Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour

Tour Participants,

Our June CSFF Blog Tour for Tom Pawlik’s Vanish is Monday, June 22 through Wednesday, June24. Participants are encouraged to post all three days. Please remember to ping Technorati after you post: http://technorati.com/ping . Thanks bunches.

Here are the links you’ll need (the asterisk indicates those that are required).

*Featured book, Vanish - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414318936
*New release, Valley of the Shadow - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414326793

Tom Pawlik’s Web site - http://www.tompawlik.com/
Tom Pawlik’s blog - http://www.tompawlik.com/blog.htm

*Participants’ Links:

<a href=”http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com“> Brandon Barr</a>
<a href=”http://fantastyfreak.blogspot.com/“> Justin Boyer</a>
<a href=”http://www.AdventuresInFiction.blogspot.com/“> Keanan Brand</a>
<a href=”http://gracebridges.blogspot.com“> Grace Bridges</a>
<a href=”http://www.kcreviews.blogspot.com“> Karri Compton</a>
<a href=”http://www.the160acrewoods.com/“> Amy Cruson</a>
<a href=”http://csffblogtour.com/“> CSFF Blog Tour</a>
<a href=”http://word-up-studies.blogspot.com“> Stacey Dale</a>
<a href=”http://www.scificatholic.com/“> D. G. D. Davidson</a>
<a href=”http://scriptoriusrex.blogspot.com/“> Jeff Draper</a>
<a href=”http://projectinga.blogspot.com/“> April Erwin</a>
<a href=”http://virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com/“> Karina Fabian</a>
<a href=”http://alexanderfield.blogspot.com/“> Alex Field</a>
<a href=”http://bethgoddard.blogspot.com/“> Beth Goddard </a>
<a href=”http://anewnovelistsjourney.blogspot.com“> Todd Michael Greene</a>
<a href=”http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/“> Ryan Heart</a>
<a href=”http://www.christopherhopper.com“> Christopher Hopper</a>
<a href=”http://www.faithfiction.blogspot.com/“> Joleen Howell</a>
<a href=”http://jessebecky.wordpress.com/“> Becky Jesse</a>
<a href=”http://crisjesse.wordpress.com“> Cris Jesse</a>
<a href=”http://www.molcotw.blogspot.com/“> Julie</a>
<a href=”http://carolkeen.blogspot.com/“> Carol Keen</a>
<a href=”http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/“> Krystine Kercher</a>
<a href=”http://cherryblossommj.blogspot.com“> Margaret</a>
<a href=”http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/“> Rebecca LuElla Miller</a>
<a href=”http://www.questwriter.blogspot.com/“> Eve Nielsen</a>
<a href=” http://linalamont.blogspot.com/“> Nissa</a>
<a href=”http://www.leastread.blogspot.com/“> John W. Otte</a>
<a href=”http://otter.covblogs.com/“> John Ottinger</a>
<a href=”http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/“> Donita K. Paul</a>
<a href=”http://epicrat.blogspot.com“> Epic Rat</a>
<a href=”http://ansric.blogspot.com/“> Steve Rice</a>
<a href=”http://prochristroetlibertate.blogspot.com/“> Crista Richey</a>
<a href=”http://hannaslifeiscool.blogspot.com/“> Hanna Sandvig</a>
<a href=”http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/“> Chawna Schroeder</a>
<a href=”http://www.jamessomers.blogspot.com/“> James Somers</a>
<a href=”http://specfaith.ritersbloc.com/“> Speculative Faith</a>
<a href=”http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/“> Rachel Starr Thomson</a>
<a href=”http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php“> Robert Treskillard</a>
<a href=”http://christiansf.blogspot.com/“> Steve Trower</a>
<a href=”http://frederation.wordpress.com“> Fred Warren</a>
<a href=”http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/“> Phyllis Wheeler</a>

Have fun!

Becky

Welcome to our newest member! Head on over to her blog and say hello.

Author : Dona Watson
URL : http://www.fantasyandfaith.com

CSFF’ers,

June Tour.
Some of you have experienced a problem receiving your review copy of Vanish, our June feature. The Tyndale PR rep and I have gone over everything, and we can’t find the glitch. Tyndale graciously reshipped some books, but by the time I learned of others that had not yet received a copy, it was too late for the tour to have another sent. As you can expect, I’m disappointed. If you were planning on participating in the tour but did not receive a review copy, you have several choices. 1) You can participate in the tour by posting about the author, his Web site, reviews you read at Amazon or elsewhere. Or anything else you can think of that would help create buzz for the book. 2) You can opt out this month. 3) You can post the links and then write and post your review at a later date, should the book finally arrive.

