CSFF Presents: Lost Genre Guild Promotes Christian SFF Beyond its Group

Just a little finale installment.

One thing Frank and others in the LGG have always said is that we're not just here to promote our own works, but the genre in general. To that end, here's a list of other places you can find quality science fiction, fantasy and horror that respect and incorporate the Christian worldview:


Publishers:

The Writers' Café Press: http://thewriterscafepress.com/
Idylls Press: http://www.idyllspress.com/
Marcher Lord Press: http://marcherlordpress.com/
Double-Edged Publishing: http://www.doubleedgedpublishing.com/


Magazines:

Mindflights: http://www.mindflights.com
Ray Gun Revival: http://www.raygunrevival.com
Wayfarer's Journal: http://www.wayfarersjournal.com/
Laser & Sword Magazine: http://lasersword.adamsweb.us
Residential Aliens: http://residentialaliens.blogspot.com/
Coach's Midnight Diner: http://www.reliefjournal.com/cmd
Fear and Trembling: http://www.fearandtremblingmag.com/

Websites with Emphasis in Christian Speculative Fiction:

Lost Genre Guild: http://www.lostgenreguild.com/
Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour: http://csffblogtour.com/
Where The Map Ends: http://www.wherethemapends.com/main.htm
ChristianFantasy.com: http://www.christianfantasy.com/
Christian SciFi: http://www.christianscifi.com/
Speculative Faith: http://specfaith.ritersbloc.com/
Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Central:
http://www.christianscififantasycentral.com/
Christian Fandom: http://pages.swcp.com/christian-fandom/

CSFF Presents: the Lost Genre Guild--Meet the Members

For the last day of the LGG Tour, I want to introduce you to a few of the Lost Genre Guild members. (Thanks to Frank Creed for this list.):

Brandon Barr: and co-author Mike Lynch recently announced that the first chapter of their new novel won a "first chapter contest" at the Dead Robot Society.
http://deadrobotssociety.com/second-annual-contest/after-the-cross-by-brandon-barr/

Grace Bridges: Author of Faith Awakened, a cyberpunk tale with a classic old literary sci-fi style; and Legendary Space Pilgrims, a continuation of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, and Lewis’ Pilgrim’s Regress. She also manages our blog and booklist.
http://www.gracebridges.com/

Johne Cook: Editor of Double Edged Publishing’s Ray-Gun Revival, serial author and head of the Guild’s Packer fan-club.
http://www.raygunrevival.com/

Frank Creed: Author or Flashpoint, a Christian cyberpunk novel reviewed here. Founder of the LGG and a great guy.
http://frankcreed.com

Steve Doyle: Steve and Frank go back to my first speculative fiction forays into the Web: elfwood.com and the Herscher Project. Steve is one of the authors on this list with who shares publication in the Light at the Edge of Darkness anthology.
http://www.elfwood.com/
http://herscher.cwgservices.com/
http://www.doylebooks.com/
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Light-at-the-Edge-of-Darkness/Cynthia-MacKinnon/e/9781934284001

Karina Fabian: Editor of the Infinite Space and Infinite God, and Leaps of Faith--Christian sci-fi anthologies--and the DragonEye, PI fantasy mysteries.
http://www.fabianspace.com
http://www.isigsf.com/
http://www.leapsoffaithsf.com/
http://dragoneyepi.net/

Andrea & Adam Graham: Editors of Laser & Sword Magazine, the Grahams are into podcasting, and kilt-making. They’re two of the three authors on this list who share publication in the Light at the Edge of Darkness anthology.
http://www.adamsweb.blogspot.com/
http://kingkilts.adamsweb.us/
http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Light-at-the-Edge-of-Darkness/Cynthia-MacKinnon/e/9781934284001

Paulette Harris: You can tell who’s joined the guild while I’ve been away. Polly’s active in our newsgroup and calls Colorado home.
http://pauletteharris.biz/

Caprice Hokstad: Author of the Duke’s Handmaiden and Nor Iron Bars a Cage, Caprice is a member of many Web communities, and a great encourager, and a manuscript proofreader.
http://cfvici.blogspot.com/
http://www.lulu.com/caprice
http://thefinishers.biz

Mike Lynch: co-authors with Brandon Barr.
http://www.mikelynchbooks.blogspot.com/

Cynthia MacKinnon: Publisher of The Writers Cafe Press and Frank's better half. A wonderful lady with a lot of savvy.
http://www.thewriterscafe.com/

Terri Main: Editor of Wayfarer’s Journal, communications professor, our resident voice recognition software expert, and an aspiring moon-whodunit novelist and nonfiction author of Creative Calesthenics.
http://www.wayfarersjournal.com
http://www.creativecalisthenics.com/

Scott Sandridge: is an editor for Fear and Trembling, a speculative fiction writer, reviewer, and columnist.
http://www.fearandtremblingmag.com/
http://www.freewebs.com/scottmsandridge/

Sherry Thompson: Author of Seabird, book one of the The Narentan Tumults.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Seabird/Sherry-Thompson/e/9780979573828

As you can see, they are active writers, editors and speakers--people with a lot of imagination and a lot of eloquence.

