Tuesday, October 15, 2024

A Perfect Flock by Mike Bogue

About the Book

Book: A Perfect Flock

Author: Mike Bogue

Genre: Christian Science Fiction

Release date: October 26, 2023

Tuck Jameson vows to stop his brother Clay from joining The Body, a religious cult that uses nanotechnology to turn its members into Christian automatons.

But Clay disappears—and in three days, his nanotechnology conversion will be complete. Desperate to find Clay, Tuck enlists the aid of former high school mentor Adam Shimura, now a black ops agent with potentially mixed motives.

Brother Moody, the cult’s Chief Elder, mobilizes his acolytes against Tuck. Worse, a shocking prophecy ups the ante, making Tuck realize the stakes involve not only him and Clay, but all of America—and perhaps, the world.

Click here to get your copy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book, and all opinions given are my own and not an endorsement of all author’s opinions.

Author Interview

1. What was the most challenging part of writing your book?

Tying the subplots into the main plot and making sure they got resolved by or right after the novel’s climax. For me, this takes a lot of planning. But it adds depth to the novel. For example, in A Perfect Flock, two of the major subplots—one involving a best friend’s loyalties and one involving a might-be romance—are resolved just before the novel’s climax kicks into high gear.

2. How do you weave Biblical truths into your writing?

Rather than quote Scriptures, I show my Christian characters living out Biblical truths, such as compassion, generosity, and faithfulness. However, my Christian characters are also flawed and struggle to do the right thing.

In addition, I weave Biblical themes into the plot. For example, the major theme in A Perfect Flock is that God champions free will. He wants willing, not coerced, followers. But in the novel, the cult The Body uses nanotechnology to turn its adherents into so-called perfect Christians. Nanobots change your brain chemistry and force you to behave morally, though this is a superficial sanctification, one that ignores your inner sin nature. But Brother Moody, the head of the cult, justifies this coercion as being God’s will.

3. Was your writing process spontaneous as it came to you or very planned and

organized? Why?

I am afraid that as a writer, I am definitely not a pantser. My writing process is highly organized—some might say it smacks of OCD!

Once I create the plot and the characters, I meticulously develop each chapter, adhering to the novel’s classic beginning, middle, and end structure. I likewise detail what will happen in each scene—why it’s important, the conflict, the characters, the outcome (which for the protagonist will usually be a disaster), and what the protagonist will do next. I strive to make sure each of these scenes build upon one another, hindrances becomingmore dire for the hero as he struggles to achieve his goal.

I am a very structured writer, and I always work better with blueprints than without. Plus, because A Perfect Flock involved complicated plotting, I needed to know what was going to happen before I could start writing anything.

4. Why did you pick this genre for your book?

Because my novel was going to employ near-future technology. Thus, science fiction fit my plot like a photon torpedo in the hull of a Klingon warship.

In addition, science fiction is my favorite genre, and most of the plots and ideas that drift into my mind do so from this domain of space, time, aliens, and strangeness.

More specifically, A Perfect Flock falls under the genre Christian science fiction. This allows the writer to explore upcoming technology from a spiritual as well as a pragmatic viewpoint. An excellent example of this is Steven James’ recent novel Synapse, in which an AI entity exhibits self-awareness. Does this mean it has a soul? Or that it can become a Christian?

A Perfect Flock asks how far nanotechnology may go to achieve less than noble ends. Would an authoritarian believer, like the novel’s Brother Moody, use it to force Christians to become supposedly perfect? And would his ultimate goal be to direct Christianity nanobots to invade the minds of unwilling (and unwitting) men and women?

5. What is your next big goal as an author?

To complete my current novel-in-progress Eden Colony. The premise:

After a nuclear war, Caleb Anderson discovers he and certain fellow Christian survivors are immune to radiation. They struggle to rebuild a benevolent post-nuke society, but a clandestine government group schemes to use them to establish a dictatorship. If Caleb doesn’t stop them, thousands of war survivors will die.

In addition to writing, I hope to increase the number of subscribers to my website

by offering free reader magnets, and to devote time to better communicating with my

target readers.

Ms. Fowler, thank you for letting me speak to your readers.

About the Author

Why does Mike Bogue write speculative fiction? Because he finds it a perfect genre to explore timeless themes and timely science, as well as the collision between technology and faith. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys watching Godzilla movies, singing 1960s pop tunes, and munching Fiber One brownies. Single and retired, Mike lives with his cat Bendi in Western Arkansas, where he and Bendi regularly hold contests to see who can nap the longest in a single day.

