Let the Tour Begin & Contest Update

I will be leaving Tuesday morning for the great Motiv8 Fantasy Fiction tour. First I have to drive to Colorado Springs where I will be doing a devotional at Focus on the Family, then I will fly from Denver to Seattle to begin the tour.

I hope to update my blog with news as the tour commences. Don't forget, we'll be streaming to live video as many events as we can. Click here for the Motiv8 website where you can see the stream.

Also, I won't be updating contest totals until the contest is over, so if you have been holding back reports, you can now send them without concern that others will know where you stand. I don't want to have to process too many when I return from the tour.

Thank you! See you online!

Motiv8 Contest - Quiz Update

As of early this morning, only one person has answered all the quiz questions correctly, so the bonus points are still available for the next two who get them all right. The quiz is open for two more days, so please hurry. I want to award points!

Motiv8 Tour Fliers

If you're planning to come to one of the west coast fantasy fiction tour's stops, or you wish you could come and you live in one of the areas we're visiting, would you consider printing out some promotional fliers and distributing them at your church, school, or homeschool group?

You can get a flier specifically made for a tour stop by clicking here.

Thank you for your help!

Motiv8 Contest - Second Assignment

The second assignment for the Motiv8 contest is a quiz. The first three people to answer all questions correctly will get 75 points. Everyone else who answers all correctly will get 50 points. These will be hard for those who haven't read my books.

1. In Eye of the Oracle, what is the name of the Naphil who operated the elevator for the underborns?

2. In Last of the Nephilim, what is the name of Greevelow's wife?

3. In Enoch's Ghost what did they call the oracle that showed where people went in the afterlife?

4. In Beyond the Reflection's Edge, what was the mascot for Kelly's high school?

5. In The Candlestone, what was Dr. Conner's first name? (Bonnie's father)

If you respond and get one or more answers wrong, I will let you know which ones so you can try again. I will do my best to reply quickly.

Please email me your answers - bryan (at) dragonsinourmidst (dot) com

The deadline for answering the quiz questions is midnight Sunday night (September 28).

Last of the Nephilim Goes to Second Printing

Last of the Nephilim, the third book in the Oracles of Fire series, is going to a second printing. That's great news! Even my publisher was surprised at how fast the first printing sold out. That means the series continues to sell at a brisk pace and enthusiasm for the series isn't slowing down at all.

Here are examples of reviews showing up on the web:

"Last of the Nephilim is truly amazing! It has to be the best book I've ever read ... plus it's another excellent addition to the Oracles of Fire series."

"You will not be able to put this book down once you've started it. It continues an already amazing series. I recommend it 100%."

"This book was amazing! I didn't actually think it'd be as good as the rest, but there I was, on my bed, eating, going out, always constantly reading! It was fantastic and it was even better than the rest of the books!"

"I was wondering how far this book could go... If it could go as far beyond as Enoch's Ghost, Eye of the Oracle, or even the DIOM series, but it did! It was amazing, surprising, terrific, fantastic! Everything you'd want in a book was right there...! Totally recommend this book to anyone and everyone!"

It's always a great blessing to hear how people are enjoying my books. That gives me an extra boost as I'm working on the fourth book in the series, The Bones of Makaidos. Only about a hundred thousand words to go!

Portland Oregon Appearance for Motiv8 Tour

Since we couldn't get a venue for a formal appearance in Portland, Oregon, the authors in the Motiv8 tour decided to stop in the Portland area for lunch and invite everyone to join us (you have pay for your own food).

We will be at Bridgeport Village (Click here for directions) from 11 am to 1 pm on October 5. That's a Sunday, so if you have an early church service, you might be able to make it on time. If you come later, that's fine, too. Just try to get there by one. We can't stay later than that.

Bring your books for signing and your questions for answering. We'll look forward to seeing you!

Eternity's Edge Coming soon

I just received my first final release copy of Eternity's Edge, book two in the Echoes from the Edge series. It won't be long until the book is on the shelves in your bookstore. The official release date is October 1, so don't run out to the store yet. Always call first.

For those of you who have read Beyond the Reflection's Edge, you'll want to continue reading the story right away. So many secrets are revealed. What is Quattro? Who is the supplicant Nathan's mother mentioned? Will Kelly get her eyesight back? How will Nathan prevent the imminent destruction of three worlds and the deaths of billions of people? Many answers will come to light, and many more questions will arise as the story progresses.

As soon as I get my copies, which could be any day now, I will send them out to those who pre-ordered from me and also to the winners of the previous contest. You can pre-order from me at this link, or you can click on the link below to buy from Christianbook.com.