Would you like to meet them? Want to be part of the Guild? If so, there are several ways:

Through the website: http://www.lostgenreguild.com/index.html
Through the forum: http://www.lostgenreguild.com/phpBB3/
Through the Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lost_genre_guild/
Through ShoutLife: http://shoutlife.com/groups_home.cfm?group_id=1241
Read the blog: http://blog.lostgenreguild.com/
They also meet in Second Life, but I don't have that information. If interested, contact Terri Main.

***
Learn what other CSFF 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

CSFF Presents: The Lost Genre Guild and What It Means for Readers

I'm not a writer. I'm a reader who wants to find genre fiction that's entertaining and doesn't offend my Christian morals. Why should I care about the Lost Genre Guild?

Connecting readers and writers is the main purpose of the LGG. This isn't just to get the author sales (though we love that, of course). We want readers to know that there's a lot more fiction that not only respects but incorporates Christian beliefs than the sweet romance or the End-Times novel:

Christian fiction has experienced much growth over the past decade. As it has become more popular, the numbers of new authors and new genres has exploded--and so has the quality available. Novelists like Frank Peretti, T.L. Hines and Ted Dekker have done much to help Christian fiction cross the boundary from the safe "church-lady" fiction to fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, yes, and even horror written from a Christian worldview.

These authors are published by members of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) who market to members of the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA). To hear many in the world of Christian fiction speak, these groups are the end-all and be-all. (They would assert that) To the reader and consumer of Christian fiction they represent the totality of the industry. But the story does not end there. Not by a long shot. There are many misnomers and misunderstandings about the Christian fiction industry.

--Frank Creed, About the Christian Publishing Industry (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/566151/about_the_christian_publishing_industry.html)

The LGG does not limit itself to Christian fiction that the ECPA would approve of. We have aliens and vampires, high technology and high magic, and a wide tapestry of Christian faiths--from Presbyterianism to Catholicism--treated with respect and portrayed with realism and generosity. Here's where you find the stuff you won't find in your Christian bookstore, and sometimes not even in your secular store; not because they don't measure up, but because they don't fit the neat pegs that stores prefer--too Christian to be secular, too edgy to be "Christian." We want readers to know that exciting Christian sci-fi, fantasy and horror is out there, and we want to make it easy for you to find it.

To that end, we've developed the Lost Genre Guild website, where we provide covers and links to books and magazines that we think the Christian reader of genre fiction will enjoy.

I'm going to give you a small sampling. These are books by LGG members available on Amazon. (With so many to choose from, I selected those who have not been featured here yet, but several of the Christian spec-fic titles I've toured are LGG member books.)

Science Fiction:


Fantasy:


Horror:

(Note: Sue Dent's Never Ceese was toured by me.)

And if you're looking for a little taste of all the genres: (This was reviewed by me.)


There are dozens more listed on the website--series, anthologies and novels, as well as magazines. If you enjoy Christian speculative fiction that may or may not follow the strict morality code of ECPA books, the Lost Genre Guild is a great place to browse for your next reading adventure.

***
Learn what other CSFF 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

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!

****

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

CSFF Presents: Lost Genre Guild

Tell us a little about the Lost Genre Guild:

One artistic little cell in the Body of Christ, all members motivated by glorifying our Boss. Handy to have a Boss whose penned history’s a number-one bestseller. That unites us.

We are 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.

Questions like this is why one writes a mission statement: The Lost Genre Guild's mission is to raise awareness and respect for Biblical and Christian speculative fiction, and to encourage, educate and support the writers of such fiction.

Many writers eventually experience a waypoint along their artistic sojourn: the need to join some kind of writing group, most commonly a critique group. They seek to learn from others, and interact with like-minded people. Historically that's been most easily accomplished in a geographically local group. But now we have the Internet.

Until one pursues their writing interests on the Web, an artist cannot appreciate just how valuable a good genre-specific critique community is. That’s the heart of the Lost Genre Guild. For what we write, this would never have been possible locally. Genre authors have a metric-tonne in common, and we quickly become extended family.

It’s a blast when we get to meet in the real world. The LGG is the literary home for artists, editors, agents, promoters, and fans of Christian sci-fi, horror, and fantasy.

Why is the Lost Genre Guild needed in the publishing world today?

Historical and romance fans can walk into a Christian bookstore and find their favorite literature written from a Christian worldview. For business reasons however, there are a few genres that the Christian publishing industry won't print.

Those lost genres that slip between the cracks are unused tools that could be bringing the Christian worldview to thirsty cultures across western civilization.

Genre fans with imaginations fired by C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Space Trilogy look for more spec-fic in Christian bookstores.

“Hmm,” they might say, “must not be any new releases.”

They check a year later.

Then five years later.

At least now-a-days they will find that major Christian houses do publish some young-adult speculative fiction.

