Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 11

Available Now--A Cat of Nine Tales!

Today I am very excited to announce that my latest chiller story--and the debut of my own occult detective, Vinnie Caponi: Urban Mythologist--"Metamorphosis" is now available in Rookhaven's Publishing A Cat of Nine Tales.


You want Guns, Ghouls, and Grimoires? Well, look no further. Collected here are nine supernatural thrillers — from Algernon Blackwood, Aleister Crowley, Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, William Meikle, Greg Mitchell, Christine Morgan, Joshua M. Reynolds, and Steven L. Shrewsbury — guaranteed to satisfy your thirst for mystery, suspense, and esoteric adventure.

Occult Detective Stories, Volume One — A Cat of Nine Tales — Edited by Tracy DeVore & Thaddeus Sexton, with illustrations by Bob Freeman.

It is such a huge honor to be included in this anthology and a dream come true to be included in a book with Lovecraft himself. Click the link to order your copy RIGHT NOW. It's the perfect thing to prepare you for the Halloween season. And for a neat sneak peek into what you will find in this anthology, head over to my pal Bob Freeman's site and read the first paragraphs of all the stories!

Here's the first paragraph of my contribution "Metamorphosis" --Josh Banks turned his key and entered the country shack. The place seemed colder these days without her there. On the wall, where portraits of her pretty face once smiled back at him, there was only bare wood paneling. Vinnie had already removed all the painful reminders of her beauty, her warmth. Dirty clothes lay draped over furniture and empty bottles of Bourbon were scattered on the carpet, but what bothered Josh most were the stacks of strange books. Vinnie’s new obsession.

Must "Scary Movies" Be Scary?

I'd like to have a discussion with you, if you'd participate.

As a horror fan and writer, I'm constantly dissecting the genre in my own mind, trying to find what works, what doesn't work and why it does/does not work. As soon as I mention that I'm a monster fan, I immediately get responses like "Oh! Have you seen [insert scary movie]? I loved that movie! It was soooooo scary." Or, "Oh, have you seen [insert other scary movie]? I didn't like it. It wasn't scary enough."

So I'm struck with this question: In order for a scary movie (or book) to be considered "good" in your opinion, does it have to actually scare you? I mean like scare you--a visceral reaction of actual terror.

I ask this because...well...most scary movies don't scare me. Case in point: Fright Night.


People, I LOVE this movie. Love the heck out of it and I watch it all the time, studying the beats, savoring the camera-work, thrilling at Roddy McDowell and William Ragsdale's bromance. But at no time in my life--or in my childhood--did this movie ever give me nightmares. It's just not a "scary" movie.

But I think it's a masterpiece of the horror genre. Is that odd?

I think Comedy is, perhaps, the only other genre that people deem "good" or "bad" based on its knee jerk reaction. You walk into a comedy expecting to laugh. If you don't, you generally leave saying it sucked. Not so much with fantasy. I rarely hear someone say, "You know, I went to see this fantasy movie, but I didn't see enough unicorns for my taste. I didn't like it." We seem to judge drama, sci-fi, thrillers, etc, based on a myriad of qualities: story, characters, pacing, writing, acting, etc. But with comedy--or, for our purposes, horror--I see so many people judging it based solely on its ability or inability to physically SCARE you.

I think, though, that there is an inherent flaw in that line of thinking. And I think it's why we have so much garbage in the horror genre. Because studios hurl one straight-to-DVD flick after another at us, all in an effort to scare us. So what do they do? They load their movies down with a veritable "greatest hits" of scary scenes from cinema history. We've seen a thousand shower murder scenes, but there is only one Psycho. How many thousands of movies begin with "group of good-looking kids go out into the woods..." Filmmakers pile gore upon gore in order to shock us, to repulse us. But those things aren't "scary". They're just gross. But, because we have a visceral reaction to that grossness, I think we sometimes mistake that for "being scared". We're like addicts, looking for a new fix--but we're not addressing why we like scary movies.

All of my favorite "scary movies" do not actually scare me. What brought it home for me was that, the other day, me, my wife, and our kids were over at my parents' house eating lunch. Dad's got this fancy new doo-dad on his TV whereby he can stream instant video off of Netflix. Naturally, my first inclination is to pop in Creature From the Black Lagoon. A brilliant movie and totally ahead of its time. I sat down with my oldest daughter (she's six), and we cuddled up in the recliner and watched the whole thing.

My mom passes through at one point and says "Oh, I remember watching this when I was a kid. Even then I didn't think it was scary. It's so hokey." She even snickered as the Creature made his triumphant entrance!! Sacrilege, I say! :p I proceeded to tell her that the Creature's appeal has nothing to do with his capacity to illicit fear. But, like most people (not a horror fan, by the way), my mom echoed the sentiment that, if a labeled "scary" movie didn't bring about a fearful reaction, it didn't do its job and, therefore, was a failure.

