDonald, Tolkien, and Wendell Berry. He blends elements of fantasy, swashbuckling, and allegory with a touch of parable throughout his works all set against a lushly realized landscape. Now, I am an author of a book series. I am currently in the final edit on book four and I can tell you it is not easy keeping all the story lines coherent and moving in parallel. One of my pet peeves is with authors who set out to write a book series and run out of creative energy early on. They create immersive worlds, stunning characters, and set up elaborate plot lines and then just get lost in their own maze. The list of book series I have given up on is long. By book four, you can tell you are lost in a forest along with the author and there is no way to get out unless you turn back (reboot your story) or open up the Pandora’s box of contrivances and let loose the deus ex machina.
Can Fiction be Christian?
This past week the Christian publishing world was shaken by the announcement from Broadman & Holman (B&H) Publishing regarding their new Christian fiction strategy. Steve Laube, a major voice in the Christian publishing industry, commented on these changes at this link. This may seem like some mundane industry-babble but it has grave implications for the reader of Christian fiction. The bottom line is this: a major Christian publisher has decided to back off of fiction unless it ties in with some other media initiative (such as a movie). In fact, all contracts for future fiction that would have been released beyond April 2014 are now null and void. Kaput! Gone! And, I know that feeling!
Why? In September 2012 just a few weeks before the release of my second book, “The 12th Demon: The Mark of the Wolf Dragon” by Charisma, I received a notification that I was being released from my five book contract after the second book. This didn’t catch me totally by surprise. I had already heard from a couple of my fellow authors at the Realms imprint (an imprint is a division of a publishing “house” focused on a particular “genre”) who had suffered the same fate. As of September there were two of us left, myself and Mike Dellosso easily Realms bestselling author. Mike has now moved on also. At least I was in good company! I know this was a business decision made because of the downturn in the economy but it had a lasting impact on my personally as well as many Christian authors.
What does all of this mean for you, the reader of Christian fiction?
It will mean a much smaller selection of books and a much narrower range of genres. Major publishers will not be taking as many chances with new authors and will not be looking to branch out into “strange waters” such as Christian speculative fiction. Frankly, this frightens me. I am already a victim of the troubled economic times coupled with the sea change in traditional publishing trying to adapt to newer digital technology. However, I followed the advice of Michael Hyatt, once CEO of Thomas Nelson (which has been swallowed up by the larger HarperCollins publishing behemoth along with Zondervan). He suggested I self publish. The good news for authors like myself is there are many reputable self publishing ventures available. The bad news is I have to fund the book and all of the prep work myself. Let’s just say it makes for a tremendous tax right off! But, I am hoping the momentum of two previous books will help “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” sell enough copies to keep the series going.
The Mulitverse — What is it?
Check out my recent guest post on Speculative Faith on the use of the concept of parallel universes in fiction:
Speculative Faith: Who’s Afraid of the Multiverse.
Down, But Not Out!
I am frustrated.
I haven’t been posting this summer because of family issues with my daughter’s health. But, she is doing very, very well and it is time for me to re-engage the creative side of my brain.
I haven’t been negligent of my writing. I am finishing up the final edit for “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” and it will be available hopefully by late October. It will not be available in the usual traditional sense but you will be able to purchase it through bookstores, Amazone, B&N, etc. Now that I am no longer beholden to my previous publisher, I have much more freedom to tell the story the way I want to.
For instance, my previous two books suffered from the word limit demon (pardon the pun). I had to constrain my story to fit 75000 words. That required cutting major story elements and, in some cases, entire characters to fit the required word limit. While I don’t plan on going all Harry Potter on my readers and make the next books 700+ words, I have extended the upcoming book from 75000 to 90000 words.
I am back in the world of self-publishing and it is much different from the first time I self-published back in 2006. Self-publishing has gained in reputation since then. To give you an example, I ran my dilemma by Michael Hyatt back in February. If you don’t know who Michael Hyatt is, go to his website. He was former CEO of Thomas Nelson and has launched his own brand teaching authors how to communicate and how to build a platform for their work. I met him at the first annual Platform conference. Michael took one look at my previous two books in the Jonathan Steel Chronicles and quickly, confidently without hesitation told me to self-publish. This came from a man who was once the CEO of one of the largest Christian publishers in the world!
For a while, I pursued traditional publishing for the third book and met with half-hearted response. I don’t want to disparage my previous traditional publisher, but I think today’s tp’s don’t know how to effectively market Christian speculative fiction. Michael Hyatt made the comment this is the fastest growing sub-genre in Christian publishing. I have discussed problems with this genre in previous posts, the least being that bookstores don’t know where to put these books — Christian publishing or secular publishing areas.
