Ryann Watters and the King's Sword

Visit the NEW Book Store in Mount Dora!

2012-01-28T10:59:00.001-08:00

Hey! There's a great new bookstore in Mount Dora, Florida and you know what's really cool? It's located right next door to the old bookstore (sadly closed several years ago), that Ryann, Liddy and Terell meet in to plan all their adventures.

Barrel of Books and Games - 144 W 5th Ave, Mount Dora, Florida 32757

Phone 352-735-1950

www.barrelofbooksandgames.com

I stopped by today to visit with the owner, Crissy, who is now carrying my books. I signed, stamped, and put a gold sticker "signed by the author" on every copy and they come with our glossy, full color bookmarkers as well. Before I could leave the store 2 books were already sold!

Crissy is coming up with a date for a book signing at the store, probably the beginning of April. I will keep you posted here and on my Facebook page.

She indicated that the online store has been open for 5 years and they just recently opened the retail location. Games are a big seller on the website, but books dominate the sales in her store. New books and games are up front and there is a large section of used books in the back of the store. New books are 25% off and used are 50% off list prices.

Check them out the next time you visit Mount Dora and tell her I sent you!

Eric

TIM TEBOW's 316 yards have fans keeping the faith!

2012-01-09T05:32:00.000-08:00

Article from Washington Post (on faith) by Elizabeth Tenety

The Denver Broncos’ playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night was unlikely enough, but Tim Tebow’s passing yardage — the Christian quarterback threw 316 yards — sent commentators over the edge. The Associated Press reported that he also averaged 31.6 yards per completion. The religious connotations to John 3:16, a famous Bible verse, were too much for many to chalk up to chance.
For the true believers, it was no coincidence.

The quarterback for the Denver Broncos has become a polarizing figure in football, in part because of his outward displays of Christian faith.
Tebow has said previously that the Bible verse, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” is his favorite. When he wore the Scripture verse on his eye black during the National Championship Game in 2009, the term “John 3:16” was reportedly Googled more than 90 million times.

The Christian athlete has faced repeated criticism during this NFL season for wearing his faith on his sleeve. Bill Maher criticized Tebow (and Jesus) in a controversial Tweet after a Denver loss, and “Saturday Night Live” mocked the quarterback in a skit in which Jesus suggested that the quarterback “take it down a notch.”
Some say that the religious significance of Sunday’s game went deeper than the stats.

In a column this weekend for The Washington Post’s Outlook section, David Kuo and Patton Dodd set up the showdown between Tebow and Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger this way:
“Tebow and Roethlisberger point to the essential aspects of evangelicalism, the ones that make it persist — its missionary, proclamatory character on the one hand, and its private, searching piety on the other. The former wants to appeal to the whole world, which is why Tebow’s family raised him not only to preach, but to persuade others with a winning demeanor. The latter wants a changed life; Roethlisberger, in evangelical parlance, rededicated his life to Jesus after a period of backsliding, because he knew no other way to break his pattern of misbehavior.”

The Broncos’ win Sunday means that, for a week at least, Tebow mania is here to stay

CHRISTMAS SALE - Deepest Discount Ever While Supplies Last!

2011-11-22T06:52:00.000-08:00

In anticipation of a re-release of books 1 and 2 in the Ryann Watters series in paperback, I am having a BLOWOUT Christmas sale of the remaining inventory of the First Edition Hard Cover books. You can get books 1 and 2 for ONLY $5 each. I know that's crazy low since they retail for $17.99 and $19.99 each.

To get them at this price you need to put in the SPECIAL COUPON CODE: "christmas2011" at www.ryannwatters.com (click on the "store" stone)

Pick up a set for friends or relatives for Christmas or buy a set to donate to your church or school library. I was overwhelmed with the number of orders coming in after the announcement and had to enlist the help of my daughter and son to help pack and ship. Order soon while supplies last. Pass the code along to your friends via facebook and e-mail.

All books are signed and they come with a special full color, glossy bookmark. Have a Merry Christmas!

Eric

Getting close to a BIG announcement...

2011-11-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

I know it's been quite awhile since I've posted on my book series and the movie project, so I wanted to give a small update, which I am hoping becomes a major announcement before Thanksgiving.

If you've been following the progress, the movie is still on with Gold Pictures, which has completed scripts for books 1 and 2. The casting director has been hard at work and while I'm not at liberty to divulge the 3 teen actors for Ryann, Terell, and Drake,(you obviously know that Taylor Boswell is playing Liddy), I can say that we've signed the actor for Terell and it's someone you will recognize from the Disney channel and another popular show on TV. Ryann and Drake are being narrowed down as we speak.

The budget for the two films is approximately $3 million each, so that it a big jump from the previous budget and in line with other faith-based movies that have done well at theatres. Speaking of which, "Courageous" was great ($2 million budget and has grossed $27 million so far at the box office). If you haven't seen it yet, make a point to do so or at the very least rent it or buy it when it comes out on DVD. *** Warning: there are numerous scenes where you will have uncontrollable laughter and others where you will need the kleenax. ***

Yes, that's me in the fox mask as the character Griffon from "Ryann Watters and the King's Sword." In the first attempt to film the movie the plan was to have real life acting in Aeliana versus the new version where it will be animation. So this was the hollywood mask for that role.

I have been getting lots of e-mails asking when book 3 will be published. I'm still working on the book but it was put on hold with the movies. I can tell you that it is action packed and very fun. My agent is going to be working on a contract with a new and bigger publisher after the annoucement of the movies comes out. The plan is to do some rewrites for books one and two and have a new publisher bring them out in paperback in conjunction with the movies and get a contract for books three and four. I promise it will be worth the wait.

Thanks for your prayers for the funding of the films, actors that are cast, and the filming to be on schedule for April of 2012.
Be blessed,
Eric

Great News on Faith Based Movies - recently in Forbes Magazine

2011-10-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

Family Friendly Movies Make Big Money: Hollywood Noticing By Paul Jankowski

Movieguide, which has been analyzing how movie content compares with its cash intake since 1991, has found repeatedly that family-oriented movies make more money, while the movies with higher instances of sex and violence do not fare nearly as well.

The overwhelming success of movies like Passion of the Christ and The Blind Side, with their overtly Christian themes, stunned a lot of filmmakers and movie critics. Other faith-prevalent, recent releases such as Soul Surfer, with box office receipts of $43 million so far, are also getting a lot of attention. And while such outright portrayal of faith still is by no means common, more and more movies are sneaking faith-based messaging and values into films.

The family-friendly film, “Dolphin Tale” rose to first place in its second weekend of release, taking in $13.9 million at theaters in the U.S. and Canada for Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. studio.

The film unseated the 3-D re-release of “The Lion King,” which ranked No. 1 for the prior two weekends, and edged out four new movies, researcher Hollywood.com Box-Office reported.

“Family films are a hot commodity right now, and this demonstrates that,” Jeff Bock, a film analyst for Exhibitor Relations in Los Angeles, said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg Business Week.

According to Movieguide, the number of movies that include at least a little Christian content has increased 455 percent from 27 in 1991 to more than 150 movies in 2009.[2]

This past weekend, another faith-based movie stunned the industry with a #4 box office ranking. COURAGEOUS, the #1 new movie of the weekend opened against movies with three times as many screens for a total box office of $9 million.

“Sony picked this up wisely, and this film had a great grass-roots marketing campaign,” Bock said. “It’s amazing when a faith-based film does that much money.”

The Hollywood press was surprised:

Box Office Mojo
“Made outside of Hollywood without any major stars, Courageous managed to fly under most radars (including my own) until very recently. It’s unfair to ignore the vast majority of church-going Americans for whom typical Hollywood fare isn’t of great interest, though, and Sherwood Pictures has impressively found a way to mobilize this subset of the population.”

I had to comment on “subset of the population.” According to a Pew study, roughly 74% of Americans identify themselves as Christian; hardly a “subset”.

Time
Like the Christian-themed Soul Surfer, the Kendrick’s holy-cop film (with a $1-million budget) was pitched to the faithful, who came out fervently this weekend and gave it an A-plus CinemaScore. Opening in just 1,161 theaters, Courageous had the top per-screen average of any movie in the top 25. Even an agnostic would call that heavenly.”

Finding family-friendly content is tough. Many parents rely on word of mouth while others use movie reviews and ratings to find what’s best for them. As a result, a host of online sources have popped up that rate movies based on their family friendliness.

Christian-based and sometimes controversial, Focus on the Family, reviews movies online for things like sex, violence, drugs, alcohol, and other “negative elements.” Their reviews are very detailed and even mentioned a cartoon character’s cleavage and tanks of “some kind of strong drink” in their review of Disney’s Tangled animated movie. I’d love to meet the guy that writes these reviews.

Kids-in-mind.com rates movies based on their levels of sex, violence, and profanity, with notes on specific questions kids might ask after seeing a movie, prevalence of things like substance abuse, and the kind of message a movie sends. Fandango also offers up its picks of the best family-friendly flicks and keeps a calendar of upcoming movies for kids.

I personally don’t rely on these websites to determine what’s right for my kids. And yes, the older ones have seen Twilight and read all of the Harry Potter books, twice. But I need to stress that word of mouth is incredibly powerful in the Heartland, especially when spoken by influencers like a values-based website, friends and members of our extended family.

Regardless of how Heartlander’s decide what to see, the box office results are proof that family-friendly movies ring the cash register and that’s the only sound Hollywood wants to hear.

Scripts for books 1 and 2 Finalized!

2011-07-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

This is the prequel to the long awaited update! I know, I know, you want the final details and so do I, but we'll have to wait just a wee bit longer. All I can say for now is that the adaptation of "King's Sword" and "Shield of Faith" are completed, the presentation packages are done and the casting director is in full gear. My hope and prayer is that our first choices for Ryann and Terell come through over the next few weeks so that filming can begin in Mount Dora, Florida in October 2011.

In case you haven't followed some of the previous blog posts, the original project was picked up by Gold Pictures, in Hollywood, CA, and the budget has increased from $800,000 to $4,000,000. Award winning director, Jenni Gold, will be working with Jeff Maynard, who has over 30 film production credits.

Jeff and Jenni came up with a plan to shoot both movies simultaneously and do so in a cost-effective manner. The live action scenes will be filmed in Mount Dora; however, the fantasy scenes in Aeliana will be in animation with voiceovers by various actors, singers, and musicians. Jeff has worked on another youth fantasy movie, "Arthur and the Invisibles," in which a the characters changed into animation as they moved from the real world to the fantasy world (in that case, underground). By filming this way, all the scenes can be filmed for both movies as if they were one, while the animation company works on the rest.

Keep the efforts of all those involved currently and those who are being approached to be a part of the cast, crew and support, in your prayers and I hope to have a BIG update in the coming weeks. Eric

Surprise Choice to play Lord Ekron!

2011-04-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

In a surprise choice, it is rumored that Isaac C. Singleton Jr., will play the role of Lord Ekron, in "Ryann Watters and the King's Sword." http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802280/

Fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean will recognize him as one of the pirates, but he has also had roles in "Anger Management," "Planet of the Apes," and "Galaxy Quest." His extensive acting career dates back to 1997.

Isaac is a big dude... and you can tell from one of his pics from Pirates that he can definately play an intimidating role as the evil Lord Ekron.

I have been in discussions with the Producer and Director in regards to the roles of Ryann and Terell, as well as the the voices for the animal characters and all I can say at this point is that if we can get half of our dream list, it will be awesome.

I'm looking forward to getting the names out to you, but the wait is what builds the suspense :) Eric

Ryann Watters as a class project Diorama!

2011-03-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

I love to see my book read and used in schools. My hope is that through the process of the movie and new book publisher, the Ryann Watter's series will get on the Accelerated Reader (AR) list. Some times that is the only way kids will pick up a book.

A picture of Olivia's diorama, that she completed as part of an overall book report project was submited to me the other day. As you can see, she was very creative in showing one of the scenes when Ryann travels through Lake Dora, into Aeliana. When I looked more closely, I also noticed a picture of me on top of the box.

Great job, Olivia, and thanks for sharing! If you're a parent and your child chooses to use one of my books for a class project, please let me know and we'll post it here!

Eric

Ryann Watters and the King's Sword is officially up on IMDb

2011-03-11T06:40:00.000-08:00

IMDb stands for "Internet Movie Database," and is the officially repository for information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. The site was launched in 1990 and acquired by Amazon.com in 1998.

Ryann Watters and the King's Sword is now listed here: in pre-production.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1858527/

Screen writer, Samuel W. Reed and director Jenni Gold, are busy revising the script. Sam will be adapting, Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith, into a script next. A Casting Director in onboard with the project and as names are added to the cast, they will be update on IMDb.

One item of note on Producer, Jeff Maynard's credentials on IMDb, is credit as Executive in Charge of Post-production for recent Academy Award winning, The King's Speech. Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

EJR

Great News for Ryann Watters and the King's Sword co-star Taylor Boswell

2011-03-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

Film Works Entertainment has acquired the Worldwide Rights to the family feature film "Wind Jammers." Starring Justice Von Maur & Taylor Boswell.

Set in the Bahamas, this funny and uplifting family film follows 16 year-old Justice as she overcomes racial prejudice and brings change to her community - all while having the time of her life learning to sail! Uprooted from her everyday life in Chicago, Justice reluctantly moves with her Dad to the Bahamas when his job is relocated. In an effort to fit into their new life her Dad joins the local 'members-only' yacht club, only to soon realize that the fact that Justice is of mixed race doesn't go down too well with the founding members of the club.

If that's not bad enough Justice finds even more resistance when she begins club sponsored sailing lessons and the founding members conspire to get both Justice and her Dad kicked out of the yacht club.When Justice meets a handsome young yachtsman and fellow club member, the pair grow close and together they decide that the stuffy yacht club is not going to stop them from doing what they love...and to prove it, both enter into the annual yacht race, previously open to all residents of the island but is now a strict 'members-only' affair. Come race day, Justice is forced to make decisions that will not only affect the outcome of the race but the every-day lives of everybody on the island.Fun for the whole family, this charming film will sail its way into your hearts and show you that if you believe in your dreams, you can overcome any of life's obstacles!

Wind Jammers is the debut feature film of Producer/Writer Ric von Maur and was produced in conjunction with New York city based Rosetta Films. Von Maur says, "We are all very excited! We worked very hard on this movie and are delighted that FilmWorks will distribute it."

After finishing the script with two other writers, Elliot Lowenstien and Michael Ray Brown, on Maur tapped veteran Bahamian Filmmaker Kareem Mortimer to Co-Direct. Mortimer says, "It was a really fun script. I am proud to have been apart of it and really glad that it will get a worldwide audience."

THE LONG AWAITED NEWS...

2011-02-18T15:05:00.000-08:00

"Ryann Watters and the King's Sword" gets a BIG upgrade!

Many of you have been asking, "what's going on with the movie?" and I am happy to say that I can now fill you in on some very exciting news. A year ago, I had no idea how the movie business worked and while I will not say that I am an authority on the topic now, I have had quite an education over the past nine months. If you've followed this project from the beginning, you know that it started out as a very low budget film. We realized that film was not reaching it's full potential and so some hard decisions had to be made. Thanks to a lot of Godly people who believe in the message of the movie and a great deal of prayer, a new direction was sought. And God has blessed the Ryann Watters films! That is right I said films. We are starting over with a 2 picture deal with a Hollywood production company at the helm.

Gold Pictures is located on the Universal Studios lot, in Hollywood, CA. Jeff Maynard will produce and award winning Directors Guild of America, Director Jenni Gold will direct. Their plan is to convert book 2 (Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith) to a screenplay and film both movies at the same time! They will film the practical for books one and two, simultaneously and the fantasy sections of the movie will be done in animation. Jeff is an independent producer who spent the past five years working on over 35 major studio feature films for, The Weinstein Company (TWC) and Dimension Films, where he was the Senior Vice President of World Wide Post Production and worked on animation films such as:

Hoodwinked http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3YfG7P9VHE and

Arthur and the Invisibles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0XOsRFJ9EA (a real life to animation movie along he same lines as their proposal for Ryann Watters).

They have connections with the animation groups, from the above movies and others.

Other key points:
Jenni Gold has asked Taylor Boswell to reprise her role as Liddy.

Many of the voices for the animation characters in Aeliana will be name actors/musicians familar to viewers.

Both Jeff and Jenni are Christians and are very excited about doing this project. Jeff recently left TWC and wouldn't have been available to do a project of this size just a short time ago.
There are no coincidences, or as my daughter likes to tell me, "coincidences are God acting anonymously."

As things progress , I will keep you posted. Until them, I am working on book three... but that's another post!

MAJOR ANNOUCEMENT COMING THIS WEEK!

2011-02-05T14:43:00.000-08:00

I know it's been awhile since I posted concerning my books, the movie, my life, etc. Well, I wanted to let you know that at the end of next week there will be a major announcement concerning EVERYTHING!

There are still a few things to finalize, but I think you will be pleased with what you read. So be sure and stop back in next Friday, Feb. 11th, to get the scoop.

Eric

I was on "Undercover Boss" on CBS this week!

2010-11-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's me ordering the "Turkey Sandwich, provolone cheese and hold the onions and jalapenos." Funny, just last week I was telling my wife, Kim, that this show won't last much longer because everyone in America will no something is up when they're filming at a place of business. 33,000 Subways... what are the odds?

Hurray for "Holywood'

2010-08-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hurray for 'Holywood': Central Florida gives birth to Christian film industry

Churches with 'Fireproof' dreams and state incentive money may make Florida the home of faith-based films

A film crew lays tracks in Mount Dora for a shot in "Ryann Watters and the King's Sword," an indie, faith-based fantasy film. (TYG STUDIOS / August 27, 2010)

The movies already have a Hollywood and a Bollywood, but some local filmmakers see Central Florida staking its claim as "Holywood."

A single faith-based movie filmed here last year has led to a handful of like-minded movies being shot from Ocoee to Mount Dora.

•"The Whisper House," based on the biblical parable of the prodigal son, was filmed in Ocoee last winter. It has its Florida premiere next Saturday at the Ocoee-based Central Florida Film Festival.

•An adaptation of a Christian children's fantasy novel, "Ryann Watters and the King's Sword," just wrapped location filming in Mount Dora.

•"Heading Home," a faith-based drama about redemption and baseball, was written by local filmmaker De Miller and is slated to go before cameras in Lake County in October.

•And the local producers of "Letters to God," the first big faith-based movie shot here, plan to film two more faith-based projects here before the end of the year.

David Nixon, who co-directed "Letters to God," is a firm believer that Central Florida "should be the capital of Christian films. We have world-class facilities, just as good or better than L.A."

Adds Miller, "We'd like Central Florida to be 'Holywood' because we want to get the 'L' out of Hollywood."

Unlike Hollywood's blockbusters, these faith-based films are made on micro budgets. "Letters to God," which started this Central Florida boomlet, cost $3.5 million to produce. But the films following in its footsteps have even smaller budgets — ranging from $785,000 for "Ryann Watters and the King's Sword" to $70,000 for "The Whisper Home."

Most are made with lots of donated labor, locations and gear. "Ryann Watters" was shot on cameras donated by a church member, said Kerry L. Fink, CEO of TYG Studios, the film's producers." We tell folks this is a God-sized project, so we're believing God [will] step in where our resources and abilities stop," Fink said.

Why Central Florida?Several factors are attracting faith-based filmmakers to Central Florida as their location of choice."We have A-list crew who don't get the chance to showcase their work very often," said Jaime Velez-Soto, director of "The Whisper Home." "They want the chance to make movies here, and not in L.A. or wherever, so they help you out." As in California, you can film in Florida all year. And "there's all this acting talent, thanks to the theme parks," Nixon said.

This being Florida, sometimes "retired" talent is available. The producers of "Heading Home" hope to use Gary Burghoff of TV's "M*A*S*H," a snowbird who winters in Florida, just as they did in their earlier venture, "Daniel's Lot."Another plus: the local churches.

To a one, filmmakers involved in Florida's faith-based films take their inspiration from the Albany, Ga., Sherwood Baptist Church, where the Kendrick brothers — ministers and aspiring moviemakers — made "Flywheel," "Facing the Giants" and then the $40 million hit " Fireproof."Ministers and congregants became the volunteer crew, donors and actors in those films. Nixon, who has two upcoming Central Florida projects, was a producer and second-unit director on "Fireproof."" It doesn't hurt that we have a lot of churches in Central Florida," Nixon said. His "Letters to God" used a Winter Garden church for a location and volunteers.

