Bid for a Chance to be in a Terry Brooks Novel

Terry Brooks is auctioning off the opportunity for the winner to appear in a future novel. The proceeds go to benefit the World Association for Children and Parents child assistance charity.  The auction is the WACAP’s 4th Annual Children’s Hope Auction.

A link to the Terry Brook’s character auction is here. As of today, the leading bid is $175. Here’s the blurb from that page:

Item Description: Would you like to be immortal?  For more than 30 years, Terry Brooks has been a highly influential force in fantasy fiction. His first book, The Sword of Shannara, was published in 1977 and made publishing history, becoming the first work of fiction to appear on the New York Times Trade Paperback Bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.  His Shannara, Landover and Word & Void books have made him one of the top picks of fantasy readers worldwide.  His works have been compared to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.  Now you can be a character in one of his books.  With over 50 books currently in print, you can be assured that any book he writes will be read by thousands and become a part of book collections in home and libraries around the world.  In addition, you will receive an autographed copy of the finished book on publication.

Special Instructions: The author, of course, retains the right to decide if you will be a hero, a villain, a human, a monster or something even stranger.  The more you bid, the better your chances of being cast in a favorable role and being given a larger part in the story.

Marcher Lord Press Releases 3 SciFi Titles

Today is the day Marcher Lord Press releases three new Christian-based science fiction titles. From October 1 through October 4, special bundles are available, including free shipping, wall posters and t-shirts. The new titles are:

“A Star Curiously Singing”
By Kerry Nietz

Sandfly is a debugger. He is property. Bought and paid for by his master, a relatively benign lord in a future Earth living under sharia law. All other faiths but Islam have been banned. And the word of the great Imam is law. Sandfly just wants to debug his master’s robots and avoid the mental pain shocks sent from the remote triggers owned by all the masters. But now he’s been called into Earth orbit. Apparently the masters have a new spacecraft–one capable of interstellar flight. And on its maiden voyage, the only robot on board went mad and tore itself limb from limb. Why? Better question: does it pose any risk to humans? When Sandfly reviews the bot’s files and replays its last moments, he hears something strange playing in the bot’s ears as they orbit Betelgeuse. He hears singing. Is it just solar winds interfering with the robot’s wiring? Or is it something else? As Sandfly pieces together the clues, the masters spread the trap before his feet. Everyone is racing to the same conclusion, but only one side welcomes what that singing represents. It’s I, Robot meets Muhammad in space. Read a sample chapter and an interview with the author here.

“Eternity Falls”
By Kirk Outerbridge

Rick Macey is former military, and he’s got the bionic enhancements to show for it. Now he’s a detective specializing in religious counter-terrorism. Which is ironic, because Macey long ago lost his faith. Now the company that produces “the miracle treatment,” an expensive elixir that causes people to halt the decay of their DNA (and thus halt aging indefinitely) has come calling for Macey–by name. It seems that the miracle cure’s primary spokesperson has just died–of natural causes. So much for living forever. Billions of dollars are at stake if word of this gets out to the public. They have to keep believing that the cure works. A beautiful executive at the corporation believes there is something sinister behind the spokesperson’s death, and that it is religiously motivated. Macey has been recommended to her–but they don’t have much time to prove her theory before the press gets wind of what’s going on. Especially since Macey wants no part in anything that would cause people to be cursed with living forever. He knows all too much about that. Before it’s over, Macey will find enemies of friends, brothers of enemies, and romance and faith in the midst of high-stakes combat at the edge of human ability. Read a sample chapter and an interview with the author here.

“The Word Reclaimed”
By Steve Rzasa

Far in the future, the five colonized systems have finally been freed of the curse of religion. By mandating tolerance across all colonies, no one can bring religious persecution upon anyone else. Things have been this way for a generation. Long enough for most of those living to have never known a Torah, Koran, or New Testament, except in stories. And the Kesek secret police work hard to keep it so. So what happens when a bitter teenage discovers a holy book that has been earmarked for destruction? What happens when it begins speaking to him. And now that Kesek is coming for him and his father and anyone else who gets in his way, what is he going to do with this troublesome book? The Word Reclaimed is epic space opera amidst civil war, treachery, and  political alliances as sifting as Martian sand. Read a sample chapter and an interview with the author here.

I hope to be able to offer reviews of these books soon, so keep you eyes open for that. Meanwhile, you can visit the Marcher Lord Press online store here.

The Vanishing Sculptor Blog Tour, Day 3

It’s now the third and final day of this month’s Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour, which features Donita K. Paul’s new book, The Vanishing Sculptor.

Today I’d like to talk a little bit about the author. I had the privilege of meeting Mrs. Paul on the Motiv8 Book Tour in October 2008. What a wonderful and charming lady!

Mrs. Paul, a former school teacher, found herself bored when she retired early, thus leading her to begin again with a new career writing Christian Romance and Fantasy novels. I understand her DragonKeeper books have now sold more than 300,000 copies! I know my kids and I have read all five of them and they are simply wonderful. And yet, she has not completely left behind her teaching skills. She has built quite a reputation mentoring teenagers and leading weekly adult writing workshops–a reputation that, I might add, brought her this year’s Mentor of the Year Award from the American Christian Fiction Writers’ guild. Congratulations, Mrs. Paul!

From the looks of her website (and her interaction with my daughter and her friend who made her a couple of little clay dragons), Mrs. Paul loves her fans and makes them all feel welcome.

Another of my favorite little things Mrs. Paul has accomplished is she was instrumental in establishing a national Appreciate A Dragon Day and, best of all, it falls on my birthday (January 16)! Now there’s a holiday I don’t mind sharing my birthday with.

