Tag Archives: CSFF Blog Tour

CSFF Blog Tour Begins for Night of the Living Dead Christian by Matt Mikalatos

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Today I’m going to take a minute and spread some love to my other CSFF (Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy) bloggers. This is the first of a three-day tour (wait…there has to be a joke in there somewhere in reference to Gilligan’s Island). Anyways…a blog tour is starting today for Night of the Living Dead Christian by Matt Mikalatos.

I have so many things on my plate this month that I opted not to review the book, but I’d like to call attention to those who have. The bloggers below have committed to participate at least once within the next three days, so if you click through and don’t find a post on the book yet, try again in the next day or two.

Gillian Adams
Julie Bihn
Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Thomas Fletcher Booher
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Theresa Dunlap
Amber French
Tori Greene
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Janeen Ippolito
Becky Jesse
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Leighton
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Joan Nienhuis
John W. Otte
Crista Richey
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Shane Werlinger
Nicole White
Dave Wilson

Here’s the official blurb for the book:

What does a transformed life actually look like?

In his follow-up to the critically acclaimed Imaginary Jesus, Matt Mikalatos tackles this question in an entertaining and thought-provoking way—with MONSTERS!!! While Christians claim to experience Christ’s resurrection power, we sometimes act like werewolves who can’t control our base desires. Or zombies, experiencing a resurrection that is 90 percent shambling death and 10 percent life. Or vampires, satiating ourselves at the expense of others. But through it all we long to stop being monsters and become truly human—the way Christ intended. We just can’t seem to figure out how.

Night of the Living Dead Christian is the story of Luther, a werewolf on the run, whose inner beast has driven him dangerously close to losing everything that matters. Desperate to conquer his dark side, Luther joins forces with Matt to find someone who can help. Yet their time is running out. A powerful and mysterious man is on their trail, determined to kill the wolf at all costs . . .

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Night of the Living Dead Christian is a spiritual allegory that boldly explores the monstrous underpinnings of our nature and tackles head-on the question of how we can ever hope to become truly transformed.

For more info, here are a couple of links: Amazon and Barnes & Noble

You can find the author at: http://www.mikalatos.com/

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Strange Man by Greg Mitchell, CSFF Tour, Day 2

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Greg Mitchell has bravely set out to write an atypical story, one that doesn’t necessarily fit establish genres in Christian fiction. When I heard that the book is “Christian horror,” I wondered how that could be. But now that I’ve read it, I see that is really the only way the book can be classified. It is, on one hand, a true horror tale and on the other hand, it is an intensely Christian story, complete with messages of forgiveness and redemption, struggle and self-sacrifice.

I applaud Realms for taking on this project. It is an exciting time to be in Christian speculative fiction. I see the numbers of books being published in this genre growing and, as a writer, that is wonderful news. But I digress.

Before finding out that The Strange Man was an upcoming selection for the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour, I stumbled across the book. Intrigued, I contacted Greg Mitchell, who graciously offered to provide me with an interview. I encourage you to click over to that page and see what he had to say: Greg Mitchell Interview

Personally, I wasn’t sure if I’d like The Strange Man, but I wanted to find out for myself and I’m glad I did. This book is a strong and, dare I say fun, additional to the growing portfolio of Christian speculative fiction titles.

Well done, Greg.

I encourage you to check out what the other CSFF bloggers have to say about this book. See the blog roll links on the right.

The Strange Man, Book 1 in The Coming Evil
By Greg Mitchell
Publisher: Realms, February 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1616381943
304 pages, Trade paperback
List price: $13.99

For more info, here’s my Amazon affiliate link: The Strange Man by Greg Mitchell

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. In addition, some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Strange Man by Greg Mitchell, CSFF Blog Tour

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The Strange Man is written in the traditional of the classic, black and white horror movies of years gone by. In fact, I’ve never read quite anything like it before because in addition, this book also includes a strong Biblical message of forgiveness and redemption.

In The Strange Man, Jeff and Dras Weldon are the quintessential brothers in the parable that Christ told of the prodigal son–Jeff the older son and Dras the younger. One thing the Biblical story lacks is The Strange Man, an ages-old demon, who is most likely, Satan himself.

In the true fashion of a typical rebellious young man, Dras doesn’t want to hear the truth. He doesn’t want to be held accountable, preferring instead to live in an alcohol-induced haze of parties and fun, unaware that he is being targeted by the bogeyman. Yes, you heard it right, the bogeyman.

We’ve all heard the stories. “You’d better be nice or the bogeyman will come and get you.” In the world that author Greg Mitchell has built, however, the bogeyman is real. And that, my friends, is closer to the truth than not.

In America, we rarely see the dark physicality of the spiritual realm, but it is not that way in much of the world. Satan exists. He is real and he wants your soul. While I have lived a fairly sheltered life, I have seen enough to know this is indeed the truth. I have seen things happen that cannot be explained any other way than as a physical manifestation of demonic powers. Need I say that Halloween has never been fun for me? It’s too close to the real world.

