Flashpoint: The RPG

For those of you accustomed to lame Christian role playing games, get ready for Mike Roop's Flashpoint: The RPG.

I met Mike at a Gamer's Group here at Shoutlife. I put up a post asking for an RPG designer and Mike answered the call.

He has put a ton of work into designing it and now the RPG is in the formatting stage (which is a lengthy & onerous task).

The format is 8.5 x 11, spiral bound for ease of use without breaking the spine.

While you wait, check out Mike's blog where he has been playing with some character images: Miscellaneous Mike.

Marcher Lord Press: One-of-a-Kind Christian Publisher

Interview with Jeff Gerke

While Jeff Gerke is no stranger to the publishing, his newest foray into the business defines his passion for Christian speculative fiction. Under his pen name, Jefferson Scott, he has written several near-future technothrillers. He co-authored the non-fiction Be Intolerant which went on to become a bestseller. Gerke has worked for Multnomah, Strang Communications, and NavPress. In 2006, he struck out on his own and founded the popular speculative fiction site Where the Map Ends and has since expanded to form Marcher Lord Press, a unique Christian speculative fiction-only publishing company. In this first of a three-part interview, Jeff Gerke discusses the background and events leading up to the formation of MLP.

Jeff, some background. What points of your own spiritual sojourn have led to the path of speculative-fiction?

Ever since the original Star Wars came out--when I was 12--I’ve dreamed in speculative worlds. I know I had had leanings in that direction before 1977, but when I saw Star Wars something came alive in me. I suddenly understood the power a story could have--and it was a speculative story that did it. A few years later, in college, I discovered The Lord of the Rings and I was similarly stunned. Once again I was moved beyond words, and once again it was a speculative story that did it.

Both of those stories, I realize now, are "hero’s journey" tales. Anthopologist Joseph Campbell originated the idea that certain stories and story patterns recur in all human cultures throughout history. The most fundamental of these is called the hero’s journey.

It’s essentially a coming-of-age story. Or, in Jungian terms, a story of individuation. A young person is taken from his safe but boring normal world and thrust into an epic adventure that involves specific components, such as a mystical forest, strange allies, and an impossible quest. At the end, the hero enters the dragon’s lair and either slays the dragon or fails to. If he is successful in his task he brings the prize and his hard-earned wisdom back to the village for the benefit of his people, among whom he is now a hero of lore.

Read the rest of the first of a three part interview with Marcher Lord Press's publisher, Jeff Gerke at Frank Creed's Associated Content site.

My Book Awards Rant (and likely not the only rant on this subject that you will find!).

Well, I am off on another rant. It seems to be cathartic to squeeze a little rant in between writing articles and working on War of Attrition: Book Two of the Underground. Since my cats scoff at the rants, I chose you, my Shoutlife lovelies, as my audience.

This rant has been long in the coming, but an email I received today sealed my fate. My publisher entered me in the IPPY Awards (for Independent Publishers). Along with learning that the semi-finalists will be announced next week, I discovered a nifty link to the IPPY Awards merchandise pages. Now, stop and think for a moment, what would you expect to find on these pages to purchase? IPPY t-shirts, IPPY ball caps, perhaps IPPY BBQ aprons – all proudly displaying the fact that an author had won or at least was a semi-finalist in this wonderful award.

Not.

The merchandise link brought me to two pages of: Gold, Silver, Bronze Medallion images, stickers, bling . . . I admit, I was dreaming: what if I won something? Here goes:

For $35 I can receive an IPPY Medallion to wear around the house.
For a roll of 250 stickers to place on my winning novel, the cost is $40.
For a mere $45 I can get an IPPY medallion image to place on my website – how cool is that (it is a TIFF afterall)!

And, the real kicker:

For a mere $4.50 I can receive my very own IPPY Award Certificate.

What is this all about?

To add insult to injury, my publisher had to pay an entry fee for the privilege of being judged by noteables: $85. Yeah, yeah I know. No reliable book award organization charges for nominations. But the IPPYs do have some marketing value and are well-respected. And, considering the other awards available, they rank nicely in my book.

