Cultural Belief Systems and Christian Speculative Fiction, Take 2

Hello blogger friends. :D  This is going to be a rather long post – one of the longest blog posts I think I’ve ever written – so if you get through the entire thing, I commend you!!!

I’m writing this post because I think I might need to clarify what I meant in my last post.  Reading through the post again, and reading through the comments, I start to realize that the true purpose behind my post was not understood the way I hoped it would be (I think perhaps I beat around the bush a lot before actually trying to come to the point).  Hopefully I can clear it all up in this post. J

Before you read this post, however, I think it would be a great idea if you headed on over the first post and read through the comments.  A lot of the comments touched on what I originally meant for my post to portray, but they worded it better. ^_^

And now, ONWARD! :D

First off, I’m going to use part of one comment left from my last post.  It had some very good points in it. :D

 Philip Nelson said...

First off, there aren't moral shades of grey. Anyone who thinks that hasn't seen Good (or has refused to). (See how Job repented when he saw God, for instance, or what happened when Daniel came face to face with the glory of God.)

What makes it complicated is that Evil is the counterfeit of Good. That's the original sin: Lucifer thinking in his heart that he could make himself like God.

But God is incorruptible, and outside God things wear out. So, one way to tell whether something is good or evil is durability: in the long run, evil always wears out; good never does.

Philip has some very good points.  First off that there aren’t any shades of grey in morality.  Actually, this was pointed out in several of the comments from my last post, not just in Philip’s. 

Don’t worry guys!  I don’t believe there are shades of grey in morality, at least in the morality that I perceive.  That really wasn’t the point I was trying to get across.  Morality doesn’t deal in grey… only in black and white.  The problems come when Morality is placed into a religious belief… and before you guys jump all over my tale because I said that, wait a couple of minutes; I will explain. :D

It is quite simple.  Morality, as with all other aspects of human nature, can be distorted from its original purpose when it is tagged on to a belief system, or even to a personal belief or outlook.  Take murder for example… Murder is considered a morally wrong act – a vicious act of death.  Why then is it considered an honor in the Islamic society for suicide bombers to not only take their own lives, but to murder hundreds of innocents in the process?  In that case, murder is not considered morally wrong by the suicide bomber… it is considered an act of honor and valor, even though the rest of the world may see it as a horror. 

Morality, as with any other aspect of human nature, can be twisted from its purpose.  What is right and wrong can be skewed so that what is wrong can be seen as right… thus creating the “grey” I was talking about in my last post. 

But, as Philip mentioned, God is incorruptible. No matter what any of us believe, the Truth that is God is absolutely and 100% incorruptible.  Morality aside, what is true with God is ALWAYS true, and any truth that is not with God is not a truth at all, but a falsity.

Now, I have no problem with Christian writer’s showing this in their books.  In fact, I encourage it; there need to be more Christian books out there dedicated to showing this truth. 

The problems come when writers try to make it all TOO evident – when the right and the good is so evident that there is no point in choosing the wrong at all.

“Well,” you say, “That’s the point, isn’t it?  To have readers understand that they should choose the good over evil?  To make it so that the characters understand that they should always choose what is right over what is wrong?”

Uh… no, actually.  Well, yes… but no.

You see, I’ve read so many books like this, it’s not even funny.  I even started writing one and one point in time, but I stopped.  These are the books where the right choice is almost easier to follow than the wrong choice… which, in reality, is almost NEVER the case. 

Here’s another great Comment from my last post.  (I really do suggest you go and read the full comments… they are very thought provoking. :D)

Nathan Petrie says:

…What a lot of Christian Spec. Fic. tries to do, is present this in the clearest way possible: black and white. Because the world actually IS black and white, even if it's hard to see sometimes. There is only one right way to salvation and one right and one wrong. As for faiths, Christ is right, and everything else is wrong. That is a two option choice--Christ, or something else. Therefore, a lot of Spec. Fic merely simplifies the choice to show the ridiculousness of believing anything else. 

I agree with most of what Mr. Petrie’s saying, except for that last part…. Where he says that most Spec. Fic. merely simplifies the choice to show the ridiculousness of believing in anything else.  THAT is where I think most Christian Fiction writers are going wrong.  I’m not saying we should blur the lines between what truth is and what lies are, but simplifying the choice isn’t going to help in my own opinion.

Why?  Because the choice isn’t simple at all.   The choice to Christ may be right, but it’s not a simple one.  And following Christ is certainly NOT easy.

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. ~ Mathiew 7: 13-14

The bible says it clearly: Those who enter by the wide gate and follow the easy path to destruction are many.  The people don’t even realize that they are on their own way to destruction.  What is difficult is choosing the gate that is narrow and walking the path that is hard.  Very few people enter through this gate.  

And why?  Because the choice between the Truth and a lie, between right and wrong, is certainly not simple.  The wrong choice is easy from the get-go, though it ultimately leads people to a dark end.  However, the right choice… the right choice is often paved with hardships and apparent troubles; it can be difficult to follow; a person may stumble a lot.  And yet this path is the one that leads to true freedom, and that is because it begins with the right choice… with Christ and salvation. 

Now, I would like to go back to my last post, pull a few things that I had touched upon, and use them to explain what was originally supposed to come across from my ranting. I understand that my purpose wasn’t clear last time, but hopefully I can make it clear now. *sheepish smile*  

I said:

I AM saying that I’m tired of Fantasy worlds where there are multiple cultures and races but only one True belief system for all of them; all the characters believe in One Ruling God (no matter their culture or race) and in one evil entity, and all the good characters are trying to work together to overcome the bad ones.  There may be some neutral characters, who don’t really take a side, but they still know that the sides are there to take and there is almost not middle ground.

I stand by this statement.  It pretty much sums up what I was saying earlier… that in many Christian Fiction books the choice to right is often SO clear that there is hardly a choice at all.   No matter what race or culture the characters come from, they all believe in the One true God (which isn’t true of humanity in this world, and almost never was unless you go clear back to the very beginning of the world, or even to the time after Noah).  And in these books, only the Evil Character and his minions are bad, and his minions are either just smaller parts of him, or characters that he forced to be evil.  And of course, all the good characters are trying to overcome the bad characters so that the world can be made perfect again.

There’s a key word in there, though: forced.  I’ve seen the technique used before with “evil entities” and other characters’ free-wills.  It doesn’t work.  And WHY doesn’t it work???  Because within the law of free-will, neither God nor Satan can force a human to do anything.  Humans can force other humans, but God will not force his people to love or obey Him – they have to choose to do that for themselves.  And Satan may be able to manipulate the thoughts and minds of men, but he can’t force a human to do anything they didn’t ultimately choose to do themselves.

Satan can, however, and often does lead people mentally astray… THIS is what has built up the many different cultural belief systems of the world today.  Satan was able to convince Eve in the Garden that God had not actually meant that she would die should she eat of the forbidden fruit, and so Eve ate of it.  And ever since that day, Satan has worked to discredit the actual word of God… he has built up his own followers and they are scattered all over the world.  Some of them don’t even realize that they are not actually following the truth, but are instead part of one great gigantic lie!  A lie that spans ages, generations, and many differing belief systems… all of them originally clinging to some form of truth, and all of them ultimately failing and falling in the end. 

And let me tell you something; all these different belief systems and cultural histories by no means make the choice to Christ any easier to find or to follow.  Each one of these belief systems claim that they are the only way to the light; they all think that they are right and they all claim that they have the truth, but Christ said that there is only ONE way to Truth, and that is through Him.

So then why do writers try to make the choice SO evident, when it is CLEARLY not?  I mean, part of what makes Wayne Thomas Batson’s “The Door Within Trilogy” so good for middle graders to read is the fact that all of the characters had and made their own choices; they could CHOOSE to follow the light, or the dark, or remain neutral, but they HAD to choose.  And often times, choosing the dark seemed the best answer; there was lots of money to be had, and power, and food, and wealth…  It was not easy to be part of the “good guys”.  In fact, it was often much harder to be good than it was to be bad. 

