Pick the next Marcher Lord Press novel!

Tweet

By now you may have heard of Marcher Lord Press. Founded by industry veteran Jeff Gerke, the press specializes in speculative fiction from a Christian perspective. So far they've published 9 novels, including their best-selling By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson.

For their Spring 2010 season of titles, they're doing something a little different. Jeff is allowing us, the readers, to choose one of the novels in the next set of books. The contest started several weeks ago as the competition was narrowed down in synopsis contests, and then first chapter contests. Now three contestants remain, and we have until New Year's Eve to vote! The winner is set to be announced at midnight.

Your vote really does matter. Some of the finalists were chosen by one or two votes.

Here are the three titles currently in the running:

This Side of Eden

Premise: What would the world be like today if no one had ever sinned? Carter Friese is about to find out.

The Sending

Premise: The Garden of Eden holds a 4,000 year old secret. One believer must risk his faith to find it.

The Last Apostle

Premise: Imagine that John, the last Apostle, never died, because nineteen centuries ago Christ sent him on a special mission.

Click here to download the full synopses and sample chapters of the finalists.

And then head here to cast your vote! You do have to become a member of the message board, but it's really quick and easy. Click on "Marcher Lord Select" and then "Phase 4 Poll for Main Contest".

I voted for "The Sending". The author, Matt Koceich, is a friend of mine. His wife, Cindi, even took all my author photos at the Writing for the Soul conference last year.

An Unexpected Reading Delight

Tweet

I'm no sci-fi buff, but I've always had hints of interest in the genre. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much of it in the CBA market. That's soon to change thanks to Marcher Lord Press and Splashdown Books.

Kathy Tyers is one of the founding mothers of it in the CBA. I didn't know this when I picked up Shivering World, one of her stand-alone novels. I started reading the novel in a hotel room about a year ago but never got past the first few chapters. It wasn't because the story wasn't good, but I was trying to read a sci-fi novel with the same speed I read a thriller. I ended up glossing over much-needed information.

So after meeting Kathy Tyers at the Christian Writers Guild's Writing for the Soul conference this past February, I picked the novel up again. This time I read it differently. I made myself slow down and read every single word carefully. And suddenly I found myself on Goddard, a planet far far away. I had no trouble immersing myself in Tyers' world this time around. True, some of the scientific aspects still went over my head (as they would in real life too), but it didn't diminish my enjoyment. There's suspense, romance (not overdone), and humor. I loved how this isn't just a clean sci-fi novel. It's also refreshingly honest about God and faith. Even on another planet, we need a Savior.

Unfortunately, Shivering World is out of print, but it's still available used. I highly recommend you pick up a copy if you have any inclination for sci-fi. I've been told Kathy's Firebird Trilogy is fantastic too, so I'm planning to pick up those soon!

Here's a summary I found of Shivering World on Kathy's website:

When Gaea Consortium offers Graysha Brady-Phillips a tour of hazard duty on a raw pioneer planet she leaps at the chance, even though her predecessor died -- a victim of either the savage weather outside the domes or the fanatic population within. But Graysha isn't on Goddard just to collect triple pay. She’s trying to save her life. The colonists' radical -- and illegal -- science just might offer Graysha a cure for the genetic disease that's slowly starving her at the cellular level. But Goddard's terraforming pioneers, pursued by the Eugenics Board for gene tampering and battling Gaea Consortium for their very survival, are naturally suspicious of outsiders -- especially someone connected to the two organizations that are trying hardest to destroy them. The settlers think Graysha's a spy. Graysha thinks the settlers are trying to kill her. They're both right. And the fate of their planet hangs in the balance.