Kristin Janz

Tag: Donald S. Crankshaw

  • Welcome to the Mythic Orbits blog tour!

    Today I have a guest post from Travis Perry, the editor and publisher of the Mythic Orbits anthology series (Volume 2 of which includes my story “The Workshop at the End of the World” and my husband Donald S. Crankshaw’s “Her Majesty’s Guardian”). This is part of the Mythic Orbits blog tour.

    The full schedule for the blog tour appears at the bottom of the post, so if you’re interested in reviews, interviews with Travis and some of the authors, and some additional reflections from Travis on the kinds of stories that appear, be sure to check out some of the other stops on the tour!

    Mysterion (the online magazine Donald and I publish) will be running an interview with Travis on October 15th as part of our regular interview feature.

    About Mythic Orbits

    You might be wondering what in the world “Mythic Orbits” refers to. I’m not sure if it will help reassure you to tell you the name Mythic Orbits was simply intended to suggest both science fiction and fantasy and to identify these books in a distinctive way, along with any that follow after in the series.

    Just as these anthologies represent a wide variety of genres, there is no common theme to these tales, though the subject of empathy or lack thereof does come up in them repeatedly. This is most definitely not an anthology about orbits which are somehow mythical.

    These anthologies are a showcase for the best stories submitted in the general field of speculative fiction by Christian authors. They represent a wide variety of genres, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal.

    The main goal of these anthologies was to demonstrate that Christian authors can write speculative fiction well. Stories with a wide range of appeal are included here, mostly serious, some with humor, some with “happy endings” and others clearly not so happy. All of them worth reading.

    Some of these stories feature Christian characters in speculative fiction worlds, some make use of Christian themes either subtly or overtly, while some have no discernible connection to Christianity at all. Christian authors are featured in this collection rather than specifically Christian-themed stories.

    So, is it widely known all over the world that Christians write speculative fiction?

    Well, clearly Christians who themselves are speculative fiction writers know what they write. But does everybody else?

    Especially when we’re talking about theologically conservative Christians, Evangelicals of some sort, professed Bible-believing Christians, do people know about their works? Is it legitimate for people to wonder if writers with personal convictions along these lines produce speculative fiction, that is, science fiction and fantasy and related genres like LitRPG, paranormal, and horror?

    These books provide an answer: Not only do Christian writers produce speculative fiction stories, they write some great ones.

    Enjoy these examples!

    Travis Perry (Editor and Publisher) Travissbigidea.blogspot.com http://bearpublications.com/

    Mythic Orbits 2016

    Description:

    Fourteen of the best speculative fiction stories by Christian authors, spinning science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal genres into worlds of intrigue and delight. Featuring “Graxin” by Kerry Nietz, author of Amish Vampires in Space and A Star Curiously Singing, Mythic Orbits 2016 has something for every speculative fiction fan.

    Mythic Orbits Vol. 2

    Description:

    In a series praised by Tosca Lee, Kathy Tyers, and Kerry Nietz, this anthology of eleven speculative fiction stories by Christian authors shines in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and LitRPG genres. Featuring Kat Heckenbach’s “Mark the Days,” this collection has something for every speculative fiction fan.

    Featured Authors & Links:

    Mark Venturini (Mythic Orbits 2016) https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Venturini/e/B00G14LU1W

    Jill Domschot (Mythic Orbits 2016) http://jilldomschot.com/

    Richard New ( Mythic Orbits 2016) http://www.richardnewauthor.com/

    Kirk Outerbridge (Mythic Orbits 2016) https://www.amazon.com/Kirk-Outerbridge/e/B002RXBRUK

    Cindy Emmet Smith (Mythic Orbits 2016) https://www.amazon.com/Cindy-Emmet-Smith/e/B00GFY8IF4

    Lisa Gefrides (Mythic Orbits 2016) https://www.lisagodfrees.com/

    L. Jagi Lamplighter Wright (Mythic Orbits 2016) http://www.ljagilamplighter.com/

    Joshua M. Young (Mythic Orbits 2016) https://www.amazon.com/Joshua-M.-Young/e/B00OM8RLJE