It’s like that in real life too.  

This is what I was trying to get at when I was speaking about adding multiple cultures and belief systems to Christian Speculative fiction.  The choice is important… in the real world, and in speculative fiction.  It is the choice that makes or breaks not only the story, but also the character, and often the plot.   But WHAT does your character have to choose from?  Why?  How?

Here’s another statement I made in my last post:

I said:

“It is my belief that a believable story world should be based on the truths perceived in this world, since this world’s history is supposedly known as reality.”

I realize now that that is a confusing statement.  I’m going to try to clarify it here.

What I meant was that I think writers should look to this world’s history for examples of choices to put in their books depicting right and wrong.  Not that they should only write historical fiction, no.  Historical fiction is fine in its own way, but I’m not going there at the moment.

However, think about the history of the world – even the history of Christianity.  There is so much conflict with other belief systems and other religions… other cultures.  History itself has brought Christianity to what it is today – and it was stock full of pitfalls and temptations. 

Think on the reformation, if you will.  That’s a time in history that I’m going to be using in subtle context within my novel, “Song of the Daystar”.  The time when the Protestant Faith decided to break away from Catholicism, which ultimately led to the creation of the different denominations within Christianity today.  Granted, I am not a big fan of the different denominations and I personally believe that God’s church should be of one body and mind, but STILL!!!  That's part of the beauty of Freedom in Christ -- Christ gives us the freedom to be diverse; to be ourselves in His truth.  Without Christ and his Truth, and by extension without the reformation, I technically wouldn’t even be allowed to think on such things without it being a danger to my life!    

Even before the time of Christ there were different belief systems that ended up tempting and eventually overcoming God’s Chosen.  I think now of the time when Moses went up to the mountain for the making of the Ten Commandments, and in his absence the people made an idol of a calf and began to worship it.  Or how about in the time of Elijah, when the people of Israel were oppressed by Jezebel and Ahab, and had turned their eyes to the false god, Baal? 

In the end, Truth prevails, but the other choices… the other cultural beliefs, the other religions… are there to tempt the people of God; to try and turn them astray.  THIS is where the real spiritual battle begins, and this is what so many books in Christian Speculative fiction seem to be missing.  I’ve seen it done well in a few of them, but there are so many other books out there that are just missing the point!

This is another part of why I think multiple cultures and belief systems should be added to Christian Speculative fiction… not as a truth in itself, mind, but as choice; as a temptation.  And think on this: the people of other belief systems do actually think that they have the key to truth, even if they don’t really.  Thinking this, they can be very persuasive and very defensive when it comes to their faith.  (That’s what I meant when I kept saying that people of different cultures and different belief systems see black and white differently.  I never meant that Black and White were negotiable; simply that people see right and wrong with different perspectives… and this was not meant to bring morality into the debate, although it ended up sneaking its way in anyways. ;D) 

What’s saddest of all is that often times the people of different belief systems such as the Muslims and the Buddhists are more loyal to their religion – to their faith – than the Christians are with our walk with God.  I’ve seen this first hand; I know it’s true.  It’s so, so sad… but unfortunately, it is a truth for many Christians (me included in many instances).  This fact, however, can make the people of those belief systems even more convincing when it comes to arguing out their beliefs.

However, it’s like I said in my last post:  I believe that part of the wonder of True Salvation is the fact that there are so many other (false) belief systems in the world a person could pursue, and yet it is the truth behind Christianity – the truth of Christ – that draws people in to seek God’s face and find True Love and Salvation in Him.

Why do you think that so many churches send missionaries to foreign countries steeped in the cultural beliefs of a lie?  The Islamic and Buddhist and Hindu countries?  It isn’t to learn their belief systems… it is to spread the light and truth of Christ.  But even our missionaries need to be wary, and need to be covered by prayer when approaching such matters.  It’s dangerous; unsafe.

The path to true salvation is not an easy one: the gate is narrow and the way is rough and pitted.  BUT, making that first initial right choice in a whole world filled with much more succulent looking wrong choices is the first real step.

THAT, my friends, is what I meant when I wrote my last post.  THAT is what Christian Speculative writers need to work on putting into their stories – stories that have been missing that all-important spiritual conflict for so very long.  THAT is why I believe that multiple cultures and belief systems should be included in Christian Speculative Fiction – not as different forms of Truth, but as temptations and pitfalls; beliefs that are thought to be true by those who believe in them, but that ultimately lead to destruction.

With these choices before them, along with the choice that leads to salvation and redemption, the characters of a story have a long and difficult road before them.  If they are not already aware of the Right Choice and the Right Path, then they may have difficulty understanding it; they may end up turning aside, looking at other belief systems, thinking that other religions and cultures hold the key to the truth that they crave.  They may not be able to fully grasp what true salvation is… some of them may even fail in their journeys.

BUT, that’s why I usually pair my characters like this with another character who does know the difference… Who has been in that position before, and works to help lead my other character in the right direction.

Take my character Curron, for instance; he’s a young boy who grew up hearing stories of Anahdor  (the representation of God in my book) but never actually knew what true faith and belief in Anahdor actually meant or what it called for.)  Curron is eventually paired up with another character in the story known as Caellahn; Caellahn has already chosen the path to salvation through Anahdor, but he has to be careful because the King has issued a law that bans certain outlooks and views of worshiping Anahdor. (This is where I will start to work in certain aspects of the Reformation period, as well as subtly touch on some thoughts on denominational separation.) 

On his journey with Caellahn, Curron is going to be introduced to different cultural beliefs… all of them false, and all of them just different facets of darkness that eventually lead to the father of lies and deceit. (In my story, that evil character is known as Ungahl.)  And yet, when Curron is introduced to these belief systems, the people of those religions will, of course, think that their beliefs are the only ones that hold the key to truth.  They are deceived by Ungahl, but they don’t even realize it.

Curron will also be introduced in many places to those who believe as Caellahn does, who have found the one true path to salvation and redemption, and who will help Curron and pray for him as he works through his own inward struggle to find God.

Perhaps now you are starting to understand what I tried to get across before: I never meant for anyone to think that I believe in multiple truths, or that I think that there are different types of white and black, right and wrong.  I simply meant that often times, people who believe in something other than the Truth think that they are right: they THINK that they know right and wrong, black from white, when in reality they are just wrong.  There is no other way to God but One. 

AND YET, it is the very fact that there are people like that and belief systems like that in this world that often confuses people between the truth and some random falsity.  If done correctly, multicultural belief systems could be the key to revealing to our characters and therefore to our readers (through a series of events and plotlines, of course) the only ONE TRUE PATH to salvation – through Chirst.  

We should not try to purposely exclude such elements from our stories because they are wrong, we should not keep our outlook of God stuffed in a box, and we should definitely not try to ignore these aspects of our reality and of this world by excluding them from our books.  Why?  Because IF they are used correctly, adding this extra depth to the world of our story could actually aid us in our mission to reveal the Truths of Christ through fiction.

And that was my point all along.

What do you think?

Cultural Belief Systems and Christian Speculative Fiction

My friend, Mirriam, over at "Thoughts of a Shieldmaiden", just recently published a post about what she believes is the problem with Christian Fiction these days.  Before you read this post, I highly suggest that you skip on over to her blog and read what she has to say on the matter.  It's quite blood-rousing.

My post is an add-on to hers... some thoughts I had on why Christian Fiction is often less "fun" to read than secular fiction is. For one thing, I've noticed that good stories are sacrificed for the sake of a sermon-on-a-soapbox. I can’t stand reading that kind of stuff myself, and I pray to God that my writing doesn’t turn out like that either.

But I think that a lot of the reason Christian Fiction turns out this way is because of what I like to call "The Limited Christian Outlook".

Now, I'm 100% a born again christian and believe whole heartedly that the only way to God is through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross to cleanse a forsaken and fallen world from their sin.  But the truth of the matter is that Christians are very good at putting things into mental boxes.  We try it with God all the time, and COME ON!!!  We should seriously know by now that God CANNOT be put into a box!