More from Mike

“If brainwashing means losing my free will for God’s sake, so be it.”

Thus says a recruit for the religious cult The Body in my novel A Perfect Flock.

When planning the novel, I wondered—should Christians use technology to enhance their moral lives? What if technology forced us to be good? Should we use it? Should we advocate it? Would it make Christians, and therefore the Gospel, more appealing to non-Christians?

A Perfect Flock explores these issues. In the novel, technology that might have been a blessing becomes a curse in the hands of cult leader Brother Moody. Indeed, becoming Moody’s version of a perfect Christian might just cost you your soul.

In A Perfect Flock, you will confront the well-meaning but dark future into which technology may be taking Christians and society; experience a fast-paced quest in which an older brother is determined to save his younger brother from technological enslavement; and face the tension between free will and enforced will—if we had the technology to force others to become Christians, should we?

If you like near-future Christian science fiction novels such as Steven James’ Synapse, I think you’ll enjoy A Perfect Flock.

A technical note: The book was released last October 23, so it is available now.

Best of hopes and dreams,

Mike

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, October 5

For the Love of Literature, October 6 (Author Interview)

The Book Zone, October 7

Tell Tale Book Reviews, October 8 (Author Interview)

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 9

Through the Fire Blogs, October 10 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 11

Artistic Nobody, October 12 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, October 12

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 13

Stories By Gina, October 14 (Author Interview)

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, October 14

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, October 15 (Author Interview)

A Reader’s Brain, October 16 (Author Interview)

Blogging With Carol, October 17

Back Porch Reads, October 18 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Mike is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card and a signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5459

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Draw Near by Hadassah Treu

About the Book

Book: DRAW NEAR: How Painful Experiences Become the Birthplace of Blessings

Author: Hadassah Treu

Genre: Christian Non-Fiction

Release date: March 15, 2024

Can something so painful, even tragic, actually be God’s way of blessing?

As believers, we generally expect good things to happen in our lives. We expect a blessing upon blessing because we love God and He loves us and we form an expectation of prosperity (relational, emotional, and physical). And when the tragedy strikes and we enter a season of unwanted changes and suffering, we are shocked, angry, disappointed, and confused. We start doubting God’s love and His good intentions and plans. We begin questioning His ways and methods. We don’t understand. It is difficult to reconcile the pain we feel with what we know about God. This encouraging book aims to help you not only identify and accept specific losses but to realize that painful experiences could be the birthplace of blessings. We lose something, but there is more to gain.

What is God using your pain for?

Click here to get your copy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book and all opinions given are my own and not an endorsement of all authors opinions.

Author Interview

● What was your process to align your book with your target audience?

The audience of my book "Draw Near: How Painful Experiences Become the Birthplace of Blessings" are Christian women and men (age 30 to 65) who have experienced some kind of traumatic or tragic events in their lives, such as rejection, betrayal, facing terminal disease in their lives or the life of a loved one, losing a loved one, losing a treasured relationship. These are Christians who, because of the losses they have endured, have experienced, to a different extent, discouragement and disillusionment in their faith. They struggle to reconcile their painful experiences with their faith. Often, they don't understand, and they can't find satisfying answers to their questions.

My process of aligning my book with my target audience was to identify with them and with their pain points, with their questions, doubts, and internal narratives. To this aim, I created an avatar if my ideal reader, named Susan, and imagined all main aspects of her life: her family, her past, job, interests, favorite books and shows, her traumas and the questions that keep her awake in the night. I even devoted the introduction of my book to her. This helped me to find the best way to help my ideal reader with my book.

● Was your writing process spontaneous as it came to you or very planned and organized? Why?

My writing process was planned and organized. The reason is that this is a non-fiction book and the publishing process includes preparing a book proposal that is sent to agents and publishers. An essential part of the book proposal is the book content and also a detailed chapter outline. The proposal also includes several sample chapters. So, it came to the actual writing; I had a very detailed roadmap of the book content which I followed. Of course, I was also flexible, and I made revisions in several chapters, adding additional topics, for example. The writing flow and the inspiration are also important. But it was very helpful to have a plan.

● Do you have a favorite time of day you are most productive in your writing?

I usually write in the afternoons and in the evenings. I think by creating and maintaining this writing pattern, my body and mind know it is time to write, and I rarely experience problems to be creative and productive.