    Matthew Sketchley (Mythic Orbits 2016) https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15611197.Matthew_Sketchley

    R. V. Saunders ( Mythic Orbits 2016) http://bearpublications.com/our-authors/ Sherry Rossman (Mythic Orbits 2016) https://sherryrossman.com/

    Kerry Nietz (Mythic Orbits 2016) https://www.nietz.com/ Linda Burklin (Mythic Orbits 2016 & Vol. 2) https://steadfastscribe.wordpress.com/

    Kat Heckenbach (Mythic Orbits 2016 & Mythic Orbits 2) http://www.katheckenbach.com/

    Steve Rzasa (Mythic Orbits 2) https://www.steverzasa.com/

    Donald S. Crankshaw (Mythic Orbits 2) www.donaldscrankshaw.com

    CW Briar (Mythic Orbits 2) http://www.cwbriar.com/

    Cindy Koepp (Mythic Orbits 2) https://ckoepp.com/

    C. O. Bonham (Mythic Orbits 2) http://www.cobonham.com

    Kristin Janz (Mythic Orbits 2) https://kristinjanz.com

    William Bontrager (Mythic Orbits 2) https://soundcloud.com/william-bontrager

    A. K. Meek (Mythic Orbits 2) http://www.akmeek.com/

    Keturah Lamb (Mythic Orbits 2) http://keturahskorner.blogspot.com

    Blog Tour Schedule

    Oct. 7th–C.O. Bonham (kick-off) www.cobonham.com

    Oct. 8th–Kristin Janz (spotlight) https://kristinjanz.com

    –Travis Perry (Empathy or lack thereof in Mythic Orbits) Travissbigidea.blogspot.com

    Oct. 9th–Josh Smith at The New Authors’ Fellowship (review) newauthors.wordpress.com

    Oct. 10th–L. Jagi Lamplighter (guest post by Cindy Koepp) http://www.superversivesf.com/

    –Julia Menard (interviews/spotlight) https://writersblockandapotoftea.wordpress.com/

    Oct. 11th–Sherry Rossman (guest post by C.O. Bonham) https://sherryrossman.com/

    –Laura A. Grace (interview with C.O. Bonham) https://unicornquester.com/

    Oct. 12th–Kristen Stieffel at The New Authors’ Fellowship (guest post by Cindy Koepp on Gamer Lit) newauthors.wordpress.com

    Oct. 13th–Linda Burklin (review) https://steadfastscribe.wordpress.com/

    Oct. 14th–Laura Storm Hancock (spotlight) https://storystorming.wordpress.com/

    Oct. 15th–Mysterion (interview with Travis Perry) http://www.mysteriononline.com

    –Hillary Koenig (interview with Keturah Lamb) http://www.godlygirlsforgod.com/interviews.html

    Oct. 16th–Josh Smith at The New Authors’ Fellowship (interview with Travis Perry) newauthors.wordpress.com

    Oct. 17th–Keturah Lamb (review) http://keturahskorner.blogspot.com/?m=1

    –H.L. Burke (spotlight) hlburkeblog.com

    Oct. 18th–Travis Perry (guest post by C.O. Bonham) Travissbigidea.blogspot.com

    Oct. 19th–Donald S. Crankshaw (review) www.donaldscrankshaw.com

    Oct. 20th–Joshua Young (Mythic Orbits 2 review) http://www.superversivesf.com/

     

  • Mythic Orbits Vol. 2 available on Amazon

    If you’re interested in picking up Mythic Orbits Vol. 2, the new anthology that Donald and I have stories in, the Kindle version is available now on Amazon! (Paperback to follow in a few weeks.)

    Our stories are both reprints from Daily Science Fiction. Mine is “The Workshop at the End of the World”, and Donald’s is “Her Majesty’s Guardian”.

    For only $2.99, you get both those stories, and 9 others by different Christian authors, in convenient e-book form!

    The editor and publisher, Travis Perry, is one of the few people in the Christian speculative fiction world who publishes short stories, so of course because of what we’re doing with Mysterion, we hope to see him succeed (even though his approach to “Christian fiction” is a lot different from ours–we think there’s room for a lot of different ways of engaging with the Christian faith in one’s writing and publishing projects).