Eternity's Edge, Echoes from the Edge #2 By Bryan Davis / Zonderkidz

Motiv8 Tour - Dress Rehearsal

I spoke at the public library in Humboldt, Tennessee, yesterday, so I took the opportunity to try on the outfit I'll be wearing for the Motiv8 fantasy fiction tour. My daughter Amanda made the main part for me. The sword, belt, pants, and boots came from RealArmorofGod.com

We had a nice gathering of 34 people at the event, a great turnout for such a small town. I spoke about the value of fantasy literature and how it can affect readers in a positive way.

Till We Have Faces - A Review

I read this book over 25 years ago and remembered that I enjoyed it very much, so when given the opportunity to teach a literature class for homeschoolers this semester, I assigned it as our first book to read. So, to refresh my memory, I began it again.

This is an outstanding read. In some ways it feels quirky and cumbersome, discomforting and awkward, but as the reader becomes immersed in the story those feelings become natural. Why? Because our main character, Orual, is all of these things.

Her brutal mistreatment at the hands of her father, the king, is normal for her, as is her understanding of her own ugliness. The ignorant ways of her family and people are realized by the reader through Orual's Greek teacher, "the Fox," but to Orual such revelation becomes no more than another addition to a confusing mix of competing ideas--the natural versus the supernatural, philosophy versus superstition.

Mr. Lewis brilliantly clashes ideas of faith, through Psyche (Orual's half-sister), intellectualism (through the Fox), and superstition and cultural prejudice (through Bardia and Orual's father). The reader is led down heady roads that make him ponder applications in the real world, some clear and some rather foggy. What are we to think when we see supernatural works in this life that perhaps conflict with previous understanding? When does love turn into obsession? Why do people brush away evidence that doesn't conform to preconceived notions? The reader comes face to face with these and dozens of other questions as Mr. Lewis weaves this powerful story.

Parents, younger readers, even teenagers, might not appreciate this book. The reader should be accustomed to and enjoy mining great questions and pondering them thoughtfully. Otherwise, with the lack of frequent intense action, he or she might find the book boring.

For example, when my homeschool class gathered, I asked how they enjoyed the book. They all gave me a "ho-hum" kind of response. But as I unwrapped the first half of this book during our discussion time, I could see the lights come on in their minds. They began to get into the discussion, frequently adding their insights as the story elements brought up question after question. By the end of our one and and a half hours of Q&A, one said she really needed to read it again, and the others were excited about finishing the book.

Anyway, I highly recommend Till We Have Faces for all adults as well as mature teenagers. Read it, soak it in, ponder, and wonder. I'm glad I picked it up again after all these years.

Ryann Watters Contest Winners

Eric Reinhold, one of the Motiv8 tour authors, has announced the winners of his blog contest.

Here are excerpts of what the note he sent to me:

I decided that in addition to the grand prize winner, that in honor of the # 8, we would have “8 Runner-ups.” Everyone had the correct answers!

The Winner is: Andrew Knowles

The 8 Runner-ups are:

1. Connie Wolters of Virginia
2. Nathan Petrie of Kentucky
3. Ericka (estormgirl12) of Ohio
4. Noah Arsenault of Washington
5. Caitlyn Cauley of North Carolina
6. Lori Ann Weldon of Missouri
7. Megan Nisly of Connecticut
8. James Klousia of Missouri

Thanks again for participating and enjoy your prize!

Sincerely,
Eric
www.RyannWatters.blogspot.com
www.RyannWatters.com

Congratualations!

Motiv8 Tour Plans to Stream Live

For those of you who feel left out because the Motiv8 tour will be on the west coast, take heart. At the events where we can get Internet access, we plan to stream video live. You can watch the events at the Motiv8 site: Click Here.

The feed will include live Instant Messenger, so you will be able to interact with us as the events proceed.

You can also watch it here at this post or on my sidebar, which I will put up when the tour begins.



It will feed videos from our last tour until this year's tour begins.

A New Web Comic

Two of my daughters are collaborating on a web comic strip called "Cat in Progress." You can find it by clicking here. I hope you'll read it and leave a nice comment on their comic blog - Click Here

They hope to update it every Tuesday, so check in once a week for the new adventures of "Cat in Progress."

Motiv8 Fantasy Fiction Tour - Promotional Video and Schedule

The Motiv8 Fantasy Fiction Tour is drawing near, so it's time to get excited! Here's a promotional video to help us get pumped up.




Contestants, if you get this video posted on a blog, yours or someone else's, you'll get another thirty points. Of course, I would love for you to post it in a thousand places, but you'll get points for only three different places.