So, it is up to those of us who write such books to decide if we cave in to the poor sales and poor marketing and little recognition or do we press on and continue to write the books God has placed on our hearts and minds. Authors such as Greg Mitchell, Mike Duran, Mike Dellosso, Marc Schooley, Linda Rios Brook, and Conlan Brown write speculative fiction and their works are fantastic, awe inspiring, moving, and wildly imaginative. Their books should be flying off the shelves. Instead, like me, they are struggling with balancing day jobs and writing supernatural thrilling stories that are trying to break their way out of our brains onto the written page.
Here is my plea. Check out the Christian speculative fiction market. But some books. Buy lots of books. Support your favorite Christian speculative fiction author and I’m not just talking about the giants such as Ted Dekker or Frank Peretti or Tosca Lee. Look for us little guys and gals who are struggling and promise to give you a good story — a great read that is wildly imaginative, thrilling, and yet, ultimately redemptive.
Give us a chance!
Buy one of our books as summer comes to a close and then post a review on Amazon or on your blog or your website. Help us flood American readers with the kind of thrilling supernatural stories the world is craving but with a different twist — a Christian worldview. Do that, and we will go a long way to changing the world’s attitudes — changing the world’s perception of reality — and showing the world the light and love of Christ!
The Little Seer Blog Tour Day 2
“God seals men’s instructions while they sleep; you don’t need to figure everything out. God can speak straight to your spirit and tell you what to do, even when you don’t understand his words.”
This sage advice from a mother to her young daughter is at the heart of that child’s dilemma in “The Little Seer” by Laura Cowan. Aria is having dreams, sometimes in the middle of the day! In her dreams horrible things are happening around her particularly at her church. In one dream, she is attacked by birds and upon opening her eyes finds her arms and wrists covered with cuts! Soon, her classmates at school are making fun of her and adults are whispering about her parents behind their backs. The world seems to have turned against poor, little Aria.
“Why am I seeing demons in my own house, and why are my friends being so mean?”
Aria finds an ally in Mrs. Coghill who tells her she is a prophet with these soothing words, “The gift of prophecy just means your ear is tuned to hear God’s voice.”
Pastor Ted of the local church is at the center of Aria’s dreams. Soon, he is accused of embezzlement and Aria’s father, the church treasurer finds himself wrapped in false accusations as Pastor Ted pulls the church members into his evil clutches. Aria begins to see demons all around her, and one of them has its arms wrapped around Pastor Ted’s neck! And, it is during this encounter that Aria finally sees her salvation — a guardian angel!
The story has three specific events, each building on the one before as Aria grows in her awareness of God and His presence and plans for her life. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but it is fast paced and filled with downright creepy elements of demonic presences and spiritual warfare. Well done, I might add!
I have read the Twilight series and the Hunger Game series and this book easily approaches that level of intensity and immersion in teen angst in a GOOD way. It brought back many memories of a nerdy boy growing up with those who made fun of me and looked down on me. I highly recommend the book for any middle schooler or high schooler and it is a wonderful book for parents and adults to read.
I particularly like how Laura took something some benign seeming and made it the enemy. I don’t want to give this away but it is right on the money in today’s culture.
The dream sequences are moving and lyrical with an artistic sense of being transported to another world. I have often felt that God communicates to us in our dreams and this story really nails it. There is a particularly moving scene between Aria and Christ that I can not possibly describe. It must be read and enjoyed. Laura has captured the essence of being in the presence of God; the presence of Christ; the presence of the Spirit in a close and moving way. I read each of these passages and breathed deeply of the moving presence of God I sensed behind the words.
The sense of dread and anxiety also built as the climax of the story approached and the author managed to keep the stakes high, the tension tight, and the threat of evil very, very real.
I am reminded of a song written by Andrew Peterson, “The Voice of Jesus”. It is a song written for his little girl and it talks of wandering the woods and hearing “the voice of a secret companion” following and protecting the child. That “secret companion” is the presence of our Triune God always just beyond our full comprehension but still there waiting for us to turn to Him. Laura captures this feeling in every encounter between Aria and our Creator. Wonderful, moving work. I highly recommend this book for anyone who seeks to learn more of the nature of the spiritual war that wages around us. Here are the links to the book and author’s website. The first link is a link to a giveaway so check it out. http://laurakcowan.com/2013/02/17/welcome-to-the-little-seer-blog-tour-and-giveaway/
Great job, Laura. You have a very promising future and I can’t wait to read your next work.
