CSFF Presents: The Lost Genre Guild--What It Means for Authors

I did something very silly. I posted my original interview for the CSFF tour of the Lost Genre Guild two weeks early. Therefore, I invite you to click here for an excellent interview by LGG founder Frank Creed.

For those who don't want to click around: The Lost Genre Guild is a community of authors working together at the intersection of our God-given talents and passions. Quality, entertaining speculative fiction (sci-fi, horror, and fantasy), has such ministry potential. Its mission is to raise awareness and respect for Biblical and Christian speculative fiction, and to encourage, educate and support the writers of such fiction. (From the interview)

Simple mission with a big effect. Its members have found not only moral support for their writing, but practical support that has led to novels and stories written and works published. Today, I present three successful LGG members: Terri Main and Grace Bridges, and myself.

Terri Main:


Book published and magazine: Creative Calisthenics: A Workout for the Writer's Imagination and Wayfarer's Journal.


Why did you join the Guild? Frank asked me to join. Mostly he wanted me to share some of my marketing experience. I was still separated from my fiction writing roots. I had been away from fiction writing for nearly 20 years, except for a few things I wrote as part of personal therapy. I shared them with others of similar troubles, and they loved them, but, hey, we were emotionally distressed, you like anything that doesn't make you feel so alone. I didn't come in as a writer--only a bit as an editor of a ezine, mostly as a marketing expert. Little did I know it would stir up an ember that had nearly gone out.

What have you gotten from the Guild? Restoration of the joy of fiction writing. Whether I ever get a book contract, I have recovered those vicarious adventures writers have as they follow their characters chasing a story.

Are you a better writer because of the Guild? Yes. I'm writing more. My imagination is always being stimulated by some discussion or other. I am challenged to bring my "A" game by being accountable to others.

Tell us a little about Wayfarer's Journal. Wayfarer's Journal seeks to publish science fiction stories with a spiritual or ethical component. That doesn't mean it will always be a story about Christianity or Christian doctrine directly. I have a couple of potentially controversial stories ready to go into the next issue which have that type of moral or ethical component, but without any direct reference to Christian doctrine. I'll be releasing that issue about the first of January. WJ also publishes a limited number of semi-scholarly articles about science fiction with a spiritual element. It is intended to fill a niche for a pure science fiction publication. Most of the Christian speculative fiction e-zines are heavily focused on fantasy. Nothing wrong with that. I like fantasy, but science fiction seemed to take a back seat. So, I decided to find a niche not being covered at this time. We currently get about 180,000 hits a year.

Did your being in the LGG influence the creation of the WJ? If so, how? Certainly, it influenced the development of the site. Many of our writers are LGG writers. And I got encouragement and support from the various LGG members. They also have helped promote the site.

One of the things I find wonderful about LGG is that although we are in the same "business," we are not competitors. We all know we work "for The Boss," as Frank says. We help each other succeed, and everyone else's success is celebrated as if it is our own. Here's the secret: It is our own. When another LGG member breaks through with a popular website or a good selling book, that helps the entire genre. By helping each other, we not only have more joy on the journey, we also make the journey more productive for all concerned.

Grace Bridges:



Name of book: Faith Awakened

Why did you join the Guild? Daniel Weaver invited me from Myspace to join his crit group. Then this guy called Frank pulled it all together and I was there right from the start. I'd been working on a sci-fi novel for some years and thought this could help its progress--and it did!

What have you gotten from the Guild? Ooh, where do I start? Fabulous critique partners, reviews, hospitality, moral support, hugs real and virtual, publishing and co-writing opportunities...

How are you a better writer because of the Guild? Critiques are probably the single biggest factor in my improvement. Folks who tell you the truth about your work are worth their weight in gold!

Do you have a personal success story (publishing, sales, etc.) that is a direct result of your participation in the Guild? The Guild encouraged me to self-publish my first book and told me in no uncertain terms to ensure the quality meant no one could ever tell it was self-published. That book has sold 500 copies. Due to further support from the gang, I'm about to launch an independent press. And when I trekked across the States on my way home, so many LGG folks opened their homes to me. It was wonderful to meet them in person!

Karina Fabian:



Books Published and magazine: Infinite Space, Infinite God and Leaps of Faith, and Faith-Filled Fiction.