"Churches that are totally into this are a real asset."More recently, Margaret Marquis of Ocoee Christian Church offered her church as home base for "Whisper Home," said Velez-Soto. "We used it for locations, and members of the church cooked for us and pitched in."Church as producerUsing film as a means of evangelical outreach has prompted at least one local church to set up its own production company."We've always wanted to minister outside the four walls of the church, to the whole world," says Pastor Matthew J. Shaw of the Faith and Power Worship Center in Apopka, the church behind Faith and Power Pictures. "Movies seem like a better way of spreading our message."Faith and Power Pictures produced "Daniel's Lot," based on writer-director De Miller's idea of erecting a cross in his front yard. That effort went direct to video, but Miller hopes their next project, "Heading Home," will reach theaters.With a budget of $260,000 — nearly a third of that from state-film-commission incentives — the baseball movie will star TV actor Dean Denton ("Days of Our Lives," "Dark Skies"). Ex-major leaguers John Denny and Davey Johnson are on board as consultants, plus there are offers of help from hundreds of volunteers. An October start date has been set, and they're raising funds through a website: helpholywood.com.But as Miller learned with his previous film, "Daniel's Lot," partnering with a church or ministry doesn't guarantee a movie will be financed, finished or successful."Funding is still the hardest thing for any indie film, whether it's faith-based or not," said Paul Sirmons, a local producer and director, and former film commissioner for the state of Florida. As for state incentive money, "There is a 5 percent bonus for family-friendly films, but religion is not a qualifying factor."Just as faith-based filmmakers are upsetting the traditional filmmaking model, the day may come when such films bypass Hollywood altogether. Texas-based Heartstone

Productions already is taking faith-based films directly to churches, "so churches may be our next movie theaters," said Jerry Eisinger, screenwriter and star of "Whisper Home."Like other Central Florida filmmakers, Eisinger sees faith-based movies helping fill a gap in Hollywood's offerings."Family, faith-based films, movies with positive messages, I think there's a place for them," Eisinger said. "That's where we hope to make our movies."

Roger Moore can be reached on his blog, OrlandoSentinel.com/movies.

Ryann Watters movie actors "In the News"

2010-07-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

BG teen scores role in Christian action movie
By ALYSSA HARVEY, The Daily News
Taylor Boswell, 16, an actress from Bowling Green, will be in an upcoming Christian film.

Taylor Boswell’s first audition for a model and talent agency was not glamorous. While the other girls were dressed like traditional model hopefuls and exuding as much cool professionalism as they could muster, Taylor was sweating. It wasn’t because she was nervous, though.
“We had just left from a basketball game,” Jana Boswell, Taylor’s mother, said with a laugh. “She was wearing her basketball uniform.”
On that day a couple of years ago, the Bowling Green girl literally jumped on the runway and started walking the path that has led her to where she is now। Taylor, 16, is getting set to film the Christian youth action-adventure, “Ryann Watters and the King’s Sword,” which is scheduled to be released in summer 2011. She will play Liddy Thomas, Ryann’s best friend.

“It’s a good, family-friendly movie,” Taylor said। “It has great morals.”

Set in Mount Dora, Fla।, and based on the book by Eric Reinhold, “Ryann Watters and the King’s Sword” tells the story of a boy who is visited by an angel and is given three gifts. Ryann must use the gifts to save a world called Aeliana. At the same time, a dark angel chooses a bully, Drake Dunfellow, to stop him.

“It’s like Narnia meets Harry Potter,” Jana Boswell said। “It has a Christian spin.”

Taylor is no stranger to the camera। She appeared in the movie “Windjammers.” She has filmed a variety of other things, including promotions for Nickelodeon, an SNL Digital Short, “Celebrity Apprentice” and a pharmaceutical industrial film used to train nurses. She is also the clear face model for Epiduo skin care.

“I love modeling, but I love acting so much more,” she said.
A former national and international speech champion, Taylor travels with her family - which includes her father, Mike Boswell, and her brother, John Mikel, 12. They live in New York for much of the year. Taylor, who attended Bowling Green Christian Academy, and her brother are homeschooled.
“The key is that my family is supportive of me,” Taylor said.
Taylor said she had never thought about acting before, but fell in love with the craft. Someone had seen her in speech competitions and suggested that she get an agent. She is represented by Shirley Grant Management.

Jana Boswell said that after Taylor won the 2009 Actors, Models and Talent for Christ Overall Best Actress award, more offers began pouring in for her. Taylor hasn’t changed, though.

“She is always out on auditions,” she said. “She’s the same girl she was before she left here. She always looks forward to coming home after filming. She still likes to hang out on the farm.”
She and the family feel blessed to be able to be with Taylor while she pursues this career.
“It’s a God thing. There’s no way we could put this together,” Boswell said. “We don’t have an entertainment background. We were homebodies involved in the community.”
Taylor said although she doesn’t have to be in strictly Christian films, she doesn’t want to compromise her faith.
“I can always make (my faith) a part of a project by keeping my morals and standards to what they are,” she said.
She also has advice for others who may want to pursue their dreams.
“If you feel it in your heart and know it’s what you’re supposed to do, then go for it,” she said. “Don’t let the dream-haters stop you.”

Taylor hopes eventually to study to be a prosecuting attorney at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and to continue to be open to doing movies and television.
“There’s nothing more exciting to a kid than not knowing what’s going to happen next,” she said. “You never know what’s around the corner. God’s got all that planned.”

Fantastic Conclusion to the Lake County Reading Festival

2010-03-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

This year's festival, "Adventures in Paradise," took me from the Author's Roundtable at the Cooper Memorial Library in Clermont, to a Writing for Young Audiences discussion at the Tavares Public Library, and finally ending this evening with the Author Reception at the Leesburg Pubic Library. In all, over 20 authors particpated the events.

I liked my intro for the "Writing for Young Audiences" discussion:

Eric Reinhold's desire as a writer is to combine his background at a service academy and as a Christian to provide safe books of high moral character and Christian principles to youth. He plans to have five books in The Annals of Aeliana series, with Ryann Watters.

The highlights during the festival to me, were both with home school families. On Wednesday I was visited by Rebekah, Sarah, and Joshua at both the Clermont and Tavares locations. It was great to see such bright young people with insightful questions and desire to read! Their mom should be very proud of them.
On Friday, I drove over to Leesburg for the Author Reception. The Lake County librarians and staff did an excellent job of having the event catered for the public with lots of tasty morsels. The turn out was great, as people made their way around the library to visit with 20 different authors, participate in the silent auction, and see the results of the children's bookmark contest.

I had the opportunity to meet with one of my newest, biggest fans... Bradley. He is in the 8th grade and was able to quote lines from several scenes in my books. I believe he said his favorite was the exchange between the angle, Gabriel, and Lord Ekron as they did battle at the end of book 2:

"We meet again, Gabriel," Ekron declared with contempt. He glared at the approaching angel. "Only this time things will end differently."

Gabriel smiled while raising the King's sword out in front of him. "I was thinking I would add a matching scar to the other side of your face, Ekron."

Bradley, his parents and I, were able to spend quite a bit of time discussing my series and I was pleased to hear from Bradley's mom about what an impact the books had made on him and how much he had enjoyed them. That's the reason I write and that type of interaction spurs me on to continue the series.

Thanks again to all of those who came out to the festival. I hope to see you and your friends next year. Be blessed, EJR

FREE Copy of CURSE OF THE SPIDER KING

2010-03-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

Fellow authors and friends, Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper are hard at work on book 2 in The Berinfell Prophecies. Published by Thomas Nelson (see my previous post on my night with CEO Michael Hyatt), Curse of the Spider King is the first book in the series.

I first met Wayne and Christopher in 2008 on the Fantasy Fiction Tour. Invited by Bryan Davis, to participate in what ended up being a 10 day tour from Canada to San Diego, I immediately took a liking to the crazy minds of these two characters. While we travelled from city to city in a 15 passenger van, Wayne and Christopher were busy typing away on their laptopos, periodically yelling out, "Does anyone have a synonym for _____!" I would describe both of them as A.D.D. on Red Bull.
(You have to love this picture of Christopher giving the thumbs up on the Fantasy Tour, with Wayne in the background - God created a few perfect heads... the rest he covered in hair).

How to win your FREE Copy!

I have two copies of Curse of the Spider King and would like to give away that copy in a drawing from anyone who (1) joins my blog and (2) posts a comment in my post below on "Letters to God." The drawing will be this Friday! To get more details on the book you can go to:

Thomas Nelson's Website
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1400315050
Wayne's Blog
http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/
Christopher's Website
http://www.christopherhopper.com/novels/

Good Luck and Good Reading!
Eric

Learning the Social Media Thing from Michael Hyatt

2010-03-05T15:48:00.001-08:00

In addition to the sneak preview of "Letters to God" (see my comments from the last blog entry), I was exposed to superb speakers and content at the Lifework Leadership National Alumni Conference in Howie-in-the-Hills, Florida (you won't find it unless you're going there intentionally!).

I had the priveledge of sitting next to Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing (the largest Christian publisher in the U.S.) the first night. Michael shared very openly about his past and leadership lessons over the years. He's an authentic guy and it's great to know that someone in his position is heading up such an important media company.

Today he led a session on "Building Community Through Social Media." I think of myself as beyond beginner in this area, but for the business owner, he had some great insights. If you are on Twitter, you can find him at twitter.com/michaelhyatt.com. He also has a Facebook page and blog under his name.

I won't give you all the details here, but if you would like to view his slides from our session with him, you can go to www.michaelhyatt.com/speaking/lifework. Michael spends 30 minutes a day in social media with approximately 12-13 tweets a day. He is pro-active and takes the approach that people are putting out data on your company all the time, so you can choose to engage and be part of the discussion and potentially fixing a problem, or you can sit back and let them carry the dialogue.

Social media isn't a fad, so those of us who haven't grown up with it can choose to ignore it or get on board. I haven't been active on twitter, but I am going to take his challenge to try it for 30 days. The KEY is to provide value to those following you and make 20 deposits for every withdrawal you'd like to make on directing your followers to your product.

My biggest recognition of how things have changed was when my daughter saw a movie from the 80's and was talking about the "giant black CDs." I had to explain that they were vinyl records. I don't consider myself that old, but I did take my Smith Corona typewriter to the Naval Academy, where I learned BASIC and fed cards into the giant computer. My Senior year, I finally did my first paper on a MAC. When my teenage girls complain about not being able to get in touch with someone when we've taken their cell phones away, I remind them about the world without texting, e-mail, or PCs... and about going to the phone bank to make a call and hope that the person you were calling was home. Amazing!

Sneak Preview of "Letters to God" with the Director!

2010-03-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a retreat with Lifework Leadership, a Christian business leaders group which is seeking to impact cities around the country. Great speakers, interaction with other alumni from the program, and David Nixon, the director for "Facing the Giants," "Fireproof," and the yet to be released, "Letters to God," was on hand for a preview of the movie. If you want to know more about Lifework Leadership go to www.lifeworkleadership.org.

We viewed the movie in its entirety and I think I cried six times... which is saying a lot. It takes a lot to make me cry. The movie is a heartfelt tale of inspiration, hope and redemption, showing what happens when one boy's walk of faith crosses paths with one man's search for meaning.

Ted Baehr, of Movieguide, says, "Letters to God is the type of movie you want everyone to see, one of the most encouraging and inspiring movies in a long time." He's right.

Here's the preview and I would encourage you to check out their website at www.letterstogodthemovie.com and encourage your pastor and others to see the movie during the first week. The movie opens in 800 theatres nationwide on April 9th and will expand to more with demand.

David and his team have the funding to create three Christian movies (this is the first)and his desire is to make Orlando, Florida the Christian movie capital of the world. Let's support him in this worthy endeavor to make Christian films.

2010 Festival of Reading in Lake County, Florida

2010-02-18T06:29:00.000-08:00

Adventures in Paradise
March 17-20, 2010

The Lake County Library System Festival of Reading presents the highest quality literary and cultural events and activities to encourage the love of reading and to promote the programs and services of the libraries. The program connects readers and writers in a way that enriches both by providing informative and entertaining programs to the community. The 7th Annual Festival of Reading will be held March 17th through the 20th with the theme, "Adventures in Paradise". We will feature writing workshops and author events and host a Friday evening special gala reception celebrating all the authors at the Leesburg Public Library.

http://www.mylakelibrary.org/festival_of_reading/2010/authors.aspx

This link will connect you to all of the authors that will be in attendance as well as the schedule of events and locations. The locations are all over Lake County, so be sure and check before driving out. Thanks for spreading the word and I hope to see you there.

Festival Appearances by me!

Wednesday, March 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Authors' Roundtable Cooper Memorial Library, Clermont

This event features numerous local authors who will be signing, selling their works and speaking with fans. Local authors include: Art Adkins, Colleen Avelli, Doris Bloodsworth, Brenna O’Shea Cagiano, Dara Edmondson, Valerie Hart, Catherine Kean, Ronald Johnson, Jeffrey Lamb, Paul McElroy, Mark Miller, Regina Peeples, Eric J. Reinhold and Michelle Young.

Wednesday, March 17 at 3 p.m. Writing for Young Audiences Tavares Civic Center, Tavares

Award-winning authors M.C. Finotti, author of The Treasure of Amelia Island; Vic DiGenti, author of the Windrusher series; and Eric Reinhold, author of the Ryann Watters series, will share tips on writing for teens and tweens.

Friday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. Gala Author Reception Leesburg Public Library, Leesburg

More than 20 authors will meet and greet fans at this gala reception. A silent auction will be held to benefit library programs.

For More Information:
Call Judy Buckland at (352) 253-6167 or email jbuckland@lakeline.lib.fl.us.
Cost: free
Categories: Festivals and Events
Website:
http://www.mylakelibrary.org

Could this be the first seed for the Ryann Watter's movie?

2010-02-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

This is the first in what will hopefully be a long series of updates on the progress of the Ryann Watter's movie. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but am looking at it as Jesus' parable of the sower and the seeds. This is the first seed being sown and we'll see if it ends up landing on the path or on fertile ground.

"In the picture above, I am next to Cathy, the director of the Mount Dora Chamber of Commerce, as we scout out a place for brick placement. Instead of my name, as a supporter of the chamber, I chose for it to read, "Ryann Watters.com lives here."

Above you will also see, Kerry Fink, the CEO of TYG Media (in the blue jacket). To the left is Hal, "the camera guy," taking video around Mount Dora.

Kerry, Hal, and Mike Germaine (who worked on "Fireproof") came over to Mount Dora for a site visit. None of them had ever been to the town and I believe they left with a very favorable impression of the location as an ideal movie set.

We started off with lunch at the historic Lakeside Inn (1873) as Kerry shared the vision they have for the film. Like Facing the Giants and Fireproof, they feel that a compelling story can be told on a micro-budget. The idea being to make a movie with special effects not a special effects movie (like Harry Potter, Avatar, the new Percy movie, etc.). Avatar cost $400 million to make and has grossed over $2 billion dollars, but Facing the Giants was made with a $30,000 budget and has grossed over $33 million (do the math on the percentages there). Fireproof had a larger 6-figure budget; however, the key to doing these types of movies is the community - church involvement in the project for free or limited expenses. In this case there would probably only be five or six people in the crew being compensated; while parts for the movie would involve amatuers desiring the benefit of creating their own 'movie resume' in effect. In the case of Fireproof, it was an advantage to get a household recognized name such as Kirk Cameron. As a Christian, Kirk, felt making the movie would be a positive message and his compensation, if any, would come through the potential success of the film, afterwards.

"In First Presbyterian Church of Mount Dora, with the Senior Pastor."

It would be great to get a Christian, household name to play Ryann, for promotional purposes. However, the real key is going to be getting the involvement by places the First Presbyterian Church of Mount Dora (who is excited to let us have the use of their facilities), the downtown area of Mount Dora (the Chamber, Mayor, and City Manager, have indicated we will have their full support) and other churches and the community who would like to be involved.

"Eric and Mike Germaine looking around for a good location for the bench, the drifter Noah Johnson, sleeps on behind the church."

After lunch, I took everyone on a walk around the alleyways and streets of Mount Dora. If you've read my books then you know the chase scene of Drake running after Ryann. We also headed down to the gazebo, where Ryann shares the secret of the ring with Liddy and Terell. A short drive took us over to the house I envisioned as Liddy's and then we headed over to the other side of the inlet and the lighthouse.

"The bookstore where Ryann, Liddy and Terell hang out."

Obviously there are numerous details to work out, but it's a start. I'm excited that the guys at TYG Media have caught the vision of the script and book and want to make a Christian film. They have promotional outlets through national radio syndication contacts, film background through doing this on other Christian movies that have gone from start to finish, and most importantly, a heart to see God's word spread in a positive way.

So, what are the next steps? I think they are going to go back to their studio and think through everything they saw in Mount Dora. It's the perfect place to film, with so much charm packed into a small area. The sets in this world should be easy. The tough part will be how to make Aeliana work, especially the animals like Raz. There are some very interesting thoughts on that... but I'll save that for another post. For now, I will let them put together a plan and then I'll head over to their 10,000 square foot studio to get into greater detail. Can't wait to give you that update! Keep praying and spreading the word about the book series, website, blog, and facebook fan page. All of these are going to help in the process. Also, if you're in Central Florida and want to try out or be an extra in the movie... if things continue as planned, that could be a reality this summer! Eric

Fantasy Themes in Song

2010-02-05T04:53:00.000-08:00

I was listening to a fun song I recently downloaded into my ipod this morning on the way into work and thought about how the mystery of God's creation can be woven into writing, visual images, and song. If you haven't listened to the ingenious song by "Owl City," called Fireflies, then click on the pic, in this post, to watch the music video.

Whether you've lived in the Midwest and can close your eyes and picture the lightening bugs flashing sporadically in a grassy field or you've only seen a documentary on them, you have an image in your mind that artists can work with to draw you closer to their element. I think about Aeliana and Ryann waking up in the middle of the night to find Carwyn gone. Getting up off his moss covered bed, he makes his was cautiously through the thick forest, holding his hands out in front of him to keep from bumping into anything in the thick forest. A dim light up ahead, so very slight, allows him to reach out and touch the rough bark of several trees just in front of him. Rushing to get to the small opening, he bursts through to find the air bursting at the seems with polka-dots of energy... fireflies.

How about you?

The Results are In...

2010-02-01T04:22:00.000-08:00

Amazing results so far from the
Costco book signing.

Thanks for your support in my efforts to get the Ryann Watters Series into Costco. Saturday was rainy outside, but sunny inside! While I was barraged by a crowd lined up for hours outside the store (aka Sarah Palin book signings), I did have a steady stream of adults and children come by. It's actually more fun that way since you get to interact with everyone on a deeper level.

"Eric just before the book signing begins"

The first order of 72 books went in the first 1-/1/2 hours, so we had to break-out another 48 that we had in reserve. Those went over the next 1-1/2 hours and they want me to sign and drop off another 48 tomorrow. For those in town, don't let up... keep getting the word out. I'm going to talk to the Costco book distributor this week about using this success to get books in other stores.

One of the fun stories was a mother and son who had driven 2 hours to get to the signing. They were making a day of it to show up and talk, get the books signed that they already had and get another set for their church library. After we talked they were headed over to Mount Dora to explore the town. How fun!

The most encouraging aspect of the day was having parents come up to me and ask, "is your book religious?" as they looked at the 'Shield of Faith' title on my banner. I answered in the affirmative, that it was based on Ephesians 6 and the Armor of God. Every single adult said words to the effect of, "God bless you, we need more books like this for our kids."

I'll keep you posted on what happens with Costco. As a side note, I was miked up and filmed during the book signing by a group (to remain secret for now) that wants to make 'Ryann Watters and the King's Sword' into a movie. Stay tuned for the latest.

Eric

Ryann Watters Double Book Give-Away

2010-01-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

Ryann Watters Double Book Give-Away

Check out a new review up at "Fiction Addict!"