Also, here is the tentative schedule for the tour. It's not completely full yet, so watch this blog for updates:

Friday – October 3rd

Abbotsford, BC, Canada

Mennonite Educational Institute (Middle School)
4081B Clearbrook Road
Abbotsford BC
Canada V4X2M8

1pm – 3pm - Full school assembly
4:30pm – 6:00pm –Meet the Authors Dinner with 20 student reading contest winners
6:30pm – 8:30pm – Speaking Event with parents and students
8:30pm – Book Sales and Autograph session

Saturday – October 4th

Seattle, Washington

Harvest Logos Bookstore 3pm to 5pm
115 N. 85th St. #100
Seattle, WA 98103
206-781-8725

Salt Shaker Bookstore – 6:30 to 8:30pm
1456 Cole St.
Enumclaw, WA, 98022
360.825.7258

Sunday – October 5th

Portland, Oregon

Portland events to be announced

Medford, Oregon

Evangel Family Bookstore 6pm to 8pm
1600 N Riverside Ave # 1063
Medford, OR 97501
(541) 772-2849

Monday – October 6th

Sacramento, California

Trinity Christian School – 1:30pm to 2:30pm
5225 Hillsday Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95842
(916) 331-7377

Barnes & Noble - 6pm to 8pm
1725 Arden Way
Sacramento, CA 95815
916-565-0644

Tuesday – October 7

Fresno, California

Children’s Hospital Central California Charity event – 11:00 am

Berean Christian Stores – 6pm to 8pm
7512 N. Blackstone Ave
Fresno, CA 93720
559-431-0541

Wednesday – October 8th

Reedley, California

Reedley Downtown Association and Chamber of Commerce sponsored all City Downtown “Cultural Arts Night” on Reedley’s main street.

“G” Street will be blocked off with booths in the street. Reedley Exponent Newspaper is doing a full page article on the 8 authors and the event. They are inviting the local Artists, local Authors and our 8 Authors will be the featured special guests with a booth center stage. Live music and food booths.

Thursday – October 9

Los Angeles, California

Bethany Christian School – 1:00 pm to 2:30pm
93 N Baldwin Ave, Ste B
Sierra Madre, CA 91024

Bookstore event – 5pm to 7pm
Valley Book & Bible
6502 Van Nuys Blvd.
Van Nuys, CA 91401
800-421-8906

Friday – October 10

Sun Valley, California

Village Christian Schools 8:50am to 1:00pm
8930 Village Ave.
Sun Valley, CA 91352
(818) 767-8382

Calvary Chapel Church – 7pm to 9pm
7800 Edinger Ave.
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
(714) 891-9495

Saturday – October 11th

San Diego, California

Barnes & Noble – 2pm to 4pm
Mira Mesa MarketCenter
10775 Westview Parkway
San Diego, CA 92126
858-684-3166

Sunday – October 12th

To Be Announced

Motiv8 Contest Bonus Points Available

In order to promote the soon-to-be-released Eternity's Edge, from now until the end of the contest, contestants who report purchases of Beyond the Reflection's Edge or Eternity's Edge will receive fifty points each whether the purchases are made on-line or from a store. This includes pre-orders for Eternity's Edge.

Please send me a scan, photo, or computer image of the purchase receipt. If it's a pre-order, I'm not sure what proof is available, so we would have to work that out. Of course, if you pre-order it from me, I will have proof. The purchase must be dated after August 27, 2008.

The official release date for Eternity's Edge is October 1, but I will likely have copies well before that, and some online stores might have it available early, as well.

Portland, Oregon, People - The tour needs your help

If you live in or near the Portland, Oregon, area, or know someone who does, maybe you can help the Motiv8 Christian Fantasy Tour. We had an event scheduled at a church for Sunday, October 5, but the church had to cancel.

So, now we need to book an event in that area. Do you know of a church, bookstore, homeschool group, youth group, etc, that might like to host an event for the tour on Sunday, October 5?

Please let me know. You can either post a comment here, or, even better, email me: bryan (at) dragonsinourmidst (dot) com. Replace the words in parentheses with the appropriate symbols.

Thank you!

New YA Series with Zondervan

I signed a contract with Zondervan for a four-book series for young adults. The tentative series title is "Riders of the Apocalypse." Sound like an end-times thriller? Well, it will be a thriller, but it won't be like any end-times story you've ever read before--nothing like Left Behind or The Last Disciple. Even if you don't like end-times stories, you might just like this series, because it might be better to call it an anti-end-times story.

As usual, it will contain strong fantasy elements, but it will stay in the real world, or "real" until the story totally bends the world out of shape. It should be fun. But you'll have to wait quite a while. The first book likely won't arrive until 2010.

As the time for the series draws closer, I will give more details.

Motiv8 Contest - First Assignment

This is your first assignment for the Motiv8 Tour contest. Pick an author from the group going on tour and write a note expressing why you like that author and his or her books. When I get them collected, I will send them to the authors. This will encourage the author and help you practice your own writing skills.