We are, of course, talking about Vanish by Tom Pawlik (Tyndale). The tour begins Monday, June 22 and runs through Wednesday, June 24. Don’t forget the importance of including the book link I give you though you are free to include another Amazon link as well.

For those of you new to the tour, you may wish to take a moment to check out the information I learned through Technorati about increasing blog traffic: http://csffblogtour.com/?p=302 .

As always, we encourage you to participate in the tour all three days with your own posts and with comments to other participating blogs. Those members who requested a review copy of the book are expected to write a review (unless your book didn’t arrive), though as you know, we ask for your honest opinion, not token approval. Chances are, with most books, there is something to like and something to critique. Reviews, like fictional characters, are most believable if they are balanced.

Another reminder: those who are able to post each day will be in the running for the CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award. We had a tie last month. After the tour, be sure to take time to vote in the poll at A Christian Worldview of Fiction for the blogger that posted your favorite three articles.

Opting in and Out of the Tour.
Even if you have indicated your plans to me in a previous email, please take time to Opt In or Out if you are changing your status this month (this allows me to send out an accurate list of participant links).
OPT OUT of the tour if you participated last month but will not participate this month.

OPT IN If you did not participate in May but plan to participate this month.

Do nothing if your status is unchanged.

Deadline for changing your status by opting in or out is Saturday morning, June 20.

Links.
This is a unique tour. We chose to feature Vanish because it is the initial book in the series, even though the second book, Valley of the Shadow just released in May. Consequently I’d like each of us to link to both books. The book link you will be required to post for Vanish is http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414318936 and for Valley of the Shadow is http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414326793

Optional links you may wish to include:
Tom Pawlik’s Web site - http://www.tompawlik.com/
Tom Pawlik’s blog - http://www.tompawlik.com/blog.htm

I will provide you with the participants’ links no later than Sunday. Be sure to include these at least once in the body of your blog OR update your sidebar to show the June participants.

Schedule.
At present, our schedule for the coming months is as follows:

*  June 22-24 – Vanish by Tom Pawlik (supernatural suspense)
*  July 20-22 – The Enclave by Karen Hancock (adult science fiction/fantasy)
*  August 17-19 – Off World by Robin Parrish (adult science fiction)
*  September – The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita Paul (YA fantasy – tentative)
*  October – Haunt of Jackals by Eric Wilson (adult supernatural suspense – tentative)
*  November – Curse of the Spider King, Book 1 of The Berinfell Prophecies by Wayne Thomas Batson/Christopher Hopper (YA fantasy – tentative)
*  December – Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter (HarperCollins Children’s Books) by R.J. Anderson (general market middle grade fantasy – tentative)

Looking forward to another great tour.

Becky

Hi All,

I’m tardy with this first offer related to Karen Hancock’s July tour. Bethany House Publishing’s Internet marketing manager asked if anyone wanted an extra copy of Enclave to offer on your site as a give-away during the tour. My review copy just arrived yesterday, by the way, so you should be getting yours soon if it hasn’t already reached you. Anyway, if you’d like a give-away copy of Enclave in addition to the review copy, please send the book title along with your name and address no later than 9:00 (Pacific time), Tuesday, June 16.

And for August, our administrative team decided to feature Robin Parrish’s adult science fiction, Off World. (I can see all you sci fi fans jumping right out of your desk chair and doing your cartwheels right now! If you would like a copy of Off World for review please send me the book title (to avoid confusion), your name, and address no later than 9:00 (Pacific time), Tuesday, June 16. Since Bethany also publishes this one, I suspect there may be give-away copies available. In case this is an accurate assumption, tell me if you want a second copy as well.

Here’s the line-up for the second half of the year.