2009-12-29T12:28:00.000-08:00

I've met a new friend on Facebook... Kaci Hill. She was nice enough to contact me via Donita K. Paul and a few other friends we share in common. Kaci finished reading both of my books over the Christmas Holiday and has put up both reviews at www.fictionaddict.com. Specifically, "Ryann Watters and the King's Sword" here: http://fictionaddict.com/2009/12/28/ryann-waters-and-the-kings-sword-by-eric-reinhold/ and "Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith" here: http://fictionaddict.com/2009/12/29/ryann-watters-and-the-shield-of-faith-by-eric-reinhold/

I was pleased to find out that besides editing and writing reviews, Kaci has co-authored books with author sensation Ted Dekker! I've pictured the two she worked with him on and hope there are more in the future... be sure to check them out. If you've never read Ted, I would suggest starting with

"Blink" and "Three," which can be read independently. If you like those, then you may want to move into the initial Trilogy of "Black," "Red," and "White." I say initial, because Ted then launches into many books which all tie back into these 3. The two that Kaci co-authored with him are part of a sub-series call "The Lost Books." You understand what "the books" are in the trilogy.

If you don't already follow Kaci, you can look her up on Facebook. Things are going well with the series and I have some exciting news to share after New Years, in regards to the movie script and an opportunity with CostCo... so stay tuned.

Blessings to all as we enter 2010!
Eric

Symbols of the Real Christmas

2009-12-20T16:26:00.000-08:00

One of the symbols of Christmas is the Evergreen tree. Throughout most of the country, leaves have fallen and the Evergreen is one of the few trees that remain green year-round. Like God's love, the "Ever"green is "ever-lasting. God's love doesn't die away. In Jeremiah 31:3 is says; "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

"The Meaning of Christmas"

Another tradition at Christmas is exchanging presents. As parents, we give gifts to our kids, not because they deserve them for anything they've done, but because we love them. Symbollically, this is representive of a more perfect love from our Heavenly Father, who sent the gift of his son, Jesus, to pay the penalty of death, for our sin and provide us with everlasting life with Him.

"A wonderful song and video on the relationship between Jesus and his mother, Mary."

A tradition in our family every Christmas is to light a special Christmas candle on Christmas Eve and have our own candlelight service around the tree. We start off singing "Silent Night," and then I have a short message and passage I read from the Bible before we go around and pray, reflecting on the blessings of the year, those gathered with us and family members that are away.

Two thought provoking questions I'd like to ask you are:

(1) How would you describe the purpose of Christmas to a person from another culture? Take a few minutes to ponder this before looking at question two.

(2) How do the ways you celebrate Christmas reflect the purpose you described?

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas,

Eric

Where it all Began!

2009-12-18T05:58:00.000-08:00

Now that Kaylyn (left) is 17 and Kara is 14, it's hard to imagine my girls ever being this small, but I wanted to go back to the beginning and let you know the genesis for my book series.

When I wasn't reading to the two of them (children's Bible pictured), I would tell them stories about three girls and their magical adventures. It was actually quite challenging, as they would recall the smallest details and I would have to work out ways to remember them myself as I picked up the story night after night.

"My girls are growing up!"

After a few months, Kaylyn said, "Dad, you should write a book so other kids can enjoy your stories."

That got me thinking... Yeah, I could do that!

And so the journey began...

It was around the same time that the first Harry Potter book had come out and my mind began thinking through the possibities... instead of witches and wizards, what could I use from the Bible that would make a great fantasy story for kids, but also incorporate truths from scripture? Ahhhh... angels, those of the light and those of darkness.

What about the setting? Well... I could make up a quaint town in the South. Then I visited Mount Dora, Florida, which is about 20-25 minutes from my house. It was perfect for my storyline.

There was Lake Dora, which provided the gateway to Aeliana, interesting alleyways, an old railroad track, an awesome bookstore right across the street from a church my heros woudl attend and quaint shoppes. Even the lighthouse to the left ends up being key in book 2.

Now you know some of the "rest of the story." I'll continue with other reflections on how my book came about in a most unusual way over the course of seven years.

Eric

Pray for the Troops and their Families this Christmas

2009-12-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

Arlington National

Cemetary
at Christmas

You may be interested to know that the wreaths laid at Arlington National Cemetery (some 5,000) are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine. The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. He's done this since 1992. A wonderful guy. Also, most years, groups of Maine school kids combine an educational trip to DC with this event to help out. Making this even more remarkable is the fact that Harrington is in one the poorest parts of the state.

While we're celebrating Christmas and the birth of Jesus this year, take a few minutes to remember those who have unselfishly given their lives for our freedom and those that are currently away from loved ones serving overseas.

Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.
Know the line has held, your job is done.
Rest easy, sleep well.
Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.
Peace, peace, and farewell...

The Mega Pre-Christmas Sale is Underway!

2009-10-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

I know this is crazy, but yes! You can get both book 1 and 2 for the low, low price of $20. Consider it my contribution to a tough economy. Unlike Amazon.com that charges $26.13 for both books, at http://www.ryannwatters.com/ you get both of them personally signed by me and two commemorative bookmarkers as well!

THE SUPPLY IS LIMITED!!!

Between now and Christmas, the goal is to sell out of the first run of books so we can go for the second printing. Take a few minutes to think of the following before you order:

1. What parents do you know that would like a safe, engaging story for their kids to read?

2. What kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, cousins, do you know that would enjoy both books for Christams?

3. Does your school library or church have copies? What better donation to impact a lot of kids in a positive way.

4. How about donating a set to your local public library?

5. What about using them as a give-a-way for a prize in your youth group or children's Sunday School, homeschool group, or Awana store?

Please forward the sale to as many people as you can on your e-mail list, Facebook, post on blogs, or your website!

Thanks so much for your support and be blessed!

Eric

What are Christians supposed to do on Halloween?

2009-10-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

This is a question that gets lots of opinions. Some well-meaning, some under grace, some seem legalistic, others divisive. The bottom line if you have kids is that this issue will come up and you should have a reason for how you react to it. You shouldn't act out of guilt or superiority, but it should be based upon the Bible and the Holy Spirit acting in your life. I liked the following summary that our pastor presented last week in church.

There was a time where I felt like we needed to leave town if we wanted to take our kids trick or treating due to the condemnation from other believers we worshiped with. Now, we take the approach our pastor does and feel it's the right one for us.

Eric

“Pastor’s Point of View: Finding the ‘Hallow’ in Halloween”
By Joel R. Breidenbaugh, PhD

Well, that title alone is enough to cause some of us to begin to get a little “hot under the collar.” Why in the world would I, as your pastor, argue for taking advantage of a pagan holiday like Halloween? Has the world influenced me so much that I no longer argue for a distinction between the Christian and the non-Christian? Not hardly. Please read on.

Historically, Halloween has had something of a mixed message—both as a time to sacrifice to false gods and later as a time to remember special Christians. You may know about the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain built around their commemoration of the New Year on November 1st (the beginning of winter in Ireland and just after harvest season). This winter season symbolized death and the Celts believed that the evening of the New Year saw the boundary between the living and the dead dissolve. They believed spirits were present and that the presence of these spirits enabled the priests (druids) to predict the future, so they built bonfires and offered crop and animal sacrifices. The Celts further celebrated this festival by wearing costumes of animal skins.

"My son (Kyler) checking out all the 'loot.'"

In the early 7th century AD, Pope Boniface IV declared an “All Saints’ Day” in May (something like a spiritual memorial day), a time for Christians to honor saints and martyrs (similar to our political Memorial Day when we remember men and women who have given their lives in service to our country). The festival was transferred to November 1st by Pope Gregory III in the 8th century. This holiday (literally, holy day) was also known as “All Hallows,” for “hallow” and “saint” both refer to that which is set apart or holy. The day before “All Hallows” was naturally “All Hallows Eve,” and eventually it was shortened to “Halloween.”

In addition to this history, Protestants do well to remember October 31st as Reformation day, for on that day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg, Germany. Luther’s work challenged Roman Catholicism, primarily over the issue of the sale of indulgences. Years later, historians have recognized that this moment sparked the eventual Protestant Reformation, ushering in such doctrines and practices as justification by faith, Bible translations in the language of the people, religious liberty, and more.

Much of the spiritual connotation for Halloween has been lost in our current observance of spooky themes, trick-or-treats, and the like. Some Christians, seeing little harm once a year, have completely adapted to this form of Halloween. Other more Fundamentalist-minded believers ridicule anyone for associating with this day.

I prefer to take more of the middle-ground by seizing the opportunity and redeeming the time (cf. Ephesians 5:17; Colossians 4:5) to teach others about the Protestant Reformation and the grace of God at work through Christ in turning sinners into saints. Even though Halloween is largely celebrated in a pagan fashion today, I don’t believe Christians should sit back in idleness. We can put a Christian spin (back) into Halloween—we can emphasize the “hallow” in Halloween.

Turning a pagan day into something different is nothing new to Christianity. We’ve set aside a day in December to compete with ancient Mesopotamia’s worship of false gods. The birth of Christ was celebrated annually as early as AD 98, but Julius I of Rome didn’t choose December 25 until AD 350. Today, virtually the whole world has secularized Christmas into gift-giving materialism, but Christians still remember the importance this “holy day,” when God fulfilled His promise in sending His Son into the world to redeem sinners.

"Yes, the one on the left (Kara) is an 'Air Head' and my other daughter on the right (Kaylyn) is a 'Smartie.'

Or consider Easter as another example. Though it celebrates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, it replaced a pagan practice of honoring the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre (“Easter” was a common word that then became applied to Christ’s resurrection). Though worship of this goddess was dying out by the time of Christ, we have no evidence that Christians celebrated Christ’s resurrection annually till the end of the 2nd century. The current date, however, wasn’t established until the First Council of Nicea (325), which set Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. Far too many people associate Easter with a bunny and eggs, but that doesn’t stop people from entering churches in greater mass that day than other day of the year in remembrance of Christ’s victory over death.

Even the very days of the week have been handed down to us from a pagan background. Whether you trace the names of each day of the week through Latin, Roman, or German origins, you cannot escape the fact that our days are named after false deities (Sunday, for the day of the Sun god, Monday for the Moon god, Thursday for the day of Thor, the Norse Viking god, Saturday for the Roman god Saturn, etc.). Though we have retained these names, we should use any and every day to honor our Lord.

Just as Christians have turned special pagan times of the year into holidays, like Christmas and Easter, and just as we live out each day of the week for Christ, so we can redeem the time with Halloween by focusing on that which is hallow (holy). We carry a hope-filled message about God’s faithfulness, and I believe Christians can reform Halloween into something positive for our children and our community.

How do we do this? Maybe we can give out candy with a message for people to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). What about jack-o’-lanterns? Perhaps you could carve a “Christian” version with a cross-shaped nose and underscore the candle as the light of Christ shining through His people. What about dressing up in costumes? As long as the costumes don’t promote evil or aren’t gory, I don’t see any harm in these things. Kids (and adults) have fun playing dress-up, so why not let them express themselves for such an occasion You may want to dress-up like a Bible character or wear an innocent costume and teach others that though we may try to change into a different character, God’s character never changes.

Does that mean that everyone will come to see a message of spiritual hope and that which is hallow in Halloween? No, but neither does everyone understand the significance of Christmas and Easter. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to be separate from the world, while seizing the opportunities around us. I would rather redeem the time (and the day) for Christ and put hallow back into Halloween.

Redeeming the time,
Pastor Joel Breidenbaugh

Massive "Curse of the Spider King" Contest!

2009-09-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

Author friends of mine, Wayne Batson and Christopher Hopper, have a great contest going on to promote their new book, Curse of the Spider King. Follow this link and check it out!

http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/2009/09/biggest-contest-in-history-of-men-and.html

As you may recall (or not if you are new to my blog), I went on the Fantasy Fiction Tour this time last year with 7 amazing authors: Wayne, Chris, Donita K. Paul, Jonathan Rogers, L.B. Graham, Sharon Hinck, and Bryan Davis. The tour took us from Vancouver, BC down through Seattle, WA, Portland, OR and the Coast of California to our final destination - San Diego. The Miller Brothers joined us for the Northwest portion of the trip and it was an amazing 9 days of 3-a-day visits to schools, churches, and bookstores. If you haven't seen the videos, check out my archives from Oct. and Nov. 2008 or find them posted on Youtube under "the Motiv8 Fantasy Fiction Tour 2008.

I'm excited for Wayne and Christopher and their co-authored series. I recall them working furiously on their lap tops as we bounced down the highway in the 15 passenger van, periodically yelling out, "does anyone have a good synonym for ________?" These guys are crazy fun... so I'm sure it will be reflected in their joint effort! Get in on the contest and be a part of promoting Curse of the Spider King to all your friends!

If you want to see there zany side right now... check out the video below.

Eric

Congrats to the Book Winner - Evergreena!

2009-09-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

The winner of the book drawing for a copy of Scott Appleton's "Swords of the Six" is a new blog follower who goes by the name of "Evergeena." Congrats! For those of you who did not win, do not despair... keep following my blog and we will have more give-a-ways and contests. In addition, if you are on Facebook, look me up under Eric Reinhold or the Ryann Watters Book Fan Club.

Be blessed,
Eric

FREE BOOK Give-a-way & Interview with "Swords of the Six" author Scott Appleton

2009-09-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Alway on the look-out for good Christian fantasy books for youth, I stumbled across Scott Appleton the other day and so far we've hit it off. Scott is a freelance writer living in the northeast corner of Connecticut. He's the author of such published short stories as Moses & the Lamb, The Woodland King, and Splintered Sacrifice. Swords of the Six is his first novel and he lives happily with his wife in their small appartment (his words).

TO ENTER THE BOOK GIVE-A-WAY, JUST BECOME A "FOLLOWER" OF MY BLOG AND YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED!

Here's a short summary of the first novel in Scott's series: "Swords of the Six."

In ancient times the dragon prophet was betrayed by his choicest warriors. One thousand years later he gave the traitors' swords to six human daughters that he hatched out of eggs and sent them on a mission to find the first of the traitors that escaped retribution. Weilding rusted swords the dragon's daughters set out to find that first traitor . . . with an offer for him to repent.

Now a few questions for Scott:

Q1. What made you choose to write?

Six years ago I was a student missionary in Thailand. While there I wrote down the first ideas for a fantasy story (though at the time I'd never read fantasy) and when I returned to the States I started expanding that story. I worked various jobs, but disliked working for companies and doing tasks that took no imagination. During this time I expended my frustrations and joys into my developing storyline. From that point on the stories grew in my head and I couldn't help but write; I loved it.

Q2. Where do you write best?

Definitely at home sitting down listening to movie soundtracks, but location is dependant on the time of day. I find if difficult to write when a lot of activity is going on around me. Most of my writing for the first The Sword of the Dragon novel was typed into my laptop between 10 o'clock at night and 3 o'clock in the morning.

Q3. Is there a topic you've always wanted to write about?

Yes. I want to delve into the life of Moses through extra-biblical writings and create—what I know could be—a galvanizing novel. It will take years to accomplish, in part because I want to visit Egypt as part of my research.

Q4. How do you get your ideas? Do you use real events in your novels and if so, can you describe one?

I don't use real events in my novels, though my books do (sometimes) mirror my life-experiences. I have to sit and ponder for a while before the stories come to me. Then I ask myself a series of 'What if' questions to determine how far my imagination can take the plot. So, in a way, I guess you could say the ideas just come to me.

Q5. How many The Sword of the Dragon novels will there be?

My series is titled The Sword of the Dragon and I am hoping to fit all the material I've created over the past few years into seven novels. The first four titles are Swords of the Six, Offspring, The Key of Living Fire, and In Search of Dragons

Q6. Are all the books written? If not, do you know plot points for all of them?

The books are not all completed. However, I have a manuscript from which I am working and it tells the entire story from novel one Swords of the Six to the final one, Sword & Savior. I have a couple thousand pages of material for this series and some for a series that I will do afterward called The Death Knight Chronicles. It will take a lifetime to finish them all.

Thanks Scott for spending some time with us. For more info, you can check out his website at http://www.theswordofthedragon.com/ and his blog at http://www.flamingpen.blogspot.com/.

Mount Dora Headlines: Warspiders Invade Quaint Rural Town!

2009-09-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

Police are dumbfounded. Last night, on what should have been a typical lazy, end of Summer Sunday, downtown Mount Dora came under what one resident called, "an attack."

The lone eyewitness was a drifter named Noah Johnson, who admitted he sleeps on a park bench out behind the First Presbyterian Church. He was awakened by the crashing sounds of metal trash cans and newspaper boxes smashing on the street. After extensive questioning by police, the rattled homeless man could only say that he saw what looked to be

"enormous spiders racing down the street."

When he got up to take a closer look, he said they "jumped" up on buildings at Dora Drawdy Way and headed down the alley way past the Goblin Market and Mount Dora Coffee Shop.

Police confirmed that the rooftops along the route mentioned by Mr. Johnson had indeed been badly damaged. They followed the destruction to where it ended and taped off the area as a crime scene.

After not being able to get any further answers from police, I walked around the perimeter of the yellow tape and saw a local boy, Ryann Watters sneak out from the far end. Ryann appeared visibly shaken and when I asked him about what he had seen he told me he’d rather not talk about it, but he had taken numerous pictures of the remains they left behind. I asked him to show them to me and as we clicked through his pictures on his cell phone, strangely only one of them had turned out.

Ryann indicated that he’s friends with Mr. Johnson and that when he talked with him, the drifter described the encounter as some sort of attack, even going so far to call them "warspiders."

The idea of this sleepy little town coming under attack by giant spiders seems a little far-fetched to this reporter.

There are many unanswered questions, but my plan is to find a place to get comfortable behind the church tonight and see if the arachnids return.

ATTENTION: I this is the one picture that was developed from Ryann's camera. I finally got a copy and am able to post it today - Oct. 18, 2009!

I love the stories songs can tell...

2009-08-29T19:42:00.001-07:00

And the lessons that can be learned. There is a trio of songs I was listening to today as I washed my cars (my wife's and mine... what a great husband!). Anyway... they all dealt with the same theme of how we view ourselves. While it's true that 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,' Romans 3:23, it's also true that Christ's attoning sacrifice has paid for our sin and that we are a new creature. God now looks at His Son in us.

Do you ever feel down? Do you ever hate something about yourself? It happens to the best of us and while the motivational speakers say to repeat positive things in your head, or the drill instructors and coaches say, "pick yourself up by your bootstraps and get going," (what are boot straps anyway?)... as Christians we can find solace in knowing the God loves us. How do we know? You know the verse... John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."

I've reprinted the words and a music video of the songs I listened to below. They all speak to us not having to focus on the imperfections in our life. God doesn't save perfect people... He reaches out to those who are crippled like me.

NATASHA BEDINGFIELD'S "FRECKLES"

I used to care so much about what others think about
Almost didn’t have a thought of my own
The slightest remark would make me embark
On the journey of self doubt
But that was a while ago
This girl has got stronger
If I knew then what I know now
I would have told myself don’t worry any longer it's OK

[Chorus:]
'cause a face without freckles is like a sky without stars
Why waste a second not loving who you are
Those little imperfections make you beautiful, lovable, valuable,
They show your personality inside your heart
Reflecting who you are

Who you are
Who you are
Who you are

I wondered if I could trade my body with somebody else in magazines
With the whole world full at my feet
I phantom worthy and would blame my failures on the ugliness I could see
When the mirror looked at me
Sometimes I feel like the little girl who doesn’t belong in her own world
But I'm getting better
And I'm reminding myself

[Chorus]

Reflecting who you are
Reflecting who you are
Hmmm
Whoooooo whoa hmmmm oooooo

FUN CASUAL RENDITION OF "FREE TO BE ME"

At twenty years of age
I'm still looking for a dream
A war is already waged for my destiny
But You've already won the battle
And You've got great plans for me
Though I can't always see, 'cause...

I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
And on my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me

When I was just a girl
I thought I had it figured out
See my life will turn out right
And I'll make it here somehow
But things don't always come that easy
And sometimes I would doubt, 'cause...

And you're free to be you

Sometimes I believe
That I can do anything
Yet other times I think
I've got nothing good to bring

But You look at my heart and you tell me
That I've got all You seek
And it's easy to believe, even though...

And you're free to be you

GREAT MUSIC VIDEO BY JOHNNY DIAZ SINGING "MORE BEAUTIFUL YOU"

Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn’t straight her body isn’t fake
And she’s always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don’t buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one the things that you’ve already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you’ve got a man but he’s got another plan
Only wants what you will do instead

[ Jonny Diaz Lyrics are found on www.songlyrics.com ]
Well little girl twenty-one you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But I can promise you there’s a man whose love is true
And he’ll treat you like the jewel you are

So turn around you’re not too far
To back away be who you are
To change your path go another way
It’s not too late you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights hope to forget
Can disappear they can all be washed away
By the one who’s strong can right your wrongs
Can rid your fears dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark distorted view
And with His light He will show you truth
And again you’ll see through the eyes of a little girl

Calling All Candy Addicts!

