Breakpoint’s article for today deals with the important issue of America’s falling literacy rate. Not in that Americans can’t read, but that we are losing the ability to read and process complex material. It is an interesting point for those of us who write. What happens if there’s no one left to read what we do?
As for me, I’m going to pull a book out with my kids tonight.
Breakpoint’s article for today deals with the important issue of America’s falling literacy rate. Not in that Americans can’t read, but that we are losing the ability to read and process complex material. It is an interesting point for those of us who write. What happens if there’s no one left to read what we do?
As for me, I’m going to pull a book out with my kids tonight.
It is heading into that glorious season of fall. The air gets crisp, the trees explode in vibrant colors. It is time for pumpkin pie, eggnog, and cuddling up on the couch with your gal at your side.
Oh, did I forget to mention FOOTBALL!
I have some international readers, and I know that football = soccer to them. Trust me, I love the beautiful game. But there is something about that oblong brown pigskin that gets my blood pumping. My favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys. I know, love ’em or hate ’em, there’s no in-between. I’ve been a fan for 25+ years, so I’ve suffered and cheered (but no one knows suffering like a Philly sports fan, right Mark?)
Anyway, some family and friends have a fantasy football league we play through Sportsline. However, we could use a few more players to fill out a 12 team league. If you love football or just want to try out this crazy fantasy thing, leave a comment and I’ll get you the information. We have fun, doing trash talk in a Christian way (“Dude, your team needs deliverance!”)
Are you ready?
Are you ready for some football?
It is heading into that glorious season of fall. The air gets crisp, the trees explode in vibrant colors. It is time for pumpkin pie, eggnog, and cuddling up on the couch with your gal at your side.
Oh, did I forget to mention FOOTBALL!
I have some international readers, and I know that football = soccer to them. Trust me, I love the beautiful game. But there is something about that oblong brown pigskin that gets my blood pumping. My favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys. I know, love ’em or hate ’em, there’s no in-between. I’ve been a fan for 25+ years, so I’ve suffered and cheered (but no one knows suffering like a Philly sports fan, right Mark?)
Anyway, some family and friends have a fantasy football league we play through Sportsline. However, we could use a few more players to fill out a 12 team league. If you love football or just want to try out this crazy fantasy thing, leave a comment and I’ll get you the information. We have fun, doing trash talk in a Christian way (“Dude, your team needs deliverance!”)
Are you ready?
Are you ready for some football?
Today I am supposed to be part of a blog tour for Mary DeMuth, aka relevantgirl. She is a visionary author who is living in France to live out a life for Jesus in that country. She is the author of several books, both fiction and non-fiction. Currently she has a new book called Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture.
I mainly focus on fiction at this blog. I have been invited to participate in other blog book tours for non-fiction books, but I haven’t chosen to accept. No slight to those other authors, but this time I felt a leading to be a part of Mary’s tour.
Unfortunately, I haven’t received my copy to read yet. So if you are following a link to this blog regarding Authentic, I will have to disappoint you for the time being. I will be participating at a later date, and look forward to reading this book and giving you an honest review. As a father of boys aged 7, 5, and 3, I can use all the authenticity I can lay my hands on!
So please check back in a couple of weeks. Check out some of the other fine posts here while you’re at it, and go to Mary’s relevant blog for a list of those on the tour this week.
Today I am supposed to be part of a blog tour for Mary DeMuth, aka relevantgirl. She is a visionary author who is living in France to live out a life for Jesus in that country. She is the author of several books, both fiction and non-fiction. Currently she has a new book called Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture.
I mainly focus on fiction at this blog. I have been invited to participate in other blog book tours for non-fiction books, but I haven’t chosen to accept. No slight to those other authors, but this time I felt a leading to be a part of Mary’s tour.
Unfortunately, I haven’t received my copy to read yet. So if you are following a link to this blog regarding Authentic, I will have to disappoint you for the time being. I will be participating at a later date, and look forward to reading this book and giving you an honest review. As a father of boys aged 7, 5, and 3, I can use all the authenticity I can lay my hands on!
