by Jason Joyner | Feb 21, 2007 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction
Today’s blog tour is brought to you by the letter “W” and the color Grey. (Sorry, couldn’t resist) Despite the silliness, the CFBA is featuring Wedgewood Grey by John Aubrey Anderson. This is book two in The Black or White Chronicles. I reviewed book one, Abiding Darkness, on Monday, and I encourage you to read it here.
Wedgewood Grey continues the story of Mose Washington, the simple, God-fearing black man in Mississippi from the first book. He comes to the rescue of a black woman and her son, who are being attacked by a group of white teenagers. The consequences of this encounter send Mose and the boy on the run, draws the wrath of a powerful politician, and brings a FBI agent into the chase. The book turns on the theme of our choices, and the effect they have through our lives.
Many characters from Abiding Darkness are brought back into this tale. Anderson continues to delight with wonderful turns of phrase that make me grin, while simultaneously cursing him that he thought of that particular choice of words first! The FBI agent, Jeff Wagner, is an engaging new addition. The young boy rescued by Mose, Bill Prince, is a quieter character, and just isn’t as colorful as some of the others in the Chronicles so far. I was a little disappointed that Missy Parker shows up almost half-way through, and doesn’t have as big an impact in Wedgewood Grey . She was such a dynamic character before, and watching her grow up was so enjoyable, that the grown, mature Missy is a little less of a strength in this book. Also, she was so critical to book one that it is a little curious how she fades here. I am hoping there will be a satisfactory conclusion to this point!
Anderson again shines in drawing out his scenes of action and suspense, never giving us a cheap thrill, but milking it for all it is worth. He is wonderful at foreshadowing, but it is not at all obvious where he is going with it. I had to shake my head at a couple of points, thinking the author got me again!
He continues his habit of changing POV within the same passage. I can overlook this due to the stellar writing. I can also tell a little refinement from Abiding Darkness (not nearly as many characters saying, “Mmmm.”)
Overall, Wedgewood Grey is a wonderful read in its own right, even though I liked Abiding Darkness a little more. The trouble is, the third book in the series, And If I Die, doesn’t come out until August ’07!!! Arrrgh!!!
I am planning to do a little study of a couple passages out of these two books, as well as a mini-interview with John Aubrey Anderson, over the next couple of days. Please come back, check it out, and leave comments. Oh, and check out the new widget from the CFBA, the CFBA Amazon store! Now you can order books from our tours, and other recommended reading, all in one place. Kudos to Bonnie for putting it together!
by Jason Joyner | Feb 21, 2007 | Blog, CSFF
I wanted to title today’s post “where the map begins” for reasons that will hopefully soon become clear!
As we’ve discussed WheretheMapEnds the last 2 days, I’ve pondered the discussion of Christian speculative fiction we’re having in the tour. It’s not just this tour, but prior discussions at A Christian Worldview of Fiction, Speculative Fiction, and other places that have touched on it.
In Jeff Gerke’s work at WtME, we have a true fan and advocate for speculative fiction in the CBA. He has a vision for further work in this arena. For those of us on the tour and other readers out there who want to see fantastic adventures in sci-fi and fantasy with Kingdom inspiration and execution, where do we fit in all this?
I think it goes back to Becky’s posts on Promotion. The CBA has its constituency, and it serves it well. For the market to realize other niches are out there, those of us who desire good spec fic within CBA are going to, in part, make it happen.
First of all, the Lord in heaven is in control, and His will and ways are paramount. It is important for us to pray into this.
Also, I am reminded of situations like the series Firefly. A show that developed a following in its all-too-brief network life, it was given another chance in the movie Serenity because fanboys (and girls) clamored for more of Joss Whedon’s world.
Without that passion and activism, it probably wouldn’t have happened. That came to me today – all of the wishin’ and hopin’ for CBA to rise up to meet this groundswell of support won’t happen. Unless we actively show this “groundswell”.
We are doing are part by being part of the CSFF tour (Becky’s probably doing more than her fair share :D). Can we do more? Maybe.
1- Writing awesome spec fic that the editors just can’t pass on.
2- Letting publishers know our feelings.
3- Supporting the vanguards that are out there (Kathy Tyers, Karen Hancock, Wayne Thomas Batson come to mind).
That’s my thoughts for today. I’m sure I’ll have others some other time. No deadlines given. I’ve enjoyed this tour immensely, and encourage you to check out other tourmates!
Nissa Annakindt
Jim Black
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
Tessa Edwards
April Erwin
Kameron M. Franklin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Leathel Grody
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Christopher Hopper
Kait
Karen
K. D. Kragen
Tina Kulesa
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 – The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
John Ottinger
Robin Parrish
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver
Timothy Wise
Rachelle
D.G.D. Davidson
John W. Otte
by Jason Joyner | Feb 21, 2007 | Blog, CSFF
I wanted to title today’s post “where the map begins” for reasons that will hopefully soon become clear!
As we’ve discussed WheretheMapEnds the last 2 days, I’ve pondered the discussion of Christian speculative fiction we’re having in the tour. It’s not just this tour, but prior discussions at A Christian Worldview of Fiction, Speculative Fiction, and other places that have touched on it.
