Wrting: A Lonely Life - NOT!!!!

When I was in college journalism classes, you learned to write by being herded into a typing (yes, I'm that old, and they were manual typewriters) room, given some facts for a news story, given a 30 minute deadline and set to work. Later working on newspapers and in radio stations, and eventually in academia, the collegiality of those social writing environments were both stimulating intellectually and comforting emotionally.

You could bounce ideas off each other, ask for help, or take a break and catch up on the office gossip, which sometimes was oddly refreshing. Just the knowledge of these other writers working around you made you feel not so much alone in this great endeavor to share words and ideas with the world.

I sometimes wonder why it is that I can produce 50,000+ words of fiction during National Novel Writing Month and barely get half that done any other time. But I know why. It's the knowledge that any time I sit down at the keyboard and begin that wrestling match with my characters and plot that there are thousands of other people doing the same. And they aren't just nameless, faceless people. I get burnt out or tired or need some inspiration or a question answered, I can click over to the discussion board and take part in a "word war" or give a suggestion or two about names in the future or philosophize about whether dystopic fiction is depressing or hopeful, or just share the frustration of the writing life.

One would think with all those digressions, that productivity would wane. Yet, the opposite is true. Just as that short gossip break in the middle of covering a big story or working on that course outline in a face-to-face setting can be the refreshing break you need to push through, seeing that "wordwarrior1978" didn't quite hit your high score for the day, or simply answering the question, "What is your character doing right now?" can help me get that second wind to push through to my daily writing goal in a way working alone cannot.

So, where is all this leading? Modern internet technology, what has been called Web 2.0, has created tools for us to move away from the isolation many of us can feel as writers. We are in a position to encourage one another, hold each other accountable, motivate, inspire, stimulate, assist and even provide those "water cooler" moments of diversion that refresh.

While social networking like Twitter, Facebook, Shoutlife, Linked in and MySpace, not to mention more traditional networking like discussion boards and email discussion lists can become a time sink if restraint is not exercised, they also can provide the writer, especially the writer who works at home, with a social support network.

For instance, say you are on Twitter with a lot of other writers in your own area of expertise. You need some piece of information. You post your question. It may just sit there. Or someone might "tweet" back with an answer. Or while you are writing, a tweet comes through telling you a friend just sold the article they have been working on, and you have been following their progress. That is an encouragement for you to keep writing.

So, here is a proposal. Begin to build your own writing support network. One online resource is the Lost Genre Guild Discussion Board . People are dropping by there all day long. Lots of tips and encouragement and a great place to ask questions. The Lost Genre Guild Email Discussion Group is another source for connection through the day.

Twitter is the world wide water cooler. 140 characters to say what you are doing, ask for prayer, seek advice, or just share your day. Great for "word wars" and other writing games. You don't know what a word war is? It's simple, you post an announcement for writers to start writing at a certain time until a certain time. At the end, compare word counts. You can follow me on twitter at Terrimain . Also, if you think about it post some encouragement throughout the day. Quotes, jokes, praises are always welcome.

Then there are the bigger social networking site. If you want to connect with me, you can at Facebook and Shoutlife.

Maybe together we can create a powerful social network of writers that cuts across the various technologies providing support, encouragement, inspiration and help to each other. It can be like the newsroom, just without the clatter of the typewriters.

The Begotten: A "Gift" and a Challenge Part 2

I must admit that when I heard this described as a Davinci Code for Christians that I was immediately concerned. It is one thing for a secular writer writing to a secular audience to use suspect "history" to create an engaging, but, let's face it, heretical story. However, a Christian writer writing for a Christian audience needs to be a bit more careful about the truth. Fortunately, most of those particular fears faded as I read the book.

Likewise, I was also fearful that the story would end up treating the gifts of the spirit like super-powers and the story would turn into a renaissance spiritual Legion of Superheroes. I loved those comics as a kid, but superpowers are controlled by the superhero. The operation of spiritual gifts must be controlled from on high. Fortunately, Bergren handled the exercise of the gifts mostly in a sensitive and reverent manner used only at the unction of the Holy Spirit of God.

So, the story was less problematic than I feared it would be. Nevertheless, I still had some concerns. Before I address those concerns, I feel I need to set forth my own background for the sake of full disclosure. I am a third generation Pentecostal. My grandparents on my mother's side were at Azusa Street and my grandparents on my father's side were at Hot Springs, Arkansas. These are two of the places where the modern Pentecostal movement was birthed. Of course, the operation of the Holy Spirit through individuals has been part of church history from the beginning. I have written extensively about the nature and operation of the Gifts of the Spirit as well as the Person and Character of the Holy Spirit, third person of the Holy Trinity.

