Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour

Hi, all,

Are the dog days of summer here yet? Hope we can muster up continued enthusiasm for Christian speculative literature and at the same time bring more readers to our individual blogs. Oh yes, we also want to let our readers know about our July feature.

Our tour for Starlighter by Bryan Davis (Zondervan) begins Monday, July 19 and runs through Wednesday, July 21. As usual, those who are able to post each day will again be eligible for the CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award. For those of you that received review copies of the book, please remember to include a disclaimer such as the following: In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

The links you’ll need are as follows (*indicates required links):

*Starlighter – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310718368/ (or an alternate link of your choice)
Author blog – http://dragonsinourmidst.blogspot.com/
Author Web site – http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/

*Participants’ links (paste as is in the body of your post or update the links in your sidebar):

<a href=”http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com“> Brandon Barr</a>
<a href=”http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/“> Beckie Burnham</a>
<a href=”http://jeffchapmanwriter.blogspot.com/“> Jeff Chapman</a>
<a href=”http://blog.rlcopple.com/“> R. L. Copple</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://askandrea.adamsweb.us/“> Andrea Graham</a>
<a href=”http://going-greene.blogspot.com/“>Tori Greene</a>
<a href=”http://www.thehahnhuntinglodge.com/“> Nikole Hahn</a>
<a href=”http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/“> Ryan Heart</a>
<a href=”http://jessebecky.wordpress.com/“> Becky Jesse</a>
<a href=”http://crisjesse.wordpress.com“> Cris Jesse</a>
<a href=”http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/“> Jason Joyner</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://www.momofkings.com“> Dawn King</a>
<a href=”http://www.slygames.net/“>  Leighton</a>
<a href=”http://winningreadings.blogspot.com/“>Jane Maritz</a>
<a href=”http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/“> Rebecca LuElla Miller</a>
<a href=”http://www.leastread.blogspot.com/“> John W. Otte</a>
<a href=”http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/“> Donita K. Paul</a>
<a href=”http://prochristroetlibertate.blogspot.com/“> Crista Richey</a>
<a href=”http://thestuffyouneedtoknow.blogspot.com/“> SarahFlan </a>
<a href=”http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/“> Chawna Schroeder</a>
<a href=”http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/“> Rachel Starr Thomson</a>
<a href=”http://christiansf.blogspot.com/“> Steve Trower</a>
<a href=”http://frederation.wordpress.com“> Fred Warren</a>
<a href=”http://www.fantasyandfaith.com“> Dona Watson</a>
<a href=”http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/“> Phyllis Wheeler</a>
<a href=”http://www.jillwilliamson.com/“> Jill Williamson</a>
<a href=”http://kmwilsher.blogspot.com/“> KM Wilsher</a>

See you on the tour.

Becky

Greetings,

Miscellaneous.
First I want to apologize for the need to pull the book offer for our August tour. One of our administrators has a creative idea for next month, and I’ll fill you in about that after our Starlighter tour.

Second, if you haven’t visited the Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction to check out the introductions of the nominations, I encourage you to do so –  http://clivestaplesaward.wordpress.com/ . I recommend you subscribe to the blog so you’ll be sure to receive the updates and information on the voting. Please continue to inform your readers about this award. Emphasize in particular that this is a readers choice award, not a popularity contest. To be eligible, voters must have read TWO or more of the nominations.

If you ordered a copy of Starlighter please be sure to opt into the upcoming tour if necessary (see current participants’ list at the bottom of this email). You are not required to post a positive review, but by accepting the book you have agreed to participate in the tour.

Starlighter Tour. Our July tour features member Bryan Davis’s Starlighter (Zondervan). The tour begins Monday, July 19 and runs through Wednesday, July 21 (see information below about opting in or out of the tour). Those who are able to post each day will again be in the running for the CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award. Each of you may vote on the poll at my site after the tour to choose the winner.

The links you’ll need are as follows:
*Starlighter – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310718368/ (or an alternate link of your choice)
Author blog – http://dragonsinourmidst.blogspot.com/
Author Web site – http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/

*Participants’ links (available Saturday evening) – must be included at least once in the body of your blog OR updated in your sidebar to show the July participants.

*indicates required link(s)

Also, don’t forget (I usually do at least once during the tour!) the need to meet the FTC “disclosure” policy by including a line in your post such as the following:

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Opting In/Out – Please check the list below for your name.