*  June 22-24 – Vanish by Tom Pawlik (supernatural suspense)

*  July – Enclave by Karen Hancock (adult science fiction/fantasy)
*  August – Off World by Robin Parrish (adult science fiction)
*  September – The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita Paul (YA fantasy – tentative)
*  October – Haunt of Jackals by Eric Wilson (adult supernatural suspense – tentative)
*  November – Curse of the Spider King, Book 1 of The Berinfell Prophecies by Wayne Thomas Batson/Christopher Hopper (YA fantasy – tentative)
*  December – Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter (HarperCollins Children’s Books) by R.J. Anderson (general market middle grade fantasy – tentative)

Lord willing, I’ll get the Opt In/Out emails to you by Wednesday next week.

Looking forward to a great summer of reading and book talk.

Becky

CSFF’ers,

After a run-off poll, we ended with a tie for the May CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award, so the honor goes to both John Otte and Robert Treskillard for their posts featuring Tuck by Stephen Lawhead. (You can find links to their posts on my blog: http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/2009/05/29/god-and-fiction-%e2%80%93-a-look-at-the-shack-part-5/ ) Congratulations to both!

It’s time to gather news for the next issue of Latest In Spec. We’re looking for information specific to speculative fiction, with the idea that whatever appears in Latest In Spec can promote your work as well as the genre. You do not need to be a LIS subscriber to give us your information.

Reminder: we want to avoid repetition. Contests, book releases, and author appearances need pre-event buzz. Therefore, those items may appear more than once. Other items such as blog information, interviews, and reviews should be one-time announcements

* Send your news to Rebecca LuElla Miller: rluellam@earthlink.net by Thursday, June 11, 2009.

Follow the steps below:

1) Identify the category your news fits in.
2) Provide all the necessary news in the correct format as shown in the example. Improper formatting may exclude your item from appearing. (Please be sure to give the EXACT LINK to a blog post).

Categories and examples:

Member Profile (CSFF or LGG)
Up to 250 words about you and your writing, along with a picture.

Favorite Bookstore
Example:
State
Store name
Address
URL (if available)

Author Appearances

Book Signings
Speaking Engagements
Teaching Engagements

Example:
I. M. Author:
Wonderful Little Book Store
City, State
April 7, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Book Releases (include a book that will release within the next 3 months—building pre-release buzz is important)
Example:
Book Title by I. M. Author
Publisher (May, 2009)
The premise of the story in 15 words or less.

Contract News
Example:
I. M. Author with Best Publisher, a three book deal.
Description of book or series.
Fall 2009

Reviews (ones you have done; ones featuring your book)
Example:
Great Fantasy by B. A. Writer – Outstanding Publishing House (April 1, 2009)
Reviewed by Top Blogger at Noteworthy Blog.
Exact Link

Interviews (ones you’ve conducted; ones featuring you)
Example:
Famous Author by Top Blogger at Noteworthy Blog,
Exact Link

What’s on the Web (new web site or new section; genre blog information you wish to announce)
Example:
My Sci Fi Novel book trailer posted at Noteworthy Blog.
Exact Link

Contests
Example:
Imaginary Annual Fiction Contest
First Prize: $00.00
$5.00 Entry Fee. Electronic submission .
Deadline: February 10, 2009
Contest details at Exact Link

Awards
Example:
“My Short Story” by I. M. Author
Semifinalist in Super Contest
Exact Link

Podcasts or Web chats
Example:
I. M. Author’s Web Chat
Topic, guest speaker, or any other special information
Saturday, May 26, 6:00 pm (CET)
Exact Link

And-Then-There-Is-This (Miscellaneous)
Example:
Whatever else you have to announce that doesn’t fit into the other categories.
Any pertinent details.
I. M. Author
Exact Link

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Becky

Welcome our newest member by heading over to her site to say hello!

Krystine Kercher
http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com

CSFF’ers,

Can you believe it? Tour time again. Before we get to the particulars of this month’s tour, I have to ask you. Did you do it? We had such a great tour last month for Blaggard’s Moon, but did you go one step further and post your review on Amazon? Did you comment about your review on Facebook? Did you send an email to a friend telling them to stop by your blog and read what you posted?

Don’t forget, by extending the book buzz, especially about the books you love, you are maximizing the effectiveness of the tour. You are pointing more people to your blog, telling more people about the featured book, and generating more discussion about the genre. It is a win, win, win proposition and takes only a few moments because you’ve already written the posts.