A lifetime of such frustration grew a chip on my shoulder—and a determination to do something about it. And, in September of 2006, the Lost Genre Guild was born.

For spec-fic fans, there’s finally good news. The Web and modern business trends like corporate outsourcing have impacted the publishing industry in ways very favorable to literary artists. Competition within the free market has made it possible for readers to find their favorite fiction in print. For an overview of the business behind our art, have a look at the following essay: Christian Speculative Fiction in the Publishing Industry.

What does the Lost Genre Guild hope to accomplish?

Awareness needs raising about Christians in the Sudan, who are being murdered, raped, and sold into slavery daily.

There are far more important things in the world than entertaining readers of any flavor.

Reaching readers for all purposes, from evangelism to discipleship, with fun creative tales that are respectful of the Christian worldview is our humble overall goal.

Atheism has used science fiction, Satanism has utilized horror, and many different isms have used fantasy to artistically explore their own worldviews.

Novelist L. Ron Hubbard even invented his own religion through science fiction literature.

Every Christian author views their own literary craft as a fiction-ministry. We all seek to glorify God and make differences in readers’ lives. By working together we seek to overcome challenges of craft and business that have been set before us by a profit-driven, self-censoring, Christian publishing industry.

The biggest challenge we face is connecting with more of our genre-fans. Christian Speculative fiction has been unavailable for so long that the majority of fans, who are believers, have altogether given up and resigned themselves to reading spec-fic of non-Christian worldviews.

Psychographics show that many Christian fans are on the Web. The Lost Genre Guild's been laying infrastructure for viral marketing and word-of-mouth buzz, to raise awareness of our lost genre. Just Google us to see what we've been doing.

The Guild has several projects—mentoring and critique groups, for example. Can you tell us about them?

We offer tools for every aspect of Christian and Biblical speculative fiction.

• Yahoo mail group for members to converse
• Shoutlife group and MySpace where we reach more people who aren’t actually formal members
• www.lostgenreguild.com, that includes bookshelves of members’ fiction, ezines and resources
• Guild Review, an editorial review site for Christian and Biblical spec-fic only (link from the LGG website or www.guildreview.com)
• Guild Catalogue, a print listing of member books, ezines, resources, newsletters (with short descriptions); link off main site; catalogue is updated twice a year and is in two formats: downloadable in booklet format for printing, and the viewable format
• Critique Group and mentors board (www.lostgenreguild.com/phpBB3)
• LGG Blog, (blog.lostgenreguild.com) focuses on Christian and Biblical speculative fiction news and events

We offer opportunities for members to participate in marketing and promotion—so far this has been limited to venues I attend with TWCP.

We're even in the initial planning stages of the first Lost Genre Guild online conference.

What's the strong emphasis of LGG—support, education, or marketing?
Yes. 8D

Spec-fic is one of literature’s two most powerful genres for tales of good v. evil (the other is western, and I hope there are cowpoke versions of us). Glorifying the Boss with such fiction is the Guild's focus.

We are always looking for tools to address all aspects of the Christian worldview in our genre.

People will find support in our private invitation-only newsgroup. There are many useful links at lostgenreguild.com to educate the public about everything Christian-spec-fic, from free e-zines, to new release novels. For marketing, there are public Lost Genre Guild groups at the Shoutlife and MySpace Web communities. Our members attend conferences and live book events, taking word-of-mouth to the real world. We distribute free tote-bags with printed material, such as the Lost Genre Guild catalog.

What are 2009 goals for LGG?

Continue to increase the Lost Genre Guild “official” membership by:

• networking at various social sites,
• participation in bulletin boards, discussion groups
• encouraging all members to add the Lost Genre Guild to their signature link (currently we have 130+ official members; at the Shoutlife and MySpace groups 500+ members, about 8% of whom are official members)

Increase the visibility of member novels and offerings by:

• advertising the Guild Review and printing hard copies for distribution to book stores, churches, schools
• offering twice yearly catalogue opportunities for highlighting LGG books, ezines, and resources—in both print format and on the LGG site
• new format of the LGG blog which focuses on genre news and events
• attending conferences and book events with promotional materials

Educate members about the craft of writing, critiquing, and marketing and promotion

• regular topics at the Yahoo private group
• information and discussion at the LGG bulletin board
• short story and novel critique groups at the LGG bulletin board
• planning for an online conference (similar to that of the Catholic Writers Guild)

Tell us a little about Frank Creed:

Frank Creed the writing mentor and manuscript critiquer teaches the fiction craft at www.thefinishers.biz manuscript evaluation service. A lovely wife, daughter, and ten kitties do most of the work while Frank lounges with his feet up.

Novelist Frank Creed writes near future high-tech page-turners with settings and characters that push faith's envelope. Flashpoint: Book One of the Underground series was nominated, finaled, and won first place in three literary spec-fic contests. Frank points up to the Boss, who distributes gifts.

Frank's Flashpoint toured on VBTdeNet. Check it out here.