Scribe Scrawlings

Winners!

2010-05-29T10:57:00.000-05:00

All right

Livestream.com/dragonsinourmidst

That should be the address for the podcast guys if it's wrong, check Bryan Davis' facebook, he's got it there too.

Winners! Tristan Gunn won for his friend MICAH
Jakob Parker won for his friend CHRISTIAN MILES
Makenzie Evans won for her friend KAITLYN

BOOK GIVE AWAY ALERT!

2010-05-27T09:50:00.000-05:00

All right lords, ladies, and warriors from both a far and a near! Saturday May 29th His Way will be having a Launch Party for Bryan Davis' newest book, Starlighter from the Dragons of Starlight series. We are going to be doing a pod-cast from the store so make sure to come back here and tune in if you can't attend!

Now, to the give-away part!

I will be giving away not 1, not 2, but 3 copies of the book.

Here's the catch, because the book has themes of sacrifice and preferring others before yourself I'm going ask that you do the same thing (this might sound vaguely familiar for those that have stuck with me through the long silence) and nominate someone to receive a copy of Starlighter rather asking for it yourself.

And here's the twist on the catch--you can nominate other posters!

Example: If say someone named Randi nominates her friend Amy for a free copy, and then you come here and see her post and happen know Randi either from places on-line or in person then you can nominate her for a free copy of the book. You just can't nominate yourself.

Please, no multiple sn's (nominating yourself under a second name is just plain cheating)

Legal Stuff:

If you are under 18 years of age, get your parents consent (I gotta know where I'm sending the books and they need to know you're giving me your address) to enter the contest. Also, if you're nominating someone that doesn't live near you, and they are under age I need THEIR parents consent or I can send the book to you and you can send it onto them. Your choice :-D

Open to residents of the UNITED STATES and CANADA only--sadly I can't afford to send books overseas. Maybe one day I will! Just not today.

Leave your nomination in the comments here OR send it to

everlastingscribe@hotmail.com and put in the title line NOMINATION

You have until Saturday at NOON to get them in and then Bryan will hopefully sign the book LIVE in the podcast!

Restorer WINNER and SECOND RUNNER UP!

2010-01-05T11:33:00.000-05:00

Right, well I shall be good and spare you the tale of misery, woe, sinus infections, and Fire Marshall visits to the store cast myself upon your mercies, and most importantly, post who won the lovely book!

ABBIE

with a total, rather astronomical number of 39,000 points scoops up the slot for first place AND the lovely signed copy of the Restorer!

BARIE

with a total, also astronomical number of 31, 000 points scoops up the slot for second place AND the unannounced second prize a copy of THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM which is an awesome documentary on one of most spectacular extra-Biblical proofs of the Christmas Story. I watch it several times a year, and am amazed every time I see it. There's a lovely tie-in for Easter too, Barie so don't wait for NEXT Christmas to watch the DVD.

Send your snail-mail addresses to my e-mail if you would please, winners, and I will get them in the mail this week!

Got Sick AGAIN

2009-12-16T12:22:00.000-05:00

Gosh the flu isn't fun. This is my second go round with fever, chills, aches, and other annoyances. I actually was home from work yesterday recovering, and today, I'm working on tabulating points. Hang in there scouts, adventurers and way-makers! Should have a winner by the end of the week provided I don't go under again!

BOOK REVIEW POINTS DOUBLED

2009-12-10T12:18:00.000-05:00

All right today is the LAST DAY of the contest, and I should have results for everyone by Monday of next week. However, I am going to ask that you start tabulating your own POINT SCORES and e-mail me where you think you are point wise, this will make the counting and checking for me, go faster. You can do that anytime between 12/11/09 and 12/14/09. Also today anyone who writes and posts reviews for

BRYAN DAVIS
DONITA PAUL
or WAYNE THOMAS BATSON

TODAY ONLY

will receive double the points.

Double POINTS for Book Reviews!

2009-12-09T12:13:00.000-05:00

Wow, just looking at all that glorious posting going down there with the songs and hymns is amazing guys! Keep at it. Remember, you've got till December 10th to find your songs, find the history, and post it to claim your glorious points.

Today however, I'm adding to that DOUBLE POINTS for anyone who posts reviews of Jonathan Roger's books.

Double Points for Book Reviews OF

2009-12-08T10:25:00.000-05:00

That's right, I'm also going to do two more of these.

Today ONLY you get double the points for reviews of L.B. Graham's books, and Eric Reinhold's books.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

2009-12-08T00:32:00.000-05:00

Life is crazy right now. And I'll be honest, I'll be glad when this contest is done on the 10th (it's been fun but I haven't done half the things I wanted to have you guys do mainly because of time constraints) and I can just get back to idly blogging about stuff for a while. :-D

It's Christmas.

I work in Retail.

Nuff Said.

However, for the last two days I'm going to have one final assignment which is not book related. Well it is and it isn't.

Stories, songs, and history hidden in tunes all factor into Sharon Hinck's The Restorer series. The interesting thing is that our world too has a vast and relatively unknown history behind the hymns and worship songs sung today. It's amazing the stories you uncover when you scratch the surface of a hymn. I was blown away by the story behind the Christmas Song "Good King Wenceslas" and I think you will be too. That's something to share after this contest though, when I have a moment to breath.

Right! Your assignment is this:

Pick a hymn, praise and worship song, or Christmas carol. Then use the internet or books to find out the history behind it, and post the most fascinating thing that you find here in the comments.

This can be done more than once.

However, if two people pick the same hymn/worship song/ Christmas carol, the one that posts their findings first, gets credit.

Also in the post, provide a link back to where you found the information or the book that you took the information from.

For internet research on something, I'm going to ask for three links--and yes the wiki counts. For books, just one will be fine.

That's all. Have fun!

Oh wait.

Wait.

I mentioned points, didn't I?

1000 points for each hymn/praise and worship song/ Christmas carol that you find the history of and share with the rest of us.

Two days.

48 hours.

This is going to be interesting. ;)

SATURDAY DEC. 5th ONLY

2009-12-04T23:01:00.000-05:00

Anyone who reviews Christopher Hopper's Rise of the Dibor or the The Lion Vrie gets their points for those reviews DOUBLED. COTSK does not count.

RESTORER GIVE AWAY NEW CHALLENGE FANTASY FICTION 4EVER SO STAY MOTIV8TED!

2009-12-01T00:16:00.002-05:00

Sharon Hinck was part of not one, but two momentous fantasy fiction tours.

The first was the Fantasy 4 Fiction Tour which stretched on the East Coast from Florida all the way up to New York State with scores of stops along the way. Her fellow authors were Christopher Hopper, Bryan Davis, and Wayne Thomas Batson, and a merry time was had by all!

The second fantasy fiction tour was the MOTIV8 tour and that was on the West Coast where again she teamed up with Christopher Hopper, Bryan Davis, and Wayne Thomas Batson. She also met and became friends with Donita Paul, Jonathan Rogers, L.B. Grahm and Eric Reinhold on that tour.

What does this have to do with anything?

I'm so glad you asked!

To celebrate the selflessness of Sharon, and the fortitude and grace she showed on those two tours your assignment is to write reviews for her books, and the books of her fellow authors! The rules are simple.

1) You MUST have read through completely the book that you review.

2) You MUST explain in the review what parts of the book you loved/adored/wanted to kick the writer in the shins over and not just say that the book is amazing.

I want you to tell readers WHY they need to read the book you are reviewing. It's Christmas time and this is the PERFECT moment to get reviews out there and catch the shopper's interests!

3) You MUST use at least three sentences in the review. You can be as verbose as you want, but each review must be three sentences long.

There are the RULES.

Here is the POINTS SYSTEM BREAK DOWN.

PRIMARY REVIEW: A review of one of Sharon's titles, fantasy or otherwise earns you 1,000 points.
                                     You can do this ONE time, with ONE title only.

SECONDARY REVIEW: A review of one of Sharon's titles different from your Primary Review earns
                                         you 500 points. This can be earned multiple times.

MULTIPLE POSTING REVIEW: A review of one of Sharon's books (you may use the Primary or
                                                       Secondary Review) posted in several locations earns you 250 points per
   posting. This can be earned multiple times.



That's part one of the challenge. Here's part two.

Write reviews for any of the authors that toured with Sharon on the Fantasy 4 and Motiv8 fiction tours.

List of Authors:
---------------
Wayne Thomas Batson
Bryan Davis
L.B. GrahamChristopher Hopper
Donita Paul

Eric Reinhold

Jonathan Rogers

PRIMARY REVIEW: Review of any book by any of the above authors earns you 500 points. One time, one title only.

SECONDARY REVIEW: A review of a title different from your Primary Review earns you 250 points. This can be earned multiple times.

MULTIPLE POSTING REVIEW: A review ( may be the Primary or Secondary Review) posted in several locations earns you 100 points per posting. This can be earned multiple times.

All right Questers! You have from today, until December 10th to complete your reviews and e-mail me the links to where you left them. Remember to use the screen name you use here so you can get full credit for your work. As awesome as your alternate screen name is, I won't know that's you!

Watch for HIGHLIGHT days during this time where you can DOUBLE your points if you post reviews for the Author I HIGHLIGHT on that day during these next ten days. And keep checking back! There's other shorter quests that I'll be posting this week!

RESTORER STANDINGS AS OF 11/29/09

2009-11-29T15:42:00.000-05:00

Katie G =2500 points

Nathan R Petrie = 2500 points

abbie = 2000 points

Barie-ah Hue-en-la =1500 points

Chris = 1500 points

IJD= 1000 points

MillardtheMK = 1000 points

E-mail me with questions about your standings! And keep checking back!

Restorer Sharon Hinck NEW CHALLENGE AND UPDATES

2009-11-26T14:41:00.001-05:00

Two days only, today (November 26th) and tomorrow (November 27th) each person who posts a list of things that they are thankful for here, will receive 500 points in the Restorer Signed Copy challenge. The list must be AT LEAST ten items long, and NO LONGER than fifty. :-D Length doesn't factor into the points either. If you list ten things you're grateful for, you get 500 points. If you list 50 things you're grateful for, you get 500 points.

To get your points, make a list and then POST it here in the COMMENT section.

Tonight or tomorrow I should have the standings posted though each of you who have done quests and other things in this contest probably all ready know. There hasn't been anyone who has done something and been disqualified, though there is at least one person with only partial credit for a quest!

So, have fun with family and friends, draw close to Christ, and remember that I am very thankful for each and every one of my internet buddies!

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Scribe

Picking a Favorite is So Hard-Restorer CHALLENGE #2

2009-11-19T11:07:00.002-05:00

But not impossible.

Your NEXT challenge in the Restorer Signed Copy give away is to follow this link and then scroll down and follow the directions for the voting.

IMPORTANT

Do not vote FOR Sharon Hinck's nominated title UNLESS YOU HAVE READ IT.

The whole point of the voting is for the one that is actually the most popular to stand up head and shoulders above the rest. I didn't vote for her, I voted for George Bryan Polivka's book. Why? Because in my heart of hearts I believe, Bryan's book is better. That book of his, verses that book of hers. If the Restorer had been up there, I would have cried and probably not voted, because I wouldn't have been able to pick. Thankfully, you can nominate up to three titles for consideration. Remember, I don't want you to skew the voting for Sharon--I just want you to vote. Vote for whomever you like best. And if you haven't read the books DO NOT VOTE.

Here's what you need to do (this is also important or you're not going to get credit, just the knowledge that you voted):

1) Go to the linked site
2) Click on the voting tab
3) Fill out the information
4) HIT THE PRINT SCREEN KEY ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD OR WHATEVER KEY COMMAND WILL TAKE A PICTURE OF THE SCREEN.
5.) Go into MS paint or whatever equivalent you have and paste the image of the voting screen that you've filled out there. Save it as a .bmp or .jpg
6.) Finish voting
7.) Email me the screen capture of your voting in the pole
8.) Receive 1,000 points

All e-mails must be received no later than Sunday November 22nd for full credit. Partial credit will be given up to November 24th.
Di

Operation Christmas Child PICTURES!

2009-11-17T10:47:00.002-05:00

The van is packed with 251 shoe boxes. Not a single box more would fit. 251 shoe boxes.

There aren't any other passengers :-D Just my Mom, my Dad, and 251 shoe boxes that we sent down to Ellicott City.

This is Jessie, who works in Ellicott City (the lovely young lady in the blue jeans) and one of our volunteers up in the bed of the tractor trailer truck. The brown cartons behind them are the crates that have to be packed with the shoe boxes (those are done) and they're merrily stacking shoe boxes for crating on the side of the truck. Thankfully it's been warm, but it's going to get down into the 30's tonight.

All those prayers, toys, and blessings waiting to be shipped around the world. Pretty amazing really!

Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Count 11/16/09

2009-11-16T21:26:00.000-05:00

Well archers, thanks for the prayers today, and please, as you have time continue to put bolt to bow string. Today in Eldersburg we took in 688 shoe boxes.

Last year at this time we had a grand total of 270 shoe boxes.

For those crunching the numbers in their heads like my friend Andy does, I'll give you a moment to finish.
*Hums Jeopardy Theme Song*

Ding da ding ding ding bam bom!

Time's up!

We took in 418 MORE shoe boxes than we did last year on this same day (the first day of collections) and so far, the churches have been very careful to tabulate what the cost to ship each one is and to add it to their shoe boxes. So the prayers for provision are being answered!

However this is only the first day, and we have seven days to go. I am very sore, and very tired, and can't really think of how I'm going to get 418 shoe boxes down to Ellicott City tomorrow.

Archers, Now I Need Your Bows

2009-11-15T12:44:00.002-05:00

First off, Christopher and Wayne are working over hard to meet the soon coming deadline they are facing and that as we all know can be as much fun as getting your face caught in a hand-cranked workbench vice. So, please, pray for rest, for inspiration, for peace. If you don't have a lot of time to pray for the dangerous duo, just ask Jesus to hang out with them in a tangible way for the next seven days. :-D

He'll know what they need and when.

And second, archers, I need your prayers this week. His Way Christian Bookstore partners with Operation Christmas Child (A division of Samaritan's Purse) every year for one week. This year it's November 16th through November 23rd.

The larger locations, Ellicott City &Glenburnie, are actually Operation Christmas Child collection centers where they have tractor trailer trucks leave the cargo portions of the truck behind the store to be filled with shoe boxes.

Eldersburg, is a Operation Christmas Child relay center where we take the shoe boxes in and then have to transport them 30 minutes down to Ellicott City where the truck is waiting.

The praise all ready is that churches and individuals are calling and letting us know how many boxes they are bringing! This is inordinately helpful because we know to make certain there is space in the back room.

Monday November 16th Eldersburg will be getting 300+ boxes which have to be logged, counted, stored, then packed into my parent's van, and taken to Ellicott City.

Our biggest obstacle so far is that in Eldersburg, I only have the one volunteer, my mom, to run the boxes. Now staff will take some when we move from EB to EC but the bulk of the moving last year fell on my parents and it is a lot of work. So this year, we desperately need more volunteers. Ellicott City and Glenburnie desperately need volunteers too, to help crate the shoe boxes and pack the trucks. It's the beginning of the week and everyone at the stores is feeling excited and swamped at the same time.

Last year we took in over 11,000 shoe boxes and this year the store's goal is 12,000+.

The employees are going to be exhausted from working on the trucks and taking in the boxes as well as doing their normal stuff and tempers get short when people are tired, backs and arms ache from being used, and spirits get deflated when the seemingly insurmountable wall of shoe boxes grows every hour. Everyone at the stores will be under stress to serve our customers AND Operation Christmas Child to our fullest capacity. Here are some specific things that you can aim for as you put arrows on string for us:

1) His PRESENCE

We need Jesus be with each staff member every moment of every day during this week, at the store and at home and every place along the way. It is hard to be Christ-like during normal days for us (yeah, His Way's full of a whole bunch of forgiven sinners, just like the church ;) ) and with the added stress I know our flesh-nature is going to be hissing and spitting and struggling to get out and be UGLY. So pray that Christ be in us, and for us, behind us and a head of us.

We know that the enemy of our souls isn't going to be happy about this, because of the great opportunities for the Gospel that are attached to these little boxes full of love and hope. Which leads to request #2.

2) His PROTECTION

There are so many ways that people can get hurt getting on and off the truck, carrying too many boxes, being out in the cold, and driving from location to location. Every year it seems we have minor injuries and once or twice there's been a major catastrophe for someone who is working on the truck. So pray for wisdom in how to do what we need to do, and protection from accidents both for the staff and for the amazing volunteers that have pledged to come and help us out.

3) His PROVISION

Every year, families either forget to put the $7.00 needed to pay for the shoebox shipping, or can't afford the shipping and leave it out. Every year so far, we've had other people come and leave checks for shipping or for Samaritan's Purse and every year it evens itself out. However, this year is harder than the years before have been on everyone and all ready there are signs that we may end up sending boxes unpaid for to the Sorting Centers. This isn't a world shattering thing, but it does mean that Samaritan's Purse winds up using money that could go somewhere else to send shoe boxes. So pray that the Lord impress on people's hearts to give what they can afford to give, and that our 12,000+ boxes go down all paid up and ready to ship!

Keep checking back here, I'll have photos during the week and hopefully tonight or tomorrow I'll have the Restorer Standings posted and a new assignment up!

Scribe~

Rules, Regs, and Other Annoying Things

2009-11-11T10:46:00.001-05:00

Right, well I should have posted this earlier, but I was a wee bit under the weather and am still fighting to come out of the aforementioned illnesses. So, any and all participants that have started the contest are "grandfathered" (doesn't apply to them) when it comes to the DISTANCE stated below. But since there are others who have expressed interest, here are the boring bits that should have been posted yesterday and weren't.

1.)If you are under 18 years old, get your parents permission before starting this contest.

2.) You must also be a legal resident of the United States or Canada to participate. (sorry guys, I can't afford to send it over seas)---this does not apply to those who have posted assignments as of 11/10/09

3.) I ( Michelle Black) am in no way affiliated with Sharon Hinck or Nav Press

4.) I (Michelle Black) am in no way responsible for lost, misdirected mail, or for damage in shipping of the prize to your house.

Signed Copy of the Restorer Give Away First Challenge! 11/10/09-11/14/09

2009-11-10T11:56:00.004-05:00

The sound of metal against metal, the cries of the archers on the upper reaches of the castle and the twangs from their bows, the shrill scream of horses near the gate and the deadlier rumble and thud of missile from a catapult all ran together in a mighty din. Llana sucked in a trembling breath and then jerked hard and bit her lips to keep from screaming as a metal arrow tip pierced the deep grain of her chamber door.

There was no doubt that her father's holding was under siege.

