In Print

The Hunger Games~A partial review

2012-01-19T18:20:00.000-08:00

I've be desperate for fiction lately, and I mean really desperate. For several months I've toyed with reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Yesterday I put in my Ebookfling.com loan request, today I received the book!

I made it around 66% in before stopping. Two reasons: kissing and lack of...that almost intangible.

I had the conception that there was perhaps two kisses in the book and I figured as long as the author didn't fixate on them they'd be skippable or not degrading for the characters. Unfortunately, that wasn't really the case. Once you reached a certain point in the book there was kissing in approximately every other scene. For my personal reading, that's unacceptable; in this case I found it especially bad taste as the kisses were staged displays of affection for gifts from the audience. I won't dwell on this, but I found it disappointing and a repulsive addition to the book.

Here in my partial review I'm struggling with what to say. The story just didn't resonate for me, but obviously it has for many people. I've looked at the plot, the characters, the sometimes bi-polar Katniss, and I can't nail down exactly what didn't jive for me. I suppose the best quantifier I have is that parts of the story seemed to be added solely to move the plot along. Don't shoot me for saying that, please! I still haven't quite fingered the problem, in my mind, but that definitely rings close to the mark. Without the repulsive affection in the book I probably would have held on until the end, but together they spelled the end of the book.

I don't anticipate fans to agree with me, but I also know my friends read things I would not care for. So why post this review? If you haven't read it you should know what you're getting into.
I ask if you disagree with this review and still chose to comment that you display good taste in your comment. You will not move me from my position on the book's content, so please do me the honor of not trying.

Scriptural Prayers

2012-01-18T20:47:00.000-08:00

To be frank with you, sometimes I really don't know how to pray and what to pray. Sometimes it feels like anything I have to say is either not coming boldly enough before the throne or coming brashly. I have to wonder if other believers sometimes face the same predicament.
Something that really helped me was using New Testament prayers; around six months ago, in the course of several nights, I nabbed pretty much every prayer in the epistles and sticky-noted them. So nowwhen I want to pray for my siblings, parents, friends, etc. I can flip through the sticky notes and pray my way through. It was a perfect fit for me.

In the last two days I felt compelled to make a PDF version(It turned into two) of my prayer sticky notes. I left the references with the prayers as well as breaking them down into two different formats: Prayers by Scripture section, and Individual Requests.

If you've ever wondered what to pray for me, or what I'd like pray for, please, pray these lists for me. Then tell me, please! It will make my day.

Prayers by Scripture section

Individual Requests

The slow down

2012-01-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

Hey there folks,

So as you've probably guessed, I haven't completed the seven sermon challenge. Here's the jist of what happened: When I tried to listen my brain refused :(; at that point, life got busier and more gaming happened.

Also, after the required three day break, I started a new antibiotic, or rather, antibiotics. Today was the third day on Clindamycin, the first antibiotic of the four. Since it was the third day I took three. Fear not! On day ten I won't be taking ten ;) I cap my dosage at three.

So that's what's going on with me, in a nutshell. What about you?

Books read recently:
Lion of Babylon Davis Bunn
Kiloton Threat William Boykin
Deadman's Switch Timothy Zahn
The Awakening Cliff Warden
Unbroken Laura Hillenbrand

Sermon days #5 and #6!

2012-01-11T22:34:00.000-08:00

Even though I didn't get a post up for sermon day #5, indeed I did it! In fact, on day #5(Yesterday) I started an eight part series walking through Galatians.

Yesterday I listened to, and took notes on Freed by Grace. The message was good, but I struggled with the lack of scripture. I didn't disagree with David, but on one of his main statements we used and kept using, no scripture was directly given. I believe this was due to be stepping into the church's teaching without having heard any of the focus for the preceding months. Good message, just not with as much scripture as I need.

Today, Sermon Day #5, I listened to Freed by Faith. It built upon the premises of Freed by Grace, so I struggled throughout the message to fully embrace the statements that were built upon a statement(singular) I really wanted more scripture on. However, at the end of the message in the last 15 minutes or so, what he said about being crucified with Christ and Christ now living was extremely good.

Tomorrow will be Free in Christ and I look forward to it. One of these days I would desire to cram in an extra sermon and re-listen to A Church Who's God Cannot Rest, but healthwise I don't see that as a possibility soon. Maybe God will allow it, though.

To give everyone praying a heads up, two days ago I went off my Flagyl antibiotic. Starting tomorrow(if we hear from the doctor, there is some med confusion) I'll be doing somewhat of an intermittent antibiotic cocktail; I'll switch between four antibiotics for forty days.

Millard

Sermon day #4!

2012-01-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

I just finished listening to Desperate Prayer~David Platt. It was a God ordained message to hear; it was an emotional message to hear. There were two separate times in the message just for prayer and worship. For this man who's theology is always outrunning his emotional connection it was good; for this man who's been praying to be made for Christlike it was timely.

The sermon piqued one main question in my mind, and it's one that's probably going to take some mulling; and that's ok.

I trust the message will speak to you as well,
Millard

Sermon day #3!

2012-01-07T23:15:00.000-08:00

Today I listened to Singleness and the Next Generation by David Platt.

It was exceptional and inspiring. And not necessarily to go join a monastic order, and certainly not to disparage the marriage. My notes on this covered around three medium sized note tablet pages. Unfortunately..since this wasn't a bulletin point message, they really wouldn't mean much to you. :(

The references out of Isaiah that David pulled from towards the beginning of his message really made it come together. Seeing the Old Covenant and mindset alongside a new covenant mandate was fantastic.

Very much enjoyed the message, definitely had new thoughts on the issue arise; nothing earth shattering though, which I imagine is good. And the message for tomorrow..is a mystery! Not sure what I'm going to go with.

Millard

Note: Kuddos to my friend Jamie who also listened to a sermon today! (Actually the same one I found out later) It's not too late to jump on the band wagon, folks! Church tomorrow counts for all you churchers!

Tomorrow will either be, A Church Who's God Cannot Rest, Desperate for His Spirit, Desperate Prayer, The Glory of His Name, or...Unveiling his Glory.

So many good choices! >.<

Sermon day #2!

2012-01-06T22:31:00.000-08:00

It's 10:20 PM and I just finished my message for the day.

Fasting that changes the world~David Platt

Sure glad I buckled down and got the second half done, this evening, though! The message was far reaching but a majority of it was focused on Paul and Barnabas' journey from Antioch and worked through their journey and pointed out specific prayer focuses we can use praying for any of our brothers and sisters around the world. Some of the references might not make sense to you...but they did in my mind when I jotted them down ;)

Pray that they would be confident in the world they proclaim. Acts 13:5
Pray that they would be filled with God's spirit.
Pray for power from God's spirit to proclaim God's word. Act 13:9
Pray for their victory in spiritual conflict. Acts 13:9-13
Pray for their success in gospel witness. Acts 13:12
Pray for peace amongst believers. Acts 13:13
Pray for favor with unbelievers and gospel openings. Acts 13:15
Pray that the gospel would be clear through them in the different cities and settings it's preached. Acts 13:48
Pray that God would open hearts to the gospel. Acts 13:48-49
Pray for joy in the midst of suffering. Acts 13:50-51
Pray for their kindness in the midst of slander. Acts 14:2
Pray that spiritual signs and wonders would accompany them. Acts 14:3
Pray for Christ-like humility for our brothers and sisters. Acts 14:15
Pray for patience and perseverance. Acts 14:20
Pray that God would use them to make disciples<--The whole book of Acts ;)

This list will definitely be useful for me in the future, and I hope for you as well.

7 day Challenge

2012-01-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

7 days.
7 sermons.
Francis Chan and David Platt.

A seven day challenge to listen to one sermon each day for seven days. Why? Because I desire to be more Christlike, and good teaching is one way to facilitate that.

Unfortunately, health fights the listening and I've got to somehow balance the spiritual gain with still taking care of this broken down Temple of the Holy Spirit. If I can't physically do it I'll have to stop, but I'm giving it my best try. I'm hoping to post after each sermon; if my brain and body allow.

My listening schedule is:
Francis Chan
5th Think Hard, Stay Humble: The Life of the Mind and the Peril of Pride
David Platt
6th Fasting that Changes the World 48:46
7th Crucifixion, Salvation and the Glory of God - Session 1 55:178th Crucifixion, Salvation and the Glory of God - Session 2 1:02:28
9th Crucifixion, Salvation and the Glory of God - Session 3 1:05:27
10th Crucifixion, Salvation and the Glory of God - Session 4 1:23:22
11th Singleness and the Next Generation 54:31

I'd love to have others join me on this journey! All the messages are free on iTunes.

Wishing you a year of Fruitful Labor in the Flesh.

2011-12-31T21:35:00.000-08:00

What a year. I tried repeatedly to start this blogpost but when the words wanted to come the brain shut down, and when the brain wanted to work the words refused to come. So I'm going to just let the sparking brain spark and the tired body stay tired. Sound like a plan?

[Amazingly as I went to add a few bulletin points they evolved into this]

In a year I went from out of the house to house bound. I went from having good brain ability to having my abilities severely curtailed. I traveled to MO twice to see a Lyme specialist. I've swallowed thousands of pills(No joke, on a 'good' day I'm swallowing 26). Tried four(?) antibiotics without much to show for it, but may be starting to see some upturn. Had to stop going to church for the last several months, can't wait until I can start that back up again.

My personal relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit has been rocky at times, and sweet at others. I've gotten into the word more this year by listening, than any of time in my life. I've matured as a man and I'd like to think I also grew fractionally as a child in appreciating the mystique of life. Grew in understanding of theology and grew in the knowledge that I don't understand so much.

I got glasses after almost eighteen years without. I've been blessed by free books from authors and generous friends. I also purchased of a used Kindle Keyboard which has been excellent as my eyes give me fits. I read over 50,000 pages of recommendable fiction this year, alone. I don't even wanna think about how many words that is!*

I had the sad moment of having several friends and their family move to Africa but the blessing of seeing them before hand. I learned how to solve a Rubik's cube and got my time down to around a minute. Officially quit my first "real" job due to health at an air museum in March. Pined away from lack of being able to write or edit for the last six months; can't wait until I have that back. Had a childhood friend grow up and get married.

Been able to perform in semi-professional consulting roles with gracious authors in both story and marketing functions. Also been blessed by the writing of others especially Randy Alcorn(Heaven), G.K Chesterton(Orthodoxy), and Tim Challies(The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion)

with their non-fiction works.

This last year has brought immensely tough situations, at times, and I won't be sad to see it go. But through the circumstances we've come up with some uproariously unusual solutions and stop gaps. My family walks the road with me and I'm blessed to walk theirs with them. They are inexorably pushing me towards what is good, true, pure, excellent, and of good repute. Thank you dear family.

Unlike those hardy few I'm unable to look to the next year and say qualitatively that I will indeed feel better, that life will indeed turn up, that my season in the valley will indeed end as all seasons do leaving me with shaded yet sweet memories of looking up at the heights from the valley. And yet, another year comes and another year passes by and it's not with few parallels that this statement of Paul seems to fitting.

If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴ But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,

And thanks to anyone who is still slogging along checking this blog every so often. Health fights any posting(headache, eye-ache, and a wacked out temperature gauge now) and only recently have I been able to get any sort of semblance of regular posting in. My thanks to you oh' brave reader! :)

From the heart and wishing you a year of fruitful labor in the flesh.,
Millard

*Actually, if you know me well you know I'm a #s guy. So I do have an idea on how many words that is.

Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrisey

2011-12-30T20:20:00.001-08:00

Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrisey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A highly enjoyable swashbuckling tale--in the chapters it actually was a pirate's story.

The book splits between a modern(read:sappy romance) story and the pirating life of Bold Ted in 1623. After trying a few chapters from the modern plot line I stopped; it just wasn't going to be a beneficial use of my time.

However! The book receives four stars in regards to it's pirate plot line. Very well done, very true to the realities of life; it did not pull any punches about the slaving ship; it was also very unique in the sense that "Bold Ted" was on his way in a slave ship to be sold until the ship is boarded and taken over.

Because I grew quite attached to the historical plot line, the ending of Ted's story was extremely abrupt, and lacking virtually all closure. I'm not sure if this was due to the author intending Ted's story to be purely supplemental, or perhaps there was a book deadline looming.

Recommended for 15+ for the pirate plot line. Recommended for no one for the modern story.

View all my reviews

Corridor by Robin Parrish

2011-12-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

Corridor by Robin Parrish

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Corridor was imaginative, intriguing, and family friendly read. And at it's price, 2.99, a fantastic bargain.

The mystery of Troy's 'snatching' and the deadly corridor's purpose slowly unravels as he struggles to navigate it's macabre maze with the voice of a girl in his head giving cryptic advice.

Troy made a great protagonist; he was not only fun to read about, but attached to my heart and drew me in emotionally. His journey became my journey and his trials mine. Several times I even tried to figure out the rooms before he did, never succeeded though! He was self sacrificing and loyal; this is the sort of main character I want to read about.

Victoria was exceptionally written. It's not often a writer has to bond readers to a character "off stage", so to speak. Robin Parrish did it, and did it well. Her linkage to the corridor added a whole new dimension to the story and I was rooting for her all the way.

The corridor itself was a trip down imagination lane. I was able to visualize all the rooms save one(room #2), and very much enjoyed the whole journey. The "tests" were ingenious; I only wish there were more to read about!

Incidentally, to begin with, the writing style gave me trouble but after a few pages I settled in and had no problems with it.

Find the book on Amazon here.

I received my copy free for an honest review.

