by Jason Joyner | Jun 25, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, prayer, TL Hines
If anyone’s read any of this blog, you’ll see that I am a member of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. It is a group of bloggers who hope to highlight new books in Christian fiction. We are readers and writers. Some just like a good book, others want to review fiction, and yet more are studying the craft of fiction. It is a great little community, and I invite you to check it out if you are interested.
The thing is, it wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for TL Hines. Tony is the brainchild of this group as a way to spotlight Christian books on the web. He’s an author and marketing guru. He figured out how to use our blogs’ collective influence to get a book noticed on Technorati, a major internet player. We had the privilege of featuring his first book, Waking Lazarus, a year ago. Tony got too busy to be in charge of it, but a lot of what my blog is about is due to him and the CFBA.
I’d like to ask you to keep Tony in your prayers.
Today on Infuze they posted that he has been diagnosed with a serious form of lymphoma (cancer of the lymph glands). I don’t know Tony personally, but have interacted with him over the web, and he is tackling this in true TL humor and style.
Read the TL lymphoma blog for more!
It would be great for anyone you know who is dealing with such a chronic, potentially fatal illness. However, it is also just great writing and an insight into an intelligent, funny, and poignant man.
Keep an eye out for his next book, The Dead Whisper On, and the accompanying blog tour later this summer. And remember Tony in your prayers as he battles. I’m sure he will fight the good fight, but we can lift his arms and spirits as well!
Blessings, Tony.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 25, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, prayer, TL Hines
If anyone’s read any of this blog, you’ll see that I am a member of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. It is a group of bloggers who hope to highlight new books in Christian fiction. We are readers and writers. Some just like a good book, others want to review fiction, and yet more are studying the craft of fiction. It is a great little community, and I invite you to check it out if you are interested.
The thing is, it wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for TL Hines. Tony is the brainchild of this group as a way to spotlight Christian books on the web. He’s an author and marketing guru. He figured out how to use our blogs’ collective influence to get a book noticed on Technorati, a major internet player. We had the privilege of featuring his first book, Waking Lazarus, a year ago. Tony got too busy to be in charge of it, but a lot of what my blog is about is due to him and the CFBA.
I’d like to ask you to keep Tony in your prayers.
Today on Infuze they posted that he has been diagnosed with a serious form of lymphoma (cancer of the lymph glands). I don’t know Tony personally, but have interacted with him over the web, and he is tackling this in true TL humor and style.
Read the TL lymphoma blog for more!
It would be great for anyone you know who is dealing with such a chronic, potentially fatal illness. However, it is also just great writing and an insight into an intelligent, funny, and poignant man.
Keep an eye out for his next book, The Dead Whisper On, and the accompanying blog tour later this summer. And remember Tony in your prayers as he battles. I’m sure he will fight the good fight, but we can lift his arms and spirits as well!
Blessings, Tony.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 25, 2007 | Blog, cooking, goofiness
I just had to show off my first attempt at making my mother’s famous rum cake recipe. She bequeathed it to my brother when she died, and he gave it to us a year later (ya know, just so he could torture us a year – love you too bro!).
You may not get the full effect, but I was quite proud as it tastes awesome. I suppose you could lick the monitor, but I don’t have that interactive of a blog.
Now taking orders at $25 a cake…
by Jason Joyner | Jun 25, 2007 | Blog, cooking, goofiness
I just had to show off my first attempt at making my mother’s famous rum cake recipe. She bequeathed it to my brother when she died, and he gave it to us a year later (ya know, just so he could torture us a year – love you too bro!).
You may not get the full effect, but I was quite proud as it tastes awesome. I suppose you could lick the monitor, but I don’t have that interactive of a blog.
Now taking orders at $25 a cake…
by Jason Joyner | Jun 21, 2007 | Blog, writing craft
When I first started this blog I was very coy about admitting I was trying to write a novel. It seemed somewhat presumptive when you have only written a few chapters as your claim to fame. Slowly I’ve been coming out of my shell regarding this. Last week I actually posted my progress (or lack of it). This acts as accountability to me – I see that number and say to myself that I want to see that change tangibly, and soon.
I’m also trying to embrace this more and take it on as my identity – not so I can claim something I’m not doing – but to own it more so that it becomes my second job. I write when I can wrestle the muse down at the same time I can plop in my chair. I know I need to write regardless of the presence of some mystical force that whispers in my ear.
To that end I’ve taken a couple more steps of faith. I’ve joined the American Christian Fiction Writers. I’m being more proactive in interacting with other writers here on the web. I know none of this means I am a writer too, but again it comes back down to accountability.