I will try to keep denominational doctrine to a minimum in this discussion, but since this is a subject area largely ignored by denominations other than Pentecostal/Charismatic groups, that doctrinal bias (hopefully based on scripture and not just a blind following of church doctrine) will be present. I'm not apologizing, just putting my next few comments into perspective.

So, onward to my concerns.

The Problem of Assigning Authority to Non-Canonical Documents

One characteristic of many cults is what I've called the "Element of the Extra Book." Somehow the revelation of the Bible is insufficient and we need another revelation. Recently, we have seen this emerging in a revised interest in the Gnostic pseudo-gospels and epistles. There is always hidden in these type of discussions some sort of assumption that there is a conspiracy to keep these incredible revelations from Christians. They imply that Canon was decided upon by a group of men based pretty much on their own judgment of what they liked and disliked, and that they more or less capriciously made these decisions.

This view is a false view. For the most part, the canon was established based on what was already recognized as inspired and authentic by the church fathers for centuries.

for well over a century the books we find in our New Testament had often been copied together and distributed in a form not unlike the canonical New Testament of later years. The Chester Beatty Papyri contains most of the New Testament and dates to about 200 A.D. at least 100 years before the Canon was settled by the Church Councils and Synods of the Fifth Century.

As early as 150 A.D. the four gospels or “traditions” as they were often called were being distributed together. Likewise, by the middle of the Second Century, the Pauline epistles were collected and distributed as a single volume.

The Canon of scripture then was not a matter in which a group of men sat around and decided what books were and were not good ones to have in the canon. It was a recognition of what has already been accepted as inspired and authoritative.

In The Begotten a document of undetermined authorship and mysterious origin is elevated to near equality with the Holy Canon. In one instance, (see below) it is even given priority over the Word. While Bergren is careful to indicate that the document does not contradict scripture, it is nonetheless treated as scripture. Given the current world view that questions the authority of scripture even in many churches, I find it disturbing that the heroes in a Christian novel seem to need another mystical document other than the Bible to guide their actions.


The Problem of Exclusivity

While I am sure that Bergren did not intend to create a spiritual elite in her story, by default that happened. The use of the term The Gifted, by it's nature implies that the other Christians do not have gifts. However, a careful reading of the Canonical I Corinthians 12, which is our primary source of information about the Gifts of the Spirit discussed in this book, assumes that all parts of the body of Christ are "gifted" in some way. The gifts are discussed in the context of the body and the point of the chapter is not so much to talk about spiritual gifts but to correct a tendency the Corinthians apparently had of considering some gifts more important than the others and consequently considering some members of the body more important than others.

"The Gifted" are almost treated in this book like "The Charmed Ones" from the now defunct WB TV series. They are reluctantly set apart for great things, and while fallible human beings, they are still just a little bit better in many ways than everyone else. Or at least set apart form them. Perhaps it is more like an exclusive club. How many times in the book did someone say, "Are they one of us?" As opposed to what? One of "them," those other people out there who are not "gifted" like us? Again, I doubt that was intended, but unintended consequences are consequences nonetheless.

Building a heirarchy of blessing among believers is a dangerous thing. As a Pentecostal teacher, one of the things I have had to struggle with is keeping my students from feeling superior to those who do not share our belief that the operation of the gifts of the spirit did not cease with the end of the Apostolic era and the close of canon. Ranging from an arrogant assumption that we were spiritually stronger and more effective than our counterparts in non-Charismatic churches to a patronizing pitying of those who do not 'have the light' on the subject we have often been guilty of acting superior to others.

One may try to excuse this by pointing to years of persecution, mocking, and being accused of being in league with the devil by some parts of Christendom. But, there is no excuse, even that of persecution, that justifies spiritual pride. That was the sin of the Pharisees.

But one need not feel superior to others to shut them out or adopt an us verses them attitude. Certainly, we do not see overt spiritual pride in this book, but we see a definite suspicion of those outside the club leading even to a reticence to glorify God in public for these gifts. Certainly, the fear of torture and death is a deterant, yet, the early church faced the same threats and preached, healed and worked miracles on the street corner.

The Problem of Tongues

One obvious bias found in this book is a bias against the Gift of Tongues. Bergren does not deny it as a gift from God, but it is definitely treated as a second class gift. Indeed, when a woman comes to them speaking in tongues (actually praying in tongues to be accurate) she is immediately suspect, and generally discounted since the non-Canonical letter to the Corinthians they are following does not mention it. The fact that the Canonical epistle does as an equal to healing and miracles is discounted in light of the "suppressed" document.