That never stops us from trying, though. It never has, and it probably never will.

What does this have to do with Christian Fiction writing?  The answer is quite simple... at least in my mind.  Christians are some of the best sort of people for ignoring things that they don't like in the real world.  For instance, has anyone ever noticed how so many Christian fiction books have only one religious belief system?  How about how so many of them have only two sides to choose from, the side that is supposedly "right" and the side that is supposedly "wrong"?  Some people might say that this has a lot to do with the allegorical nature that most Christian Fiction books should take after, but quite honestly, I don't believe this outlook is helping our books in the slightest.

Why don't I believe this?

Because the world is not made up of people who all believe the same as everybody else.  Sure, almost everybody believes in right and wrong, but we all have different points of views as to what those rights and wrongs are.  The Muslims believe that Mohamed is the ultimate prophet of God, and that Christianity is an abomination.  The Mormons believe that the Bible isn't the only holy text and follow both the Bible and the Book of Mormon; they share some Christian beliefs, but also believe in plural marriage and other things that most modern Christians don't agree with.  The Scientologists believe that the world was actually populated by aliens millions and millions of years ago; the Darwinists believe that Humans were first derived from fish who apparently came onto land and become monkeys, who eventually evolved into the human race (or some other such nonsense); and the Atheists believe that there is no God or "Greater Power" at all, and never was.

And then there are the Christians.

You see the problem here, right?  In a world where so many people believe in so many different versions of their own personal "right" and "wrong -- where all of these different people try to make everyone else see their version of "right" as the ultimate right, and their version of "wrong" as the ultimate wrong -- HOW can Christian Writers create truly believable story worlds by only using one version of right and wrong?  The "Christian Version" that is?

Quite honestly, friends, I don't think it can be done.  Humanity is too colorful for that.  As much as Christians wish they could only see in black and white, the world has proven that there is simply too much grey, and to not at least show this grey in some shape or form in our books is to push aside the element of believability.

Now, some of you are probably looking at me cross-eyed right now.  And you are probably thinking, "How on earth can that girl think she is Christian and yet speak so liberally about such matters as these?"

Well let me tell you, I make no exceptions for my belief system.  I believe in the One True God, and in the Holy Trinity.  I believe 100% that Christ is my savior, my Wonderful Lord, the ultimate Lover of my Soul.

But I can also see that most of the world doesn't believe like this.  In fact, in THIS world... in THIS reality... Black and White is only visible to the person who sees it that way, how they perceive those colors to be.  One person might see White, while another person sees that White as Black and vise-versa.  It is the simple truth of Human Nature... a sad truth, but a truth nonetheless.

Now, one thing I've noticed about a lot of secular fiction - especially fantasy - is the presence of multiple cultures with multiple beliefs.  This, I believe, is part of what makes those books so fun and interesting to read.

It is the principal of culture.  The real world is NOT made up of multiple cultures that all believe in the truths of Christianity, or the falsities of what's left.  Rather, the real world is made up of multiple cultures and histories that have developed their own belief systems, their own versions of right and wrong.  In fact, that's why so many cultures have myths and legends, and why so many of them have fallen away, disintegrating into history.  Take the Greek mythologies, for instance; I need hardly say more.

It is my belief that a believable story world should be based on the truths perceived in this world, since this word's history is supposedly known as a reality.  So many successful writers deal out the advice, "Write what you know" - the problem with this advice comes with how it is perceived; how are you supposed to write about what you know when you are writing fantasy fiction?  However, what a person knows can depend on the context.  Even a school-kid can research the cultural follies of history and myth.  That doesn't necessarily show that history or mythology is truth, but everything in human nature is based on some truth... Zeus, for instance, was a false god of the Greeks, BUT he was the High god over all of the others in Greek Mythology.  We, as Christians, can trace the truth of a One High God, back to the God of creation, Jehova, in the Bible.

In a lot of secular fiction books, there are multiple cultures with multiple beliefs and religions, and that, in my personal opinion, helps to make the story world itself believable - after all, that's how this world is.  Our world is one multifaceted gem reflecting the One Truth in a pattern of contorted images and belief systems based off of the One Truth, but ultimately contorting it to fit into the box of our choice.

To apply what I'm speaking of to the subject of writing Christian Fiction, please someone explain WHY Christians believe that their books can only have one outlook on right and wrong?  I'm not by any means saying that Christians should experiment with what they KNOW through God's word to be right and wrong, but I AM saying that I'm tired of Fantasy worlds where there are multiple cultures and races, but only one true belief system; all the characters believe in One God, and in one evil entity, and all the good characters are trying to work together to overcome the bad ones.  There may even be some neutral characters, who don't really take a side, but they still know that the sides are there to take.

Our world is full of multiple belief systems.  Our world, as the reality that it is, is obviously a believable one.  Therefore, I would think that a truly believable fiction world would be based off of a believable reality.

I have read many, many secular books that follow this line of thought, but I have read very few Christian books that even acknowledge this outlook.  My question then, to Christian Speculative Writers, is why not show some aspects of truly different cultures and belief systems in your writing?  Your main character can have (or perhaps will eventually gain) a "Christian Perspective", but part of the wonder of True Salvation is the fact that there are so many other belief systems in the world a person could pursue, and yet it is the Truth behind Christianity that draws people in to seek God's face and find True Love and Salvation in Him.

And in considering that, maybe we've been looking at the genre of the Allegory all wrong; perahps the truth to be found in Allegory is not so much the retelling of a tale in a different way, but the retelling of a truth in a way that reflects the truth for what it truly is.

Think about it.

Facts About Me That You Might Have Otherwise Never Known... I WAS TAGGED!!! :D

I was tagged by Jake over at Teenage Writer to do this tag and receive the "Thanks for Blogging Award". :D And since I haven't done a tag in a long long time, I thought it might be fun to fill out this one and pass it on.

Ok, so here are the rules:


- If you are tagged/nominated, you must post eleven facts about yourself.


- Then, you must answer the eleven questions the tagger has given you and make eleven questions for the people you are going to tag.


- Next, tag eleven more bloggers.


- Tell the people you tagged that you have tagged them.


- No tagging back.


- The person you tagged must have less than 200 followers.


Facts in a Bucket:

1) I love to listen to Celtic, Irish, and Folk Music, but also enjoy Contemporary Christian and Country.  I am currently listening to no music at all, but I have a round going through my head on constant repeat... I'm also not very familiar with the classical composers, even though I should be since I am a Music Major. :P

2)  I play guitar and sing a lot.  I taught myself how to play at the age of 14 when my aunt got me a guitar for my birthday.  I learned using a chord book and a CD called "Masters of the Irish Guitar", and I love writing and playing folk music and lullabies.  Currently I'm in the process of putting music to some of the songs in the book "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood".  Also, I didn't know how to play Piano at all until about two years after I started college.

3)  I get kind of crazy around my good friends, but they've learned to love me anyway. :)  However, if you met me outside of my circle of friends, you might at first think that I am rather quiet, laid back, and slightly introverted.  My friends have proved this theory wrong. ;)

4) I just got back from the Bristol Wisconsin Ren-faire.  IT WAS EPIC!!!  I can't wait to go again next year. ^_^

5) I'm still afraid of the dark... Hey, don't judge me!  I can't help it... I just have an overly active imagination.  Even now at almost 24 years old, when all the lights go out at night, I can almost see things sneaking through the blackness to get me... *shivers*  Some of my dad's scary stories told to me as a kid might be at fault for that...