Should the point of all horror be to make you squirm in your seat? Can horror be about more than simply "Shock! Gasp!"? I'd like to think so.

I think scary movies are only as effective as their quiet moments. I love Jaws. And when I think of Jaws, the very first things I think about are Roy Scheider sitting at the dinner table with his little boy. Or the crew of the Orca singing and telling stories in the cabin of the boat. Those beats in the film that have nothing to do with the monster or things jumping out at you from closets or blood and death. Those moments when the characters are talking about inconsequential things. If THOSE things aren't working--if they don't hold up as genuinely GOOD scenes, long after whatever knee-jerk fear you may have felt at the sight of the monster has faded--then the scares are empty and no matter how much blood you sling across the camera, it's not going to resonate.

So help me out here. Give me your thoughts. Does a horror movie have to be "scary" to work?

"Rift Jump" Podcast Interview--Now Live!

A few weeks ago I sat down with Paeter Frandsen and did a new podcast interview where we talked all about my latest release Rift Jump . The podcast has now gone live! Head over to Paeter's site to check it out!

The "Amazing Love" Trailer is Here!

Evening, folks. Thought I'd drop in real quick to announce that the trailer to my feature film screenwriting debut Amazing Love: The Story of Hosea is now live! As I've stated before, this is a departure for me and my monster-loving ways, but it touches on a subject dear to my heart. The Biblical account of Hosea has always moved me, but I feel that it's been buried in obscurity for far too long.

When the producers approached me to write a Biblical movie, I knew I had to sidestep the familiar stories and share this often-overlooked story of unconditional love. I've recently seen the movie and I think the love of Hosea (and by extension God) comes through in a powerful way. I hope you guys check it out. It will NOT be playing in theaters--the producers wish to keep this a special event, just for the churches. Any church can show it. To arrange for your church to show the movie, email Rich Christiano at rc@christianmovies.com or call 949 380-8550 and they'll take care of you.


Amazing Love - Trailer 1080p from Rich Christiano on Vimeo.

Blog Tour--"Faith Awakened"

Howdy.

As part of Splashdown Books' August blog tour, I'm sitting down with publisher supreme Grace Bridges to discuss her novel Faith Awakened . Grace has been a real friend to me over the last year or so, not only publishing Rift Jump (plug!), but also coaching me behind-the-scenes on how to navigate these murky publishing waters. In fact, she likes me SO much that she'll be staying with our family sometime in September. Hopefully we shall survive the encounter. That all depends on how well she deals with small children and copious amounts of AC/DC :p

I'm happy to have her on the blog and I hope you all check out her book and all the fine authors at Splashdown.


Greg Mitchell: Let’s start with an easy(ish) question. What’s Faith Awakened all about? 

Grace Bridges: It’s about two women whose apparently divergent stories are more connected than they think possible. A near-future disaster scenario, a computerised survival system, a lot of questions about the mess that living can be, and a good dollop of my own story too.

GM: What was the initial inspiration behind Faith? 

GB: Even as a kid I always had an overactive imagination and I used to wonder if “all this” was really real. If there was some other, darker reality outside of it. And if that was the case, then I didn’t want to wake up. Eventually I got something on paper when I was about 14 – just a concept really – started writing in earnest 7 years later and the writing took yet another 7 years.

GM: Take us back to the beginning. Why become a writer? Not only that, by why a writer of speculative fiction? How’d you catch the bug? 

GB: I’ve been a voracious reader ever since I could first make out the letters of the alphabet. Being homeschooled allowed for plenty of reading time as part of regular learning, and I fell in love with the rhythm of language and the different styles I saw. I absorbed everything – words, flow, effect. Then one day it started coming out! As for science fiction? Well, gotta blame the Star Trek and Doctor Who reruns of the 80’s for capturing my young imagination. “To boldly go…” is a catchphrase that became something I aspire to myself, even if it’s just in the mind.

GM: As a publisher now, you’ve had countless submissions pass your desk. What’s probably the number one mistake you see in new authors? 

GB: Sending me their first drafts or something that looks like it. Honestly, people, I know you’re excited, but please do the work and make your book publishable before I see it. As a bit of an aside, I look more favourably on subs from people I know, so we can both get an idea of what it’s like to work together. The invitation is always open to look me up on Facebook. Let’s get connected.


GM: What do you look for in a story? I’m not asking about guidelines for Splashdown—I just mean, you, personally. What is it about a story that grabs you as a reader? 

GB: A deep, personal voice, getting inside a character’s soul; a quirky, unusual plot; vivid description with just enough detail to set the scene and hint at the rest. I also love unusual word use and weird things like metafiction, though I don’t come across it often!