Ever felt like that? You wake in the morning and find yourself all of a sudden mired in a war that hadn't been there when you went to sleep the night before? Well in The Restorer there are several people who feel that way, that they've gone to sleep in peace and awakened in the middle of battle.

Only the enemy they're facing has weapons that are far more damaging than swords and catapults, and these weapons are as subtle as a whisper and as dangerous as a flaming arrow.

In The Restorer, enemy agents have the ability to put dark thoughts into the minds of those that are standing against them. These thoughts latch and begin to slowly bring despair, despondency, numbness, and incapacitate the mightiest among them.

Sound familiar?

The Enemy of our soul works in the same way, planting doubts as to who we are and to whom we belong.

In The Restorer the antidote to mind poisoning is rather interesting, and something that Sharon Hinck worked into the plot in a marvelous way. I'm not going to tell you what it is however, you're going to have to read the book to find out.

However, it does tie-in with your assignment, and with some thought you sharp minded tale binders will likely figure out the connection.

In the comments below each contestant needs to write/list 10 Bible verses (you can use book, chapter, verse references rather than writing whole thing out ie John 3:16 rather than "For God so loved....") that fall into ONE these categories:

1) Scriptures that tell us what the Lord is like
2) Scripture that tell us who the Lord says we (His rescued children, Christians) are.
3) Scriptures that tell us what to do with our thoughts.

So you can have two scriptures that fall into category 1, five that fall into category 3, and three that fall into category 2 and there are your ten scriptures. Any combination is acceptable, they don't have to all be in one category or some in each. Just ten scriptures that fall into those categories.

This assignment (ten verses posted here) is worth 1,000 points.

To keep the temptation of cheating away (and to make it slightly harder) I'm going to say no repeats.

That means if someone posts a scripture, someone else can't post that same scripture.

But there are literally thousands of scriptures that fall into the categories above and Bible Gateway can be used if you get stuck!

This assignment starts today (11/10/09) and runs through Saturday (11/14/09)

Questions?

Don't post them here--comment section is for posting of the assignment only. E-mail me at everlastingscribe(at)hotmail(com)

Scribe's Been Sick--sorry about the delay! :-D

2009-11-08T18:54:00.000-05:00

I've had the stomach flu and then on top of it, allergies that have been making me dizzy and congested. They are each, the opposite of fun.

Look for the contest for The Restorer to officially start on November 10, 2009 (why Tuesday and not Monday? Well because NEW RELEASES always hit store shelves on Tuesdays and part of this contest is going to be about doing things OUT OF ORDER like starting a contest for a book going out of print on a day when traditionally books are introduced to the public) and be prepared for some unusual and hopefully fun assignments!

Sneezing Scribe--AAAAhhhhCHHHoooo

Restorer Series Going Out Of Print-Contest Announcement!

2009-11-04T13:19:00.001-05:00

That's right, sad news for all of us who are fans of Sharon Hinck's The Restorer, The Restorers Son, and The Restorer's Journey.

However, over at Sharon Hinck's blog the lovely scribe herself isn't wallowing in woe-is-meisms but is choosing instead to celebrate the run of this usual, cross over series.

Recently I came across a copy of The Restorer by Sharon Hinck that I had bought and low and behold, this copy is SIGNED. Uh-huh, I'm sure I bought it for someone's birthday or Christmas gift some time ago but I can't remember for the life of me who that might have been.

However, Scribe's faulty memory is YOUR blessing.

I was going to do a COTSK give-away in November (I've all ready bought the book ;) so have no fear) but instead I'm going to be giving away the signed copy of The Restorer by Sharon Hinck.

If you are interested in taking part in this contest--just sign up in the comments below. I'll post more about it this evening.

Don't know who Sharon is? Go here!
Don't know anything about the book? Go here!

I first met Sharon when His Way hosted the Fantasy 4 Fiction Tour, and here are some of my favorite pictures of her from the event! You might recognize some rapscallions in the pictures beside her. Ignore them ;)

The green banner is the one that I made for Sharon, some OTHER AUTHOR has the blue one in the back ground there. You get bragging points if you can guess author/book it is suppose to represent.

There's Sharon, goofing off with some rapscallions. It was a real blessing to be on hand and see Sharon meeting fans and ministering to those with wounded hearts from all over. There was a price for this selfless act however, the fellows she hung out with corrupted her vocabulary with words like DUDE and COOL. :-D

And more proof that the lady can handle steel and goof off with fans at the same time! One of my favorite pictures of Sharon, with my two "little brothers" rented for the day, Christian in red and Kirk well, emphasizing Sharon's skill with steel.

Archers this is not The End

2009-11-02T23:58:00.001-05:00

Did you really think that I'd come back after the events and tell you guys "Well done, now go oil your bows and wrap them in fine linen and hide them away."

Piffle.

Now that you know you have this skill, and I know that you know, and you know that I know that you know, I'm going to be calling on you more often. Don't make that face.

Right now, I know that Christopher and his family would love some prayer for restored health, for rest, and for refreshment.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Wayne and his family would welcome prayers for that too.

And you could pray for the staff of the Borders too, where they had a sell-out situation and ran out of books.
Ooh, that could sting the organizer badly. Hopefully not, but praying for the clerks and staff at the store would be nice, it's not good to run out of product.

Product=Sales. Sales are good. People who come to buy stuff at a store that advertised it and the store doesn't have it when they get there are prone to be angry, and angry people are not the kind of customers that any store wants.

Bryan Davis Signing!

2009-10-31T11:01:00.000-05:00

Yay! We are about to go live with Bryan Davis at His Way Christian Bookstore In Ellicott City MD!

Click here to tune in for all the fun!

The Properly Dressed Archer

2009-10-30T22:49:00.096-05:00

So far I've told you about the laws governing archery, and some of the amazing things that archers did with the longbow or from the back of a horse. Today, I'm going to show you what the well-armored archer sported to keep themselves safe from the enemy. Now all that I'm going to show you an archer would have worn atop his tunic, hose, boots, and regular clothing. Layers in medieval warfare equaled protection, and an archer who lost an eye or was wounded in the arm was no good to anyone, except their enemies.

Starting at the top, they usually had an open-faced helmet to protect their head from incoming fire. Yes, the other side usually had archers too, and then there were catapults to worry, about not to mention falling debris if they were in a building.

For further protection, some archers wore a maile Aventail that attached to the sides and back of their open helmet. This gave their cheeks and neck added defense against arrows and debris that might other wise have injured them.

Over their torso (that's from just under the neck to just below the hips also referred to as the trunk of a person some times) the archer wore a Padded Gambeson or Aketon . Unlike the flowing garb of lords and knights, an archer always had tight fitting (and sometimes removable) sleeves whether on the battle field or wandering around the Keep. Flowing sleeves wouldn't keep a knight from wielding a sword, but flowing sleeves on an archer's tunic made him worse than useless.

Over the Padded Gambson, if he could afford it, the archer wore one last item, a shirt of small-ringed maile. The smaller the rings of maile, the more expensive the shirt, but also the more protection the archer could get out of it. Smaller rings = less damage a weapon could do to the one wearing it.

Why all the talk of armor today? Well I wanted to make certain that in praying for Christopher and Wayne, that all of you archers were well covered and protected in the armor we've been given. Here's the armor we have in Christ:

Ephesians 6:10-18 NLT

"A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. ¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil ¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.^"

^{Now, I don't want you to pray for believers everywhere, that's not what your assignment is today. No, Archers, today, I want you don your armor, the set outlined above, and to fire prayers off not only for Christopher and Wayne but also for each other, today.}

^{Had a bad week? Let us know in the comments. Want prayer for something specific? Put it down there in the comments. Whatever you want to share (and you can email me or one another if you don't want to stick it out for all to see) share here, and we will pray for you.}

^{Part of the Roman's fighting style was for in the midst of battle one warrior to wheel around and put his back and shoulders to one of his friends. Fighting that way put someone else's strength where his weakness was, and put his strength where that other person's weakness was.

So trade weakness for strength, and cover one another this day, in prayer.}

Archers ready for arrow sprints?

2009-10-29T22:11:00.005-05:00

According to the research of the Archers of Ravenwood (the ladies and gentlemen who shoot demonstrations at the Maryland Renaissance Festival ) an English archer of average proficiency could fire 12-15 arrows a minute with the long bow. That works out to roughly one arrow every 4-5 seconds. And that's an average archer, not someone who was top of their class. And there's more.

Not only were the longbow men fast they were accurate, hitting targets the size of a man from over 200 yards away.

To give you an idea of distance, American football fields are 120 yards.

So an average English longbow men could string arrows and fire them at a target at the end of a football field striking it 12 time in one minute without breaking a sweat.

That would be one dead target.

What does all this have to do with today's prayer assignment?

I'm glad you asked :-D

Tomorrow, Christopher and Wayne will be visiting:

Indian River Middle School in the afternoon,
and then in the evening, from 4pm to 7pm EST (and probably longer, the poor guys never get out on time) they are going to be at:

Borders
Salmon Run Mall
Watertown NY

Aaaaand knowing those two, there are probably drive-by signings that will happen and other things they may add in as they run around New York.

Let me tell you just those two events make for one long day.

So, archers at the ready? Here are some things to pray specifically for as they head out into this long day of fun and ministry:

For heath, that they not get sick or be afflicted with coughs and sniffles.
For rest, that they get a good night sleep and be well rested in the morning
For peace, that they not be caught in traffic or in any way get diverted away from their destinations unless Christ is doing the diverting.

For fellowship with those holding the events and the fans that attend.

Sometimes in these big settings people feel unimportant and lost waiting in line, and then because of the volume of people, there's hardly any time when they get up to the table to actually meet the author(s) they came out to see.

When I was at B&N for one of the Isle of Swords events, everyone around me was angry and upset because of the long line. That all chanced however when young boy in front of me started asking me about my favorite bits in the book and we got to talking and laughing and sharing. Soon he had nearly everyone around us talking about their favorite parts in the book and the ENTIRE mood of the line where I was, changed. That's all it took. One fan and his gregarious outlook, and what could have been a nasty experience was turned into a time of fans and readers having FUN while we waited.

Guess what I was doing before the youngblood turned around and started talking my ear off? I was praying like mad. Guess what other Christians in line were doing when they saw the same thing happening they were? They were praying like mad.

How do I know?

Because as the event broke up and I collected my camera and other stuff (like my borrowed brother Christian) I ran into a woman that I knew and she confessed that she was amazed at the turn out. And when the mood had started to go sour, she just started praying. And it wasn't St. Petersburg prayers either, she told me. It was Jesus, help! Help help help. And He did. And it was turned into an amazing time.

We, archers, can't be there to stand in line and make goofy faces at Christopher and Wayne, but we can pray. And it is needed, it is vitally needed. So, arrows on string, pull back, and let your prayers fly straight and true.

Want more on archery from some really awesome people? Head over here:

Archers of Ravenwood

A Parthian Shot

2009-10-28T11:57:00.004-05:00

Well done Archers! Keep praying, as now Christopher and Wayne have only a handful of hours before the fun and frenzy begin!

For those that have been nudging and nosing about the event with Bryan Davis, we might well have a web cast thanks to Connie, she and I are in the process of working that out. Keep checking back here for details!

Now back to Christopher and Wayne.

I came across more interesting factoids about archery this morning and they determined the direction of this next post. Most of you probably all ready know about the Parthian Shot, but for those that don't, here's what it is:

It is the shot fired while the archer feigns retreat. The Parthians perfected this and in battle would act as if they were running away and then fire as the opposing army pursued them. This was done from the back of a horse, so that the archer was riding foreword while looking back and causing damage to the enemy.

I didn't have a whole lot of time to dig up the facts on the Parthians or the phrase but you can check out the wiki and see what it has to say if you want to learn more. What I was interested in was the whole 'riding one way and firing the other' which is rather incredible.

In that same way, today I'm going to ask those that are all ready praying ahead for Wayne and Christopher's signing, to 'turn in the saddle' and fire off a volley of arrow prayers for their families while at the same time, still praying for the signing.

That's right, I want you to fire your prayers foreword, and in reverse. I know that you archers are up for the challenge!

Archers and Marksmen. . at the Ready

2009-10-26T19:55:00.003-05:00

The English Long Bow has a vast history, enough for this curious scribe to dig up some facts on it as I keep comparing prayer warriors to archers. Sorry if anyone here prefers the cross bow, I'm a long-bow fan and have been since I saw the archers at the Renaissance Festival three years ago.

To start with, there were laws governing archers and archery in England. One document of interest is The Assize drawn up in 1252AD at the behest of King Henry III. In that grouping of early law, it stated that all free men who owned land worth between 40-100 shillings had to acquire bows and become proficient with them.

In 1285 King Edward I extended this in the Statute of Winchester to say that every free male who had income less than 100 pence had to obtain a bow and they had to practice on Sundays and holidays and be ready to stand up for the king if he had need of their skills. *

The King ordered all men of a certain rank and class, to be prepared to do battle and to fight with him should the enemy attack.

Hmmm. That sounds kind of vaguely familiar in a way. Lettsee. . .

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT

¹⁶" Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus"

The italics are mine. But unlike King Edward I and King Henry III, the edict of this Eternal King comes with some pretty wild promises. Look here:

Matthew 15:19-20

"I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything that you ask, My Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three are gathered together as my followers, I am there among them."

Luke 11:5-10 NLT

"Then, teaching them more about prayer He used this story: 'Suppose you went to a friends house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him ,'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit and I have nothing for him to eat.' And suppose that he calls out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and I and my family are all in bed. I can't help you.' But I tell you this---though he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need for your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

You fathers---if your children as for a fish do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him."

Pretty wild stuff. Now, we could get into a discussion about how some prayers take longer to be answered, and some go unanswered all together, but that's not what I want to do right now. If enough people express interest, I'll create a separate place so that we can discuss those things. Right now, I want you to put arrow to string, and pray.

When Wayne came in to sign a book for one of his fans, I asked him to give us ONE THING to pray for throughout the week. ONE THING.

He thought for a moment and then asked if we would pray that he and Christopher have TIME to write together. They have deadlines for Nelson, they have deadlines in their own fields, and they have all kinds of things that the want to do with their families, that they need to do for their families, and TIME is in short supply.

Now both of these gentlemen are extremely disciplined, I know they aren't goofing off.

They just would like a storm of arrows, to flash over their heads as they settle down to do what the Lord has called them to do, write.

Archers ready? Put bolt to string, and let your prayer fly on their behalf.

* Taken from Disputed Pleasures :Sports and Society in Preindustrial England by Thomas S. Henricks, P. 56

Walks, Wanderings, and Words

2009-10-25T20:13:00.005-05:00

*Whew* it's been a busy weekend here for me! I had a friend's wedding to attend on Saturday, and today I've been catching up on laundry and life in general. Also, for whatever reason, my keyboard has scratches on it and its' created a rough spot where my wrist rests against the board. That constant irritation seems to be summing up my life this past week. What I wanted to do, I couldn't do for various reasons. Then the things that I didn't want to do, I nerved myself up to do, and got them done though I was unhappy in the doing of them.

At least now, they are over.

In short, I am tired, cranky, and not in any way ready for Monday.

But the wedding was awesome!
May Christ bless and keep the both of them (AJ and Jessica) now and forever more!

Check back on Monday when I'm not so cranky, and you'll find the beginning of the Arrows on String for Christopher and Wayne's next book signing, and all the fun facts on the Prep for Bryan Davis' signing on October 31st!

Scribe.

Calling All Warriors! Scribe is Starting to oil Her bowstring and Notch Arrows

2009-10-22T10:25:00.002-05:00

Hey all. Christopher and Wayne are going to have at least three signings/events in New York in the next two weeks (towards the end of the month) you can go to Wayne's blog and get the exact dates.

What I am going go do here, is start running a prayer log. I'm starting my prayers now for a very simple reason: I know what it's like to run an event and all the gremlins that pop up along the way.

Not only am I going to be praying for Wayne and for Christopher, but for their families, the staff at the stores, the families of the staff at the stores, etc etc etc.

There's a small army involved in getting an event together no matter where it's held. Someone has to set up chairs, someone has to decorate, someone has to order the books, and lots of people have to talk themselves hoarse telling others about the events.

They need prayer.

Those that don't know the Lord and are involved in the events could have a holy curiosity aroused about the Gospel through our prayers for their salvation, those that know the Lord and serve Him and are involved in the events will come under attack and would love our prayers flashing bright and beautiful before Him on their behalf.

I thought it would be really cool if those who were going to pray anyway (remember Wayne asked for your swords a while back? This is why he wanted them) set down their prayers here. It's neat to do that and then go back and see how Christ answered them later on.

I did this back in 2007 with the Fantasy Four Fiction Tour and it was amazing how many people prayed in advance of events and then God moved in mighty ways. Having the record of the prayers before and then the things that happened after was an amazing faith-booster for me.

Now, when I say set your prayers down here, I don't mean that they have to be perfect (if you wait to pray perfectly you will never pray) and I don't mean that they have to be eloquent (usually the less-eloquent the prayer the more power it has) they just have to be from the heart.

Shy? Don't want to write your prayers here? Don't know how to pray? Want to help but are uncertain how to start? Well, then just agree with someone else in prayer. That's how I learned.
The most important thing is to pray. Jump in and get your feet wet, and know that there is no wrong way to pray to the Lord.

In conclusion (because I've rambled all over the place) I'm starting a prayer log here for the Dangerous Duo's next events and you're welcome to join me either by leaving your own prayers here for others to see and agree with or by reading what's here and agreeing with it. But it's time, warriors and scouts, to get arrow to string and get the prayer bolts winging ahead of them.

One last thing: In the middle ages, several documents that survived to the present mention battles that involved archers. One describes the sky full of bolts that fell so thick and fast it appeared to be snowing.

Snowing deadly bolts, because the archers had the high ground and they weren't going to let the invaders come to harm those they loved.

I would love to see the skies ahead of these events thick with prayer arrows, so thick that to the Enemy it looked as if it were snowing.

~Scribe

Two Book Give Away Winner Announced!

2009-10-21T16:04:00.003-05:00

Due to some pressing family issues, the judges who were slated to make a determination regarding this prize are no longer the judges. In other words, they were greatly moved by the presentations of everyone working hard to see that their friend got a book to either encourage them in their faith or to sneak the gospel in through the back door via Wayne's books, but they are throwing the decision back to me.

Begin trembling now. No, I've all ready reached my decision, and boy howdy was it a hard one.

However, the winner of the two-book give away is:

Kayla! For her camper/friend nomination of Tayshia

Kayla, when you see this, e-mail me at everlasingscribe(at)hotmail(dot) com with your snail-mail address as well as who each book is to be personalized to, and I'll get them signed and in the mail as quickly as I can.

Congratulations Kayla!

I Know Why the Angels Dance Interview Up At His Way's Blog!