Nightbringer by James Byron Huggins

2011-12-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

Nightbringer by James Byron Huggins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nightbringer was phenomenal, gut wrenching, and pulse pounding.

Previously I'd read The Reckoning: A Novel by James Huggins and was intrigued by the story sufficiently to try Cain which turned out to be a huge disappointment(and returned to the library unfinished). It was somewhat tentatively that I cracked open Nightbringer; and I loved it.

Mr. Huggins manages what is almost impossible for this long time and jaded reader: he makes me believe the hero can really die and he does it with grace and style. And in the same vein as The Reckoning our hero is: deadly, focused, has a conscience, and has no problem uncorking on the bad guys. ^_^

Huggins pulls from Biblical history, the death of Christ, Genesis six, and from these ingredients concocts a fantastical tale of epic proportions peppered with ridiculously well done fight scenes an a warrior who's been killing in the name of an unspoken mission for thousands of years.

Only cons:
Twice I felt like the author tweaked details he'd already said and slightly revamped them for the next part of the story, but they were grey areas and didn't diminish from the read in the least. Point of view was a little scattered like The Reckoning, but unlike The Reckoning you didn't have to track layer upon layer of deception and subterfuge; lack of political intrigue made the spread POVs readable.

The book wasn't perfect but definitely earned a five star rating. This is one I'll hasten to add to my bookshelf. Due to the combat, violence, and intensity of the book I'm not recommending it to anyone under 15. The violence, however, lacked gratuitousness and wasn't gory. Points to the author there!

Find Nightbringer here and more books like it here.

View all my reviews

Bruchko by Bruce Olson

2011-12-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

Bruchko by Bruce Olson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bruchko was a breath of fresh air in an CO2 heavy selection of missionary stories, biographies, and autobiographies. Told with candor and lack of superficial glitz, Bruce Olson does a fabulous job relaying his experiences with the Motilone and the experiences of the Motilone's themselves.

We're privy to true-to-life scenes like: being rejected by the local missionaries, attacked by the ones he came to South America to reach, having a socialist roommate that tried to kill him, leaving home to follow God's command while still in his teens, and(!) pulling a foot and one half parasite out of his throat.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the story and was impressed by how God moved throughout the story. And unlike some of the other missionary books out there, this one has no photos of people in less than full garb. In fact, there are no photos!

Definitely recommended!

View all my reviews

The Reckoning by James Byron Huggins

2011-12-19T12:46:00.001-08:00

The Reckoning: A Novel by James Byron Huggins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An enjoyable novel by Mr. Huggins. The plot was very clear cut and very predictable, but in some ways, I'm not sure that worked against the novel. As it turned out my reading of the novel was driven almost singularly by the main character, Gage.

Gage, was ridiculously cool. His military skills and personal abilities made him easily one of the coolest combat characters I've read about in a long time. He could have used a little three dimensional buffing, but knowing the final show down was coming really kept me pulling through the book regardless.

Another POV character, Kertzman, was quite as enjoyable as Gage. Kertzman was a three dimensional straight shooter bent on getting to the bottom of the escalating conflict. He also served as excellent backup ;)

We had several other POVs throughout the book and I feel there was perhaps one or two too many. I had trouble tracking with the intricacies of who is who and what are they doing; it is possible, however, I just didn't put in enough work to figure it out.

And did I mention Mr. Huggins does amazing fight scenes? Some of the best I've read, ever. Pacing, content, drama, all very very good.

One last note on this book: Often it seems that heroes who are Christian opt not to pull the trigger at the crucial moment. They lay down their gun or just walk away(or lay it down to save their love interest--which we all know never really works). The Reckoning: A Novel Does not repeat the mistake. Gage is not blood hungry, but neither does he simply put down the gun when evil needs to be stopped.

I hope you don't get the idea I'm advocating mass murderer Christian killers, but it's a breath of fresh air to have a manly main character who doesn't fear using lethal force to shut a situation down when necessary.

Morally the novel was spotless. Plot wise it was mediocre. Character wise it was alright, but main character wise it was highly enjoyable.

View all my reviews

Keeper of the Grail by Michael P. Spradlin

2011-12-19T11:40:00.001-08:00

Keeper of the Grail by Michael P. Spradlin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Keeper of the Grail was reasonably enjoyable and written with an easy, casual, and well done 1st person narrative.

Pros:
Knights of the Templar, crusades, and flashing swords make a great backdrop for any story.
Our protagonist was morally reputable and loyal.

Cons:
The plot itself was average; I believe it could have been much more interesting to follow if the story didn't seem to change radically from a "coming of age as a Templar" story to "keeping the Holy Grail out of the hands of evil and return it to the good guys".

Also, several character names struck me as wrong. First we had Little John the blacksmith, then 'Robard Hode', Tristan's archer friend, and then the assassin Maryam showed up....it seemed the story was fated to pull names from Robin Hood lore!

View all my reviews

Readers Dream Prizes...

2011-12-18T23:42:00.000-08:00

Well the "Readers Dream" contest ended with Dean Briggs and I ended up winning two different prizes!
A signed set(of those released thus far) of his epic fantasy tale, Legends of Karac Tor. And..... a brand new iPod Shuffle.

Here's me and the prizes earlier(yet still late) tonight!

Check out his author page on Facebook as well as his website!

Update-Health

2011-12-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

Hey there readers!

Most of you know to a certain extent that I've got some health issues. Varying by person I can reasonably most of you have a partial or whole awareness of this fact; if you don't this will make little sense.

My health is still a bit of a roller coaster. I'll have one day where I don't have any real bad moments and then the next four days will be one amalgamation of badness punctuated by relief. Currently I'm still reduced to reading when possible, some computer gaming, no writing and no editing :( :( and laying down off and on(depends on how long mom can keep me down!). Very little mass text processing as well. My brain just doesn't like trying to sort through strings of text.

My family is so accommodating without allowing complacency in these little mundane tasks in the day. They're superb.

No school or church, and no scheduled out of the house periods at this time. On good days, though, I get out of the house and walk around the block. Depending on the weather that means seriously bundling up cause I don't do cold too well at the moment.

While the body "languishes away" I'm still doing my best to keep my mind from turning to mush(even with a brain that only sometimes works V_^)

Due to this endeavor I've read several thought provoking books recently, one of which was Orthodoxy by G.K Chesterton. If you haven't read it I highly recommend it. Another was Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion it as well as very stimulating both academically with all the obscure yet useful statistics it presented, and deeply probing causing worthwhile self examination(and change!).

If you are interested, you can track my reading on Goodreads.com.

Best wishes,
Precentor

Enraptured by Orthodoxy

2011-12-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Utter and inspiring brilliance. Sure to be one of my all time favorites and one I shall love to re-read. I can only wait with baited breath until heaven when I can speak with Gilbert Kieth Chesterton face to face.

Intruiged (by) Chesterton

2011-12-11T21:27:00.001-08:00

G.K Chesterton has caught my reading and intellectual attention. I am working through Orthodoxy every Sunday(and only Sunday! this is Sunday #2) and have been impressed enough to procure several more books of his for my Kindle.

His writing thus far has been mentally challenging and spiritually charged; I recommend him to serious readers only, but to those that are serious, I recommend without reservation.

See his books and learn more about the man here. As I said before I am currently reading Orthodoxy but I have several of his books in the "Queue".

(why) You should applaud an e-reader.

2011-12-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

This is just one more quiet, loud, egotistical, slightly tongue and cheek, flippant, forcefully humble voice in the ever going e-reading versus paper reading war; this voice is uniquely mine.

Depending on what circles you frequent, e-reading is stigmatized. That is a true statement. It's also ridiculous. It's unlikely that someone would directly insult or cast a slur on your reading just because you do it in E, but you still, almost without exception, feel that subtle “real reading is done in paper not E”. That unsaid statement

of: If you really loved a “book” and were a true reader you'd be a purist and never read a tale of woe and adventure in E because by people e-reading it's hurting stories everywhere.

At least I've felt this. And I should know, I've been guilty of oozing that very sentiment.

Wiser people than myself can reason why this happens and how to fix it; why humans are attached to the physical instead of the ethereal. I'm not here to do that. I just have one thought to push, one statement to proclaim.

Books aren't stories and stories aren't books.

People claim to love stories and their magic; their ability to transport; their ability to bless and move the heart. They claim to be utter aficionados of reading. But sometimes, these very people decry e-reading, and in so doing lie.

If they really loved stories for what they are in their essence they would read E and paper. They wouldn't cling dogmatically to the leaking(not sinking) ship called paper books under the guise that they're doing it for love of story;Under the deception that a story is somehow adulterated and tainted when read in E. That by reading it in pixels instead of paper it's less of a story.

Stories aren't books. Stories printed on paper and bound between two leaflets of varying material are books.

If you are repugnant of E-readers, odds are, you're not hating them for what they do to the story, regardless of what you think. E-readers take nothing from it and give nothing to it; the story is the same E or paper. You're hating them because you don't like the lack of a physical book and by doing so you're betraying your loud voiced statements about your love of story. If you loved story enough, the format wouldn't matter. This isn't about story, it's never been about story, and may never be about story. This is about you and your attachment to something physical made of trees that smells nice and can smash flies.

Next time you see someone reading a E-book why not give them an “attaboy”? They are devoted to the story, not the book. And after-all, isn't that what it's supposed to be about?

The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley

2011-12-05T11:59:00.001-08:00

The Shadow And Night by Chris Walley

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Well I've been looking for Christian Science fiction for quite some time; what little I've found seems to center on Christianity being either non-existent or trying to make a comeback. Both worthy topics but slightly tiresome after a time.

The Shadow and the Night takes a view that Christianity is present everywhere and it's been twelve thousand years since sin posed a problem. I loved the premise!

The story starts out extremely slow--extremely. But as the book continued I felt it added to the sense of loss as the innocence of the people was lost.

World building gets a 5/5. I was able to easily under standing the ramifications of a gate loss as well as inter-gate travel.

We have one POV character(the way I like it) and my feelings about Marrel are mixed. I can sympathize as he has to come to grips with things like violence, war, sin, lying. However, and this is somewhat of a personal peeve, I have little use for a main character that cannot hold to a reasonable standard of ethics, especially in matters of his word, loyalty, or women.

Marrel and a woman named Isabelle come to their respective parents and ask that they be "committed". Basically it's pre-engagement. Up until this time they've had a deep friendship and think that moving forward in the relationship is the right move. Long story short, the parents refuse due to Marrels job and his likelihood of moving.

At this point the story continues moving forward, but Isabelle becomes increasingly manipulative of Marrel, even withdrawing an 'unofficial' per-commitment commitment from Marrel; only after she sits close to him and gives him a kiss. This is clearly a move behind their parents back as well as, I say, sin.

This, at about the quarter way through the book, really turned me off to Marrel. I see him clearly trying to do the up and up thing, but he is obviously,repeatedly, and easily in the same manner being manipulated and duped by Isabelle. This is not all her fault, he is equally to blame. There's a huge juxtaposition from his supposed morals and his actions in these situations. He dupes himself and refuses to see the pre-commitment in the proper light(For the entire book until and angel argues it out with him and then only just...) as well as ignoring it.

Also, he is even duped(almost) by his niece! She has a private conversation with him and asks him to get her family off their farm(it's basically out in the sticks). Marrel feebly protests and her attractive presence near him causes him to basically give in--until she strokes his hand and that reminds him of Isabelle and then he vehemently says no.

Again: For someone without a real "sin problem" he's ridiculously weak-spined with women.

And yet again as his feelings for Isabelle become more uncertain and she becomes more manipulative he starts to develop and attraction for the biologist he's working with!! Except this girl is actually upright, decent, straight forward, all those good things. Marrel succeeds into duping himself that his feelings are nothing until at the climax scene in the book she tells him she cares for him; Marrel being the MC we know him to be of course says yes he cares for her too, and when asked says he is not committed to Isabelle(Which Anya circumspectly and properly asked). They kiss, and he moves on to plan the battle.

I really loved some of the content in the book, the prayers were beautiful, as was the culture(to start with); Marrel really irked me though. At the crucial moments in the book of moral quandaries he either seems to fail or get bailed out. He is again duped by a pretty face in the end of the book battle against a demonlike force and continually questions his angelic guide.

The book sounds like a bad romance from how I wrote this review; and for a subplot, I think it was not done well. But that was what it was, a subplot and these moral failures did not dominate the book textually. Even still they managed to dominate my own reading mentality as I was wary of all Marrels dealings for almost the entire book.

We'll see if I read the next book or not; it appears this book was a combination of books #1 and #2.

View all my reviews

The Book of Man by William J. Bennett

2011-11-21T21:11:00.001-08:00

The Book of Man is just one ofthe many books William Bennett has been involved with; previously I'dhad a chance to read The Fight of our Lives and thoroughlyenjoyed its' candid tone about the state of our nation and the subtlebattle we're in. I opened The Book of Man expecting equalcandor and and objective view of what being a man is in our cultureof effeminate men; what I found was not what I wasexpecting.

Instead of lengthy essays on manhood and the lackof it in our culture, The Book of Man is chock full ofhistorical stories and examples of manhood. It struck me as anexcellent read-aloud from father's to their growing boys; the bookproviding stories and excerpts about manhood exhibited in a varietyof spheres such as: Man in War, Man at Work; Man in Play,Competition, and Leisure      ,     Man in thePolis     , Man with Woman and Children     .

As I said, the book's content wassimply not what I expected and I found it tedious to read through allthe multitude of stories and speeches found in each section.; ifhowever, you have a boy in his early teens having him read selectstories could be quite up building.

Feel free to try the book, just knowit's essay light and story and speech heavy; I personally found theforward the most enjoyable part of the book.

