Christian Speculative Fiction discussion
General chat
It's been a great year for drawing close to the Lord and writing. He's showed me a whole new way of writing. I'm nearly finished with the fourth book this year, the second book of my new Miraculous Reality Heroic Urban Fantasy series. It's really been quite the year.
So good to hear such upbeat news. Thanks for spreading the joy.
That's wonderful, David! God is such a great writing coach, isn't He? :) I really feel His hand guiding me as I write as well.What's your series about? It sounds fun!
The basic idea is that Jesus brings someone through radical rebirth and asks him or her to do something seemingly impossible. Then He makes the impossible happen as the result of faith. It takes place in the near future. The one I'm finishing up is about a young Navajo warrior called to deliver the youth of the Navajo Nation from the hopelessness of trafficking. This is precipitated by His call on the young man to seriously intercede for a young woman he has just met. He doesn't even know what he's praying for at the beginning.
I am soooo excited because I'm getting my first audiobook! On a whim (which was probably more divine inspiration), I sent my novel Thunder Girl to a professional audiobook narrator to see if he would like the job. He finished it in two days and then told me he "completely" wanted to narrate it. We're going to discuss the project tomorrow!Not only am I incredibly excited because I think this is a great way to increase my work's exposure as an indie author, but it means a lot to me that a professional in the field actually likes one of my novels that much. From his blog posts and book reviews, he seems like a very discerning reader, so I am completely bowled over that I wrote something that managed to impress him. The fact that a professional has that much faith in my work (which is something I struggle with having myself, truth be told) makes me want to go ahead and invest in hiring him, because I don't think he would be so enthusiastic about the project if he didn't feel it would be lucrative.
I am thrilled about this new development, and I cannot wait to hear his performance and have him bring my characters to life! Quite honestly, I have a background in film and TV production and my secret dream is to be a director, so getting a novel narrated is kind of the next best thing!
I finished my latest novel manuscript! 64,000 words of fun and adventure and robots. And quite honestly the ending made me tear up a little because it was so sweet. I'm super excited to publish this one. But first, off to the editor's!
Moving right now.😩Aside from that, I'm in the process of migrating my stories from a publishing house and going full indie. I rereleased my first book as a 2nd edition once it was free, and I'm planning to do so with my second book later this year.
Meanwhile, I'm making the final pass through my third book so it can be ready for release after I rerelease my second book. Lord willing, I'll live, and have the entire Zealot Finale story available by the end of this year.
How's it going with the audiobook, T.K.?
J.K. wrote: "Moving right now.😩Aside from that, I'm in the process of migrating my stories from a publishing house and going full indie. I rereleased my first book as a 2nd edition once it was free, and I'm p..."
Good to hear from you, J.K! I hope your move is going well! I know how much of a hassle moving can be, but I hope you have happy experiences at your new place!
I also hope the move from publishing house to indie goes well! I'm so grateful that these days authors have options. The Internet and social media really make it easy for authors to get their work out there and spread the word about it without the help of a publisher.
And that's so excited that you're nearly done with your third book! It must feel really satisfying to be nearly finished with a trilogy. It seems like a lot of work! I've never done a multi-book story, so I'm in awe of your writing stamina! I hope everything goes well with it!
And the audiobook is going great, thanks for asking! My narrator uploaded chapter 2 last week for me to listen to, in order to see how I liked the voice effects he used for the robot characters. It was super amazing and I can't wait to hear more. He did such a great job making one of the robots completely adorable and exactly how I imagined him. You know a narrator is good when he makes me fangirl my own characters, haha. :)
If you ever want to get Zealot Finale turned into audiobooks, Benjamin Fife is your guy. He does an outstanding job all around. (From what I understand, he also really loves narrating aliens.)
T.K. wrote: "J.K. wrote: "Moving right now.😩Aside from that, I'm in the process of migrating my stories from a publishing house and going full indie. I rereleased my first book as a 2nd edition once it was fr..."
Benjamin Fife. I'm going to remember that name! Thanks so much for the recommendation! Aside from seeing art of my characters, hearing their lines read/acted would be my next dream!
I'm glad to hear the process is going so well for you!
J.K. wrote: "T.K. wrote: "J.K. wrote: "Moving right now.😩Aside from that, I'm in the process of migrating my stories from a publishing house and going full indie. I rereleased my first book as a 2nd edition o..."
Yes, it's an incredible experience. Mr. Fife is a terrific voice actor and he puts quite a bit of acting into his narrated dialogue. I've described his narration style as one step removed from a film version. I'm absolutely thrilled with the way he's been bringing my characters to life.