• IF your name is on the list below and you plan to participate, DO NOTHING.
• IF your name is on the list and you do not plan to participate, OPT OUT by responding with your name and “Opt Out” in the body of the email.
• IF your name is NOT on the list and you plan to participate, OPT IN by responding with your name and “Opt In” in the body of the email.
  

Deadline for notifying me of your opt in/out status is Saturday noon (Pacific Daylight time).

Schedule.
Our schedule for the coming months is as follows:

*  July 19-21 – Starlighter by Bryan Davis (Dragons of Starlight, Book 1, YA fantasy, published by Zondervan)
*  August 23-25 TBA
*  September  –  Venom and Song by Wayne Batson and Christopher Hopper (YA fantasy, Berinfell Prophecies #2, Thomas Nelson – tentative)
*  October – The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead (adult fantasy published by Thomas Nelson – tentative)
*  November – TBA
*  December – The Wolf of Tebron by Susanne Lakin (YA fantasy published by AMG)

Current Participation List.
Those who posted in June (Imaginary Jesus tour) are listed below:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Valerie Comer
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher

Becky

CSFF’ers,

I’m sure those who read our June selection will agree that we’ve never toured a book like Imaginary Jesus before. I’ll be reading your posts with interest to see what you all thought, and I invite our entire membership to check out participants’ blogs this week. (Did you know that leaving comments at other sites helps bring more traffic to your blog?)

As a reminder, our June feature is Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos, starring Matt Mikalatos, and published by Tyndale. The tour begins Monday, June 21 and runs through Wednesday, June 23. As usual, those who are able to post each day will again be eligible for the CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award. For those of you that received review copies of the book, please remember to include a disclaimer such as the following: In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

The links you’ll need are as follows (*indicates required links):

*Imaginary Jesus – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414335636/ (or an alternate link of your choice)
Author blog – http://mikalatos.blogspot.com/
Author Web site – http://imaginaryjesus.com/

*Participants’ links (paste as is in the body of your post or update the links in your sidebar):

<a href=”http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com“> Brandon Barr</a>
<a href=”http://www.AdventuresInFiction.blogspot.com/“> Keanan Brand</a>
<a href=”http://www.splashdownreviews.blogspot.com“> Grace Bridges</a>
<a href=”http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/“> Beckie Burnham</a>
<a href=”http://valeriecomer.com/“> Valerie Comer</a>
<a href=”http://blog.rlcopple.com/“> R. L. Copple</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://askandrea.adamsweb.us/“> Andrea Graham</a>
<a href=”http://going-greene.blogspot.com/“>Tori Greene</a>
<a href=”http://jessebecky.wordpress.com/“> Becky Jesse</a>
<a href=”http://crisjesse.wordpress.com“> Cris Jesse</a>
<a href=”http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/“> Jason Joyner</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://www.momofkings.com“> Dawn King</a>
<a href=”http://www.slygames.net/“>  Leighton</a>
<a href=”http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/“> Rebecca LuElla Miller</a>
<a href=”http://www.leastread.blogspot.com/“> John W. Otte</a>
<a href=”http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/“> Donita K. Paul</a>
<a href=”http://prochristroetlibertate.blogspot.com/“> Crista Richey</a>
<a href=”http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/“> Chawna Schroeder</a>
<a href=”http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/“> Rachel Starr Thomson</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>
<a href=”http://kmwilsher.blogspot.com/“> KM Wilsher</a>

I’m sorry I’m coming in late with these. Hope I didn’t throw a wrench into any of your plans.

Becky

Happy Summer Solstice, Everyone,

Hope you all are enjoying a change of pace as we officially march into summer on Monday.

Miscellaneous.

• The Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction will close the nominations in a few weeks. Then the voting begins.  As I mentioned before, I need your help to alert readers to this award. This year anyone who has read TWO or more of the nominations may participate. Voting will begin in July. Please let your blog readers and friends know about the award. Information is available at  http://clivestaplesaward.wordpress.com/ .

• Congratulations to K. M. Wilsher, our latest winner of the CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award for her posts in our May (By Darkness Hid) tour. In case you missed her posts, you can look them up at http://kmwilsher.blogspot.com/ .

• CSFF member Bryan Davis, author of our July selection, is available for interviews. Contact him at bryan_spam_@_spam_dragonsinourmidst.com (remove the _spam_ from before and after the @ sign) .

