Tiltshift Photography

Hey! Been a while... would you like a look at some of my recent photographic stuff? I've recently discovered the tiltshift effect. The collection below holds my examples of the technique. The photos themselves span a time from early 2008 to now.



And guess what! You can do the same with your photos - get yourself over to www.tiltshiftmaker.com and get playing!

Interview with author Tom Pawlik

*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

Today I'm interviewing author Tom Pawlik, author of Vanish and Valley of the Shadow.

How and when did you get your start in writing?

TP: I've always loved writing stories. I wrote my first book "The Way Back" in 1997 and shopped it around for several years before stumbling across the Christian Writers Guild website in 2003. I saw the ad for their "Operation First Novel Contest" and entered. I was pleasantly surprised to finish second that year. My finish attracted the attention of my agent, Les Stobbe who shopped that book around for the next 2 years. In the mean time, I had been working on my second book, VANISH, which I entered in the 2006 contest. This time, I won. That was the most thrilling event of my life! A life long dream come true. Tyndale published "Vanish" last summer and the sequel, "Valley of the Shadow" was released this month. They have expressed an interest in "The Way Back" but as it was a slightly different genre, wanted me to get established a little more as an author first.

Tell me about your first encounter with the genre.

TP: Growing up, I loved Sci-fi and fantasy. And still do. I sometimes felt guilty trying to reconcile my love for those genres with my Christian faith and Biblical doctrine. I have come to realize that these genres have a place in our lives and culture. And if we are going to be salt and light, we should seek to use this medium to communicate God's presence, His love and His judgment as well.

Who are your favourite authors?

TP: C.S. Lewis, Tolkein, Gordon R. Dickson, Asimov, Bradbury, Clifford Simak just to name a few.

How do you come up with ideas for your books?

TP: I sometimes get the germ for an idea from a weird dream. I think many writers use other authors as inspiration as well.

Do you plan the plot beforehand or let the story tell itself - and what is it like to go through the writing process?

TP: I'm still a novice so, yes, I start out by writing up a basic plot outline, but this is a very tedious process. Also, I find that many great ideas actually come up during the writing phase. I wrote on my website that writing a novel is like digging a sliver out of your finger with a large, rusty scissors. A lot of meticulous, self-inflicted pain. But it's worth every excruciating minute!

Do you write yourself into your characters?

TP: Yes sometimes, different aspects of my own personality may go into various characters as a starting point. For instance, Mitch Kent got his sarcasm from me. But then from there, I like to let them develop on their own. Sometimes they surprise you.

What research was required in writing your books?

TP: Not very much. I spoke to a few friends who had expertise in a specific area. (I can't say what or I might give some plot elements away).

How has your faith influenced the contents of your books?

TP: Tremendously. I don't think of myself as writing a parable, but I do want to communicate spiritual truths through the story. The key is obviously to let those truths evolve naturally from the story rather than compose a story around a particular truth or moral.

What is your opinion on the value of speculative fiction?

TP: Very high. I love it. I'm thrilled to see it becoming an increasingly popular genre within the Christian marketplace. It's nice also, to see it growing beyond the CBA marketplace into the general marketplace as well.


Check out these other bloggers for reviews of Tom's book and more:

Brandon Barr Justin Boyer Keanan Brand Karri Compton Amy Cruson CSFF Blog Tour Stacey Dale D. G. D. Davidson Jeff Draper April Erwin Karina Fabian Alex Field Beth Goddard Todd Michael Greene Ryan Heart Christopher Hopper Joleen Howell Becky Jesse Cris Jesse Julie Carol Keen Krystine Kercher Margaret Rebecca LuElla Miller Eve Nielsen Nissa John W. Otte John Ottinger Donita K. Paul Epic Rat Steve Rice Crista Richey Hanna Sandvig Chawna Schroeder James Somers Speculative Faith Rachel Starr Thomson Robert Treskillard Steve Trower Fred Warren Phyllis Wheeler

Angel of Wrath by Bill Myers

I have it on good authority from my horror-loving friends that they like it very much when their reading material scares them silly, gives them nightmares, or sends chills down their backs. So I'm guessing that horror aficionados everywhere are going to adore this book. It would certainly have given me nightmares if it wasn't quite so far-fetched. But the unbelievable has also long been a staple of the horror genre, so there you go.

An ex-agent turned Satanist helps a bunch of high school kids get involved in carrying out black masses in the mountains. What the kids don't know yet is that their "fun" calls on actual demonic powers and results in a macabre murder each time they meet. So we have a series of particularly grotesque deaths among members of a megachurch. Finally the pastor calls his ex-FBI sister Lisa for help, and she brings her ally Charlie, also an undercover specialist. Thirteen-year-old Jaz insists on going with them - she lives with Charlie since the death of her parents.

Jaz is deaf, but is also able to detect spiritual vibrations. As she investigates the strange power she experienced in a church service, the pastor's son entangles himself with the Satanist kids and both of them catch sight of a demonic monster - first only a glimpse, then a full-out attack. The evil creature, once approached, spouts Bible verses which it uses to condemn its hearers. Meanwhile, the murders continue, and Charlie is on the trail of the killer.