6) I used to think my toys came to life as soon as I stopped looking at them.  That doesn't happen anymore... but I blame Toy Story. ;)

7) I collect cool-looking journals and writing utensils, but I can't actually journal worth a darn.  I've tried it many times... it never lasts long.  However, I do keep a journal or a notebook with me at all times, and often write down scenes or plot ideas for my books.  In fact, the other day I forgot to bring my journal with me, and instead wrote my plot idea down in the back of the book I was reading on a blank page. :)

8) I currently have more writing projects planned out than I have time to write.  To remedy this, I've actually decided to combine some of my other ideas into stories that are already being written, in order to cut back.  Also, I started writing my first novel at the age of 16.  It's called "Eldrei" and no, it's not finished yet... I have a LOT of rewriting to do.  I started writing SOTD at the age of 17, and it was originally for a novella contest. :)

9) My favorite fantasy creature is the Dragon, although I'll admit that a griffin comes in close second. My favorite color of dragon is red. :D

10)  I've always wanted to go to Europe and South America, and I have a fascination with language (even though I can only truly speak English, and I butcher the few other languages I've tried to learn... :P).  I also love Tolkien's languages, of course, and used to be able to write using the Anglo-Saxon runes almost as well as I can write using normal English. (No more, I'm afraid...)

11) I'm officially glad that this part of the tag is over because I totally ran out of things to say! :D


The Bloggers I've tagged:

People are probably going to hate me for this, but though I follow a virtual TON of blogs, I can't think of any of them at this point in time. :P  Plus I'm tired.  So for now I'm just going to tag anyone who might want to be tagged, and perhaps later I will come back and actually assign people to this project. :D
 

My answers to Jake's Questions:

1. What's your favorite place in the world?

This is a tough question... Well, I've always wanted to travel to Ireland or Scottland.  I love my home state of Illinois as well, but I also really love the rocky mountains and Yellowstone National park.  Not to mention the awesome beauty of the badlands... Can I just say the whole world?  Since I live here, and there are so many wonderful things to see and learn? :D

2. What do you think about Kansas? (>:D)

I've actually never been to Kansas, but I'm sure it's a very  nice state. :)

3. Favorite song?

There are so many!  I can't name a favorite... I just can't!  I'll name a favorite Artist though... Andrew Peterson. :)  And Loreena McKennitt. ^_^

4. Favorite quote?

"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass."

5. G. K. Chesterton is, to you, what? Your opinion?

You're not going to believe this, but I've never read any of Chesterton either.  Just never have, for no reason other than I haven't.

6. Best speculative fiction you've read recently? In absence of speculative fiction, what's the best book you've read recently, non-fiction or fiction?

As far as "recent" goes, the last few titles that I've read were only mediocre in my opinion... Not terrible, but not really enough for me to name any of them as the best title that I've read recently.  However, I have a list of new books that I've started working through... perhaps I'll come back and re-answer these questions at a better time. :D

7. Best kind of cookie?

Chocolate Chip

8. Your opinion of pie?

I love pie, especially Green Tomato Pie!  YUM!!! :)

9. What color is your favorite shirt?

Probably red, but I only say "probably" because I have a lot of shirts that are red, and I don't know that I have a favorite. :)

10. Are you procrastinating?

At this particular moment in time?  Probably, yes.

11. If you're a writer, what are you currently writing? If you're not a writer, what big thing have you done recently?

I am currently working on a new and much better beginning for my novel SOTD.  Now, the whole story opens from my Villain's point of view, and I think the idea is working rather well. :)


My Questions:

1) What is the title of the writing project you are currently working on, and what is the story about?

2) If you could be anyone in history, fantasy, modern day, or a speculative world... anyone at all with no universe as a boundary, who would you choose to be?

3)Coffee or tea?

4) What is your favorite color scheme?

5) What is your special talent?

6) If you could be any of your characters, which one would you choose to be and why?  Would you let them be your Author, then?

7)  If you were suddenly gifted with millions of dollars, what would you do with it?

8) How big is your immediate family?

9) Science or History?

10) Do you prefer the country or the city?

11)  Where is your favorite place in the entire world?


Thank you for putting up with me, my friends!  And thank you for reading this tag.  If you feel like just claiming this tag, then good luck to you, and I look forward to reading it! :)

Reflections on The Chronicles of Narnia: Dragon Skin

In case any of you out there never realized this before, I am a HUGE fan of C.S. Lewis’ fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. And when I say “huge” fan, I mean squeal over getting the lion crest on a silver pendant, have lion stuffed animals all over your room, read the entire series at least twice a year and usually out of order, (not to mention listen to the audio books ten times in the same year), squeal over the theater release of every movie, and constantly dream of Aslan and Narnia whether by day or by night, HUGE.

Yes, that’s me. Ever since I first read the books at the age of ten, I was absolutely hooked. (I admit I may have exaggerated about the amount of times I’ve read the entire series to a year, but I’ve still read it so many times that I’ve lost count, and I’ve listened to the audio books even more often than that.)

There is something quite compelling about these books. I think part of what draws me to them is the fact that every time I read them I am brought to a new revelation – usually one that pertains to the spiritual aspect of things.

Now recently I’ve been listening to the audio books over and over again as I’m at work… I slip in a CD, and work to the rhythm of the story being told. (And I’m allowed to do that at work, since I work for an old woman who likes to listen to things of that sort as well. :D) Lately as I’ve been listening, I’ve had a whole slew of new revelations hit me upside the head, as if they were as plain as day and always had been, and the reason I was only just realizing that was because they were shouting at me in high-pitched voices and waving their hands in the air to make it as obvious as possible.

One such revelation came to me as I was listening to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The story had come to the part where Eustace, after being turned into a Dragon, is found by Aslan and told that he must “undress” before he can step into the enchanted pool and ease the ache in his arm from the Lord Octesian’s arm ring.

At that point in time, I thought, “What an interesting notion… a dragon that needs to undress.” Even Eustace thought it curious at the time, but had remembered that dragons are sort of like snakes, and snakes can shed their skin.

Oh, and how he did try to get his ugly dragon skin off by himself! Two skins, and three, and I believe even a fourth skin were shed before he realized that there was no way he could peal the whole thing off without some form of help.

And it was then that Aslan stepped in.

I don’t think anyone could blame Eustace for feeling afraid at that point in time. Who wouldn’t feel scared if a lion stepped up and offered to peal your skin off of you? Especially a lion so big and powerful and imposing as Aslan.

But then, when Aslan sunk his claws into Eustace’s dragon flesh and ripped it open, though it hurt like crazy, Eustace later told Edmund how wonderful it actually felt as the whole knobby thing peeled off, leaving him smooth and tender underneath.

Now, think on that for a moment… consider that whole scene. How does that scene – that particular scene – pertain to us as Christians? How can it?

I never made the connection before the other day, but when it hit me, it hit me hard.

How many of us are like Eustace?

In the books it states that while laying on a pile of dragon’s gold, and with dragonish thoughts in his head, Eustace had become a dragon himself. And how many of us Christians have also turned into dragons? Trapped by our greed, our ambitions, our imperious thoughts, so many supposed followers of Christ in today’s society have become like dragons… not in appearance, but in our hearts. And to make matters worse, we get stuck like that. Swathed in layer upon layer of dragon skin – layers we have created thick and deep in order to protect our tender hearts from a world we consider cruel – we get to a point where we realize that our barriers, our protective coverings, our haughty gazes and upturned noses, have turned us into something monstrous; something foul and hideous, and knobby. We suddenly understand that our own supposed protections, our own justifications, have transformed us into a creature not only ugly, but fierce… something that breathes fire at anyone and anything it thinks will attack it – including friends and family – and that’s long, sharp claws can tear down others much quicker than it can rebuild.

Once this is realized, I think a lot of Christians start by trying to peel off the layers of their dragon’s skin one at a time all by themselves. We don’t know how else to do it. After all, the layers were built up one at a time – one haughty thought at a time, one ambition, one moment of greed, one hidden sin… But for us it becomes too much. If we try to do it ourselves, we’ll never get the full Dragon skin off. There will always be another dragon skin underneath each layer to replace it, just as knobbly and dirty and ugly as the first. And because it takes time for us to try and peel off each ugly layer of skin one at a time, we shall always have that same ample amount of time to grow a new skin right back. After all, it is far easier to fall back into habit and to grow a dragon skin (with all that that entails) than it is to feel the pain and peel the skin away. It would seem that growing a dragon skin is only part of Human Nature.