I also want to add, I'm super excited because I'm nearly ready to publish my next novel! I've been working on it since November, and I feel like it's taking ages to go through all the necessary steps prior to publishing, but it's finally almost there! Then I can rest and recuperate for a bit before starting my next planned project.
Is there anything you're particularly excited for in book 3 of Zealot Finale? From what I saw on your Facebook page, it looks like you do quite a bit of research on weaponry and animals, which is awesome.
T.K. wrote: "J.K. wrote: "T.K. wrote: "J.K. wrote: "Moving right now.😩Aside from that, I'm in the process of migrating my stories from a publishing house and going full indie. I rereleased my first book as a ..."
I'm glad to hear you're so happy with his work. Congratulations on your new release! I picked up Skydwellers the other day, and I'll make my way through to your new book eventually!
For Zealot Finale, the big thing I'm excited about is that the story will be complete. I've been told that readers find the story very exciting, which is great, but what they don't know yet is that the story is really about an overarching theme that might go beneath notice in all the action. It becomes apparent what the story is really about in the third book, and I hope readers will take the point with them through the rest of their lives, like edification. I guess what I mean is that I believe my story is at its strongest when it's complete, so I'm excited for it to exist in its full form.
J.K. wrote: "T.K. wrote: "J.K. wrote: "T.K. wrote: "J.K. wrote: "Moving right now.😩Aside from that, I'm in the process of migrating my stories from a publishing house and going full indie. I rereleased my fir..."
Thank you! And I appreciate your interest in Skydwellers! It was my first book, so the writing is really old, but most people seem to enjoy it. I can promise that my newer work is much more tightly written.
That's very exciting! I agree, a complete story is so satisfying. As a reader, I like being able to see how all of the themes and character arcs in separate books tie together into a greater whole. It sounds like you really put a lot of thought into how your trilogy works as a single story, which is great! I think lots of people will take away inspiring messages from the third book.
T.K. wrote: "J.K. wrote: "T.K. wrote: "J.K. wrote: "T.K. wrote: "J.K. wrote: "Moving right now.😩Aside from that, I'm in the process of migrating my stories from a publishing house and going full indie. I rere..."
I sure hope they do! As for a trilogy working as a single story, I actually wrote it all as one long story at first - one gigantic document, and I went back and did my best to make sure everything agreed and made sense! Then I did some research on how long a novel should be, and based on the advice I received, I split everything into three books. I originally thought it might come out as two books, but that didn't happen!
I don't know if that's a common way to release a series or not, but it helped me make sure the multiple plot points were all going in the same direction and I was happy with the whole thing before I released the first one!
I think that's a great way to plan a trilogy. J.R.R. Tolkien did the same thing with The Lord of the Rings; it's really one uninterrupted story that he wrote all at once, but it's just so long - hundreds of thousands of words - that he ended up needing to split it into three books for the convenience of the publisher. Actually, to be specific, LotR had a bit of a troubled road to publication. Tolkien got into a dispute with Allen and Unwin, the publishing firm who had handled The Hobbit, and he offered LotR to the company William Collins, Sons (which would later become one half of HarperCollins). Collins agreed to publish LotR if Tolkien pared it down significantly, and Tolkien not only did not want to, but asked them to publish the entire thing in 1952. They didn't, and Tolkien became so desperate to just get the thing out that he reconciled with Allen and Unwin and they agreed to publish it. Because they expected sales to be modest and type-setting was costly, they divided the story into three volumes to minimize potential financial loss.
Anyway, each story is unique and I think it's interesting how each author handles their work. I've seen LotR published in a single volume before, but boy are those thick books. I do think for a work of that size, even if it's one cohesive story, multiple physical/ebook volumes usually work best so the reader doesn't get overwhelmed.
Most of my books so far haven't been nearly long enough to warrant potential splitting, but one of them is around 110,000 words, and I think if it had gotten much longer, I probably would have made it into two separate volumes. As it stands, if/when I get it turned into an audiobook, I might have to ask my narrator about making it into two separately produced audiobooks, simply because I'm not sure it's in my budget to pay him for a production of that length in a single project.
T.K. wrote: "I think that's a great way to plan a trilogy. J.R.R. Tolkien did the same thing with The Lord of the Rings; it's really one uninterrupted story that he wrote all at once, but it's just so long - hu..."Interesting, the hoops Tolkien had to jump through. He was a forerunner in more ways than one. I'm glad he stuck with it!