The Dragon's Tooth by N.D Wilson

2011-10-18T22:26:00.000-07:00

The Dragon's Tooth by Nathan Wilson is the start of a new (and I think improved) series the Ashtown Burials. For urban fantasy and young adult adventure lovers this book has it all: blue fire spewing guns, ancient sects of adventurers with oaths that bind members, things that cannot die, and a good dose of macabre pop psychology.

Starting with a boy lugging tires and tossing them into a tire-filled swimming pool and ending with a battle for an entire order's lives, The Dragon's Tooth covers quite the distance; it covers it well. While the other books by Mr. Wilson left me nonplussed, The Dragon's Tooth evolved past twelve-year old humor(albeit his target audience) and was a pleasantly enjoyable read.

Now a little bit about the book itself.....

While reading I found the style to be faintly terse without being ridiculously so. By this I mean the sentences were slightly choppy at points but not to the extent that it was an annoying read.

The characters themselves showed very minimal growth “character” wise while growing tremendously in both expertise and ability, physical and mental.

Favorite facet of the book: Pretty much any part involving Patricia. I think I bonded with the snake, or was it identified....?

Least enjoyed facet of the book: The lack of internal character development.

Does Millard recommend this book? Yes!

Brother Thief by Greg Downs

2011-10-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

Brother Thief by Gregory Downs is Mr. Down’s second novel. His first book, Mordred, imaginatively delved into Arthurian legend and re-wrote the common history painting the normal villain in a unique light.

Brother Thief, however, is firmly planted in the epic fantasy category. Greg manages to tell the story of Gribly-a thieving street urchin with an amazing ability, Lauro-a stiffed necked prince with a penchant for giving orders, and a mysterious pit strider intent on taking anyone down who stands between himself and Gribly.

As I found true in my reading of Mordred, Greg Downs has a vivid and fantastical imagination. Brother Thief is packed full of the original and intriguing ideas that seem to have become the standard for Greg’s writing. And as opposed to many teen writers, Greg injects plenty of conflict into his plot, giving his story all of the antagonistic energy a good story so desperately needs.

Happy writing Greg!

An abridged version of the book's synopsis found on it's virtual back cover.

Most people think it's skill, and some think it's just dumb luck... but everyone is wrong. Gribly has a talent that no one knows about- not even the old gypsy who raised him. It's because of this talent that he's so good at burglary, and he makes sure no one knows his secret. Should it ever become known, he knows, his life would be imperiled...

Into the scene stumbles a mysterious young messenger named Lauro. When Gribly finds him dying from exhaustion outside the city gates, Lauro claims he bears a message from Larion, King of Vastion in the south, to the Dunelord. Helping Lauro could be Gribly's way out of trouble... but do messengers carry royal swords? Do they control the power of the winds?

Both lads soon realize the other has something to hide, but neither one knows the titanic role they will play in the world-shaking events that will soon grip Ymeer... and the entire continent of Vast.

Become a legend... or die trying.

Precisely Terminated by Amanda Davis

2011-09-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

This is a book endorsement not review.

Precisely Terminated is the first book in the Cantral Chronicles trilogy, as well as Amanda Davis' first published work; I believe both will go far. Amanda uses flawless technical skill to avoid the pitfalls first time authors often succumb to, making especially good use of a riveting world building job that is not lost on the reader. With believable characters, a world as real as our own, and stakes that escalate, this story has all the ingredients for a readers' favorite. Encompassing a struggle against tyranny and the ticking time bomb of reliving the deadly past, Precisely Terminated remains a wholesome read in the dystopia genre and one I wish the best of luck to.

I received a free book from the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion. In no way did that influence my review.

The Bone House by Stephen Lawhead

2011-09-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

See my review of The Skin Map here.

The Bone House by Stephen Lawhead follows in the impressive shadow The Skin Map left in the Bright Empires series, giving it the strenuous challenge of stepping beyond the excellence of book one. After reading The Bone House, I unfortunately feel it did not rise to meet the challenge.

The writing and cultured prose found in The Skin Map are not lacking in The Bone House, as well as the once again, superb historical settings, cultures, and views sprinkled throughout the book. Characters remained consistent to their established background as well as interesting, and none of the book happenings seemed contrived. The plot also continued forward and a sizable wrinkle was added at the end of the book.

I struggled through writing this review , several times. Having read the book in the space of twenty-four hour, after finishing I was in a strange quandary; I could confidently say it was pretty good, I liked it, and I’ll read the next book in the series. Unfortunately, when faced with expounding on it in my review, as I did with The Skin Map, I had to fight tooth and nail. The Bone House was simply missing some of the magic the first book in the series had, and I believe I’ve pinpointed why.

It was just not all that different from the preceding book .

The Bone House contained large doses of universe traveling, time zone jumping, minor philosophical ponderings, secret codes, and old unknown scripts.

Unfortunately for the book, all these were already in place in The Skin Map, and their initial magic was worn off. To be sure, they were gently enjoyable in this second book, but for an excitement pulsing review, The Bone House needed to give me substantially fresh material; I don’t believe it did.

My single ‘real’ con of the book fits directly into the book’s lack of newness.

Characters

Stephen Lawhead has constructed the characters well, no denying that. Nevertheless, he seems to have left their growth at a standstill for The Bone House! I saw no perceptible growth within any of our viewpoint characters throughout the entire book. This was not just disappointing, but makes distinguishing between books a serious challenge. I expect this problem will only increase exponentially as more time passes since having read both books.

In conclusion, it was an Ok book, but it was really missing that book one magic I felt after reading The Skin Map.
Do I recommend it? Yes, but not with near the excitement as The Skin House.

Find it here and more books like it here

New article released!

2011-09-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

Always wanted to write a story but not sure exactly how they tick?

Have a story already in progress but fighting a flabby read?

Love to expand your writing repertoire?

New article up in the League of Scribes by yours truly, -So you want to write a story?

The Skin Map by Steven Lawhead

2011-09-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

Clearly, The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead will be a definitive work in the author’s career. Residing in Oxford himself, Stephen realistically, clearly, and picturesquely paints a picture of the city’s atmosphere and people giving his story the perfect backdrop. The book starts with a clever narrative paragraph referencing the desire for oneself to have an umbrella when starting out on an adventure into another universe, and then. . . The Skin Map thrusts forward into an intricate mosaic of universes and realities.

Simply put, I enjoyed The Skin Map. I have previously steered away from a selection of Lawhead’s books due to personal reader discretion, but felt compelled to try The Skin Map when the second book in the Bright Empires series, The Bone House,(Unfortunately another macabre title) was up for review at Booksneeze.com, Thomas Nelson’s blog review program.

The Skin Map is a book with content I can actually recommend to relatively anyone from around the fourteen year-old age and up. Violence was kept to sparse amounts throughout the book and moral slippages due to the fairer gender being around. . . were blissfully absent! The intensity level of the book was relatively low and definitely cemented it into the speculative fiction or fantasy genre rather than a possible hunt-for-the-treasure thriller.

I had heard complaints prior to my own reading of The Skin Map directed at the ‘lack of anything happening’, as well as the failure of the map to play a large part in the book. Truly, the book is not a rip-roaring read, but I did not presume it was such a reading endeavor and so was not disappointed to find it without a heart stopping pace; for example, Traveling and daily life are normal occurrences in The Skin Map, not exactly adrenaline racing, however they are artfully done and in Mina’s case, the reader, has a sense of slight foreboding throughout. In regard to the map not playing a large part, this should have been obvious even before reading the book as the back cover makes that detail clear; “the map is just the start.”

I came in a caution reader and I finished a cautious reader. I finished cautious because I have seen far too many series run into the muck and mire after a solid first book. I am currently reading the second book in the series and happily have not had to gasp in horror, yet. I will retain my opinion on this series until The Bone House is finished.

The book’s narrative is clearly directed at an adult audience due to styling and vocabulary and does not have the snappy and dare I say, twitchiness? of a young adult book. The slower prose combined with the, at times, highly cognitively challenging ley travel in the book puts it out of reach of the standard young adult. However, if you fancy a mental joust and a deliciously long read, you are welcome to try!

With a title as potentially gruesome as “The Skin Map” it required several peers reading it as well as delving into the book’s content online before I decided to read it. I assure you that there is not a gruesome nasty map that lounges around the book sickening discerning readers.

Do I recommend it? Yes, both to the exceptions in the young adult market, and to relatively all adults.

Purchase here and find other books like it here

Coming soon

2011-09-04T17:47:00.001-07:00

In the next few days, reviews of The Skin Map and The Bone House, both by Stephen Lawhead, will be finding their way here.

Reviews should be useful and at the same time presented properly; I believe you'll find mine are both.

Enjoy!

The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead

2011-08-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

The Realms Thereunder managed to add a new and, I think, improve twist into the somewhat predictable genre of fantasy. Much like D. Briggs does in his Legends of Karac Tor, Ross Lawhead the author of The Realms Thereunder, pulls on myth and legend in the weaving of this story.

The Realms Thereunder follows a dual story plot line of two very different people, Daniel Tully and Freya Reynolds. We see them both as young teens, then as adults, eight years later. Daniel has become a sword wielding homeless man with a hunger for going back to the land he visited as a child; Freya is a physiatrist patient and compulsive mythical history buff.

The Realms Thereunder was a fun fantasy read that would fit well on any fantasy lover’s shelf. The book had some excellent plot points as well as clever modern twists on anachronistic characters.

It would have earned a very solid four star review if the writing quality had sustained the fantastical plot possibilities. Unfortunately, the writing was spotted with lapses into omniscient point of view, and even resorted to narrating and summarizing a conversation as it went, discarding the industry standard “showing” of a conversation. If not for the writing quality I would easily have given this book four stars, as it is, it’s a solid three. If you are a stickler for craft quality, as I am, I recommend this book only when your to-read-stack is getting low. If however, quality is a non-issue with your reading, then by all means read it!

One word to the observant reader: While the book is published by a Christian publishing house, it is not truly “Christian” fantasy. It is more like, “monotheistic fiction”. Overall The Realms Thereunder was a clean read but I felt language was the books weakest link morally. It pushed what I felt was decent, even as an American reading primarily British comments.

Find it here and more books like it here

Mordred by Greg Downs:

2011-08-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

Mordred is a fresh retelling of story of King Arthur, Mordred, and the witches of Avalon. Mordred, our protagonist, is a young fisherman’s boy who is torn from the serenity of village by a corrupt wizard coupled with soldiers armed with orders from King Arthur in an attack that annihilates his in a failed attempt to snuff out his life. With anger festering in his heart, Mordred flees from destroyed village and plans his revenge on King Arthur. While on the run, Mordred encounters a small encampment and is befriended by Vivien, a young girl with magical powers that she calls insignificant and he calls wrong. Joining forces with Vivien Mordred sets into motion his plan for revenge against Arthur. But who has he actually joined forces with? What is he willing to sacrifice to acquire aid in his quest for revenge?

Mordred was definitely a fun reading experience for me. I’ve never read a retelling of a strictly King Arthur tale and the “first-ness” of that in this book lent an even more magical air to the story. It is clear from Mordred that Greg Downs has a rampant imagination and no doubt has hundreds more fantastical tales just bottled up inside of him. I was blessed with just a piece of his vivid imagining in Mordred, which I found: Highly creative, excellent in the morals department, a fun retelling of a common story, and excellent in the choice of story setting.

That all said, this is definitely a freshman novels. There were numerous technical aspects of the writing that needed improvement. The Point of view in the story had several slips from standard Point of view into Omniscient Point of view. The book was also largely of a “telling” nature rather than “showing”. I know the book would have been far improved if these things had been fixed.

In conclusion, I can recommend this book as an imaginative tale that has interesting characters and features a fresh twist on King Arthur. However, the book is not very technically sound, so if that bothers you, this is not a book for you.

One note about the cover: The blood on it is pretty much a misnomer. The book is not characterized by graphic violence, :)

You can purchase the E-book on Amazon.com for 2.99 here.

I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Couragous by Randy Alcorn , Alex Kendrick, and Stephen Kendrick

2011-08-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

I had long looked forward to viewing the movie Courageous, so when I had the chance to review this book-of-the-movie, I was thrilled. I picked it up eager for a satisfying read. . .and was sorely disappointed.

The mechanics of the book were, much to my chagrin, very poor; Point of view especially was sorely lacking throughout the book. "Telling" was rampant throughout the story as opposed to the much better craft of “showing”. Books with poor writing mechanics are a nightmare read for me and after slogging in as far as I dared, I skimmed through the rest of the book.

I do not knock the focus and theme of the book, turning father’s hearts back toward their children, naturally exactly like the movie. I do however feel that it should have been done with more writing mechanics in mind. I can only wonder what sort of book would have been revealed with greater detail to craft.

I have enjoyed other books by Randy Alcorn so I am slightly perplexed why the quality of this one is so radically different. I have heard Courageous was done through a three day meeting with the Kendrick brothers, and if that is true, then I can see why the book would be like this. However, I might be able to see why, I cannot excuse it.

If you have low interest in writing craft and in the writing quality of the books you read and prefer the message or overall plot premise you perhaps would enjoy Courageous.

Find it here and more books like it here

Vigilante by Robin Parrish

2011-08-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

Nolan Grey: tortured prisoner of war, national war hero, impassioned for cultural change, one of the deadliest killers the military has ever produced.

These aren’t exactly the ingredients expected for run-of-the-mill Christian fiction, then again, Vigilante by Robin Parrish, isn’t run-of-the-mill.