GM: With Splashdown, you’re out there on the fringe, trying to bring very specific types of stories to a specific niche—namely Christians who enjoy speculative fiction, but want something a little stranger than the typical mainstream Christian publishers are offering. Do you feel that you’re making progress in that area? Is the audience there? 

GB: Apparently there are people who know about us, and that’s great! That niche is only so big though, so I’m looking to expand it in a couple of directions. Look at all the recent blockbuster movies – weren’t most of them speculative? Everyone who watches those would like our books. That’s the one crossover I’d like to see. The other is into the mainstream and so I’m increasingly keen on stories whose faith elements are organic and not blatant. There are many books in the mainstream that include Christian characters, though not so much speculative and there’s no reason good enough for me. 

GM: We’ve spoken of this before and I know you can’t say much without giving away some key spoilers, but isn’t there a sequel to Faith Awakened in the works? What are you at liberty to discuss about that project? 

GB: It is written, mostly edited, and on the way to being published…somewhere! Yes that’s right, this indie publisher is looking for another publisher. Call it validation, call it spreading my wings. I have published two of my own novels and I could do it again, but I’m curious to experience the other side of the table.

GM: Ha, ha, well that is certainly an unexpected move. Way to challenge yourself, though. How exciting.

GB: As for the story, it’s hard to say without spoilers because it runs in parallel time to Faith Awakened and the endings of both tie together. Like Faith, it begins in Ireland, but this time it does not stay there. Call it an epic roadtrip with a touch of romance and…maybe a cyborg? And of course virtual reality remains a big part of it.

GM: You’re a huge proponent for independent publishers, even writing out this very useful guide so that, practically, anyone with a kernel of talent and sheer force of will can turn themselves into their own independent publisher. Aren’t you just essentially creating your own competition? 

GB: Let’s face it. I’m going to have lots of competition anyway. Some of it is bad. I hope my recommendations can help remove some of that badness, because it’s what gives indie publishing a bad name. The world is plenty big enough for all the books that can be written, not to mention that most of them don’t even come close to my genre. I’m just trying to help make them good ones. You’ll notice in that article I make a big deal out of quality – in story, in editing, formatting and design. Quality is the number one thing for me and I want it to be every indie publisher’s top priority too.

GM: Books, books, books. Let’s move on to TV and movies! What are some of your favorites? 

GB: Let’s see, we’ve already established that I’m a Trekkie (fave series: Voyager) and a Whovian (10th Doctor, he’s mine!). Movies – Back to the Future trilogy, Narnia, Star Trek IV, VIII, IX and 2009; plus some anomalous historicals such as The Scarlet Pimpernel (with Anthony Andrews, the full version is free online - lots of action and great one-liners) and Pride & Prejudice.

GM: Any parting words?

GB: Thanks for having me, and for your insightful questions!

GM: You're most welcome! See you in September. Brace yourself for the mighty music of AC/DC!

"Rift Jump" Commentary (Part Five)

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

Here we are at the end of our commentary for Rift Jump . Thanks for tuning in. And don't forget--we're running a Goodreads giveaway! Enter for your chance to win a signed copy of the book, yo!

PART FIVE: FACE THE MUSIC
At last, our hero must face his destiny.
The Strange Man from The Coming Evil Trilogy
This is where our villain, the Maestro, makes his debut. To me, the Maestro has always been a pawn. The Rage is the real enemy. It was difficult writing the Maestro as I wanted to make him very different from the Strange Man (pictured left). Whereas the Strange Man is all about theatrics and delighting in the sound of his own voice, I wanted to make the Maestro completely unimpressed with everything. He's a composer of pain and very serious about his work. Unflappable.
The biggest surprise in this episode is the change we see in Sara. She's kicking some major tail up 'n here! Sara was always meant to evolve into a very tough fighter, but, honestly, I was going to save that for the second (and perhaps final) book in the Rift Jump sequence. But I wanted to give readers a little taste of what they can expect from Sara in the follow-up novel.
So what about this follow-up novel anyway? Tentatively the book is entitled Sara's Song . Whereas Rift Jump was more focused on Michael's internal bout with the Rage, its sequel will be Sara-centric. The entire story is about the pair of them, so it made sense to me that each one got their own book. Together, the two halves make a whole and their story will be complete.
The idea of the multiverse is explained in this section, as Michael comes face to face with Truth. Fellow Splashdown author Travis Perry wrote a very insightful essay on the nature of Chaos equaling the loss of choice. Great stuff.


Michael also faces his inner demon in this section--in this case, a giant sludge monster with his face. Again, like I talked about last week, this totally snuck up on me as a sort of an echo of the junkyard fight scene from Superman III. Also, with this fight, we now begin to see a stronger connection to The Coming Evil Trilogy. Yes, the black goop that Michael  hacks up in this section is the same evil slime that takes over Ray McCormick in Enemies of the Cross . It's sin, in its purest, most concentrated form. Sin creates monsters. It latched on to Ray and drove him mad, and it dwelt inside Michael for his whole life, pushing him towards violence.