In this case, the story defers to this document as opposed to the recognized general revelation of scripture. Now, I know this is fiction, but when the good guys discount scripture for an apocryphal document that is hardly in keeping with sound doctrine. And someone in the story should have pointed that out. However, the author's bias against tongues was too strong. How do we know this? Consider the following. First, the characters without correction defer to the seven gifts of the apocryphal document over the canonical epistle. Secondly, the one in the book with the gift of tongues is unstable, kept on the fringes of the company and eventually betrays them. This reinforces the image of people who speak in tongues as driven by emotion without ability to reason. Finally, in her study guide at the end of the book, Bergren makes it clear that she considers tongues to be of less importance than the other gifts by taking a couple of Pauline statements out of their context.

Now, someone can make the case (erroneously I believe) that the gifts stopped operating at the end of the apostolic era rejecting all of the gifts. However, there is no Biblical justification for accepting some of the gifts and excluding two because they are - well a tad embarrassing. Hey, on the Day of Pentecost, the people heard the disciples speaking in tongues and thought they were drunk. Yet, I might point out that the first gifts to be expressed in the apostolic era were the verbal ones - Tongues and Prophecy. Perhaps this is because the last thing most of us are willing to give up is what we say. Paul says that the tongue is like the bit in the horses mouth. If God can control the tongue he has control of the rest of us. That doesn't make tongues more important. It just explains why so many of us would like to blot it out of the panoply of gifts.

So, these are a few of the theological concerns I have. I still find the book well written and I would probably want to read more in the series. However, in my role as a consumer advocate, I have to warn you that some parts of the theology are shaky and just remember it's a story, only a story, and your theology needs to come from the Word of God found only in the Holy Bible.

So, what is the intersection of theology and fiction writing? When do extra-Biblical issues play a legitimate role in writing? How do we bring this together? I'm not sure I have all the answers, but maybe we need to raise the questions. Let's talk about that tomorrow. Meanwhile see what others are saying about The Begotten.

Sally Apokedak
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Jackie Castle
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Jill Hart
Michael Heald
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Terri Main
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Melissa Meeks
Pamela Morrisson
John W. Otte
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachelle Sperling
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise
Karina Fabian

CSFF Blog Tour: A time for Self-Examination

We are being visited this week by a variety of bloggers. We will receive reviews of the site. Am I apprehensive? Of course, we have been online barely a year with only two issues out. There are still many "bugs" in the system. I look forward to the honest reviewers to point out areas for improvement as well as any praises.

So, I'm going to try to step back a bit and try to create an objective review. Looking at some of the things that we are doing well and the other things that can use improvement along with some direction for the future.

I think the high point of our site are the stories. I have been blessed by receiving many good solid stories which really shine. I've also received some enjoyable poetry. People have kept me up with speculative fiction news, but I have not been that diligent in posting it in a timely manner. I like our banner, which was donated by Tony Qwade.

A second area of strength, which is just being developed, is the creation of a community. For over a year WJ has hosted a speculative fiction chat in Second Life, a virtual world. We are taking a hiatus during the winter but will be back in full force in March.

Now for the improvement areas.

Editing

One of the problems with running a one-person shop is that you don't have other people catching the things you miss. A definite weakness of this site is proofreading. When I go back and look at some of the pages, I'm always pulling them up and correcting something that I missed.

Graphics

One thing about the old pulp science-fiction publications that made them so enjoyable was the art. Sometimes garish, sometimes hokey, these pictures augmented the reading. Not being a graphic artist myself, I have not done as much with the visual layout of the site. That is definitely something that needs attention.

Basic Professionalism

I generally pride myself on professionalism, but I must admit that I haven't always been that strong in doing simple things like getting an issue out on time. That must definitely be addressed in the future.

Most of these are results of what my pastor calls the "Lone Ranger Syndrome." I have been running this on my own for about a year now. This is not because there aren't people willing to help, but because I felt I needed to maintain my own control. Perhaps in the beginning, that is valid. It takes awhile for any publication to develop its own vision and voice. However, when you try to do everything by yourself, somethings inevitably suffer.

In the new year I will be engaging help from various sources. I'll be contacting artists to dress up the look of the site. I'll be getting help with proof reading and editing. I have someone who will help me with the behind the scenes business side of this.

I will be taking the month of January to pray and examine Wayfarers Journal from top to bottom correcting what I can for now, but also shaping some plans for the future.

One plan I have right now is to move away from the "magazine" model of a story site. This model is one which has "issues" coming out at a set interval. One of the advantages of the web is that you can update a site at any time. We get enough material to be adding some new material every month, but not enough to create a whole new issue. Simply updating the site when something new and interesting comes in would create a dynamically changing destination on the web. It would also shorten the time for writers between acceptance and publication of their work.

So, folks keep checking back. "Times they are a'changing" here at Wayfarers Journal. And don't forget to visit the other sites on this tour.


Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Grace Bridges
Amy Browning
Jackie Castle
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Michael Heald
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika or Mir's Here
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Cheryl Russel
Ashley Rutherford
Hanna Sandvig
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

Flashpoint: Action Heroes without a License to Kill

One of the things I appreciate about "Flashpoint" is the use of non-lethal defensive technology by the underground church. From tazer gloves to quick acting tranquilizer rounds the muscle arm of The Body fights the good fight without trying to kill people.

In one of the early scenes of the book the Kids see one of the warriors lay low a a gang of "Nero's" with guns blazing. They are horrified and don't want to be a part of that type of group until they learn that the rounds were tranquilizer rounds intended to stop but not kill or permanently harm the others.

This runs counter to the way the world at large (and even sad to say many Christians) view defending oneself. Lethal weapons are often the first choice. I don't have any numbers, but I'm sure the amount of money spent each year developing non-lethal weapons by the worlds governments is but a small fraction of that spent developing non-lethal ones.

Certainly, some progress has been made. Many of Frank's gadgets are based on current technology. Tazers have been around for years. Tranquilizer darts have been used on animals, but they have so far been too slow-working to immobilize a criminal before they can do harm. However, one wonders how much time and money has actually been spent trying to develop such a drug.

Ironically, some people actually view with suspicion the use of non-lethal technology. There is a thread over at the National Novel Writing Month science fiction forum about non-lethal weapons, but it is assumed that such weapons would be developed not by a humane government trying to control violence without giving into it, but by a repressive government trying to control a workforce of unwilling workers without killing them. When I point out that repressive governments usually resort to just killing a few people in front of everyone else to bring them into line and not worry about subtilties of non-lethal weapons, I get convoluted arguments about why they would find them more useful than a free society.

Perhaps it is a consequence of the fall that we tend to be violent by nature. Yet, as Christians we are called to transcend our nature and embrace the nature of Christ. Okay, I can hear the leaves of the Bibles flipping back to all those battles in the Old Testament. But folks, keep flipping. We don't live under the Old Covenant. That doesn't mean that it isn't useful for us. Paul said it is like a tutor/nanny/babysitter who gets us ready to actually go to school. However, our model for life is Jesus and not Joshua.

When creating Christian heroes, we need to consider how one acts virtuously under the worst conditions. Recently, I've heard disturbing arguments in favor of the use of torture even by human rights advocates which claim, in essence, that in extreme situations, ethics are no longer relevant. The only ethic is that of success. But, ethics and morality are all about the extreme situations. When things are going well, it is easy to act virtuously. It's when things do get extreme that we need our ethical boundaries, when we need our morality to stop us from crossing the line into the realms of evil using the justification that the ends justify the means.

Such is the spirit of our age. As writers, we don't need to transmit that message by creating "holy" but essentially amoral heroes willing to do anything to win the day.

There is also one other disturbing trend in literature and the popular culture (even among some Christian writers). It's a tendency to write off as irredeemable our villains. I'm not sure, with the exception of a demon or the devil himself, that we have the luxury of creating villains without hope of redemption. I'm not saying that they will be redeemed. I rage about the simplistic everyone-gets-saved-in-the-end stories which dominated Christian literature for so long. However, at some level the lost child of God, the prodigal rebelling against his father, the Absolom warring against David, must be seen in even the most vile villain. Remember, most of the New Testament was written by just such a villain, a zealot, an irredeemable murderer, who persecuted the church and who had a rather amazing experience on the Damascus Road.

I wonder what might have happened to Christendom, if some zealous Christian decided to save the church by killing the dreaded Saul of Tarsus.

Sometimes the worst thing you can do is kill your enemy.



Learn more about Flashpoint and Frank Creed at his website or at the Books of the Underground Website

You can order a signed copy of Flashpoint by clicking here or visit Amazon.com


Read what other reviewers are saying this week about Flashpoint on the following blogs:

Fantasy Thyme
jamessomers.blogspot.com
Write and Whine
Hoshi to Sakura
Wayfarer's Journal
BlogCritics Interview
Daniel I Weaver
Disturbing the Universe
Grace Bridges
Queen of Convolution
Virtual Tour de 'Net
Christian Fiction Review Blog
Yellow30 Sci-Fi: Review
Yellow30 Sci-Fi: Interview
Back to the Mountains
MaryLu Tyndall
Cathi's Chatter

Frank Creed: Living Life at the Flashpoint

Those of you who read this blog know that I never run Q&A Interviews. There's a good reason for this. Generally speaking, I need to cut out a lot that is either repetitious or just plain boring. However, poring over the transcript of Frank's interview, I was having a hard time finding something to cut. So, I'm giving you this interview in its entirety. (Note: You can read Donna Sundblad's review of Flashpoint in the Essays Section of Wayfarers Journal)


Q: Tell a little bit of basic biographical background such as age,
family/school/work background, anything interesting about yourself
outside of writing.