• If you ordered a copy of Imaginary Jesus please be sure to opt into the upcoming tour if necessary (see current participants’ list at the bottom of this email). You are not required to post a positive review, but by accepting the book you have agreed to participate in the tour.

Imaginary Jesus Tour. Our June tour features member Matt Mikalatos’s Imaginary Jesus (Tyndale). The tour begins Monday, June 21 and runs through Wednesday, June 23.  Those who are able to post each day will again be in the running for the CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award. Each of you may vote on the poll at my site after the tour to choose the winner.

The links you’ll need are as follows:
*Imaginary Jesus – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414335636/
Author blog – http://mikalatos.blogspot.com/
Author Web site – http://imaginaryjesus.com/

*Participants’ links (available Saturday evening) – must be included at least once in the body of your blog OR updated in your sidebar to show the April participants.

*indicates required link(s)

Also, don’t forget (I usually do at least once during the tour!) the need to meet the FTC “disclosure” policy by including a line in your post such as the following:

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
Opting In/Out – Please check the list below for your name.

• IF your name is on the list below and you plan to participate, DO NOTHING.
• IF your name is on the list and you do not plan to participate, OPT OUT by responding with your name and “Opt Out” in the body of the email.
• IF your name is NOT on the list and you plan to participate, OPT IN by responding with your name and “Opt In” in the body of the email.

Deadline for notifying me of your opt in/out status is Saturday noon (Pacific Daylight time).

Schedule.
Our schedule for the coming months is as follows:

*  June 21-23 – Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos (humorous supernatural time travel for adults published by Tyndale)
*  July 19-21 – Starlighter by Bryan Davis (Dragons of Starlight, Book 1, YA fantasy, published by Zondervan)
*  August 16-18 – The Last Christian by David Gregory (adult futuristic, published by WaterBrook – tentative)

Current Participation List.
Those who posted in May (By Darkness Hid tour) are listed below:

Brandon Barr
Jennifer Bogart
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
Epic Rat
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
John W. Otte
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Rachel Starr Thomson
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher
I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to what you have to say about this book!

Becky

I’m excited about our upcoming tour. Did I mention this is another “first”? CSFF previously had a policy about not touring print on demand books, but recently changed this to reflect the changes in society. The rewritten stipulation now limits the tour to books from royalty-paying houses. Marcher Lord Press, publisher of By Darkness Hid, is that. So this month we are touring our first ever book that uses POD technology.

I’m always excited to feature CSFF members as well. Jill has been an active member of the tour for several years.

So here’s what you need to know: Jill Williamson’s By Darkness Hid (Marcher Lord Press) is book one of the adult/YA fantasy series Blood of Kings. (Book two, From Darkness Fled, released last month.) The tour begins Monday, May 17 and runs through Wednesday, May 19.  Those who are able to post each day will again be in the running for the CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award. For those of you that received review copies of the book or a PDF, please remember to include a disclaimer such as the following: In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Please take a moment to visit others on the tour, even if you aren’t participating this month. Interacting with one another is the unique factor that makes CSFF one of the best book tours on the Internet!

The links you’ll need are as follows (*indicates required links):

*By Darkness Hid - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0982104952 (or an alternate link of your choice)

Author Web site and blog - http://jillwilliamson.wordpress.com/

*Participants’ links (paste as is in the body of your post or update the links in your sidebar)

<a href=”http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com“> Brandon Barr</a>
<a href=”http://www.AdventuresInFiction.blogspot.com/“> Keanan Brand</a>
<a href=”http://uponreflectionblog.blogspot.com“> Gina Burgess</a>
<a href=”http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/“> Beckie Burnham</a>
<a href=”http://www.mamabzz.com“> Melissa Carswell</a>
<a href=”http://valeriecomer.com/“> Valerie Comer</a>
<a href=”http://www.kcreviews.blogspot.com“> Karri Compton</a>
<a href=”http://blog.rlcopple.com/> R. L. Copple</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://home.earthlink.net/~wyverns/“> Emmalyn Edwards</a>
<a href=”http://projectinga.blogspot.com/“> April Erwin</a>
<a href=”http://thestuffyouneedtoknow.blogspot.com/“> Sarah Flanagan</a>
<a href=”http://askandrea.adamsweb.us/“> Andrea Graham</a>
<a href=”http://going-greene.blogspot.com/“>Tori Greene</a>
<a href=”http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/“> Ryan Heart</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.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/“> Jason Joyner</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://www.momofkings.com“> Dawn King</a>
<a href=”http://www.slygames.net/“>  Leighton</a>
<a href=”http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/“> Rebecca LuElla Miller</a>
<a href=”http://newauthors.wordpress.com/“> New Authors Fellowship</a>
<a href=”http://www.leastread.blogspot.com/“> John W. Otte</a>
<a href=”http://prochristroetlibertate.blogspot.com/“> Crista Richey</a>
<a href=”http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/“> Chawna Schroeder</a>
<a href=”http://andrealschultz.blogspot.com/“> Andrea Schultz</a>
<a href=”http://www.jamessomers.blogspot.com/“> James Somers</a>
<a href=”http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/“> Rachel Starr Thomson</a>
<a href=”http://christiansf.blogspot.com/“> Steve Trower</a>
<a href=”http://frederation.wordpress.com“> Fred Warren</a>
<a href=”http://www.fantasyandfaith.com“> Dona Watson</a>
<a href=”http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/“> Phyllis Wheeler</a>
<a href=”http://kmwilsher.blogspot.com/“> KM Wilsher</a>