In this section, we also meet Toby, who was originally based on my little brother, Jeff. There's a nine year age difference between my brother and I, but we've always been very close. We like most of the same movies, music, TV, books, video games, etc. A fact about my brother is that Jeff is a video game freak. He has been since he was two years old when I taught him to hold a Nintendo controller. He was cracking the Konami code--on his own--before he could write his own name. He's like that movie "The Wizard", without the autism. Seriously, he was six or seven and I'd take him to arcades with me and watch him wax the floor with guys twice his age on Street Fighter or Tekken. He was--and still is--that good. So, the original Toby--who was named, rather obviously, Jeff--was a pint-sized fighter. The original high school draft of this particular story featured "Jeff" as this eight-year-old street fighter, a kind of living embodiment of Jeff's gaming skills. It was pretty embarrassing, looking back, so I obviously took out the "eight year old street fighter" out of the current version, but I tried to give the character--re-branded "Toby"--a fighter's spirit. We'll see more of that fighter in the sequel, whenever I get around to writing it.


The real-life Jeff is, in a way, also the one to praise (or blame, depending on how you liked the book) for Rift Jump coming to your grubby hands. As I've said, the original Rift Jump stories were just things I wrote once every couple years or so to blow off some creative steam. I never took it very seriously at all. There came a point that I'd all but forgotten about it. It was just a funny little high school memory. But my brother is a writer, as well. For years he's been developing his own contemporary dark fantasy series. A mega-epic that spans generations and chronicles the struggles of good versus evil across, quite ironically, the multiverse. Jeff began writing his multiverse stories totally apart from me or mine. Like I said, we think a lot alike, and his daydreams eventually led him to parallel worlds as well--though in a different direction. When I discovered this, I told him "Hey, I wrote a multiverse story too, once upon a time." I told him about my old Rift Jump stories and told him he should totally have our characters meet. I thought it'd be a hoot. So, a couple years ago, he did just that, resurrecting my old characters and breathing new life into them. As I suspected, it was a riot. Jeff has a keen sense of ridiculous humor and he took my melodramatic characters and, essentially, lampooned them. It was such a thrill seeing my characters in a new light.

But it also got me thinking. Jeff's new take on my characters awakened something in me. I began to question how I would interpret these characters after all this time. I had grown up, and these were a child's characters. How could I take what they were, but put an adult spin on them? After that, my imagination took off. I started writing Rift Jump stories in earnest. Still for fun, and still with no desire to see them published. But it was a wild ride, and I turned out, maybe, 10 new stories in just a couple years. It just kept coming. The more I wrote, the more invested I got in my creations. The more serious they became to me. And, before long, I realized that I was writing a real story. One that I wanted to put out there, on the market, for others to enjoy.

Jeff's own story has gone through many drafts as he's experiencing a similar process with his own stories. He began writing them when he was 12 or so, but as he's grown into his own man, he's revising his stories. Re-crafting them. I've helped a little, but I've also backed off a lot. I think he's got some GREAT ideas and a real sense of drama and excitement. I know how his story ends and it's amazing. I can't wait to see him finish it and then the real adventure begins for him: publishing :p

Thus concludes our commentary for Rift Jump. Thanks for hanging around. I encourage all of you to go out and pick up a copy of the book. We've gone the small press route this time around and it is super hard to get your name out there. So, please, support the book. If nothing else, post and re-post. Let the world know that we're here with a wild ride through alternate timelines and alien worlds! If you're still shaky on whether or not this book is your cup of tea, I invite you to check out this nice (and totally unexpected) review by Jessica Thomas!

Interview with Kathy Tyers!

Okay, I'm totally stoked about today's guest. Today we're sitting down with Kathy Tyers, one of the pioneers of Christian Science Fiction. She's a terrific lady, a legend in the Christian Fiction market--and she's written for Star Wars! Let's get to it!