However, there is One who can get the whole skin off all at once.

In the chronicles of Narnia, that One is Aslan the Lion… the only son of the Emperor Over the Sea. In the books, that Lion took his great, strong claws and ripped the giant ugly dragon skin clean off of Eustace’s body, leaving it lying in a heap beside the enchanted cleansing pool. And afterward, Eustace looked back on the shed skin and saw how thick and horrible it actually was, and knew that there was no way he could have taken it off all by himself.

In real life, that Lion is actually Jesus Christ, and his claws are actually three iron nails, and the enchanted pool is actually his blood pooled at the foot of an ancient wooden cross. And our Dragon skin… well, it’s much the same as Eustace’s. Sure, we can’t actually see it – physically see it – like the crew of the Dawn Treader could see Eustace’s dragon skin in the books. But that doesn’t mean our Dragon skins are any smaller or less awful or less shameful than Eustace’s. And only the Lion himself – only Christ – can actually “undress” us of our awful ugly skin and toss us into the enchanted pool… the deep, cleansing pool of his blood.

Sometimes, however, it’s hard to admit that we can’t take the skin off by ourselves. And yet admitting our weaknesses is the first step to freedom because it is a step towards realizing and having others realize that we are not perfect… never were and never will be.

Until Eustace actually turned into a dragon, he always thought that he was right, while everyone else was terribly and inexcusably wrong. Once he became a dragon – once he realized how awful he really was in comparison to what he had originally thought the others to be – he started to understand. He started to see the ugliness for what it truly was; not just the scales, and claws, and teeth of a dragon, but the ugliness that had settled in his heart and in his soul. He started to want to be fixed… want to be made beautiful inside, even though he knew he didn’t deserve it.

And what Eustace never realized, just as we often don’t, is that once he could see and understand the wrong for what it was, only then could Aslan heal him. After all, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. If the horse doesn’t admit and realize that it’s thirsty, even if it’s going to die without water, there is nothing you can do to save that horse… it will not drink and you cannot force it to.

And just think about how much MORE stubborn a dragon would be.

And now think about how stubborn humans can be when compared to a common beast such as the horse.

But there is hope for us, just like there was for Eustace, because God is a jealous God, a loving God. He wants to make us beautiful inside and out, even though we don’t deserve it. It may not be pleasant though – sometimes it takes a lion’s claws to tear through all of the layers of Dragon Ugliness and Evilness that we’ve built up around us. But no matter what, we can rest safe in knowing that the pain is only temporary, and once the whole process is over, no matter how much hurt it may cost us at the time, we will be made new – smooth and pure, just like how we were always meant to be.

Once God cleanses us of our Dragon skins.

Team Novel Teen Book Tour: "Swipe" by Evan Angler

Logan Langly is just months away from his thirteenth Birthday – the absolute BIGGEST day of his life. That is the day he will finally get the Mark. The Mark works like a credit card/driver’s license/birth certificate/social security card/everything-in-between. Once he has the Mark, he will be able to get a job, buy things, use public transportation, and do a thousand other things he would never be able to do without it.

It’s not mandatory to get the Mark, but who wouldn’t? If you had the choice between having a way to support yourself and your family for life in a semblance of peace, or living off of the garbage and leftovers of a broken society, which would you choose? To many people, the choice seems clear; the mark is the way of peace and prosperity, hope and world unity. It is the very sign of freedom. Those people without the mark are dumb creatures, lower than dirt, not even worth spitting on – the trouble makers of a world well on its way to eternal peace and structure. They shouldn’t even be left to live, the filthy trash!

There’s no reason why Logan should be afraid of being Marked. Every thirteen year old kid looks forward to it – the day when they are finally considered an adult; the day when they can finally take care of themselves by themselves, without their parents’ help (if that’s what they prefer). But Logan isn’t so sure that the Mark is such a good thing. Five years before, his sister went off to be Marked on her Thirteenth birthday, and she never came back. It changed his family forever. Now Logan’s mom barely gets through each day, depressed, barely responding to the life around her, while Logan’s father tries to make up for it in his own ways.

And Logan… well, he can’t seem to shake the feeling that he’s being watched. He’s absolutely sure that someone is out to get him…

And he’s not far wrong.

***

My Thoughts:

When I first picked up this book, I was apprehensive. The truth is, I had just finished reading a rather mediocre to slightly negative review about it by a reviewer that I trust, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

On that account, the book surprised me. I found myself immediately drawn into the writing style, and rooting for the MC, Logan Langly. I really, really wanted him to be able to defeat the bad-guys and come out on top.

Logan is a likable MC. A bit paranoid, but that’s something you come to expect of him, and soon enough you (as the reader) begin to turn suspicious of even the smallest details… much like Logan. He’s smart… but he’s also nervous. All the time. And many times his nervousness masks his bravery.

Which brings me to one of the things I had trouble with about the book. There were times when Logan’s bravery would come out suddenly and totally surprise me, and then a second later he would be the timid little nervous creature I knew him to be from earlier on. The same thing happened with him being smart. There was one scene in the book where he was talking to the New Girl in town, Erin. They were working together to trace a group of unmarked kids through the slums of the Old City, and Logan predicted something to Erin about their motivation and where they would try to go next. It was a very intelligent prediction, and a little surprising, but it made me like Logan even more. However, a second later, when Erin pointed out something obvious – something that I felt Logan should have had an intelligent answer for, especially after what had happened only a few paragraphs before – he instead acted as if he wasn’t sure of himself, and his answer was vague and not thought through.

Now, I know I’m being vague about where and what this scene is in the book, but that is because I want you, the reader, to come up with your own conclusions about the story itself and its characters. However, I did notice that Logan portrayed similar character traits throughout the book… one minute he would seem cowardly, the next surprisingly brave, and then a second later he would be a nervous little boy again. Out of the entire book, that was the probably the biggest problem I had with it.

Besides that however, I did find the book quite interesting. It was a relatively fast read, but engaging (though not particularly a story I would call “outstanding”.) It was a good read, though. Clean, wholesome, and I liked the fact that it was set in a dystopian future with lots of neat gadgetry. The author was able to explain the gadgetry well, and his descriptions were vivid enough that the world came to life in my mind’s eye as I read – something that I find extremely valuable within a book. :D Even now, thinking back to a few of the scenes, I can picture the author’s world clearly in my head.

I was able to guess at few elements of the story that I suppose were meant to surprise the reader, but I believe I was only able to do that because I am a very avid book lover, and a writer myself. :D And besides that, there was a VERY important surprise near the end of the book that I never saw coming at all.

I’m going to give this book 3 stars out of 5. I didn’t find it particularly compelling, but it was engaging. To me, it was one of those books that is not hard to put down, but that you like to pick up again. :) And besides that, this first book ended on a note that makes me rather curious about the second one in the series. I look forward to getting the chance to read “Sneak” when it comes out this September. :D

Here is the author's website, for those of you who would like to look into the book "Swipe", or it's sequel that will be coming out soon, "Sneak": http://www.evanangler.com/

ADD Librarian • http://addlibrarian.wordpress.com/
Blooming with Books • http://www.bloomingwithbooks.webs.com/
The Book Fae • http://www.thebookfae.wordpress.com/
Book Nook 4 You • http://booknook4you.blogspot.com/
Bookworm Reading • http://bookwormreading.blogspot.com/
Books I Recommend • http://noahsreads.blogspot.com/
Christian Book Review Blog • http://christianbookreviewblog.blogspot.com/
CTF Devourer • http://www.ctfdevourer.com/
Fiction Fire • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xocV0yQNVLA
Jill Williamson • http://www.jillwilliamson.com
Labor Not in Vain • http://labornotinvain.blogspot.com/
The Maniacal Bookworm • http://themaniacalbookworm.blogspot.com/
My Story Shelf • http://mystoryshelf.blogspot.com/
Oh, Restless Bird • http://daughteroftheking89.blogspot.com
The Pen and Parchment • http://theravenquill.blogspot.com
Reviews by Jane • http://www.reviewsbyjane.blogspot.com/
Shadow Writer World • http://shadowwriterworld.blogspot.com/

Updates AT LAST!!!!! :D

Well, friends, I can see from the date of my last post that I have been out of commission for some time! At least blogging wise. And recently, one of my friends on Facebook got a hold of me through message, and asked when on earth I was going to post some updates? This wasn’t the first time I was asked, either; I had been asked the same thing by a blog follower just the day before. So I definitely know that it is time to get everyone up to speed. 

