I read my first steampunk book just a couple months ago. (Armored Hearts, by Pauline Creeden and Melissa Turner Lee if you really want to know.) Since then, the steampunk radar in my head goes off every time I pass a book cover with gears or cool goggles on it. Today we’re digging into steampunk and cyberpunk. While they both have the word punk in them, you’ll find they’re quite different. Steampunk Steampunk has not yet figured out exactly which genre it falls under — science fiction or fantasy. I’ve seen many people placing it under both, and it really comes …
Spec-Fic Subgenres: The Fantasies
Fantasy is where I feel most at home. I used to consider myself a fantasy fan, but as I dug into the genres I realized how ignorant I am. High fantasy? Low fantasy? Dark fantasy? What? High Fantasy (sometimes called Epic Fantasy) You may have been a high fantasy fan all your life and never known it. “One ring to rule them all…” If you know what that’s from (*hint* Lord of the Rings) then you’ve read or watched high fantasy (and hopefully liked it!) As with most subgenres, high fantasy is a little tough to fully break down. The definition either gets …
A Name Change for Marcher Lord Press?
Greeting earthlings. We bring you tidings of peace…. After considerable thought and talking with some people who’s opinion I trust, I am on the verge of creating a new name, a new imprint, for our books. In case you are wondering I have talked with Jeff Gerke, the founder of Marcher Lord Press, and he agrees it is a good idea. If you can weigh in, please answer the following survey and give your opinion on some choices: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TQS9K9W The survey will take only a minute or two. There are a couple factors that have gone into this conversation: The initials MLP …
March Speculative News
Here is the news from around the net for the month of March: ~Melissa Turner Lee revealed the cover for her next novel, a time travel story with a romantic twist. Click to see the cover for Forever Layla and enter the giveaway for an advance copy! ~Jill Williamson has released another novella in her Mission League series: Ambushed. ~The 2014 Clive Staples finalist for Christian speculative fiction vote is going right now. In order to vote, you must have read at least two of the books nominated. To find out more or to vote, click here: Clive Staples Award. …
Spec-Fic Subgenres: Dystopia & Utopia
Speculative fiction is just a giant door leading to a hundred tiny doors called subgenres. Anyone writing spec-fic probably knows what his or her subgenre is. Mine is dystopian. What’s yours? Steampunk? Technothriller? Paranormal? Time Travel? I wrote in the speculative fiction genre long before I actually knew what any of the subgenres were. So, I thought it appropriate to do a blog series breaking down one or two subgenres a month for the good of all those who love (or don’t yet know that they love) speculative fiction. Let’s jump right in, shall we? There are three agreed-upon main …
February Speculative News
The last Friday of every month MLP will be posting news and links so you can see what your favorite authors are up to. Here is February’s news: ~Fantasy author Morgan L. Busse is a participant in the Leap into Books Blog Hop, a 150+author hop with lots of giveaways. Head on over to her site to find out more and enter for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card. ~Nadine Brandes, newest author to join the MLP ranks, is currently blogging about her journey through her first set of edits and what it’s like on this side …
Echoes of God
One of my favorite perks about reading and writing science fiction and fantasy is with every new story, I get to discover and explore whole new worlds. And with every new world I encounter through a book, movie, or game, I get to encounter a new echo of God. I believe as beings created in the image of God, it’s only natural for echoes of our Creator to resonate through the worlds we build, whether we try to do so intentionally or whether there’re just clues and themes left behind allowing readers to find an echo that resonates for them. …
Realm Makers Blog Voyage
Realm Makers 2014 is just around the corner! A fun conference for speculative fiction writers with faith, this conference promises to be an amazing weekend. This year, it’s being held at Villanova University in Pennsylvania on Friday, May 30-Saturday, May 31. Why would a speculative fiction writer want to attend such a unique (and smaller) writer’s conference? Oh, let me count the ways! · Realm Makers has the unique platform of being a conference for Christians. We often feel that we are not weird enough to be in with the general crowd, and not normal enough to be in with …
Marcher Lord Celebrates Five Years
Today Marcher Lord Press marks five years of excellent, award-winning speculative fiction. Can you believe it? To celebrate, we are doing a couple of things. First, everything on our site is 25% for the entire month of October (excluding Amish Vampires in Space). That means all our fiction, writing books, everything. 25% off.Just use this code when you checkout: MLP5YR. So what book or series have you been holding back on buying? Now is the time to purchase it. Next. Not only is almost everything 25% off, we are giving away the entire Marcher Lord Press library in ebook form …