2009-08-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

I ran across this blog and thought it was pretty cool. Lots of reviews of all types of candy, the top 10 gross candies, best, etc. What's your favorite candy? Chocolate? Gummie Bears? Sour? Sweet? Take a look and see what you think.

http://candyaddict.com/blog/

Personally, my favorite has always been Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. I do confess that I eat 3-5 Hershey's Kisses each morning with a steaming cup of black coffee! My son, on the other hand, prefers the Sour stuff (like warheads, pictured).

Florida Baptist Witness Paper Review

2009-08-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

Novels set in Mt. Dora follow teens’ search for the armor of God
Published August 13, 2009

ORLANDO (FBW)—Imagining fantasies to tell his three children at bedtime, Orlando resident Eric Reinhold developed a cast of characters and events that became the basis for supernatural adventure novels published by Creation House. The recently released Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith follows book one of the series, Ryann Watters and the King’s Sword, published in 2008.
In the books, 12-year-old Ryann is set on a fantasy adventure by a command from the angel Gabiel “to search our and put on the full armor of God so that you can take a stand against the devil’s schemes.” The angel leaves a glowing ring with Ryann to help on the quest. Unable to keep quiet about the angel’s visit, Ryann enlists his friends Terrell and Liddy in his search for pieces of God’s armor. Another boy—a classroom bully—is visited by a dark angel, Lord Ekron, who charges him with thwarting all of Ryann’s godly efforts.

All the non-fantasy action takes place in Mt. Dora, where the friends meet at the Dickens-Reed Book Nook and attend Mt. Dora Middle School. The lakes and gazebos around the city serve as passageways to the world of Aeliana where mythical friends and talking animals help them in their searches.

The second book, in which Ryann searches for the shield of faith, places Ryann and his friends in “more grown-up situations and more do-or-die circumstances,” according to a publisher’s news release.

The author is a member of First Baptist Church Sweetwater in Longwood where is he is a deacon, Sunday School teacher and volunteer with the high school youth group. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and University of Baltimore, he is president of Academy Wealth Management, a financial planning firm.

While growing up in Miami, Reinhold read the works of C.S. Lewis and sci-fi author Marion Zimmer Bradley. Such influences combine to produce what one reviewer called a “fine balance between virtuous substance and an enchanting romp.”

Reinhold began outlining the
Annals of Aeliana series in 2000, but was sidetracked by health and business issues before picking up the project again in 2007. The hard-cover volumes, 227 and 384 pages, are colorfully illustrated by Corey Wolfe, and contain maps of both Mt. Dora and Aeliana, and an illustrated list of characters.

Reinhold is currently writing book three in the series, Ryann Watters and the Belt of Truth. For more information on the Annals of Aeliana Series, go to www.ryannwatters.com.

Eric Reinhold, CFP, MBA, Academy Wealth Management, 1900 Summit Tower Blvd, Suite 230, Orlando, FL 32779. Securities and Advisory Services Offered Through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.

INTERVIEW on Blog Talk Radio

2009-08-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

On August 10th I was interviewed by Felice Gerwitz on her blog talk radio show, "In a Nutshell." Felice and I met a few years ago at a home school fair and hit it off right away. She is a writer, conducts seminars, and assists authors in honing their craft and getting published. She has her own publishing company, Media Angels. We spent an hour discussing our stories and ideas on how to both market your book and get into writing. Sit down with your favorite beverage (click below) and have a listen!
Eric

First Wild Card Book Tours Reviews "The Shield of Faith"

2009-08-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Eric Reinhold

and the book:

Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith

Creation House; 1st edition (May 5, 2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eric J. Reinhold is the president of Academy Wealth Management and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. His passion is to write youth fantasy novels that incorporate strong moral character and biblical values. Eric teaches Sunday school at First Baptist Sweetwater Church in Longwood, Florida, where he attends with his wife, Kim, and three children.

Visit the author's website and blog.

Product Details:

List Price: $19.99
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Creation House; 1st edition (May 5, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1599796260
ISBN-13: 978-1599796260

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Into the Crypt

Echoes from unseen singers filled the cavernous space inside the United States Naval Academy Chapel. Row after row of precisely aligned dark wood benches were broken up by a single swath of navy blue carpet running the length of the church. The perfectly blended voices seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere in particular. Ryann, who had just celebrated his thirteenth birthday, was drawn into the melodic a cappella song.

Eternal Father, strong to save,

Whose arm hath bound the restless wave.

Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep.

O hear us when we cry to Thee

For those in peril on the sea.

Goose bumps popped up along his arm in the silence that followed. He felt alone, yet he was one of the hundreds sitting stiffly upright in the ornately fashioned pews. Squirming in the hard seat, he tried to displace the chill running down his back. He peered forward over the unmoving heads packed into the hundreds of rows in front of them. The white shirts with black and gold shoulder boards, identifying the rank of each midshipman, dotted the otherwise drab congregation.

Focusing further ahead into the base of the circular, domed room, his eyes widened to capture the openness rising heavenward from the brown pulpit. Ryann jerked as blasts sounded from massive golden pipes shooting up from both sides of the altar, cracking the eerie silence. Windy bellows cascaded around the dome, two hundred feet up. The novelty of such an instrument held his attention until the rays of the early morning sun began illuminating the stained glass mural outlined by the pipes. The face of Jesus radiated with the morning glow as He walked calmly across the tossing blue-green waves. Above the stained glass were the words “Eternal Father, Strong to Save.”

Without moving his head, Ryann glanced left down the pew. He had positioned himself perfectly, or so he thought, with his sister, Alison, next to him, followed by his brother, Henry Jr., and then his parents. To his right was an open aisle. As the white-robed pastor strode purposefully from his highback chair to the podium, Ryann’s hand crept along his pant leg with the stealth of a spider. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone, suppressing a smile as he silently congratulated himself on picking out one so small. He was grateful his parents had bought the phone but struggled with the rules that had come with it, like their prohibition against texting in church.

The sound of the pastor’s voice launching into the sermon provided the perfect diversion for him to slide the phone down the side of his leg. A quick glance provided the needed confidence to continue, and Ryann’s thumb moved with robotic precision to select his two best friends and then type out a quick message.

here in academy chapel. wuu2?

Ryann had received the phone as a gift for moving up to seventh grade. Liddy’s and Terell’s parents had quickly followed his parents’ lead, and now the three of them could get in touch with each other at any moment. Being scattered around the country for summer vacations didn’t seem quite so bad when they could quickly share moments with their best friends.

Ryann put his father in the category of “techie” and patiently sat through his instructions on all the features of the cell phone, but the real education came from his friends. He was going to be taking his first year of Spanish when classes began, and Ryann figured it would actually be his third language after English and texting. He smiled. Who would have known a month ago that wuu2 meant, “What are you up to?” Sliding the cell phone under his leg to keep it hidden, he shifted in the hard bench and sighed, waiting to see if there would be a response.

Bzzzzz…

Liddy’s back pocket buzzed as she followed her parents down the white marble stairs of the grand foyer. She slowly reached around to pull out the hot pink phone as her parents and other tourists listened to the tour director.

“The Breakers is the grandest of Newport’s summer cottages and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family’s social and financial preeminence in turn-of-the-century America. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt established the family fortune in steamships and later in the New York Central Railroad, which was a pivotal development in the industrial growth of the nation during the late nineteenth century—”

Liddy rolled her eyes. Cottages? Who are they trying to kid? This is the biggest mansion I’ve ever seen. Flipping open her phone, she read Ryann’s message and quickly responded.

at huge mansion in rhode island. doin 3.5 mile hike along ocean cliff trail later today. cya

Liddy enjoyed the change of scenery as her family took their annual summer vacation to Rhode Island to stay with her grandparents. With the trip winding down, her parents had suggested a day trip to the famous Newport mansions. It sounded boring to Liddy until they mentioned the ocean cliff walk. Two-thirds of the trek was supposed to be fairly easy and scenic, but the last third was described as “treacherous” in the colorful brochure her parents had given her. Seventy-foot drops off the rocky shoreline into the turbulent ocean waves sounded exciting to her.

The abrupt silence of the tour guide erased her vision of the future, and Liddy’s thoughts turned to Terell. Her thumbs glided across the black keys, typing out a quick message.

wuu2? last few days cw2cu

* * *

Bzzzzz…

Terell jerked in his seat, his elbow jabbing his mother in the ribs. Glancing about, he ran his hands up and down the top of his pants, smoothing them out. His mother’s upturned palm came down on his leg.

Busted, Terell thought, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and handing it to her.

Terell watched his mother flip it open so only she could view it. As he looked up into her face she mouthed the word later. He leaned back and tried to focus on the sermon. His mom was pretty consistent about quizzing him about the content later in the day.

“Terell, you know you’re not supposed to have your cell phone on during church,” his mother began as they headed out to their car. “It’s a distraction.”

“I know, Mom, but it’s probably important.”

“Well, when you become a doctor and you’re on call, then you can have it on during church. Otherwise keep it off or don’t bring it.”

Later as they reached the car, he asked, “Can I have it back now?”

His mother fumbled around in her purse, then handed it to him. “By the way, what does ‘cw2cu’ mean?”

“Mom! That’s ‘can’t wait to see you,’” Terell breathed exasperatedly while shaking his head.

“Watch it, Terell. A cell phone is a privilege, not a right.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he acknowledged while flipping open his cell to get the message.

He quickly scanned the text and typed back.

have fun. church is havin end of sumr dinner picnic at evans park. cul8r

* * *

Ryann strode hastily down the granite steps outside the chapel doors with Alison trying to keep up. Red brick walkways running parallel to orange and yellow flowerbeds greeted him. The famous Herndon Monument his father always spoke of towered off to the left.

The twenty-one-foot, gray-speckled obelisk sprouted out of the ground in stark contrast to the rich green grass and brown oak trees surrounding it. He tried to picture hundreds of sweaty midshipmen scaling the greased monument to replace the plebe “dixie-cup hat” on top with a midshipmen cover. This marked the official end of the difficult first year and an elevation from plebe to midshipman third class. As his father had recounted numerous times, legend held that whoever replaced the dixie cup hat was destined to be the first in his or her class to become an admiral, although in reality it had not yet occurred.

“Hey, Ryann!”

He turned in time to watch his older brother, Henry, race down the steps two at a time. “Dad’s talking to some old classmates of his and will be down in a few minutes. He’s got our schedule laid out for the whole day.”

“Really?” Ryann replied in mock sarcasm. “Who would have thought?”

“He wants us to check out John Paul Jones’ crypt before we go to lunch,” Henry said, ignoring Ryann’s comment.

“What’s a crypt?” Alison asked.

“It’s where his bones are buried,” Ryann said, widening his eyes and curling his fingers like monster claws.

“Oh, gross!” Alison replied, scrunching up her face and turning away.

“Where is it?” Ryann asked.

Henry turned to lead the way. “It’s underneath the chapel. Come on, let’s go! He said the entrance is around the side.”

The two boys raced along the narrow sidewalk outlining the left side of the chapel.

“Hey, guys! Wait for me,” Alison cried out from behind them.

Rushing down the steps, Henry and Ryann slapped the thick wooden doors with open palms, jolting the heavy entrance open. Pushing their way in, they stopped just inside at a sign with old typeface, pointing the way to the crypt.

“Hey!”

Both boys jumped as the high-pitched yelp echoed around the small foyer entrance.

“Shhh,” they whispered in unison, glaring at their sister.

“Sorry.” Alison shrugged her shoulders, the light dimming quickly as the bulky doors swung shut with a loud bang.

“Do you think it’s open to the public?” Henry whispered.

“The door wasn’t locked, so it must be, right?” Ryann hesitated momentarily. No one besides the three of them was in sight, but that made the exploration more intriguing. “Come on, this way.”

The small room’s walls hung with ornate religious symbols. A large black wooden door beside an altar caught Ryann’s attention, and he rushed to examine it.

“Well, Mr. Know-it-all, what next?” Alison asked in her snootiest voice.

“We go through the door, of course.” Pushing the door open, Ryann expected to be at their final destination, but instead the door’s echoing groans resounded through a hollow chamber. The catacombs of the chapel basement seemed unending, and the more up-to-date style of this room appeared nothing like a crypt.

“Are you both sure John Paul Jones is down here?” Alison continued with indignant pessimism.

Ryann’s and Henry’s eyes locked briefly, and Henry winked. “Sure, he’s just down the hallway here. C’mon.”

Another rustic black door with an ancient doorknob awaited them. Henry reached it first. He turned the ornate metal doorknob and pulled back firmly.

Creeeeaaaaaaak!

Ryann glanced over his shoulder and gave Alison a sinister grin, hoping to increase her anxiety. A dimly lit room of swirling black and white marble awaited them. He followed his brother into the room and nearly collided with him when Henry stopped. Pushing him aside, Ryann grinned at the sight. A massive, almost totally black coffin dominated the center of the room. The base, rising out of the white marble floor, was adorned with four dolphins leaping out from each corner. Eight thick swirled-marble columns surrounding the coffin held up an ornately carved, octagon-shaped ceiling. Glowing blue light formed a halo in the recession above the tomb, cascading down eerily over the marble casket of the immortalized John Paul Jones.

“Ahh!” Alison cried out. Her voice echoed across the marble floors.

Both boys jerked around in Alison’s direction. Standing at attention next to her like a suit of armor was a Marine guard Ryann hadn’t noticed upon entering. His immaculate dress uniform molded to him as if he never took it off, like a painted statue. Ryann scanned up from the dim light reflecting off the soldier’s polished black shoes, past the crisply pressed blue pants with red stripes down each side to his coat-like black top with gleaming gold buttons from neck to waist. His thick white belt with a highly polished Marine Corps emblazoned buckle, white gloved hands and white cover broke up the dark colors that had kept him hidden. He stared into the expressionless face of the guard to see if he could catch him blinking.

“Hey, kids, I see you made it down here!” their father said from the other side of the room as he walked over to join them. He didn’t try to conceal his smile. “Looks like you took the long way.”

“Kinda creepy, Dad,” Alison said, then whispered, “and there’s a guard over there.”

“Yeah, honey, the military posts uniformed guards at significant memorials to honor those who died in service to our country.”

“Dad, I’ve heard of Davey Jones from that pirate movie, but who’s John Paul Jones?” Henry asked.

Mr. Watters glanced at his watch. “We’ve got to meet some friends for lunch, but in short, he’s the father of the American Navy. All of the dimly lit, recessed alcoves down here have artifacts and details of his life. See there?” He pointed at the floor in front of the marbled coffin. “Etched into the floor, circling the sarcophagus—which by the way is made of twenty-one tons of Grand Pyrenees marble—are the names of the seven ships he commanded during his life.”

“Sarco who?” Henry asked, wrinkling up his brow.

“Sarcophagus. You know, a receptacle for a corpse carved from stone. As a plebe you have to memorize that type of important information.” Ryann’s father smiled.

“Yeah, right.” Henry rolled his eyes.

“Okay, gotta go, guys. And this time, let’s go out the right way,” Mr. Watters said as he led them around the room to the exit.

Ryann read off the names of the ships etched into the marble as they walked—Providence, Ariel, Ranger, Serapis, Alliance, Alfred—and some other name he couldn’t read as they went out the door. As they walked toward their car, he sent a text to Liddy.

just left wicked cool tomb of dead guy under the chapel…zup?

2009-07-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Happy July 4th Weekend! This morning in church our pastor preached on a familiar verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14 - "...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

The key phrases are humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways. The Lord says I will hear you. We don't have to ask the question in this video. Take a quick look...

I'M LETTING GO

2009-07-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

I'm Letting Go by Francesca Battistelli is another song that reminded me of book 1, especially the scenes where Ryann and Liddy and then Terell are jumping into Lake Dora to make the journey into Aeliana. Letting go of the security of the dock and this world and take a literal leap of faith into the next.

An analogy our pastor gave last week, in regards to our faith, spoke to scripture that says "the Lord is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." It's like a flashlight lighting that one step just in front of us while several steps out the path is still dark. We rely on him to light our path and have faith in Him, in what lies ahead. Enjoy the song, words, and the life that comes in Jesus.

My heart beats, standing on the edge
But my feet have finally left the ledge

Like an acrobat
There’s no turning back

Chorus
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
Losing control
Of my destiny
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go

This is a giant leap of faith
Trusting and trying to embrace

The fear of the unknown
Beyond my comfort zone

Chorus
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
Losing control
Of my destiny
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go

Giving in to your gravity
Knowing You are holding me
I’m not afraid

Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
Feels like I’m falling and this is the life for me

Jesus Freak

2009-06-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Are you a Jesus Freak?

I was listening to one of my favorite songs by DC Talk the other day, Jesus Freak, and the words seemed to fit so well with one of the characters in my latest book, "Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith." Upon returning to Aeliana; Ryann, Liddy, and Terell encounter a wild dwarf in the desert by the name of Eljon. He's my 'John the Bapist' character and Jared Sloger (my interior artist) captured him well with this rendering:

Here's a link to DC Talk's music video and a version from their live concert! The words are below. So, are you a Jesus Freak?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-712618840938726637

Separated, I cut myself clean
From a past that comes back
in my darkest of dreams
Been apprehended by a spiritual force
And a grace that replaced all the me I've divorced

I saw a man with tat on his big fat belly
It wiggled around like marmalade jelly
It took me a while to catch what it said
Cause I had to match the rhythm Of his belly with my head
'Jesus Saves' is what it raved in a typical tattoo green
He stood on a box in the middle of the city And claimed he had a dream

(chorus) What will people think
When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak
What will people do when they find that it's true
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain't no disguising the truth

Kamikaze, my death is gain
I've been marked by my Maker A peculiar display
The high and lofty, they see me as weak
Cause I won't live and die for the power they seek

There was a man from the desert with naps in his head
The sand that he walked was also his bed
The words that he spoke made the people assume
There wasn't too much left in the upper room
With skins on his back and hair on his face
They thought he was strange by the locusts he ate
The Pharisees tripped when they heard him speak
Until the king took the head of this Jesus freak

(chorus) What will people think
When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak
What will people do when they find that it's true
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain't no disguising the truth

The New Website is Up and Running!

2009-05-23T13:28:00.001-07:00

Check out the new website at www.ryannwatters.com and let me know what you think. I divided it into 5 stones (read about those in book 2) and each stone takes you into a different place on the website.

Stone 1 = The Original Book One site with some modifictions

Stone 2 = New Book Two site which has the same feel as the original site (make sure to check out the artist corner with Jared Sloger and the new settings area).

Stone 3 = Future Books: I will place all of the latest info on "Ryann Watters and the Belt of Truth," here.

Stone 4 = Fun Stuff: I've moved some stuff around so that you can find the contests, updates, wall paper downloads, videos, etc. here.

Stone 5 = The Store... Oh yeah, the books can be bought here and it's the only place (besides in person) where they are signed and come with a full color, laminated bookmarker.

FEEDBACK: I'd love to get your feedback on what you think about the website. Send me a quick e-mail and pass along the link to friends, pastors, teachers, kids, and everyone you vaguely know! For Creation House to move ahead with Book 3, they need to hit sales of at least 10,000 books. Thanks for your help! Eric

Earl Release Book Party

2009-05-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

I had a fun time at my early-release open house. This picture is of my beautiful high school sweetheart and now wife, Kim (21 years next month)... I know we look like newlyweds!

Over 250 books have sold through pre-orders on my website and I'm looking forward to the retail release date on May 5th. When you have a minute, please spread the work via e-mails, blogs, twitter, facebook and put a review up on Amazon, Borders, or Christian Books.com. Speaking of all these places on the net, if you haven't found me on FACEBOOK yet then type in Eric Reinhold and Ryann Watters Book Fan Club. You can follow a lot of the happenings and see other fun pics that I don't post here.

My website is currently being overhauled to coincide with the release of book 2, so check http://www.ryannwatters.com/ in the next week to see if it's up and running and give me feedback!

Have a blessed week!

Eric

CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED AND NEW CONTEST REVEALED!

2009-04-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the winner of Contest # 7 - Summer Jackson of Abbotsford, British Columbia (that's Canada for all you kids in the U.S. who haven't taken Geography). I will be sending her the brand new, not yet in stores, hot off the press, signed copy of "Shield of Faith!" Thanks to everyone who submitted an answer.