On to the May tour. We’re featuring the adult mythic fantasy Tuck by Stephen R. Lawhead. The tour begins Monday, May 18 and runs through Wednesday, May 20. Don’t forget the importance of including the book link I give you and not some other Amazon link. For those of you new to the tour, you may wish to check out the information I learned through Technorati about increasing blog traffic: http://csffblogtour.com/?p=302 .

As always, we encourage you to participate in the tour all three days with your own posts and with comments to other participating blogs. Those members who requested a review copy of the book are expected to write a review, though as you know, we ask for your honest opinion, not token approval. Chances are, with most books, there is something to like and something to not like as much. Reviews, like fictional characters, are more believable if they are balanced.

Don’t forget, those who are able to post each day will be in the running for the CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award.

Opting in and Out of the Tour.

Please be courteous to the other tour members and OPT OUT of the tour if you participated last month but will not participate this month (making our list of links accurate).

Likewise, If you did not participate in April but plan to participate this month, be sure to OPT IN so I can include your name and link for the list the others will post.

Of course, if your status is unchanged, you don’t need to do a thing.

Deadline for changing your status by opting in or out is Saturday night, May 16 (that means once again I’m only giving you one day!)

Links. The book link you will be required to post for Tuck is http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1595540873 .

An optional link you may wish to include is Stephen Lawhead’s Web site - http://www.stephenlawhead.com/

I will provide you with the participants’ links no later than Sunday. Be sure to include these at least once in the body of your blog OR update your sidebar to show the May participants.

Schedule. At present, our schedule for the coming months is as follows:

* May 18-20– Tuck by Stephen Lawhead (adult mythic fantasy)
*  June 22-24 – Vanish by Tom Pawlik (adult supernatural suspense)

*  July 20-22 – Enclave by Karen Hancock (adult science fiction/fantasy – tentative)

Looking forward to another great tour.

Becky

Welcome to our newest members! Please head on over to their blogs to say hello!

Julie
http://www.molcotw.blogspot.com

Stephanie
http://www.captivated00.blogspot.com

CSFF’ers,

Just a few matters today.

LIS news. Look for a news request later in the week for the next issue of Latest In Spec.

April CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award. After our first ever run-off, congratulations go to Rachel Starr Thomson, who garnered 55% of the vote to secure the April Tour honors. Special thanks to all those who participated in the polls.

Book Buzz. Please consider continuing the discussion. In order for us to have the greatest impact for our genre, we should not stop talking about the CSFF features when the tour ends. Look what one member of our tour did this past month:

From Jennifer Bogart (quoted by permission)

Here are the links

Blogcritics:
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/22/164725.php

My blog (with the tour participant links and official Amazon link):
http://quiverfullfamily.com/2009/04/22/book-review-blaggards-moon-by-george-bryan-polivka/

Also, my facebook auto links, linked on twitter, posted review to Amazon, Christianbook, Chapters, Bookmooch, Librarything.

Great read – thanks!

My question is, who can you tell? Why not take a few minutes and dash off a quick email to three friends telling them about your review or one you read on the tour? If you’re on Facebook or LinkedIn or ShoutLife or any of the other networking sites, consider taking advantage of the opportunity to invite your friends to read what our tour is saying. Remember, you also will benefit as your own blog traffic increases.

Book Offer. I’m pleased to announce we have arranged to tour the adult supernatural suspense Christy Award nomination, Vanished by Tom Pawlik in June. Yes, this gives us less time than usual, but the publisher is willing to work with us. I need to get our PR contact the list of those requesting review copies this week. So if you would like a copy of Vanished by Tom Pawlik for the June tour, to run Monday the 21st through Wednesday the 23rd, please send me your name and a mailing address NO LATER than 9:00 AM (Pacific time) Thursday.

Looking ahead.

*  May 18-20 – Tuck by Stephen Lawhead (adult Celtic myth/fantasy)

*  June 21-23 – Vanished by Tom Pawlik (adult supernatural suspense)
*  July – Enclave by Karen Hancock (adult science fiction/fantasy – tentative)

God’s care.

Becky

It seems we grow every tour!  How exciting.  Welcome to our newest members, please head over to their ‘home’ on the web and say hello!

Emmalyn
URL : http://home.earthlink.net/~wyverns

Canadianladybug
URL : http://canadianladybugreviews.blogspot.com/

Gina Burgess
URL : http://uponreflectionblog.blogspot.com