In fact, this is one thing that attracts me to science fiction and fantasy. To me, the real world is the world we cannot see. A world of angels and demons, spirits and souls. An eternal world God created us to inhabit. As C.S. Lewis alluded to, God created the deep magic, which the enemy imitates on a much lesser scale.

This post will continue tomorrow…

Check out what the other bloggers have to say. See the right sidebar for links.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. In addition, some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Meet Author Mike Duran (CSFF Blog Tour)

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I have been following Mike Duran for some time through his blog links that appear on Facebook and have always appreciate his deep, careful thinking and interesting views on a wide variety of topics.

Yesterday, as part of the CSFF Blog Tour of Mike’s supernatural suspense debut novel, The Resurrection, I discussed the themes that called out to me from the book, so today I thought it only fair to give you a little introduction to the author.

As an ordained minister, Mike planted a church and served in full-time ministry for eleven years. After leaving the ministry, he returned to the construction industry, where he still works.

The Resurrection, released in February 2011, is actually the first of two contracted books. You can also find links to his various short stories, essays and other writings here: Mike Duran’s writing.

I encourage you to check out his blog. I always find it an interesting read. You can also find him posting on various other sites all over the web. I think you’ll find links to most of these on his Facebook page. You’ll find links to these sites below.

Mike Duran’s Contact Info:
Web site and blog: http://mikeduran.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cerebralgrump
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cerebralgrump

About the Book:
The Resurrection by Mike Duran
Publisher: Realms, February 1, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1616382049
Paperback, 320 pages

My Amazon Affiliate Link: The Resurrection by Mike Duran

Disclosure of Material Connection: In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a copy of The Resurrection for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. In addition, some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Resurrection by Mike Duran (CSFF Blog Tour)

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Ghosts, a cursed tree, a minister questioning his faith, a boy resurrected from the dead and a confused but humble healer–all of these are key elements found in Mike Duran’s debut novel, The Resurrection.

In the pages of this book, the author has created a tale of supernatural suspense built around themes of reconciliation, the pursuit of truth and redemption. Here is a spoiler-free summary of these themes:

Reconciliation: What happens when a minister  questions his faith to the point of walking away from it entirely? When he has no desire to be reconciled to his God? This is exactly what happens to Reverend Ian Clark, a seminary graduate who struggles with his own personal demons to the point of standing on the verge of resigning from the ministry and walking away from his church. There are only two ways out of his prison: walk away from his dreams or find answers that will restore them.

Reconciliation of God to man is a principle that goes down deep into the very core of mankind. There comes a time in nearly every person’s life that we question who we are, why we are here, and what we believe. As in the case of Ian Clark, those questions can often lead a person away from God. It is only when we turn our attention back to the one who created us that we can find answers to those questions. Only by allowing God to reconcile our relationship with him can we find our true purpose and the meaning of our lives.

Pursuit of Truth: The two main characters in The Resurrection are each searching for answers. While Reverend Clark is looking for meaning in his life, Ruby Case (who has raised a boy from the dead with only a touch and a prayer) wants to know why–Why was she chosen to be the miracle-worker? Why does this miracle have such spiritual implications for the town she lives in and what exactly are those implications?

Both Ruby and Ian are broken people–Ruby broken in body and Ian broken in spirit. It is hard for us as a human race to understand why we have to face brokenness. And yet, it is the same brokenness that can bring us closer to God as we learn how weak we are, we have the opportunity to discover exactly how strong God is. Only he can heal true brokenness.

Redemption: Jake Case–a man embittered toward God–desperately needs redemption. Of course, he thinks he’s fine but as we look at him through the eyes of Ruby, his wife, we see how much he needs to return to God. How much he needs to return to forgiving ways. Only as he forgives others will God forgive him.

The Resurrection also contains another story of redemption–that of the town of Rivermeer itself. Many years before, something cracked the spiritual bonds holding the town together. When Ruby brings back a boy from the dead, it starts a chain of events that puts all of the town’s inhabitants in jeopardy. Called a witch by some and a godsend by others, Ruby becomes confused, but determined to find out what forces are at play that are keeping the town in spiritual darkness. If she can crack that secret, hopefully the spirit of the town can be redeemed.

The theme of redemption is as old as man himself. God created us knowing we would need redemption. It is impossible for us as humans to keep ourselves pure enough to obviate that need. All to often, however, like Jake we forget that redemption can only come to us as we humble ourselves before God.

As such, I believe redemption to be the key theme that holds the book together, for it is redemption that ultimately holds us in the palm of God’s hand, complete and whole, reconciled to him.

Today’s post is part of the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour. I encourage you to check out what the other bloggers have to say. You can find their links in the sidebar (right).

Disclosure of Material Connection: In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a copy of The Resurrection for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. In addition, some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”