Information about Laura:
Laura K. Cowan, The Dreaming Novelist, writes spiritual supernatural stories set against rich dreamscapes. A lifelong dreamer and modern Christian mystic, Laura draws from subconscious depths to bring the things we believe are impossible, spiritually and physically, into the world in a literal way, to bring the supernatural into the natural and help others come to see their infinite worth and the exquisite possibilities that exist in a world in which the supernatural is part of the natural order of things.
Laura has worked for years as an accomplished writer and editor in genres such as green tech, green parenting, and automotive media, and has been called one of the best copy editors in the business by multiple colleagues, including late mentor David E. Davis, Jr., whom TIME Magazine called “the Dean of Automotive Journalism.” She is the founder of popular green parenting blog 29 Diapers, author of Ecofrugal Baby: How To Save 70% Off Baby’s First Year, and Road Test Editor for Inhabitat, the web’s largest green design blog. Laura’s work has appeared in Automobile Quarterly as well as on numerous parenting sites including BabyCenter, EcoMom, and Inhabitots. She lives in Michigan with her husband and her 3-year-old daughter. You can find her on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn, or email her at laurakcowan[at]gmail.com.
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Links:
Laura K. Cowan’s website: http://www.laurakcowan.com
Laura K. Cowan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laurakcowannovelist?ref=ts&fref=ts
Laura K. Cowan on Twitter: @laurakcowan
The Little Seer on Amazon:
Midnight ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-The-Little-Seer-ebook/dp/B00BEYX2NI/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360723388&sr=1-7&keywords=the+little+seer
The Little Seer Blog Tour Day 1
Today is the first day of a two day blog tour featuring a new book by Laura K. Cowan
Today, I will share Laura’s answers to questions about her book and tomorrow, I will feature a review of the book and more tidbits.
Inside The Making of The Little Seer, a Speculative Supernatural Novel
By Laura K. Cowan, author of The Little Seer
People often ask me how I wrote a novel about the supernatural and prophetic dreams. The answer? Well, come peek over my shoulder a bit to see. What went into the making of The Little Seer was nothing short of supernatural itself, and I’m not talking about my effort, though that was pretty intense.
Where Did The Idea for The Little Seer Come From?
I was bullied for years as a kid, and a journal entry I wrote about wanting people to love me for who I was was actually read in front of my seventh grade class and ridiculed, so suffice it to say I had some fear to work through before even being able to get back to writing as an adult. Putting my writing out there for people to judge? Yeah, terrifying. You can read more about my miraculous journey back to health in my full bio on my blog, but long story short: when my daughter was born, I realized I wanted to write an imaginative adventure story for her like the ones I had loved as a child, but one that also acknowledged the pain suffered by people who don’t fit the mold–whether in church, school, or society in general. I had been through a painful church split on top of my wedding that destroyed my faith community as well. But I had also experienced the most miraculous moments of my life after these devastating events, including being healed from an incurable disease through prayer, so I wanted to explore the role that rejection and other painful life experiences play in our paths to healing and life. The result was a story that was a little more grown up than I had originally planned, I suppose just because the reality of the conflict over our souls is pretty intense stuff.
Is The Little Seer Inspired By Your Life Experiences?
Inspired, yes, but The Little Seer is not my story. Yes, I went through the disillusion of seeing people who were my spiritual mentors behaving badly and discovering that the church I was raised in couldn’t answer some of my most pressing questions about life and faith, and yes I even had prophetic dreams about the event that helped me through a difficult time, but Aria’s story is very different from mine. One of my concerns about this story is that people will assume that the people I knew as a kid are as badly behaved as some of the characters in The Little Seer. None of these characters is meant to portray anyone I went to church or school with, so please don’t interrogate my friends and acquaintances and ask them if they ever tried to destroy my life! 🙂
How On Earth Did You Come Up With Those Dream Sequences?
Would you believe that my own dreams are weirder than Aria’s, and more complicated? Maybe lots of people’s are, but mine seem to be particularly intense, and I think that’s the reason I don’t believe you can thoroughly understand someone from their waking life alone. When I wrote the dream sequences for The Little Seer, I took a symbol from one of my own dreams that had some significance for me, such as tornados or bears, and then wove it into a fresh dream from Aria’s perspective. There is a whole different level on which you can read The Little Seer, by following colors and nature symbols through the story to find foreshadowing of their significance in her discoveries about her identity. If you like the book, read it twice and look at colors, plants, water, weather, and the rustle of angels’ wings the second time, and I think you’ll begin to experience the story on the level that I do.