Greg Mitchell: Kathy, thank you so much for being here today! On to business: I've heard you describe your newest science fiction novel Daystar as an “alternate universe Messiah novel.” A very interesting premise. What's the story behind that?
Kathy Tyers: The Firebird series takes place on an alternate timeline, in which the Virgin Mary said “No” and human history took a different course. People went to space, engaged in genetic engineering, and the messianic line survived simply because God doesn’t break promises. So in Daystar’s far future setting, when the messianic people are ready for the big event, God displays the same character that we saw in Jesus of Nazareth – but since it happens under different circumstances, we see different events.
I made a point of not going through the gospels, creating characters to represent each of the biblical people – with one vital exception – and I was careful not to present miracles that would be too parallel to the ways Jesus proved himself on this world – again, with one vital exception. I wanted to bring back the sense of wonder and mystery, to try and remind people how mind-boggling a God we serve.
GM: Daystar is the fifth book in a series, correct? Can it be read by itself?
KT: Absolutely. Daystar is the only novel that takes place in the third generation of the Firebird series. Major characters from the other novels come together, and some of them play major roles – so series readers will enjoy Daystar on more levels than stand-alone readers, but yes, Daystar is primarily about entirely new young characters.
GM: How did it feel to finish a series you’d been writing for so long? What's the Firebird Saga all about?
KT: It felt slightly sad and a little wistful. But deeply satisfying. I had a sense of “job well done.” And now I’m wondering what in the Whorl to do next!
As for the series: The first book, Firebird, is about a young extra heiress sent out to die in battle, who’s captured instead. She discovers that the cause she was defending – her family’s glory – isn’t worth dying for after all. In Fusion Fire, Lady Firebird goes up against truly evil enemies and realizes that there’s deep darkness in her own soul, too. Crown of Fire takes her back to her home world for a royal occasion that nearly costs her life. Those three books have been combined by Marcher Lord Press in The Annotated Firebird, along with maps, notes, family trees and other information.

I returned to the Firebird universe with Wind and Shadow, which is about Firebird’s twin sons. One is following in her footsteps as a warrior, but the other has grown up to be a priest. He’s kidnapped by a demon-possessed telepath who thinks he might be the predicted Boh-Dabaror messiah of this alternate universe. Daystar finishes the series when an outsider, Meris Cariole, gets caught up in the messianic events. So do two of Lady Firebird’s grandchildren.
GM: Wind and Shadow, your fourth Firebird novel, was apparently part of a Master’s degree?
KT: Regent College in Vancouver, BC specializes in training “lay people” in theology, spirituality, history, biblical languages, and other subjects that we normally think of in terms of training for professional ministry. In Regent College terms, every Christian is a minister of the gospel – and since the stress is on learning about God as creator and redeemer, artists are held in high regard. My degree was in “Christianity and the Arts,” and it was a tough course of study but very much worth it. Vancouver was an amazing place to spend two years, too. 
GM: The Firebird series is over! This has been a huge part of your life. I know that, for my own series, it'd be hard for me to leave it behind for good. Do you think you'll ever return to the world of Firebird sometime down the road?
 KT:  I certainly won't say "never." I tied off that series pretty conclusively (no spoilers here!), but there's room for prequels. Some of my readers have suggested a spin-off series featuring some characters from the books. I've seen authors do that successfully. It could be worth a try.
GM: Okay. Now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty. My love for Star Wars has been well-documented on this site. I must now live vicariously through you. What was it really like to write for Star Wars?

KT: Fun! The invitation came from my Bantam Books editor, Janna Silverstein, after I had published four science fiction novels with Bantam (including the first two Firebird novels, Firebird and Fusion Fire). Bantam and Lucasfilm selected one of the ideas that I pitched – evil aliens attack an Imperial world right after the Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Imperial fleet, so the Rebels have to help repel the aliens. I had quite a bit of artistic freedom writing that novel, which was published as The Truce at Bakura.
My second Star Wars novel, Balance Point, was part of a series called The New Jedi Order, and the series had already been substantially outlined when I started writing. They wanted an anchor-point book for a particular moment in the series, and they wanted a “character author” to write it. Apparently they felt I’d done a good job portraying the beloved Star Wars characters, and they wanted me to do it again. I was honored!
GM: In relation to Star Wars, have you kept up with the EU lately? The prequel films? Recent novels or the new Clone Wars animated series that's running on Cartoon Network? I was just wondering if you had peeked in on the mythology from time to time and what you thought of it all.
KT: I confess I haven't kept up. The amount of licensed Star Wars literature has become overwhelming--and I've had other things going on, like widowhood and grad school and putting together a new life! My writing has moved in other directions, too. But the Star Wars season of my writing life was something I wouldn't have missed for the world. Whenever I see kids in my neighborhood out playing Jedi with their lightsabers, up and down the street, it makes me smile. Big time.
GM: Well, Kathy, you have certainly impacted a lot of people with your work. Thank you so much for taking the time to hang out. 

That concludes another interview. Be sure to head to Kathy's site at kathytyers.com for free excerpts from her Firebird novels, deleted scenes, and more!

And don't forget, I'm running a Goodreads giveaway for my latest sci-fi/paranormal/romance/action novel Rift Jump. Enter today for your chance to win a free copy--signed by me!

"Rift Jump" Commentary (Part Four)

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Hey, folks. We're back again for our penultimate installment in the Rift Jump commentary. Before we get started, head over to Goodreads and enter for your chance to win one of two signed copies of Rift Jump! Go! Go now!