2009-10-20T21:36:00.002-05:00

So there are no points involved, you don't get any prizes, and you might, just MIGHT find that reading the interview makes you come up to the store on Saturday October 31st from 12:00pm-3:00pm when you weren't planning on doing so.

HOWEVER I thought I should tell you that Bryan's interview was amazing and you can read it HERE.

Pictures from the COTSK Signing

2009-10-19T20:28:00.022-05:00

That's right, it's exactly what it said up there. Pictures of the signing. Hold on to your hats (or helmets) and prepare to be amazed!

This is what the back wall looked like thanks to Caitlin's genius and some willing spiders:

So that's what it looked like as you walked up to the table and then this:

This was behind the guys, look at all the spiderwebs *shudder* and oh yeah, the LOVELY GREEN BOOKS THERE. LOOK AT EM. LOOK AT HOW MANY ARE THERE. SCADS OF EM. SCADS AND SCADS AND SCADS. It's a shame that you can't reach into the photograph and pluck them out.

I mean really, see? Four deep. We had 96 to start with and we sold 45. Uh-huh. And we had Wayne and Christopher sign 20 more so we'd have em on hand. I sold 2 of the 20 in Eldersburg today. Should have had em sign 40. Ah well.

This was the stack at the back counter, and yeah, that's the helmet from EB. People kept coming and buying, and coming and buying, and coming and buying. That's what we want to see at a signing, you know. :-D I had to refill this display 4 times while I was back there. That's not a complaint.

Aaaaand those were the books that I was working on for WEEKS before the event.

In a fit of artistic dictatorship I conscripted my Mom, who is an artist in her own right, and she helped me finish them, bringing the insides to life (sadly I didn't take pictures of the insides) and keeping me from melting down when the BLUE BOOKS decided to be a problem child. Oh, that was a nasty book/box. We had an ongoing battle of wills, it and I, involving glue sticks, brown paper patches, sticky glazes, and wear along the spine. The red book was a model project that practically made itself.

This is the most awesome helmet that they brought along, I don't know if it's Wayne's or Christopher's but it is cooool.

For those who remembered the earlier posts where I was debating what table cover to use, I did go with the copper brown and I did use the trick of printing the book cover and trying it against the different fabrics. It really looked amazing with the green books propped up against it.

Then people started drifting in, and Wayne and Christopher were delighted to greet this little maid who was a bit on the shy side.

Until. . . .

Someone introduced her to steel. And then, right there in the store, a sword maiden was created. The boys look a little worried, for a reason. She BONDED with the blade.

However, before anyone could taste her cold blade, more fans showed up!

I know. They look so attentive and calm don't they? The photo is SO misleading. Please. Please I am BEGGING you. You HAVE to come and see these two at an event. Church-School-Store, it doesn't matter. You HAVE to see them in PERSON. They only thing that is quicker than their swords is their wit, and when you SEE them like this, it's like seeing thoroughbred horses in the gate before a race. The energy is just crackling over them, waiting to be released in all sorts of ways. Don't believe me? All right. Take a look at. . . .THIS:

Wayne is under attack! Christopher is heroically rescuing him!

Um.

Or he is villainous attacking him. There were lots of spiders going places and hitting things like authors. And books. And one decided to go . ..

back to the spider whisperer. The guys were definitely having fun. I fed them sugar.

Lots of sugar.

By the way, bottled water and hard candy are a MUST if you are going to be hosting the duo.

Wayne was struggling to keep his voice the latter part of the night, and the candy helps because they can pop a piece in and let it met to coat their throats. He had cough drops too. They had a long signing the night before at B&N and the weather was so nasty that night. I was surprised they held onto their voices the whole night.

Water is the number one must have for any author at a signing but it's hard to get it to them because, they tend to get pinned in behind the table and can't get out to get bottles. Thankfully our staff kept bringing it out for them.

They really were grateful.

But despite the rough throats and the fatigue that was gnawing on them they sang a song that they are working on getting into the book trailer (Christopher has more details on that) which was a huge hit with the audience:

Yes, Christopher is a multi-talented gentleman, skilled in the art of the "quick change" (And also they sang it twice for us--a double blessing ;) ) Then, it was back to the awesome insanity of the signing!

There were more spiders!

And more sword bearers!

And, more swords. Some, the sign-able kind:

And there were fans.

Lots

And lots

And lots of fans.

Which meant that we (the staff) had to be patient, and had to wait for:

The REAL fun to begin! Oh yeah, SWORD FIGHT BETWEEN AUTHORS.

SCHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGG!

CRUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNCHHHHHHHHHHH

CHING CHING SCHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING.

Most. Awesome. Sword fight. Ever.

And that, is how we end Author Signings At His Way.

;)

Hope you guys enjoyed a peek here at what went on!

NOW GO AND SEE THEM.

COTSK CONTEST UPDATE BOOKS-AWAY

2009-10-19T20:23:00.002-05:00

The Books Are AWAY!

Yup, Mom mailed em for me today while I was at work. They should arrive within 1-3 days warriors and shield maiden, so let me know if they don't. There's not a lot I can do. . .but I'll be praying that they get to you all safe and sound. Right now, it's up to the US MAIL.

Hmmm Something's not right here. . .

2009-10-17T21:50:00.000-05:00

COTSK RECOUNT

2009-10-16T17:42:00.002-05:00

It was brought to my attention by MillardtheMK that indeed the poor soldier had been shortchanged for his work in the lists. He has appealed to the Marshall of the Lists, and a decision has been rendered in his favor. Please see revised stats.

MillardtheMK=15,500 (not the previous 7,000)

Noah=9,000(because of Melissa's generous heart)

Melissa=2,100 (because of Noah's chivalrous nature)

Now, Millard being the strategist that he is, has things bouncing about under his dragon-crested helmet, I would encourage Noah and Melissa to track the Millard (yes, he is his own group/type) and see what he is up to.

COTSK UPDATE 10/15/09

2009-10-15T20:45:00.002-05:00

Noah=9,000 points (given by Melissa Rose who got reviews of the Door Within up everywhere! Go Melissa!)

MillardtheMK=7,500

Melissa Rose (who had none, and then Noah gave her his, and then she turned around and gave him her points)=2,100

COTSK IN PERSON!

2009-10-15T10:08:00.006-05:00

Okay, well not really in person because it's a book. But you can't say in-book. I don't know why. . anyway, the books arrived at our store on Tuesday and look how lovely they are! Though I do have a bit of a dilemma. . .

Do I put it with Christopher's books?

(yes yes, that is MY bookshelf at home. I know you are all frothing and foaming with excitement. I'll wait a minute while you go mop that up.)

Or, do I put it with Wayne's books?

It looks nice either place and at the store it'll get set with Wayne's books because he's the first author listed. I think that's pretty much store policy wherever you shop. Co-authored books go by the first author listed in the inventory and on the shelf. So part of me wants to go and set COTSK with Christopher's books at home because I'll see it next to Wayne's books at work. Hmmmm

Oh, and yes, I am reading it. And yes, it is wonderful. Amazing. I could say more. . .but men with long sharp metal pointy things will be seeing me on Saturday and . . .well if I give things away .. .I might come home with more holes in me than I left having. . .after all, that's what long sharp metal pointy things are designed to do. So. ..you tell me where I should shelve the book, and I'll go back to my reading of it.

COTSK UPDATE

2009-10-14T10:29:00.001-05:00

Noah has decided to hand his hard-fought points to Mellisa Rose. So he falls behind, and she forages ahead!

MillardtheMk=7,500

Melissa Rose=2,100

Noah= 0

As I said before, ANYTHING can happen in this part of the contest. ;) Nicely done, Noah.

COURAGE STATUS UPDATES FOR CONTEST

2009-10-13T20:53:00.003-05:00

Nicely done Noah! I am stoked and impressed! Major courage there, my young warrior friend! That gets you 2,000 points!

Noah=2,050 points

MillardtheMK=7,500 points

Melissa Rose =50 points

Now shield bearers and archers, here's where things get interesting: You can give or surrender all, some, or none of your well earned points to one another. This is a 'from your heart' thing, as Jonathan stooped to allow David to rise, so you can if you choose stoop to bring one who is below you, higher in the contest.

I am going to extend the COURAGE part of the contest longer--right up until the 15th of October at 5:00pm (I have to have time to notify you that you WON and you need to tell me how the gentlemen are to sign your book).

That's TWO MORE DAYS to write reviews and talk to bookstores and libraries to amass points.

Questions? Disputes? Want to randomly annoy me? (not recommended this week ;) ) Send all to everlastingscribe (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Scribe Goes to the Ren Faire Part One

2009-10-12T19:09:00.017-05:00

So after a super-hectic week, and a nasty bout with foot poisoning Friday and Saturday (ick) the last thing in the world I really wanted to do was to go to the Ren Faire with friends. However, we'd been planning this for months, and had to do a rain check once all ready. So Saturday night I called up, confirmed that we were on for going on Sunday, and then went to bed. Jesse, who isn't featured in any photos unfortunately, had pity on me and picked me up at 8:30AM instead of having me drive up to her house to meet her there at 8:00AM. She said she had to get gas and was headed my way anyway but I think she was being kind. Just smile and not and agree that she's a good friend. Anyway, so we leave my house at 8:30AM and get to the fairgrounds around 9:20(ish). This is always a good thing to do if you have to buy tickets, which we did. She had mine and she had hers, but she needed to secure one for her brother and so we were there forty minutes before it opened to stand in line. Also, we wanted to see the opening promenade of characters and stuff. That's always cool and happens right as the Faire opens at 10:00am. We stood around and admired other people's costumes, though Jesse and Christians (her brothers) were my two favorites of the whole day. Here's Christian(no, not the one in the armor. The other one):

See? Awesome costume! And if everything goes right, he'll be wearing it AND a pair of the most righteous bracers I have seen in a long time this coming Saturday at the signing. But I digress.

So we arrived at the Ren Faire and waited outside for it to open. Here's the entrance:
Well, that's the stone lion AT the entrance. I think he looks rather smug, I think that he looks like he knows what's going on and no one else does. Smug metal lion, mocking our not knowing the inner workings of the Ren Faire. I wonder if he comes to life at night and roams the fairgrounds, sniffing for bits of funnel cake and turkey leg? That smugness comes from somewhere. The funny thing is that he looks just as smug when he's covered with kids, even the ones trying to stick fingers up his nose. Although that smugness might be from the fact that they can't get them in there, no matter how hard they push and wiggle. Right, anyway, that's the lion that guards the entrance to the Faire. However, the gate, the part that you actually walk through is massive. I think there are three or four gates, and each one is at least fourteen feet high and the wall has to be four feet thick. It really feels like you're walking through the opening in a old town wall, which is what you are suppose to think. I thought I had a picture of the gates, but I don't. What I do have is a pull-back on the gate that the actors enter through, and you can see the second smug lion there. What I want you to pay attention to however, is the thickness of the wall. Here it is:

See? See that massive arch and the way that it seems to go back forever? Yeah, walking through there is like stepping back in time. Well, except for the plague, religious inquisitions, wars, body order, and rotting food. No, no the Ren Fest frowns on all of those things. This is a sanitized if slightly goofy version of history. Not exactly Disney(TM) but it is suppose to be family friendly. Anyway, we waited outside for the procession to begin and sure enough, around 9:55 we heard squabbles and screeches and noises like someone was having a fit. The actors were scrambling around on top of the gate and towers, and the "mayor" was upset because some local bumpkin from a plagued town was standing in his spot, eating apples. The mayor was very annoyed, (as he is every year) because he wanted to get back into King Henry VIII's good graces and return to Court. He didn't want to be Mayor or Revel Grove. Poor man, I don't think that he's ever been able to free himself of Revel Grove. The actor's been the Mayor for the last five years that I've been going. However this year, he had a wife. That was unexpected and rather cool too, they're changing the story line a little which make life interesting for those of us who go year after year. Anyway, there was a mix up with the sheriff arresting the wrong people, including Captain Jean the Pirate Queen(TM) and several members of the Royal Family.

Here's the Apple Eater taking center stage away from the Mayor of Revel Grove. This is the area above and beside the actors entrance. So it's easily 20 feet easily over head and I wasn't standing right below it because then I'd just get shots of their feet. Which wouldn't be that interesting. *sigh* I can never get really close shots of the action.

There's the far too happy sheriff bringing his prisoners to the Mayor. The Mayor immediately points out that he has Captain Jean the Pirate Queen, one of the Royal Daughters, AND THE MAYORS WIFE trussed up there. The gentleman at the end right next to the too-happy sheriff in black and red is related to the King, and is also Scottish. And NOT HAPPY.

Thankfully for all involved in the mini-drama, the trumpets sounded and MAKE WAY, MAKE WAY FOR THE KING rumbled along the ground along with the clatter of armor and the thud-thud of very heavy horse hooves. These animals are really beautiful as well as well behaved. Most of the time. King Henry greeted the Mayor and said he was glad to be out of London, where the sickness was spreading. Oh, dear. Sickness? Yup, apparently the Plague has been sighted in Revel Grove.

The King's Champion laughed and said that with all the fine clean air and good food, and good wine, that they'd be safe enough from the traps of the city. And King Henry confessed that he might be willing to look for Wife #6 among the Revel goers this year. As long as she hadn't a cough or fever.

Once we got through the gates (after avoiding the Scotsman's 'boiling oil' and the Mayors questions about who might be carrying the plague, and Pirate Jean's shanghaiing) Jesse and Christian and I ran smack-daub into the King's Entourage. The gentleman on the end was very courteous and bowed to all of us. His costume is amazing, and it looks like it weighs 90 pounds. Look at all the layers!

But it wasn't just the well dressed that we found this year in Revel Grove. Oh no, there were scalawags and pirates too. As well as the rather harmless if shifty looking musicians. I'm not exactly sure what category these particular gentlemen fall into.

LAST WEEK FOR CURSE OF THE SPIDER KING- GIVE AWAY-NEW QUEST-HEART

2009-10-12T18:58:00.005-05:00

A reminder that this is the LAST WEEK for entering the lists my friends, the signing is *THIS SATURDAY* and that's when Wayne and Christopher will be signing the book.

This is it! The last part of the contest! I know, you're all SO excited. :-D So'm I. Also the end of this week marks the end of the other contest, the two-for-one book give away! So much is going on this week! I am a very busy Scribe!

This last week is going to be the hardest yet, and really the most simple too challenge wise.

This week the only thing you need to do, is to decide of you want to give some of your hard-earned points to someone else to give them a boost in this contest. Doing so is means you've got less of a chance to win, and they have more of one. So, let me know by 10/15/09 if you want to transfer what you've won to someone else in the contest.

And check out the post above to see what I was doing over the weekend!

Story Pop

2009-10-08T09:20:00.003-05:00

I took a walk yesterday with my Mom and our friend Annette, and took my camera along for the ride (or rather the walk) and I snapped some great fall photos. But then I got to thinking, hmm, a picture is worth 1,000 words, so just how many words did I capture yesterday?

Then I got to pondering and decided I'd use these snaps I took yesterday to help me describe things in the world that I'm building, and thought you guys might want in on the exercise. Here's what I'm doing right now;

Renaming the cattail:

Describing the setting:

How it feels
How it looks
How it smells
How it tastes(yes tastes, places can have tastes)

And then deciding. . .

What is important about it:

It could be a food source
It could be used for clothing
It could be a harbinger of a bad winter
It could be the sign of a dragon near by (flamed and the pod popped open)
It could be releasing toxic spores

So, if you want to have fun with me making this cattail into something it's not, post your creative, innovative, and amazing ideas in the comments. Everything you post belongs to you and is copy write(d) to you. No points or awards here. This is just for the fun of playing with words!

Quest Ranking Updates

2009-10-07T10:06:00.002-05:00

MillardtheMK=100 points

Noah= 50 points

Chris= 50 points

Melissa Rose = 50 points

Oooh still anyone's game here.

*rubs hands together* Now I'm off to write for a bit and then work on a prop. The signing's ten days. *eep*

SECOND QUEST IN CURSE OF THE SPIDER KING BOOK GIVE AWAY COURAGE

2009-10-05T17:58:00.004-05:00

Courage.

Courage: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty-Merriam Webster Dictionary

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.
-C.S. Lewis.

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live, taking the form of a readiness to die. -G.K. Chesterton

Courage involves taking risks. There is an element of the unknown, often times accompanied with the fear of rejection or failure, when you invoke the trait of courage. And that is the second challenge of this contest-it's time for you to risk and venture into the realms of the unknown! So, take Courage, and read on!

For this Quest, you are going to do what I do at least once a day--you are going to talk to someone about The Door Within, Wayne Thomas Batson, The Rise of the Dibor, and Christopher Hopper. And there are SEVEN different ways that you can do that. IOne, for each Tribe in The Curse of the Spider King, keep reading!

1) 10,000 Points

ACTION:

Go to a bookstore or library and ask if they carry The Rise of the Dibor or The Lion Vrie by Christopher Hopper. If they don't, ask them to consider carrying it, tell them a little about Christopher (go to his website and get information on him, grab his bio from the back of his book or e-mail him and ask him a question or two while explaining to him what you're doing) and then tell why it is you really want to see his books on their shelves.

Each bookstore/library you do this at is worth 10,000 points. Branch and main libraries may be counted as "separate" libraries and the same is true for bookstores.

PROOF:

You need to e-mail me either a picture of you and the person you talked to at the library or bookstore OR a picture of the request slip for The Rise of the Dibor/ The Lion Vrie from the library or bookstore. These vary from state to state and store to store. Remember to TELL the person that you need proof that you were there, requesting it.

2) 5000 Points

ACTION:

Write a review of The Rise of the Dibor or The Lion Vrie and post it on different book/reader websites(Barnes and Noble, Amazon, BooksWellRead etc). You get 5000 points for the first review, and 500 points for each one after that.

For example: You write a review of "Rise of the Dibor" and post it on Amazon. That's 5,000 points right there. Then if you post that same review of the same book on Barnes and Noble, Books Well Read, you get 500 points for each of those reviews.

PROOF:

E-mail me a link to your review, if you posted it multiple places remember to include links to each place that you left it.

*IMPORTANT* When you write the review, remember to use the same name that I know you by here, or it won't count.

3.) 2500 Points

ACTION:

Go to a bookstore or library and ask if they have on-order (it hasn't released yet so you shouldn't see it out) The Curse of the Spider King. If they don't have it on order, ask them to order it.

PROOF:

You need to e-mail me either a picture of you and the person you talked to at the library or bookstore OR a picture of the request slip for The Curse of the Spider King from the library or bookstore. These vary from state to state and store to store. Remember to TELL the person that you need proof that you were there, requesting it.

Each bookstore/library you do this at is worth 2500 points. Branch and main libraries may be counted as "separate" libraries, and the same is true for bookstores.