So please check back in a couple of weeks. Check out some of the other fine posts here while you’re at it, and go to Mary’s relevant blog for a list of those on the tour this week.
I’ve come across a new friend with a great blog that talks about the heart issues a Christian writer goes through. Nicole has some great, sometimes challenging insight. I encourage you to check out Into the Fire when you get a chance.
She has started a little feature of posting the work of an unpublished writer each Saturday. A preview of what’s to come (hopefully). Tomorrow she will post the first chapter of my Work-in-Progress, tentatively called Beauty of the Broken. I’ll post the link and hope you will check it out. I’d love any feedback any of you would have. Oh, and I’m not sold on the title, so maybe a “name that novel” contest could happen as well! Here’s the direct link to the first chapter.
Thanks Nicole. Thanks to anyone who gives it a read!
I’ve come across a new friend with a great blog that talks about the heart issues a Christian writer goes through. Nicole has some great, sometimes challenging insight. I encourage you to check out Into the Fire when you get a chance.
She has started a little feature of posting the work of an unpublished writer each Saturday. A preview of what’s to come (hopefully). Tomorrow she will post the first chapter of my Work-in-Progress, tentatively called Beauty of the Broken. I’ll post the link and hope you will check it out. I’d love any feedback any of you would have. Oh, and I’m not sold on the title, so maybe a “name that novel” contest could happen as well! Here’s the direct link to the first chapter.
Thanks Nicole. Thanks to anyone who gives it a read!
There are some books that are a nice, gentle read. They quietly beckon from your bookshelf to spend some quality time with them.
Fearless is not that book.
It is the book that grabs you by your collar, sits you in the chair forcefully, and takes you on a white-knuckled ride from one close call to another. Suspense builds up, loops around, and delivers you to a breathless ending that leaves you wanting…nay-begging for more.
Or something like that.
Robin Parrish, master of Infuze, returns to his Dominion Trilogy with the sequel to Relentless. In the first book we meet the Loci, a group of Ringwearers who are Shifted into new bodies with amazing mental powers. They are supposedly the subjects of a prophecy guarded by the Secretum until the proper time, when The Bringer would come and usher in a new age.
Fearless continues this tale with the world in chaos. Strange natural disasters are occurring around the world, and fear grips the populace. In Los Angeles, the public has a mysterious benefactor with phenomenal powers they dub the Guardian. It is Grant Burrows, who leads a group of Loci to use their powers for good.
When an unusual event leads Grant and his friends to London, he is confronted with his destiny. Will he bring about what was spoken of long ago, or would he find the power within to be Fearless?
I read the first book in the trilogy last fall. I enjoyed it a lot, finding it to be an engaging read with a lot of excitement. Fearless increases this exponentially. Robin has really found a unique voice that keeps you glued to the page and your mind engaged. He has a habit of taking you to the edge of the precipice, only to move to another chapter (and often a different character and setting, keeping you hanging). If you like suspense, then this book will provide enough to satisfy for quite a while.
The characters are varied and have unique personalities that draw you in. A plot-driven book can take you along without letting you invest in the people of the story. The author keeps the action cooking all along while bringing us into their lives, fears, and dreams. Just don’t get too attached, as he pulls no punches as the book hurtles toward the ending.
The book has many strong points, but no work is perfect. Some of the description comes across slightly awkward, but this may well be a matter of taste. Very minor complaint, as it is first and foremost a bold, thrilling story. This is a sweeping tale of the end of the world (perhaps?), and thus has some significant action. At times it gets a little bloody, so the squeamish may get a little uncomfortable. He has set in motion an elaborate mythology. There is not any overt Christianity for those who are concerned with that, but I believe that the payoff lies ahead in the final book.
