Stoney M. Setzer's Blog: Zero Hour: Christian Speculative Fiction , page 2

New Video Promo

My published, Lyndon Perry, just posted this video promo for Zero Hour and for Wanted: Dead or Alive by T. M. Hunter.  Check out the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNl_KX9RZdE&feature=youtu.be

And then check out both books on Amazon and on Smashwords!  Philippians 4:13.--SMS

Happy Easter!

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.-- Isaiah 53:5-6

 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”  And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.  But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.  But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.--Luke 24:1-12

Happy Easter, everyone!  All Scripture quotations courtesy of the New American Standard Bible.--SMS

FREE on Smashwords until 2/28/13: "The Siege of Peter Marak"

Good morning, everyone!  From now until 2/28/13, my short story "The Siege of Peter Marak" will be available for FREE download in a variety of formats (Kindle, Nook, iBooks, etc.) on Smashwords.

What is your greatest fear? What if someone else's life depended upon you facing that fear?

After losing his wife to pneumonia, Peter Marak becomes extremely mysophobic (fear of germs and contamination) and sequesters himself in his home to avoid germs as much as possible. One night, a coughing woman knocks on his door, begging him to open it because a dangerous man is on the loose. Peter is forced to make a terrible choice: Does he face his fear of germs by opening the door, or does he stay safe and leave the woman to fend for herself?

Originally published in "Fear and Trembling" (issue 43, Nov. 2011), this story is reminiscent of a classic "Twilight Zone" episode. It focuses on a man who finds himself in a situation any of us would dread: forced to choose between his conviction and his phobia, with the stakes higher than he could ever imagine.

"The Siege of Peter Marak" also appears in "Zero Hour 2: More Stories of Spiritual Suspense." However, this ebook edition also includes a bonus "Backstory" section that reveals "behind-the-scenes" information into the creation of this story.

Click here to download your free copy.  Thanks for your support, and remember, Philippians 4:13.--SMS

FREE on Smashwords until 2/15/13: "The Other Woman"

In honor of Valentine's Day, I am making my short story, "The Other Woman" available on Smashwords for FREE until 2/15/13.  And yes, that is a doctored photo of my lovely wife, Cindy, gracing the cover.

For years, Houston Hall thought that he would never even have a girlfriend. All that has changed as he is now engaged to Rachel. However, a mysterious young woman named Amy comes along, claiming to be his ex-girlfriend and begging for another chance at their past relationship. However, Houston cannot remember having ever met her.

Click here to download your free e-book copy of "The Other Woman" in any format you choose.  On 2/15/13, it will revert to its original price of $0.99.  Thank you very much, Happy Valentine's Day, and Philippians 4:13.--SMS

Introducing "The Super Chronicles" on Smashwords

As of today, I am debuting a new series of stories on Smashwords, The Super Chronicles.  These are stories that take a slightly different slant on a favorite genre from my younger days, superheroes and villains.  The first two stories in the series, "Fealty" and "Just Passing Through" are currently available on Smashwords for $0.99 each.  Both were published in 2011 in Crossed Genres magazine.  I hope you will take time to check these out.  Thanks for your continued support, and remember, Philippians 4:13.--SMS

Spreading the Word on Other Writers' Blogs

Hey y'all, just wanted to take a minute to help spread the word on some other writers' blogs.  We're all in this together, so we've got to help each other out, right?

First off, there's my friend Lyndon Perry, who has published a number of my stories in Residential Aliens and Fear and Trembling.  He also maintains a blog of his own at Bloggin Out Loud.

C.A. Loewen also maintains a blog at Rambles of the Literary Equine.  His entry for Jan. 3 is a story told completely as dialogue that works well as flash fiction.

Forrest Schultz also maintains a blog featuring some of his short stories at Stories by Forrest W. Schultz.