So off I go. Thanks for keeping me accountable, even if you didn’t know you were doing that! Just by posting this, it makes me get my rear in gear more. Whooooooooo.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 21, 2007 | Blog, writing craft
When I first started this blog I was very coy about admitting I was trying to write a novel. It seemed somewhat presumptive when you have only written a few chapters as your claim to fame. Slowly I’ve been coming out of my shell regarding this. Last week I actually posted my progress (or lack of it). This acts as accountability to me – I see that number and say to myself that I want to see that change tangibly, and soon.
I’m also trying to embrace this more and take it on as my identity – not so I can claim something I’m not doing – but to own it more so that it becomes my second job. I write when I can wrestle the muse down at the same time I can plop in my chair. I know I need to write regardless of the presence of some mystical force that whispers in my ear.
To that end I’ve taken a couple more steps of faith. I’ve joined the American Christian Fiction Writers. I’m being more proactive in interacting with other writers here on the web. I know none of this means I am a writer too, but again it comes back down to accountability.
So off I go. Thanks for keeping me accountable, even if you didn’t know you were doing that! Just by posting this, it makes me get my rear in gear more. Whooooooooo.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 20, 2007 | Blog, CSFF, fantasy, fiction
Well…
This was certainly an interesting CSFF tour. There were some opinions expressed that generated some heated discussion at times. I think overall most of the conversation has be productive and helpful. A little of the tone was not exactly what I would hope for in a group of Christians, but we are far from perfect and will hopefully grow from the experience.
My overall impression remains that Sharon Hinck’s The Restorer, the focus of the tour this week, is an ambitious work that really seems to resonate with a female audience in general. I wouldn’t say male readers shouldn’t approach the book, but I could not connect to the writing or the main character. It seems that one intention of the book is to open fantasy up to women who may not otherwise consider it. In this circumstance I think the book has great potential, and would be pleased to see this happen. I already know of one female friend I will give the book to.
I’ve made an effort to check all of the people listed in the tour at least once, and some I’ve visited multiple times. I’ve tried to pull some of the interesting content together. Please don’t be offended if your posts aren’t here: I had to stop at some point!
Marcus Goodyear wonders about the purpose of the tour.
John Otte (starting with 6/17 and following) provides a great interview with Sharon and is a guy who liked it.
John Ottinger brings things together with grace.
Karenee loved it and responds to a negative review.
D. G. D. Davidson (6/18-6/19) posts a critical review and some thought-provoking essays (to say the least). I may not agree with them, but they are an interesting read.
Wayne Thomas Batson (6/18-19) discusses blind praise versus flames, and challenges us to do everything in love.
Tina reviews the book and pulls questions from its discussion guide to answer on her blog. An unique approach to the tour!
I have all the links for the other tour participants on 6/18/07’s post. Check out the others (Hanna Sandvig’s is worth it for the art and pictures alone…)
by Jason Joyner | Jun 20, 2007 | Blog, CSFF, fantasy, fiction
Well…
This was certainly an interesting CSFF tour. There were some opinions expressed that generated some heated discussion at times. I think overall most of the conversation has be productive and helpful. A little of the tone was not exactly what I would hope for in a group of Christians, but we are far from perfect and will hopefully grow from the experience.
My overall impression remains that Sharon Hinck’s The Restorer, the focus of the tour this week, is an ambitious work that really seems to resonate with a female audience in general. I wouldn’t say male readers shouldn’t approach the book, but I could not connect to the writing or the main character. It seems that one intention of the book is to open fantasy up to women who may not otherwise consider it. In this circumstance I think the book has great potential, and would be pleased to see this happen. I already know of one female friend I will give the book to.
I’ve made an effort to check all of the people listed in the tour at least once, and some I’ve visited multiple times. I’ve tried to pull some of the interesting content together. Please don’t be offended if your posts aren’t here: I had to stop at some point!
Marcus Goodyear wonders about the purpose of the tour.
John Otte (starting with 6/17 and following) provides a great interview with Sharon and is a guy who liked it.
John Ottinger brings things together with grace.
Karenee loved it and responds to a negative review.
D. G. D. Davidson (6/18-6/19) posts a critical review and some thought-provoking essays (to say the least). I may not agree with them, but they are an interesting read.
Wayne Thomas Batson (6/18-19) discusses blind praise versus flames, and challenges us to do everything in love.
Tina reviews the book and pulls questions from its discussion guide to answer on her blog. An unique approach to the tour!
I have all the links for the other tour participants on 6/18/07’s post. Check out the others (Hanna Sandvig’s is worth it for the art and pictures alone…)
by Jason Joyner | Jun 19, 2007 | Blog, CSFF, fantasy, fiction, reviews
The Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy blog tour is highlighting The Restorer by Sharon Hinck this month. You can see yesterday’s post for an introduction of the book, as well as the links for my fellow tourmates. I promised that I would post my review today.