● How many books do you personally own?

I have grown up surrounded by books. My parents loved buying books and when I had my own money, I bought books for myself, too. My husband also loved reading and e had books in all rooms in our apartment. After his death, I moved to Bulgaria, and I made a lot of our books as a donation to the local library in Austria.

Now, I own books in Bulgarian, English and German, in different genres. I estimate their number is between 400 and 450.

● What is your next big goal as an author?

I have several big goals. One is to bring my book “Draw Near” to a larger audience so more people can benefit from the transformational message of hope and comfort.

I also want to develop further and establish myself as a freelance writer.

Finally, my next big goal is to get a traditional publishing contact with one of the big publishers in the Christian market.

About the Author

Hadassah Treu is an international award-winning Christian author, blogger, poet, and speaker, and contributor to several faith-based platforms like Koinonia and Devotable, and a dozen devotionals and poetry anthologies in English and Bulgarian. She is a COMPEL Provers 31 Blog writer and Freelancing Community Group leader. Her writing is featured on (In)Courage, The Upper Room, Proverbs 31 Ministries, Her View From Home, Living by Design Ministries, Thoughts About God, Today’s Christian Living and other popular sites.

More from Hadassah

Why me? Why this? Why now? How am I going to heal from this pain? Where are you, Lord?

These are the questions I often asked when I stayed awake in the night, with tears burning down my cheeks. I needed a new perspective, a deeper understanding, and the assurance of God’s love and good plans in my painful experiences. I longed for comfort and hope, and help to fix my eyes on the divine transformation going on in my heart.

Do you face the same struggles?

We all do. We all need a biblical perspective and a new look at suffering to help us reconcile our painful experiences with what we know about God. Suffering remains a mystery and there is no simple theological answer to it. But what is our role? What are we supposed to think and do when we go through undeserved and unexpected pain and trauma?

The first and most important is to learn to see our dark moments as new chances and opportunities to draw near to God. We can choose to take off the glasses of loss and replace them with the lenses of God’s love, biblical truths, and thankfulness. Then our outlook will change and we will see more of the bigger picture. We can choose to live with open minds, believing God’s Word, with hands raised in prayer. We can commit to putting every effort into finding the balance between the reality we live in and the reality in which we live with God. It is in this balance of our reality and God’s reality that we find peace instead of fear, rest instead of anxiety, and wholeness instead of destruction.

Our painful experiences are glorious opportunities to draw near to God, to bond with Him, and to enjoy intimacy and fellowship with Him amidst the pain. This is the most important thing we can do in our lives because everything else results from bonding and connection. A loving connection with God births maturity, growth, transformation, and eternal blessings. Besides that, suffering is a privilege and a possibility to take part in our Lord’s sufferings and to know the power of His resurrection.

When we choose to listen and draw near to God in our pains, something miraculous will happen. God’s Spirit will birth blessings and precious gifts out of the pain.

Are you ready to unpack them?

Blog Stops

Inspired by Fiction, October 3

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, October 4

Fiction Book Lover, October 5 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, October 5

Texas Book-aholic, October 6

A Reader’s Brain, October 7 (Author Interview)

Life on Chickadee Lane, October 8

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 9

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 10

Back Porch Reads, October 11 (Author Interview)

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, October 11

Cover Lover Book Review, October 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 13

Stories By Gina, October 14 (Author Interview)

She Lives To Read, October 15

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, October 16 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Hadassah is giving away the grand prize of a $30 Amazon card and copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5457

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Immortal Abyss by Katherine Briggs

About the Book

Book: Immortal Abyss (Duology Book 2)

Author: Katherine Briggs

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release date: September 17, 2024

Seize the throne. Seek the legend and conquer the Abyss.

Nations rise and fall in the aftermath of war over the Eternity Gate. The corrupted desert throne stands empty, and the Immortal Abyss awakens. Drought ravages the continent, and people long for the rebirth of a starpalm, who will rise from among mortals and end their judgment.

Orphaned at birth, Tol grew up hiding in the farthest corners of the desert, training under powerful rebel fire wielders. She now dedicates her life to the Rebellion’s cause to seize the throne and Abyss from the surviving dynasty and deliver both to the coming deity.

Chosen as the Rebellion’s messenger, she travels to reach sympathizers capable of identifying the starpalm. Familiar figures haunt her dreams, and her path twists with every step she takes. Can Tol fulfill her purpose and summon a legend? Or will her country perish under the judgment of the twin gates?