A: The boring stuff. Born in 1966. Some of the cooler stuff with which He
shaped my life:
* 1984-- Achieved the rank of Eagle Scout by the BSA.
* 1984-1985-- Lived in Israel for more than ten months as an AFS
foreign exchange student, visited Egypt for a week.
* 1993-- I'd been a reader of fantasy and science fiction novels my
whole life, but the works of Theologian Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer
launched my reading list into theology, philosophy and history of
western civilization.
* 1993-- Only months later, my sister joined a Grotto of Anton LaVey’s
Church of Satan. Her soul at stake, I entered into a written debate
with her Satanic High Priest. I volunteered an Apologetic article to
the Grotto's desktop published magazine, Diabolic Creation, and
exchanged letters with CoS readers. I've debated a variety of world
views since, and have never found a credible counter to the
Cosmological or Axiological arguments for the existence of God. This
goes on the cool list, because (and I still tear-up at the thought),
after seventeen years of prayer, in January of 07, my sister accepted
Christ.
* 2004-- Married a schoolteacher from the Vancouver burbs. She moved
here to Indiana and started her own editing business, which grew into
an independent publishing house, http://www.thewriterscafe.com/ Mixed
blessing to be sleeping with your publisher--gives "fear of rejection"
a whole new meaning, I tell ya!

My life's also been tempered by fire--tough times and tragedies
necessary to torture a serious writer's soul as well. I dropped out of
college in my first year to elope, worked no job that paid more than
$8.50/hour until 1995. I was divorced by twenty-two, and lived as a
hedonist until I read Schaeffer in my mid-twenties. I've faced down a
fallen-angel who entered our home after a stepdaughter brought in a
book on witchcraft and tried to cast a spell.

Susan Kirkland (Light at the Edge of Darkness, Higher Honor), and I had
just e-mailed about this--when we look back at our sojourns, it's so
clear how he's shaped us to be exactly who and where we are.



Q: Tell a bit about your writing in general such as awards, previous publications, etc.

A: When I was seven and living in Lombard Illinois, my divorced, working
mom sent me to a creative writing program at this really-cool-humongous
building fulla books: the Helen Plum Memorial Library. Since then, I
loved reading and dreamt of fiction, but never acted on it until High
School. There, I benefitted from the encouragement of a wonderful
teacher, Mrs. Marsha Stewart of Kaneland High School, who entered my
first short-story victory in the U.W. Whitewater Literary conference.
Hundreds of students from three or four states competed and attended
lectures on fiction. At the end of the day mine won Best Short Story--I
was floored.

Between high school and the spring of 1998, most of my fiction
energies were spent creating worlds and characters in role-playing
games. My fiction meandered and jammed. Then on May ninth of 98, a
high-speed head-on collision nearly broke me in half and induced a
severe closed-head injury. That's code for: I've got a real thick
skull. After two weeks, it was the doctors opinion that even with
extended therapy, I'd only recover sixty percent of my mental capacity.

Then my pastor visited.

We enjoyed my first lucid conversation, prayed His will be done, and I
went to sleep. The next morning, I awoke mentally healed. There are a
few lingering symptoms common to closed head-injury victims, but that's
it. A fake hip and pelvis likely dooms me to a wheelchair by age fifty,
so I've got about eleven more years on my vocational-odometer as an
Subaru of Indiana Automotive auto-worker.

We ask ourselves why God drops disasters into our lives. I'm
self-educated beyond 12th grade, and now needed to replace my
blue-collar income and benefits.

Then He turned on my fiction tap. Post-accident, stories flowed. I
finished a Fantasy novella and Flashpoint, but still had to "learn the
craft", and get the polish on.

In June of 06 Lest Ye be Judged was published in Tales for the Thrifty
Barbarian: An Anthology of High Fantasy. Finally published, wahoo!

January of 07, found me jumpin on the bed, as Flashpoint won the 2006
"Elfie" for Best Sci-Fi Novel at elfwood.com. Elfwood's the world's
largest SECULAR fantasy and sc-fi art site, boasting over 10,000
members--not a friendly readership for overt Christian fiction.
In April of 07, Miracle Micro, ChairMan, and True Freedom were
published in Light at the Edge of Darkness. These three short stories
share the same cyberpunk setting as Flashpoint: Book One of the
Underground, June 07.

Flashpoint: the Role Playing Game, created by Mike Roop, is based on
my cyberpunk setting and characters, and is scheduled for November of
07.