I hadn't thought about the cost of an audiobook in relation to its length. Off the top of my head, I think my first book is around 90,000+ words, my second book is almost 120,000 words, and my third book is a little more than 100,000. I haven't sought a quote on even the first one for an audiobook, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear it's costly. Probably not something I can pursue just now, but maybe someday.
Thanks for the insight to the audiobook process! I'd love to hear more as your project nears completion, if there's anything else you decide to share!
Me too! I really look to Tolkien as an inspiration as I go about writing books that are mold-breakers. And I think it's super impressive that you wrote a trilogy where all the books are so long! A story over 300,000 words long is just incredible. You must have put so much work and time into it. I can already tell from your character designs that there's a lot of depth to your universe.Yes, I've definitely learned a lot about audiobooks from this project. Most narrators charge "per finished hour", which means a set rate based on how many hours they estimate the audiobook will run, which makes sense considering a longer audiobook means more work for the narrator. From the looks of it, one hour of audiobook is roughly 10,000 words of manuscript, so for example, my 57,000 word novel runs about 6 hours as an audiobook.
Ben Fife tries to be affordable as far as narrators go, and he charges $200 per finished hour, or $100 PFH plus royalties. The nice thing about the second plan is that he actively tries to promote the audiobook through his own venues, since he's obviously also interested in seeing it sell well. This project was definitely a big investment on my part, but I really felt inspired to pursue it and I think it's something God wants for my work, so I'm excited to see where it goes.
I noticed you've been keeping tabs on my professional Facebook page, and I'll keep updating that with news about the audiobook! I actually just finished listening to it this evening, and it was absolutely magical and a first-rate performance. It left me wishing I had somehow made the story longer just so the audiobook could go on longer. But I know that when I wrote the novel, I said everything that I felt God wanted me to say with it, so I'll have to be satisfied with a mere six hours of steampunk dinosaur fun.
Also, as an aside, as I listened to the book I realized that there was a bit of a loose end between two of the characters that I wished I had given more closure... but then I realized, instead of going through the trouble of revising the novel and making more work for Ben, I might be able to just write the scene as a short story and put it on my blog to celebrate the audiobook release. I think that would be something fun to do for fans.
Using that loose end to create a short story is a great idea! Instead of worrying that you missed something, use it to create more content!In my story, there are a couple of things I left in the air on purpose because I thought it made for a stronger story beat to not give those things firm closure. I also felt like there was still a story to tell there. I'm glad I went with that feeling, because now I'm preparing to write a full sequel to Zealot Finale, featuring the logical conclusion of those things left unsaid!
So far it's only on the drawing board, but I've managed to write a working outline, a test chapter, and a few test scenes I'm really happy with. I'm still working out one or two things, but I'm surprised at how much room those loose ends left me to work with, and how much content I was able to get from them!
Thank you for the further insight to the audiobook process! It sounds like it's definitely out of my budget for now, but I appreciate the info! I'd like to give yours a listen sometime, both to hear your story brought to life and to hear Mr. Fife's performance!
Thank you! I really felt inspired last night and ended up staying up until almost midnight writing a 2,000-word short story! It was great because not only did I give those characters the closure that I wanted for them, but I was also finally able to write down some stuff about their universe that I'd had in my head since I wrote the novel, but just couldn't find a place for anywhere... until now. So I know this short story was meant to be!And I agree, I also think not every question necessarily needs to be answered by the end of a plotline. I think it's fun to leave some things up in the air and leave room for speculation. I know some people prefer to have everything written out, but I'm the sort of person who finds the gaps just as intriguing as the information. I also enjoy seeing the answers other people come up with and finding out their interpretation of things left ambiguous.
Plus, you're right, doing that can leave the door open for a sequel! In my novel that's about to come out, I actually purposely left a very big world-building question open. Partly that was because it was not directly relevant to the plot, and to me it didn't feel realistic that when the characters were trying to achieve one objective, they should conveniently have all the tangential information filled in for them along the way. But part of it is also so that - if I ever feel like it - I can do a third book (this book is itself a sequel) and go into it with some specific questions to answer with the plot. But I do hope people have fun speculating with the second book. :)
That's so fun that you're doing a sequel to Zealot Finale! It sounds like it's coming along really well so far! I agree, loose ends can be a wonderful springboard to make a universe expand dramatically and get those story ideas flowing.