CONTEST # 8 IS NOW UP ON THE WEBSITE

#8 The First BOOK 2 - SHIELD OF FAITH Trivia. Since the book is only available on my website until May 5th, when it will be on Amazon and local bookstores. OPEN UNTIL JUNE 30TH ***Question: What do buttons 4 and 5 do on Ryann's staff?

Also, in the next 10 days or so there is going to be a major update of my website, which will include all new content for book 2. Keep checking back for it.

Now... I'm off to pack for a short 5 day, family vaction to Naples (no not Italy, but Florida... it's a 4 hour drive) Gotcha!

The picture above is part of the book... what do those 5 blue stones mean? Hmmm, maybe an idea for the next trivia question!

Be blessed and KEEP THE FAITH!

Habakkuk 2:4

The Books Are In!

2009-04-17T05:28:00.000-07:00

YEAH!!!

It's now official... I have received my pre-order shipment of book 2, "Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith." It's exciting to be able to have my own extensive supply of books so that I can easily take them to book signings and also provide a service to readers through direct sales. My website (or of course in person) is the only way to get a signed book...

PLUS, I had a printing company put print awesome, full-color, glossy bookmarkers that combine the front and back covers of the book. Those come free with an order off my website http://www.ryannwatters.com/.

I was concerned on the day of delivery as Central Florida was experiencing a downpour of rain. Fortunately the driver was late and the rain stopped by delivery time. My wife, Kim, and two of my kids came by to help move the boxes of books into storage.

In the same vein of the chip company that says "we'll make more," I'm hoping to get the word out about Ryann Watters so that I can say, "we'll print more!" Thanks for taking an interest and please pass the word about The Annals of Aeliana via e-mail, Facebook, book reviews on-line (Amazon, Borders, Christianbooks.com, etc.). I appreciate it!

Be blessed,

Eric

Pre-order Book 2 now and get $5 off!

2009-04-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

Yeah! Book 2 is now available to Pre-order

and will be shipped April 18th!

That's 3 weeks ahead of Amazon and your favorite bookstore. Plus I'll be signing all of the books and including a free, full-color, glossy bookmark with each one. They can be ordered directly here:

http://shop.ryannwatters.com/main.sc

Thanks for your support! If you can pass along the word to friends via e-mail, facebook, and in person at church, school, clubs, and sports teams I would appreciate it. Books build momentum via people and the sales on book 1 and 2 will go a long way towards my publisher engaging me for book 3.

Thanks again!

Eric

Book 2 is off to the Printers!

2009-03-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

The count down has begun! My manuscript has gone through final approvals and is now off to the printer! Coming in at a whopping 400 pages, it will be almost twice the fun as book one! Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith is going to be in stores on May 5th but I will be receiving early release copies on April 15th! Yes, there is a bright spot for tax day this year.

I will be making the book available for a SPECIAL Pre-release discount if you order early and your signed copy will be mailed out on the 16th and 17th! Please spread the word! Check http://www.ryannwatters/ next week!

I thought you'd enjoy a sneak peak at the title page treatment!

Thanks, Eric

Final cover layout and typesetting

2009-03-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

The final cover layout is concluding this week and I am very happy with the results. The final piece of the puzzle was trying to find a picture of me that didn't scare away potential readers! Actually, it was hard to get the right photo this time. For "The King's Sword," I raced over to Mount Dora and had a tourist walking down the street snap a few pictures and one of them worked great.

This time around I have been to Mount Dora three times and think I finally have the right photo. It was so sunny each time that I had a hard time keeping my eyes open and since I have foregone a professional photographer, complete with shading screens, proper artificial lighting, etc., the job was a little more difficult.

My 10 year old son, Kyler took the pics yesterday and I am choosing between the two here. I'm leaning more towards the casual one of me sitting down.

Weigh in with your opinion if you like!

I took a few others while out at lighthouse point (see sign and birds). My desire with each of my books was to capture a unique place in Mount Dora (the setting for the book). Book one was taken in front of the old bookstore (now out of business) and for book 2 there is so much that takes place near the town's landmark lighthouse, that I wanted to have my picture taken with it in the background.

More updates coming this week... including excerpts of book 2. I am in talks with the web designer now and there are some cool additions coming!

Eric

New Interior Artist - Jared Sloger - Introduced!

2009-02-23T08:33:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to officially announce, Jared Sloger, as my new interior artist. Jared is from Omaha, NE and we met through my brother, Baron, initially. Baron attended Jared's church (his father Lou, happens to be the pastor of ,Grace Baptist Church Of Papillion). I received a phonecall asking if I could help connect Lou and Jared to people in Orlando when they came to Central Florida to visit colleges and the famous "Full Sail" art school. Short story... I put them in touch with a few connections, but as I was looking over Jared's work (he graduated from Metropolitan Community College with an Associates Degree last year)

I recognized his talent and asked him if he would like to showcase his work in the form of doing the chapter pictures for book 2 in my series.

Innitially I was going to have 20 chapters in book 2, so Jared was going to complete that many. As I finished the book, I realized it was twice as long and the chapters needed to be broken down. So instead of 20 chapters, book 2 has 39 chapters. I am pleased to announce that instead of small chapter pictures, I have worked with the publisher to have full page artwork included for many of the chapters.

I know Jared would love to get your feedback. You can find him at http://www.jaredsloger.com/

and see other artwork in various genres. I will also have a new artist's corner in the revised website, which should be out sometime in mid to late March. You can also find some of Jared's work on my Facebook page. Just log into Facebook and type in my name and you'll find me!

I've enclosed a few pics for book 2 and will continue to roll out more as we approach publication date. Thanks! Eric

More of Mount Dora!

2009-02-21T14:37:00.000-08:00

I made another trek over to Mount Dora to take a few more pics. The publisher wanted some retakes for the inside cover of book 2.

No... this picture won't be in the book! Just me having a little fun with my version of Ryann's sword and shield. That is the real shield for book 2. It's on the front cover.

My daughter, Kara, took a bunch of shots and in the end, while some were very good... the sun was causing me to squint. Soooooo... this weekend we took some more photos inside with decent lighting and they're going to photoshop me out and then back in! You blog followers are now in the know.

If you've read book one, then you know that the lighthouse in Mount Dora is a key landmark - well in book 2, it's even more so.

The pic on the left is of my son, Kyler. We had a fun time walking around town and getting a free cupcake from the shop I mentioned in the previous post!

CONTEST # 7 - WIN A COPY OF "RYANN WATTERS AND THE SHIELD OF FAITH," BEFORE IT GOES TO THE STORES!

If you haven't entered contest number 7 yet, then do it now! Send your answers to eric@ryannwatters.com. All of the answers are here on the blog. Here are the questions:

THE DEADLINE IS APRIL 1st !

1. Who is the new interior artist for book 2?
2. What is the name of the football player who is a client of mine?

3. What character is sitting on my keyboard?
4. Who is on the cover of the comic book I am holding on my trip to New York City?

5. What Super Hero is in the background of the picture of me and cover artist Corey Wolfe?

EXTRA: What is your favorite book by another author who was on the Fantasy Fiction Tour with me? (Blog and fantasyfictiontour.com)

Great Day to Visit Mount Dora!

2009-02-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

FUN in MOUNT DORA!

My son, Kyler and I headed over to Mount Dora today. For those up north, I'm sorry to rub it in... but it was 78 degrees and Sunny! My first reason to make the trek, 20 miles over to Mount Dora, was to get some pictures taken for the expanded website (coming soon) and for the jacket cover of book 2. I wanted to get a picture of me by the lighthouse. I give you a preview in my next blog entry.

The other reason was to check out some of the newer stores I hadn't been in yet. My favorite shoppe today was by far - Cupcake Delights.

Judy is the owner and a super lady. I took quite a few pictures of she store and then went inside to introduce myself. It ends up that she has a 6th grader, Taylor, so I gave her a copy of my book. In return, she treated me to a few cupcakes for my kids. So... if you make your way to Mount Dora when your visiting Orlando, be sure to stop in, say hello to Judy, and tell her you read about Cupcake Delights on my blog!

If you want a “bakers’ cupcake” that will melt in your mouth and disappear long before you're ready for it to (causing you to try another) then stop by. You’ll get a warm welcome and a mighty fine cupcake.

Judy lives in Mount Dora, Florida with her husband Kyle and their daughter Taylor. She knew Mount Dora was a perfect place to start a cupcake shop. It’s a great little town and an awesome place to visit!

I couldn't agree with these comments more. I have a dream of buying a place in Mount Dora one day and opening up a bookstore / coffee shoppe. Help me sell a million copies and it's a done deal :)

By the way... you can slobber all over your keyboard by checking them out on the web at:

http://www.mountdoracupcakes.com/

Clacking Away on my Keyboard

2009-01-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

DRAGONS

Clackity Clack Clack... goes my keyboard as I go back and continue revisions on book 2. I was a tad premature on turning in my manuscript (see previous blog entry). With the friends I have made in the Christian Fantasy genre, I was honored to have Donita K Paul, offer her assistance in "polishing" my latest work. So now, we are going back and forth daily on two chapters of my book and all I can say is that it is a fantastic blessing.

Donita is awesome and I get a kick out of the comments she makes in regards to my story as well as the suggestions. This will not delay the printing process, but I guarantee that it will make book 2 a more enjoyable read!

Off to the right we have my version of "Sorcha." One of the key characters in book 2. As you can see from my screen saver above that, I really like White Dragons! I have several other characters from my book in plastic figurines, which I custom paint for realism and motivation.

Here is a close up...

If you want to see more, let me know and I'll put a few up of Ryann, riding the Pegasus, Adain, also in book 2 and the main character, Carwyn, who is a white unicorn.

Thanks,
Eric

Whoopee! Shield of Faith Manuscript Submitted

2009-01-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

Today is a cause for celebration!

I have officially submitted the manuscript for book 2 in the Annals of Aeliana series - Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith. It ended up being 95,250 words and 400 pages versus 55,000 and 224 pages for book 1. It will be in the editors hands for a few weeks and then back to me for revisions. In the meantime, they will be working on layout for the cover and interior pics etc.

I will try and post some of the art work to give you a taste of what's to come! It is very exciting. I have mentioned that I have a new interior artist, Jared Sloger, and he is doing an amazing job. Corey Wolfe is still the cover artist and updated the Aeliana map, inside, to expand to 2 pages instead of 1.

For now I will leave you with a still to be revised front cover for book 2 and the back cover. I'd appreciate any comments you have. Some of the issues still under consideration are whether to put "Book 2 in the Annals of Aeliana Series" line on the front or along the spine. What do you think? Also, the moon will be removed from the backcover (in case you're looking at the details) and there will be two moons on the front. If you've read book one, you know what that's all about.

I had a totally different idea for book 2's cover, but when I was visiting the Northwest this past summer with my family, we visited Corey Wolfe in Portland, OR. It was then that I say down and brainstormed with Corey. He listened to my idea for the cover and then asked me if there was another scene in the story in which a lot of characters are involved.

He sketched out the idea for this scene as we talked. Ryann is on the Pegasus, Adain, and Liddy and Terell are on the White Dragon, Sorcha, escaping from the Black Unicorn, Narcissus. There are thousands of bats chasing them, but also hundreds of Hugons on the ground. Hugons are part of the bad army of Narcissus and are "half Human and half Dragon." I know, such a clever name! I also had a chance to work in "the Shield of Faith," with Ryann carrying it. The White Unicorn, Carwyn, is the hero of the story.

Thanks again for your feedback. I can't wait to share the story with you. Look for it on my website http://www.ryannwatters.com/ in pre-release in April and on Amazon and stores in May 2009.

Eric Reinhold meets President Bush!

2009-01-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

Well... sort of. The above photo was taken at "The Gathering 2009" in Orlando last night. It is an annual event specifically designed for those who manage church bookstores. It lasts for 4 days, but for Wednesday night they invited around 30 authors from numerous publishers to attend, be a guest at a table of attendees, give a 30 sec. talk on our book and then go to the convention hall to sign books and interact with the rest of the attendees.

The Presidential Impersonator above is John Morgan, who resides here in Orlando. John was at a Dreambuilders meeting I went to one morning here in town when I gave away a copy of my book to the 35 men in attendance. Apparently that made an impression on him that a financial adviser could become an author and he decided he would write a book. He's a very funny guy and does stand up as "W" at corporate events and other functions. A strong Christian, his book is published through the same publisher as mine (Creation House) and is titled: "My Life as a Bush... and my heart for imitating Jesus."

It was a fun morning, today, as I met with one of my favorite clients, Hall of Famer NFL Cornerback, Darrell Green, formerly of the Washington Redskins. He's down here in Orlando to help train college players preparing for College All Star Games and the NFL combines.

A great Christian man who is also quite savy as a business owner. You can check out more about Darrell at www.darrellgreen.com.

Yeah! I've finished Book 2!!!

2009-01-06T06:14:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe that I've finished the draft of Book 2, "Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith!"

For me this was a big feat. Book 1 was seven years in the making. Granted I only wrote for around 1-1/2 years of the seven, but none the less, there were revisions and a lot that went into it. Book 2 was outlined over the first 3 months of 2008, then between work, vacations, the Fantasy Fiction Tour, more work, and family commitments, I wrote Book 2 (which is almost twice as long as book 1) in the remaining 9 months of the year.

Yes, this is a picture of me in "my dungeon," as my wife Kim refers to it. Details include my sword, in the background from the Fantasy Fiction Tour (courtesy of Real Armor of God - www.realarmorofgod.com) and the shield I purchased from them. The shield is awesome, in that it has a white unicorn on the front, who is the main character in book 2. The shield also shows up on the front cover. Next, you may notice 3 figures on my printer. Yes, they are Ryann riding a Pegasus - Adain, a White Dragon - Sorcha, and the White Unicorn - Carwyn... I'll take a few close ups for another blog.

Corey Wolfe, my cover artist, finished the map for book two, which is an expanded map from the first book. I love the way he drew, "The Island of Skulls." He did an awesome job on the cover for book 2 and I'll get it posted soon.

I also have an artist making his debut by drawing the chapter pictures for book 2. God has gifted this young man with amazing talent and I want to save a special blog posting just for him to introduce a few of the interior pictures. I know you're going to love them. They really help the story come alive for the reader.

Right now I am going through my own editing and should have that completed by next week to forward to the publisher's editor. Everything is on track for a store release date of May 5, 2009, but I'll have some pre-release copies available on my website and special book signings in April. I am also looking forward to getting feedback from a few of the authors from the Fantasy Fiction Tour (www.fantasyfictiontour.com) including; Donita K. Paul, Wayne Thomas Batson, and L B. Graham... thanks guys for whatever insights you can provide! My daughter Kara (13) has been very diligent to provide me her comments along the way, from the eyes of a young teen. EJR

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-12-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

For the Holidays, I thought I'd give you a view of what I see from my office. The building has decorated our atrium lobby and I've enjoyed the version of Florida at Christmas (note the Palm Trees next to the Evergreens!). There is also a great little pond out back which is inhabited by a number of turtles and frequented by a variety of Ibis, Herons, and Egrets.

Have a fun time celebrating New Year's Eve and many blessings to you and your family in 2009!

2008-12-16T05:51:00.000-08:00

My series of interviewing and focusing on each of the authors involved in the Fantasy Fiction Tour '08 is coming to a close, but not without a crescendo. The hope of all the author is to encourage readers who have experienced one or two of us and our work, to get a better idea of other Christian writers that they might be interested in.

THE MILLER BROTHERS

The Miller brothers have had the distinct privilege of growing up in a CBA Bookstore. As children they learned first hand the value of faith-based stories while helping their parents operate several Christian bookstores and clubs for 30 years. As a result, Lumination delivers more than simply good stories, we bring passion to write and illustrate stories that inspire and illuminate the truth of God's Word in a fresh way.

Christopher & Allan are formally trained with a degree in Computer Animation. They have worked as animators for the popular CBA kids video series, Juniors Giants, and have recently written and illustrated the newly released book The Legend of Gid the Kid and the Black Bean Bandits, the first book in the Heroes of Promise Series (Warner Press Kids).

That's some of the background on these two authors and I had the chance to meet Alan and Chris Miller for the first time during the Northwestern leg of the Fantasy Fiction Tour '08. They are very energetic and creative types that have taken their unique talents and combined them with amazing results. They made the Motiv8 + 2 part of the tour for Canada and Seattle and while in their hometown I had the pleasure of crashing in their basement, which also works as their home studio.

Their digital animation rocks, so be sure to take a look at their website, blogs, etc. They are a big part of the Christian Arts revolution and were also responsible for designing their own cover art, interior design and website.

My friend L B. Graham had an interview with them recently and here are a few excerpts I thought you might enjoy:

LBG: You guys work together, not just on your books, but in your day job – what’s it like working so closely together at not one but two “jobs?” Did you two always work together well? (Ie, any good sibling rivalry stories lurking in your past?)

CHRIS: Allan and I have been blessed to have each other as brothers. I realize not many siblings enjoy each other as much as we do, and it is truly a gift from God that we have been best friends since we were very little. We've pretty much been a team since day one and even went to college together to pursue our passion for computer animation (back in the days before Toy Story...ehem). I find that even though we have similar skillsets (art and writing) there is a key difference between us that really makes the dynamic "work". I'm more of a big dreamer kind of guy, I see the big picture and provide direction and ideas on a broad scale. Allan is more of the details guy, he usually reigns me in so I don't go too far out in left field, and he helps fill in all of the glorious details that make the final product the best it can be.

LBG: I gathered from conversations on Tour that you two trained in computer animation. Did you ever, or do you still, have any aspirations to make pursue use of those skills in video production or film, to be the next “Big Idea?”

CHRIS: Our passion is for storytelling in all of its forms. Film is a very powerful and engaging medium to use, but the key is having good stories to tell. In terms of being the next "Big Idea" the answer is "yes" and "no". Yes - in that we love animation, and would think it is the coolest job in the world to animate one of our stories. No, because our passion is for the teen/pre-teen ages of kids. So we would focus on a different demographic than Big Idea.

LBG: For the uninitiated who might be reading this on my site, how would you introduce your Codebearers Series and the first Hunter Brown book to them?

CHRIS: Fans of Narnia and Pilgrim's Progress will love this book. It is cut from the same vein...an allegorical journey of Spiritual awakening and understanding. Hunter Brown shows us a different kind of hero. Where most stories will say that the hero "has good in them" and they must struggle to find that good to overcome evil...we take a differen approach. In many ways,Hunter is somewhat of an anti-hero. His entrance into the realm of Solandria causes more trouble than it solves.

In the beginning, Hunter thinks he's a pretty average kid, but what he doesn't realize is that he and his friends are secretly infected by an invisible horde of creatures known as the Shadow. An ancient book magically transports him to another realm, where he must search for the only one who can save him from the Shadow's infection. After arrving, Hunter is befriended by the Codebearers and trained in the ways of the Author before finally being tasked with recovering a sacred artifact known as the Bloodstone. Through it all, he must come to grips with the reality that he is not as good as he thinks he is.

LBG: As you work feverishly on Book 2 in the series, what are you free to tell us about where the series is going that will whet the appetites of folks who have already read book one and are looking forward eagerly to book two? (Like my son – so come on fellas, make me a hero and tell me something good I can pass on.)

CHRIS: Hmm...what can I say without giving away too much.

Well for starters, the title is tentatively set to be Hunter Brown and the Consuming Fire. Hunter is re-written into the Veil lands, his old home in Destiny, but unfortunately, his best friend Stretch has no memory of their previous adventure, which leaves Hunter alone in his beliefs. Strange things begin to happen, and Hunter quickly realizes that even though his connection to the Shadow has been broken they are still very much alive and well. Oh yeah, and a new threat emerges as a deadly assasin is sent on a mission to destroy the Codebearers Resistance - or what's left of it.

2008-12-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

What made me go with Broadman and Holman was the fact that Gary Terashita, the acquisitions editor, asked if I’d be willing to beef up the story—make it longer, and make it appeal to a little bit older target group. Ever since I started writing the book, I was afraid I’d end up with a publisher who would ask me to dumb it down.

Not all publishers show young readers the respect they deserve. To my mind, I was writing serious books, and I didn’t want them to go out into the world wearing footie pajamas. In retrospect, I don’t think that was as big a danger as I had supposed, but Gary’s challenge was very energizing—and it resulted in a much better series.

Q. Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?