Now, onto the commentary. Spoilers below. Be ye warned.

PART THREE: MONSTER
I really liked how this section turned out. This differs quite a bit from the original draft written in the late '90s. It was always a super-hero concept, as I've been a comic book fan for as long as I remember. But, for the rewrite, I decided to add more of a horror element to it.

Ironically enough, the high school angle was downplayed in the original draft, but when I set out to rewrite this, I saw an incredible opportunity to take my angst-ridden teenagers and plop them in the middle of the typical angst-ridden high school setting. Having Sara take to "normality" like a fish to water was a fun turn. Michael's high school experience, here, is a lot like my own. Tuning out teachers and daydreaming while looking out the window, imagining I'm on some faraway adventure. Michael is an outcast and Sara makes friends during home period on her first day. They really couldn't be more different.

This also is the episode that shows a shift in power balance. Sara starts to crave the power that Michael has, while Michael's all emo-ing out in his room, crying because he thinks Sara is going to outgrow him. He's more vulnerable than we've ever seen him and we see how desperately attached he's become to Sara. Unhealthily so, I'd say.


The biggest change in this published version is the addition of my old comic book character Light Sphere! You have no idea how excited I am to see Light Sphere get a chance in the spotlight. He was originally a character I created that had no connection to Rift Jump at all, but I looked at what I had here. Michael is in a super-hero world, I'm in the process of updating an old high school idea--hey, let's dust off another old high school super-hero and they can meet! Better yet, let's have the classic Marvel crossover where they first meet in the street, mistake each other for the enemy, beat the holy crap out of each other, and then team up to fight the bad guy!! :)

I was in ninth grade when I made Light Sphere. Obviously X-Men was the big thing back in the mid-90s with guys like Cable and Wolverine tearing up the comic book stands. I was too lazy to come up with a proper origin story for Light Sphere back then so he was your typical "mutant"--born with powers. But, I wanted to give him a handicap, so I devised this idea that he couldn't use his awesome powers without these souped-up gloves on his hands, otherwise he'd fry off his flesh. Gnarly, yes, but my 14-year-old self thought it was properly dramatic. I remember writing and tracing...er, drawing...a Light Sphere comic and taking it down to Centerfield, the comic and card shop downtown. I went to that place all the time and used to hang my drawings on their walls in exchange for free bags of sour gummy worms. I showed the proprietors--an older couple--my creation and the lady told me that my idea of giving Light Sphere his limitation was "very original". I beamed with pride, picked up some sugary treats, and set out to finish a second issue where Light Sphere joins the "Governmental Mutant Agency". Oh yeah. Well, me being me, when I wrote the modern version of Light Sphere, I kept all of his stuff the same--even right down to working for the government :p What can I say? I'm a stickler for continuity, no matter how lame it is.

Sadly, the comic store burned down not too long afterwards. I don't think Light Sphere had anything to do with it.

Speaking of super-heroes, this brings up the Superman connection. You know, I made Michael invincible when I was 15 because what 15-year-old boy doesn't want to be indestructible and all-powerful? However, I'm sad to say, that I never used that plot point very much. Even in the modern version--in the beginning--I'd have Michael get shot or punched or whatever, but that was it. Kind of a letdown, really. But, I'd start watching some animated Superman movies and I'd see all the incredible damage that Superman took. He'd get thrown through buildings, slapped with a tree, hurtled across continents. I thought, "Man, I'm not putting Michael through enough. He's invincible! Let's kick the crap out of him!" I really started upping the battle scenes in the book, rewriting them to make sure Michael got beat up as much as possible without distracting from the story.

When Keven, my editor, was reading through this, he asked if I was a Superman fan, because there were so many references to Superman. The Hooded Man tells Michael that Sara is his kryptonite, and he's pulling some Superman moves. Aside from being inspired to beat on Michael some more, I hadn't made the mental connection how Superman-esque Michael was. But when Keven said that, something clicked. I thought about how I saw Superman. He's this god-like being, above mortals. And he's got Lois Lane, a frail woman (by comparison to his strength, I mean). I really started applying that to Sara. She views Michael as Superman. He's a god to her, and his strength only exaggerates her weakness. How would that make her feel? Sara, who has felt weak for so long?

Wouldn't she resent that?


In light of Keven's Superman comparison, I made a couple more refernces to Supes to show that Michael was a fan of the character.

This section also is a major break-through for Michael. He's only been a hammer all this time, but he's finally starting to understand what being a hero is. I love how all the super-hero/Light Sphere stuff really dove-tailed into Michael's continuing transformation. And, what's more fun, is that it was almost entirely by accident. That's how I know when a story's working.