Although I don't usually write sequels to novels, most of my fan fiction is series of related stories that build off of each other, and usually that happens because there are loose ends that I want to tie up or explore further and it just sort of balloons out of my control. :) I remember one story in particular where all I was trying to do was come up with a backstory for one of my original characters. I thought it would only be a short story of a few thousand words. Then I wrote it and it turned into 50,000 words. And in the process, I introduced a villain and became interested in his backstory, and when I wrote it out, I felt so sorry for him that I wanted to write a sequel where he gets redeemed, and that ended up being 93,000 words. He then became a part of the main cast and I ended up getting (and writing) many other story ideas based on various loose ends that then sprang up from that story.
It would be nice if that sort of thing would happen more with my novels, but I guess part of the issue is that I currently have a lot of unrelated story ideas sitting in my ideas document, and I'd really like to get around to more of those first before doing any sequels. (I do have plans for a full sequel to Thunder Girl, though, that I think I might like to write after two other novels I have in the pipeline.)
No problem! If you have any more questions, please feel free to let me know, or get in touch with Mr. Fife and I'm sure he'd be happy to advise you. We're thinking the audiobook should be out sometime in April, and I'm excited for you to listen to it!
You know, I think when you have so many little ideas for things that connect, things that bear explanation, and unused places to go in your world, that shows that world is alive in your mind. It's a truly three-dimensional world where you can take readers around and show them things worthwhile, and have fun yourself in doing so. It's a sign that your story world is good, fertile ground.Let's scatter the seeds of God's Word in that ground and explore these worlds to their fullest! I'm looking forward to your audiobook!
Aww, thank you! I agree, and I think spec-fic writers have reached a good place when they achieve that sort of thing with their worlds. A well-thought-out fictional world is the gift that keeps on giving!
I'm not super sure this warrants its own new topic, but I really wanted to see what you guys think.Some years ago, I started a co-authored novel project with a friend. Unfortunately she wasn't a very good friend, the project went awry, and I ended up backing out, and it was a very stressful and painful experience for me.
However, back when I was still trying to make the project work, I wrote a novella-length story that was an alternate-universe take on the cast, purely for fun and as a gift to my co-author. Unfortunately, she never said anything about it after I sent it to her, and I think she secretly hated it but didn't want to tell me. So that was frustrating.
After I quit the project, I erased all traces of it from my hard drive and social media, and I thought I would just move on. But... I couldn't stop thinking about that novella. Ignoring the fact that it was kind-of fanfic of something else, I thought it was a sweet story about friendship, family, and healing ethnic tension in a small town. I also thought I'd lost it forever.
Then, today, I was going through some archived emails and actually found it attached to an email I'd sent. Now I feel torn. Part of me really, really wants to edit it into fully original fiction and put it somewhere as its own self-contained story. But I'm really worried that working with these characters again - even alternate-universe versions of the characters - will bring back bad memories of the co-written project, which I've tried so hard to emotionally distance myself from for years.
What are your thoughts? Have you ever had to deal with something like this?
Oooh, I have a similar story. I had a story idea that wasn't in my genre, so I gave it to a friend. She said she'd only write it with me. We got two chapters in and then she dropped off and since I wasn't passionate about it I let it die.A year later a writers group decided to work on a collection of short stories and this would be a perfect short story for me. I asked her permission to "take it back" and she said yes, but she also felt that I didn't want to write it with her, which wasn't the case.
I went ahead and wrote my short story, but was careful never to look back at what my friend and I had written together. Some of it was still in my memory, but I in no way tried to duplicate what we wrote.
Once my story was complete I asked if she would be interested in reading it, she said she'd love to. I sent it but have never heard back.
All that to say, if it brings up painful memories, leave it alone. But if it can generate new memories and you can make it your own without them, then I say run with it.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm sorry that happened between you and your friend, and I hope she's been able to move on from the project. Co-writing can be really awkward and lead to co-author drama, that's why I don't do it anymore.Those are good points. I read through the story today and still really liked it. I thought the characters were super fun and it had some good messages. I can also see parts in the plot that were rushed or glossed over because they were inside references to the "real" project, and would definitely need to be written out in more detail if I made this a fully original story.
I think maybe I'll try to keep working with it and fleshing it out, and see where it goes and how I continue to feel about it. I think I have a good core with what's already there, and I'm sure that as I continue to work with it and expand it, it will diverge more from the story it's based off of, hopefully to the point where it will stop reminding me of that project so much.
Is anyone interested in an agreed upon “share day” where we offer one of our books for free for one day on Kindle in order to generate more interest in our work?