Last year I founded the Lost Genre Guild for the promotion of
Christian and Biblical speculative fiction: sci-fi, fantasy and
spiritual thrillers. I'm thrilled by our early success--we're networked
with http://csffblogtour.com/ where one may sign-up for the
cutting-edge Latest in Spec newsletter, and http://WhereTheMapEnds.com/


Q: In 25 words or less what is Flashpoint about?

A: The dreaded "elevator pitch" *grumble grumble*:

2036: global government. The One State's only threat? Fundementaliast terrorism. A church bust in the Chicago-Metroplex, sparks Flashpoint in the Underground.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the main characters in the book.

A: Twenty year-old Dave and sixteen year-old Jen Williams are the only two
who evade capture when their home-church is raided by peacekeepers. The
pair are torn from suburban comfort and must integrate into a
muscle-cell: a team of saints working in the underground Body of
Christ. They must use their talents in an attempt to track and free all
their captured neighbors from One-State "Neros", the slang-term for
anti-Christians. Forced into spiritual growth, it comes down to a
confrontation with the antagonist that Calamity nicknames, Nasty Nero,
who ironically wants Calamity Kid to call him "Jesus" (his antagonist
role in the end-times unholy trinity).


Q: You describe this as a "cyberpunk" novel. That sounds sort of grungy like a computer with a safety pin through it's hard drive. How would you define the term?

A: Um . . . it's not a computer with a safety pin through it's hard drive?
YOUGOTTABEKIDDINME!

Cyberpunk's a sci-fi sub-genre set (say that ten times fast) in a near
future post-industrial dystopia (opposite of utopia), and deals with
the affect of technology on humanity. It's anti-religious, usually
postmodern in worldview, so to write Biblical cyberpunk is *almost*
genre breaking. Two months ago I discovered that Jefferson Scott beat
me to it with Virtually Eliminated, Terminal Logic, and Fatal Defect. I
can't wait to find the time to read these titles.


Q: What was the genesis of this novel, if you have one? Was there an ah-ha moment when you came up with the premise?

Way back in high school, it bothered-me when reporters referred to Muslim fundamentalist terrorists, merely as "fundamentalist terrorists". My sister and I were both "churched", and grew up with the idea that Scripture's fundamentally true. After reading Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth, I began making notes on my cyberpunk setting.

Cyberpunk's the perfect genre for eschatology. Flashpoint's Pre-Millennial, but I'm very open about the Second Coming. Christ fulfilled over three hundred prophecies, yet most of His contemporary Jews missed the Messiah right in front of them.

Q: Were any of your characters modeled on anyone in particular?

A: Nasty Nero is your stereotypical Church of Satan anti-Christian zealot.

A group of teens in a sanitarium were the main characters in One of the
Nightmare On Elm Street films. One of them was a cartoonist. When
Freddy Kreuger attacked the dreaming lad, said lad turned into his
cartoon character--a duster wearin' gunslinger with twin automatic
pistols. That was where Calamity Kid's look originated. I wonder if the
Wachowski brothers had the same inspiration for Neo. My favorite film
to this date is The Matrix, but I cringed as I watched it, cause I knew
Flashpoint would be seen as a Christian copy. Two reviews and one
reviewer have already described it as such. Not a bad film with which
to be associated, but all originality went out the window. *sniffle*
His will be done.


Q: Which character do you personally identify with, if any? Why?

A: Nearly all of them are aspects of or are modeled upon me at various
points of my spiritual sojourn. They say write what you know . . .


Q: You say you write Biblical Speculative Fiction. Could you define that for us?

There's been debate by Christian writers for years about whether we ought to be writing Chronicles-of-Narnia-subtlety, or Space-Trilogy-overt tales. The Editor In Chief has given us all a different job in the novelist Body of Christ, and there's no right answer. Soooo, I call The subtle or symbolic Christian spec-fic, and the overt, Biblical spec-fic. The most complete Bookstore I've ever found for both is located at:

http://www.WhereTheMapEnds.com/Booklist/booklist_pages/booklist_links.htm

This storefront is Jeff Gerke's AKA, novelist Jefferson Scott's effort.
I guess it's not surprising to find Biblical cyberpunk authors
promoting our lost genre on the Web with high-tech viral marketing.

Q: Some Christians would say that "Biblical Speculative Fiction" is a contradiction in terms. Sci-fi, horror, fantasy and such types of stories they say are inherently demonic. How would you respond to that?

A. Remember when Jesus freaks dragged Christian music into the Rock genre in the 1970s? Believers tend to shun things new to our isolationist sub-culture. It's good to honestly examine anything we do, but it requires less energy to plug one's ears and hum loudly.

Here's the trickiest argument I've seen against Biblical spec-fic:

Jesus parables were set in the real world. Spec-fic is, by definition, is not. Therefore, while some fiction may be virtuous, spec-fic is not. That does not logically follow: you can't prove a egative.