(This is no criticism, just a little game I amuse myself with. I have a habit of noting the preferred descriptors, metaphors, or distinctives that authors like to use. I can’t help it. In Relentless Robin favored the coppery or metallic taste of blood. This continues to a degree in Fearless, but he moves on to the imagery of blood splattered on another person’s cheek. Play the game – see if you can find any others 😀 )
One more item – Fearless should be pretty easily understood by someone who hasn’t read Relentless. Still, the whole story and mythology is lacking a little if you haven’t read the first book, so just be sure to buy them both and enjoy the ride. I highly enjoyed this book. My only complaint is that I have to wait until next summer for the final installment. Boy, Robin Parrish can be merciless…
This review today is sponsored by the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. Fearless will be featured in the Christian Sci-fi/Fantasy blog tour in about 10 days as well. I will have a special essay prepared, and hopefully another treat for those looking for more on Robin and his books.
There are some books that are a nice, gentle read. They quietly beckon from your bookshelf to spend some quality time with them.
Fearless is not that book.
It is the book that grabs you by your collar, sits you in the chair forcefully, and takes you on a white-knuckled ride from one close call to another. Suspense builds up, loops around, and delivers you to a breathless ending that leaves you wanting…nay-begging for more.
Or something like that.
Robin Parrish, master of Infuze, returns to his Dominion Trilogy with the sequel to Relentless. In the first book we meet the Loci, a group of Ringwearers who are Shifted into new bodies with amazing mental powers. They are supposedly the subjects of a prophecy guarded by the Secretum until the proper time, when The Bringer would come and usher in a new age.
Fearless continues this tale with the world in chaos. Strange natural disasters are occurring around the world, and fear grips the populace. In Los Angeles, the public has a mysterious benefactor with phenomenal powers they dub the Guardian. It is Grant Burrows, who leads a group of Loci to use their powers for good.
When an unusual event leads Grant and his friends to London, he is confronted with his destiny. Will he bring about what was spoken of long ago, or would he find the power within to be Fearless?
I read the first book in the trilogy last fall. I enjoyed it a lot, finding it to be an engaging read with a lot of excitement. Fearless increases this exponentially. Robin has really found a unique voice that keeps you glued to the page and your mind engaged. He has a habit of taking you to the edge of the precipice, only to move to another chapter (and often a different character and setting, keeping you hanging). If you like suspense, then this book will provide enough to satisfy for quite a while.
The characters are varied and have unique personalities that draw you in. A plot-driven book can take you along without letting you invest in the people of the story. The author keeps the action cooking all along while bringing us into their lives, fears, and dreams. Just don’t get too attached, as he pulls no punches as the book hurtles toward the ending.
The book has many strong points, but no work is perfect. Some of the description comes across slightly awkward, but this may well be a matter of taste. Very minor complaint, as it is first and foremost a bold, thrilling story. This is a sweeping tale of the end of the world (perhaps?), and thus has some significant action. At times it gets a little bloody, so the squeamish may get a little uncomfortable. He has set in motion an elaborate mythology. There is not any overt Christianity for those who are concerned with that, but I believe that the payoff lies ahead in the final book.
(This is no criticism, just a little game I amuse myself with. I have a habit of noting the preferred descriptors, metaphors, or distinctives that authors like to use. I can’t help it. In Relentless Robin favored the coppery or metallic taste of blood. This continues to a degree in Fearless, but he moves on to the imagery of blood splattered on another person’s cheek. Play the game – see if you can find any others 😀 )
One more item – Fearless should be pretty easily understood by someone who hasn’t read Relentless. Still, the whole story and mythology is lacking a little if you haven’t read the first book, so just be sure to buy them both and enjoy the ride. I highly enjoyed this book. My only complaint is that I have to wait until next summer for the final installment. Boy, Robin Parrish can be merciless…
This review today is sponsored by the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. Fearless will be featured in the Christian Sci-fi/Fantasy blog tour in about 10 days as well. I will have a special essay prepared, and hopefully another treat for those looking for more on Robin and his books.