4.) 2000 Points

ACTION:

Go to a bookstore or library and ask if they carry The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, The Final Storm, Isle of Swords, or Isle of Fire. If they don't, ask them to consider carrying them, tell them a little about Wayne (go to his website and get information on him, grab his bio from the back of his book or e-mail him and ask him a question or two while explaining to him what you're doing) and then tell them why it is you really want to see his books on their shelves.

Each bookstore/library you do this at is worth 10,000 points. Branch and main libraries may be counted as "separate" libraries and the same is true for bookstores.

PROOF:

You need to e-mail me either a picture of you and the person you talked to at the library or bookstore OR a picture of the request slip for any of Wayne's books from the library or bookstore. These vary from state to state and store to store. Remember to TELL the person that you need proof that you were there, requesting it.

5.) 1500 Points

ACTION:

Write a review of The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, The Final Storm, Isle of Swords, or Isle of Fire and post it on different book/reader websites(Barnes and Noble, Amazon, BooksWellRead etc).

For example: You write a review of "The Door Within" and post it on Amazon. That's 5,000 points right there. Then if you post that same review of the same book on Barnes and Noble, Books Well Read, you get 500 points for each of those reviews.

PROOF:

E-mail me a link to your review, if you posted it multiple places remember to include links to each place that you left it.

6.) 1000 Points

ACTION/PROOF:

Find Rise of the Dibor or The Lion Vrie in your local library or bookstore and take a photograph of yourself or of a friend or family member, holding the copy. This can be done MULTIPLE time, but they have to be done in different libraries/stores. Find something that has the store name on it and photograph the book next to it. E-mail me the pictures.

7. 500 Points

ACTION/PROOF

Find copies of The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, The Final Storm, Isle of Swords, and Isle of Fire at your local library or bookstore and take a photograph of yourself or of a friend or family member, holding the books. This can be done MULTIPLE times, but they have to be done in different libraries/stores. Find something that has the store name on it and photograph the book next to it. E-mail me the pictures.

Most if not ALL of these things overlap Tribe Quests that Wayne and Christopher are asking you to do anyway. I will count any and all actions all ready taken--from the day of their starting the tribes until 10/15/09 for this contest. You just need to get me the proof that I asked for and I'll hand over the points.

KNOWLEDGE AND COURAGE TOGETHER

2009-10-04T23:26:00.002-05:00

It's late so this is going to be a quick post.

Since no one was able to make the deadline--I'm reopening the Knowledge part of the Questing and letting it run till 10/15/09. Courage will be posted tomorrow and start tomorrow but for everyone who wanted to take part in the Knowledge Quest and didn't--get started digging out those friendships! Points are still available for the winning!

And now, to sleep perchance to dream.

Standings So Far In Curse of the Spider King KNOWLEDGE quest

2009-10-04T19:27:00.003-05:00

MillardtheMK=50 points

Chris= 50 points

Melissa Rose= 50 points

I received no e-mails with details of friends found in Wayne Thomas Batson or Christopher Hopper's books guys, so either I made it too hard, or you were too busy for the quest, one of the two. Which was it? Let me know in the comments. And if you thought that was hard, well shoot ;) the COURAGE part of this is going to have you quaking in your boots.

Testing .. .Testing .. .Extra Points Can Be Earned.

2009-10-03T19:47:00.003-05:00

So the store blog and I have been having issues with one another and finally, FINALLY, I got something rather cool up on it. However, I'm not certain that everyone can see it. So I'm going to give an INSTANT BOOST of 50 Points towards The Curse of The Spider King book give away for anyone who goes there and comes back here and posts in the comments. I need to know:

1) If you are using Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera etc.
2)If there are any problems reading the text--be specific like "The text is off center" or "I only see a white page"
3.) What you think of the interview.

Post in the comments here, and you instantly get 50 points in the Curse of the Spider King give away. It's that easy. :-D

And I'll let this boost run until 10/5/09. Here's a link for you fine fans!

click on me!

Early Warning! KNOWLEDGE QUEST ENDS 10/03/09 For Curse of the Spider King Give-Away.

2009-10-02T20:28:00.006-05:00

All participants in the Curse of the Spider King Knowledge Quest have 24 hours left to find those friendships! (see the contest post below if you're just joining the mayhem) By 10:00pm EST tomorrow night all lists of friendships found in Wayne and Christopher's books MUST be in my in box to receive credit. The e-mail address again is:

everlastingscribe(at)hotmail(dot)com.

Sunday I'll be tallying scores and will post them here, so you can see where you stand with each other and then Sunday night or Monday night depending on how much time I have, I will post the next Quest which is all about COURAGE. Due to the difficulty of this second quest, I will be letting it run for two weeks, and HEART will run the last week along side COURAGE.

Besides, courage and heart seem to always run around together.

Now to other thoughts.

Several of you have said that you're ordering your copy online for Tribe credits, so you aren't going to be competing for this book. Hey, I totally understand ordering Wayne and Christopher's book and getting the credit for your tribe!

*Ahem* However a free signed copy of Wayne and Christopher's book, is a free signed copy of Christopher and Wayne's book. And Christmas/Hanukkah/New Years Eve is right around the corner.

Okay, no, no they're not. It just feels that way this week cos of all the Christmas stuff we have out at the store.

*Sob*

Anyway, the point is, you can enter this contest and still buy a copy later for tribe credit. Just keep one for yourself, and give the other away. I'll let you decide which one you do what with. Don't make me type that sentence again. It's not grammatically correct, and wasn't easy to type.

To recap this post you who have read it have learned that:

KNOWLEDGE QUEST runs till 10:00pm tomorrow.
Christmas things are out at His Way
Scribe is very tired and a little bit unstable.
A lot, unstable.

Look, this is why WTB and CH and BD bring long sharp metal pointy things to signings. Because they know the organizers get a little loco near the end.

Pumpkins and Ponderings

2009-10-01T09:32:00.003-05:00

Fall is definitely here, the weather's finally cooler, the air has that cold-scent tang hiding among the smell of green leaves, and the skies are becoming more and more cobalt and less and less sky blue.

There is absolutely nothing better in the fall than to have in one hand a fat book, and in the other a steaming cup of tea or coffee or hot chocolate so deep it goes on forever.

I'm not the first one to think so either.

"You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." C. S. Lewis

So, if you had all the money that you needed and all the time in the world, what would be your book of choice for an October all-day read?

And what would you be drinking?

For me, it would be:

The Vanishing Sculptor by: Donita Paul and I'd be drinking Mint Hot Chocolate from Starbucks.

That's the ONLY beverage I ever order from them, and since it's seasonal, I can only get it in November/December.

Autum Rest

2009-09-30T20:52:00.009-05:00

Mom took me out today.

I needed to get away. Away from computers.

And the internet.

And all the craziness at work, with coworkers and customers.

I needed to get away. Away from doubts, and fears, away from the sense of unrest that's been plaguing me. I'm glad I have a friend in my Mom, who can see that I'm worn down and need a respite.

But I have another Friend, one who offers rest even in the middle of my toil. One who offers a rest that settles in my bones even in the middle of toil. Today was a gift from Him, too. And so is this promise:

"...Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 NASB

Character Developement Continues

2009-09-29T10:01:00.003-05:00

I'm still in Character Development Land and my visa for the visit expired yesterday. *sigh* While the idea that I had yesterday is still good so far, it means creating yet another character who then needs to have interactions and a personality. You need to like them. Which means I suppose I should go and get my visa renewed before the paper tigers come and throw me in prison. I still feel like I'm 'wasting time' and not writing. Ugh. I wonder where this mindset came from? I'd really like to know because then I could return it and get my money back?

Write Moment

2009-09-28T20:03:00.003-05:00

I stumbled across a word I didn't recognize yesternight, and being intrigued as to what it meant I looked it up in the dictionary. Now normally I'd tell you what it was and what it meant, but I'm not doing that. Why? Because my character mapping brain seized onto the word, what it meant and hey-presto an entire new character was created, a problem solved, and a plot point clicked into place. It is so gloriously, fantastically, unbelievably wonderful I'm kinda afraid the idea's not really that great and in a day or so it'll vanish away into ashes and smoke.

Hence, I'm not sharing. If it works out and plays out and I use it, I might. But right now I'm cuddling the idea, turning it over and over, and deciding if it's really strong enough to hold up and sharp enough to be used.

Anyone else have 'write moments' like that?

Curse of the Spider King Contest! First Quest-KNOWLEDGE ! Book Give Away Contest Runs from 9/26/09 to 10/15/09

2009-09-26T10:28:00.010-05:00

Right, I promised before Sunday to have this up and so today I keep my word!
Every couple of days, I'm going to post a new quest or assignment that needs to be done. Each is going to have a deadline, and each is going to be worth so many points. The person with the most points at the end of the contest is the winner! Simple right?

Oh, c'mon guys, when have I ever let anything be simple? Simple is boring. Simple is easy. Simple doesn't require sacrifice on your part.

Knights and warriors of old when they went questing displayed their wisdom, their valor, and their heart. This is going to be a contest where you get to do the same.

Today starts the first of the three teasers I gave out earlier in the week, Homework. Not the kind that teachers, professors, or bosses give, the kind of homework I hope you'll really enjoy!

In Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper's books, there are all kinds of friendships that form; friendships between main characters, friendships between minor characters, and friendships between villains, etc. You job is to find friendships in the books, as many as you can, and then e-mail the results to me.

Each found friendship is worth 5 points.

In the e-mail you need to tell me the book, the names of the two characters that are friends, the page number where you discovered this, and a very short description of what you think of the friendship. Multiple friendship sitings can go into one e-mail, you don't need to e-mail me for each friendship found. My in-box would crash if you did.

Books eligible for use in this quest: The Door Within, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, The Final Storm, Isle of Swords, Isle of Fire, Rise of the Dibor, and The LionVrie. That's seven titles for you to have fun re-reading and romping through! If you only have one or two of the books they've written, scour the pages and grab up every last friendship nugget. I have a list of certain ones I'm looking for, but I also want to be surprised by the ones I didn't find!

THIS quest starts today 9/26/09 and ends 10/03/09.

Oh, and the e-mail address to send your finding to is everlastingscribe(at)hotmail(dot)com. Just change the words to symbols and send it my way.

==============
Here are the rules:

1.)If you are under 18 years old, get your parents permission before starting this contest.

2.) You must also be a legal resident of the United States or Canada to participate. (sorry guys, I can't afford to send it over seas)

3.) I (Michelle Black) am not affiliated with Thomas Nelson, Wayne Thomas Batson, or The Door Within series, Isle of Swords duology, Christopher Hopper, Tsaba House, or The White Lion Chronicles in any way. *whew*

4.) I (Michelle Black) am in no way responsible for lost, misdirected mail, or for damage in shipping of the prize to your house.

Scribe's Tired.

2009-09-24T21:02:00.007-05:00

We had a great event tonight! I wasn't there even though I've been working my fingers off to promote it, but I was told it was fantastic!

Wooo!

For those interested, it was the Hoops of Hope (TM) event at the main store, featuring teen speaker and author Austin Gutwein. His book, Take Your Best Shot just released from Thomas Nelson (yeah, that's Wayne and Christopher's publisher) and we were his first book signing location. Go us. If Christ hadn't been for him however, it never would have happened. There have been SO many things that went wrong with this that I'm hoping all the gremlins are finished wreaking their havoc and Wayne and Christopher's event will sail along smooth as silk.

Hey, I can dream.

And, I've got another well-known author asking if we want to host an event with him on October 30th or 31st. *sob* That's two weeks after Wayne and Christopher.

I. Need. Rest.

Anywhoo, I haven't forgotten that you are all gnawing on each other's fingernails waiting to get started on The Curse of the Spider King contest, and I promise, it'll be up this week. So stop biting each other. :-D

The things listed above are some of the reasons why I'm being cagey. I need to have time to set up the contest, and set it up right, and right now, I don't know when I'll have it. I'm thinking Friday night into Saturday morning, but I just don't know.

To tide you over, check out these new things:

We have new posters for the signing-I made them last night. Did I mention being tired?

Yep, yep, there's the Dangerous Duo in the center. And they have long sharp metal pointy things. Mom like the leaves better than the spider webs we had up earlier. I dunno, I like the colors in both but I'm not a big spider fan. Oh, speaking of spiders, I moved the display in the small store up closer to the front now that we are a little under a month away. And guess who decided to add their own touches to it? UH-HUH. The arachnids.

Ugh. They just don't know when to quit. And yes, there are non-Hopper and non-Batson books on the display. If people would quit buyin em, I'd have a nice full display. But nooooo. So, I filled the holes with James Byron Huggins A Wolf Story(all-time favorite modern fantasy book), Robert Liparulo's The House of Dark Shadows-Dream House Kings Book 1, and Bill Meyer's Invisible Terror. That one is a compilation of several of his Forbidden Doors books, though I don't know which ones. But check out the helmet, I've had two co-workers comment on it. One was annoyed with all the cobwebs. I told them to talk to the arachnids. The other thought it looked cool. What about you guys? Over the top? Corny? Or eerie?

NEW CONTEST-COMING-THIS WEEK- THE CURSE OF THE SPIDER KING

2009-09-22T21:08:00.004-05:00

I was asked by Noah, if the contest where you could get a book for you and one for your friend signed by Wayne would include The Curse of the Spider King when it came out.

The answer was, sadly, NO.

Why not, you ask?

Well because this contest has been in the works for some time.

That's right, I'm going to be running TWO contests at the same time. Not bad, right? I mean that's two opportunities to win some sa-ahweet prizes (signed books are always sa-ahweet prizes you have to pronounce it that way it's a law or something) for everyone who reads my scrawlings.

Some time this week I'm going to be starting the second contest---things have been a tad on the hectic side which is why Monday Musings got posted on Tuesday this week.

Want some hints as to what this contest is going to be like?

Well okay. . .

Friends are important.
Being willing to do your homework is vital.
Knowing things about the authors of The Curse of the Spider King will give you an advantage.

Keep checking back! I promise by Sunday of this week the second contest will be posted!

And, probably sooner.

Monday Musings on Tuesday

2009-09-22T19:57:00.002-05:00

I'm still picking through my Bible's book of Daniel, and I'm really enjoying getting to know him. Here are some more interesting tidbits I've noticed about him.

1.) Daniel 2:24

Daniel didn't just look out for himself and for his friends, he looked out for all of his peers when their lives were in jeopardy.

He had compassion on the others that were in the same boat that he was, and extended the safety that he had in the LORD to them.

2.) Daniel 2:25-30

Daniel made certain that the king knew that the power he seemed to have came from the LORD and that the reason that the answer was given was so that the king could have clarity.

Daniel was definitely not looking to be a Babylon celebrity, he was happy to dwell in the shadow of Jehovah.

3.) Daniel 2:49

When Daniel was rewarded for telling the king what the LORD had revealed, he in turn shared the glory and position given to him with his friends.

They had stood with him, prayed and fasted with him, and Daniel made certain that they shared in the blessing with him.

4.) Daniel 3:19

Daniel genuinely cared for the king, and did not want harm to fall on him.

This was the man that turned his future upside down and inside out, and he cared for his enemy, he cared for Nebuchadnezzar to the point of pleading with him to change his ways and avoid the coming judgment.

5.) Daniel 5:17

Daniel gave Nebchadnezzar's son, Belshazzar, the meaning of the writing on the wall, but because of the way he mocked the LORD by using the things from the temple in lewd ways, he refused to be rewarded for it. Daniel's love of the LORD made him bold, and made him angry at the same time.

Find This Book

2009-09-19T20:43:00.003-05:00

My copy is dog-eared and water warped, and it is the one book in my library that I will not lend not to anyone. Sadly, I'd lend my new Bible (notice I did not say my marked up, cried on, held when I had a really bad nightmare and needed something to hold while I crawled back into bed, Bible. I said NEW) before I'd let this sucker go. I know, it looks dated but really it's not, the copy right's 2000. Whoa, well okay so it's a tad on the old side. Anyway, the title is The Complete Writers Guide to Heroes & Heroines Sixteen Master Archetypes and it's by Tami D Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders.

Unlike other books on character development, this one dissects different well known characters from books and movies (Han Solo, Rhett Butler, Atticus Finch, Captain Bly, Indiana Jones) and reveals what kind of archetype they are, and their strengths and weaknesses. I'll clift note their dissection of---

THE SWASH BUCKLER:

on the positive side he's FEARLESS, EXCITING, CAPABLE
on the negative side he's UNRELIABLE, FOOL HEARTY, SELFISH

And they outline each trait in great detail and give film examples:

Zorro,
Michael Douglas character in Romancing the Stone
Peter Pan
Brendan Fraiser in The Mummy.

So your brain goes 'ohhh' because you've probably seen one of their examples. But the really amazing thing is that they then show you what other archetypes the SWASHBUCKLER works best with, and against! And they also show you how to LAYER these archetypes so that you have what is known in the publishing industry as an EVOLVING character rather than a static one!

I can't emphasis enough how amazing this book is for anyone who is struggling with building dynamic characters or is terrified that they might have created a Mary Sue.

Here is the ISBN#: 9781580650243
Title : The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes & Heroines Sixteen Master Archetypes.
Author(s): Tami D Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders.

The information on the SWASHBUCKLER was culled from pages 38-42 in The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes & Heroines Sixteen Master Archetypes.

Go find it. Libraries have it, used book stores have it, B&N has it, Borders, Books, and Music has it, Alibris has it. Find a way to get a copy of this book. Put it on your birthday list. Save your allowance. Budget your paycheck. Whatever you need to do, DO to get this book.

Scribe says so, that's why. ;)

Character Developement

2009-09-18T19:13:00.003-05:00

When I was younger I loved developing characters. I'd sit there and web character points for hours, making up and discovering every last thing about of one of my paper tigers. I knew what the looked like, what they wore, what they were allergic to, what they feared, what they day dreamed about, their favorite color, least favorite animal. . .etc .. But somewhere along the line, it got hammered into my head that these were 'wastes' of time when I could be advancing my plot. So now, with a weekend ahead of my I sit with my blank Word Document open and watch the curser blink as I try and recapture the desire to know just what it is that makes my paper tigers tick.

Contest! 2-Book Give away!

2009-09-17T09:20:00.013-05:00

Everyone who has read The Door Within knows how powerful the story can be to someone who is hurting.

Everyone who has read Isle of Swords understands how encouraging the tale can be when you feel lost, and "all at sea" in life.

Earlier today I had decided to run a contest where you could win a book for a friend, but nothing for yourself. My friends at work thought that was a little on the stingy side, and they stepped in! They said it wasn't right that the person entering didn't get a book too, and decided to sponsor the contest! So now the prize is a book for your friend, and a book for you.

To enter, you still need to go to the comment section and in 100 words or less, you need to tell us why a friend of yours (a friend that you know in real life, no on-line buddies, as cool as they can be) should get one of Wayne's books.