When the Lost Genre Guild blog went up, this was our very first topic. No reason to repeat what's been dissected. For detailed thoughts for and against Biblical spec-fic, start at the bottom of this page and work up:

Lost Genre Guild Blog

Q: What is the biggest challenge that you, as a Christian and a writer of speculative fiction faces in your writing other than finding > acceptance in the "mainstream" Christian publishing world?

A: Finding the fans. I'm forty years old, a lifelong genre fan, and a
Christian. A year ago I could have counted the number of authors listed
in Jeff's bookstore on one hand. I gave-up trying to find spec-fic in
Christian bookstores the year before Steven Lawhead's Empyrion was
published. I scanned shelves for a couple more years when Peretti's
Darkness books came out, and gave up again. IMHO, there are tons of
Christian fans that don't even know we're alive, which was why I formed
the Lost Genre Guild. We're wracking our brains and using the Web to
get the word out--pun intended.

Q: What do you see as the future for Biblical speculative fiction?

A: In my lifetime, Peretti was the only really big Biblical spec-fic
novelist since Lewis'. The hopes of publication has been grim for a
long time. The Lord of the Rings and Left Behind films seem to have
cracked the Dam, and I'm very hopeful. As Jeff's booklist proves,
publishers are more willing to gamble lately. The Jan Dennis Agency
represents Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, Jerry Jenkins, Stephen Lawhead,
Robert Liparulo, Eric Wilson, T. L. Hines, Donita Paul, and James
Beauseigner. This man's doing something right, you'd do better to ask
him! Here's an interview with Jan:

Q: Writing an action-oriented book with Christian characters can't be easy After all, they can't just be James Bond with a cross, joking about killing over the corpses of the "bad guys." Still, you have to keep the storyline moving and that may involve some violent elements. How do you as an author write strong action scenes which are still Christian in nature?

A: This goes to motivation. Had I understood the Bible's thunderous answers as a kid, I'd have not lived as a hedonist until my mid-twenties. Francis Schaeffer's The God Who is There, He is There and He is not Silent, and How Shall we Then Live, to use his own phrase, tore my roof off. Using classical reasoning, he laid bare the foundations of meaning, but this wisdom was stuck in big heavy words. I always knew I wanted to write, but now I knew why: to clearly illustrate Biblical answers to the world's great philosophical questions with modern entertaining fiction.

Entertainment is fiction's first job. Even Lewis' Space Trilogy was a little too subtle for what I
had in mind, and his prose too high. My eye landed on action-packed page-turning realistic pulp.

I got into the habit of keeping spec-fic notes from Role Playing Games, so my sci-fi and fantasy gaming folder transformed into two separate three-ring notebooks with organizer tabs. I grew up with movies, and tend to be very visual. In one of my tabs I listed "archetypes". For action pacing, I listed Raiders of the Lost Ark and Die Hard. For strong characters I listed Hannibal Lechter, and Doc Holiday. Then I set about making 1) God pleasing, 2) fast-paced, 3) character driven fiction, 4) in modern English.

One of the slogans at the Subaru plant is "Quality's built in, not added on." You have to start with the intent of glorifying God--everything else conforms to that. We live in a real and fallen
world, but Biblical fiction must conform. The beauty of cyberpunk is that one can use technology, like non-lethal tranquilizer rounds, tazer net-guns, and chipped sunglasses to push the envelope.

Q: If you could say anything you want to our readers, what would that be?

A: Do what He made you to do. Have the faith to live at the intersection of your given talents and passions, and do all things to His glory.

Then again, I say that to everybody




Learn more about Flashpoint and Frank Creed at his website or at the Books of the Underground Website

You can order a signed copy of Flashpoint by clicking here or visit Amazon.com


Read what other reviewers are saying this week about Flashpoint on the following blogs:

Fantasy Thyme
jamessomers.blogspot.com
Write and Whine
Hoshi to Sakura
Wayfarer's Journal
BlogCritics Interview
Daniel I Weaver
Disturbing the Universe
Grace Bridges
Queen of Convolution
Virtual Tour de 'Net
Christian Fiction Review Blog
Yellow30 Sci-Fi: Review
Yellow30 Sci-Fi: Interview
Back to the Mountains
MaryLu Tyndall
Cathi's Chatter

Christian Influence Writing: Writing for a secular audience without going over to the Dark Side

I've put off writing this one in part because there are many different perspectives on the issues I raise. But I've decided to go with my own convictions, while trying to give a reasonable presentation of opposing view points.

Someone mentioned in a blog response to this topic about "sanitizing" Christian fiction. The implication was that one could not write for a secular audience without using profanity, sexually suggestive or explicit scenes or graphic violence. That may not have been the intent, but I run across that attitude a lot.