Rules:

The note has to be at least 100 words. It must be turned in to me by email, bryan (at) dragonsinourmidst (dot) com. Don't post it as a comment on this blog.

It has to be turned in by Saturday, August 23, by midnight. The first five I receive will get 50 points, and the rest will get 45 points.

To get points, the author you choose must not be me. You can write one to me if you want. I always appreciate encouraging words, but you won't get any points for it.

Write the note as if you were addressing the author. For example: Dear Mrs. Hinck, I really like your books, because ...

I'm pretty sure Donita Paul and Sharon Hinck appreciate "Mrs." rather than "Ms."

As a reminder, the authors are listed below.

Wayne Thomas Batson
L. B. Graham
Sharon Hinck
Christopher Hopper
Donita K. Paul
Eric Reinhold
Jonathan Rogers

I'll look forward to getting your notes!

Let the Motiv8 Contest Begin!

We don't have as many contestants as I had hoped for, but maybe we can make up the quantity with quality. With that in mind, I will be awarding bonus points for especially good reviews, that is, compelling and well-written reviews for any of the authors' books. The bonus points will range from five to ten points. Of course, if you get a bonus and then use the same text for another review site, you won't get another bonus.

For the best review posted during the first month of the contest (August 14 to September 14), I will give an autographed poster of The Bones of Makaidos.

I will post the award winning reviews on the blog.

If you want to join the contest, please come aboard. I will need you to email me your contact information.

So, let's get started. Send me your point reports!

The Bravehearted Gospel - A Review

A few weeks ago, I read a pre-publication version of The Bravehearted Gospel by Eric Ludy. I am pleased to say that this is a fine book, something that the church desperately needs. It challenges the church to restore the foundations of truth and righteousness, to really live according to faith and obedience.

The book uses the theme of restoring the "masculine" side of faith and practice, while balancing that with the "feminine" side. You'll have to read the book to see how these are defined. Eric does a fine job explaining the relevant issues.

The point is that, masculine versus feminine aside, we must obey God as He is revealed in the Bible rather than in the way He has been popularized in our culture. It's really a simple concept, but it has been lost in the modern church.

I have some quibbles with Eric's inclusive language. He often writes, "We do this ..." or "We do that ..." though Eric doesn't really do these things. I know, as a reader, that I don't do them, so these portions felt like accusations rather than explanations. I asked Eric about these issues, and he said these are attempts to reach the majority of the church, the members of the reading audience who are doing these things. I understand the attempt, but I prefer literal accuracy.

For example, from the book (unless the final version doesn't include this):

Christianity is the most explosive, most vibrant, most beautiful, most extraordinary news this Universe has ever encountered, and yet all of us Christians are trying to “make it more palatable.” We are downplaying God’s right to rule, overtake and possess the lives of each and every person on this terrestrial ball. (Boldface emphasis mine)

I, for one, am not trying to make the gospel more palatable, and I don't think Eric is doing this, either, so I can't understand why he has made such an all-encompassing accusation that everyone is doing this. Such language occurs multiple times in the book, and these parts seem to contradict the book's teaching that we can and should do otherwise. I hope this kind of language doesn't confuse people.

With that reservation in place, I recommend The Bravehearted Gospel. With most churches operating in an emasculated state, we need men and women who are willing to stand up, put on their spiritual armor, and fight for the truth of the gospel. In The Bravehearted Gospel, Eric Ludy eloquently and forcefully warns the church that it will never change the world with a feminized Christianity, which leads to fear, a de-emphasis of Scripture, and a lack of vigorous thinking. He tells us that God has given us the power to live holy lives, completely consecrated to Jesus, without giving any quarter to the flesh. This is the medicine the church of today needs. For many, it will carry a bitter taste, but it will provide healing to the soul and to the body of Christ.

In closing, here is an example of the great stuff that thrums throughout the book.

The Grace and Gospel of Jesus Christ has been drained of its potency. It’s been transformed into a message merely about the hugs and kisses of God while the muscle and power of God is left standing on the sidelines wholly forgotten.

But God is in the business of building saints. He is the Universe’s foremost expert on overhauling the human existence and making it actually work the way it was originally intended to work. And He does this overhaul with a tool known in the Bible as Grace. He saves us with it, He breaks us with it, He rebuilds us with it, and He fully equips us with it to turn this world upside down.

Grace is the Life of Jesus imparted and actually living, moving, working, and thundering within our very bodies to accomplish the errands of God on planet Earth.

Tool for Authors

As you might have noticed, I recently added a series of widgets to my blog's sidebar that display all my books. When someone clicks on one of them, it shows several buying options. You can also put an associate ID in the link to get a kickback from any sales through that link.

If you email Fraser Kelton at the company: Adaptive Blue, they'll build a widget for free.

Here's the email if you're interested:
support (at) adaptiveblue (dot) com