Well, let’s start with my regular life. I’ve been writing A LOT more lately. Way more than I could have even hoped to during the school year. My novel, “Song of the Daystar”, now has a (very nearly complete) history behind the plot, the world, and the story itself, and because of that history, all of the little plot holes that I was struggling with are starting to fill up and make sense. And, quite honestly, the whole thing sort of worked itself out all by itself and came at me from out of nowhere. I’m reworking the beginning of the book yet again, but this time I’m opening with my villain and (though I haven’t completely decided on the specific time period of the scene) at the moment it is a scene that happened four years before my MC’s story. (That may change in the near future, if I can’t figure out how to work in the four year skip with grace… :P)

Besides writing, though, I’m still working on art commissions. Right now I’m all backed up. I have quite a few illustrations I’m working on from several different authors, and I have some deadlines coming up for them really soon (both personal and otherwise) so the pressure is really on. So far so good… hopefully I can get myself completely dug out within the next month. Or maybe two, if there are any complications. I still don’t have a scanner of my own, which means I’m still relying on my local Library and my school’s computer lab, but hopefully before too long this problem will be fixed as well.

Which leads nicely into the third bit of news regarding my personal life: I’ve got a job! It’s a part time job working as an In-Home care CNA for a wonderfully sweet woman who just happens to be the mother of a good friend. This has made life so much more manageable, since I can now rely almost entirely on myself, and I thank God every day for this gift. Besides, a portion of the money is going into a business fund for Magpie Eclectic, while another portion is taking care of bills, and another portion is going in a savings fund for my planned move this fall.

You read that right, friends. I’m hoping (though it’s still too early to say for certain) that I will be able to move out of my parents’ house for the fall 2012 and spring 2013 semesters and live on campus (or somewhere much nearer campus than my parents’ house) during that time. I still need to figure out a proper mode of transportation, since I’m currently using my parents’ van, but the thought of finally being on my own is a sweet one. Besides, with gas prices what they are, it’s getting ridiculous for me to drive an hour to school and an hour back every day of the week (usually including Saturday), and then an hour to church in the same direction on Sunday. I might as well live close as spend all that money on gas! Lol!

I also may be going to the big Ren-fair in Wisconsin coming up in a few weeks. I’m excited about that. Been working on embroidering and beading my big renaissance dress for the occasion. Hopefully when I get it done, I can post pictures of all my hard work. I’m excited to get it finished… I absolutely can’t WAIT to wear it at the fair! :D

And now for news concerning Magpie Eclectic Press and the Anthology Project – just in case any of you were curious about it. The submission process for the Anthology Project is going well. Currently we have four short stories that will be included in the anthology, and two poems. I will not be announcing names until after submissions are closed, and only if I get the authors’ permissions to announce them. As of the moment there is still no submission deadline, and if any of you have submitted something but haven’t heard back from me yet, just know that I’m getting to it. :D Some of the stories are still being debated over, but as soon as a solid decision is made I’ll be sure to contact the author with the results. I’m really getting excited about this project. Using the stories that have been decided on as a base, I’ve started to work out a design for the cover and have begun to brainstorm Anthology titles. Within a couple months time I will probably be setting up a pole to see what readers think of the potential anthology titles. 

I’ve also set up a new blog for the company… well, actually for me; to chronicle my journey into the publishing world as a company. It is called “Aspiring Endnotes”, and the title was inspired by the fact that I learn as I work… so basically my blog posts are likely to be “notes” on the lessons I learned after the fact. Lol! Currently there are no posts, but I have a couple that I’m working on. When I set up the first post, I will put a link up on this blog for those of you who are interested in reading it.

Some of you are probably wondering why I would set up a separate blog for that, when I could just post everything here at the P&P. But the truth is, every time I posted something about Magpie Eclectic here, I felt like I was self-promoting – advertising. That’s not really the purpose of the P&P, so I thought I would set up a separate blog for that sort of stuff… for talking about publishing through the eyes of one who is learning how to become a publisher. This blog here (the P&P) is for my personal journey as a writer… the Aspiring Endnotes blog is for my personal journey as a publisher. I’ve found that I look at the world of writing and publishing through different eyes, depending on which subject I’m working on, and which roll I take on as I’m working on it (writer, or publisher). So I feel like it’s just better to have my two views on the subjects separated... to keep them from getting mixed up. 

On another note entirely, yesterday I opened my business inbox to a new submission that I found quite intriguing. Since magpie has opened I’ve been surprised at the amount of submissions I’ve received already. After all, this is a fairly new press, and I haven’t even been given the chance to prove myself in the publishing world yet; I only have what I know, what I’ve studied, and what I believe – bunches of promises and this blog, but no books. And yet Magpie is still receiving submissions. :D However, up until this point, although I saw potential in several of the manuscripts, this is the first submission that I feel could possibly have more to it… this is the first one I’ve read that has made me want to request more. And it’s not just the writing or the style (by which I found myself pleasantly surprised when it drew me straight in), but it is also the subject idea. Now, of course it’s still WAY too early to say more than that or to get any hopes up – I still don’t know much about the rest of the book or how everything will play out, etc… and I haven’t even talked to the author yet – but this submission has made me wonder… I’ll be sure to keep you all posted over at Aspiring Endnotes.

Besides that… well, there really isn’t any “besides”. That pretty much sums up my life and current situation in a nutshell. I’ve been keeping myself busy. :D I have several book reviews that I should be getting up soon… but with everything else I’ve been working on, it seems so easy to push a book review to the side for a few days… and then a few more days… and then a few more… I can’t put it off forever though. Lol! There are also a couple of posts I would like to blog about, having to do with some insights into the lessons behind certain scenes of “The Chronicles of Narnia” books. I’ve been re-listening to the audio dramas of the books as I work on my ren-dress, and just the other day I had a revelation about the scene in “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” where Aslan turns Dragon Eustace back into a boy. It should be a very interesting post. 

If you’ve made it through this entire post, then I congratulate you for surviving my rambling! Hopefully my next post will be more focused (although I promise nothing… ;D)
Bye for now! And Happy Writing. ^_^

Nichole White

The Essence of Fantasy

"You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children."

That is a famous quote by Madeleine L'Engle, author of one of the most renowned science fiction books to date: “A Wrinkle in Time”. It is also one of my favorite writing quotes ever, and I will explain why in a moment.  First, however, I would like to talk about something I did just the other night.

The other night I watched one of my favorite movies of all time: Peter Pan, produced by Universal Studios. I first discovered this movie several years ago when my dad brought it home from the movie rental. At the time he’d just thought that it’d be an interesting one to watch, and something the whole family could enjoy together… But he had no idea what he’d sparked.

Of course I knew the story of Peter Pan. I hadn’t read the actual book yet (still haven’t, actually), but what person (little or otherwise) didn’t know it? Peter pan was the boy who ran away to Kensington Gardens when he was just a baby. There he was saved by the fairy Tinkerbell and was later taken to Neverland and learned to fly. He was the leader of a band of misfits known as the Lost Boys, and Peter’s arch nemesis was the evilest pirate to ever sail the seven seas, or any other sea real or imagined… the notorious Captain James Hook. Peter and Hook had many battles and adventures but, of course, Peter always came out on top.