Can We See What You’re Working on Next?
I’m working on a novel called Music of Sacred Lakes that explores the relationship between a person and the land that gave birth to them. I’m excited about this book, because it explores how some of the worst things we do can lead to our redemption and our reconnection with creation. My protagonist, a young man in crisis from northern Michigan who accidentally kills a girl, struggles to find his way back to his connection with life through living by the shores of Lake Michigan and trying to hear its voice. He is haunted by the dead girl in a series of terrifying encounters, but in the end, this horror is what leads him to peace. It’s a weird and wonderful story, and I hope I can do it justice. I will begin my second round of writing and editing in the next few weeks, and as soon as I have something that’s ready to share, you can find excerpts from the work in progress on laurakcowan.com. I’m also working on a speculative supernatural short story collection called The Thin Places: Supernatural Tales of the Unseen, which takes 30 different “What if?” questions about the way the spiritual world works, and spins them in all directions, from modern mythology to the marriage of fairy tales and time travel. I’m pretty excited about where these next few years will lead, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride. My rule is no boring stories, and I hope you like what I come up with.
Laura K. Cowan, The Dreaming Novelist, writes spiritual supernatural stories set against rich dreamscapes. A lifelong dreamer and modern Christian mystic, Laura draws from subconscious depths to bring the things we believe are impossible, spiritually and physically, into the world in a literal way, to bring the supernatural into the natural and help others come to see their infinite worth and the exquisite possibilities that exist in a world in which the supernatural is part of the natural order of things.
Laura has worked for years as an accomplished writer and editor in genres such as green tech, green parenting, and automotive media, and has been called one of the best copy editors in the business by multiple colleagues, including late mentor David E. Davis, Jr., whom TIME Magazine called “the Dean of Automotive Journalism.” She is the founder of popular green parenting blog 29 Diapers, author of Ecofrugal Baby: How To Save 70% Off Baby’s First Year, and Road Test Editor for Inhabitat, the web’s largest green design blog. Laura’s work has appeared in Automobile Quarterly as well as on numerous parenting sites including BabyCenter, EcoMom, and Inhabitots. She lives in Michigan with her husband and her 3-year-old daughter. You can find her on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn, or email her at laurakcowan[at]gmail.com.
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Links:
Laura K. Cowan’s website: http://www.laurakcowan.com
Laura K. Cowan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laurakcowannovelist?ref=ts&fref=ts
Laura K. Cowan on Twitter: @laurakcowan
The Little Seer on Amazon:
Midnight ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-The-Little-Seer-ebook/dp/B00BEYX2NI/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360723388&sr=1-7&keywords=the+little+seer
Welcome to the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel!
If you’re new to the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel, check out the “Reviews” tab to get more information on the first book in the series, “The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye” and the newest book, “The 12th Demon: Mark of the Wolf Dragon”.
Then, go to your nearest Christian Book Store and make sure they have them in stock! If not, you can certainly order both books on Kindle and Nook. If you want me to sign your eBooks, go to Authorgraph and I can electronically sign your book.
If you live in Austin, stand by for news of a book signing in December!
Here are some photos from my book launch at the Well on October 19th and a book signing at First Baptist Orlando bookstore on October 27 and 28. During both events, my co-author, Mark Sutton, joined me to sign copies of our book, “Conquering Depression”.
Book Signing Tonight — “The 12th Demon”
TONIGHT — BOOK SIGNING
Come out and snag a copy of “The 12th Demon: Mark of the Wolf Dragon” at First Baptist Church Orlando book store.
530 PM- 830 PM Tonight
9 AM- 1230 PM Sunday
See you there!!!
The Spirit Well by Stephen R. Lawhead, A Book Review
Wherein many loose threads are tied together.
Between the death of my father at age 98 and the launch of my second book, “The 12th Demon”, the past week has proved to be very busy so I will be doing a one day review of “The Spirit Well”, Stephen R. Lawhead’s latest book in his five book series, “A Bright Empires Novel”.
First, let me say that if you have not read the first two books, you WILL find yourself scrambling around trying to make sense of the story. There is an introduction of the characters in the beginning of the book that does give you a sense of the events that have transpired in the prior two books and is indispensable in making sense of the current story, even if you have read both books. However, if you have read the first two books, this book will begin to bring things together in a much more coherent narrative.
Second, Stephen Lawhead has done a masterful job in creating this believable world, or more appropriately, worlds connected by “ley” lines. His attention to historical details, his use of period language, and his inclusion of the particular behavior of certain historical periods is spot on. To read this book is to savor each and every world.
