What Video Games Taught Me About Speculative Fiction Writing

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  I’ve being playing video games since I was a kid. As a child of the 1980s, my earliest gaming happened on a TRS-80 with a tape drive, followed a few years later by a DOS-based PC. My first console was an NES, which I received—along with a stern lecture from my father about not playing it too much—not long after the system released in North America. From the beginning, it was clear that games with more involved storylines appealed to me, such as Zork or Final Fantasy. I didn’t mind playing games like Zaxxon or Super Mario Bros., but …

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Between the Lines: Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge by Larry Correia

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Larry Correia started a blockbuster series with the debut of Monster Hunters International. He hooks you from the first scene, and the blood-and-guts-soaked adventure does not let up. The series premise is simple: the U.S. government maintains a secret fund from which it pays bounties to private contractors in exchange for their elimination of monster threats. Throw in all manner of beasts and—to quote Neo from The Matrix—“Guns. Lots of guns,” and you’ve got action-packed stories of heroes triumphing over evil. The appeal to readers, especially men, is obvious. These monsters aren’t defeated by supernatural means or by prayer. Guns …

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Mythological Creatures: Phoenix vs. Thunderbird

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Fantasy is filled with mythological creatures. But how well do we really know them? Who, off the top of their head, can define the difference between phoenix and a thunderbird? . No one? Okay, then let’s start a new blog series on . . . you guessed it. Mythological creatures! . Phoenix If you’ve read Harry Potter, then you have a good idea what a phoenix is. This mythological bird regenerates from its own ashes every time it dies. According to greek mythology, it’s associated with the sun and fire. The phoenix could be as large as an eagle and generally has scarlet …

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Interview with P.A. Baines

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Please Welcome…P. A. Baines (*Originally posted December 2010) This month our interview guest is Christian speculative fiction novelist P. A. Baines! Paul was born in England but currently lives in Holland with his wife and two teenage kids. He says he “enjoys speculative fiction but does not enjoy the way the genre tends to disrespect God.” Paul’s aim, then, is to write stories that make you think while drawing you closer to God, or at least showing Him the proper respect. Recently Paul saw his story Alpha Redemption published by Splashdown Books. Although Alpha is his debut novel, Paul has …

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Interview with Fred Warren

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Please Welcome…Fred Warren (*Originally posted September 2010) This month our interview guest is Christian speculative fiction novelist Fred Warren. Fred Warren’s short speculative fiction has appeared in a variety of print and online magazines, and his first novel, The Muse, a modern fantasy of inspiration both divine and diabolical, debuted in November 2009 from Splashdown Books. It is a 2010 Carol Award Finalist in the Speculative category. Fred works as a government contractor in eastern Kansas, providing computer simulation support for Army training, which pays the bills but isn’t nearly as much fun as writing. He’s happily married to the …

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Interview with Leanna Ellis

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Please Welcome…Leanna Ellis This month our interview guest is Christian speculative fiction novelist Leanna Ellis. Leanna Ellis writes quirky fiction. And you don’t get much quirkier or weirder than an Amish/vampire story, right? Ellis wrote category romance for many years and then God moved her toward women’s inspirational fiction. She’s still just following after God and where he leads…even into the dark, scary world of the Amish. So now, the interview… WhereTheMapEnds: Catch us up with you. What have you been up to lately? Leanna Ellis: Basically, I’m a mom with a wild imagination. So between homeschooling and carting kids …

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Interview with Merrie Destefano

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Please Welcome…Merrie Destefano (*Originally posted June 2010) This month our interview guest is Christian speculative fiction novelist Merrie Destefano. Currently a full-time novelist under contract with Eos/HarperCollins, Merrie Destefano’s first novel, Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles, is scheduled to release in October, 2010. She also co-authored two art books this year with artist, Michael Butkus: How To Draw Zombies and How To Draw Vampires from Walter Foster Publishing. In a previous life, she was the editor of Victorian Homes magazine, founding editor of Cottages & Bungalows magazine, and contributing editor of Romantic Homes magazine, and as such, she wrote for a …

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