A. I don’t often doubt whether what I’ve written is good enough. I usually succeed in writing the sort of thing I like to read; and since that’s the best way I know of judging whether a piece of writing is “good enough,” I rarely experience doubts at that level. What I do doubt—every day—is whether or not I’m faithfully pursuing my calling. What is an appropriate use of my talents? Should I spend next three hours writing the prose I can write, or should I devote that time to self-promotion? I can rationalize either choice. If I apply my talents toward writing bank brochures (something I frequently do), does that count as pursuing my calling? After all, feeding those babies is part of my calling too. I’ve got a couple of novels I want to write—I would even say I feel called to write them—but I don’t have any reason to believe they would help me provide for my family. What constitutes faithfulness in that situation? And what does a string of rejections mean? Is it a fiery trial for the purpose of hardening my resolve, or is it a signal that it’s time to go back to the cubicle?

Q. What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?

A. I don’t know if this is the best advice I’ve ever heard, but at least it’s something your readers may not have heard before: if you want some serious training as a writer, get a job writing advertising copy. I know it sounds pedestrian. But every day you’re forced to try out several different voices, speak to several different audiences about several different subjects, some of which are so dull you can’t imagine saying anything interesting. But you need to get paid, so—lo and behold—you find you’re able to come up with something after all. And deadlines…sometimes you have 2 or 3 in a single day. Obviously, being a copywriter isn’t going to teach you everything you need to know about writing. But I’ve learned things about my own capabilities that I could have never learned from a writing class or seminar. Yoking my creative tendencies to the matter-of-fact, professional approach required of a copywriter has done me a world of good. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block. Lawyers don’t get lawyer’s block. They get up in the morning and do their jobs. Are you a writer? Then get up in the morning and write.

Q. What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?

A. I once had a well-meaning person from a marketing department advise me to turn the character Dobro Turtlebane into a girl. Your readers who are familiar with the Wilderking books will know how funny that is. For your readers who don’t know the Wilderking books, Dobro is a smelly, rude, belligerent swamp-dweller. The Bark of the Bog Owl had no girl characters, and my friend from marketing knew that girls read a lot more than boys…and girls understandably like girl characters. I ignored the advice, of course. To base any narrative decision on marketing concerns would have utterly contradicted the earthy, swampy ethos of the Wilderking books.

Q. Who is your favorite character from all of your books so far, and why?

A. That’s an easy one: the main character in the Wilderking books is a boy named Aidan, but my favorite is a wild swamp boy named Dobro Turtlebane. When he’s on the scene, something wild and funny is going to happen. His behavior seems erratic—courting danger, fighting with people he actually likes, etc.—but if you can accept a few basic premises about his unusual worldview, his behavior is actually quite logical. Dobro is a great example of what I was saying in an earlier question about character driving plot. He’s a game-changer, for sure.

Q. There is the ongoing debate in Christian fiction on the overtness of the gospel in novels. You’ve used allegory and hints, but no outright salvation plan on the back page. What are you hoping to accomplish through your stories?

A. A lot of times when people use the phrase “the gospel” they’re talking about evangelism. Of course that’s an extremely important part of the gospel, but it’s not the whole gospel. Once you’re converted, you’ve still got the rest of your life stretching out before you. And the fact of God’s grace in your life ought to impact every decision you make. It ought to shape every interaction. It ought to define your attitude toward work and family and community. That’s the gospel too. It’s true that there are no conversions in the Wilderking (actually, there’s an implied conversion in Book 3)—but I hope the gospel is pretty overt.

2008-12-01T09:26:00.001-08:00

From now until shortly before Christmas, the authors involved in the Fantasy Fiction Tour '08 will be collaborating on a joint blog tour. We'll be focusing each Monday - or thereabouts - on a different author each week. Our hope is to encourage readers who have experienced one or two of us and our work, to get a better idea of other Christian writers that they might be interested in.

This week it's all about ME!

ERIC REINHOLD

What I thought I would do, since most of you who frequent my blog, know me to some degree, is to post the interview that L.B. Graham did with me over the Thanksgiving Holiday. So here it is, completely unedited:
Welcome to my lbgraham.com exclusive interview with Eric. Here we go!

LBG: You went to the Naval Academy, played Division-I college football, started your own financial planning company and now you've written a novel - what motivates you to pursue all these challenges?

Eric: The first thought that came to my mind when you asked this questions was, "I do what I love!" So many times I run across people that have gone to certain schools for the wrong reason, or chosen a career based on someone else's expectations. God blesses us all with different skills and abilities. We may feel like aren't special, but that's not biblical. The key is to find out where God has gifted you and to use those gifts to the best of ability. Don't choose a job because of how much money it makes. The world values positions different than God does. You may not be a star NFL football player or a World-Class Surgeon, but you can be the best teacher, salesman or plummer! Do what you love and then be content to live on the money that the world pays for that job. For me, I loved football growing up and tried to be the best I could be and it led to a coach recruiting me to play football for Navy. I knew nothing about the Service Academies, but graduated with an Economics degree and was the payroll officer on my ship and the financial advisor for the Midshipmen at the Naval Academy on my shore duty. That in turn led to my career as a financial advisor. I loved reading fantasy and science fiction growing up, so when my girls challenged me to write a book, I thought... "I could do that," and off I went.

LBG: Your road to publication was unusual and interrupted. What would you say you learned along the way that would be of interest for others out there who want to be published one day too?

Eric: As stated above, it’s important to pursue what you feel God has blessed you in to the fullest, but it is also important to remember that God brings about everything in His timing. I pursued my writing of a book with vigor, conducting the research, outlining twenty chapters, and writing the first ten chapters within a year, then… along came 2001 and a week before the tragedy of 9-11, I came down with a fever, my doctor sent me to the hospital emergency room where they hooked my up to IV’s and wheeled me to a room to do tests. Two days later I found out I had a bacterial infection in my heart, which would take a month to kill and then I would have to have Open-heart Surgery to replace a bad valve with a titanium valve. Talk about a wake up call. My book was put on the shelf as I dealt with my own mortality, I was out of work for 3 months, and all during this time the crisis of 9-11 was going on. It would be six years before I came back to my book. The irony was that while many authors get dozens, if not hundreds of rejection letters, I didn’t get any. I came back to my book last year, wrote the final ten chapters in three months, and then one morning when I met with one of my clients over breakfast (who happened to be the President of a publishing company) I mentioned I had written a book and he suggested I send it over. I had my book published and in hand within five months. What you should get out of my story is that you pursue what you can to the best of your ability and God will bring about the results in his timing. Be patient and you to will have a story to tell.

LBG: What, in your view, is the biggest strength of "Ryann Watters and the King's Sword?"

Eric: The biggest strength of my story is that there is believability. At least early on, everyone can picture themselves as Ryann. He lives in the real town of Mount Dora, Florida (20 miles Northwest of Orlando - there's a cool book trailer video up at www.ryannwatters.com with my daughter as Liddy) and is visited in the middle of the night by Gabriel and tasked with finding the King’s sword. Gabriel gives him three gifts to help him along the way. I loved super hero comics growing up (still do), so Ryann is given a staff (smooth and metal with 7 buttons) and as he matures throughout the story, the buttons light up and have different powers. Not only that, but he is given a ring that changes colors when he’s near different things. He has two good friends, Liddy and Terell, and together they have to piece together clues to find Aeliana and search for the sword. Across town, the class bully is visited by a Dark Angel and told to stop Ryann. Book 2 in the Annals of Aeliana is almost finished. I’ve gotten carried away and it’s over 400 pages now, but "Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith" introduces a very cool cast of new characters, including; a Pegasus, White Dragon and Unicorn, a Black Unicorn, Elves, Dwarves… oh, and a new evil race – The Hugons (half human – half dragon). It’s due for release in May 2009 and you can find out more on my blog.

LBG: As you look back at our Tour in early October from this vantage point in late November/early December, what experience or events stand out to you?

Eric: The trip was such a blessing for me. Meeting the seven other authors provided a great deal of insight into each person’s unique story and how God is using them in their part of the world. Antics along the way, whether in the van or fast food stops, were a hoot. As the most inexperienced author on the tour, I gained a great deal of knowledge and wisdom from stories, experiences, and insights into the publishing world and writing in general. I’m very much looking forward to finishing book 2 before Christopher Hopper finishes his book 3, so I can move up the chain! Seriously, I’m so glad God brought us all together and look forward to what the future holds for all of us, hopefully teaming up again!

SPECIAL BONUS Q!

LBG: If Maryland plays Navy in a bowl game this year, who would win?

Eric: Ha! That’s an easy one – Navy! That goes for whether they play Maryland, Virginia or Wake Forest (oops, we already beat them this year!). Actually, since I grew up in Miami, I’m hoping for a Navy-UM Bowl game… if so, I’m there!

2008-11-24T05:06:00.000-08:00

DONITA K. PAUL

It was truly a joy having Donita on the Motiv8 Fantasy Fiction Tour. Donita's quick wit and insights always seemed to arrive at the most appropriate times. In addition, her spontaneous action to jump into any situation, especially when it was directed at young children, was a sight to behold (see pics below of our visit to the Central California Children's Hospital and the Fresno Inner-City Reading Program).

Make sure you check out Donita's website and blogs, but for now as you enjoy your Thanksgiving week, here are some tidbits about our favorite Dragon Writer that you might not know!

Ten Things:
Ten things Donita K. Paul is thankful for:

1. Jesus (of course!)
2. Family and Friends
3. Church
4. Business Associates—the WaterBrook Staff, the Alive Communications staff, especially my editors and my agent
5. American Christian Fiction Writers
6. The Internet social networks—Shoutlife, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkdIn
7. The Internet Read groups—GoodReads and Shelfari (Anytime I think everyone is watching Netflix and playing video games, I visit these reader spots and breathe a sigh of relief)
8. Living in USA
9. Finding my niche, professionally
10. The knowledge God has provided and still encourages me to pursue

Ten authors Donita K. Paul enjoys:
1. Patricia Veryan
2. Max Lucado
3. Edward Eager
4. E. Nesbitt
5. Jane Austin
6. Charles Dickens
7. A. A. Milnes
8. Beatrix Potter
9. L.M. Montgomery
10. Too many Christian authors to list them all

Ten movies Donita K. Paul enjoyed:
1. Arsenic and Old Lace
2. Bringing up Baby
3. Secondhand Lions
4. Enchanted
5. Stardust
6. Mary Poppins
7. The King and I
8. Sense and Sensibility
9. Scrooge
10. Pride and Prejudice

TV Shows Donita K. Paul watched as a kid:
1. Roy Rogers
2. Man from U.N.C.L.E.
3. Gunsmoke
4. Alfred Hitchcock
5. Twilight Zone
6. Bonanza
7. Disney’s Wonderful World of Color
8. Ed Sullivan Show
9. Wyatt Earp
10. Dick Van Dyke

Ten foods Donita K. Paul likes:
1. Steak, medium rare
2. Soup, not creamy
3. Salads, the more varied the veggies, the better
4. Pumpkin pie, cookies, cake, and bread
5. Brownies, gooey is best but any brownie is acceptable. (I wonder why it is brownie and not browny.
6. Rotisserie chicken
7. Pizza, lots of toppings
8. Marinated artichokes
9. Mushrooms
10. Turkey

Ten foods Donita K. Paul does not like
1. Macaroni and cheese
2. Rice pudding
3. Rye bread
4. Curry
5. Coconut
6. Greasy fried food
7. Menudo
8. Haggis
9. Fruitcake
10. Turnips and rutabagas

Favorite type of jewelry: ear rings
Hobbies: beading, knitting, stamping
Game: Uno
Holiday: Christmas
Restaurant: Texas Roadhouse
Beverage: Coffee, Pepsi
Fast Food: Taco Bell
Collections: Children’s Books, dragons, statues and pictures of animals reading books
Flower: Pansy
Song: Tomorrow from Annie

Seasonal activities:
1. Spring—smell flowers
2. Summer—listen to kids in the neighborhood squeal
3. Autumn—watch leaves fall or blow down the street
4. Winter—curl up with a good book
How to shop, mall or online? ONLINE
How to communicate, telephone or email? EMAIL
Transportation for long distance? CAR with someone else driving.
Gathering, with kids or no kids? WITH KIDS

Ten places Donita K. Paul would like to go:
1. Hawaii
2. Disney World/Epcot Center
3. Carribean
4. New York-Upper state
5. Heaven
6. Ireland
7. Scotland
8. England
9. Washington State
10. Minnesota

Colors in order of preference
1. Yellow
2. Red
3. Orange
4. Purple
5. Blue

What Donita K. Paul wants people to say when they remember her: She was nice.

2008-11-18T05:10:00.000-08:00

CHRISTOPHER HOPPER

This week it is my pleasure to introduce you to Christopher Hopper, in the event you are not already familiar with him or his work. There are very few people that I feel like I connect with the first time I meet them. Through our conference calls and e-mails in preparation for the Fantasy Fiction Tour, I felt that Christoper might be one of them. In this case, my sense was correct and we hit it off from day one.

Christopher brought many talents to the tour. Despite being the youngest both in age and heart (some might debate that based upon the maturity exhibited by the other authors), CH brought the techinical skills to set up our webcam TV, his oratory skills to lead all of our sessions, his writing skills as an author, his zany humor and most importantly his wife Jenni. In addition, both of them displayed their talents as musicians and I would be remiss to not mention checking both of them out on iTunes!

Swordplay is also one of CH's gifts, well... maybe one that is still being honed, as he did manage to cut Wayne's finger during one of the sword duels at an event! He has written an excellent series with book 3 in the trilogy going to the editor soon, which will be released in 2009. With the premise of a people group living in a Garden of Eden type setting and the idea that "what if the people hadn't sinned... the first time around?" Christopher lays out an exciting story of the second visit by Satan.

Instead of doing an interview this month, I'll give you two fun videos to watch. The first is an interview that was conducted by KSEE Channel 24 NBC in Fresno, CA (Wayne Thomas Batson is also in the interview) and the second is a video book-trailer for his series.

The Lion Vrie Book TRailer

Fantasy Fiction Tour '08 - Blog Tour

2008-11-11T05:13:00.000-08:00

SHARON HINCK

This week, I'm highlighting Sharon, who added such warm and caring heart to the book tour. Sharon's books appeal to a wide age range... especially teen girls and all the way through mothers and even grandmothers who are intrigued by the idea of a young mother pulled into another world for a fantasy adventure.

Here is some interesting background on Sharon:
Sharon is a wife and mom who has had many adventures, though none have involved an alternate universe (thus far). She has an M.A. in communication and has spent her life working in the arts (music, theatre, dance, and writing). Her other novels include The Secret Life of Becky Miller (Bethany House, 2006), Renovating Becky Miller (Bethany House, 2007), The Restorer (NavPress, 2007 – Christy Finalist), The Restorer’s Son (NavPress, 2007 – ACFW Book of the Year Winner), The Restorer’s Journey (NavPress, 2008), Symphony of Secrets (Bethany House, 2008), Stepping Into Sunlight (Bethany House, 2008).

And some background on The Restorer series:

Susan, a modern-day soccer mom, is pulled through a portal into another world, where a nation grappling for its soul waits for a promised Restorer to save their people. Can she fill that role? While she struggles to adapt to a foreign culture, she tackles an enemy that is poisoning the minds of the people, uncovers a corrupt ruling Council, and learns that God can use even her floundering attempts at service in surprising ways.

Link to amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1600061311/

Now... how about some questions for Sharon!

Q. What was the inspiration for The Restorer? A. I’ve always been fascinated by the story of Deborah in the book of Judges, and wondered what a modern woman would look like in that role. The fantasy genre provides a powerful way to look at a familiar story in a new way. I loved the challenge of creating a completely relatable character, and then inviting the reader to follow her into an imaginative journey.

Q. What kind of reader did you have in mind as you wrote the book?

A. I wrote this story for my friends – ordinary women who are sometimes called on to fill extraordinary roles that they don’t feel prepared for. We may not be literally yanked into an alternate universe, but the idea of being pulled into an unexpected challenge is very real to most of the people I know. I wrote this book for my friends who receive a diagnosis of cancer, or the news that their child has a learning disability, or their parent is battling Alzheimers, or their spouse has lost their job. They suddenly find themselves in a foreign world, facing new rules, and being asked to fill a role they don’t feel ready for. My prayer is that as well as being entertaining, this novel can inspire courage and determination for those facing daily battles.

Q. How much of The Restorer is drawn from your own life?

A. Susan’s spiritual journey – her desire to follow God and her confusion when the road is much harder than she expected—is very parallel to my own. I’ve never carried a sword into battle, but I’ve faced the challenge of surrendering more deeply to God’ s purposes when they didn’t make sense to me.

What some are saying about the series!

The Restorer is a great book for the hero – or heroine – in all of us. Sharon Hinck gives us a beautifully-realized world that demands the best that an everyday, run-of-the-mill Mom doesn’t even know she has. Hinck’s prose engages us in every moment of the struggle as the strength of the One drives the battle of the faithful against unimaginable odds, Excellent characters and an intriguing plot provide readers with great entertainment along with spiritual inspiration and enlightenment. I simply loved this book, hated for it to end, and am grateful that there’s another in the Sword of Lyric series coming soon.
~ Kathryn Mackel, author of Outriders and Trackers

“A compelling adventure, an engaging heroine, a unique and fascinating other world The Restorer satisfies on many levels. Skillfully incorporating themes of faith, sacrifice and the power of words to deceive or deliver, Sharon Hinck has crafted a tale that resonates in both soul and spirit. A welcome addition to the expanding genre of Christian fantasy. Don’t miss it!”
~ Karen Hancock, author of the Christy Award-winning Legends of the Guardian-King series.

I knew that Sharon Hinck was a gifted writer, and I knew that her ability to write details was impeccable. What The Restorer showed me is just how big her imagination is! She's taken two concepts that have no right to work in the same story -- a harried housewife and a sprawling fantasy world with its own science, culture, and rules -- and smashed the two together into something altogether fresh and compelling -- even for a red-blooded, testosterone-driven guy like me. She zigged every time I expected her to zag, and the world she created is full of mystery and suspense and the awe of discovery. But it's the characters, especially her soccer-mom-come-prophesied-hero, who keep you coming back for more.
~ Robin Parrish, author of Relentless; creator of Infuzemag.com

"Sharon Hinck has done a remarkable job in writing a fantasy for people who don't normally read fantasies. A soccer mom finds herself in an alternate universe where she has to save her adopted people from vastly more powerful enemies. Loved the swordplay. Loved the spiritual insights. Most of all, loved the main character, Susan Mitchell, a compelling mix of Everymom and Wonder Woman."
~ Randy Ingermanson, award-winning author of Retribution

Lastly, here's a cool video if you want to know more!

Fantasy Fiction Tour '08 - Blog Tour

2008-11-03T08:41:00.001-08:00

L. B. GRAHAM

This week I am highlighting L.B Graham, who is the author of The Binding of the Blade, a five book epic fantasy series with P&R Publishing that began in 2004 and just recently culminated with the publication of All My Holy Mountain in 2008. The first book of the series, Beyond the Summerland, was a 2005 Christy finalist in the “Visionary” category.

L.B. was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up there before heading to Wheaton College outside Chicago in Wheaton, Illinois. From there he went to St. Louis to attend Covenant Seminary. Since 1996 he’s been teaching in St. Louis, the last 9 years at Westminster Christian Academy where he also serves as the Bible Department Chair.

L.B. was a hoot on tour and added quite a bit to our van escapades as we "rocked the suburbs!" Well... now let's get into a little Q & A with this accomplished author!

Q. The fifth and final novel of “The Binding of the Blade” (BOTB) just came out. How does it feel to be finished?

A. Actually, I was finished writing All My Holy Mountain, the last book in the series, in 2006, and it did feel a little surreal. BOTB runs about 2500 pages all told, and it is essentially one big story rather than five individual ones... though I guess the first book could be seen as a sort of prologue to the other four... At any rate, it was a pretty sizable undertaking and it felt almost odd to be finished.

Q. It sounds sizable. When did you start?
A. Well, I would say that I started working on the series, and by that I mean seriously working on the world-building and story-building, in the summer of 2000. But, that being said, the first seeds for the idea were sown long before that, in the summer of ‘92.