J.L. wrote: "Is anyone interested in an agreed upon “share day” where we offer one of our books for free for one day on Kindle in order to generate more interest in our work?"Sure, I'd be up for that.
Ok, that makes two of us. Do I hear three?
J.L. wrote: "Is anyone interested in an agreed upon “share day” where we offer one of our books for free for one day on Kindle in order to generate more interest in our work?"It looks easy to do on Kindle. I'm game.
Do I hear four? Going once . . . going twice . . .
I just did a free promotion of The Sorcerer's Bane on Amazon so I don't think I can do that again for a few months. Depending on the date, I could possibly do Lander's Legacy.
CS:I don’t think it matters which title you choose.
Everyone:
What does everyone think about the weekend of the 17th (of April) as a date for the freebie promo?
This gives everyone a couple weeks (from now) to ensure they can get set up, and it also gives us a little more time to recruit any others who would like to participate in the freebie promo.
J.L. wrote: "CS:I don’t think it matters which title you choose.
Everyone:
What does everyone think about the weekend of the 17th (of April) as a date for the freebie promo?
This gives everyone a couple wee..."
Sounds fine to me.
Back from selling miniatures and FRPG hardcovers at local shop’s monthly market.
Sold 7 large and five “quarter” cases filled with about 600-800 15mm figures (large cases) each to a young figure painter and gamer for $50.
A dad (with two pre/teen age kids) bought all 10 hardcovers from the FRPG pile for their gaming for $50.).
Also a bunch of foam trays (25 figures each of 25mm height) for $5 each including foam storage tray, including another Dad bought a tray for his son, who could hardly see over the edge of the table who wanted to learn to paint figures. Sister got herself a tray also.
Car went from room for driver only to only a trunk full of boxes, half of them empty. Buyers happy, I can see the back of my downstairs storage cage, talked with past war gamers about our mutual friend, “Rev Kev” who had a stroke and is still on the ventilator with pneumonia.
No one has heard if his congregation has pulpit coverage and we all are praying for his recovery.
Sold 7 large and five “quarter” cases filled with about 600-800 15mm figures (large cases) each to a young figure painter and gamer for $50.
A dad (with two pre/teen age kids) bought all 10 hardcovers from the FRPG pile for their gaming for $50.).
Also a bunch of foam trays (25 figures each of 25mm height) for $5 each including foam storage tray, including another Dad bought a tray for his son, who could hardly see over the edge of the table who wanted to learn to paint figures. Sister got herself a tray also.
Car went from room for driver only to only a trunk full of boxes, half of them empty. Buyers happy, I can see the back of my downstairs storage cage, talked with past war gamers about our mutual friend, “Rev Kev” who had a stroke and is still on the ventilator with pneumonia.
No one has heard if his congregation has pulpit coverage and we all are praying for his recovery.
J.L. wrote: "CS:I don’t think it matters which title you choose.
Everyone:
What does everyone think about the weekend of the 17th (of April) as a date for the freebie promo?
This gives everyone a couple wee..."
Yep, that works just fine for me as well. I've got a guest appearance the 17th, so doing a free book giveaway that day would be a great tie-in.
Looking forward to the 17th. If anyone else is interested, it’s not too late to jump in.
Could we get a list of all of the authors who are taking part, and the books they're giving away? I'd love to promote everybody else's free books alongside mine! I think this would be a great opportunity for participants to reach out to each other's fanbases and find new readers.
J.L. PattisonThe Man Who Thought He Could Fly
Paperback:
https://www.jlpattison.com/books
Ebook:
https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Though...
Super!Here's mine:
T. K. Arispe
Earthkeepers
Ebook:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X6D1JFY
Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/Earthkeepers-S...
(This book is a sequel to one of my other novels, but it's a stand-alone sequel and works just as well read on its own.)
Glenn wrote: "Back from selling miniatures and FRPG hardcovers at local shop’s monthly market. Sold 7 large and five “quarter” cases filled with about 600-800 15mm figures (large cases) each to a young figure ..."
Congrats on the good sell! And I'm really sorry to hear about your friend, I said a prayer for him. I hope things get better for him soon!
J.K. BaileyZealot Finale: Book One (2nd Edition)
Zealot Finale
Ebook:
https://www.amazon.com/Zealot-Finale-...
Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/Zealot-Finale-...
Mod
I'm back, by the way. :) Sorry for my extended absence from the group, and Goodreads/the internet in general. It's been a tough 20 months for several personal reasons I won't go into here, but there's finally light at the end of the tunnel.