The stickers I understand paying for, but not the rest. You’d think the Jenkins Group (you know, Jerry Jenkins money-making-machine – no, not Tim LeHaye one, Jerry’s other license to print money) could at least spring for the certificate and website image!

I mean, did Katharine Hepburn have to pay for her little nude Emilio "El Indio" Fernández statues?

So, I got that going for me . . . which is nice.

Asulon: Sword of Fire: CFRB May Tour

The Christian Fiction Review Blog presents its May 2008 novel on tour:
ASULON: Sword of Fire
by William R. McGrath

Summary:
A fantasy trilogy comprised of ASULON, ERETZEL & APOCALYPSE

The story begins in a society that resembles the western world during the decline of the Roman republic. Prince Daniel is driven from his homeland after his father is assassinated. Seeking safety, Daniel sails to the land of his maternal grandfather Anak. Anak is the last of the /Grigori/, a third group of angels who remained neutral during the war between the angels loyal to God and those rebelling with Lucifer. After the war, the Grigori were banished to the earth to live in mortal bodies. Anak's sons are the Anakim, giants unequaled in battle.

Traveling with Daniel are: Simon, a priest of the Lord Yeshua whose powers hint that he is more than a simple priest, and the Swordmaster Moor, Daniel's teacher and head of the king's bodyguards. Moor has sworn revenge on the powerful men who ordered the king's assassination. Also on the voyage is Rachel, a princess of the land of Eretzel and one whose songs carry healing gifts from God.

On the voyage Daniel and Rachel fall in love, but are later parted when Rachel's homeland is invaded. Working behind the scenes are philosophers, rich merchants and sorcerers, each moving to shape events to his own end. As old powers fall, new ones rise and the despotic Antiochus becomes Emperor of the West. The Anakim discover that the Magog, a people of the far north, have been breeding creatures that are half man and half beast for their use in war. The Anakim also discover how they themselves are linked to the terrible secret of these creatures' birth. The Magog plan an invasion of the gold rich Southlands, but Eretzel stands as a bridge to those lands and must be defeated first.

Buried far below the Great Temple in the capital city of Eretzel is the Sword of Fire, the weapon first used to guard the entrance to the Garden of Eden after the Fall of Man. Antiochus is searching for the sword. Daniel is told the secret to retrieving the sword and must keep this weapon out of the hands of Antiochus, less the dictator use it to bring all mankind under his control. Armed with the sword of fire, Daniel evades the men and creatures sent by Antiochus, while searching for Rachel throughout Eretzel and the lands that surround it.

The story ends with a battle between East and West in the valley of Megido, the return of the Lord Yeshua to rule the earth and a view of the first thirty days of the Millenial Kingdom.

The Author: William R. McGrath

William R. McGrath is a thirty year practitioner of the Filipino martial art of Pekiti-Tirsia and a veteran law enforcement officer. He has traveled across the U.S. and Europe teaching martial arts and police defensive tactics (techniques and principles of which find themselves in the fight scenes of his novels). He has written his fantasy novels seeking to emulate all those classic books he read in his teens that gave him a life long love of reading.

William's interests include: Martial arts, Ancient history and military strategy, Fantasy stories from the epics to fairy tales, Christian apologetics and theology.

McGrath's Website: Sword of Fire

Book Details:

Asulon
William R. McGrath
Epic Fantasy
PTI Press; January 1, 2008; 296 pgs; $14.95
ISBN: 978-0-9801058-0-3

Purchase a copy of Asulon at the following sites:

Barnes & Noble
Target
Because of Amazon's new policy affecting
all POD published books, a link to their
site will not be provided on this blog.


Check the official CFRB Blog for links to more sites on the Asulon tour, including:

Back to the Mountains
Cathi's Chatter
Queen of Convolution
Time Mistress
Author Laura Davis
Carole McDonnell