Q. 1992 is a long time ago - what happened that summer, or what were the ’seeds’ that were sown that summer?
A. I was a senior at Wheaton College, studying literature in England on a summer program, and two things collided to create the basic idea for the story. The first was, of all things, a footnote - I know, no one reads footnotes, but I actually do read them, at least sometimes. The footnote was in a poetry anthology of W.B. Yeats. The note was about archetypes... not very exciting to some, but to me, really interesting. Basically, for readers who don’t know what archetypes are, it is the idea that there are universal ideas or images or themes or symbols that carry with them, if you will, deeper meaning that add layers of richness to stories, movies, poems, etc…

Q. Like the ‘archetypal hero’ or ‘archetypal villain,’ that kind of thing, right?

A. Exactly. To use a familiar example, Gandalf is an archetypal “wisdom figure” and Frodo an archetypal “underdog” on the archetypal “quest” with Sam, the archetypal “sidekick” facing long odds against Sauron, the archetypal “villain” and so forth.

Anyway, this particular footnote was about geography. The idea was that geographical regions have archetypal connections in a lot of mythology and stories. For example, “the east” is often associated with spring, with morning, with new growth, with birth, with themes of things rising. “The south” is often associated with summer, with midday, with things in fullness and maturity, with romance, with themes of things having reached their full strength or potential. “The west” is often associated with autumn, with twilight, with things fading, with tragedy and themes of things declining, and “the north” is often associated with winter, with darkness and night, with sorrow and desolation, with themes of things lost.

The other seed that collided with this first one was much simpler. It was the famous image from Isaiah 2:4 among other places of swords and spears being broken down and remade into plowshares and pruning hooks. I would call this image, perhaps the archetypal image of peace, of our great hope for restoration.
Q. Those things don’t seem to be connected. How did you put them together?
A. It didn’t come together all at once, but what I conceived of was a story about a world where the making of weapons essentially represented ‘the Fall,’ or the loss of that world’s innocence and descent into sin and misery. And, on the other hand, the unmaking of weapons was the clearest picture for that world of peace, of things being made new. In short, the symbolic picture from Isaiah of our future restoration became a literal picture in my fantasy world, the picture of their great hope.

So, the Isaiah image became the thematic core of BOTB. The geography archetypes gave the story shape. I decided to structure the series geographically, matching tone and mood and theme and plot elements according to the pattern I outlined above.

Thus Beyond the Summerland took place in the south, was a story of romance and summer and things generally going well. The cover shows this summery feel. The story moved in Bringer of Storms to the west, in autumn, as things begin to fall apart pretty substantially, and as the world fades quickly into darkness. The stormy motif is portrayed pretty well here in that cover.
The story then cycles in the next two books through the north and into the east, each representing those archetypes in turn - darkness, night & desolation in winter followed by the slight glimmer of hope that comes with morning, sunrise, spring and things new. The covers for books 3 and 4 below show those seasons too. And then the last book returns to summer, though a different kind of summer, but I’ll leave it at that.

Q. So, those things help to explain some of the specifics of your series, but why fantasy? Did you know even back then in 1992 that you wanted to write Christian fantasy?
A. Actually, I would just say fantasy. I wouldn’t use the term Christian fantasy.

Q. Why not?
A. Well, the short version is that I think the adjective “Christian” is one that is properly applied to people, not things like “music” or “fiction” or in this case, “fantasy.” I know what people mean with labels like “Christian fantasy,” I just dislike the implication that Christian fantasy is good, and other fantasy is bad. I think that view is simplistic. Music, stories, movies and other artwork that conveys a message isn’t really divided into two piles - the good and bad. Rather I see them in a continuum. Some stories have lots of truth or good in them, others some, others not so much, and just because the author is a Christian doesn’t mean I’m going to agree with what he or she says or like the story. Likewise, I’ve read some great books by non-believers, who despite their unbelief are people made in the image of God and have created powerful stories.

Q. But isn’t there always something missing in those books, in those stories? Aren’t they always incomplete?
A. All stories written by finite, sinful human beings will be imperfect, if that is the question. However, just because there are certain things a writer can’t write about well or truthfully because he or she doesn’t believe those things, doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of other things they can and do write about well and truthfully. Stories from nonbelievers can contain beauty and power and truth, and I wouldn’t simply dismiss them out of hand because they come from non-Christians.

Q. Are you working on anything new, now that BOTB is finished?
A. Yes. I wrote a crime novel last year. It is a stand alone book, but I have ideas for 2 sequels right now. Currently, I’m also writing a nonfiction book and the first novel of a new series as well. None of these projects are under contract at the moment, though, so I couldn’t say what my next publication will be.

Q. Is the new series you mentioned also fantasy?
A. Yes, though I think of it as a fantasy/sci fi hybrid. I’ve posted a bit about that on my blog, but I won’t get into that here, since it is a bit complicated.

Q. Before wrapping up, what would you say to readers who haven’t heard of you or your books and may be wondering if The Binding of the Blade is for them?
A. It’s a fair question, as my books certainly aren’t for everyone. My publisher categorized them as ‘young adult’ fantasy, but I don’t think of them that way. Certainly younger readers who are good readers can read them, as many have, but I think of them as a bit older than that.
I guess what I would say is that there seems to be a lot more true YA fantasy stories than fantasy for older kids or adults out there in CBA, the “Christian” publishing world (there I go, doing what I don’t like doing, but I’m not sure how else to describe CBA!) As readers of those stories get older, they often become interested in stories that are geared a little older. Not that they necessarily outgrow the YA ones, but as they become ready for older ones too, then I’d encourage them to pick up Beyond the Summerland and see if they like it.

Fantasy Fiction Tour 2008 - Video Recap

2008-11-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

You don't want to miss these great videos. Each day, Christopher and Jenni Hopper, captured the essence of the day through video of each of our events, meals, the van ride and more. If you ever wanted to see what it's like to travel with authors who write for kids then you'll enjoy these! (Hint: the authors act the age of those they write for). Eric

The tour kicks off at an amazing event in Abbotsford, BC.

The authors storm Seattle, WA signing books, swinging swords, and even causing a car accident!

Interview with NBC KSEE 24 in Fresno, CA

The authors start off with a rainy, impromptu gathering under a gazebo in Portland and finish with a bang at Medford's mall. A huge crowd gathered for the signing put on by Evangel Family Bookstore and were treated to, among other things, a reading by Jonathan Rogers and a humorous dual between Christopher Hopper & Wayne Thomas Batson.

(The fun and funky Portuguese/Brazilian music is in honor of Nathan Reimer).

MOTIV8 Fantasy Fiction Tour: Day 3 - Sacramento, CA

MOTIV8 Fantasy Fiction Tour: Day Three finds the authors crossing over into California and the question is: "Is California ready?" Stops include Trinity Christian School and Barnes & Noble in Sacramento.

Day Four is too jam-packed for just one Video Journal, starting off with a bang at NBC, two charity events, and finishes at a Berean Bookstore.

Day Four, part two, focuses on a special charity event done in partnership with Character 4 Kids and READ Fresno.

_____________________

MOTIV8 Fantasy Fiction Tour: Day 4.3 - Fresno, CA

SPECIAL : Meet The Authors - Day Four ends at the Berean Bookstore in Fresno where the authors take a few moments for a run-down on each of their books.

Reedley, CA
MOTIV8 Fantasy Fiction Tour: Day Five is all about Reedley, CA! From Hotel Burgess to G Street, the authors are kept on their toes and given a special dinner that will make you drool...

MOTIV8 Fantasy Fiction Tour: Day 6 - LA, CA

Day Six starts off at 4:00am! St. Genevieve's welcomes the authors on one of the favorite stops of the tour, then on to Bethany Christian and a final bookstore appearance in Van Nuys.

Los Angeles, CA
MOTIV8 Fantasy Fiction Tour: Day Seven keeps our authors in LA for a second day, making two appearances at Christian schools and then a grand reception at Calvary Chapel Refuge in Huntington Beach.

MOTIV8 Fantasy Fiction Tour: Day 8 - San Diego, CA

Day Eight is the big send off! The authors make their final stop in southern California and then head home. Thanks to all those who made this tour a marvelous and memorable success.

BUY 2... Just in case!

2008-10-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

It's not every day that I get an e-mail from a mom who is distressed because her dog ate everything in sight. Mimi Baker came home to find books and shoes completely destroyed. At first she blamed it on the new stray dog they took in. But later on she caught their Border Collie red-handed... err "red-mouthed" as she says. Here was the e-mail dialogue between the two of us:

Mimi: Hi Eric. Wanted to let you know I purchased the book today. Didn't think I was going to get to buy it after talking to my husband yesterday. Today we were given some money and I decided that it was going toward your book. If Jacob is willing to read, I'm going to do what I can to keep getting him the books that draw him in. It's been a hard time trying to find books that he will spend time reading. You're book is right up there with Captain Underpants and Diary of Whimpy Kid. I have to admit, I've been enjoying your book too. I'm reading it aloud to Jacob so it's given us some nice time together. I took a picture today of the book in it's current state. I threw away the cover, back and book jacket yesterday, not thinking I would actually take a picture. After your email about having better book sales with stray dogs like the one we have, I thought I'd take one now. :)

Eric: Thanks so much for the follow up e-mail and picture. I admit that I got a chuckle out of it, as it reminded me of the Dalmatian, my wife and I brought home a year after we were married. We left it in our kitchen, penned up fortunately, when we both went to work and when we came home we found blue stains all over the kitchen floor. Our dog had gotten up on the counter and knocked over the entire cup holder of ink pens! Blue footprints everywhere, blue stains on her mouth and all over her white hair. It’s funny now!

Mimi: You are welcome to use the book demolition if you want. Too bad I didn't still have the cover and front & back. Would've been a bit more colorful. This morning after being downstairs for about 20 minutes getting ready for work, I came upstairs and found the Border Collie, who is 6 mos old, eating my 5 yr old's The Ants Go Marching book. This happens to be one of his favorite books! I have a feeling we've been blaming the wrong dog. Sigh... the stray, Abby was laying sweetly on her cushions and looking at me as if to say, "am I in trouble for this one, too?" Poor baby. Caught the stinker, Rugby, red mouthed! Thankfully I heard him run into his kennel! Big chicken, get out here and face the book reviewer!! This is a house of book lovers, there is no tolerating the destruction of them!!!! GRRRR (literally) :) Oh, and we can't forget the shoes. We are also a household of shoe adorers!

Fantasy Fiction Tour '08 - Blog Tour

2008-10-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

BRYAN DAVIS

I'm especially greatful to Bryan for being my initial contact with the Motiv8 authors and for him recommending me to join them this year. Bryan walks the talk and is a great example as a caring father and committed Christian. This week I'd like to provide you with a short interview with Bryan. If you haven't checked out his Dragons in our Midst series yet, you need to. Fortunately for you he is finishing the 8th book in the series now... so if you get started then you'll be able to have the complete series soon!

Q. I'd like to start by asking you to give a short testimony of how you came to know the Lord.

A. I made a profession of faith at the age of seventeen, but I didn't really completely surrender my life to God until I was about twenty-five. Reading Romans chapter six about dying with Christ and rising to new life made the difference. I finally realized that faith in Christ meant so much more than mere belief and lip service. I needed to die to self and surrender all.

Q. What was the inspiration behind the "Dragons in our Midst" series?

A. I had a dream about a boy who could breathe fire. I told my eldest son about it, and he suggested that I write a fantasy novel based on the dream. He said that if I wanted to speak to children in our culture, fantasy was the way to go. After brainstorming with him for a couple of hours, we came up with the fantasy concept of how a boy could breathe fire.

Q. You've written four books in this series. Are there any more books coming up?

A. Tears of a Dragon is the last book in the Dragons in our Midst series. I’m writing a new series called Oracles of Fire. The first book, Eye of the Oracle, will be a prequel to Dragons in our Midst, and the second book, Enoch’s Ghost, and the following books will be sequels. The new series will have the same basic story world, but a couple of the minor characters from the first series will step up and become major characters.

Q. Can you name some people/authors whose works have influenced you? If so, can you say in what way these people have influenced your life and your work?

A. I really enjoy C. S. Lewis, two books in particular; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Perelandra. I loved the spiritual parallels in Dawn Treader. The debate between Westin and the woman when he tried to get her to sin in Perelandra fascinated me. I have somewhat similar dialogues in The Candlestone and Circles of Seven, so that definitely influenced me.
The works of Francis Schaeffer had an impact on me. The God Who is There and He is There, and He is not Silent are two that come to mind. I enjoy careful, analytical thought, and Schaeffer was a master in that field. I try to carry that kind of thinking into my stories, and those who read my fantasy series will find that they are far more than children’s fairy tales.

Q. Does your faith influence the way you write? Would you like to elaborate on this?

A. My faith pervades all my writing, but my doctrinal stands on some issues make my stories quite different from most. My Christian protagonists depart from what many writers call "real" or "honest," though they portray a more "real" Christian character than what is passing for that label in much of Christian fiction. On this point I could elaborate until your ears fall right off your head, but, briefly, I reject the notion that you have to write sinful acts or tendencies into Christian characters. Sin doesn't make them "real" or "honest." It just makes them sinful, and in most fiction I find too many characters with tacked-on flaws. It really seems clichéd.
I believe in the overwhelming power God gives us for holy living. My characters struggle in many non-sinful ways and find the power to overcome. I like successful heroes. God gives us victory in Christ, so it makes sense to write that way. And feedback from my readers indicates that they relate to the great struggles my characters go through, and they are inspired by my characters' successes. I believe this portrayal of obedient faith is what is truly real and honest.

Q. What were some of the challenges you faced in writing these books and getting them published?

A. Since these books are faith-based, the mainstream publishers didn’t show any interest. I often heard, "Too spiritual" or "Too Christian." The Christian publishers at that time weren’t producing fantasy at all, and certainly not a series about dragons. I couldn’t find a significant Christian fantasy series for young people that had been published in the last thirty years. It didn’t matter that the Chronicles of Narnia had been one of the greatest sellers in history. In fact, when I mentioned that to one editor, hoping the Narnia success would open a door, he said, "You’re not C. S. Lewis."

Between agents and publishers I collected about two hundred rejection notices, which I might use to wallpaper my office someday. I rewrote the first book about twenty-four times, changing it drastically in some of the rewrites. I think I made it even more radical as time went on, perhaps thinking that it might just end up as a story for myself and my family.
I finally met Dan Penwell of AMG Publishers. He had already contracted with me for a non-fiction book called The Image of a Father, and although AMG had never produced fiction, he took interest in my weird dragons story. AMG liked it so much, they started a fiction line with the series, and it has become their best selling line of books.

Q. What do you hope to accomplish with these books? And what, in your opinion, separates these books from other books written in the genre?

A. I’m not a fan of most fantasy, because it seemed that the characters would get out of difficult situations by suddenly learning a magical spell or an undiscovered power, or maybe a new character would come along and save them. It was too easy. I wanted my characters to use their gifts from God along with strength of character, faith, and perseverance to work through their problems.

I don’t know of any other Christian fantasy that blends fantasy elements into the real world. Most either take place in another world or follow contemporary characters as they travel to another world. Although my characters take a couple of journeys into alternate dimensions, the base world, where most action takes place, is in our world and in our time.

Q. Some Christians are a bit scared of fantasy works. I know of some who do think that it is opening the door to an unseen world. What is your take on this and what would you say to encourage Christians to embrace Christian Fantasy and Science Fiction?

A. This is a topic I talk or write about nearly every day. Yes, fantasy does open the door to an unseen world, but this is not a bad portal. There really is an unseen world, so understanding it is an important part of the maturing process in our walks of faith. As Paul said, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." How can we do battle if we can’t imagine what’s out there? Elisha opened such a portal for his servant, saying, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

The key is to provide young readers a way to see the good side of the unseen world in order to give them reason to rely on its power. God has often provided a vision of the holy for His people, and Christian fantasy is one of the best ways to stretch young minds beyond the here and now and give them a view of the heavenlies.

I believe that Jesus used fantasy elements in his stories. In fact, if I were to write a story about His miracles that didn’t include His name or where He got His power, it would be a fantasy story. Yet, Jesus made a fantasy story come to life, knowing that we learn and remember best when the story is fantastic. I wrote an article that elaborates on this subject. You can find it online at http://www.daviscrossing.com/fantasy.pdf

Most people see dragons as a symbol of evil. Why did you decide to make "good" and "bad" dragons?
Well, I think that dragons are rightly a symbol of evil. But we have to remember that Job chapter 41 tells us that God created Leviathan. He describes it as one of His greatest creations and He uses it to reveal His power. If you read that passage carefully, Leviathan has armored scales and breathes fire. It sounds just like a fire breathing dragon. That's certainly where the authors who have described such beasts got their inspiration, from this creature of God. God created this being in order to show His power. Now, I don’t believe that God created anything for the purpose of being born evil. Angels were created and some of them fell. They weren’t created to be evil, but some of them chose evil and fell. I'm putting dragons in the same mold, as a symbolic parallel to angels. They were created to be good; some of them fell. The greatest evil figure in all the world, and in all of the Bible, is a fallen angel, and the symbol of the fallen angel is a dragon. But why can’t there be good dragons as well? Some people would say that dragons are a symbol of evil. The Bible calls Satan a dragon. Therefore, all dragons are evil. Well, the fallacy there is Satan also appears as an angel of light. Does that mean that all angels of light are evil? I don’t think so. I wanted to make that angelic parallel, and it becomes even clearer in the third book, called Circles of Seven. Billy’s going to face a tremendous decision, and he'll have to discern between good and evil dragons. It’s such a great story.
I like how you interweaved Christian faith in your story, but didn’t "hit people over the head with it." Did you find it hard to strike that balance?
It really wasn’t that hard because it’s been my desire for a long time to be able to say, "I just want to tell a story that is filled with Christ." There is no soapbox; no one is standing there shaking a finger, preaching at you. I want to have a natural flow of Christian thought and Christian love, without having to say "Jesus loved you and died for your sins." It’ll flow out naturally. The reason I’m doing that is because so many people get turned off with the shaking finger and the soapbox sermon. But as we get to later books in the series, the Christian message of the blood salvation of Christ is going to come out a little more clearly. We want to hook our readers and not turn them off with a fire and brimstone, or an "Are you saved by the blood?" kind of message. It will come out later. I think you probably can tell that Bonnie is clearly a Christian, and Billy is probably not. He's got a lot of questions because he’s never been taught right. He’s in between because his father, being the dragon, revered the Bible, but he didn’t feel like he was a fallen creature that needs to be saved. This is one of these deep mysteries that I don’t think kids will get but I want adults to think about.

Q. What would you like to say to readers who dream of writing a fantasy novel?

A. I know so many aspiring fantasy novelists! It seems that’s what half the authors I know want to write, but the Christian publishing world hasn’t caught up yet with the demand, which isn’t completely they’re fault, but that’s another topic. I would tell those authors to break free from the Tolkien and Lewis mold. Don’t try to create another Middle-earth with elves and orcs. Don’t send kids to a new world through a wardrobe-like portal where a new kind of Christ-figure dwells. Make faith a real component that fits naturally with characters of real faith.
I’d like to see another contemporary/fantasy blend like mine. I think young people of today relate to a world they recognize, and they enjoy seeing weird happenings within it.

Q.Would you like to share some of the lessons you've learned in your journey as a writer and as a published author?

A. The most impact has come through watching God provide for our needs. In order to pursue writing full time, we had to make a lot of sacrifices, but God has shown Himself to be our sufficiency. I have a long story that shows God’s provision, but to make it short, when I went to a homeschool conference to try to sell the dragons books for the first time, I was quite concerned that the slow sales wouldn’t provide enough for me to break even on this venture. As the conference drew to a close, it became clear to me that I would come up fifty dollars short. Soon after calculating that number, a man came up to me and noticed my books and my sign that identified who I was. He pulled out his wallet and said, "On my way over here, God told me to find a man named Bryan and to give him fifty dollars." He then handed me the money. I didn’t want to take it, but he encouraged me to do so, I finally did. When I got home, I recalculated my expenses versus sales, and the fifty dollars caused me to break even to the dollar.
I will never forget that lesson! God is my sufficiency, and I have learned not to sweat a lot of the issues that used to cause me concern.

Fantasy Fiction Tour '08 Blog Tour

2008-10-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

WAYNE THOMAS BATSON

It was a blast meeting Wayne on the tour. You know you've bonded with someone when you're able to spend 12-hours a day in a van or event, eat every meal together, and yes (being good stewards of the publisher's funds) even share a "KING" size bed. Okay, okay... what do I know about Wayne? Wayne writes adventures set in imaginative locales because he believes that on a deep level, we all dream of doing something that matters and that we all long for another world. Wayne is a 6th grade Middle School teacher and knowing him now I would have done anything to have him as my teacher when I was that age (brrrr... I cringe thinking of Mrs. "O" from those days!)
But hey... why don't we do a little Q & A to get to know him more... shall we?