As for me, the Guild has provided some great friendship, a place to bounce ideas and get feedback and critique, and discuss what it means to write faith-filled fiction. On a practical marketing side, I've participated in a book fair with Frank and Cynthia, where we promoted LGG books and books of the Catholic Writers Guild. I also found a publisher for Leaps of Faith, an anthology of Christian SF, through the Guild, and have sold some stories thanks to leads from this group. Every day, we have active discussions going on topics ranging from someone's latest story idea to working out kinks when publishing with Lulu to market news to ideas to sell our books.

If you are an author of Christian Sci-Fi, fantasy or horror, this is THE group for you to join!

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For more about the LGG, including the great fiction by its authors: http://www.lostgenreguild.com/

Learn what other bloggers have to say about the LGG:
Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Kathy Brasby
Grace Bridges
Valerie Comer
Courtney
Frank Creed
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Timothy Hicks
Joleen Howell
Jason Isbell
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Lost Genre Guild
Mike Lynch
Magma
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
John W. Otte
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Mirtika
Hanna Sandvig
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Phyllis Wheeler
Timothy Wise

Interview with Grace Bridges

What inspired you to write this story?
It kind of came from daydreams I've had since early childhood. They were vague at first, wondering if heaven might be able to include reliving childhood. Later, they solidified into the ideas that became Faith Awakened. I formulated the first story idea when I was 14.

Who is your favorite character and why?
I suppose it's Mariah. Faith is too similar to me, but Mariah is me as I would hope to be if I ever got in as much trouble as she did.

How have your personal faith and beliefs influenced your story?
Faith's journey of faith is much like my own. Both her life and Mariah's leave a lot of unanswered questions, but certainty in the things that matter. I have a lot of questions I'd like to ask God, and I think that's all right. I'm happy I don't have to know all the answers.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?
There were some chapters around the middle where I got quite stuck for a while. The plot was planned out, but between crises there are bits that aren't as exciting as others. That's always difficult.

What was easiest?
The crisis chapters where all the strands are bound together. That was really fun!

What's next for you?
A space-epic Pilgrim's Progress inspired by and vastly different to Frank Creed's Flashpoint.

Review of Faith Awakened by Grace Bridges

There's a saying in literature: There are no new plot lines, just new ways of approaching the same plot lines. Grace Bridges has shown that she is a master at novel approaches with her book Faith Awakened.
Faith Awakened tells the story of two women: Mariah, one of the last survivors of a dystrophic world in which a virulent plague has destroyed 99.9 percent of mankind, and Faith, a woman who has dealt all her life with depression, bizarre memory loss and a struggle to serve the Lord even when she doesn't "feel" His presence.
Familiar plotlines? Sure--until Grace mixes the two so that Faith is Mariah, living out a new life in a virtual reality program while her body is in stasis to wait out the death of the killer virus.
That clever mix caught my interest and kept me reading. Even a month after having read the Faith Awakened, I still find myself pondering the story. Were the memory losses because of the badly connected sensors or faults in the program? Was her depression a natural extension of Mariah's circumstances or difficulties interfacing with the machine? What about her tie to the Lord: did the computer, her misconnected probe or some aspect of her personality prevent her from feeling God's presence in her alternate life? I loved how she persevered despite not having an overwhelming emotional faith experience. It reminded me of the words of a child's father to Jesus: "I believe. Help my unbelief." (Mark 9:24)
I found the Biblical messages a little heavy at times, but that's a personal pet peeve. Besides, it's part of the genre. What I find significant is that Grace wove these so well into her story that I could easily chalk them up to the characters' thoughts rather than an author-induced sermon and go on with my reading--and I wanted to go on. Grace has written a wonderful, unique story and I recommend it to any Christian reader who's looking for something out of the ordinary.

Even a month after having read Faith Awakened, I still find myself pondering the story. Grace has written a wonderful, unique story and I recommend it to any Christian reader who's looking for something out of the ordinary.

Download or buy now:
Faith Awakened at Lulu.com! Free e-book - or the print copy at cost price!
Faith Awakened at Amazon.com Printed copies only

CFRB Presents: Faith Awakened by Grace Bridges

If you could design your own virtual world to live in, what would it look like? If you lived on a dark and empty planet, how far would you go to save your life? Is God a computer programmer? And can he take you to heaven... before you die?

"A fascinating tale of playing God over one's own virtual life, while the real God influences the real one... or both." - Angela Brett, 1995 winner of the Young Writers' Katherine Mansfield Memorial Award