In a society drenched in drugs, violence, and commercial grade evil, Nolan Grey goes AWOL from a heroes’ life to make a difference. Fighting crime under the moniker “The Hand”, Nolan appears around New York City and fights for righteousness.(For a complete synopsis see the author's site here)

I was very impressed with the moral writing quality found in this book by Mr. Parrish. Instead of soaking his readers in depraved situations to enforce this broken picture of society, he showed the sewer with refraining from giving a guided tour. By the way he handled it's content I felt respected as a reader and as a Christian in my reading of this book Major kuddos!

Vigilante lacks nothing in the category of a main character; Nolan Grey is interesting, compelling, and has plenty of the cool-factor to go around. Nolan is also character you can immediately identify with and he bonded readily to this reader.

The sidekick characters in Vigilante are comprised of an old wartime commander, a young gadget-and-brains wizard, and a woman named Alice, whom Nolan rescues at the start of his crusade.

Vigilante had a lot of things going for it, and still does. My solitary complaint against the book was the sometimes not-so-subtle information dumps and “telling” writing style of the book. I would have much preferred a more “shown” picture of a character’s background or reaction, rather than having it tossed on me in a paragraph.

I refuse to give away the ending of this worthwhile read, but I will say this: the ending drove me to reconsider the story and to probe the plot with my own viewpoint and measure that against the written ending.

Well done Mr. Parrish! Best of luck in your future endeavors.

This book will definitely go on my list of recommendations.

Find it here and more books like it here

Desiring God DVDs

2011-08-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

Desiring God by John Piper is an excellent book. The ideas presented within it about Christian Hedonism and glorifying God in our joyfulness in Him, are impressive in their backing. And more than that, I feel that have much merit.

I received the Desiring God DVDs with the hopes of listening to Mr. Piper speak and teach from the Desiring God book. In fact, that is not what these DVDs are at all. Instead of working their way through the book, they are sessions of John Piper speaking at a Desiring God conference. And rather than using the book as a springboard, Mr. Piper instead gives more of a conglomerate overview of some of the content presented in the book while mixing in new content.

Mr. Piper is an extremely passionate and engaging speaker. I very much enjoyed listening to him speak in manageable thirty or forty minute sessions. And perhaps more so than even the book, though with less of a mounting facts feel, Mr. Piper impresses on the audience the fervor and joy found when seeking our absolute highest enjoyment in God can bring.

I recommend these DVDs not as a heavy weight lecture series, but as an exceptional introduction to Christian Hedonism.

I received this book free from Mulnomah Waterbrook Publishers as part of their Blogging for books book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Final Hour by Andrew Klavan

2011-08-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

The Final Hour by Andrew Klavan was a rip roaring, gut busting, adventured jammed, thriller.

Charlie West, our all American hero, returns for the final installment in the Homelander series, in which we finally find out how he was captured, and escaped from prison. Following Charlie through prison was a story thread I would never have seen coming. The story also brought into focus how he was captured, and his subsequent torture. The Final Hour finishes with a bang as Charlie battles an enemy on a tower—and one of them falls to their death.

I really enjoyed this book by Andrew; it was a great, fun, finish to a fantastic series I can recommend to anyone. That said, I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as some of the others in the series. Part for this, was I believe, we followed Charlie through prison, before he’s on the run. Andrew did a good job with the prison scenes, really letting us feel the animosity, but like I said, I didn’t expect it. I feel more of a present timeline focus of the book would have improved it. That is really my only complaint with this clean high octant thriller.

I’ll miss Charlie and wish him the best. Thanks Mr. Klavan!

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Find it here and more books like it here

Want to publish traditionally? Want to learn more about it?

2011-08-02T20:25:00.001-07:00

Want to learn about traditional publishing and how it works? Interested in getting published? Check out an article on it by yours truly!

Check out my article on this very subject at League of Extraordinary Scribes

Corus the Champion by D. Barkley Briggs

2011-07-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

Corus the Champion by D. Barkley Briggs is a book that has a history. A long painful history for readers waiting seemingly in vain for it to be published. Well last month, the wait ended. Returning to Karac Tor Mr. Briggs continues this fantasy epic.

In Corus the Champion all four Barlow brothers are now involved in making the future of Karac Tor; and for Garret Barlow, literally making the future. Unfortunately, the future is a precarious thing. Kr’Nunos in his many forms, is on the move after brooding for ages and the people are ripe for deception. The old cultic haunts have returned and blood sacrifices are allowing the Watches to regain flesh. While Nemesia may be gone, freeing her young hoard , Kr’Nunos is prepared to dominate the land with his own created beings, Quil. And just when the need is greatest the missing champion Corus is prepared to turn his back on his quest to find the sleeping king—or kill him—after being beaten and starved in the bowels of the earth. In a story wrought with treachery, love, pain, honor, hope and despair; Mr. Briggs manages to write a fantasy reader’s masterpiece.

A champion who would not leave his chains, a great warrior king from another world, and a fey Queen who demands the highest price of freedom. Sacrifices are made, loyalties forged, and tears cried.

When final days- bring final woes
Doors shall open- doors shall close

Fate for one-For all unleashed

War of swords-Slay the beast

I very much enjoyed this book, even with it's heavy overtures. I recommend The Book of Names and Corus the Champion to any fantasy lover. Can't wait for book #3.

Find it here and more fiction like it here

The Sending By Matt Kociech

2011-06-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

The Sending is a first time novel by Matt Koceich a resident of Texas and a public school teacher.

The Sending had one of the best premises I'd been able to delve into in quite some time: A man has the ability to see places in his mind. Seemingly cool, but harmless, right? Not quite. With a front of human financial backers the fallen angels want back into heaven and they want Mark to show them where the Garden of Eden is. But the viewing sessions are taking just longer than both of them thought. And for Mark, they're eating up time with his son Sam, and Mark's wife, Aubrey; who won't have finding the Garden destroy their family.

With this as a background, Mr. Koceich led us into a vision and `alternate reality' driven fiction book. I feel like there was plenty of material in the book. Plenty of information was shared and overall I don't think a lack of information caused a problem. However, I still felt in the dark for some of the time!! I believe that a different presentation of the information would have been useful. I found it easy to get lost in figuring out where the `real' Mark was until I finally decided it was co-vision and reality habitation, both running at once. That indeed helped some(If I was right). But I was already mostly done with the book by then!

A quality point worth pointing out in this book was the family relationship. I felt like their interactions were good and a real boon to the story line. Too often the family is just a base and then the story springs off. Here the story really revolved around Mark's family, and I think it worked beautifully.

The last thing I will mention was the vision-reality interaction. A large amount of time in the dream world I couldn't decide if what was going on was the real world being played out in this dream world. Or if the dream world was affecting the real world. OR if neither was affecting each other. Also, it seemed like sometimes he went unconscious to go there, and other times the chapters ran parallel confusing me more! Like I mentioned earlier, I believe all the information was there, at least mainly, but I think it needed a little reworking for reading ease.

In conclusion, it was a pretty solid first novel and I look forward to Mr. Koceich's next book and to see how he's matured.

See Noah Aresenault's review of The Sending here.

A Man Called Outlaw

2011-06-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

A Man Called Outlaw by K.M Weiland:

A cattle baron wants a ranch that has defied him for two generations. A man is torn between revering the man that raised him and turning his back on the heritage he knows, to forge a life of his own. A woman is being violently forced off her ranch but refuses to cave to the pressure. And generation ago a man named Andrew is about to face a ranching job that has already killed a man and his wife.

Thirty years earlier a man stood up against Wilcox and fought for honor, fought for truth and justice, that man died. ‘One man stood up unafraid. One man fell alone. One Man’s courage became a legend.’

Shane Lassiter is stuck in the middle of a land war that has been going on for years, but it’s personal now. His boss, and father fill in, Major Wilcox wants Anna Cassidy’s ranch; and he’ll stop at nothing to have it. Shane is tugged opposite directions by the domineering of the Major, and cold shoulder he’s justly receiving from Anna for taking part in the pillaging and illegal pressuring for her land. But can he just break ties with the man who made him a man? Can he step out from beyond the Major’s shadow and stand up to him? The pressure escalates and loyalties and forged and broken. Who will Shane chose?

A Man Called Outlaw is a bittersweet reading delight that any lover of historical fiction will adore. I recommend it without reserves to any reader. Two cautions though: The book is written in a somewhat slow winding fashion. There are bright flashes of rapid plot and action, but you won’t be sitting down and reading this book in an hour. Each chapter builds on itself as the story is told masterfully. Two, as many of the other reviewers have stated, the ending is sweet to the soul and painful to the heart; absolutely haunting in its realism and stunning in poetic beauty. Read it, love it, ache with it.

A Man Called Outlaw Kindle Edition is only .99 on amazon right now, check it out! Check out Ms. Weiland's website here, and writing tips blog(well worth reading) here.

Guest post by Matt Koceich: Agenda

2011-06-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

Some years ago, I came across the phrase “agenda-driven fiction” and have built the following thoughts in reference to those three words. In particular, I want to share my opinion as it relates to writers of Christian fiction. Perhaps this can be a new manifesto of sorts. A creed that we can remember before we map out our next writing endeavor.

Publishers might warn you that they steer clear of fiction that pushes religion on readers. I am here to encourage you to write the story the Lord has put on your heart. I spent the better part of six years trying to find a home for my first novel, The Sending. Now that it has been printed by the amazing Marcher Lord Press, I feel qualified to speak on the topic of spreading the Good News through a creative story.

I’ll make three brief points and pray that something here resonates in your writer’s heart and will encourage you NOT to delete the parts of your story that might come across as ‘pushing’ your beliefs on the reader.

Jesus had an agenda

When Jesus began his ministry, he didn’t sugar coat his words. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” I’m grateful that He didn’t leave room for interpretation. I’m glad He wasn’t worried how it would sound. The Lord glorified the Father with every word and deed. Each step Jesus took advanced the Father’s kingdom. Throughout His ministry, Jesus was consistent in word and deed. The Good Shepherd came for the lost sheep.

When I think about my stories, I want to be like Jesus. I want my writing to show the reader His love and His message. That’s an agenda worth sticking to.

Jesus had an audience

The crowds came to Jesus and listened to what he had to say. Years back, I remember thinking that my writing would get published when someone out there needed to read my words that pointed them to Jesus. I have to remember that one lost heart in need of the Shepherd, is more important than one New York Times Bestseller. Our Shepherd will make sure stories that bring the lost home are stories that will find the right audience. His audience.

Jesus had an agreement

Matthew 10:32 is a perfect verse for our topic. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” Jesus was sending out his apostles to share and spread the Good News. Can you imagine if they only told people that Jesus was a wise man? Jesus was very specific with his instructions. The agreement was that the Twelve would go to the “lost sheep” and tell the people “the kingdom of heaven is near.”

What might our new Christian Writers Creed look like? I propose the following:

The Father gave us a story to tell that no one else can or will. As His children, we will remember the agenda and write it down. We will remember the audience our Father wants our story to reach as we proclaim His glory. And we will agree that by the time we’ve written the final word, Jesus will hold our hands and say, “Well done.”

May God bless you and your story.

Special thanks to Mr. Koceich for his long suffering in the posting of this article. I hope it encourages all of the readers to examine their stories and take his words to heart; I certainly did. Follow him at his blog and check out his book The Sending at Marcher Lord Press!

Radical Together, David Platt

2011-05-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Radical Together by David Platt:

I found Radical Together an extremely worthwhile read. Previously I had read Radical by David and had since looked forward to reading Radical Together. After letting the book lay fallow for several weeks, I cracked it open, and ended up finishing it in two sittings! I found it to be a stimulating read full of helpful anecdotes as well as sobering facts. If you read Radical Together thoughtfully, without at least being prompted to take inventory of your life, I submit you did not truly read it. It’s size was minorly less than Radical, only weighing in at 176 pages versus Radical’s 240. Radical Together dealt with the topic matter concisely and even perhaps, inspirationally. All in all, I recommend Radical Together without any reservations whatsoever. Will it be the best book you’ve ever read? Maybe, though probably not. But is it’s topic a worthy one and does the book cover it well? Absolutely.

Find it here and more books like it here

The Map Across Time

2011-05-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

The Map Across Time by C.S. Lakin: This is the second book in the Gates of Heaven Series, however even without reading the first book I didn’t feel I was at a disadvantage reading this one.

The story encompasses a magic map that take you through time, the pure love of two siblings that binds them together through adversity, and an ailing kingdom with a curse upon it. The characters were believable and driven plausibly by their own motives toward a personal agenda. The plot was pleasantly fresh with its own small twists and turns, however several points in the book could be guessed well ahead of time due to a medium level of predictability. The predictability didn’t damage the book in my eyes, that was simply how it was. Lakin did a good job keeping the plot moving to the 3/4s mark of the book giving us just about the right amount of action and plot to keep the story going. However, I found that once myself as a reader got to where it felt like the end of the book should come, it wouldn’t. Instead she prolonged the wrapping up of the story in a massive time travel chain and(I feel like) forced the ending. I believe she tried to connect too many loose ends in the last forty pages and instead of a mosaic, left us with a knot. This, in my opinion, was the greatest error of the book: The story ran its route well, it wanted to end; Lakin didn’t.

The book is mainly marketed as a fairy tale, but besides a talking pig, I thought it fit just as well into the fantasy genre; albeit strange fantasy, but fantasy just the same.

I’d give this book a 3/5 stars, if the book had ended 50 pages sooner it easily earns a 4/5.

I received this book from AMG publishers and the views I expressed are my own.