There are some fascinating observations on a deaf kid's approach to life. Also some (to me) dubious theological claims - the idea that a Satanist kid suddenly decides to pray to God and is then protected from the demon, well, that seemed a bit strange. But this story is trying to communicate the power and necessity of forgiveness, of living at peace with your past, and that's got to be a good thing. You will find a lot of interesting insights if you can see beyond the fiction to what is real.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more
info.

Book Review: What The Bayou Saw by Patti Lacy

I loved Patti's other book, An Irishwoman's Tale, so it was with pleasant anticipation that I sat down to read her second novel. It was also an honour to meet her during my USA odyssey last year!

I made the mistake of starting to read shortly before bedtime. An hour later I realised how late it was and flipped off the light. Ten minutes after that, I decided it was utterly useless to try and sleep. This book would not let me go until I finished it at an unearthly hour!

Sally, a Southern belle teaching in Illinois, is disturbed when one of her students is attacked. The course of events pulls long-hidden facts to light and forces her to deal with the consequences of her childhood's history.

Sally and Ella's friendship sheds light on the quagmire that hindered multicultural relations back in the 60's. To say that things were difficult back then is putting it mildly. Mistakes were made, lives ruined, childhoods destroyed by acts of violence and hate. Historical events are brought into the present in vivid colour as Sally, age 53, is confronted with her past that she left sunk in the bayou all those years ago.

I am amazed at the huge range of controversial topics the story covers. Abuse, denial, consequences and healing. Racism. Katrina. Murder. The supernatural. Friendship and betrayal. Mystery. Danger. These are disturbing ideas, and this is a highly disturbing story - in a good way, that stirs up emotion and conviction and awe.

Above all, this is a tale of a personal journey. Recovery from abuse is a difficult topic at the best of times, but Patti handles it with tact and gentleness. The consequences ring true for anyone who has experienced emotional pain. That's all of us somewhere, isn't it?

So if you're ready to face some shaking-up for your soul, go read this book. You won't be the same afterwards.

Watch the book trailer here.
Patti Lacy's website

More thoughts on Tuck

I've been reading the other bloggers' posts on Tuck and it's brought up a few interesting ideas I'd like to respond to. For a list of reviewers' quotes, please visit the Lost Genre Guild blog tomorrow.

Anyway...first up I just want to mention how awesome the final climax is. You have this incredible buildup to a battle scene, and by now we know what to expect from Mr. Lawhead - and we anticipate the roil of the fight, the zip of arrows, the fall of the dying. But then! Wait for it! There's this amazing twist in the end that totally turns everything on its head. That's just phenomenal.

Regarding the other reviewers, some have commented that the storyteller makes no judgement between the good Christians and the rotten ones. True. But he doesn't need to. It's obvious in the story. If you need to be told "this is bad" then I suspect you're not thinking for yourself. Perhaps it's a symptom of the TV age where folks are used to getting everything fed to them to be swallowed whole as-is.

Not so with Tuck. You have to read between the lines - and not so very far at that - to discover that Tuck is a faithful Christ-follower even though he loves to smash heads in, and that Hugo is a greedy, grasping loser even though he holds great authority in the church. It's not your status, it's what you do - your actions, that define what kind of person you are and I applaud the author in this case for showing, not telling.

Lessons learned are most often successful when we come upon them through our own thought processes. This book does that very effectively. It leaves me with plenty of ponderings, and that's good, because such a book will stay in my mind for a fair long while.

If you haven't already, please visit yesterday's post for my review of Tuck and a list of the other bloggers involved in the tour this week.

Visit My Volcano

So I went to Rangitoto on the weekend. I thought I'd be meeting some friends there, but I never saw any of them. Oh well. I was free to putter around with my camera and alternately cover ground at an alarming pace as I wanted to walk around a good part of the island's perimeter and also get up to the summit and back down again before the last boat out. And all this in five hours. Reckon I walked about four of them, with brief pauses for Tiny Teddies and a tin of spaghetti.

Anyway, I'll let the video tell the story. I have a bunch of photos too, we'll have to see about getting those posted. Watch this space, as always.

You can find out more about Rangitoto Island at www.rangitoto.org and the Wikipedia article.

• 11:51 Hey @toxaq ! Fine cookies, my friend! I want that recipe! I fear yours won't last the day around here... #nzcookie #
• 14:28 RT: @ITBrief: NZ out tweets US: Studies show that New Zealanders have a taste for e-commerce and social media. tinyurl.com/r7jtd9 #
• 17:00 So I need to go cook dinner (it's my weekly turn) but badly want to edit these two new videos. One won't take long at all, truly! Hmm. #
• 17:54 I went and edited the shorter video - still needs intro reel & music which will cover the whole series. In cases like this, food can wait! #
• 18:27 RT: @AlohaArleen: Scoop: More Tweet in New Zealand than United States ff.im/2ZCeS #

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