Helmet, box, and inkwell not included in prize, sorry guys.

The contest will run from September 17th to October 11th 2009. This gives me time to notify the winner and get the book to m'lord Batson to sign on the 17th. After the launch party, I'll take the books to the post office and pop them in the mail!

CONTEST RULES and DISCLAIMERS
----------------------------------------
1.)If you are under 18 years old, get your parents permission before starting this contest.

2.) You must also be a legal resident of the United States or Canada to participate. (sorry guys, I can't afford to send it over seas)

4,) You can only nominate ONE FRIEND. So in other words ONE entry per person.

5.) Multiple submissions by the same person will be disqualified.

6.) I (Michelle Black) am not affiliated with Thomas Nelson, Wayne Thomas Batson, or The Door Within in any way.

7.) I (Michelle Black) am in no way responsible for lost, misdirected mail, or for damage in shipping of the prize to your house.

All right guys, get thinking, get typing! You've got just under a month to go all out, like Jonathan did for David, and win you and your friend signed copies of Wayne's books.

Sneak another peak

2009-09-15T20:53:00.007-05:00

Remember I told you to put on your artistic helmets and help me make some decisions about the props? You didn't think I'd find your artistic helmets, but I did and now I have another question to put to you long suffering fans.

Which looks better? Again, I'm going to use one of them just to have lying about, you need to help me pick the color though. The brown cloth is down on the counter just because I wanted something there. I still haven't decided. The box and the cup will likely be used too. I love my cup. Or is it a flaggon? No, that's not the write word. Chalice? Yeah, I think it's a chalice. Anyway, look at the helmets and help me decide which one to use. Remember the book is green, and the candlesticks are bronze-brown. So should I use this helmet?

Or should I go with this one?

Here they are together, from another angle.

Not a bad find for $1.00 a piece. I've all ready started using one.

Now you just wait, someone'll want to buy it. Everyone always wants my props. I usually wind up giving them to m'lord Batson to be used or given away as he wishes.

And you see what's creeping out onto the endcap? Uh-huh, books neither of these two dangerous individuals have penned. Why? Well because m'lord Batson's books keep selling and I need to fill the holes. Besides, I figured the guys don't mind giving a little bit of a boost to other authors who aren't selling as well as they are.

Ever Notice? Monday Musings Daniel Part 1

2009-09-14T21:23:00.001-05:00

I've been reading and studying my Bible for years, and there are some stories I never get tired of reading, and there are others that I race through so fast I only have the vaguest of memories about them. Daniel and his dreams and prophecies fall into that category.

For the longest time, I've avoided reading the book of Daniel, even though the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abindigo, is one of my all time favorites. Part of the reason I've been skirting Daniel so much is because of all the people who have told me I must read it along with the book of Revelation because of what is happening in the world. Because of that, I really avoided Daniel.

Then three months ago, I bought a One Year Bible in Chronological Order. As much as I've read the bible, I've never read it all the way through, and I want to do that this year. I have been reading it every week and am on track for where I'm suppose to be. This week however, I flipped to Monday's reading and it was Daniel 1:1. I couldn't avoid it any longer.

This week I read Daniel, and you know what I found? I found lots and lots and lots of encouragement and patterns for people living in a world gone mad.

Here are some of the highlights:

1.) Daniel 1:1-4

Daniel didn't fight or protest his new future. He accepted it, and waited to see what The Lord would do for him.

2.) Daniel 1: 11-20

Daniel didn't take out his misfortune on those that were placed over him in his new life, instead he looked for opportunities to keep the Lords standards and be a witness.

3.) Daniel 2:12-16

Daniel didn't calmly accept catastrophe, he used his resourses and connections to fight against it.

4.) Daniel 2:17-18

Daniel drew first on the Lord, and then on the strength of his friends when standing against a seemingly impossible task.

5.) Daniel 2:19-23

Daniel praised the Lord for His help, taking time to honor the One that gave him the answers. He knew that what had been given him was the truth, before he spoke with Nebuchadnezzar.

Check back next Monday for the second part of my musings!

Sneak a Peak

2009-09-13T19:55:00.008-05:00

All right, as promised I have pictures for you guys to see, but I'm not just going to have you take a sneak peak at some of the props that will be at the launch party, you're going to work! That's right, I had a lovely thought today when I was at Michael's (TM) picking up what I needed. I realised that there is all this untapped talent roaming around on m'lord Batson and Sir Hopper's site, and that I could put it to work!

(insert evil chuckle here)

And so, I want you to tell me which you think looks best. Give me suggestions, put your artistic helmets on (I know you all have them) and help me choose the lay out to make our bookstore look .. .like nothing on Earth.

To start, take a look at these:

These are the cool candle holders I found at Michael's (TM) today. Well, really I found them last week but I had to wait for the coupon I had to be valid. They didn't look like much in the store, until I stuck the cream-colored candles on top and tried to envision them wrapped up in cobwebs. I think they look great! Here's a close up look at the spiderwebs.

However I also have some of these (look close):

See the little fella in the lower left hand area? Here's the first question for all you fantastic fans:

What looks scarier? The cobwebs with spider or cobwebs without the spider?

Post in the comments and let me know.

Should I leave the candles with the spider?
Should I ditch the spider?
Should I add more spiders?

All right, and here's the second question. I was going to use the brown cloth you seen underneath the candle sticks fora table cloth at the signing, because the book cover looks like this:

The green of the book cover will really "pop" off the bronze-brown of the cloth. But, now that I have the candles, they'll blend in to the bronze of the cloth. I have some green fabric down in the basement that looks like this:

See the difference? Now the brown-copper of the candlesticks really stands out against the green, but the book will blend (somewhat) into it again. And the candle sticks blend into the bronze-brown of the cloth, but they stand out more against the green. You'd be surprised at how much these little things mean in a staged area.

So, what do you like better?

Candlesticks on the bronze-brown?
Candlesticks on the green?

Oh, and one more thing. Whatever could these be?

2009-09-11T18:39:00.002-05:00

Well the day definitely could have been better. I managed to laugh through most of the rough stuff (not rudely laugh, but laugh it off) but now that I'm home and the day is over, I feel like I should just sit down and shut up.

Some of my words were taken out of their context today and in so doing, were used to make what I hope is a tempest in a teapot. But it meant extra stress on several people who were totally innocent of wrong doing, and it hurt me. It hurt that my words could be so bent from the original purpose as to cause harm when they were intended to encourage.

It just hurts.

I hurt tonight, Jesus.

And I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

Spatterings, Part 2

2009-09-10T21:16:00.005-05:00

I could not make this stuff up. It really is stranger than fiction. Here's the other half of the story from earlier today.

So, after not having a particularly restful night, I go into work cranky.

Yes yes, go ahead and feel bad for my poor coworker. I feel bad for her.

Anyway, after doing a few maintenance type things in the store like ordering books, talking to customers, ringing sales, and filling holes in displays where people have bought things, I slipped to the back room, and pulled up the information in the computer so I could call Thomas Nelson and make sure that my paranoid little self was just being paranoid. I'd been feeling like I should call anyway, even though the boss-lady assured me that she'd bulked up the order with TN and that I didn't need to worry over the books.

Let me tell you, I felt like an idiot of the first order (a paranoid idiot) as I sat there at the desk listening to the phone burring as I waited for the rep to pick up. I decided that I'd be honest with her (Her name's Paula and she's really nice) and when she told me everything was as it should be, I'd just apologize and say that I was jumping at shadows. Paula wasn't there. I left a message, felt more like an idiot, and went about my day.

~'~

Not The End.

Yeah, the story's not over yet. Here's where it gets interesting

Paula called back. We chit chatted a little bit, I hammed it up so that she was smiling into the phone as she checked on the status of our order, and then her tone changed. Here's how the conversation went:

"I'm only showing 4 of The Curse of the Spider King on order for His Way." Paula said slowly.

"WHAT" I choked into the phone "But boss-lady bulked up the order! She said she bulked up the order WEEKS ago"

"You are one of the launch stores, right? Having this signing?" Paula mused.

"Yeah, us and B&N down the street, they're going to be there on Friday. We follow on Saturday so it'll be a smaller bunch of people I'm thinking. But more than FOUR" I said, pieces beginning to slip together in my mind. "I've pre-sold eight copies all ready. I need more than FOUR."

"Well, I can take the order now" Paula said and I told her I'd call back. I needed to talk to the boss-lady.

Not The End.

~`~

Oh no, there's more. This is where it starts to get good.

I called the boss-lady, who was taking some personal time to be with her family.

"Uh, boss-lady I called Thomas Nelson, and um, we only have 4 of The Curse of the Spider King on order with them." I waited as the cell phone crackled, only to have the boss-lady yelp and then say darkly that the order should have been more than that. Much, more than that. Someone had dropped the order.

It happens, it happens more than it should, really. In fact we've been having issues all week with things being dropped from orders and we're in the middle of a catalog. But the boss-lady didn't hesitate.

"Get into the computer in EC and get our road rep's number, call Gary, do this right, I want him to get the credit for the sale."

"Yessem" I said, and sighed as she hung up, my head still swimming with half wonder and half doubt.

So, I called EC and got Gary's (another really nice guy) cell phone number and bothered him about it. Gary is now working on getting us the books that we need for the signing.

And the kicker with all of this? *THIS* week is the last week we could have solved this problem, comfortably.

So, I don't think I was paranoid. I don't think that I was listening that well to the Holy Spirit either. He was nudging me to call, and discover this. When I kept being distracted, well, He had to raise His voice and I got to dream an interesting dream three times in a row.

The wondering wild part is that He cares. Christ cares that I not look like an idiot at a signing with no books, He cares that the fans coming to the event have a chance to get the books that they want. And more important He cares about the story that Christopher and Wayne have created, and the themes embedded in it. He cares enough about their work, to make sure that they have a chance to share it in a little town in Maryland.

The End--almost. For all of you who read this, I would ask that you pray. Pray specifically for Wayne and Christopher and the people they are going to meet on the 16th and 17th of October. Friday night is going to bedlam for them; they're at Barnes & Nobles and all of Wayne's students will be popping by I'm sure to pick up their copies and meet him and Christopher and have a rousing good time.

Saturday, our launch day is going to be quieter. For one, we're following a signing at Barnes & Nobles which is our largest competitor, and for another we have the authors in the store for a shorter period of time.

I'm thrilled that they're coming, I'm the one grinning ear to ear when I tell the fans about it, but logically, it's going to be much smaller than Barnes & Noble's event.

I don't care.

Why don't I care?

Because at smaller events, Wayne and Christopher get to talk to and minister to their fans. Barnes & Noble is going to be noise and lines and laughter, His Way is going to be laid back and more intimate.

I truly believe that the shenanagins that have started, have started for a reason. Our Enemy isn't happy about something that is going to happen on the 16th and 17th. I'm sure the staff at the B&N down there are being harassed. They just don't know it. ;)

Pray for Christopher--pray that he be rested, pray that he have just the right word to speak at just the right time.

Pray for Wayne--pray that he be refreshed, pray that he have ears to hear and eyes to see that night and that whatever appointments that the Lord has set up for these two and those coming to meet them happen.

Pray that they don't lose their voices.
Pray that they don't lose their luggage
Pray that their families are blessed and safe (Our Enemy doesn't play fair)
Pray that they have fun too
Pray that they have time to eat
Pray that they stay healthy

In short, pray. Pray now. Pray often. And don't stop.

~Scribe

Splatters

2009-09-10T10:49:00.002-05:00

So last night I kept dreaming that we had the signing at work, and Christopher was there and Wayne and lots and lots of fans, but no books. Some snag at Nelson had twisted things up and I had lots of people who had pre-bought the book and other who had come down from upper state New York to support Christopher who wanted to buy books and we had none. *Ugh* it was not a nice dream and it was the kind that won't let you go? You know, the kind that just keep cycling back and you only half wake up and you're still dreaming the same dream?

So, I'm going to call Nelson when I get to work today and make sure that the books ordered arrive on time for the signing. My boss had them on order anyway and was just going to 'beef up' the amounts for the signing and I need to make sure that TN knows that we are doing a signing on the 17th.

It's amazing how many things need to be checked when we do a book signing. TN is one of the best publishers to work with for prices, shipping, and speed on an event, but everything has to be in place for it to work. One little thing out of place, and you have disaster. I don't want disaster. I don't want my dream to become reality.

I mean CH and WTB were doing their best in my dream to prevent a riot. They were hamming it up and promising to sign books when they came in and taking pictures with their fans, like the good guys they are, but I was ready to melt into the floor, change my name, and go to Australasia to learn underwater basket weaving. So, when I get in to work, I'm calling TN and making sure all the links are where they should be, and that should make the dream just a dream.

In other news, I had a cool thought about my character who is a courier. He gets roughed up and thrown around because people don't like the messages that he carries. You know the old saying "Don't shoot the messenger" well in his case, they do. And I can tie that in to the whole spiritual side of things with Aram who is my sage/prophet character who also gets kicked around alot because people don't like the message that he's bringing either. So, I'm happy. :)

Infestation

2009-09-09T20:20:00.011-05:00

You know, at work we try to keep on top of the dust bunnies, cobwebs, and general dirt and grime that can infest a store. Buuut. . something out of the ordinary is going on back in the youth fiction section .

The webbing is very fine, almost like cotton candy .. .but the ones that are laying it down. . .ah ..

they are definitely not carnival barkers or candy booth workers or ah. . anyone I want to make friends with anytime soon. There are lots of them, and I swear I heard them laughing as they moved up and down, spinning out their ultra fine netting. Just look!

The Rise of the Wyrm Lord's cover is ominous enough without the . . .ah. . .visitors adding their own special touches. Christopher's Rise of the Dibor may have frightened them a bit, I mean it does have a gentleman wearing armor on the cover. I don't think they like people much. They hissed when I was taking these photographs.

I didn't know that spiders could hiss. Or chuckle, or make any noises at all. These I'm thinking aren't from . . .around here. I wonder why in the world we've been targeted? Jerry's next door doesn't have a spider problem, and Fast Frame hasn't reported any issues either. But look!

They just won't leave this endcap alone! I wonder. . I wonder why they are so upset and determined to deface our property back here in the youth fiction section. Everywhere else is fine.

Ohhhhh. Maybe that's why? Somehow they found out about the signing and the pre-buy deal and this is their way of protesting? Or maybe they're trying to frighten folks away? But, apparently they weren't the only ones that decided to drop by for a bit. Look what else I found today. Wonder who left it behind.

Off To Work Riddled

2009-09-09T10:11:00.003-05:00

Someone told me yesterday at work that they found I had a genuine heart, and that they loved the way that I was positive and upbeat and found the best way to look at hard circumstances, and genuinely found me to be a lover of Christ.

My heart was down in the bottom of my shoes while this person sang my praises. And I have no doubt that they meant to build me up and to encourage me, I'm positive that was their desire.

In actuality, it did the opposite. I kept thinking "If you only knew, if you only could see all the crap inside me, all the doubts and fears, but you can't. If you only knew what my thought life was like, or how many times I sin during the day, you'd see that I'm more of a hypocrite than anything else."

So it's the next day and I'm off to work again riddled with insecurities and doubt with my self esteem somewhere down around my ankles. I really wish I knew why that hit me the way it did.

Maybe because I really do want to be what she sees, and in my heart, I know I'm not.

*Sigh*

Rejoice with those who are Rejoicing

2009-09-08T20:48:00.005-05:00

I love working where I do for a variety of reasons, but today, today I love it because of the customers who came in and talked with me.

One, came in to tell me that the man she'd been dating had told her that he definitely saw her as more than a 'perpetual girlfriend' but that there were some obstacles he needed to take care of before they became man and wife. I'm not going to go into the details here but I about leapt through the roof, yelping for sheer joy.

I've watched this lady go through all kinds of hell, and I've watched her draw closer to Christ, I've watched her depend on Him and rely on Him and give up things I'm not certain that I could give up if I were here. I've watched her die to herself, and struggle to live for Him. She's not perfect, but Jesus shines through the cracked bits of herself in really loving ways. And to hear her good news made me want to do cartwheels!

The second good news of the day was that a family that I've gotten to know and be rather fond of for several years now, is no longer going to have their father/husband on the other side of the world! His job took him to Hong Kong and other places and now, he's coming HOME and he isn't going to be scattered to the four corners of the Earth! I did jump up and down on that one a bit. Just a little bit. Lots of rejoicing done today.

And the cricket is still in the fireplace. I'm pretty sure it's male, I don't think females fiddle. Play on, little buddy! Play on! It's time to make joyful noises.

I Have Paint On My Hands

2009-09-07T22:05:00.003-05:00

And while this isn't technically news worthy, I thought I'd blow the dust off this blog and start popping thoughts down here while I'm doing other things this week.

Oh wow, there's a cricket in the fireplace. Dude, I bet that he or she is having the time of their little insect life, the acoustics in there are really wild.

Huh? What? Oh, focus, you wanted me to say something cohesive here? But there's a cricket in the fireplace. Right, cohesive.

So I'm gearing up for another book signing at His Way, which is why I have paint on my hands. I don't randomly smear paint on my fingers, all though I do like the way paint feels on my skin.

This will be the ninth one that I've done, no, no I think it might be the tenth. Wow, that's sad that I can't remember whether it's the ninth or tenth signing that I've done. Anyway, I've done quite a few. They are always exciting and stressful, and before this one I've always set aside all my own writing time and done what I wanted to do for the signing, and then come back to my writing when everything's all over.

I'm not doing that this year. This year, it's writing first, props and other things second. Part of it is because I've got a feeling that it's going to be a smaller turn out than in years previous, and part of it is because Wayne and Christopher are gentlemen and will be grateful for whatever it is that I come up with for their event. It's nice to feel "broken in" with authors and not have to worry about impressing them or impressing my boss. I also think it might have something to do with the fact that the things I've chosen to highlight are a little easier to create than in years past.

Whatever the reason, I can smile as I look down at the paint on my hands and know that whatever time I have left in the day is for goofing off with friends. My writing time was completed and I made progress on my projects.

Life tonight, is sweet. Both for me, and for the cricket in the fireplace.

He Is Risen! Part 1

2009-04-12T12:37:00.005-05:00

Luke 24: 1-12 NASB

¹^"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.

²And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

³but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing;

⁵and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead?

⁶"He is not here, but He has risen Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,

⁷saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."

⁸And they remembered His words,

⁹and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

¹⁰Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

¹¹But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.

¹²But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened."

Matthew 28: 1-15 NASB

¹Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.

²And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.

³And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.

⁴The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.

⁵The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.

⁶"He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.

⁷"Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you."

⁸And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.

⁹And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.

¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me."

¹¹Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.

¹²And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,

¹³and said, "You are to say, 'His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.'