Find it here and more like it here

Promises for the American Patriot

2011-05-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

God’s promises for the American Patriot:

When I picked up this book I was looking forward to: the timely usage of scriptures in conjunction with patriotism, interesting anecdotes about patriotism, and stories from patriots both young and old. Upon reading God’s promises for the American patriot I was able to find all these things in the book, as well as something I hadn’t considered. The book contained not just quotes and stories from our founding fathers, as well as more modern examples of patriotism, but it contained and provided excerpts from some of America’s most famous legal documents.

However, something I did not expect is that it would be a “thought-a-day” book; every other page containing a small written piece utilizing excerpts or perhaps a mini-biography of a patriot with scriptures on the opposing page. For the first fifty pages, I enjoyed the stories, informative pieces, as well as quotes from our legal documents. Unfortunately, after fifty pages I found it becoming rote. Perhaps due to the subject matter covered, there simply wasn’t much possible fluctuation in the material presented. I found the book lacked holding power for me to read, and regret I wasn’t aware it was a thought-a-day book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Find the book here and more like it here

The Final Summit Andy Andrews

2011-04-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

The Final Summit is a self proclaimed:“Quest to find the one principle that will save humanity.” A seventy five year old man, David Ponder, is whisked away by the archangel Gabriel to a “summit” to decide the fate of humankind. Others who have traveled throughout time, as he has, are present as well. Meeting with David are figures such as Joan of Arc, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, and a cacophony of others. David Ponder presides over this prestigious group as the leader of the summit. He is in fact, the only person from the ‘current age’! The question they have all been summoned for is posed:“What is the one solution that will save humanity?”

The fate of humanity lies in the balance as the summit’s best and brightest join heads on the answer. Moreover, to complicate matters, the answer is two words long.

My favorite part of The Final Summit was learning bits of information about the fellow five Travelers that were selected to aid him in his decision. The quotes and pithy phrases said in the discussions definitely bear thinking about. Instead of being a light read the book turned out to be one that sent my mental cogs turning!

My only disappointment about the book was the answer to the question was(spoiler!) “do something”.(end spoiler!) When, at least to me, it seemed that it would have much more of a spiritual ending---especially in a meeting judged by an angel!

Find it here and more books like it here

Ale boys's feast Jeffery Overstreet

2011-03-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

Reading The Ale Boy’s feast turned out to be a greater challenge than I imaged. I didn’t have my hopes high after having to set down book three in the series because of scruples, but I desperately hoped it was a fluke and that I would love book four. Well—I was partially right.

Morally this book was much better, at least on the surface. However, plot and ideology wise I found it lacking. Much of the entire philosophy surrounding the Keeper and Cal-Raven’s mentor, Scharr, is destroyed and undermined! I found it absolutely intolerable that the book seemed to promote the idea that things you put faith in, while they may be false, aren’t in fact bad because they give you a vision and make you wonder, pursue your dreams. It was very much of a, “just hold to the idea because it makes you feel better/warm fuzzier”. I felt like character moral development was lacking and Cal-Raven seemed tossed and blown by the waves of what was happening around him. Auralia’s return could have been sweet but instead she is revealed to Cal-Raven at the very end of the book and we aren’t given much of a picture of the reunion. Simply..Cal-Raven has decided he loves someone else now, this someone else being Auralia. The ending to the book was a huge disappointment to me leaving a large amount of things untied off and seemingly letting the book go adrift in the final few pages. I realize much of this may be style of writing, however, it is not one I enjoy.

I appreciate the work the author put into the book, I’m sure it was a huge task, but in this case, I feel it fell short.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books and this review is my own unadulterated opinion.

Doing Virtuous Business

2011-03-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

Doing Virtuous Business is a no nonsense look at how a business can be run with a spiritual background. The books’ message is to show how this background of spirituality will instead of hampering the company, improve it.

Starting off with a dialogue on 'spiritual capitol’ and it’s reality; the books’ ground layer is a pushe for the acceptance of such an important “product”. After this first chapter, Doing Virtuous Business speaks in “mini-sections” on: virtue, faith, hope, charity, leadership, courage, patience, perseverance, discipline, justice, forgiveness, compassion, humility, and gratitude. Within these mini-sections, it relies on the spiritual backbone of the book referring to Islam’s Zakat, Christianity’s teaching, and Sufi ritual, as well as other faiths or practices for reason to live by these aforementioned scruples.

Regretfully I found myself losing focus while reading the book; it simply did not grip me. I believe some of this was directly related to the content. It takes a very special person to get excited about why spiritual business ethics are important. However, I feel that a few more anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book, instead of more concentrated doses of examples in a few sections, would have improved my reading quality. This being said, there were indeed a few sections that seemed to engage me as a reader more than others and my attention was grasped firmly during these.

In conclusion, I only recommend this book if you are extremely interested in business and how spiritual ethics and actions can play out in the “real world”.

I received this book free from Booksneeze and this is my own unadulterated opinion.

Offworld Robin Parrish

2011-03-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

Offworld delves into a world where astronauts from the first Mars’ mission return to find earth empty. The one exception? A woman named Mae. Soon the astronauts and Mae are in a race for their lives as the empty appearance of earth changes and they aren’t as alone as they first feared—and now wish they were.

Three things about Offworld by Robin Parrish: It was recommendable, it wasn’t a thriller, and it’s not an easy read. Working from those points, Offworld was good. It was well thought out, and I wasn’t left ranting over plot holes.

Problems: For the first half of the book I felt like it lagged character wise. I could not get a feel for who I was supposed to cheer for and while personalities were reasonably defined in each astronaut, I struggled with attaching to everyone, including Chris. As well as a few of the dream sequences with Chris feeling very repetitive. Also, I was looking for Christian content, found none.(Except a few extremely ambiguous comments at the end..from the grave of all things.)

Positives!: The blackout/dream sequences Chris has throughout gave us a good picture of how he survived that mission on mars and where he was for 18 hours of the mission. They added a huge amount to connecting with Chris as a character and were tied in wonderfully at the end—even if I don’t totally get it.
The big positive was, THE PREMISE. Finally someone had people on earth disappear without it being a covert governmental job(though a general was involved), without it being a virus, and without it being aliens!

This book was labeled as suspense but I feel “Speculative” fiction is much closer to the truth.

Conclusion: The book didn’t lend itself to easy reading or latching onto the characters, for the most part at least. But with a premise this good it is still recommendable/readable.

The Fight of Our Lives -Bennet and Leibsohn

2011-03-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

When I finished The Fight of Our lives I had to take a moment and reflect on the book. It truly has been viewpoint changing. It was not so much of a revelation for me as a reiteration of things I already believed but now with facts to back them up. I was very pleased that the book wasn’t packed with rhetoric in the least, nor was it a “shock” read; instead it was a logical delineation of cultural trends, Islam, and our response to Islam and the terrorism that reaches our shores. The book did an excellent job citing a variety of sources as well as quoting informed/well known public figures. This backbone of quotes and professional opinions added hugely to the credibility of the book as well as driving home the sobering message the book brought. The Fight of Our lives did not mince words nor did it seek to smear anyone or anything. Instead in a very candid way it removed the emotional opinions and rhetoric on both sides of the issues it addressed and level headedly laid down the truth of the matter. I am very glad I read the book, and it unlike most books on my bookshelf, will no doubt be read twice.

Jonathan Miaocco

2011-03-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I am so excited to be able to interview Jonathan Miaocco!! I can't wait to let you read this and get excited about composing! Yes, I said that right, composing!! But first, find Jon at his blog and website and listen to some of his music. Or...better yet, listen to some of his music while reading this interview! That's sure to jazz you up :D

Me: For those readers who don’t know who you are, why don’t you give us a quick bio of yourself?

I am seventeen, I live in Atlanta, I have an awesome family, and I compose music. I’m a senior in high school, but I’m also taking college classes. When I graduate from college, I want to be a film composer. (Definition: a person who composes music to film).

Me:Before we get too far into this world of composing questions, could you give us a working definition of composing? When I think of composing, I think of a tuxedo-ed fellow bent over a blank sheet of paper! Tell me this isn’t reality!

Haha, no, that’s not the reality! (Besides, I hate tuxedos.) The dictionary defines composing as “writing or creating (a work of art, esp. music or poetry)”. While that is technically true, it’s not the reality. The true art of composing is translating emotion into music. Music without emotion is just noise.

Me:What first drew you into composing?

I honestly don’t know! Ever since I was young, I’ve loved all kinds of music. But slowly I began to realize that I liked more orchestra-sounding music. When I was twelve/thirteen, I realized that I wanted to compose my own “soundtracks”. Sure, I had plunked out a melody or two on the piano, but I wanted to really compose. And… the rest is history.

Me:As a composer, are there things you notice about the world around you non-composers might not?

That’s a good question! I think one of the biggest things is this: I constantly “hear” music. Like, when I see an incredible sunset, I’ll think-of/mentally-compose music that might fit that situation.

To help us get inside your head a little bit, what is the first thing you notice when hearing a song?

When I hear a song, the first thing I think is whether or not I liked it. If I like it, I’ll try to figure out why I liked it. For most soundtracks, I’ll try to figure out how the composer orchestrated the music, etc. And if I didn’t like the song, I’ll try to figure out why I didn’t like it. Also, when I first hear a song, I try to see if the composer created something original. Some film composers sound exactly the same from film to film (and song to song), which I think defeats the whole purpose of film composing.

Me:What do you enjoy most about composing music? What is the biggest draw for you when you aren’t composing? (What part draws you back to it the most?)

When I compose, I love the challenge of bringing across emotion in the form of music. Audible music isn’t something you can touch or see (unless you look at a score… but that’s besides the point.) You can only hear it. When I compose music, I want to inspire people. I want people to see or feel something that they can’t explain through my music. The biggest draw for me when I’m not composing is that all I want to do IS compose. What draws me back the most is the idea that I can compose something completely new every time I sit down.

Me:As a teen composer, do you think this puts you at an advantage or disadvantage?

Yes. Haha… Usually, my age is “my hook.” Example: someone listens to my music and thinks, “Eh, whatever…” But then someone tells them I’m seventeen, and they think, “Woah, seventeen?!?!” So my age definitely helps “promote” me. But my age is also against me. I can’t just leave for Hollywood tomorrow. I’m only seventeen for crying out loud! I’m still in high school. So that is definitely a disadvantage.

Me:I noticed you are a Christian on your blog, does that play into your composing? If so, how?

Yes, definitely! I know God gave me the ability to compose music, and I’m not going to sit back and not do anything with it. (If you get a chance, read Matthew 25:14-30. It’s one of my favorite parables. It’s always made me see that God’s gifts are not meant to be wasted.)

Me:If you were to speak to a would be, or starting composer in the reading audience right now, what would you tell them? Words of encouragement? Exhortation? To get off and start composing?

1. Never give up. Composing music is something you have to work at.

2. Don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams. I’m not! I would hate to look back and wonder, “What if?”

3. Go at it with everything you got. Don’t light heartily skip around, barely putting any effort in. Actually stretch yourself and make yourself work. And this leads into my final piece of advice…

4. Don’t limit yourself. Try to compose to every genre you can. If you can compose to a lot of genres, it will be extremely beneficial to you in the future!

Me:In conclusion, are there any last words you’d like to leave us with?

First, I would like to praise my Savior for the opportunities He has given to me and my purpose in life is to serve and honor him with music. Second, if you get a chance, please head over to my blog (jonmmusic.blogspot.com) or my website (jonathanmaiocco.com) and let me know what you think of my music. I’m always looking for some advice! And finally, thank you so much for interviewing me. It was fun!

Wow! That was a sweet interview Jon! Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, and God bless in your endeavors.

As a reader you can currently purchase Jon's music from his website, and even get a few free tracks for signing up!

Life Promises for Success Jim Tressel

2011-03-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

Life Promises for Success is a small compact book, chock full of interesting stories and inspiring quotes. It has Bible verses on one page, and on the opposite page it contains little anecdotes from life and different speakers. I enjoyed reading through the book and learning new quotes as well as fun little stories. However, I found that the scripture verses used seemed to be more of an afterthought on the page when the “real” book was found on the stories and quotes side.

When I ordered the book, I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into; if it would be Max Lucado like, or a ‘thought a day’ book. In fact, it wasn’t quite either. The book was definitely geared toward reading just a page or two a day, but reading it through in two sittings didn’t seem to dampen the effect of the book or cause it to feel redundant. In conclusion, it was an amusing and sometimes though provoking read, but not deep by any means.

The Walk Shaun Alexander

2011-03-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

The Walk by Shaun Alexander is a spiritual walk book first, and an interesting sport and life experiences book second. Though written closely to and from Shaun’s life and perspective, it is not by any stretch an autobiography rather it uses illustrations from his life to exemplify the teaching in the book. The spiritual depth in the reading surprised me pleasantly but I still would be hesitant to call the book deep. The Walk dealt with stages in a believers’ life moving from Unbeliever through “Imparter”. Focusing on the different stages of spiritual development.

I felt like the author dwelt more on “sins of the flesh” than perhaps was needed using them for several examples throughout the book. Those who hold to a Cessationist viewpoint will have objections to the book for the references to past prophecies Shaun has been a part of as well as other spiritual happenings.

All in all if you have a husband or brother who is a sports nuts but not usually geared toward thinking about their spiritual walk, this book may be for them!

Find the book at Deepershopping here
Find more books about spiritual living at Deepershopping here

A Conversation with God Alton Gansky

2011-03-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

A Conversation With God was a book I initially grabbed with great fervor, then prior to reading, but after a negative review of the book, cooled my heals before reading it. Honestly, it fell somewhere in-between either of these extremes I felt/encountered. Just like the title says, questions are posed and “God” answers them. We also have little tidbits of information from mainly well known Bible figures. For example, Jonah “spoke” in one section.

