Find yourself in a better story
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Masters and Slayers: A Review
Readers of the young adult fantasy Starlighter will recognize the opening scene of Bryan Davis’s upcoming Masters and Slayers — that feeling of “we’ve been here before” is more than just deja vu. Masters and Slayers is the first book in the “Tales of Starlight” series published by AMG/Living Ink, a fantasy series for adults…
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A Seventh World Interview (Favourites Tour, Day 4)
I know that our CSFF tours are technically three days long, but lately I have a hard time saying all I want to say in three days. This interview was supposed to go up yesterday, but the post was getting long — so here we are. An interview of me by Joshua Gilman of JGills…
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A Look Into the Seventh World (Favourites Tour, Day 3)
(First, an announcement: I’ve signed on as a regular contributor to the newly revamped Speculative Faith blog, along with Becky Miller and Stephen Burnett and Stuart Stockton. My first post, “The Stakes Are High,” is up today. Check it out.) As I prepare for the release of Coming Day, Book 3 of the Seventh World…
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Words and Music (CSFF Favorites, Day 2)
I stand behind a table laden with my books and talk to passers-by about my work, and as they stop and handle ink and paper and converse, they ask, “Where did you get your ideas? What led you to become a writer?” I smile — such a simple question, such a not-simple answer. I was…
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CSFF Tour: Your Favorite!
Welcome to August’s CSFF Tour and something … rather different. As you probably know, every month, the CSFF Tour Bloggers read, review, and heatedly happily discuss a new title that falls under the Christian speculative fiction umbrella. Well, we were going to do that this month too, but the title fell through. SO, we are…
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Review: The Wolf of Tebron
In the village of Tebron, surrounded by forests and peaceful mountains, Joran works as an apprentice blacksmith because his unusually sharp ability to mindspeak with animals has made forestry, hunting, and fishing too painful an occupation. He is painfully aware of his difference from his brothers, whom he loves but is unlike. Joran is slender,…
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The Madwoman of Bethlehem
Content Warning: I usually write reviews of family-friendly books, so I wanted to give a heads up on this one: this story is for mature readers only, as it deals with heavy subject matter and contains some strong language and other content not for children. The Madwoman of Bethlehem is a beautifully written story of…
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Interview with Christy Award Winner Jill Williamson
Jill Williamson is the author of the Christy-Award-winning fantasy novel By Darkness Hid, as well as its newly released sequel, To Darkness Fled. The CSFF bloggers toured By Darkness Hid back in May (my review is here), and Jill was kind enough to grant me a late interview. Below, we talk about Jill’s amazing world-building process,…
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Magical Mirrors (Starlighter, Day 4)
“Remember how I followed you and Adrian like a little puppy until I was eight?” Jason grinned. “I remember. We didn’t mind. We needed a fair maiden to rescue whenever we stormed the sand castles.” “Well, I always knew you’d be a warrior. Remember what I used to say when we were getting ready to…
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Interview with Bryan Davis (Starlighter, Day 3)
Today, I interview Bryan Davis, author of Starlighter, on the characters, upcoming titles, the strange and fascinating journeys that lead to publication, and the difference between magical powers in fantasy and magical powers in the real world. Rachel: So let’s start with a really easy question: who’s your favourite character in Starlighter? Why? Bryan: I…