Have a blessed weekend, and Philippians 4:13.--SMS

FREE on Smashwords: "Traveled So Far"

Merry Christmas! In honor of this most wonderful of days, I am making my Christmas-themed short story, "Traveled So Far" available on Smashwords...for FREE!  Here's the link:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/267964

This story originally ran in the November/December 2011 issue of Residential Aliens.  I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you'll take the time to post a review.  Again, Merry Christmas!--SMS

The Next Big Thing

OK, my friend Lyndon Perry tagged me for this meme called The Next Big Thing.  Here's my addition to it, although I regret that I really don't have anyone to tag myself.  But here goes:

1) What is the title of your next book/work? Rural Legend

2) Where did the idea come from for the book/work? I'm a big fan of the old Incredible Hulk TV series, the one that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno.  I was watching the show on Netflix and came across an episode entitled "The Antowuk Horror" that revolved around this dying resort town faking their own "Hulk" creature in an attempt to revitalize tourism.  That was the spark, and things just kind of rolled from there.

3) What genre does your book/work fall under? I prefer the term "thriller" to "horror," since there's a lot of stuff out there that has given horror the reputation of being all about blood and gore.  Rural Legend falls somewhere into the category of a "speculative fiction thriller," or a "clean horror" story, whichever term you prefer.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition? I honestly haven't gotten that far yet!

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A town tries to draw tourism from a legend of a local monster, only to find that there is more truth to the legends than they realized.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Self-published, probably, but you never know....

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? Still working on it

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? I kind of feel a little awkward/presumptuous here, but there are some elements of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at work here (or at least inspired by that! lol).  Some readers may also (hopefully) detect some similarities to Frank Peretti's The Oath (one of my all-time favorites).

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book? The aforementioned Incredible Hulk episode, and also Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest? It's not a direct sequel to anything I've ever written, but some background characters and places from my previously published short stories may have cameo appearances here as well.  For instance, several of my stories reference an ethically shady research facility called Talbot Labs, and as of the current draft, that facility will figure into Rural Legend as well.  But, if you've read my blog, the whole idea of my stories loosely sharing the same continuity may not comes as that big of a surprise to you.

"Hath No Fury" is now published on "Residential Aliens"

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My latest short story, "Hath No Fury," has just been published on Residential Aliens.  What happens when a superhero's duties begin to put a strain on his marriage and his wife decides that she's not going to take it any more?  Click on the link below to find out:

http://www.resaliens.com/2012/12/hath-no-fury/

It should be noted that this story has a "shared continuity" with my other two previously published superhero short stories, "Fealty" and "Just Passing Through."  Not necessarily a sequel per se, but some of the characters from those stories get mentioned here.  I'm planning to do more with this theme over time, so stay tuned!

Thanks, and Philippians 4:13.--SMS

A Different Take on "Black Friday"

So today is Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year.  The one day out of 365 when my wife Cindy gets up before I do!  In honor of the day, I wanted to throw out a completely different take on the day by reviewing the 1940 Boris Karloff/Bela Lugosi film, "Black Friday."

Right off the bat...this is the very defintion of a B-movie.  Both Karloff and Lugosi are better known for other movies; indeed, Lugosi's high billing in this movie is very misleading, as he really only plays a bit part.  But this was back in the pre-TV days when Hollywood churned out movies like this in rapid-fire fashion, and Lugosi's name was a heck of a lot more marketable than that of Stanley Ridges, who technically shared the lead with Karloff, at least in terms of actual screen time,  amount of dialogue, and importance to storyline.

Storyline in a nutshell: Karloff and Ridges are professors at a university.  Ridges gets into a car wreck with a man who turns out to be a gangster.  To save Ridges' life (and to take out a gangster who presumably doesn't deserve to live), Karloff performs an illegal "brain transplant," putting the gangster's brain into Ridges' head.  The only problem is, Ridges begins thinking and acting like the criminal whose brain he received....

Basically, you either like this kind of Hollywood cheese, or you don't.  I enjoy it, and even though it's not the first movie you're going to think of when someone mentions Karloff or Lugosi, it can still be very enjoyable.  Hey, if nothing else, the 1940 vintage guarantees a profound lack of objectionable content.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.  Philippians 4:13.--SMS