The positives: It was grammatically well written. It was clear in its statements as a whole and wasn’t verbose. It also answered some current cultural questions as well as questions people have been asking God for a long time. I could give this to a friend who was curious about some of the questions of them misunderstanding what the book says or making sure they major in theology beforehand. Especially useful for someone coming from another faith I believe.

The negatives: Because the book was not wordy it sacrificed some of the deep thinking that many of the questions warranted; also suffering from dumbing down the subject matter to accommodate this succinctness. This was continuously prevalent in the answers from “God”. Also, since the book was written as a conversation with God I feel that handicapped the book from giving scriptural answers and instead simply giving “good” answers, but not allowing the believer to cross check the scriptures or even make sure things were Biblically based simply because “God” was talking. Lastly, in the back of the book there was a chapter index along with the scriptures they used in each chapter—however it was worthless to me when reading. Frequently I wanted to read the source they were coming from but having to flip all the way to the back of the book and find the chapter I was reading and then pinning down the scripture reference was too bulky and discouraged deeper looking.

In conclusion. I would give this to someone coming from another faith or very new to Christianity, but this is not a hard thinking book for a mature believer.

Received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Winner!

2011-03-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

Hey there!

Sorry for the long delay in posting the giveaway winner, I've been really busy. What having a Birthday and all that jazz ;) Anyway, without further ado:

The winner is ScifiAuthor! Who was the lucky fellow on number Eleven.
Contact me with your mailing information Scifi and (assuming you do) who you want the book signed to!

Millard

The Chasm By Randy Alcorn

2011-02-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

I had read Pilgrim’s Progress in the past and so when I heard that The Chasm was going to be highly allegorical, I was instantly intrigued. I was also not disappointed when I finished it.

Now, to the book: The first thing I would say is, I do not recommend this book for those under 16. For one reason only, there was aptly a section dealing with lust and the sins that follow it’s path. Besides that section however, I believe the book would be quite appropriate for most mid teen audiences. The book itself was not an easy read. It definitely seemed to read at a strange gate. Not quite with long strides and flowing streams of reading, but neither was it constantly halting. Instead it fit somewhere in the middle with smoother streams of reading punctuated by proverbial rapids of deep thinking and what I found to be somewhat chunky narration. All that to say I found the read to be insightful and thought provoking, while simultaneously holding my attention especially at the point when the “Woodsman” is getting nails pounded into him. The scene was violently depicted in my mind by Mr. Alcorn’s writing style and his warriors’ responses resonated in my heart.

The book covered tough topics well and I believe will leave the reader looking to their our journey on the “red road”. God speed as you travel, and even perhaps, lead others to the ‘Chasm’.

I received this book for free from Multnomah Press and was not required to write a positive review.

Find The Chasm on Deepershopping here.
Find other allegory books like The Chasm at Deepershopping here.

All photos were used from The Chasm's product page here.

Please rank this review!

Randy Alcorn

2011-02-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a little something I managed to eek out of Randy Alcorn's book launching part for The Chasm. An allegorical book aimed at adults.

@Mr. Alcorn

What drove you to use illustrations in this new work of yours? What did you hope to gain from them?

Someone asked about illustrations. I really felt that The Chasm could be enhanced with the illustrations. But, with Stephanie's help, I searched around for different potential illustrators and finally found Mike Biegel. It was the right fit. I wanted that contemporary feel that is sort of a graphic novel sketch approach. I think Mike nailed what I was looking for and it definitely enhances the book. Allows you to picture something of the heavy imagery in the Chasm.

‎@Mr. Alcorn,

What sets The Chasm apart from your other wonderful books? The style of writing, the world building, characters?

The Chasm is unique, those who have read EOE will see that I extracted and then rewrote as a standalone some chapters in the middle of that earlier novel. From the time I first wrote EOE, 12 years ago, I have wanted to do this. I believe God can use it as an imaginative way of conveying the gospel to people who need to envision the old story in a fresh way.

@ Mr. Alcorn

As you continue to write these fiction books, what is your greatest source of inspiration for your writing? What is your source for creative ... juices?

On creative juices, hard to answer that. I seek to read and think and use my imagination, and improve my writing skills. I ask God for ideas and help and I sense Him answering those prayers. Whether we build or draw or fix things or make a home for our families, God wants us to yield our gifts to Him, and depend on Him for the next step, even the next breath. I don't always succeed, but that's what I seek to do in my writing.

‎@Randy Alcorn

What first sparked your idea for The Chasm? Was it something in particular or was it more of a slow idea percolating? Did you outline it, or go with the seat of the pants route?

The basic idea for The Chasm came to me thirteen years ago while writing Edge of Eternity. Seemed like God brought waves of imagination to me until I could feel the little people driving nails in the feet and hear the angels locked up in heaven pounding on the ground, the earth's ceiling, crying out to take vengeance on the little people for inflicting such misery on the Woodsman.

@ Mr. Alcorn,

To end with one last question. What was one thing different in the writing of The Chasm than your other books? Did you write it all while eating shrimp? ;)

No shrimps were killed in the writing of the Chasm, but a number of them gave their lives that I might eat well tonight, thanks to my lovely wife Nanci. The Chasm is in some ways the most purely imaginative book I've written. Yet it has some gritty references to the struggles and dead end streets of this life.

Hope you enjoy this short and informal Q and A!

In Constant Prayer Review

2011-02-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

In Constant Prayer was something new for me to read. I enjoy non-fiction but read primarily fiction. This book basically turns the clock back to early A.D. and makes the case that “The Daily Office of Prayer” may well be worth incorporating into your daily life. The Office was not something I was acquainted with previously so I got out my pencil and paper and started to pay attention. The case Mr. Benson weaves for his belief in the power of the Daily Office is if nothing else, intellectually interesting. He cites the New Testament believers as well as the more liturgical denominations and groups, such as Episcopalians or Catholics. He believes that their more formal and rote operations may indeed not be a bad thing. But be something to emulate in prayer.

The Daily Office of prayer requires praying certain prayers at certain times of the day. Example prayers were included at the end of the book and they were indeed useful for a personal reference on what was being discussed. Overall, I didn’t find the books’ message very compelling, but an interesting read. If you are interested in the idea of The Daily Office then I’d say read the book if only to learn. If not, it probably won’t convince you otherwise.

Find this book here at Deepershopping.
Find more books about spiritual growth here at Deepershopping.

Give us the series!![CLOSED]

2011-02-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

Finally we can giveaway the last Echoes from the Edge book! Nightmares Edges, the final book in the series and man do I love this book!! Normally I consider this my second favorite book--eclipsed only by the FIRST book in the series.This book can be personalized to YOU if you win!

For those of you who haven't read the series before, this is a must read for anyone looking for an emotionally stirring, adrenaline pumping, and spiritually moving book.

In this last installment in the Echoes from the Edge series: In the final installment in the Echoes from the Edge series, the three Earths are headed towards imminent destruction, and only Nathan’s father knows the secret to saving billions of people from the celestial collision. But he is trapped in a dream world where nightmares are reality and the collapse of the cosmos is at hand.

When Kelly sacrifices herself on Nathan's behalf during a rescue mission gone bad, Nathan is faced with two formidable tasks: save Kelly, and repair the cosmic fabric before the three dimensions collide. With the fate of the universe hanging in the balance, and the murderous stalker Mictar dogging his steps, Nathan must save the three Earths … or risk everything trying.

Now, what can you do to enter you ask?

You must do this to be eligible for any other entries. You can follow this blog. A follower widget should be located on the blog's sidebar. (earns 1 entries if you already do, 2 if you are a new follower. Specify in comment.)
You can post about this giveaway on your blog. Comments must have a link. Limited to three posts a week. (earns 2 entries)
You can tweet with a link to this post. Comments must have a link. Limited to once a day. (Earns one entry)
You can read any of my reviews, or interview on this blog and comment on it. (earns 1 entry)
You may link(with words as well) to this giveaway on facebook. You must email me a screen shot of your post. Limited to once a day. (earns 2 entries) I will not count this entry if you do not email me a screen shot.
You may get someone else to follow, please have them comment and say who told them about the blog.(earns 3 entries. This includes people who have linked here from Facebook or Twitter. They must say you sent them.)
You may interview authors: Matt Kociech, or Amanda Bradburn and blogpost it.(Earns 4 entries and is limited to once per author)

This giveaway ends February 28th.

I think this could be our greatest giveaway yet! Good luck!

Turtle and Dragon go on Safari!

2011-01-31T11:53:00.000-08:00

Turtle and Dragon Go on Safari was a warm interesting read. Padraig the dragon and Roger the turtle are out on a safari! They try to camp out all night, just like proper adventurers would. But camping out isn’t all about s’mores and a nice fire; when they hear strange sounds in the dark they look for what could be causing them. But like true safari-ers they classify them as howler monkeys making the screeching noises. A rustling in the leaves is from Giraffes with their heads in a tree, and those are just a few of their identifications! Even when they get scared in the dark neither one makes fun of the other and they stay adventurer buddies trying to sleep in their tent. Roger keeps Padraig’s spirit up and in turn, Padraig is able to help light their way with fire!!

Turtle and Dragon Go on Safari was a book I’d love to have my kids read(IF I had some) with no reservations whatsoever. Great job Mrs. Paul, and Ms. Denmark! Also, the Illustrations by Vincent Nguyen were exceptional.

To purchase the book try here at Deepershopping.
To find more books like this try here at Deepershopping.

Textual conversations(A sister post)

2011-01-23T22:11:00.000-08:00

Though I'm giving this posts it's own page space. It's really a sister post to my previous post on randomness. But since I have another post coming up in line with this one, you get the picture..I can't have triplets.

Part one of: Text communication; terrific, or trouble in text?

As I write this blog post I'll be blatant. I have no degree, no professional occupation in relation to this topic. I only have my own perception of my surroundings. Right now I deal largely with online conversations. Something that on the whole I feel I'm reasonably adept at holding. My online conversations skills have lent themselves to these basic principles.

The real life intonation supplanted with smilies( :)--;)--:(--:S---:P--etc.).The hand and body motions replaced with: "*stomps*", "*Runs outside and checks temperature.*", "*Shakes fist at the cold*" asterisks comments. Even common politeness is increased with the fact you don't actually have to be interested to type out, "How was your day? How are you doing. How did school go?"

All, of course, with varying levels of grammar and very usage ;) (See, there I did it again with the smilies.)In fact! With all these substitutive options you'd think online and textual conversations would be as rich as real ones. Maybe even more so with all these demonstrative expressions! I'm here to say--it's not. Nothing can replace the real life face time with people.

I used to scoff(albeit carefully) when my dad said to call someone rather than email, and to talk to them face to face rather than call. It's a hassle, they might be busy, it might be awkward, I might not, dare I say it? Enjoy it. Email is much more of a conversation buffer.That's a good thing, right?

Well you know what? He was right. At least for now, textual conversations can in no way shape or form replace real interaction face to face. You can measure a man quickly when you meet him face to face. You can't measure him at all(for sure) when it's text based. There is even something powerful about being able to sell yourself as a person when you talk to someone. To convey the needed attributes for a position you are applying for(In job situations). To show how you carry yourself in a variety of situations. In a nutshell: To show the essence of--you.

Gina Rubel, head of Furia Rubel Communications believes that interpersonal communications is a must. Listed below are some examples that both she and I believe, illustrate that face to face conversation time is not at an end. And that textual communication goes toe to toe with face to face communication and loses. Badly.

Employee interviews. Yearly meetings. Organization planning and goal setting meetings.
High importance business deals. (This will allow you to do more than sell yourself or your product, but it can alert you to potential pit falls.)
Interaction with your client in jobs such as: Law positions, Accountanting, Human Resources department, etc. Not all the time is the client provider relationship built face to face, but those meetings are the pillars of the relationship with online and other methods of interaction filling the in-between times.

And you wanna know something else? I was right as well--in a way.

Email is much more of a conversation buffer.

You can casually send a harsh email without meaning it. A disrespectful email and still be clueless as to why the person is now mad at you. And far too easily send an email that conveys thoughts that you really weren't trying to propagate. But the wonders of text communication and the needed extrapolation that is required on the receiving end of the message, have thwarted us again. I participate in a pro-life fundraiser each year for a local organization. They now have online donation facilities, and this last year email was a big push, even from the organization. Less work, more people contacted faster, easier for donations. All these things were touted--But what they didn't say was it was a beautiful play of the human factor. No awkward phone call. No having to leave your arm chair--or in this case, no having to exit your browser to gain donations. It made it so much....cleaner, sterilized--bland.

Send out your request for donation in email, and be well on your way to being completely done with your part in fund raising in thirty minutes of checking off email send recipients. I know peers that went with the email route. Sent out large amounts of emails. I also personally know people who chose to give me as apposed to someone who emailed because I talked to them either voice to voice on the phone, or even better, face to face. Email can't match interaction in person, not yet anyway. When I talked to people face to face about this opportunity to help the unborn, my success rate was exponential to email--even substantially larger than phone. People don't want a sterile email, they don't want the no-contact that the culture subconsciously and even perhaps unwittingly as a whole pushes with social medias now, people want face to face. My example is only one of many I could have used but it made an impression on this competitive kid ;)

Now something I'd like to point out here before I end this article and prepare for the next one. My examples are dealing with an older working group of people. My control group I sourced was not teens. As a whole I believe teens will disagree with my message more. We grew up with email being standard, and for many, txtng bing the wy of lif. (Yes I know that was a shameless example of texting.) Face to face means less to us on the whole, some of us might even rather deal with non-face to face interaction. For one, I don't feel that's a healthy way to live. But more than that, what parts of life could you be missing living that way?