  • Mythic Orbits Vol. 2 Release Party tonight!

    https://www.facebook.com/events/432196747273586/

    Donald and I both have short story reprints in Mythic Orbits Volume 2, an anthology that has its official release party on Facebook tonight.

    Fortunately, the editor and publisher, our friend Travis Perry of Bear Publications, doesn’t like long book-release parties anymore than we do. He thinks it will only be about 15 minutes.

    Mythic Orbits is an anthology series Travis does that aims to collect the best short fiction available from Christian authors. It’s a little different than what we’re doing at Mysterion: Travis requires the stories in his anthology series to be written by Christian authors, but not to have any particular Christian content (though they’re allowed to!). Whereas we require Mysterion stories to be about Christianity in some thoughtful and significant way, but not to be written by Christians (though again, they can be!).

    The book release party is at 8 pm Central time tonight (Friday, July 27th)/9 pm Eastern. Donald and I will probably be there (online). If you’re interested in learning more about the 11 stories in the anthology, please stop by!

    My contribution is “The Workshop at the End of the World”, which originally appeared in Daily Science Fiction in December 2015.

  • Table of Contents Announcement

    Donald S. Crankshaw and I are pleased to announce the Table of Contents for our forthcoming anthology Mysterion: Rediscovering the Mysteries of the Christian Faith. Authors include Nebula nominees Beth Cato and Kenneth Schneyer, plus 18 others, newcomers and veterans alike.

    “The Monastic” by Daniel Southwell
    “When I Was Dead” by Stephen Case
    “Forlorn” by Bret Carter
    “Too Poor to Sin” by H. L. Fullerton
    “Golgotha” by David Tallerman
    “A Lack of Charity” by James Beamon
    “Of Thine Impenetrable Spirit” by Robert B. Finegold, MD
    “A Good Hoard” by Pauline J. Alama
    “Yuri Gagarin Sees God” by J. S. Bangs
    “Confinement” by Kenneth Schneyer
    “The Angel Hunters” by Christian Leithart
    “Cutio” by F. R. Michaels
    “St. Roomba’s Gospel” by Rachael K. Jones
    “Yuki and the Seven Oni” by S. Q. Eries
    “A Recipe for Rain and Rainbows” by Beth Cato
    “This Far Gethsemane” by G. Scott Huggins
    “Ascension” by Laurel Amberdine
    “Cracked Reflections” by Joanna Michal Hoyt
    “The Physics of Faith” by Mike Barretta
    “Horologium” by Sarah Ellen Rogers

    We received over 450 submissions, out of which we accepted only 20, turning away many stories that we both would have loved to include.

    The anthology should be out sometime this summer; in the meantime, you can pre-order through our Patreon site, and/or subscribe to the Mysterion newsletter for more frequent updates.

  • Donald’s in Nature!

    Um, with a science fiction story, not a scientific publication.  Nature publishes short science fiction pieces at the end of each issue, and they’re also available online.

    This one outlines the rights and privileges available to members of Local 623 of the Fraternal Order of Mad Science Assistants, Test Subjects and Abominations.

    For grammar geeks, I’m not sure whether it was Donald or Nature who chose not to use the Oxford comma.

  • Another story from Donald in Daily Science Fiction

    My husband Donald has another story out in Daily Science Fiction, this one a short, humorous piece about dragons in Hollywood.  You can read it here!

  • Donald’s story in Black Gate

    The first part of my husband Donald’s short novel “A Phoenix in Darkness” is up at Black Gate now.  Black Gate used to be a print magazine, but like so many others these days, it recently switched to an online format, publishing short fiction on its website.  They specialize in “adventure-oriented fantasy fiction”–exactly the sort of thing that Donald and I most enjoy reading.

    “A Phoenix in Darkness” has the perhaps dubious honor of being the longest piece of fiction Black Gate has ever published.  Being married to the author, I’ve read the story before, but it’s been a pleasure re-reading it.

    Since it’s so long, Black Gate is releasing it in three parts.  Part two will appear next Sunday, part three a week after that.  If you enjoy epic fantasy with swords and magic (and zombies!), check it out!