Q: Why did you write a fantasy instead of a contemporary story about middle school kids? I mean, you obviously know them well.

Fantasy is absolutely my passion. I’ve always loved tales of knights and dragons, exotic settings, and great feats of valor! And in traditional fantasy, I find the sort of world I’d like to live in. Honor and kindness are revered. Simple lives of tending gardens, working with your hands, and gathering around a table with friends at a pub—I long for such things. I mean, sure, running into a pesky dragon while taking out the trash would be a little inconvenient, but still…

Q: What made you want to write Christian speculative fiction?

Actually, I don’t write Christian speculative fiction. I write fiction that is informed by my identity as a Christian. I know that sounds like semantics, but really, it’s not. If I’m a Christian and a mechanic, and I fix your car…was it a Christian Repair? If the manager at the local McDonalds is a Christian, and I make a purchase there, do I get a Christian Happy Meal? See my point? I am a Christian and Jesus is everything to me. He is my worldview and my life. When I write, I pray that HE comes shining through. But I am NOT writing just for Christians to read. I want everyone to be able to read and enjoy my books on multiple levels: surface and deep. At the surface, come and enjoy a heart-pounding adventure in an enchanting realm. But go deeper than that. See the big questions. Be a thoughtful reader. My thought is, if I get people asking the questions for which Jesus is the only answer, then, I’ve done well.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for The Door Within series?

The Door Within Trilogy (DWT) came out of two distinct events. The base concept of the story, though I didn’t know it at the time, came from an encounter I had as a new Christian. I felt compelled to tell some important people I knew about Jesus, so I summoned the courage and went to them.

I laid it all on the line, spilled my guts with such fervor that I was literally shaking. I expected disagreement, argument, or just plain denial. But nothing prepared me for the reaction: they laughed. And it wasn’t just laughter, but it was that condescending “isn’t he cute?” kind of laughter. Insert dagger and twist. That pain stuck with me for a LONG time, and so, when I began to write, the first story that suggested itself was one that would be carried by a protagonist who discovered something akin to a cure for cancer…and yet, no one would believe it.

The between worlds aspect of DWT came from a challenge my students threw back at me. Teaching 6th and 7th grade Language Arts in Anne Arundel County Maryland, I assigned a short story to my students. I made it a contest. And for those who could not think of an initial story concept, I made a bulletin board with very evocative pencil/charcoal drawings—The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Well, the students, wonderful cherubs that they are, indignantly challenged me: “Mr. Batson, you make us do all the work, writing these stories. Why don’t you write one?!” So, using one of the drawings as inspiration, I began a 17 page short story called The Faith of a Child. Though most elements in the story have since changed, that short story became The Door Within.

Q: What message do you want readers to get from reading "The Door Within" trilogy?

#1 The nature of faith: it begins with persuasion. You recognize something as true. You accept its basis in fact. “You believe the bridge is strong.” But in faith there is also an element of risk that MUST be involved or you’ll never know how real it is. “You have to step on out there. Walk across the bridge. Trust that it will support you.”

#2 God can make use of failures. Aidan is no hero in the classic sense, but King Eliam uses him mightily.

#3 Putting God off or refusing to decide whether you believe or not is in reality choosing not to believe—The Glimpses with eyes that glint green. In the end, there is only faith or no faith. The superband RUSH said it this way: “If you choose not to decide, you’ll still have made a choice.”

#4 The reality of adventures to come in Heaven. I won’t give away too much here, but that is one message I hope readers will take to heart. When we die, the adventure has just begun. We will not be sitting around in heaven playing harps like in the cartoons. God the creator of all things will have plenty of surprises for us. I imagine each of us will spend a thousand years just saying, “COOL!!” over and over and over…

Q: Are your books influenced by your own childhood in any way?

I think so. Aidan is a lot like I was when I was in my tweens. Creative, hopeful, and thoughtful—but not very outgoing. I always longed for adventure, but most of mine were in my imagination. Aidan’s fear of Robby’s Basement came straight out of my own childhood fear. My parents had a split basement. The unfinished side, the workside as we called it, was the creepiest place on the planet. I was always afraid that some creature lurked in its shadowy confines—that it waited for someone to venture too close to the open door. I used to leap over the side of the stairs onto a couch to avoid going by that basement door.

Q: What have you seen that discourages or frustrates you about Christian speculative fiction writing and/or publishing?

I am thoroughly frustrated by product placement in both CBA and ABA stores. I know there are a lot of hands involved in determining where a book goes: marketers, distributors, branch managers—and even a local clerk can trump them all by putting a book wherever. Lol

In CBA stores, fiction often gets lumped together with Nursery Rhymes and Beginners Bibles. Come on, dude…if you’re a teenager looking for a book, are you even going to consider something next to A Very Veggie Christmas?

In ABA stores, you often see great Christian SpecFic titles tossed into teeny tiny “Religious Fiction” sections. Yes, the place where no one sees it. That’s another reason why I don’t like delineating my work as Christian Fiction—if I do, it’s just that much easier to get thrown in with New Age Fiction or Taoism. If I do have Christ’s message to share, the books need to be where people can see them. You don’t see Phillip Pullman’s books being pulled from mainstream fiction for a special “Atheistic Fiction” section. Tolkien and Lewis can be found in both sections—religious and main stream. Maybe dual designation is what we should be looking for. Hmmm…

Q: How did you involve your students in the process as you wrote this book?

Fifteen years of students from three different Maryland counties and six different middle schools helped to shape The Door Within. They were my sounding board and my encouragers. In 1992, when The Door Within was only a 17 page short story, my 6th graders pestered me to make it longer...until I did. Then, they helped me to know what parts of the story interested them or made a personal connection. The kids seemed to enjoy being able to critique the teacher's work instead of the other way around. And those discussions took the kids into an amazingly sophisticated level of understanding of literature that they would not ordinarily have attained. "Mr. Batson, you need more foreshadowing in that chapter" or "Mr. Batson, I found that allusion to The Hobbit when Aidan said..." or "There's not enough description in this section. I just couldn't see it." These are 10, 11, and 12 year olds analyzing literature and thinking critically. Good stuff! And in the end, as I flirted with a publishing contract, nailed it down, and began the real process of editing, my students were there to share the suspense, excitement, and frustrations. And when my new batch of students comes in this year, I imagine they will exult in the finished product just as I do.

Q: Adults tend to pass over Young Adult books, thinking they are too simplistic in nature to be satisfying. Personally, I have found many of my most profound reads in this genre. What do you think adults can learn from Young Adult literature?

Grrrr…you hit upon a sore point for me. The same folks who think YA lit. is simplistic are the same characters who underestimate the capabilities and intellect of our kids. Kids are far more perceptive and intelligent than most would believe—and the books they read deal with REAL issues, issues that matter to them with a passion that is hard to imagine.

I think that adults can gain a lot from YA Lit. Especially they can regain their youth, their creativity, their dreams. To quote Gandalf when he spoke about the Ents, the tree people who had become stiff and too tree-ish: “they [parents] will awaken and find that they are strong.”

Q: Any musical inspirations that help you write?

I have strange musical tastes. While writing though, I listen to progressive heavy metal. I know what you’re thinking: a.) How can you possibly concentrate with that noisy music? But Prog Metal is really quite classical and symphonic. It’s also driving and epic—an adventure in every song. b.) And, secondly, isn’t that evil? I choose here to respectfully agree to disagree with my Christian peers who think that a particular style of music is inherently evil. The bands I listen to may not all be Christian, but they are mostly positive or ask the big questions of life. My particular favorites are The Orphan Project, Angra, Dream Theater, and Evanescence. Oh, and I like Yo-Yo Ma too.

Q: If a movie was made, based on The Door Within Trilogy, what actors would you have as the lead roles?

Ah, too fun! Here’s my potential cast:

Aidan Thomas: some unknown lad, soft-spoken but tough as nails. Maybe Josh Hutcherson (though he’s quite well-known now).

Antoinette Lynn Reed: again, an unknown, but she must have serious inner fire.

Captain Valithor: Sean Connery. Please, God, let them make the movie while Sean is still with us!

Falon the Mortiwraith: I’d like her to be voiced by Eartha Kitt the voice of Yzma in Emperor’s New Groove.

Paragor/Paragal: This may seem weird, but I’d cast myself in this role. I’ve read his most intense scenes like “Traitor’s Legacy” so many times, I feel like I just know his flaws and his arrogance. If not me, then Sean Bean or Richard Armitage.

Mallik: Gerard Butler, the Scotsman who played Beowulf

Sir Rogan: my buddy Dan who, I’m convinced, is part Viking.

Thanks, Wayne for the great interview.

Tour Day 9 - San Diego

2008-10-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

Today we closed the tour with a trip from L.A. to San Diego. The Barnes and Noble in San Diego was great... they had our books in the window and a huge section of the store, right up front, set up for us to do our book signing. Our favorite reader, Wayne Thomas Batson, did a reading from the Door Within, we had the internet streaming live, and we had a nice group of current readers and new readers show up for us to sign books and talk.

I am including photos of several new readers. If you haven't watched the book trailer video above, then take a few minutes to do so and pass it along to your friends. It's a great way to give them a summary of the book. Also, if you didn't get your copy of the Book 2 - bookmarker, then send me your mailing address and I'll mail one out to you! Right now we are promoting a free book marker for sending the link to this blog to 10 of your friends.

To the left we have a big group of new readers, including one of my new fans... Noah!

He's the one to the far left. I let him know that one of my favorite characters in the book is named after him.

After our two hours at Barnes & Noble, it was sad to think that the tour had come to a close. In some ways it passed by very quickly and in others it seemed like such a long time.

We built lifelong friendships with people we hadn't even met before this passed week. Our hope is that the Christian Fantasy genre will continue to build through efforts like these and that both Christian and non-Christian stores will carry our work to impact generations.

As we pack our bags to head back home to New York, Florida, Minnesota, Tennessee, Missiouri, Maryland and Colorado - we will have fond memories of this tour, our time together, and meeting new friends in every town we visited. We have discussed so many potential ideas for the future and it would be premature for me to mention them here, but suffice it to say... they are very exciting and as soon as we finalize them, you will be the first to know! Eric Reinhold

Tour Day 8 - More SoCal

2008-10-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, we arrived at Village Christian School, in Sun Valley and had two big sessions with the students. Hundreds of students packed in on the bleachers on either side and in front from the Middle School and then we followed it up with a larger presentation to the High School. One of the memorable events was the entire High School student body jumping in their seats as Wayne boomed Lord Fallon's voice during his reading.

We followed up the presentations with a visit to classrooms. Wayne, Jonathan Rogers and I visited a Fifth Grade Spanish class and the teacher, was as they say in SoCal, "Totally Awesome!" The kids were very attentive and interested in our discussion of Christian Fantasy Fiction... what a joy!

Five of the eight of us outside the gym in the courtyard area of the school getting ready to sign books. From left to right: Donita K. Paul, Eric Reinhold, Wayne Thomas Batson, Jonathan Rogers, L.B. Graham.

The Barnes and Noble of Burbank was the best! We were running out of time for the signing and they had us sign all of the books they had for us (tons!) and are having them available for kids in the school as well as other store promotions through Christmas!

We were under a time crunch to race across town to another school, West Covina Christian School, and arrived just in time! At this school we spoke to the upper elementary kids and I did one of my presentations and also participated in the sword play! Here are a few of the kids from that signing!

We then had some time to travel to our evening event at Calvary Chapel Church in Huntington Beach. This was one of the highlights of the trip as we had 2 hours to spend in more of a church service approach with a large adult audience and kids. Chistopher Hopper and his wife opened with praise songs, Sharon Hinck talked about the hero in us and I followed with a talk on "God's Timing" and my experience with starting to write, my open-heart surgery and God bringing about a publisher through that 7-year ordeal. L.B. Graham spoke and provided a transition into Christian Fantasy Fiction and was followed by Wayne providing a dramatic reading. Bryan Davis gave one of the most passionate talks I have heard, bring many to tears as he talked about changed lives through our writing. We finished with Q & A and went out for a time of book signing and discussion with the congregation. Below left is a picture of Bryan Davis signing books with his daughter Amanda who travelled with us and was a great help along the way.

To the right are two girls who are new readers of the "Ryann Watters" series.

Tour Day 7 - SoCal

2008-10-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

We opened the day at St. Genevieve High School in Panorama City, CA (hear LA). Christopher Hopper has been our awesome moderator and challenged the high school kids in their walk with Jesus. This was one of the warmest and best welcomes we have received. As we got out of our van, the school cheerleaders were there to great us and show us where to set up.

After our presentation in the school gym, we split up into groups of two and headed off to teach one of the language arts classes. Bryan Davis and I taught the 11th graders.

We then went to the Bethany Christian School in Sierra Madre and had an hour program for the 4th-6th grade students. This was a fun bunch of students and Barnes & Noble was awesome in their support of the event.

To complete the trio of events for the day, we raced over to Valley Book & Bible store in Van Nuys. Super staff... wide open store with lots of room. Pictured to the left are two new readers to my Ryann Watters that I had a chance to spend some time with.

Wayne Thomas Batson in the midst of a dramatic reading from "The Door Within" series. As an author, this is what you like to see (below) when you walk into a bookstore!!!

Tour Day 6 - Reedly, CA

2008-10-08T21:41:00.001-07:00

Today was the Reedley High School stop and Downtown Arts Festival. In between, we stopped for an unbelievable 5 course meal at Christopher Hopper's publisher's house - Pam Schwagerl. Here we are on her front porch. (Why am I bending over?)

After dinner, we went downtown and set up for an outdoor book signing. We talked to a good number of readers and parents, before calling it a night at 8:30 (actually we went for ice cream after that at the Tasty Freeze), because we need to get up at 4:15 am to head down to L.A. ..ugh!

THIS GREAT MOM WON THE AWARD FOR THE MOST BOOKS PURCHASED BY ONE PERSON!

Good night!

Tour Day 5 - Fresno, CA

2008-10-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today started with a drive down to The Children's Hospital of Central Florida, in Fresno, CA, where we provided books to kids on the main floor and then went up to the cancer ward to visit with kids in their individual rooms. The Motiv8 Tour partnered with Character-4-Kids, a non-profit organization headed by me, to provide books to kids with physical and financial hardships. At the hospital, Jonathan Rogers and Bryan Davis read excerpts from their books and Donita K. Paul got in close with the kids to make up a story and have them play along.

Following our visit to the hospital, we headed out for lunch to Pizza Hut, where we relaxed until our visit to the READ-Fresno Charity Event, at the Bigby Village Apartment Complex. You can see two of the tour members at an NBC Channel 24 News Interview here: http://www.ksee24.com/programming/cvt/30567134.html?video=YHI&t=a

Besides information on the charity event at this inner city reading program, there is information about the tour and of course, a sword fight!

PIZZA HUT FOR LUNCH!

The author men...

(Seated from left to right) Bryan Davis, Jonathan Rogers, L.B. Graham, and Wayne Thomas Batson (Standing from left to right) Eric Reinhold and Christopher Hopper.

The women watched in awe as we downed more than our share of pizza.

At the housing development, we gave out book markers to the kids, let them hold our swords, had dramatic readings, sword fights, a drawing for tons of prizes and of course signed books to give away (provided through the support of Character-4-kids).

READ Fresno provided a Blow up Jumper House, food, and music.

I've included a few pictures to give you a flavor for the event.

Here's a picture of Christopher Hopper in amongst the kids!

After the event we took off again for a Berean Christian Bookstore and our last event for the day. We had a fund time talking with the kids that showed up as well as interacting with those on the internet.

Donita K. Paul and Eric Reinhold with two new readers of our books!

The last item on the agenda was visiting an "In and Out" Burger chain. We had heard about them relentlessly from Christopher Hopper and the decision was made to stop in at 9 pm for their unique burger. Mmmmm... is the best way to describe it :) Fresh ingredients, grilled onions, a special Thousand Island Dressing and so much more.

Tour Day 4 - Sacramento, CA

2008-10-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

We left bright and early (a recurring theme as you can tell), from Medford, OR to make our way down to Sacremento, CA. Majestic mountains, rivers, and pastures lined our drive on Highway 5, south. Our first stop was a "Jack in the Box" burger restuarant, which was highly recommended by L.B. Graham. Mmmmmm... is the best way to describe this juicy, monstrosity.

Back to the events... we then stopped at Trinity Christian School for an assembly time with the 5th-7th grades. This was the first event I spoke at and was followed by our favorite reader, Wayne Thomas Batson, and then a talk from Sharon Hinck on the Hero in all of us. After some Q & A, the sword play began between Wayne and Christopher Hopper... only this time, I joined in. They went through their typical banter over 'who rules the kingdom' and 'do real heroes have hair or are they bald?'

They asked for volunteers and I jumped in holding my head with confusion over who to join?

I revealed the front part of my head (yes, bald) and proclaimed, "Should I join Sir Christopher, a white knight in shining armor?" Chorus of yeas and nays. Then, "Strike that I mean should I join Sir Christopher a white knight whith a shiny head?" Lots of laughing! "Or should I drop this silly Irish accent and join the Antonio Bandaro look alike, Sir Wayne?" (change to slick spanish accent).

Yeas and Nays...

I pull out my sword at this point. "Sir Wayne... aka Sir Vain," and I look into my shiny sword and smile, "you look good, Sir Eric."

Chorus of laughter.

Christopher then said, "No, instead let us be all for one and one for all," as we point our swords in the air together.

We then headed out to dinner after a short stop at our Motel 8 (get it.. the Motivate Tour Stays at Motel 8!)... I digress. We rested and then jumped in the van and headed over to the mall and a mexican restuarant. Pictured here are LB Graham, a friend of Donita's, Donita K. Paul (aka Grandma), Christopher Hopper, Jonathan Rogers, Wayne Thomas Batson, Sharon Hinck, and the back of Amanda Davis's head. Brian Davis and I are out of the picture.

A short jaunt from there and we were at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore. There were lots of fans already waiting, the web cam was set up, along with our banners and we were up and running. Of course Wayne did his usual awesome job of reading, but this time we got to hear from his new "Isle of Fire" series. Arrgh! Pirates. Pictured below is a new friend I signed a book for and promises to read through and give me feedback right away!

Our Q & A period was the best. Beyond the typical questions on 'how long did it take to write your book,' we were asked by one boy in the front row, "are you all Christians?"

There was a resounding "YES!"

Then a woman asked a follow up question for each of us to give our testimony as a believer. What a great time to share, in the middle of Barnes and Noble, no less!

We've had lots of great questions from the Fantasy Fiction Tour website, so don't forget to check it out and give us an instant messaging question. Amanda, Bryan Davis's daughter will read them out loud for us to answer. Well, I better get to bed. Tomorrow we get up at 5:30 am again... whew.

Tour Day 3 - Oregon

2008-10-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

Early to rise today - 5 a.m.! Bryan Davis aka "The Android," was up at 4 a.m. Waaaaaay too much to pack into our supposed '15 passenger van.' Yeah right... maybe 15 dwarfs or smallish elves. The Miller Brothers - Hunter Brown Stories - were gracious enough to let us crash at their place and then we made a made dash from Seattle to Portland, OR for an 11a.m. - 1 p.m. "meet and great" at the gazebo at Bridgeport Village Mall. Wayne Thomas Batson provided the crowds of this open air mall with a boisterous dramatic reading and then we jumped back in the van for the 4 hour drive to Medford, OR and the Evangel Family Bookstore.

The folks at the Evangel Family Bookstore couldn't have been better to set up this awesome event. Tons of fans showed up and gathered outside the storefront in the large Mall area in front of Macy's. Tables were set up in a semi-circle and the area was roped off for great banter and swordplay between Wayne and Christopher Hopper. Again, Jonathan Rogers provided us with a dramatic reading.

To the left is a picture with Megan, one of two sisters who stopped by, chat and get a book signed.

The store front was awesome... displaying all of our books in such a classy way and each member of the Evangel team made us feel so welcome from their bright smiles to the food and drinks to keep us going. Thanks so much for your hospitality! Tomorrow we get to sleep in until 6 a.m. and then it's off to California!