In the second--and last---installment in this series on conversations, I'll address why I believe text based communication is actually harming conversational skills and relationships. But it's not all lost ;) There are things you can do to protect relationships and your communication skills.

Article source for Gina Rubel comments from where I drew from here.

A craze.

2011-01-21T19:39:00.000-08:00

RAN'DOM, n.

1. A roving motion or course without direction; hence, want of direction, rule or method; hazard; chance; used in the phrase, at random, that is, without a settled point of direction; at hazard.

2. Course; motion; progression; distance of a body thrown; as the furthest random of a missile weapon.RAN'DOM, a.

1. Done at hazard or without settled aim or purpose; left to chance; as a random blow.

2. Uttered or done without previous calculation; as a random guess.

This isn't a post to rail on anyone. This isn't even a post to complain loudly about things I don't like. This is a post, about Random-ness. Right now in the blog and internet circles I frequent, randomness is huge. If you are random you are cool. If you make random blog posts they are, epic. But if you make long drawn out posts when you actually dig into the meat of something it's, good. Well thought out. Nice post. Not often--epic. This isn't a new phenomenon. This isn't something that is new on the block. Randomness is exalted. People want to be random, they want to make little to no sense while amusing themselves--and apparently, others. This isn't just one person. This isn't just two. This is a large amount.

So why the drive for being random? Why do we feel the need to impress others with our randomness? Why are there blog posts devoted to being random? That's something I'm still trying to figure out. Someone started this being random craze, I know that. Some people made it cool, and now--it's the in thing to do. So instead of emulating articulation of ideas, it's randomness that's the pinnacle of conversation. People fail in online interaction, or the conversations get no where, why? Because randomness is exalted and you can't hold a long term conversation when it's being punctuated by rantings on boot leather and bird wings. It's not possible. Can the problem be fixed? Maybe, but priorities need to be changes, the focus needs to shift, and that my friends, starts with you.

The Charlatan's Boy

2011-01-21T09:40:00.001-08:00

The Charlatan’s Boy by Jonathan Rogers will definitely rank high on my bookshelf hierarchy. It contains the story of a he-feechie that pretends to be—a feechie to put on shows and make money with “Perfesser Floyd”. Grady is an orphaned feechie that doesn’t know who he is, and the story from the perfesser changes weekly. But he does know he’s uglier than most, and likes to do the feechie act. He also knows that the “perfesser” isn’t much to love, but as he puts it: You have to love someone.

The finding out of who Grady was in The Charlatan’s Boy added a fun dimension to the story even if it was reasonably predictable. Sometimes as a reviewer you say characters live and breath. This time they hooted and “Ollie Ollie Ollie-ed” with their feechie war cry while wheeling and dealing the crowds. Something that Mr. Rogers did in this books far better than most writers would have, was his character voice. Not once was I left in a lurch at how they talked after an unexpected vernacular choice. The character voices stayed constant and always just what they really would have said.

The writing quality was excellent and I have no complaints that way. The book moved along at a reasonable pace without pulling you along, but I wouldn’t have minded a faster paced read. One of my only bones to pick with the book is the ending! I didn’t get a good feeling of closure. Sure—I mean there is going to be another book, but the reader deserves a satisfying ending. I felt like it was almost rushed, still at least we had a partial conclusion.

All in all, would I recommend this book? Definitely!

Check out the first chapter here.
Find it at Deepershopping here.
Find more fun fantasy reads at Deepershopping here.

PLEASE RATE IT!

I recieved this book for free from Waterbrook Publishing and this is my own opinion.

Interview with Matt Koceich!

2011-01-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

Alright! Today we are honored with an interview with Matt Koceich!

Hey Mr. Koceich! Thanks so much for joining me with an interview today! For those that don’t know, Mr. Koceich has a brand spanking new title out with Marcher Lord Press, The Sending. A spiritual thriller. :D

Check it out here! Now, on with the interview.

So right off the bat, why don’t you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

Blessed with a loving wife and four children, I am an elementary school teacher in Arlington, Texas. Back in 2008, I had the opportunity to complete a five-day writing residency with Jerry B. Jenkins as part of the first Christian Writers Guild Craftsman course. That was an amazing experience.

What are your other interests besides writing? Do you ride the range in your spare time?

By God’s grace, my wife and I had the chance to travel to Ethiopia where we adopted our son, Yakob. We fell in love with the people and culture in Addis Ababa and can’t wait to get back. I think about this whole journey and how we’re all adopted children of God.

The Sending is your first published book I understand. I’ve also heard that you are working on your next book. Can you tell us a little bit about the first one, and perhaps a teaser for the second?

The Sending is a blend of suspense and fantasy. Mark Grant has the ability to see distant places and is paid a hefty sum to locate the Garden of Eden. Evil forces try to harness Mark’s power for their own plans. Namely, the armies of darkness want the fruit of the tree of life so they can live forever. Mark will become their first human host unless he learns how to channel his gift for the good of God’s kingdom.

The Breaking, Book 2 of my Soul Kingdom trilogy, focuses on a young lady who has the ability to hear people’s prayers. At first the pleas are overwhelming, bringing with them constant migraines and stressful dreams. Then in the midst of the chaos, she hears a certain victim’s plea for help. The woman can’t stop ‘breaking’ the prayers until she saves the victim. When she finally finds the victim, she realizes that the real nightmare has only begun.

How do you manage to juggle the position as a father, a husband, family leader and provider, while being a writer at the same time? What has seemed to work for you?

Up early. Up late. And write on my lunch break at work.

When did you first feel the urge to write? And how did it manifest itself. I remember when I was in first grade I would get a blank piece of paper and a pencil and copy sections of my picture books. Can you say plagiarism? Fast forward to college…I started reading a lot and wanted to make stories of my own.

Who was most instrumental in the decision for you to be a writer?

God. The Sending started off as a completely secular novel with the Garden of Eden as the only biblical piece. After I “surrendered all,” I felt the strong desire to turn the book into a story that would glorify God. I think it’s important that we write for Him and His glory.

As a Christian, is your writing more directly, or indirectly, influenced by your faith? Is it influenced?

Yes, my writing is faith-based. Take The Sending, for example. I was always interested in the Garden of Eden account. The Tree of Life is the Bible’s bookends appearing in both Genesis and Revelation. It sort of reached off the page and tugged at my thoughts. Writing Christian speculative fiction lets me explore my faith. It allows me experience God’s Word in new ways.

I know we have many would be published authors in our midst reading this, what tips can you give them?

This one is my favorite question. I say that because I’ve become a pro at learning things the hard way! Don’t look for your worth in the outcome. Enjoy the journey. As you write, remember that your real identity is who you are in Christ. His grace is enough. Not a “published” novel and God’s grace, but simply God’s grace. Write the story God has placed in you. Don’t try to write what you think a publishing house can sell. Let the rejection letters motivate instead of discourage.

As a first time published novelist yourself, what was the hardest part of the writing/editing/agent/publishing circle?

The hardest part for me came in two parts. First, all the years I spent trying to get my story published. The stamps, query letters, emails…those were the times I felt like a hamster running the proverbial wheel. The second part is coming now when I read reviews of my book that are less than stellar. I have to remember that we are writing for our Savior and not some earthly book award or prize.

I’ve seen a picture of you with your beard, do I get one too if I live in Texas?

Ah yes. Truth be told, my cheeks and chin are the only place on my head where hair feels free to grow! Our planet’s gravitational pull might just be a tad stronger under Texas.

Are there any last thoughts you’d like to share with our readers?

Thank you for spending some time reading this interview. I hope my writing journey helps people realize how much they are loved by the Lord. Thank you Millard for the chance to share my story. Blessings to you and your readers. Please come over to my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Matt-Koceich-Just-Past-the-Books/122172144504013 for more discussion forums on writing and faith.

Thanks for the interview, I really enjoyed it, and I hope you did too!

I'm definitely going to check out that Facebook page, I encourage you all to do the same! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of The Sending, The Breaking sounds mind blowing too! Again, find The Sending here, and read the sample below!

Enoch by Alton Gansky

2011-01-17T09:24:00.000-08:00

Enoch is a book, once read, you don’t easily get out of your mind. It’s laced with spiritual action and warfare. Spiced with straight faced humor. And bordered by characters that are larger than the pages on which they sit. I found the idea of Enoch arriving again with a message from God to be absolutely fantastic! Mr. Gansky literarily colored in a Biblical character making him both believable and making the reader eager to learn more. And gave me the fun cause to question, “What if he really did come back?”. All that to say, I felt the plot was reasonable, but still not the showcase of the book. Again with Mr. Gansky it was the characters that made the storyline work for me. But with lesser characters I’m quite sure I wouldn’t have enjoyed it near as much. I would say the plot would be the weakness of the book. Between a pretend psychic who might be more real than she knows, a man from the past named Enoch, and a broken and frustrated man looking for a fresh start; Alton has given us an amazing mix between new, old, and redemption.

Find it at Deepershopping here.
Find other books by Alton Gansky at Deepershopping here.

A test...

2011-01-14T15:15:00.000-08:00

Hey there :)

Right now I'm testing something in my reading preferences. Now of course reading something I consider morally wrong is--wrong. But something an little different, reading something I consider theologically wrong? That's the quandary I'm looking at right now with reading The Appearing By Kristen Wisen. The book while, good so far morally(if a tad bit shallow) makes theological statements I wouldn't agree with. I knew this before I started the book, so I've started it with trepidation.

Now, what about a test? The test is, I knew I wouldn't agree, for solid Biblical reasons with the books stand eschatologically. However, the test is, how influencing will this book be on my viewpoint? Fiction is such a powerful tool, can it penetrate my reasoning and supplant ideas I've had? No, in this case I think not. But someone less entrenched in their ideas? Extremely. I looked up some of the scripture references they used, non-descript, not much to say about them. Which I suppose is good ;) It's not heresy I'm reading!! (Which is a topic I think I'd like to blog post on..)

Anyway, it's just an in-my-face reminder that fiction is amazingly powerful. I'll finish the book God willing and give you my final opinion, but---I can't read with a blank slate, that my friends, would be the worst thing I could do.

Joy

2011-01-12T21:52:00.000-08:00

Joy in the midst of trials. Joy during trials.

Joy is an interesting thing when it comes to suffering, are we called to be joyful all the time during a trial? Just at the beginning? What are your thoughts, and why?

My newest project

2011-01-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

This is a little something I cooked up this afternoon! I got a reference image from Mirriam Neal! Wow! She did an amazing job on tons of different angles..*whistles* Anyway, this is a dragon wing ;) For those that can't tell. Hopefully I'll be able to skin it soon! :D

The Door Within

2011-01-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

Noah's got another giveaway, this time though, it's a real classic!! The Door Within by Wayne Batson! Head on over--enter--good luck!

Millard

Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer

2011-01-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

If you could please rate the review here. I'd be forever grateful :D

Mere Churchianity was a book I picked up with bias for the church and against some of it's commonly accepted practices. I was also biased for the Biblical model as well as with the trepidation that I would simply be reading a radical anti-church as a whole, book. But…as I read it I realized it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It was indeed against much of the church as a whole, but, not simply because it was the church. Michael Spencer’s bone to pick with the church was it’s church shaped—not Jesus shaped spirituality. The lack of Jesus behind the churches’ doors and simply a church and what they say. He believes that this is the case with a majority of churches and as such believers are walking away from the church in search of God.

If the book had stopped there---and I almost did, it would have been a disappointment. He filled much of the first part of the book with what I consider burned out Christian rhetoric. However, the book beefed up as it drove toward the finish line and added some solid issues that I knew were on target with church problems. He started with the address of hearts of his readers, some of their insecurities and legitimate pains. And finished with trying to show that Jesus shaped spirituality was the way to go.

There were quite a few things in the book I disagreed with, however---he did have some good points. I’d recommend the read with a grain of salt.

A little humorous note: Mr. Spencer made the comment that millions of copies of books like, "The Purpose Driven Life" and other books on how to truly know God are sold based on people feeling the church with a God vacuum of nothingness. I agree somewhat, however--his book will sell on the same premise ;)

You can purchase the book here on amazon, or here on Christianbooks.com.
You can also read chapter one here.
Find it at Deepershopping here.
Find more books on spiritual growth and the church at Deepershopping here.
Happy Reading!

Bittersweet--Dark chocolate

2010-12-31T21:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight is like dark chocolate to me. It's bitter when you bite it, it's hard to start on, you're not sure if you are indeed going to like it....Then it's sweet. Then the real pleasure comes. That's the way tonight is for me. Overall like most people I resist change, I resist the unknown, a huge amount of my identity deal with being sick, 2011 could be the third entire year--or it could bring healing. I have many spoons in the pot of what I'm working on as a person, I know God will remove some. Which ones? I don't know. But is there going to be spoon changes? Yes. The mixture will be sweeter---but with the sweet I wonder if like the dark chocolate a little tinge of bitter is mixed in. Friends, will I gain more? Lose more? Time will tell, God knows the sweet and the bitter. Like the darkness of the chocolate brought by the cocoa, my soul and life will be shaded by what God brings in. Changed forever, and in reality, quite irrevocably. When I look to the new year I feel fear, I hate the unknown like most of us. An adventure, give me everything you got ;) But when unknown is bundled in a mix where I don't know what God wants for me, and what He'll bring, give me a bed to hide under. The sugar in the chocolate is like the blessings God showers on me. My 3 hour meeting with a guy I know, heart to heart between two men striving for the Lord. It was wonderful! But the bitter mixed in as well, my muscles also shook the entire time. What sugar will got stir in this year? What trials will stir the mixture and even it out? A job would be sugar to me, how sweet...right now I can't, next year? Only God knows. I don't usually do these things, but tonight my heart is heavy, I'm going to write a list of things I'd like to be next year. Maybe I'll share it. Maybe I won't. If you read this post, try it. See what God does--I'm sure going to.