I love that story simply to love it. Even though I hadn’t (and still haven’t yet) read the original book, I’d read other books about Peter and his amazing adventures: unofficial sequels and prequels to the original. And of course, I still knew the original story too… maybe not as well as one might hope, but I knew it. To me, it is an amazing tale of adventure and fantasy blended in perfect balance.  A tale of childhood fancy and the beauty that such creates. A splendid rendition of imagination and the power that such can hold.

However, it is Universal’s particular version of the story of Peter Pan that will now, always, and forever be held in my heart as a favorite. Not Disney’s version, and not any other version, though I may watch and enjoy them… it is the Universal version that I truly love. And yes, I now own my own copy of the movie – I had to own it, I decided, after I saw it the first time. I plan to keep the DVD for always, and one day bring it out for my children to enjoy. And hopefully (if they are anything like me) I will have the extreme pleasure of watching their faces light up as I hold them in my lap and fall back into the remarkable world and characters created by the master story-teller, J.M. Barrie.

But now think about that for a moment. Mr. Barrie wrote the story of the amazing, conceited, flying boy who vowed never to grow up, Peter Pan, over a hundred years ago, and even then, the story was originally a script meant to be staged in the theater. How is it, then, that Mr. Barrie’s story, “Peter Pan”, has managed to last so long and touch the hearts of so many, being handed down from generation to generation and quite literally becoming a household name? What did Mr. Barrie do that made his story so memorable? So memorable, in fact, that other people would make different renditions of his story to last for years to come, and that even a girl like me who has yet to finish reading the original story at all, would know and understand the wonder, adventure, and excitement behind the tale?

Well now, you remember that quote at the beginning of this post? The one that says if the story is too difficult for grown-ups, then one should write if for children?  Well, this is where it comes in again.

As I was watching that movie the other night, I was catching all sorts of interesting themes subtly woven into the action and adventure. Oh, I know that the film-makers most likely took many liberties when it came to adapting the masterpiece for the movie screen, but the main story line is still there, strong as ever: no one can say that it isn’t. And these themes… they are obviously from the story itself. Themes like the power of love, and the longing for something greater, and the adventure of an ordinary life, and the strength of imagination, etc… These themes were all over the place!!!

But the movie… ah, the movie. And the story itself. What genius. What sheer brilliance in a written work!

There’s no way that children are going to pick up on such themes right away, of course. They will watch the movie or read the book for the enjoyment and the adventure, but they won’t understand how the themes are strung along so subtly throughout the entire tale.

I mean, honestly, what child is going to be able to connect the power of Wendy’s kiss on the Pirate Ship, with the strength of Peter’s own imagination, with Peter’s longing that is shown (at least in the movie) for something more than what he has, and the fear he shows at the unknown adventure of growing up… he doesn’t know what it’d be like to grow up, but it doesn’t take much thinking for an adult to suddenly understand that he’s scared of it. It’s made evident throughout the tale, like when tries to confirm with Wendy that her being a mother and him being a father is only just pretend, and like him being upset with her for wanting to grow up at all.

And yet, we also get the sense that he longs for what he fears. He says he just want to always be a little boy and have fun, but towards the end of the movie we watch him look in on the Darling family with longing eyes and say (one of my favorite quotes of the whole film), “To live would be an awfully big adventure.”

Life, in and of itself, is a great adventure… but we, as adults, must learn not to lose sight of the wonderment that life presents us as children.

And what does this have to do with the quote I posted earlier?

Well, it’s quite simple really. I believe that J.M. Barrie wrote a children’s fairy tale because the adults either couldn’t or didn’t want to accept such themes for what they truly are and mean. Peter Pan is the very essence of boyhood, childishness, and fancy – something that grown-ups all too often lose touch with as the responsibilities and dull knowledge that come with maturity start to crowd in. It’s all too easy for us to forget what it is like to be children. We often see our childhood years as silly and petty in comparison to what we now consider important and valuable and influential in today’s society.

I think Mr. Barrie probably realized this about adults, but had an idea (at least subconsciously) that such thinking wasn’t altogether right. And children are easily susceptible to subliminal messages… they are more open to ideas, and less likely to judge outright.

Yes, children would be the ones to present these ideas and themes to, subtle though they were, for it was likely that, though while young the child would not fully understand the message being delivered, yet as they grew the thoughts and ideas would become more clear to them. And it was likely that by the time that the child realized this, the idea would already be strongly planted in his head and heart.

It’s relatively easy to follow a similar pattern throughout the world’s histories. After all, how to you supposed such strong religious beliefs and superstitions, and even fairy tales have survived so many ages? As each generation grows old, they pass down the legends, myths, and fairy tales to their children, who grow up thinking that the stories are either real, or that the moral of the story is real. It all eventually leads up to the same thing.

The beliefs instilled in a child are ultimately proven to outlast those presented to people in adulthood.

Now, I’m not (of course) saying that an adult can’t have a change of heart or of mind and come to believe in something so strongly as an adult that the result is nearly the same (if not stronger) as it might have been had the idea been instilled in them as a child. But if you think about it, children are the very makings of the next generation of adults. If a child can grow up believing in something – even if that belief is more subconscious than otherwise – that belief is likely to stick with the child through most of, if not all of, his or her life.

And so it comes to this: If the idea proves too difficult for grownups, write it for children.

Because children may not fully understand the idea, but they will be more likely to accept it. And in accepting it, they will be more likely to grow with it. And in growing with it, they will be more likely to carry it on with them into adult hood and beyond.

Yet, with that said, I would like to add one last thing, perhaps just as important as the quote above. If the idea proves too difficult for grownups, then write it for children, absolutely… but be careful of what you are trying to write for the children. Be considerate of their openness, their willingness to be accepting upon first glance and judge later. When you write for them, do not write of things that will darken their minds, poison their hearts, or blacken their countenances, for young children are a representation of purity and beauty in a world of bitterness and tainted dreams. Much like the saying, “You are what you eat”, children become what they are fed… mentally and spiritually fed, that is. So we, the writers who would spread our ideas far and wide and make a difference in the world with our words, should be mindful to feed their imaginations only with good, wholesome ideas and themes for them to grow on.

And yet, we must also not leave out the truth of what evil is, and what reality has become: after all, Captain Hook was every bit the evil villain in the story of Peter Pan – the very representation of evil and all things dark and sinister – but Peter, who was the essence of childhood, the very grip of imagination, and the light and joy of Neverland (conceited and short tempered though was), ultimately triumphed over Hook. And along the journey, we learned of Peter’s strengths and weaknesses, and read (though we may not have realized it at the time) themes of love, and longing, and strength, and passion. That, my friends, is what makes up a good tale: that is the very Essence of Fantasy – a lesson well learned through a tale of wonder and enchantment.

It’s not in how well the tale is made up, or how beautifully the world is created, or how thoroughly the characters are fleshed out. Oh no. But it is in what the true message of the story actually is, and in how it is presented that makes the story great. Fairy tales and the fantastic are a writer’s tools to open the minds and hearts of young readers everywhere… it is our chance to actually make a difference in the world for generations to come, much like Lewis Carrol, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and yes… J.M. Barrie.

For who here among us has not, at least, heard of the story of that amazing flying boy, Peter Pan? And look at what a difference that one story has made in the literary world of today.

Team Novel Teen Book Tour: "Failstate" by John W. Otte

You'd think being a teenage superhero would be relatively easy, wouldn't you?  You'd have super powers, all the girls would probably love you, and you'd get to pound the bad guys to your heart's content.  But for Robin Laughlin, it's no simple matter.


When Robin decides to join a reality TV show for superheros things just get more complicated.  Oh sure, it seems simple at first: win the show and become a licensed superhero... easy enough.  But for Robin things just don't come that easy.  With his brother, Ben (aka. Gauntlet) pulling at America's heartstrings, and with Robin's own powers proving themselves so unwieldy even for the monitored studio challenges, Robin begins to wonder if his calling really isn't to save the world after all.


Until one of his competitors is murdered.


Robin vows to find the killer and sets out on a very real quest to unmask the hidden villain.  But can he find justice?  Or will his lunk of a big brother ruin everything for him -- and possibly the world?