¹⁴"And if this should come to the governor's ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble."

¹⁵And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day."

Mark 16:1-13 NASB

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.

²Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

³They were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"

⁴Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.

⁵Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.

⁶And he said to them, Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.

⁷"But go, tell His disciples and Peter, He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'"

⁸They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

⁹Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.

¹⁰She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.

¹¹When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.

¹²After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country.

¹³They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either."

John 20: 1-18 NASB

¹Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw

the stone already taken away from the tomb.

²So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."

³So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb.

⁴The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first;

⁵and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.

⁶And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there,

⁷and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.

⁸So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.

⁹For as yet they did not understand the Scripture,that He must rise again from the dead.

¹⁰So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

¹¹But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;

¹²and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.

¹³And they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."

¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

¹⁵Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

¹⁶Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher).

¹⁷Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'"

¹⁸Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her. "

I know, some have said "Look, the accounts don't agree with one another! They can't even get their story straight, how can this possibly be true?!"

Bible scholars agree that fact that the four Gospels are different from one another actually give them more credence, not less. Why? Well because if they were all the same, exactly the same, then you'd smell a rat. You'd be able to say "They all got together in a room somewhere and worked out their stories! Liars!" Police call that collusion, when witnesses stories are exactly the same, and the testimony of such is counted as unreliable. The fact that the four Gospels are different, mean in fact that they are telling the truth from four different points of view.

Lets see where they are the same first, and then we can look at the interesting points that each brings up.

A.) First Day of the Week the Women Visit the Tomb.

Luke 24:1

Matthew 28:1

Mark 16:1

John 20:1

B.) Stone Rolled Away

1.) Luke 24:2

2.)Matthew 28:2

3.)Mark 16:3-4

4.)John 20:1

C.) Jesus' Body Is Missing

1.) Luke 24:3

2.)Matthew 28:5-6

3.)Mark 16:5-6

4.)John 20:2-8

D.) Angels Present At the Tomb

1.)Luke 24:4-5

2.)Matthew 28:2-5

3. Mark 16:5-7

4.) John 20:12-13

E.) The Women Go And Tell The Disciples That Jesus Has Risen

1.)Luke 24:8-9

2.)Matthew 28:5-8

3.)Mark 16:9-11*

4.)John 20:17-18*

*Mary Magdalene alone tells the disciples.

Micro Studies and PopCorn Verses Part 2

2009-04-02T11:05:00.002-05:00

I shared that little bit down below with a customer at the store a couple of days ago and she looked at me and tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head, and said that that verse showed pre planning. I agreed, that idea had been running around inside my skull too. I mean I've heard pastors say for years that "before the foundations of the earth were laid, God had a plan" and usually right after that if I'm going to be 100% honest here, my mind wandered off somewhere else. After all, I knew the story. I could recite it with them, in fact I taught it to kids for years.

I've gotten too familiar with the idea I think, of His pre-planning things. I've heard it so much that I've become numb to the idea. But, the idea came today about this popcorn passage, what if the pre-planning there wasn't so much about knowing what decisions Adam and Eve would make in the garden (sinning, turning away from Him, wanting to be gods themselves and not needing Him at all) but about wanting to communicate with those He had lost. He didn't need to put the stars in the heavens and have their first duty be to be heralds of His rescue plan (for that's what signs are I believe, things to tell us what is coming) He could have left Adam and Eve bereft. He could have walked away and said "You had your chance, sorry Charlie, game's over." He had every right to abandon those who walked out on Him, after all we'd covered ourselves in the one thing that He can not abide.

But He didn't.

The Lord knew what choices would be made in the garden, but he created the decision makers anyway.

The Lord knew what would happen in that garden if He showed Himself to those that dwelled there, and He came anyway.

And before either of those things, He wrote a message for them in the heavens, which said:

"I love you. I miss you. Don't be afraid, I'm going to rescue you."

Micro Studies and PopCorn Verses

2009-04-01T10:17:00.003-05:00

I've always been fascinated by the way popcorn behaves. You've got a tiny little kernel, and with the right amount of heat and time, *BANG* it turns itself inside out and becomes at least three times as big as it was before. Also, anyone who knows me knows I love explosions, and really, what other food can you eat (within reason) that has come through an explosion?

Since I've been working to get myself back to where I was before spiritually, I've dueled with self-doubt and I've sparred with guilt and wrestled with condemnation. If you check the scoreboard, I'm afraid you're going to see more losses than wins tallied for me. I keep waiting to be pulled out of the game completely, because you know if I was in charge, that's what I'd do to me.

I'm so glad I'm not in charge, because the One who is, hasn't sidelined me (I think He knows I don't want to be a bench warmer) permanently but He has set me down where I can rest for a bit. And while I'm here resting and enjoying His company, He's brought me a box of popcorn verses. Here are the ones that I've been munching on for a week now, trying to wrap my comprehension around all the wildness that's inside.

Genesis 1:14-19 (New Century Version)

¹⁴ Then God said, "Let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night. These lights will be used for signs, seasons, days, and years.¹⁵ They will be in the sky to give light to the earth." And it happened.

¹⁶ So God made the two large lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day and made the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars.¹⁷ God put all these in the sky to shine on the earth,¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that all these things were good.¹⁹ Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fourth day."

Okay, anyone else catch that the first time you read it? Because I'm pretty sure I've slept through that part every time I've read it, and when I came across it last week it slapped me between the eyes. I'm pretty sure I rubbed my fore head and went "ow".

He put in the stars in the heavens, hung them there with their first orders to act as signs. He did this on day four of the Creation story. Man's not made until day six, and animals aren't made until day five. But on day four, the stars are settled into place and the sun and moon are shown their routes, with explicit orders that their first duties are to act as signs.

Why?

Adam is still a twinkle in the eyes of the Trinity, and Eve just an idea, coddled in His heart. This is a perfect world, lush and good and full of plants and flowers and every kind of green and growing thing. It's a beautiful garden, peaceful and harmonious, there's no one really to talk to, but there's also no sin.

Sin's the thing that separated us in the first place from Him, before that He and Adam and Eve spoke face to face in the garden.

This Face to the Public

2009-01-14T10:54:00.002-05:00

You know, both Rhu and m'lord Batson have been commenting on the fact that this place has been silent as a tomb since the summer. The sad thing is, I must have thirty posts in here that will never see the light of day---they're too personal and too filled with pain. It's weird, some writers, like her Rhuness will blog about the hurt and feel better. I put my feelings on paper and feel shame, embarrassment, and like I'm whining about life and should in the words of my brother ''Man-up Princess" and just keep going. So, instead I'll blog about what makes me feel better.

This got me laughed at most of December by the staff where I work--but I don't care. See, in EB it was a christian fantasy kinda Christmas because;

We sold :

2 The Door Within
2 Rise of the Wyrm Lord

(I love this little book passionately, cos it always has issues with printing, selling, being loved)

1The Final Storm

10 Isle of Swords
4 Isle of Fire

(That's 19 books of Wayne Thomas Batson's in twenty-four days for those counting)

2 Eternity's Edge

1 Legend of the Fire Fish

1 Hand that Bears the Sword

1 Battle for Vast Dominion

1 Rise of the Dibor

2 Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow

And then we also sold by Sharon Hinck

2 Stepping into the Sunlight

1 Symphony of Secrets

1 Restorer

So, seeing all those lovely books go to eager readers was very comforting and really, with all the other crap that went on in December, it was a lovely bright spot to think of all the truth, all the love, and all the hard work that was being delivered, enjoyed, and consumed at the last of 2008!

Updates and Other Things

2008-08-04T17:02:00.002-05:00

Ah, God is good.
All the time.

Even when the world is upside down and backwards, especially when the world is upside down and backwards.

My family member who was in the hospital for mental instability is home, and the medication is working better than any of us could have dreamed. Tears are flowing, but this time of thanks, of gratitude, of being undone by His work. This is a chance at a real life for them, this is a chance for life and life more abundantly, for He came, and comes to bring life and not just life which is precious enough when you consider that we were all dead in our sins, but life abundant here on earth, and life everlasting with Him. Gloria a Dios. Somehow that seems more fitting than saying it English, maybe because I remember with great affection the passionate way the Christians in Argentina said it, with all their life and breath and heart behind the words. I am so very grateful, for so many things but for that work in particular.

I am also very weary.

More doctors, more tests, more needles and more lab work for me, not for them. This body of mine, this earth suit that the immortal me wears is hurting. It's not the Designer's fault, see we (that would be all of us) decided that we didn't need Him, and because of that a fatal flaw worked itself into the warp and weave of the suit. It's not immortal, it's decaying around the immortal soul that lives and dwells within it and right now, it's actually attacking itself and undoing the warp and weave at a faster pace than it should. And, because the immortal and the mortal are bound together, I'm hurting.

I'm tired of the dead ends, of the judgments, of the humiliation, and because I am so very tired of it all, I want to hide.

You know, hide?

Oh to be four again and certain that a fort of sheets made me invisible or for a crabapple tree with gnarled branches that could scoop me up and hold me and hide me at the same time.

I don't have bed sheets, or a crabapple tree, but I did find this. And so I'm hiding, I'm hiding in Christ, and hiding in this old hymn.

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

George Matheson

When Boulders Fall Like Rain Drops

2008-07-11T17:09:00.003-05:00

I've never been one much for secrets or for facades, usually what you see is what you get with me. But my family, like all the others in the world I suppose, has some things it doesn't want to broadcast.

I'm well aware of how fast news can travel through churches, how prayer chains often work more like gossip networks, and I also know the sting and ache of judgment which more often than not comes with others knowing that your family (surprise surprise) isn't perfect. So this post is going to be in some places deliberately vague, to protect the privacy and sanity of those directly involved in the current crisis. I do want to share some things because I know that my real friends, the ones that genuinely care, deserve better than to have silence gnaw on their hearts and let the Enemy stretch their minds with all kinds of dark and dire fantasies.

Last Sunday, or July 6th, my family got a call that one of our own had a psychotic episode where he quietly threatened to kill himself if he didn't receive what he demanded. This person's immediate family rallied around them, and took them to the hospital where the attending physician wisely made the decision to admit the person having the episode into the psychiatric wing of the hospital for stabilization and evaluation.

Remember the scene in the movie The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe when Peter signals to the gryphons to start out and they fly in formation, carrying the great chunks of stone in their paws and then they let them go effectively doing to the White Witch's army what Germany was doing to London at the beginning of the movie? Down on the evil hoard came great chunks of stone that couldn't be deflected or reasoned with or persuaded to fall elsewhere. It is still one of my favorite scenes, and I cheer every time I watch it.

This week has felt like we've been on the receiving end of that bombardment. Every day there have been phone calls, sometimes it's nothing but the other half of the family out there, really going through the meat grinder wanting just to be encouraged by the rest of us, and more often than not it's one of them calling in to report on what's going on with the family member in the ward.

Everyone feels responsible, everyone is second guessing themselves from the person's siblings to their parents. On top of this stress comes the stress about paying for their stay, and for the MRI that needs to be done to determine some things. Thankfully the one doctor who is in charge of the others assigned to the individual is working to get the cost lowered, because the insurance won't pay for it.

It's been a long week, and it's really not over yet.

Interestingly enough, the past couple of weeks, close on a month have been pointing in this direction so while the incident came as a shock, the fact that things have changed with this individual that we all love so much, wasn't.

Tomorrow, I'll try and share some of the ways that Christ has been showing up in the midst of the boulders.

I apologize again for the vagueness, but I don't want to hurt my family, just like I don't want to leave my friends in ignorance.

For now,

Scribe.

If only it were true

2008-07-10T16:59:00.002-05:00

I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter.

Blaise Pascal

For those that have been so kind as to make certain that I haven't fallen off the face of the world (kinda hard considering its' round and not flat) I offer my thanks. I'm working on a post that will hopefully be a musing and coherently telling of what has been going on with me though for privacy's sake I can't go into everything. If I were the main character, the primary mover, well then I would let the gates flash open and the whole of the story gush out, tears and blood and puss all mixing. Fortunately and unfortunately I am a bit player in the drama that has taken my family by the scruff of our collective necks and shaken them. Can you have collective necks? Hmm.

I can say that my writing is going well, I'm really enjoying outlining/storyboarding and those closest to me that know as much of the plot as I do have been wonderful in goading me on and making sure I work on it and don't allow myself to be lulled into Summer complacency.

This past week has been especially hard as several vague problems in my family have hardened into darker reality and I find myself in the unenviable position of throwing the boulder sized problem back to Christ. Otherwise, they would crush me. I keep reminding myself that while this world and its' problems are much larger than myself, I serve a Powerful, Tender, Mighty Warrior who is much larger than this world.

My thanks to everyone who has prayed for strength for me and for my family. Even just tucking me in to the tail of your own prayers and asking Christ to bless me with the blessings you ask for your own family, as some have shared they do, means the world to me.

Really more later. Really really. I promise. Scribe's honor ;)

Scribe Reccommends

2008-05-01T19:25:00.002-05:00

1 Peter 3:14-15 The Message.

"Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy."

The italics and the blue coloring are mine, for emphasis.

Wayne Batson started me thinking with his post about Atheism and then of course after digging around forever I managed to remember that scripture. At work, we have a display set up to help people better understand their faith so that they can share it with others.

With Ben Stien's Expelled coming out in theaters we have had people asking for books on Apologetics and Intelligent Design as well as requests for other formats covering the same things (ie DVD and CD) so I thought I would post my own recommendations here for anyone who is interested in this topic.

Books
------
Creation/Intelligent Design

In Six Days by: John Ashton

The New Answers Book :Edited by Ken Ham

The Lie:Evolution by: Ken Ham

Fatal Flaws: What Evolutionists Don't Want You To Know by :Hank Hanegraaff

The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates The Scientific Evidence that Points Towards God. By Lee Strobel.

Apologetics

Mere Christianity by: C.S. Lewis

Slandering Jesus: Six Lies People Tell about the Man Who Said He Was God: By Erwin Lutzer

Soul Cravings by: Erwin McManus

More Than a Carpenter by: Josh McDowell

Escape from Reason by: Francis Shaeffer

The Case for the Real Jesus by: Lee Strobel

The Case for Christ by: Lee Strobel

Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend by: Ravi Zacharias

The End of Reason: Ravi Zacharias

DVDS
------
Creation/ Intelligent Design

See Answers in Genesis Website

Apologetics
DVD-The Case for Christ
DVD-The Star of Bethlehem

Websites:
Answers in Genesis
Star of Bethlehem

Hope that helps anyone who is interested in pressing in further to this topic!

The Play's The Thing

2008-04-23T18:14:00.002-05:00

So I'm still in Ohio :-D for those wondering, though that's not Ohio, that's Megan. I took that yesterday during rehearsal which went powerfully well. That's Prince Hamlet reading the cliff notes version of Hamlet to the Cadburry Easter Bunny. The play is "The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged." And this is the latter half of that play seeing as the front part of it was done last year and had to be delayed due to one of their number, one Eric by name, falling off the stage and breaking his leg.

Remember, it's bad luck to wish anyone in the theater ''good luck'' on the night of the performance and so you tell them to "Break a leg'' instead. Eric took that rather literally and while it was a stunning exit to make, it meant the rest of the play had to be postponed. Here's a visual of Eric

As you can see he's a man of many talents, including but not limited to, ghost busting. Healed up and ready to tackle the second half of the production, Eric stole the spotlight several times from Megan and Amie in turn stole it from him. Basically it was forty five minutes of delight as four hams (Megan, Eric, Aime and Tiffany) took us through a celebration of Shakespeare's best known play and moved from parody to original play, weaving in and out of character. William Shakespeare is beloved for many reasons, but at the heart of his work is the feel that the stories were written for the common man, and because of this people love him to this day. I'll close with some highlights. And I'm still not coming home.

Because Rhu (who is Hamlet and all in black with the Red Light Saber) loves Star Wars so much, it had to make it into part of the parody. That's Aime (Laertes) there impaled on her bright red saber.

There's Tiffany, Amie and Megan taking on the part of Hamlet where all . . .no no pretty much any moment in Hamlet all hades is breaking lose. So that is the final confrontation between Hamlet and his uncle/father/mother(King Claudius and Queen Gertrude) played by Tiffany and Aime's character (Laertes). Ah, but where you ask is the lovely Ophelia? Right here, Eric played her too!

Did I mention that I'm on Vacation?! :-D

2008-04-22T13:43:00.003-05:00

So I've been in Ohio now for three days and I'm pretty sure I'm not coming back home. I mean why would I want to leave a place where they have awesome coffee, incredible ice cream, 65 cent hamburgers, fabulous old houses, friendly people and most importantly a place where I can dispose of the bodies of my enemies!

While they discourage the dumping of bodies and the picking of flora and fauna, they do let you walk through and become saturated with the scents and smells and the feeling of being in a fen (while the sign says bog, it really is a fen). Take a gander at some of the beauty I found within:

DO NOT MISS "EXPELLED"

2008-04-18T20:29:00.003-05:00

I saw Ben Stein's Expelled No Intelligence Allowed today and it exceeded all of my expectations! While it isn't perfect, it's awful close. It asks the question, "What is at the heart of the quashing of any theory that dares to challenge Darwin's Theory of Evolution?" Then, it starts looking for answers, and in the process takes you around the world to learn some interesting things such as:

Scientists in Poland have more freedom to look at Intelligent Design and Darwin's Theories than they do here in America.

Hitler had a link to Evolution and it affected the Holocaust

A black brutal secret of the United States and how 50,000 people were sterilized against their will

The fact that Evolutionists can't tell how life began on earth, they can only offer theories to explain how it has changed.

This movie is only ninety minutes long, but it packs a wallop and in that hour and a half it manages to be funny and poignant as well as eyeopening.

Well done, Ben Stein and Company.

Well done.

Ouch.

2008-04-16T21:19:00.003-05:00

Ever had one of those moments that throw you backwards in your Christian Walk?

Not a few paces, not a half-hearted stumble, and not two steps foreword and one step back. I'm talking nailed you in a place you didn't even know was still raw, sent you head over boots down the hill end over end till you hit the bottom with a thud and couldn't breathe because of the impact for several minutes, kinda moments.

That happened to me yesterday and, like most things that make me stumble, it came out of no where.

I was having a good morning, customers were asking easy questions, I was ticking off the things on my to-do list at a good clip, and the phone wasn't ringing off the hook and making me threaten to pull it off the wall with my bare hands and throttle it to death. It was a good morning. Then, this sweet lady comes in and asks a question and then stops and stares at me and goes "Oh, you are 'insert mother's name here''s daughter." The smile froze on my face and I felt my heart give a tight angry squeeze before it resumed its' normal rhythm. She was one of the women who knew my mother from when Mom was the head of the Interdenominational Intercessors Network, IIN for short. I've been wrestling with resentment and anger since the woman said that. Poor lady, it wasn't her fault and it has nothing to do with her, or really even with Mom. It has everything to do with me, and half a lifetime of some not very pleasant memories.