In Jeff Gerke’s work at WtME, we have a true fan and advocate for speculative fiction in the CBA. He has a vision for further work in this arena. For those of us on the tour and other readers out there who want to see fantastic adventures in sci-fi and fantasy with Kingdom inspiration and execution, where do we fit in all this?
I think it goes back to Becky’s posts on Promotion. The CBA has its constituency, and it serves it well. For the market to realize other niches are out there, those of us who desire good spec fic within CBA are going to, in part, make it happen.
First of all, the Lord in heaven is in control, and His will and ways are paramount. It is important for us to pray into this.
Also, I am reminded of situations like the series Firefly. A show that developed a following in its all-too-brief network life, it was given another chance in the movie Serenity because fanboys (and girls) clamored for more of Joss Whedon’s world.
Without that passion and activism, it probably wouldn’t have happened. That came to me today – all of the wishin’ and hopin’ for CBA to rise up to meet this groundswell of support won’t happen. Unless we actively show this “groundswell”.
We are doing are part by being part of the CSFF tour (Becky’s probably doing more than her fair share :D). Can we do more? Maybe.
1- Writing awesome spec fic that the editors just can’t pass on.
2- Letting publishers know our feelings.
3- Supporting the vanguards that are out there (Kathy Tyers, Karen Hancock, Wayne Thomas Batson come to mind).
That’s my thoughts for today. I’m sure I’ll have others some other time. No deadlines given. I’ve enjoyed this tour immensely, and encourage you to check out other tourmates!
Nissa Annakindt
Jim Black
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
Tessa Edwards
April Erwin
Kameron M. Franklin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Leathel Grody
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Christopher Hopper
Kait
Karen
K. D. Kragen
Tina Kulesa
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 – The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
John Ottinger
Robin Parrish
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver
Timothy Wise
Rachelle
D.G.D. Davidson
John W. Otte
by Jason Joyner | Feb 20, 2007 | Blog, CSFF, resources, writing craft
WheretheMapEnds is the focus of the CSFF tour this week, and being a blog interested in writing, it is appropriate to highlight the Tools for Writers section of the site.
The following links are the breakdown of this section of WtME:
Books and Conferences for Improving Your Writing
Getting Your Novel Published—A large and detailed article on the entire process of publication, with several subtopic pages that spin off from the main article (see the full list of subtopics below)
Tip of the Week—Read these tips from beginning to end for a great education on the craft of fiction
Editorial Services—Sometimes it just helps to get professional help with your novel; read this page to learn about the WhereTheMapEnds editorial services
Idea Starters and World Builders [New This Month!]—To help spark your creativity and build your amazing worlds (don’t miss the Random Story Generator)
I am always excited to find more resources for the budding writer types. I appreciate the effort of people like Jeff provide for those of us just feeling out way in the murky waters of the publishing world. It’s not like Jeff is a stranger to this. Aside from being an editor for 3 different publishers, he is a published author in his own right under the pen name Jefferson Scott.
I invite you to check out others in the blog tour. Some highlights that I’ve found:
Mirathon – The Mir has a special contest! Also wish her a very happy birthday today!
Rachel Marks – Her very lovely site has a interview with Jeff.
Speculative Faith – See Becky Miller’s post for an exciting opportunity.
Sharon Hinck – She also has an interview with Jeff as well.
I haven’t made it to all my tourmates, so make sure to check out others in the tour as well. See yesterday’s posts for all the participants. I’ll have a little more tomorrow.
by Jason Joyner | Feb 20, 2007 | Blog, CSFF, resources, writing craft
WheretheMapEnds is the focus of the CSFF tour this week, and being a blog interested in writing, it is appropriate to highlight the Tools for Writers section of the site.
The following links are the breakdown of this section of WtME:
Books and Conferences for Improving Your Writing
Getting Your Novel Published—A large and detailed article on the entire process of publication, with several subtopic pages that spin off from the main article (see the full list of subtopics below)
Tip of the Week—Read these tips from beginning to end for a great education on the craft of fiction
Editorial Services—Sometimes it just helps to get professional help with your novel; read this page to learn about the WhereTheMapEnds editorial services
Idea Starters and World Builders [New This Month!]—To help spark your creativity and build your amazing worlds (don’t miss the Random Story Generator)
I am always excited to find more resources for the budding writer types. I appreciate the effort of people like Jeff provide for those of us just feeling out way in the murky waters of the publishing world. It’s not like Jeff is a stranger to this. Aside from being an editor for 3 different publishers, he is a published author in his own right under the pen name Jefferson Scott.
I invite you to check out others in the blog tour. Some highlights that I’ve found:
Mirathon – The Mir has a special contest! Also wish her a very happy birthday today!
Rachel Marks – Her very lovely site has a interview with Jeff.
Speculative Faith – See Becky Miller’s post for an exciting opportunity.
Sharon Hinck – She also has an interview with Jeff as well.
I haven’t made it to all my tourmates, so make sure to check out others in the tour as well. See yesterday’s posts for all the participants. I’ll have a little more tomorrow.