And I've missed so much. Feel free to catch me up on anything important like new releases or fantastic finds. Anything exciting you in the world of Christian speculative fiction recently? Any struggles you'd like me to pray about?
It's good to be back!
Lauren wrote: "Love the idea of group freebie days. I have a new book coming out in May, so I need to keep my Amazon promotions allotment for then, but I'd love to be part of it next time.I'm back, by the way. ..."
Hi Lauren, it's nice to meet you! I joined the group while you were gone so I don't think we've ever been introduced. I'm sorry you've been having a tough time lately, but I'm glad things are looking up for you now.
You and me both, Lauren. November 2019 our five-year-old boy was diagnosed with cancer, requiring amputative surgery of his leg (rotationplasty to be specific). He finally completed chemo in August 2020 and he will deal with a prosthetic the remainder of his life.
During those emotionally grueling days and nights, I found writing to be an enormous help to keep my mind off the horror we were dealing with.
At the end of my most recent book, I included this snippet under the section A Note From The Author:
“Much of this book was written during the toughest time of my life when my youngest son was fighting cancer. During that dark period, I experienced many deeply despairing nights after my other children had gone to bed, and while my wife was staying at the hospital with my son. I filled those painfully lonely nights writing this book. Spending time with the characters in these stories, and crafting their many tales, was a cathartic exercise that helped distract my mind from the trials our family was facing.”
If anyone’s interested in peeking into the misery of our life for those nine months, you can read about it here:
https://kohen.home.blog
J.L. wrote: "You and me both, Lauren. November 2019 our five-year-old boy was diagnosed with cancer, requiring amputative surgery of his leg (rotationplasty to be specific). He finally completed chemo in Augu..."
I'm really sorry about everything your family has been through. Your family has been in my prayers and I hope God makes it up to you and helps something good come out of this situation. You have my utmost sympathy.
What do you guys think of the new Kindle Vella service? I got an email for it and wondered if my fellow authors had any opinions. I can see it working better for some authors' writing styles than others'.
Lauren wrote: "Love the idea of group freebie days. I have a new book coming out in May, so I need to keep my Amazon promotions allotment for then, but I'd love to be part of it next time.I'm back, by the way. ..."
Hi Lauren, I only joined a couple months ago. It's nice to meet you. I hope you're doing well. Thank you for offering prayer; please pray that my writing would always be pleasing to the Lord. I'll be praying for you as well, and if you'd like prayer for anything specific, let me know.
J.L. wrote: "You and me both, Lauren. November 2019 our five-year-old boy was diagnosed with cancer, requiring amputative surgery of his leg (rotationplasty to be specific). He finally completed chemo in Augu..."
I'm sorry your son and your family had to endure that, J.L. I'll be praying for the Lord to fill your lives with comfort, restful sleep, and rejoicing in Him. Abide in Him, let Him envelope you in His Spirit and His love. Let Him nourish you, and comfort as only He can.
Mod
Thanks for the prayers. I appreciate that, and I'm more than happy to reciprocate.
J.L. - what a horrific thing to have to endure. Cancer has hit my family pretty hard too, and we're still reeling from the repercussions. I pray that your son is able to adjust to the changes, that the chemo proves effective, that your family feel the strength and peace of our Lord as you continue down the path to recovery, and that you are able to find a semblance of normality again.
I also pray that the Lord reveals how he will spin good from these awful circumstances. I've come to be a firm believer in Romans 8:28 and have experienced silver linings in the blackest of clouds.
Anyway, it's great to meet more fans of Christian spec fic. I haven't heard much about the Kindle Vella service - probably because I've had my head stuck in a manuscript or been dealing with family for so long. What is it?
Christian Speculative Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
Neodymium Exodus (other topics)Zealot Finale (other topics)
So how's everyone doing?
I am super excited for Christmas because it's my favorite holiday! I really love seeing everyone's lights and decorations go up. Someone has been putting Christmas ornaments on the bushes on my jogging route. It's fantastic.
I'm also very excited because I am nearing the climax of my latest manuscript! I'm looking forward to finishing it up and sending it off to the editor. I've had a blast with it so far, and I hope people enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
Plus, I hired a blog tour organizer to help me go on a book blog tour in March for my newest novel! Hopefully we can find enough interested bloggers.
Also, it looks like I might be working with an audiobook narrator to produce an audiobook version of one of my personal favorite novels that I've written, so I'm also very excited about that! I feel like good things are on the horizon for my writing career and I'm thrilled.