Since we're on the subject of Superman, my vote for best Superman is Christopher Reeve. My parents took me to see Superman III when it first came out (bad idea, as I was 5 and that robot chick at the end totally scared the poooo out of me). That scene where he battles his evil self in the junkyard, though, is always one of my favorites. Funny that, even today--even in Rift Jump--I'm still echoing that scene of fighting our inner man. Watching Christopher Reeve is still awe-inspiring to me. He makes me believe that a man can fly...



Tune in next Monday for our final installment!

UPDATE: Jessica Thomas posted quite the positive review of the book over at her blog. A nice surprise to wake up to in the morning. Could I be "the Christian speculative world's Terry Pratchett"?! Go check it out, yo!

"Metamorphosis" Preview

Hey, all. Super stoked to see that author/artist Bob Freeman has posted his proposed covers for the individual short stories contained within Rookhaven Publishing's A Cat of Nine Tales anthology! If you're a fan of monster hunters and weird pulp horror, pick this up! My contribution to this collection of occult detective tales is "Metamorphosis", which features a peek into the origin of my very own paranormal investigator--Vinnie Caponi. Vinnie has two stories coming out this year. "Metamorphosis", and then another Caponi adventure will be included in the Monsters! anthology. Both stories should be out by this October, and make the perfect Halloween treat.

The cover below depicts Josh, Vinnie's brother-in-law and investigative partner. Josh has a major role to play in Vinnie's humble beginnings. As always, it's a real thrill to see an artist interpret one of my characters. I can't wait for you all to meet Josh and Vinnie in their two Halloween tales and I hope you'll be seeing more of them in the future. As I keep saying, I've got some big plans for Vinnie...



To see the rest of the covers that Bob has beautifully rendered for the anthology, head over to his blog!

"Rift Jump" Commentary (Part Three)

Read Part One
Read Part Two

Welcome to the third installment of my commentary for Rift Jump . Yada yada, beware of spoilers, yada yada.

PART THREE: TIES THAT BIND
This section of the book is really where the new material starts to drastically diverge from the original material I wrote in high school. Originally, this episode took place in a near-identical world to Michael's own, leading him to think that he's actually home. His brothers are the same. All the locations are the same. Even the circumstances surrounding his own "death" are the same. The only difference is that--duh, duh, duuuuhh!!!--this NOT his world and the Michael of this world is bad.  
I changed it for two reasons. One reason is that, for a book that deals with "a multiverse of infinite possibility", all the worlds in the original stories looked pretty much identical to our own except they'd have a super hero in them or an alien in them or whatever. It was like the last few seasons of Sliders (great show in the first season--terrible show from there on out), where every world they went to was just the same street (soundstage) with the same hotel, same bar, even some of the same people--just their alternate selves. I needed to shake it up. I'd been dabbling in the idea of doing more Weird Western stuff like my buddy Ed Erdelac (who is AMAZING and you should check out his Merkabah Rider series), so I decided to relocate this story to a Civil War-type world, with a sci-fi twist. But then that also changes things. Michael can no longer think that these are his brothers. I liked that, however, because it puts him in a position where he's lying to them, pretending to be their dead brother, in order so that HE can feel some semblance of family. It's sad, and totally the right character move for Michael.
A special note: To all the steampunk fans who were really hoping I'd go all geek on the hows and whys of these Civil War spacecraft, I'm sorry. It would have been fun--and were this episode an entire novel length, I would have--but, like I said in the last commentary installment, my focus is always on Michael and Sara's emotional journey.
Sara begins to take a bit of a turn in this story. Again, when I originally wrote these stories in high school, I had a very skewed idea of what a woman "should" be. I sort of knew (or thought) that they wanted to be "wooed" and "won"...but I didn't have a whole lot of idea of what to do with them AFTER I "won" them. Movies and books focus so much on getting a woman, and they don't do a lot of showing how to keep a woman. As I grew up, I realized that--shock, gasp--women are a lot like men. They want to feel needed. Special. Important. They want to be a part of the journey of life. They're not trophies to be gained and sat on a shelf in your den. I mean, there are some girls, yeah, who just want to be mooned over and pursued and treated like sacred cows all the time, but that's unhealthy. Treasure your women, menfolk, but include them in your struggles. Bring them into your heart. Trust them with your lives. They're fighters, too.
So that's what Michael is seeing in this section. Sara loved being pursued by him, but she doesn't want to be stuck in the tower for the rest of her life. She wants to feel needed.
With that out of the way, I direct your attention to a pretty controversial move for me:
I have swearing in my book. Gasp!
I know that 99% of the world's population won't even bat an eye at that, but for some of my readers it's going to be a major stumbling block. I want to be accountable for what I write, so I'm gonna take a second to explain my position on this. You may not agree, and that's okay, but I want to be honest and real with you so at least can understand my thinking.