Third, Stephen Lawhead has finally brought together some diverging, or as it turns out, converging story lines. For instance, in the first book, “The Skin Map”, Kit and Mina are instantly separated into two parallel worlds and disparate times only to meet briefly in the second book before once again losing each other. But, in the “The Spirit Well”, Kit and Mina through no device or their own find themselves reunited. Mina has grown considerably into a self sufficient, crafty person and Kit has managed to develop a strong self assurance and a “six pack” to go with his bulging biceps!
Fourth, Stephen Lawhead begins to reveal the truth behind the existence of the “ley” lines and the ultimate purpose behind their existence. I don’t want to ruin it for the reader but it has to do with “perfecting creation” through the growth and maturity of humanity, or reaching an “Omega” point. Personally, as an apologist, I have been waiting for a more obvious nod to the Christian worldview and in this book, Lawhead delivers. He discusses the “anthropic principle” and the role humanity plays in God’s metanarrative. Here is a wonderful discussion of how God operates by “always working through the small, the insignificant, the powerless — it seems to be sewn into the very fabric of the universe.”
“Over and over again, we see that when anyone willingly gives whatever resources they have to Him — whether it is nothing more than five smooth stones gathered from a dry streambed or five little loaves of bread and two dried sprats — then God’s greater purpose can proceed.”
Or, as the story manages to drive home over and over, “there is no such thing as coincidence.”
Fifth, Stephen Lawhead finally answers the question about the skin map. It is the singular goal of Lord Burleigh and his “Burly” men. The skin map will lead ultimately to the “well of souls” where immortality, youth, healing, resurrection can be found. The skin map was once tattooed on the chest of Arthur Flinders-Petrie. In this story, we discover how it came into the possession of his offspring and how it became a literal “skin map”.
Sixth, Stephen Lawhead introduces new characters and discloses the existence of a society dedicated to bringing together those who have the genetic ability to traverse ley lines. Here, in this new character of Cass and her attachment to the Zetetic Society, the connection to Kit and his grandfather, Cosimo from book one are illuminated. After reading this book, I am more excited than ever to read book four and five. The stage is set and this book brings so many, pardon the pun, parallel story lines together. I highly recommend the entire book series. Book three, “The Spirit Well” delivers the goods!
In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
Book link – http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Well-Bright-Empires/dp/1595548068/
Author Website – http://www.stephenlawhead.com/
Author Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/StephenRLawhead
Participants’ links: Be sure and check out these other reviews!
Jim Armstrong
Julie Bihn
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Thomas Fletcher Booher
Beckie Burnham
Brenda Castro
Jeff Chapman
Christine
Karri Compton
Theresa Dunlap
http://home.earthlink.net/~wyverns/“> Emmalyn Edwards
http://projectinga.blogspot.com/“> April Erwin
http://vicsmediaroom.wordpress.com/“> Victor Gentile
http://christianfictionaddiction.blogspot.com/“> Jeremy Harder
http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com“> Timothy Hicks
http://thequietpen.wordpress.com/“> Janeen Ippolito
http://thewriterssword.blogspot.com/“> Becca Johnson
http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/“> Jason Joyner
http://carolkeen.blogspot.com/“> Carol Keen
http://emileightherebuilder.blogspot.com/“> Emileigh Latham
http://blackanddarknight.wordpress.com/“> Rebekah Loper
http://www.shannonmcdermott.com/“> Shannon McDermott
http://www.bloomingwithbooks.blogspot.com/“> Meagan @ Blooming with Books
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/“> Rebecca LuElla Miller
http://annamittower.blogspot.com//“> Anna Mittower
http://www.bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com/“> Joan Nienhuis
http://blogginoutloud.blogspot.com/“> Lyn Perry
http://dadscancooktoo.com/“> Nathan Reimer
http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/“> Chawna Schroeder
http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/“> Rachel Starr Thomson
http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php“> Robert Treskillard
http://christiansf.blogspot.com/“> Steve Trower
http://www.fantasyandfaith.com“> Dona Watson
http://www.shanewerlinger.com/“> Shane Werlinger
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/“> Phyllis Wheeler
“The 12th Demon: Mark of the Wolf Dragon” Is Here!
Today, you can officially order copies of “The 12th Demon: Mark of the Wolf Dragon” both as an ebook and a traditional book.
Check out this interview with fellow author, Greg Mitchell, “The Coming Evil Trilogy” on his blog:
http://www.thecomingevil.blogspot.com/2012/10/interview-with-12th-demon-author-bruce.html
Bruce Hennigan 
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