Last but not least, Mrs. Paul is sponsoring a contest with the goal to get the DragonKeeper Chronicles and The Vanishing Sculptor into as many libraries as possible. The winner will receive a prize package of books from Waterbrook Press. The contest ends soon, so you’d better hurry if you want to enter. Details are here:
http://www.donitakpaul.com/fun/contest.html

Well, it’s been a fun tour. Make sure to check out all the other bloggers:

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Rachel Briard
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Linda Gilmore
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen (posting later in the week)
Nissa
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Crista Richey
Cheryl Russell
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Elizabeth Williams
KM Wilsher

For more info on The Vanishing Sculptor, see: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400073391

Information on the author:
Donita Paul’s Web site - http://www.donitakpaul.com/
Donita Paul’s blog - http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/

Fablehaven 4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, By Brandon Mull

[amazon-product alink="0000FF" bordercolor="000000" height="240"]1606410423[/amazon-product]With this review, I have officially read all four of the Fablehaven books currently available. Now I must wait for Book 5, and wait I shall. I’m optimistically hoping that the final book in the series will be worth the wait.

Like the previous three volumes, I found this latest installment of the Fablehaven series to be a fun read. While Brandon Mull takes his time setting the stage, the first half of the book is certainly not boring. While Kendra’s family believes her dead, she is in fact kidnapped by agents of the Society of the Evening Star, which creates all sorts of complications. However, the real story revolves around the continued search for the yet-undiscovered artifacts in an effort to keep them out of the Society’s hands. Once they have all been collected, the Society plans to use them to release the demon’s from their prison, thus loosing these horrible creatures into the world.

Kendra scours Patton’s Journal of Secrets, looking for clues as to the location of the hidden artifacts. Eventually it is discovered that the Knights of the Dawn must brave a dragon sanctuary called Wyrmroost to find the next artifact. Wyrmroost is a certain deathtrap for our adventurers, leaving them wondering if they will actually succeed – or even survive – in their mission. I hesitate to say more lest I spoil the story for you. The little twists and turns in the plot are what makes it fun to read.

I do not read many young adult (YA) books for a couple of reasons. Generally, I find YA books too simplistic for my tastes, way too short and too predictable. True, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary is admittedly not an adult book and I don’t believe it was ever intended to be written for an adult audience, but I found it entertaining enough to keep me interested. Particularly in the last half of the book. Once the stage was set, Mull successfully wound his way through to the end, planting a few surprises here and there to keep the reader going. And I believe the book was the longest of the four volumes, with the hardback weighing in with 527 pages. Lest that scare young readers off, however, the book seemed to have fewer words per page than some of the adult doorstop books I have read and seemed to move pretty quickly.

In terms of recommendations, I found it interesting that Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon, said the book “kept me turning the pages until 4:40 in the morning…deep, intriguing, magical…one of the most enjoyable fantasies I’ve read.”

According to Amazon, the recommended age is 9–12 years and I agree that is likely a good fit in most cases, unless the child tends to shy away from too much suspense, action and monsters.

For more information on Fablehaven 4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, click here. The author’s website is http://www.brandonmull.com

Happy reading!

B&N’s E-Book Store, Take 2

I am a big David Pogue fan. For those of you who aren’t familiar with him, he is a technology guru on staff with the New York Times. And, yes, there is a little geek down inside of me that likes to look at the high-tech “pretty toys.” But probably the bigger reason why I follow David Pogue is because he’s funny. He always writes an entertaining column so I usually read it, even if I’m not all that interested in the technology being discussed. As such, it’s always a fun bonus when he writes about some kind of technology I am watching. Enter Barnes & Noble.

A few days ago, I posted B&N’s announcement that they had launched their e-book store. However, there’s no way I can compete with David Pogue’s comprehensive review. So I’m posting here a link to Pogue’s column that came out in today’s NY Times. Don’t miss the related video on the bottom left of the page. Pogue’s videos are a real treat. Here’s the blurb and the link. (You might need to register with the NY Times to read the article, but don’t worry, it’s free.)

New Entry in E-Books Is a Paper Tiger
By DAVID POGUE, Aug. 6, 2009
Barnes & Noble’s e-book store has a lot of promise, but is saddled with filler, missing some top books and has some awkward details.

Barnes & Noble Launches E-Book Store

I am part of the Kindle-less crowd. Yes, it’s true–I have not joined the many who have purchased and happily used a Kindle e-book reader from Amazon. Nor have I yet acquired a much-longed-for iPhone, which also has available in the iTunes store free and not-so-free e-books (depending on what you want). My time’s coming, but meanwhile, I’m feeling left behind technologically. My Treo is aging and I’ve never been really thrilled with this particular Treo model in the first place. So it was with interest that I found Barnes & Noble launched an e-book store this week with access to more than 500,000 titles.

In addition, B&N has made its corresponding eReader application available for free for the iPhone/iPod Touch, Blackberry, Mac and PC devices. In addition, PC users and iPhone/iPod Touch users can get six books free when they download the software and set up or access their B&N online account. I’m not sure why, but Blackberry users only get four free books. Meanwhile, as a Mac user, I feel gypped–we don’t get any free books. In the long run, I suppose it’s not that big a deal for me personally because I’m not really wild about reading e-books on my laptop, but an iPhone…now that’s a different story.

True, the free books are all public domain titles. It seems B&N has partnered with Google Books to provide many such titles for free. Newer books still under copyright protection seem to be available for $9.99 or less. At least I couldn’t find any in the B&N online store for more than that.

Two features that I find appealing with the B&N eReader are the ability to access a dictionary and thesaurus while reading (I think the Kindle can do this too, though) and the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) feature, which automatically displays the words of the book so you can read without using a mouse or keyboard. When RSVP is turned on, eReader displays a single word or small groups of words for a short time, followed automatically by the next word or words.

For more information on B&N’s e-book store and eReader, click here or click on the box in the right sidebar.