Cursing is one of the last great taboos of the Christian Fiction market. It always amazes me that, no matter how much violence and evisceration I get away with, I throw one "damn" in there and I've suddenly committed an atrocity on the page. This is a pretty complicated topic and many better-articulated writers (such as Mike Duran) have gone on and on about this. People have endlessly debated it and everyone's pretty firm on their stance. I know that some of Rift Jump's readers will--hopefully--be picking this up because they enjoyed my Coming Evil series. The Strange Man and Enemies of the Cross were both published within the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) that has REALLY strict rules on what you can and cannot put in their books. For instance, I had to cut one instance of the word "criminy" in The Strange Man because it was a 15th century curse word! 15th Century, folks!! Some CBA publishers won't even let you say "darn" or "shoot" or "frickin'". "Crap" is considered a bad word with some people, as is "butt".

The short answer is this: Rift Jump is not intended to be a "Christian" work--meaning I didn't write it with the Christian Fiction audience in mind. It obviously reflects my own Christian beliefs, but I didn't set out to make this a "Christian" book. What's more, my publisher Splashdown--while a publisher of Christian authors--is NOT in the CBA. The restrictions are much looser because we're not selling to the same types of people who are looking for books at Lifeway. Many people go to buy a CBA book because they know there WON'T be cursing or overt sex or graphic violence. They want their fiction of a cleaner sort, and I have absolutely nothing against that. When it came to taking my 6-year-old daughter to see Brave, you better believe I was scouring the internet, wanting to know what kind of objectionable material she may or may not be exposed to. We need to show discernment. We need to guard ourselves against things that cause us to stumble. I don't believe all fiction needs to have cursing. I don't even believe that all good or "real" or "gritty" fiction needs it. Plenty of wonderful stories don't use it at all. On the other hand, I believe there are plenty of wonderful stories that do use it.

Rift Jump marks my first novel where I've had some cursing. Now, for those of you who haven't read it yet, it's not a whole lot. Certainly not enough to warrant this long explanation. There are no "s" words or "f" words. There were PG rated kids movies in the '80s that had rougher language than this. Nevertheless, I didn't make the decision to have a dash of swear words lightly. Ask Grace, my publisher. I agonized over this, as I knew that it would offend some people or give others the wrong impression about me. I don't condone cursing in real life. Especially, as Christians, I think we ought to be very careful about the words that come out of our mouth, as we're representing Christ. And the Bible says we are called into account for every careless word we say. That's terrifying to me.

But my characters are not representing Christ. The characters in Rift Jump don't start out as Christians. In fact, if we're getting right down to it, they're not even real. They're imaginary figures. But, for the sake of argument, even if they were real, they are lost sinners who have grown up on the streets, or in abusive relationships, or are just plain ignorant of manners. A key moment in "Second Chances" has Michael at the end of his rope. In a moment of complete frustration he complains that he's been "busting his ass" while he doesn't see God doing anything. He's complaining to God. He is completely fed up. Now, I could just have easily have had him say "busting his butt"--though some would think even that was too far. I could have had him say he was "busting his rear" or "hind end". But that shows a level of restraint, doesn't it? This is a teenage boy who has been a child soldier since he was 12. He's coming to God, in all truth, and getting his angry feelings off his chest. For Michael to censor himself would show a deference to God--which is antithesis of this scene. He demands to know why God hasn't answered his prayers. Why God hasn't shown up to make this journey easier. He's not interested in being humble or respectful. He's coming from a place of total anger and selfishness and immaturity. Therefore "ass".

I liken it to cooking. You might have a really bitter spice that is sometimes needed, but too much and it ruins the whole meal. Swearing, I think, CAN be appropriate. Sometimes I think it might even be necessary, to add that little punch of spice. With Rift Jump, I have been very careful to gauge every instance of a swear word I've used. I didn't want to be exploitative about it or flippant about it. It was never my intention to shock you or to "prove myself to the world" that I was a "real" author who liked to cuss. This isn't a declaration that, from now on, you can expect everyone to have a potty mouth in my fiction. You can't (though you can still expect tons of monster mayhem :p). I just felt that, in this particular book, a couple curse words was necessary for the story.


So, for those Readers who might be offended, I'm asking you to show a little grace to my characters. They're a rough group but they are growing. They are maturing. Give them a little patience. They might surprise you in the end. :)

Behind-the-scenes nuggets:

1--There's a typo in this section. It mentions that Civil War Edward and Seth haven't seen their brother for five years in one instance--but it's really only been a year since their Michael left them. Grrr, I hate typos. Five people read these things in the editing process and no one catches it. My wife glances at it after it's published and points it out. Grrr.

2--I believe this might be the book's first mention of Sara's love for Alan Worth: Space Explorer. To read up on the fascinating true story behind Alan Worth, check out my post here.

Next Monday will see the next installment of our commentary for Rift Jump where we talk about superheroes. Buy the book already, will ya?