Ten years, Mom steered that organization through meetings and events and even a short term missions trip. Ten years, I was 'so and so's daughter' at every church I went to, at every event I attended, and even at the book store where I work now, I was known as 'so and so's daughter'. I was watched like a hawk, I was judged, I was put down, I was told how I was to behave, and I was shunned because of who my Mother was.

But my problem with that label goes back further than ten years. Before Mom ran the Interdenominational Intercessors Network, she was head of one of the largest homeschooling networks in the state. She ran that for seven years, and at every event I was 'so and so's daughter' and everyone in the home schooling community knew me as 'so and so's daughter'.

They might not have known my first name, but they knew my Mom.

She did a fantastic job, taking the organization from fifty family to over five hundred families. But it was like living in a fishbowl. Everyone had an opinion about everything that I did, and no one had any problem sharing it with her, or with me. Don't get me wrong, there was a tremendous amount of good that came out of her position too. One thing was the fact that my brother and I learned to set up, break down, pack and unpack because of her leadership position. These are skills that have served me well on a variety of projects, including book signings.

Ten years plus seven years equal seventeen years. Seventeen years of being greeted by "Oh, you're so and so's daughter." Seventeen years of judgment, seventeen years of being measured against the standard my Mother set in their eyes, seventeen years of falling very short.

*sigh*

Weird how one little phrase, even kindly meant, can put you in a whole world of hurt.

Here's what I have been meditating on as kind of a poultice or balm for that ache reopened.

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Isaiah 43:1b-3 NLT.

The italics and blue color are my emphasis in the passage. Christ knows my name. Kinda mind blowing if I stop and think about it, and more mind blowing, He wears a label too, and wears it for me. You see, Christ is my savior. He is the King of Glory, the Great I AM, and He is Scribe's Savior. In His sight, I am judged pure and lovely and righteous all together. Oh, if I could get that into my heart and really really believe it, instead of letting the words run around in my head.

I did not want this ouch, but apparently I needed it because He let it happen, He allowed it to trigger all this muck now kicking around in me.

:-P

On a better note, the outlining is working well, and tightening up very nicely indeed. I've shared some of the stuff now with three of my co workers and all of them are excited and NO ONE IS confused. Go-outlining!

Night all,

A very uncomfortable Scribe

Once Upon a Time. . .PART ONE

2008-04-11T12:26:00.006-05:00

There was a best selling fantasy author who was part tale teller, part swashbuckler, and part teacher. A week ago he came to the store where I work, and brought a long sharp metal pointy thing along just for fun.

This was a good thing, because I had invited him to come and have a book signing at the store and he made time in his busy family/work/adventures/writing schedule to do just that! It was a bit of a rainy night, but the turn out was incredible! I set out roughly 15 chairs and after thirty minutes they were filled and fans were waiting for a sneak peak into the Isle of Swords!

Here are a father and son that are some of my favorite The Door Within fans! For starters, they read the books together and for another they face some unique challenges when it comes to reading anything. It's one that I share with them to some degree.

You know should Thomas Nelson ever do audio versions of his books, I really hope they offer him the opportunity to read them himself! All Door Within fans *MUST* hear him do a dramatic reading at least once in their life time! I've heard him do readings I don't know how many times, and every time I get dragged into his worlds through his words. It's definitely worth coming a great distance to experience the Seanachai employ his craft.

Did I mention that he makes the events all about you guys?! Here's Wayne doing what he does best at a book event, encouraging his fans and sharing some of the behind the scenes stuff you'll never hear unless you hunt him down in person! (He's going to be on the move again soon! Keep watching his blog for updates!)

Oh, and if you ask very very nicely, he might let you hold his sword.

"And here we see best selling fantasy author Wayne Thomas Batson being taken hostage by a lovely young fan."

"And here, a young blood is learning the proper way to hold a cutlass, with tips from a salty dog of unknown origin.''

Pictures!

2008-04-11T09:34:00.003-05:00

Real quick for anyone interested here are links to the pictures of the Maryland Swashbuckling signing that Wayne Thomas Batson had in April.

Store One

Store Two

Store Three

That should do it, check out the Capt'n in all his glory!

Best Definition of Friendship I've Ever Found

2008-03-29T18:41:00.001-05:00

"What is a friend? Friends are people with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with them. They ask you to put on nothing, only to be what you are. They do not want you to be better or worse. When you are with them, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, as long as it is genuinely you. Friends understand those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With them you breathe freely. You can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and vicious sparks, your meannesses and absurdities, and in opening them up to friends, they are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of their loyalty. They understand. You do not have to be careful. You can abuse them, neglect them, tolerate them. Best of all, you can keep still with them. It makes no matter. They like you. They are like fire that purges to the bone. They understand. You can weep with them, sing with them, laugh with them, pray with them. Through it all--and underneath--they see, know, and love you. A friend? What is a friend? Just one, I repeat, with whom you dare to be yourself."

C. Raymond Beran, in Bits & Pieces, September 19, 1991, p. 3-4.

Please Pray!

2008-03-28T20:49:00.002-05:00

Isn't it handsome? I certainly think so, this is the table display for the signing event in the smallest of the three stores. In less than a week, Wayne Thomas Batson will be there from 5-8pm will be there and we will be having an awesome time, despite Bryan Polivka not being able to make it. I have had a dozen problems with this particular event everything from having to revamp the signs to props not showing up at the right time to people not sure that they could make it. There is always cost involved when the store does something like this and I take quite a bit of risk myself telling the owner that it will be fun and profitable. This first signing I'm not too worried about, it's kinda in Wayne's back yard and even the fans with books are going to be coming out to say hi to him, play with the props and revel in the pirate decor. He's going to do a reading from Isle of Fire if we get enough of a turn out and I have some door prizes for those that show up too. Not to mention pirate trivia that we'll have posted and did I mention the props? Yeah, it's going to be a fun time. I sure would love some prayer from you all though, it's been probably the roughest event I've put together to date. Here are some of the others snaps from around the store advertising the event.

That's the front window there, the photo taken from the inside looking out and beside the most awesome Isle of Swords is an early birthday present for me. The rings actually rotate within one another as well as collapse nearly flat. This is the first rotational globe that I've seen which is able to swing and change its' presentation as well as being reasonably priced. Mom bought it while I was drooling over it and then said she thought it would be cool to have as a prop for the signing so would I like it early? I said yes, yes please!

This is from the outside (ignore the dirty window please) looking in at the display. The glare is rather horrible but I am extremely proud of that iron cross there which usually hangs in my room. I thought it did very well to represent the monks in the book which might have had something that plain hanging on the walls in their cells. The gold coins have been a real big hit and everyone wants one. They are cool. Theyappear to be metal until you pick one up and see the minor imperfections and feel the weight of it, then you know it's plastic. The pouch my brother brought back for me from Jamacia when he was there on his missions trip years and years and years ago.

See? Being a pack-rat pays off.

This is the wall behind the front counter, and that ships wheel is mine, it hangs on my wall when not in use as a prop for the signing and the lamp over there is also from my personal collection, purchased to be used as a bookend from Tuseday Morning (TM) for $9.00 on clearance. I liked the nautical look of it, and it feels substancial when you pick it up. Look at all those lovely jewel toned books. They are so reasonably priced in paperback too, just $9.99 retail. And, see those glorious seals? Yup, lost chapter editions.

This is the last photo for tonight, but I had to include it because it's The Rise of the Wyrm Lord that for whatever reason didn't get the cool colored print in the paperback edition and yet the cover is my favorite. Why? Because of all the action taking place there, and I can remember when Wayne did a talk at the local library and had the cover art for we fans to look at and I was so disappointed. On the orginal cover there were these horrid red cat eyes in the cave that made it look so weird and out of proportion and really really B-movie like and then, through the careful words of the Capt'n the art got changed and I was sooooo happy! So, I had to put the little letter opener on it and take a picture.

In conclusion, I would ask that you pray, and pray hard for this week for me and for my store. I am not asking the Lord for number, though that would be cool, and I'm not asking for sales, though that would make my job easier. I'm asking specifically that the Lord open the eyes of the owner and the various managers to the fact that there is a hunger for these type of events, and also that every last person that shows up be blessed by the event in one way or another. Book sales and $$$ are great, but I can't take them into eternity with me. They're props, staging, like the items I used to set up for the event and one day they will be gone. The people who come to the event, they are the real treasure, and they are the eternal beings that will spend all of forever with Christ, or without Him.

Ooooh cool!

2008-03-08T23:37:00.002-05:00

Taken from M-W (Merriam-Webster Online)

descry • \dih-SKRYE\

*1 : to catch sight of

2 : find out, discover

Example Sentence:

Liang descried a bluebird flitting near the edge of the glade.

Did you know?

With "descry" and the more common "decry" ("to express strong disapproval of"), we have a case of linguistic double-dipping. That is, English borrowed from the same French root twice. Both words ultimately come from the Old French verb "decrier," meaning "to proclaim" or "to decry." English speakers borrowed the term as "descry" in the 14th century and used it to mean "to proclaim" or "to spy out from a distance" (as a watchman might) and eventually simply "to catch sight of" or "discover." Meanwhile, in French, "descrier" itself developed into the modern French "décrier" ("to disparage, to decry"). English speakers borrowed this word as "decry" in the 17th century. Be careful not to confuse "descry" and "decry." They may be close relatives, but in modern English they have distinct meanings.

Fingerlings

2008-03-03T00:51:00.000-05:00

Oh! Rhu's remembering sparked my remembering too! (Again)

When we lived in New Jersey, every summer we would travel the three and a half hour from our house to visit our grandparents in Maryland. At that point, our main transport was a Dodge Malibu called "Fat Albert" after the cartoon character Dave and I both loved, voiced by Bill Cosby (Who was and is to this day bar-none the comedian everyone in my family adores. Dad discovered him when he was in I SPY and has been a life-long fan, Mom discovered him in the Cosby Show and entered into the adoring of him, and Dave and I discovered him in Fat Albert and the Gang in reruns and promptly followed suit) and it had seats covered in a pale brown vinyl. Wretched material, created for the sole purpose of torturing children. In the winter when I would wear skirts to school and church it was so cold and slick it was impossible to keep balanced on the seat so that the belt didn't cut into my hips and stomach. In the summer it was worse, skirts or shorts were murder because the backs of my thighs would stick to the vinyl and peeling myself off the seat when we were wherever it was we were going was sheer hell. The worst possible thing however was the summer 3 1/2 hour trip to my Grandparents, because of the vinyl, because Dave and I would be forced into close proximity to one another in a hot, close space, and also because Skipper who was our beloved dog at all times save that car trip would be wedged between us. Unlike neutral Switzerland, Skipper didn't sit peacefully and allow Dave and I to exchange threats. He was a hyperactive Germany intent on escaping the car by any means, including windows, and sadly Dave and I each possessed a window in our territory of the backseat. He continually invaded our area, scratching bare legs, slobbering on whatever books we were trying to read or tapes we were trying to get into our personal cassette players to listen to, and also working to sit on our laps with his his hot, smelly, furry body so he could ram his nose out the window and then his skull, and then the upper part of his body, and then jump out and escape.

It was during one of the three and a half our trips that Dave came up with "Fingerlings" which was to be an amusement that like FirstOnes went everywhere with us and we taught to others. Here is how to make a fingerling, if I had a camera I'd give you a visual but here's some simple instructions, and most of you have probably done something similar anyway. So without further ado take one of your hands (it doesn't matter which) and curl up your ring and pinky fingers tight against your palm as if you were going to make a fist, but leave the thumb, the index finger and the middle finger loose. Good! Now, the thumb and the middle finger are the Fingerling's legs, and the index is the head/neck of the creature which if you half close your eyes could perhaps look a little like a brachiosaurus. I said, a little like. *Ahem* Anyway, that is a Fingerling. Our were incredibly curious and mischievous creatures. Right Fingerling would fight left Fingerling and kill it, and then begin to eat the dead Fingerling. Hey, Dave and I got so good with them that they were better than hand puppets. We could show shame, anger, happiness, fear, and a variety of other emotions with our Fingerlings. This game was played a lot in the car, and most especially in boring stores (meaning any that weren't toy stores) where the Fingerlings could explore the racks of clothing, dusty glass shelves and pretty much anything else in the store that wasn't breakable.

The benefits of the Fingerlings were that:
1) We couldn't lose them or leave them behind (they were after all attached to our bodies)
2) Didn't run on batteries
3) Amused us for hours and hours of time and allowed our parents to shop relatively unmolested by "Mom/Dad can I have this/get this

The only down side really was that people who saw our fingerlings often stared as if we were insane. Obviously the benefits outweighed the drawbacks and Dad and Mom encouraged this game for years and years.

Good Memory Jog Rhuness!

More More!

Tagged! If You Read This Consider Yourself Tagged Too!

2008-03-01T00:12:00.001-05:00

Rhu tagged me on my other blog and I had such fun remembering I thought I'd put what I wrote here too. Btw, I don't always post exactly the same thing on each blog, sometimes I'll put an idea or an entry just on the one and not on the other. Xanga gets read more but I love the layout of this one and so, I keep them both. Anyway-enjoy!

Your Longest Running Game Played as a Child

That would have to be one simply entitled First Ones though not First Ones the Movie, sadly. First Ones prime players were my brother David and myself though it often included Lloyd, his best friend when we lived in New Jersey, and Kelly who was Lloyd's sister and my best friend too. First Ones was a game only to be played outside, and was best played in the Summer when the daylight hours were long and there was nothing to keep us from staying out from after breakfast to twilight with only a brief intermission for a scarfed lunch of cheese sandwiches. The gist of the game was this; Dave and I (and Kelly and Lloyd half the time) were the advanced scouts of a people coming to Earth. We were to make notes and take samples and send back the reports and things to the oncoming ships so the others would know what to find when they arrived. We were equipped with hover-bikes (our bikes) which ''flew'' so high over the buildings that they looked , from our point of view, like the pebbles variation in the pavement of our street, and 'pocket recorders' conveniently were invisible to everyone but ourselves. Had you happened upon us during around of First Ones you might have seen our hov-bikes abandoned haphazardly by the curb (we weren't good at landing them all the time) and the two of us or the four of us on our knees, waving our pocket recorders over thick clusters of clover in someone's front lawn. One would be carefully extracting one clover, stem, roots, leaves, everything and even the dirt cluster around it and placing it into a Tupperware (TM) container for further analysis, another would pull out a small and deadly weapon that had been disguised as a squirt gun, and the other two would be making notes in little Mead (TM) spiral bound note books, the kind that our teachers required us to keep in school to keep assignments straight. We collected all kinds of flora and fauna (as you no doubt can guess) as well as insects, interesting rocks, and occasionally small toads or snails. What I remember most about the game is the way we would talk with one another. Here's a rough out of a conversation:

Me: Commander, look what do you think that odd building is sir?" *points to our own house*

Dave: I'm not sure, Captain but I believe it might be an old type of prison or trash dump. Let's go and see, but be careful.

Me: Commander, what is this marvel? *Points to a tree*

Dave: Oh, that is according to our research called a Poodle. The people who live here keep them as pets and sometimes eat them.

Me. Commander, we are being watched, I can feel it. To our bikes!

All cars were enemy craft that were trying to beat us to earth and to stop our ships from coming and we had to race like mad down the sidewalks and to our driveway which was the only place we could transmit to the oncoming ships from, and any people we met were to be smiled at and then immediately mind-wiped with our deadly weapons which had that one other setting. There was 'kill' and there was 'mindwipe' but no stun.

This game could be played anywhere and usually was. We'd play it on our street, we'd play it on Kelly and Lloyd's street which was a cul-de-sac and we'd play it when we came to visit our Grandparents in another state. We played it too with our new friends when we moved. It was hours and hour of fun and we could play it off of our bikes too, we would play it in the wood behind our house and also in the park that backed up to the wood. It was played in the fall and the spring as well, and sometimes if we felt especially bored with snow ball fights and snow men, in the winter, but my richest memories are the ones that took place in the height of the summer when all the world was ripe for imagination it seemed and there were adventures to be had everywhere.

Signing Update (Go away m'lord)

2008-02-27T21:37:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I blogged about what I've been up to for the signing in April, but I'm not posting it here. Anyone interested can hop on over to my Xanga account and read about it there. Certain persons are WARNED that if they LOOK they will RUIN THE SURPRISE. *Ahem*

Anyway, the rest of you go on over if you are interested. I hope to have the MAJOR surprise finished in two weeks and then you'll really want to check back and ooh and ahh over my mad skills. So, here's the mirror for this blog:

My Xanga

Enjoy!

Mr. Rochester & Maximilian

2008-02-27T10:47:00.001-05:00

Ah, blame Rhu for this. She was talking about Mrs. Peach and Mrs. Apple and the fun that she and her friend had (and before her friend, her sister Kari played that game with her) writing letter back and forth as if they were keeping one another abreast of what was taking place during the war. My friend Susanna and I had a similar game involving a Mr. Rochester and Maximilian, his good friend. You can guess what movies we saw before we read the books (why we picked guy characters I don't know, other than it always seemed like the girls never got to have any adventures or fun) but she was Mr. Rochester and I, was the dashing rather younger and more reckless Maximilian. The game started one afternoon when we went to her grandmother's house, I think it was for her or maybe one of her cousins birthday parties, and it was a sleep over. We were bored as they were a kind and elderly pair of grandparents that didn't care much for young girlish squeals or giggling and there were several of us at that age where we wanted to do nothing BUT giggle. So, we were told the best thing to do would be to explore the upper reaches of the house that weren't currently in use. Susanna led the way and I was right behind her, feeling very out of things as her cousins rumbled up behind me.

The rooms were everything that young girls with a vivid imagination could hope for. Hopelessly crammed with brickabrac and dimly lit with white covers over the beds but not over the shelves bursting with curios they wreaked of stories not told. We got the idea then and there of Mr. Rochester and his ill fated love (which is why he was so moody) and Maximilian who was his rich spoiled and devil may-care friend who had girlfriends all over but never really fell in love. She and I whispered back and forth between giggles which annoyed her cousins and the game, that day, had to be shared. We spent most of the rest of the time hiding notes and letter among the unused rooms, some of them printed, others of them written in a 'lavish cursive hand' and some in a cramped brittle script. There was a mystery in those letters to be solved. Mr. Rochester was looking to meet with Maximilian over some enterprise they had taken concerning diamonds. The letters we scattered throughout the upstairs were suppose to be like a treasure hunt, the one linking to the next. The cousins who were older than Susanna and I insisted that Maximilian and Mr. Rochester be described and I hotly protested that men did not 'describe' themselves in letters to one another, but they pressured me and I remember looking in one of the uncovered mirrors set over one of the dressing tables in the room and thinking 'this is so stupid but Max, what do you look like? ' All I could see was myself in the mirror but I remember looking long enough into it to freak the girls out as I said slowly "He's tall, and has dark hair, and grey eyes, and he's always tanned." At the time I didn't know what olive skin was or I'd have said that instead. Oh, and Rhu, he doesn't sound familiar does he?