Becky commented yesterday that a slight trend was developing that the guys of the CSFF tour may be less enamoured by this book. Certainly Sharon has some good endorsements from true-blue guys like Robin Parrish, T.L. Hines, and Randy Ingermanson.
Unfortunately, my opinion is that this may be more of a ladies read.
As I said yesterday, and the author freely admits, it is hard to categorize this book. This can create problems, because people like their comfortable descriptions (“You like reading Lori Wick? Try Deeanne Gist.”) Like I posted recently, what would you think if Ted Dekker wrote a prairie romance (depends if it is written in true Dekker style, I suppose)?
I applaud Sharon’s creativity to do something new. Inherent in this are the risks that something may not work across the board.
The premise is intriguing: a discouraged soccer mom gets pulled into an alternate realm and finds her calling to help the people. The book is written in the classic “lit” style (mom-lit, chick-lit), which fits with Sharon’s two previous books. The mom-lit style tends to be a little light-hearted, which undermines the seriousness of the situation in the alternate realm in danger of being overwhelmed by enemies.
A couple of reviewers have noted that the main character spends a lot of time whining about her situation both in the real world and in her new locale. Some of this is to be expected in such a situation, but it does get grating after a while.
I’ve seen a lot of praise for her world-building, but honestly I felt quite disjointed by it all. It is a bit of “science fantasy”, where there are some things that are futuristic like the transports mentioned, but other aspects of life are standard fantasy (swords and such). I wasn’t able to picture the world very well-it seemed the description of different areas was either sparse or not very memorable. However, the preferred drink in the alternate world, clavo? I could almost taste it, as much as it is mentioned!
To be fair, there are some nice twists in the story. The major twist I didn’t see coming, and was pleasantly surprised by that development. In the middle of the story the heroine has an epiphany of a spiritual experience, and I thought it was very touching and well-written. That is one point where I really felt drawn into the whole experience of the book, and it was very enjoyable.
But overall, it was more of a chore to read this book for the review. I think the idea was clever and had a lot of potential, but in my opinion it falls apart in the voice and world-building aspects and never really gets me to a point of investing in the book or characters. This is just my opinion-many of the reviewers this time site what I’ve just said as strengths of the book. So tomorrow I’ll pull together a few of the reviews from the tour to give y’all a fair picture of The Restorer.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 19, 2007 | Blog, CSFF, fantasy, fiction, reviews
The Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy blog tour is highlighting The Restorer by Sharon Hinck this month. You can see yesterday’s post for an introduction of the book, as well as the links for my fellow tourmates. I promised that I would post my review today.
Becky commented yesterday that a slight trend was developing that the guys of the CSFF tour may be less enamoured by this book. Certainly Sharon has some good endorsements from true-blue guys like Robin Parrish, T.L. Hines, and Randy Ingermanson.
Unfortunately, my opinion is that this may be more of a ladies read.
As I said yesterday, and the author freely admits, it is hard to categorize this book. This can create problems, because people like their comfortable descriptions (“You like reading Lori Wick? Try Deeanne Gist.”) Like I posted recently, what would you think if Ted Dekker wrote a prairie romance (depends if it is written in true Dekker style, I suppose)?
I applaud Sharon’s creativity to do something new. Inherent in this are the risks that something may not work across the board.
The premise is intriguing: a discouraged soccer mom gets pulled into an alternate realm and finds her calling to help the people. The book is written in the classic “lit” style (mom-lit, chick-lit), which fits with Sharon’s two previous books. The mom-lit style tends to be a little light-hearted, which undermines the seriousness of the situation in the alternate realm in danger of being overwhelmed by enemies.
A couple of reviewers have noted that the main character spends a lot of time whining about her situation both in the real world and in her new locale. Some of this is to be expected in such a situation, but it does get grating after a while.
I’ve seen a lot of praise for her world-building, but honestly I felt quite disjointed by it all. It is a bit of “science fantasy”, where there are some things that are futuristic like the transports mentioned, but other aspects of life are standard fantasy (swords and such). I wasn’t able to picture the world very well-it seemed the description of different areas was either sparse or not very memorable. However, the preferred drink in the alternate world, clavo? I could almost taste it, as much as it is mentioned!
To be fair, there are some nice twists in the story. The major twist I didn’t see coming, and was pleasantly surprised by that development. In the middle of the story the heroine has an epiphany of a spiritual experience, and I thought it was very touching and well-written. That is one point where I really felt drawn into the whole experience of the book, and it was very enjoyable.
But overall, it was more of a chore to read this book for the review. I think the idea was clever and had a lot of potential, but in my opinion it falls apart in the voice and world-building aspects and never really gets me to a point of investing in the book or characters. This is just my opinion-many of the reviewers this time site what I’ve just said as strengths of the book. So tomorrow I’ll pull together a few of the reviews from the tour to give y’all a fair picture of The Restorer.