My Thoughts:


John Otte has proved himself a masterful writer with his debut novel, "fAILSTATE".  It is, without exception, a superb piece of fiction.  And I do not say that lightly at all.


Mr. Otte has created a character that is both flawed and perfect... perfect very much in the sense that he is flawed.  Robin has LOTS of problems, and throughout the entire book he is forced to work through them - from feeling awkward around girls, to family troubles with a mother who ultimately ignores him and a big brother who not only looks down on him but seems to try his best to see Robin fail, to the struggles he has with containing his powers, to how he actually looks and the barrier that creates between him and an even seemingly normal life, to his ultimate feeling of ever present guilt ... Robin is downright imperfect.  And that's why it was so easy for me to relate to him and feel sympathy for him.  That's why it was so easy to like him and root for him to win.


Mr. Otte has also shown his hand at plot twists.  Without revealing too much here and spoiling everything, I honestly would never have guessed who the actual villain in the story is.  Not until the very end, and then the revelation was like, "WOAH!  THAT IS TOO COOL!"


And as far as the writing goes... I was drawn into the story at the very first page, held captive there, and after the first chapter, I was completely hooked.  I finished the book in one night.  I simply couldn't put it down.  The writing style flows right along with the story, pulling the reader along as if by a hook in the nose.  I was on edge the entire time.


And for those of you who follow my blog regularly and have read several of my other reviews, you know that I don't give THIS kind of review very often.


And the Christian themes... they weren't subtle, but they weren't in your face either.  The whole book showed the trial of faith that Robin faced, both in his home life, and in his life as Failstate.  Robin often questions God and his motives, and often questioned himself.  He would remind himself of what God's word said about situations, but he couldn't help doubting.  Yet ultimately, God's word came through every time.  Prayer was used adamantly, but again, it wasn't as if the author was trying to push the message in a person's face, or flash it across a neon sign. (I've read books like that before... they get very annoying very fast.)  Rather, the christian themes were there, prominent, but not posted on a billboard. It was mixed in nicely, and my guess is that it probably helped that Mr. Otte is a pastor.


"Failstate" has become a favorite.  It's been a couple weeks since I read it, but right afterwards, and even looking back now, I can come up with no prominent flaws that stood out to me.  Oh, there was a typo here and there, but nothing that took me out of the story, and nothing that can't be easily fixed.


Ultimately, an Amazing read.  I give it 5 out of 5 stars. ^_^


For those of you who are interested, here is a link to Mr. Otte's blog:


 http://leastread.blogspot.com/


And is the link to the "Failstate" Book Trailer:  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6-0-UCvU_o&list=UUavyvbMY-m7UUBlHWLtYmdA&index=2&feature=plcp


And here is the Amazon Link:


http://www.amazon.com/dp/1935929488/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=wwwteenageaut-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1935929488&adid=1A0VGZJWBAGKHHDJMMX9


I seriously suggest that you get this book and read it.  It is so worth the money.




(Links to other blogs on the tour)

ADD Librarian • http://addlibrarian.wordpress.com/

The Book Fae • http://www.thebookfae.wordpress.com/

Bookworm Reading • http://bookwormreading.blogspot.com/

Books I Recommend • http://noahsreads.blogspot.com/

Colorimetry • http://www.burgandyice.blogspot.com/

CTF Devourer • http://www.ctfdevourer.com/

Fiction Fire  •   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xocV0yQNVLA

Gillian Adams • http://ofbattlesdragonsandswordsofadamant.blogspot.com/

Hornspoon Reviews • http://www.hornspoon.com

My Story Shelf • http://mystoryshelf.blogspot.com/

The Pen and Parchment • http://theravenquill.blogspot.com

Jill Williamson • http://www.jillwilliamson.com/?p=8246

Virtuous Girlhood • http://www.virtuousgirlhood.com/

A chance to get a Short Story or Poem in an Anthology and get paid for it... :D

Hello Friends,

It's been a long time since I've blogged and I know that. I have a couple of really good books I'm reading, and I'm also way far behind on posting book reviews... I plan to get some of those up in the near future. :D

However, I thought that perhaps some of you might be interested in an opportunity now available through MEP. You read about it in the title of this blog post... yep, the one that says you could be published in an anthology and paid to be?

Well, here's the deal.  I have been collaborating with some of my writing and publishing friends about ways to get Magpie Eclectic Press off the ground and into the publishing world with some standing.  The idea was posed to me by a dear friend to try for an anthology... a sort of experiment to give writers a chance to see what we are looking for in Speculative fiction, work with us, see what we are really about... while at the same time putting out quality work so that readers will know to look out for us in the future.

Really, if we can pull this off, it will be win/win.

But before we can publish an anthology, we need authors who are interested in contributing to this anthology.

Now, I've looked around at other houses putting out anthologies right now.  The really really high end publishers (I mean the ones that are - like - in the big 6 and making ridiculous amounts of money, or even just really good money) can pay a very fancy one-time sum for a short story that they want to put in an anthology.  (Usually short stories don't bring in royalties, but are instead bought one at a time for use in magazines and anthologies... therefor the contract agreements are different than agreements made over novels and novellas.)

Currently, I can't afford to pay a high-end sum of money to multiple authors for an anthology.

Other, smaller but still reputable independent houses that I'm following online offer much smaller amounts of money per short story, or even no money at all.  Some houses, instead of money, offer a complimentary copy of the anthology as payment.  All of these houses are still getting submissions.

Well, seeing as I can't afford to pay a high-end sum per story, I thought why not try for a low-end one?

So here's how it is: Currently the "Write for Us" page on the Magpie Eclectic Press website is undergoing a slight edit and hopefully will be completely updated within a few weeks.  In the mean time, I'm going to post what we are accepting (short story wise) here in the blog for any of you readers who are interested in it. :)

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Magpie Eclectic Press is currently accepting Short stories and poetry for a possible anthology.  Short stories are to be Approx. 3k – 6k in length and follow the regular formatting guide.

For poetry, please center the text.

Please use Times New Roman as your font, size 12. 

To submit your short story or poetry, fill out the submission form as it requests.  For poetry submissions you may type the words “Poetry Submission” in the boxes that ask for your novel premise and synopsis.  However, I would ask that you leave a brief description or “hook” for your poem in the box that asks for your novel’s hook.

Authors submitting short stories to the anthology will receive a one-time payment of $5.00 per story accepted upon the time of publication.  Authors submitting poetry will receive a one-time payment of $2.00 - $3.00 per poem accepted (depending on the length of the poem in question) upon publication.

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If any of you are interested in submitting, hop on over to www.magpie-eclectic-press.com to find out more about our submission process, and to submit your story. ^_^

The Official Launch for Magpie Eclectic Press!!!! :D

Hello Friends,

I'm blogging today to tell you that, yes, everything is official as of this moment.

Yesterday was the launch of the official website for Magpie Eclectic Press. :)  That means that we are now OFFICIALLY up and ready for business. :D

Here is the new website:  www.magpie-eclectic-press.com 

Check it out!!!! *does a happy dance*

I would also encourage you to check out the Magpie Eclectic Press blog here:  http://magpie-eclectic-press.blogspot.com/

The blog is going to be the main place people can go for updates and information.  The site itself will be updated periodically, but the blog will be the place where most everything that's going on at the press will be kept updated.

Also, I encourage you all to like us on Facebook. ^_^

http://www.facebook.com/MagpieEclecticPress

Besides the blog, our facebook page will also be a great source of updated information on what's going on within the press and (hopefully) the publishing world.

I'm so excited.  Today I've been half studying and half going through submissions... I've had a few already.  So far I've found one short story that I'm most definitely interested in, possibly for a future anthology, and I've gone over a few novels.  Haven't found a novel submission yet that I'm particularly interested in, but it's still very very early in the business.  I'm going to keep look, and I know that the right books are out there for this company... God knows what's in store for Magpie Eclectic, and he has the right books in mind for this company as well.  I cannot wait to see how far this can go. ^_^