Anyway I don't remember what I wrote in the letters all that day (between things like the party and meals and stuff) all I do remember is that Susanna and I had to keep writing letters for the others to keep finding and we had to keep spinning the tail out until late in the night when we were allowed to take flashlights upstairs to our rooms, and finally went to sleep. The next morning, I know Susanna and I hid for a while up in the attic because we didn't want to write any more for the others about Mr. Rochester and Maximilian. They were ours and the other girls wanted them to have girl friends and all that and Susanna and I wanted them to have adventures and Maximilian I was certain would have more daring do and less catching swooning maidens.

I do know that Maximilian was always somewhat of a disappointment to me because Rochester was an easier name to write and sounded cooler. And they would call each other "Dear sir, or mockingly "My dear sir" when they started the letters. If they were in peril (Maximilian had a way of getting into scrapes like dungeons flooding with water) the letters would begin "If I am alive after this I will tell you all" and if he were injured he'd "Have gotten this nice nurse to write the letter for me" and often times he'd put in "The ink is rather hard to come by here so I'm using my own blood". Whereas Mr. Rochester would start his letters by saying things like "My dear chap, you can not go on spending money like this" or "Dear sir, I can not condone your actions any longer" or "Hang it all Maxim, now I have to come and rescue you." Ahhhh, good memories. We had so much fun with them.

Thanks for the memory jog, Rhuness.

My HoverCraft is Full of Eels

2008-02-25T21:57:00.004-05:00

Moio sudno na vozdušnoy poduške polno ugrey!

Oh come on, you all know that at some point in your life you've wanted to yell that out in Russian. I mean really, how many times has your hovercraft been full of eels and you've been in frigid Russian waters and desperate to get help from someone but there has been a language barrier? Or maybe like me you've just watched far too much Monty Python's Flying Circus. Well now, this fantastic site can help you with all your foreign language tongue twisting dilemmas.

It is a fascinating site and one that I have spent hours on while working on the Chatter Sheets for work today. I know I know, focus, focus. *Whine* I like and admire Wayne Batson and Bryan Polivka but I'm tired of writing about their writing. Besides, it's for work and I'm doing it off the clock and not getting paid so a little distraction is allowed I think.

Anyway, if you seek distraction or want to dive deeper in the glory of different languages check out www.omiglot.com

But plan to stay there for a while when you do go.

~Scribe

Touching History 128 years old

2008-02-23T22:49:00.003-05:00

Mom found this today going through a box of old photos, and Dad and I were in awe as well as rather moved. It's my great-great grandfather's petition for citizenship here in the United States. And it's dated 1880.

Chatter Sheets

2008-02-18T22:55:00.002-05:00

I am tired, today was not kind in any way other than it has agreed to end.

I am currently writing chatter sheets for the upcoming event and doing my level best not to sound like the AP updates that scroll across the bottom of the news feed on the cable channels. Bryan and Wayne were very nice and got back to me ASAP about when they are available which makes my job easier, but I fear I'm still sounding dull as ditch water about the two of them and that is not my intent. Ah well, my coworkers can make them sound better as they talk to the customers. I wish I felt more creative.

All right topic skip!

2008-02-17T14:08:00.003-05:00

I've tried this last week to post my final thought on villains Blue, no less than five times. Twice Windows has crashed (making me hyperventilate until I remembered I backed my writing up on my flash drive) once there was a power outage and twice Blogger has refused to put the post up here. I think, Blueness I'm going to have to e-mail it to you at this rate or better yet, pop by and we'll have coffee and an informal writer's meeting. Anyway, on to other topics because I have received chastisement for not posting as regularly as I have before. Imagine that, tarbs want to know what is going on in my life.

First, writing news/update as demanded. My antagonist has been named (which is a triumph) because I really am weak at naming people. I also know that he's going to be a cross between Iago from Othello and Elijah Price from Unbreakable. I don't mean an exactly 50/50 split of course, I can only snitch so much, but now I have a general frame of reference for how he thinks *AND* what his motivation is and why it is important to the main plot of the story!
Now, in my outlining I can move foreword with things and create the incidents needed to move from point a to b to c to d to e and so on. I can't begin to tell you how much having him roughed in has helped. And for those wondering about my snitching this and snitching that, remember it has all been done before and you can't copyright ideas or plots or archetypes, and writers have been stealing from one another since the time of storytellers. To further your understanding of the legal stealing, I heartily recommend the following books:

The Complete Writers Guide to Heroes and Heroines Sixteen Master Archetypes by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders.

In here not only will you find the 'type' of your character(s) but also how they best interact with other 'types' as well as examples pulled from well known books and movies that help you further understand the ideas.

Theme and Strategy: How to build a strong narrative structure to help your fiction stand tall, run fast, hit hard and soar to success by Ronald Tobias. ISBN # 9780898793925

This book is worth its' weight in gold and is one of the oldest ones in my library. I reference it a lot and it's worth the price for the list of plot summaries in the back. Here, you'll find the 36 master plots that have been around since the time of the Greek playwrights, and possibly before. These are the ones that everyone uses and Tobias helps you to ferret out plot(s) from well known books. If you don't have the resources to buy a copy now, get it from your library and buy it later. (Currently shown as out of print but available through B&N's used section, Amazon's used section, and Alibris)

The Creative Call: An Artists Response to the Way of the Spirit by Janice Elsheimer

This one will challenge, rebuke, and echo Wayne Batson's cry of "Get off your chairs, and create" that he posted this week.

Okay, that's about it for the writing, lettsee what else do I have to report?

Oh, I'm in charge of another author signing, this time with Wayne Thomas Batson and George Bryan Polivka as our featured authors. I've got about six weeks to find props, make props, figure out staging, figure out advertising, and get the staff in three stores primed and ready for the event. And this time, I've sworn I'm not going to let it take over my life as it has before. So far, so good. I'm still working on my story as well as setting up for them.

Mom and I went to the Delaware Museum of Art last Friday and had a blast looking at the Pre-Rafaelite exhibit and the Tiffany Windows which were breathtaking.

This past Friday in an attempt to get more fun in our lives and continuing last Friday's venture into the realm of fun she and I went and saw Fools Gold in the theater and it was rather good, except for a moment of full frontal nudity that had no reason to be in the film at all. I hate that kind of crap. But really, the movie was well written and had some strong themes woven throughout, I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I'm going through and point-outlining it as an exercise to see just how the writers put it together.

And now, I'm going to go and be fascinated by Cyrillic alphabets.

~Scribe

If you want to study someone who knows villans. . .

2008-01-21T21:19:00.000-05:00

Pick up George Bryan Polvika's Legend of the Fire Fish and watch for a character named Talon. Also worth mentioning is the sequel to it, The Hand That Bears the Sword, and the book that tells how it all ends The Battle for Vast Domain. You can interact with the author too at

www.nearingvast.com

as well as meet other fans and get immersed in the world Bryan's created.

Right, well back to what I do with villains. And yes tarbs, today is not ''tomorrow'' as promised but you all know what happened, life hijacked me at knife point.

Right now I am still held hostage. I'll try and finish the thought on villains on Wednesday as its' my day off. For now, go read Bryan's books and see how a Master storyteller give a villain a heart.

Villians, Neer Do Wells, Bad Guys, Misguided Individuals Part 2

2008-01-14T21:11:00.000-05:00

Crawl inside a villain, try one on for fit, wear one out in public, it won't hurt a bit!
Listen to one's heartbeat, hear one sigh at night, poor misguided guy, he never wins the fight!

Okay tarbs* I'm back as promised with part 2 on the black hats!

I'm sure you've heard it in some movie---a whiny actor asks the director "What's my motivation?"---and most people roll their eyes or worse because it's such a cliche'. It's not as irritating a question as it might seem, motivation is important.

As Christians we are to examine the motives of our heart (what moves it to act) and to see if they line up with the Bible. As writers we have to examine the motives of our characters(what moves them to act) and see if they line up with their roles. The best motives for villains are pulled from the darker side of human nature. Here's a short list.

Wrath
Greed
Sloth
Pride
Envy

Consider a character who is rounding whole families up and putting them in ghettos, dividing them from the rest of the population of their country.

That's the action, now what's the motive behind it?
Easiest way to figure that out, because the reader is going to be doing the same thing, is to ask why are they doing that action?

-it could be that they have a personal grudge against this people group. Motive-Wrath

-it could be that they wanted the land these people were occupying. Motive-Greed or Envy

-it could be that by putting the people in the area they hope to have one of them discover the area's secret. Motive-Sloth

-it could be that they think these people are ruining the city with their low class ways and so move them to one quarter where they will not be seen. Motive-Pride.

Right so you get the idea, nail down the motive behind the actions and it will help you flush out the character of the antagonist. By the way, this works with the protagonist too. But this, this is the flaw or the broken part of the villain that is buried way down deep inside, tomorrow I'll go into what you wrap around that to make the core of your bad guy.

* take the 's' away and read it back to front. ;) You know who you are.

Villians, Neer Do Wells, Bad Guys, Misguided Individuals Part 1

2008-01-13T18:21:00.000-05:00

Hullo all you tarbs* in aspiring authordom, this post is just for you. I've had three of you ask in less than a week "How do you write your villains?"

I haven't been published recently, but if you really are that curious, I'll go ahead and show how I do it. Mind you, there are other published authors that can give better advice but here's how I go about it.

Let's start with the words that define the black-hats, because it's fun to know the vocabulary regarding the doers of evil deeds. The technical term for anyone dead set against the hero of your tale is antagonist. Merriam Webster defines that title as 1." one that contends with or opposes another''. You can see that the word antagonize has the same root that antagonist does. Villains are also called adversaries, or enemies when referenced in the same breath as the hero. Oh and if you want to sound like you know what you're talking about when discussing what you do with people who don't write, you can always reference the hero as the protagonist.

Now, back to the bad guys.

In most people's minds bad guy=evil and dark with nothing at all redeemable about them. I don't think about them this way. In my mind, the line between antagonist and protagonist is rather thin. After all, from the perspective of the villain, the hero is the ''bad guy''. No self respecting antagonist sees the hero as the hero.

When I start writing the antagonist, I ask myself some questions:

1) What do they hold most dear?

They've got to have something they can lose to get them to act to keep it, whether it's plans of world domination, a girl/guy they love, a peanut brittle factory, it has to be something of value to them.

2) How is the hero threatening this?

It's a given that they are, because there is has to be something they both want and only one can have, that's what generates the conflict. If it helps, keep in mind the tip off in a basketball game. Both teams want the ball, only one is going to get it.

Maybe they both want to rule the world, or are both in love with the same person, or have a chance at the perfect peanut brittle recipe.

3) Could it be said that the hero in this story is really the antagonist of the villain?

Now I just said that from the villain's perspective that is true, but this question makes me check and make sure they are loggerheads with one another. Mediation isn't going to work and neither is compromise.

All right, that's all for right now. Tomorrow, getting inside the skin of your villain!

A Small Mound of Stones

2008-01-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

For anyone who was wondering, this qualifies as 'later in the week'. Ugh. I could list new grievances and irritations, but I have decided that I'm not going to do that. Instead I am going to catalog all of my blessings as an act of worship and to remind myself that while the waters are raging, they haven't come over my head. Here are some in no particular order.

I won the Suspense Technique ''Trail of Breadcrumbs'' on Wayne Batson's site
with my entry featuring everyone's favorite Archivist of mine, Mynasthoa.

I really loved every last one of the challenges/assignments whether I could pull something together for each one or not. Some of them exposed a weakness that ran so deep through my skills that I nearly hated m'lord for putting his finger on it (hey, I'm being honest and I did say nearly) and others were fun from beginning to end. Out of all the ones that I did, the one with Mynas meant the most to me and I kept thinking "If I just win one, let it be that one. Let that be my 'at bat' where I slam the ball out of the park. Please." When he and his lovely lady wife agreed that it was the front runner of the pack I was more than delighted, I was encouraged. Right then, I needed to be.

Someone who had been praying for me called me up and said "I don't know if this makes any sense to you or not, but the Lord has impressed on my heart that you are really living "The Silver Chair" by Lewis. I know that this is a little odd sounding but. . .He's really put it on my heart that is where you are this year. And that He loves you, be faithful, endure, press on."

I sobbed, because I have. I have been living that book this year, and I have been telling Him how much I feel stuck in it, just like Jill and Eustace.

I keep forgetting what He's told me, I keep doubting, I keep getting caught up in the pleasures of the world, in all the good things it can offer, I keep missing signs, and I keep failing.

Only He knew that, I hadn't told anyone else, yet here was this dear friend praying for me, and He showed that to her, and she called and told me.

My friend Rhu came out to visit in December on a Thursday(half day) Friday (all day) , Saturday(went home early in the morning) type thing. I was so jazzed about her visit, I was giddy for a week before--Christmas was coming early! The most awesome part was she was just as jazzed. We talked and IMed and schemed the week before she came out like we were eight year olds! That lovely shivery stomach feeling you had as a kid before Christmas or vacation or your birthday? I had it all week! When she finally got here I think we talked and wrote non stop, occasionally eating and perhaps drinking. Our sentences spilled over one another and it wasn't as if we were completing each others thoughts as much we were playing a friendly game of 'top this' and ideas rolled like avalanches down from our brains to our pen nibs. M'lord came in to where I work to sign copies of Isle of Fire the day that she'd arrived safely at my house. I'd just called home and talked to her when he started signing. I was practically hoping up and down I was so excited, and I'm sure he and his lovely-lady wife who came in as well, thought me quite mad. I was. Mad with happiness.

So, there is the beginning of my blessings, recognition of talent, conformation that the Lord is with me though I stumble about in the darkness unable to see Him or hear Him clearly (the fault of which lies with me) and the fellowship of a friend who has been true and solid and unchanging in her friendship now for seven years.

There are my stones, mounded up, lest I forget what the Lord has done for me.

Scribe Lives Scribe Loves Scribe Outlines

2008-01-01T19:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who emailed or rang to see what in the name of all that made sense happened to me. I can't remember who I've told what, so think of this as a massive information drop that will hopefully will enlighten those who know nothing and bring up to date those that talked to me the third week of December.

Around the first week of December something happened at work that necessitated involving the local police. The repercussions of that are still being felt, but the long and the short of it was that my work schedule was shot to pieces because of what happened, and I nearly got the chance to take a polygraph test. Anyway, after that lovely excitement I came into work two weeks ago and was told by one of the managers that a co-worker of mine, one that I am extremely close to though she is from a more mature generation, lost her husband the day before.

I was dumbfounded. I couldn't think, couldn't talk, could only feel this really suffocating constricting of my throat and heard my pulse thrashing through my ears. He'd been doing badly earlier in the year but he'd turned the corner, he'd been making great progress, everyone was rejoicing and then--he was dead. If I hadn't been at work, I'd have screamed. As it was, I cried through my entire shift and wanted nothing more than to go home. Thankfully as busy as it was (Christmas time, and seeing as I worked with her we all were desperately scrambling to cover her shift hours), I was able to attend one of the viewings the next evening and there I saw why it is so desperately important to have fellow Christians around.

My friend was literally being carried through the event. People clustered around, family encircling one another, everyone talking about knowing where her husband was, for he too was a Christian. You could just sense the Holy Spirit there, in the hands, in the words, in the tears of the saints that rallied around her.

Hang on, I'm not done yet. One police involved incident and one sudden death at Christmas time was more than enough for me, but the month wasn't over yet. The very next week we had a problem of a technical nature where I work and sorting it out fell to my friend/manager, which put alot of extra work on me because he was busy unsnarling that, so I was coming in early, not getting days off, and just about ready to drop when another coworker unexpectedly had a family member die. This time, it was a daughter-in-law (different coworker) who died the day after Christmas. This too was violently unexpected and again I scrambled to help and covered shifts so she could go down and be with he son, and her granddaughter who is just turning eleven and now has buried and mourned two mothers.

These are some of the reasons that I haven't been around much, and when I have been around I've not felt like posting or sharing anything. I encourage you to go over and check out m'lord's blog and Brian Davis, Christopher Hopper's, and Sharon Hinck's too. They've got some marvelous things going on.

Oh, and for those interested, I've not broken from the outlining, still plodding away and planning and not just writing because I feel like it. It's been just over a month now, and things are still clicking. I'll try and share more later this week.

Ahh, It's nice to be missed. Oh look a thought

2007-12-12T22:56:00.000-05:00

First, yes Eve, lots of people have hit me over the head with books. I just have that bothersome nature which makes people's hands itch to bonk me on the head with tomes.

Second, I am right here, m'lord, now that I'm not dragged pillar to post to see doctor after doctor and of course, now here I am, mired in retail insanity i.e. the last two weeks before Christmas.

Third, awww, it's nice to be missed.

It's been a banner week for fantasy sales in my little corner of the world. I sold 2 Isle of Swords, 2 The Door Within, 1 Rise of the Dibor, 1 The Lion Vrie and then when someone asked if Wayne had finished the sequel to Isle of Swords and I told him that he hadn't, I sold 1 Legend of the Firefish and followed it all off by selling 1 Restorer's Son. Now, as I've been selling the books, I've prayed brightly and briefly for each author--basically asking Christ to continue to bless them, to keep their families, and to let the message behind their words come out loud and clear to the readers receiving them. I mean this literally, as I'm scanning the bar code on the back of the book I'm praying that neat bright little prayer and sending it flashing up into His heart in the three or four seconds it takes to put the book into the bag and hand it to the customer. These aren't eloquent prayers, I'm not sure they're really even grammatically correct, but they are from my heart to His, for them.

Anyway, today I thought I'd share that, and then put out this challenge. The next time you are reading your favorite fantasy author's book, pray for them. Nothing major, doesn't even have to be more than two or three words, but if the Holy Spirit reminds you of this, then pray.

Results are in :)

2007-11-14T20:14:00.000-05:00

After waiting for an hour and a half at the neural ophthalmologists office yesterday with my eyes dilated so wide that there was barely a ribbon of iris left, I was told some of the best news I've had all year.

My depth perception and field of vision haven't changed since this incident.

My optic nerve in the right as well as the left eye are undamaged and look to quote the doctor "beautiful''

My retinas are also undamaged and 'beautiful'

My problem is likely slight trama to the eye in some part resulting in a lingering after image that will resolve itself in time. How much time? That is unknown but seeing as I'm not in danger of losing my sight, I can be patient.