Click here to get your copy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book, and all opinions given are my own and not an

endorsement of all author's opinions.

Author Interview

1. What was your process to align your book with your target audience?

First, thank you for having me on the blog today, Katie!

To align a story with a target audience, you need to know your audience. Many encourage writers to pick one specific person—a real person—to write for to help keep your focus sharp. If you try to reach everyone, you won’t reach anyone, as the saying goes. Beyond that, I learned about the difference between demographics and psychographics from Author Media and the Novel Marketing Podcast. I find understanding someone’s interests, fears, and wants to be more unifying than their age, where they were born, or their economic status.

2. What was the most enjoyable part of writing your book?

For The Immortal Abyss, I really enjoyed the gifting system that came along with the overall worldbuilding of the story. Tol, the protagonist, can hold fire in her hands, and lots of it. In her country, the type of fire one wields depends on which Forms they have inherited. The four Forms are Magnificence, Temperance, Wisdom, and Justice. Inspired by Biblical and classical virtues or principles, I had so much fun fleshing these out as the story progressed.

3. How do you weave Biblical truths into your writing?

I want to seek what is Good, True, and Beautiful in everything I do, with God’s necessary help. Like real life people, the characters in my stories exhibit both tastes of heavenly glory and also sin. I want to weave Biblical truths into my stories by ultimately glorifying what is Good, even if the characters experience danger, peril, and darkness, which they do. I also want to paint the good and bad consequences of righteousness and evil honestly. Doesn’t evil sometimes seem like it offers a reward initially? And then what? In turn, does righteousness always bear fruit that we can immediately see? What will the characters do if it doesn’t? How do they maintain the strength to remain on the narrow path?

4. Do you have a favorite time of day you are most productive in your writing?

I think I am most productive in the morning, but I ultimately find that I accomplish the most when I go into a brainstorming, writing, or editing session focused on the immediate task at hand. Do I know that a character’s motivation isn’t strong enough? Let’s work on it! Do I know what I am supposed to write today? If I can get my head in the game beforehand, all goes better. If I am at peace with the rest of the day and my responsibilities, that is also a great help in allowing my creativity to relax and do what it does best.

5. How many books do you personally own?

We recently moved, and my books are piled in stacks by genre against the wall, so I am fully prepared to answer this question with rough estimates! It looks like I have about 55fantasy and science fiction books, about 90 nonfiction, 20 contemporary genre novels, 7 Bibles in various languages and translations, 20 used and unused journals, 25 classics, 10 books in my speculative TBR pile, and 9 books in my nonfiction TBR pile. I likely have about 7 cookbooks too. Voila! According to internet legend, you need to own about 1,000 books before it counts as a library, so I still have a ways to go.

Thank you for the interview opportunity, Katie!

~ Katherine Briggs

About the Author

Katherine Briggs crafted her first monster story at age three. Since graduating from crayons to laptop, she continues to devour and weave fantasy tales while enjoying chai tea. She, her coadventurer husband, and rescue dog reside outside Houston, where she classically educates amazing middle school students, teaches ESL to adults, and enjoys studying other languages.

More from Katherine

Hello friend!

Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t overcome something difficult in your life? Maybe it was a bad habit you wanted to outgrow, a closed door you wished to open, or a choice you needed to make.

Within God’s will, Jesus in Matthew 19:26 says, “With God, all things are possible.” (ESV)

This is why I wrote The Immortal Abyss. Like you, I have felt stuck in my limitations and circumstances. My protagonist Tol, an orphan, strives to carve a new life for herself by joining a rebellion and bringing reform to her corrupted country. But how can she serve her cause if she can’t overcome her weakness in her fire gifting?

Like Tol, we can’t rise above challenges alone. So, what do we do?

Ask God for help and thank Him for promising to never abandon us.
Seek friends who will reciprocate spurring one another on to persevere.
Remain focused on our purpose.

If you’re looking for an adventure fantasy that will encourage you to never give up on what is good, please enjoy The Immortal Abyss, sequel to The Eternity Gate and conclusion to The Threshold Duology.

Cheers to journeying across forbidden lands, meeting new friends, taming dragons, and overcoming the impossible!

~ Katherine Briggs

P.S. If this encouraged you, please join my story newsletter by visiting my website. As a welcome gift, you also will receive my science fiction and fantasy short story collection, Experiments and Enchantment.