Becky

CSFF’ers,

Miscellaneous.

• You may or may not know about the Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative fiction, something I’ve been working on for a few years. We are now taking nominations for the 2010 Readers Choice selection. We’re not trying to put together an exhaustive list of books published in 2009, but we want the very best (published by a royalty paying house), so if you know of a book that should be included, please add your nomination at my site – http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/clive-staples-award-2010-accepting-nominations/ or at the award site – http://clivestaplesaward.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/clive-staples-2010-accepting-nominations/#comments . Just as important, I need your help to alert readers to this award. This year anyone who has read TWO or more of the nominations may participate. Voting will begin in July.

• Congratulations to Rachel Starr Thompson, our latest winner of the CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award for her posts in our April (Raven’s Ladder) tour. In case you missed it, she went above and beyond, posting four days!

• CSFF member Matt Mikalatos, author of our June selection, is available for interviews. Contact him at matt.mikalatos@gmail.com .

• If you ordered a copy of By Darkness Hid, please be sure to opt into the upcoming tour if necessary (see current participants’ list at the bottom of this email). You are not required to post a positive review, but by accepting the book you have agreed to participate in the tour.

By Darkness Hid Tour. Our May tour features member Jill Williamson’s By Darkness Hid (Marcher Lord Press), book one of the adult/YA fantasy series  Blood of Kings. The tour begins Monday, May 17 and runs through Wednesday, May 19.  Those who are able to post each day will again be in the running for the CSFF Top Tour Blogger Award. Each of you may vote on the poll at my site after the tour to choose the winner.

The links you’ll need are as follows:
*By Darkness Hid - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0982104952
Author Web site and blog - http://jillwilliamson.wordpress.com/
*Participants’ links (available Saturday evening) – must be included at least once in the body of your blog OR updated in your sidebar to show the April participants.

*indicates required link(s)

Also, don’t forget (I usually do at least once during the tour!) the need to meet the FTC “disclosure” policy by including a line in your post such as the following:

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
Opting In/Out – Please check the list below for your name.

• IF your name is on the list below and you plan to participate, DO NOTHING.
• IF your name is on the list and you do not plan to participate, OPT OUT by responding with your name and “Opt Out” in the body of the email.
• IF your name is NOT on the list and you plan to participate, OPT IN by responding with your name and “Opt In” in the body of the email.

Deadline for notifying me of your opt in/out status is Saturday noon (Pacific Daylight time).

Schedule.
Our schedule for the coming months is as follows:

*   May 17-19 – By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson (Book 1, The Blood of Kings series; adult/Ya fantasy published by Marcher Lord Press)
*  June 21-23 – Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos (humorous supernatural time travel for adults published by Tyndale)
*  July 19-21 – Starlighter by Bryan Davis (Dragons of Starlight, Book 1, YA fantasy, published by Zondervan – tentative)
*  August 16-18 – The Last Christian by David Gregory (adult futuristic, published by WaterBrook – tentative)

Current Participation List.
Those who posted in April (Raven’s Ladder tour) are listed below:

Brandon Barr
Rachel Briard
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Ryan Heart
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
John W. Otte
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher
By the way, besides being nominated for the Clive Staples Award, By Darkness Hid has been nominated for a Christy Award in the Visionary category. The second in the series, To Darkness Fled, released last month, but we decided to tour the first book so those unfamiliar with the series could begin at the beginning.

Becky