The reasoning goes that Christian literature has been too "squeaky clean." People have children, but somehow never have sex. The only problems the kids have are cheating on tests or sassing parents. It's like a flashback to Leave it to Beaver.

This is a legitimate criticism. Many Christian writers are afraid to tackle the tough issues such as pre-marital sex, adultery, drug abuse, abortion, environmental destruction, criminal activity, corporate or political greed, or corruption in religious organizations. Some are afraid of being politically incorrect within the context of the current evangelical political arena. They are afraid of going against conservative political philosophy, even when such philosophy is not supported one way or another by scripture. The environment being a case in point. I have difficulty understanding how Christians can approve of destroying the world God gave us simply to feed corporate greed. Likewise "liberal" issues such as care for the poor, health care, or compassion for those society has rejected are not liberal or conservative values, they are Biblical ones.

There are many ways, Christian literature has been "sanitized" and has lost its ability to speak to the realities of the real world. However, that does not mean that the Christian influence when writing for a secular audience should stop at the selection of a Christian as a main or supporting character. How we approach ethics, personal behavior and language in writing also matters.

I am sometimes shocked at how some "Christian" characters act in stories by Christian writers. I have read science fiction stories in which members of a persecuted church of the future shoot their way out of trouble with blasters killing everyone in sight without so much as a tear shed for any of the dead. This is hardly in keeping with the example of our founder who went to his death peacefully, healed one of the guards taking him to his trial and eventual death, and forgave those crucifying him. Nor is it in the character of the early church who won over the populace of the ancient world by a peaceful lifestyle and a gentle power in the face of the worst persecution the church ever knew to the current day.

Some Christian writers are so anxious to create Christian action heroes that appeal to a society fed a diet of bloody video games and gory movies that the characters become indistinguishable from the non-Christian characters except in professed religion. These characters bear more resemblance to James Bond than to Jesus Christ. They stand in stark contrast to the quiet courage of the first century martyrs who "turned the world upside down."

Another question, which is maybe harder to deal with is language. Now, Wayfarers Journal has a strict "No profanity" rule. However, the argument can be made that in the real world you hear profanity. This is true. Although, to be honest, that depends heavily on what part of the real world forms your world. As a college professor, I hear very little. The professors are articulate enough to not need to use profanity to be expressive, and the students are more likely to use expletives among themselves than with teachers. I, frankly, hear more profanity on TV than in real life.

However, the point is well taken. Everybody doesn't say, "Ah shucks" when they are disappointed or "fiddlesticks" when they hit their thumbs with a hammer. The question is whether or not one needs to actually use the profanity in their writing for the sake of realism. The arguments in favor are that people are used to reading it in secular literature, that characterization may suffer without using it as part of the dialog, and that it is necessary to be realistic. Some point out that even C.S. Lewis used four-letter words in his writing. (Although, to be honest, you can count on one hand the number of instances, and in a couple of cases, the word "damned" is used in the context of something that is condemned and not as a curse word.)

These are compelling arguments. However, I disagree that one needs to actually print profanity for the sake of realism. All secular literature does not use profanity. I am an avid reader of mystery stories of the "country cozy" variety. Two particular favorites are Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries and Lillian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who series. Neither of these series contain a lot of profanity. One could say, legitimately, that one would not expect a 12th century Monk to use profane language, but the story takes the monk out of the monastery into the streets among coarse peasants and into taverns. The Cat Who series follows a hard-bitten investigative reporter relocated to a small town filled with the descendants of miners, fishermen, farmers and bootleggers, yet there is little profanity. Both Peters' and Braun created best selling series. Tolkien created realistic villains without recording every profane word that came out of their mouths. And his Lord of the Rings trilogy is more popular with modern audiences than every before.

So, it is a myth, that everyone is doing it and you have to as well to get a readership. Good writing will draw readers and not just sprinkling your writing with vulgarity. But that's the point, can you develop certain types of characters without some of them using profanity? Certainly, some of your characters might use profanity, but does that mean you have to record it word-for-word? You can write, " One-Eye Louie spat on the ground and said, "Now you @%$#!@'s , I'm gonna *&%$((^&% your (*&^$%$).' Then he hit John across the face with a piece of pipe . " Or you can write. "One-eyed Louie cursed, spat on the ground and hit John across the face with a piece of pipe." The second actually has more economy of language and it gets across the point that the guy is no Sunday school boy.

Truthfully, there is a secular market for clean stories. The success of TV channels like TV Land, Nick at Night and The Hallmark Channel demonstrate this. Just because someone is not a Christian doesn't mean they actually want to read someone where every sentence is profane, and violence is glorified. Christian influence stories can help fill this niche and appeal to both Christians and non-Christians alike.