Love to all my brothers and sisters in our Lord Christ Jesus,

Millard

(This is an edit in) No it's not poetry, I tried but that's not my skill right now. What it is? A heart felt pondering and acknowledgment of God.

Lord a new year springs from the old,

Oh father were that I eager and bold!

But the old year’s trials are fresh to my mind,

My souls’ constantly in remind.

I wish that I could yell and shout!

I could exclaim what I am to be about.

The plan you hold for me,

Unfolded yes oh so carefully.

Yet I can’t Jesus, I can see the plan,

I can barely see what is laid before me now.

Oh God please lighten my burdened soul!

It cries for your healing touch, show me thine goal!

Where to go at your command,

just show me and I’ll

But Lord the new year it looms with such might,

and in this frail heart of mine, it gives a great fright!

But in this new year, I know you loom as well,

And your shadow cast, now that’s swell.

So behind the unknown you craft,

your plan unknown to me, but not to you.

Through fog and through dessert,

your plan will you lead.

But Lord, before this plan plays out,

Before it’s set in place.

Jesus I know one thing,

You know my needs.

It seems somehow right--TRIBING

2010-12-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

[This one is new and improved. Please watch in Full screen for best quality.]

Or!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV6C_R9qcno

Hey there! This seems appropriate..the 100th post on my blog, and something about how it all started. Tribing. It's almost eight minutes, so buckle up ;) I hope you enjoy the problems that an X tribe leader faces.

Two in the same day...

2010-12-28T19:41:00.000-08:00

After probably...1 or 1.5 hours. I have no clue really :P

I know right? You're like..but Millard, I totally already was at your blog once today. ISN'T THAT ENOUGH!? Hm..no ;)

Anyway...after probably four hours of work today, I finished my first good, and real blender project by myself :) Leighton's' help prior in other projects was absolutely crucial.


The Finished Product.

Behold!

2010-12-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

Behold...a lego creation! Courtesy of Leighton(Aka Blender guy) I had a lego model! And with repeated trial and error, not to mention and insane amount of blender renders...We have--The flipping lego!!

Enjoy ;)

Millard

P.s. I also have a new storyish thing up:D

A very special Christmas

2010-12-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! If you've read the post previously you heard me say I'm not a big presents guy? Well that's true--like I said ;) But, I received two really amazing presents this year. Both took a large amount of work for my family, and sister respectively. My eyes threatened to mist over when looking at them, it was really special. I just wanted to share some of this specialness...


A photo album complete with elves.


And a poster with sayings..I love sayings.

Thanks all!

Note: I even found out other elves got in on this surprise <_<

Christmas time

2010-12-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when it gets to around Christmas time I get my priorities messed up. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Christmas! But I don't think that I always love the right things. I'm not a presents person, I'd be just as happy, if not more, to get zero presents, and send some to my friends and family. I just am not a person who likes getting gifts. Not to say I'm ungrateful ;) You should hear about some of the tricks my family has played on me....man they played me like a fiddle <_<

Anyway, my problem is more often, I sometimes see Christmas time as a time to eat lots of pies, cookies, cake, candy, etc. Or....a time to do nothing but sit around. Neither are inherently wrong, but when those become my priorities, they are. Maybe your thing isn't the cookies or seat time/sleep time, maybe it's the getting of gifts, or maybe...it's the giving. Before you shoot me and move on to a more interesting blog post because I took a poke at giving gifts--hear me out, please!

I think giving gifts is wonderful, seeing the looks on peoples' faces when you give them something totally surprising. Or you wrap a gift and hide it's true nature.(Bwahahhah!) But, I think that was can also get sucked into the giving of gifts, Remember? That's what is preached in a lot of places, I've heard it. "It's all about giving." Great....Or is it? Giving is great, but what if in this push for giving---we miss something more important than sending that train, or package, or book, but we miss what started this whole thing. Is that any better than losing sight of the goal of the day because of wanting to give? Or to eat? Or to sleep? What was God's interjection? (And yes I know Christmas was a pagan holiday)

But rather than totally try to take apart an age old tradition of pushing giving, maybe I should do this instead. I'm going to take just a moment to give you one thought to think about when you remember this Christmas.

Four hundred years broken by a baby's--whimpering.

(Wait--you mean cry right? No, I mean whimpering :P Having been informed that babies cannot properly cry for quite some time. So besides the technicality.... ;))

Four hundred years of silence, no word from God, and then...a baby comes. The living reflection of God. God became man, sinless, pure, and born to save the world he came into. Into a dirty world, messy, unpleasant, and from his perspective, no doubt wholly bright and not fun! But---Christ came. The first sound after four hundred years from God, was a baby whimpering.

This isn't original, this isn't profound at least not the way I said it. But, maybe, just maybe, you'll see the nugget that I did. That sound---of a baby whimpering.

The tree JPG is from Wikipedia.

Giveaway from NLT!

2010-12-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

Hey! I got an email from Tyndale this morning about a contest that is being run by The New Living Translation :D They have all sorts of awesome prizes for bloggers, like me, willing to tell people about it! You could win Bibles, NLT products, even a grand prize trip! Those are some seriously sweet prizes for my blogger buddies! So...seriously, check out their facebook page!

Millard

Giveaway is over! The Winner is...

2010-12-19T14:29:00.000-08:00

And number 15 is.........*checks notes* *doubt checks* *triple checks* *qu--* Oh right. Who won?

Eagleswings!!

Congratulations Eagles! Please email me your address and we'll see if we can't get that book on it's way.

Thank you to everyone that made this giveaway a success. Thank you Mr. Davis!

Wow! Blender Mania!

2010-12-18T20:18:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

I just wanted to share some of the cool things that happened to me today! Two big ones ;D I completed....TWO blender projects! One I just started today! Yes'r! And no..the other one had been a WIP for awhile but mainly that's my fault ;) However, first I'd like/also need to thank Leighton. He's an amazing blender user/master, even if I do tend to chat him during dishes ;)

So..why am I thanking someone? Here's why.

Yeah, pretty sweet if I do say so myself ;) Thanks Leighton!

To let everyone know, Leighton is offering Blender tutoring through his website. Check out some information on it here! Check it out :D

I'm also starting a new page on the blog for blender projects, that way--no matter when I start and stop, I'll be able to keep reminders of them up and about for myself, as well as maybe for you too!
Note: You can schedule an interview with the Short lego guy, contact me, I'm his agent.

I have a video I made that should show up tomorrow....

Forum Art

2010-12-17T19:25:00.001-08:00

What can I say? I love it.(:

An interview with Amanda Bradburn!

2010-12-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

Today I'm honored to have an interview with Ms. Amanda Bradburn! I can't wait to see what you guys think of it! So without further ado...we will probe her to her soul.

How did you get started writing? The initial catalyst was probably boredom, honestly. My first book was co-authored with two of my friends during a homeschool group. I was seven. J

Why do you write, what drives you to write? I love it. I can’t NOT write. It’s something that comes very naturally to me, and I’d feel incomplete without a pen and paper somewhere nearby with my scribbles on it.

How does your Christian faith play into your writing, does it? Christianity is a part of everything I do. Mat 22:37 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” I don’t want to preach, but I want it to be obvious that by what I write and how I write, that I am salt. (If this makes no sense to

What one author has been the most influential towards making you a writer? Rote answer: (sorry) Tolkien. Yes, I know. Every fantasy author says that, but it’s true. I never would have written fantasy if Tolkien hadn’t written a book that got made into a movie in 2001. (The Fellowship of the Ring). Before I saw that, I was writing mystery.

How do you manage to juggle college, social life, and writing? *laughs* Carefully and with much loss of sleep. You can live on less than the specialists say, let me tell you!

After reading your book, soon to be books, what is the highest compliment you could be paid? There are a lot of compliments that an author covets. “I couldn’t put it down”, obviously. “I can’t wait until book two (or whatever comes next)”, also. Honestly, the highest compliment is not a sentence, it’s actions. It’s telling a friend that they loved The Keepers of Elenath and spreading the word. That’s the best compliment my book could ever get.

What is one unknown fun fact you can tell our readers? I have lots of unknown fun facts! Hmm… I used to be so shy that I could not answer the telephone. J I’m not that way anymore! ( I don’t know what happened…so sad…)

Can you give us a short synopsis of your first book, The Keepers of Elenath? The words “short synopsis” and “Elenath” will never belong in the same sentence. The Keepers of Elenath combines the fate of a nation with the journeys of a princess and the struggles of an escaped slave boy. Something evil is waiting… and it has come so close. The ultimate weapon, a vial of dragon venom, has been found. Those who try to stop it are hunted. But they aren’t the only ones.

Finally, if you could tell young aspiring writers one thing, what would that be? Writing is tough. You’re going to love it, and sometimes you’re going to wish that you didn’t. People are going to hurt you (people do, you know), but you will gain some wonderful friends. People will genuinely want to help you. Anyway, don’t give up. You might feel like it. In fact, I’ll guarantee you’ll feel like it. Don’t do it. Don’t give in.

Thanks Ms. Bradburn!

Millard

To check her awesome site! (To which my wicked looking hand drawn blog button links too...) click here!

If you're thinking about buying the book, shoot me an email, I'll see if I can't set something up for ya--along the lines of something neato ;) Just to let you know---all books sold with an audio book code! So an audio books AND a normal book :D

It's over

2010-12-15T06:43:00.001-08:00

Tribe building is over, thoughts?

Also I've joined Eagleswings in her challenge to read through the entire Bible before January first. This is a challenge..I haven't started yet! ;) Join us!

In Print

The Hunger Games~A partial review

Scriptural Prayers

The slow down

Sermon days #5 and #6!

Sermon day #4!

Sermon day #3!

Sermon day #2!

7 day Challenge

7 days. 7 sermons. Francis Chan and David Platt.

A seven day challenge to listen to one sermon each day for seven days. Why? Because I desire to be more Christlike, and good teaching is one way to facilitate that.

I'd love to have others join me on this journey! All the messages are free on iTunes.

Wishing you a year of Fruitful Labor in the Flesh.

Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrisey

Corridor by Robin Parrish

Nightbringer by James Byron Huggins

Bruchko by Bruce Olson

The Reckoning by James Byron Huggins

Keeper of the Grail by Michael P. Spradlin

Readers Dream Prizes...

Update-Health

Enraptured by Orthodoxy

Intruiged (by) Chesterton

(why) You should applaud an e-reader.

The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley

The Book of Man by William J. Bennett

The Dragon's Tooth by N.D Wilson

Brother Thief by Greg Downs

Precisely Terminated by Amanda Davis

The Bone House by Stephen Lawhead

New article released!

The Skin Map by Steven Lawhead

Coming soon

The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead

Mordred by Greg Downs:

Couragous by Randy Alcorn , Alex Kendrick, and Stephen Kendrick

Vigilante by Robin Parrish

Desiring God DVDs

The Final Hour by Andrew Klavan

Want to publish traditionally? Want to learn more about it?

Corus the Champion by D. Barkley Briggs

The Sending By Matt Kociech

A Man Called Outlaw

Guest post by Matt Koceich: Agenda

Radical Together, David Platt

The Map Across Time

Promises for the American Patriot

The Final Summit Andy Andrews

Ale boys's feast Jeffery Overstreet

Doing Virtuous Business

Offworld Robin Parrish

The Fight of Our Lives -Bennet and Leibsohn

Jonathan Miaocco

Life Promises for Success Jim Tressel

The Walk Shaun Alexander

A Conversation with God Alton Gansky

The Winner!

The Chasm By Randy Alcorn

Randy Alcorn

@Mr. AlcornWhat drove you to use illustrations in this new work of yours? What did you hope to gain from them?

‎@Mr. Alcorn,What sets The Chasm apart from your other wonderful books? The style of writing, the world building, characters?

@ Mr. AlcornAs you continue to write these fiction books, what is your greatest source of inspiration for your writing? What is your source for creative ... juices?

‎@Randy AlcornWhat first sparked your idea for The Chasm? Was it something in particular or was it more of a slow idea percolating? Did you outline it, or go with the seat of the pants route?

@ Mr. Alcorn,To end with one last question. What was one thing different in the writing of The Chasm than your other books? Did you write it all while eating shrimp? ;)

In Constant Prayer Review

Give us the series!![CLOSED]

Turtle and Dragon go on Safari!

Textual conversations(A sister post)

A craze.

The Charlatan's Boy

Interview with Matt Koceich!

Enoch by Alton Gansky

A test...

Joy

My newest project

The Door Within

Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer

Bittersweet--Dark chocolate

It seems somehow right--TRIBING

Two in the same day...

7 days.
7 sermons.
Francis Chan and David Platt.

@Mr. Alcorn

What drove you to use illustrations in this new work of yours? What did you hope to gain from them?

‎@Mr. Alcorn,

What sets The Chasm apart from your other wonderful books? The style of writing, the world building, characters?

@ Mr. Alcorn

As you continue to write these fiction books, what is your greatest source of inspiration for your writing? What is your source for creative ... juices?

‎@Randy Alcorn

What first sparked your idea for The Chasm? Was it something in particular or was it more of a slow idea percolating? Did you outline it, or go with the seat of the pants route?

@ Mr. Alcorn,

To end with one last question. What was one thing different in the writing of The Chasm than your other books? Did you write it all while eating shrimp? ;)