I’m going to be a part of a really cool event sponsored by Fuller Theological Seminary later this month.  It is open to the public, so I figured I’d give you all the scoop…

Conversations in Writing

The heart of the writer is expressed in many ways. Conversations in Writing features writers who specialize in the areas of theology, literature, fiction and journalism.

Emily Griesinger, PhD, Professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Azusa Pacific University. She has recently co-edited a collection of essays entitled The Gift of Story: Narrating Hope in a Postmodern World (Baylor University Press, 2006).

Joe Nassise, author of several novels, including the internationally bestselling Templar Chronicles trilogy. Joe is also the former president of the Horror Writers Association and a two time Bram Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Award nominee.

Dennis Okholm, PhD, Professor of Theology at the Haggard School of Theology, Azusa Pacific University; Visiting Professor of Systematic Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary. His most recent book is Monk Habits for Everyday People (Brazos Press, 2007)

Christine Spicer is the editor of The Viewpoint, the Alumni Magazine of Point Loma Nazarene University. She has taught writing at both Point Loma and San Diego State University. Her work at Point Loma has been recognized by two 2007 awards for writing and design. Christine is a UCSD Muir College Outstanding Scholar.

Our authors will share about the love and heartbreak of writing, what motivates them as writers, and how new writers might get started. You will have the opportunity to join them in conversation during lunch.

03/28/2009

9:00 AM - 2:00 PM

2021 Business Center Drive, Suite 115 Irvine, CA 92612

Fuller Seminary California Coast

Contact Person: Mike McNichols

Phone: 949-975-0775

Email: mikemc@fuller.edu

Cost: 25.00 RSVP: Yes

You are going to want to RSVP if at all possible, so they can be assured of having the right number of lunches.  While I don’t know my fellow panelists, I do know our host, Mike McNichols and any event he puts together is bound to be informative and a lot of fun.

If you’re in Southern California, come on out and join us on the 28th!

My buddy Dave Wilson tagged me with the “25 Random Things” meme the other day and in the interests of playing along I’ve decided to bore all of you with twenty-five not so interesting facts about me.  Ready, set, go…

1. I read an average of five to eight books per week.
2. In the time it takes to fly from Phoenix to Boston I can usually read two entire novels.
3. I love dogs and have five of my own.
4. I have strangely, and quite unexpectedly, developed a desire to race the Iditarod.
5. My first book was written on a dare over a case of beer in college.
6. My first car was a 1975 Plymouth Duster, brown with a faux snake skin roof.
7. I have considered crewing for Cpt,. Watson of Whale Wars fame.
8. I do not love to write like most writers I know.
9. I do love to come up with story ideas, however.
10. I would love to see Edgar Rice Burrough’s John Carter of Mars series made into an epic film on the scale of the Lord of the Rings.
11. I am very unexcited about the upcoming Pixar animated version of the same.
12. I suffered a limited form of amnesia in my youth and still do not remember the day of the accident that caused it.
13. I’m a fairly decent singer.
14. A TALENT FOR WAR by Jack McDevitt is one of my favorite novels.
15. I own a Sony Reader and absolutely love it.
16. I am trained in three different martial arts.
17. I recently bought an automatic rice maker.
18. I’m a Christian who believes in evolution.
19. I run a very cool writing site called Storytellersunplugged.com
20. For years I dreamed of climbing Everest.  Now I have no desire whatsoever to do so.
21. I am nearsighted and blind as a bat without my glasses/contacts.
22. I thought Defiance was excellent.
23. Making this list has been difficult.
24. I have been to every state in the nation with the exception of South Dakota.
25. I have no intention of tagging anyone else with this meme, so you are off the hook.

There you have it - 25 random things about me you probably could have gone your whole life without knowing.

Starting January 19th, I’m going to be joining a stellar line-up writing each week about, yep, you guessed it, writing, at the Genreality blog.  Now i know there are a ton of blogs out there about writing, including my own Storytellersunplugged, but what makes this blog different is that it is devoted to genre writing and written by authors working in five different genres - should make for some interesting perspectives!

Here’s the line-up:

MONDAYS:  Alison Kent, Romance and Contemporary Fiction Author
A published author of forty works including single title and category romance novels, novellas, a Smart Pop essay on the television show Charmed, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Erotic Romance, Alison Kent blogs for free as many words as she’s paid to write.  She is also a partner in the author community Access Romance, the Website design firm DreamForge Media, and is the muscle behind RomancingTheBlog.com.
Visit Alison’s website

TUESDAYS: Joseph Nassise, Horror novelist and Writing Coach
Joe Nassise is the author of several novels of horror and dark fantasy, including the internationally bestselling series The Templar Chronicles. He is a former president of the Horror Writers Association, the world’s largest organization of profession horror writers, a two time Bram Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Award nominee, and a life/creativity coach who likes working with people to get them to realize their full potential in life.
Visit Joe’s Website

WEDNESDAYS: Carrie Vaughn, Urban Fantasy  Author
Carrie Vaughn writes a series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty. The fourth, Kitty and the Silver Bullet, hit the New York Times bestseller list. The fifth and sixth novels will be released in early 2009. Carrie has also published about 40 short stories (and counting) in various anthologies and magazines such as Realms of Fantasy, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and Weird Tales. In 1998, she attended the Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop, and she earned a Masters in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Visit Carrie’s Website

THURSDAYS: Sasha White, Erotic Fiction Author
Gifted with a salacious imagination, Sasha White’s  brand of Romance with Heat, and Erotica with Heart has earned her a loyal following.  With a voice that is called “distinctive and delicious” by The Romance Studio this national best selling author  of erotic fiction has published over a thirty erotic stories in multiple sub- genres’, and various story lengths.
Visit Sasha’s website

FRIDAYS: Lynn Viehl, Dark Fantasy and Science Fiction Author
Since 2000 New York Times bestselling author Lynn Viehl has published forty-two novels under eight pseudonyms in five different genres, including her StarDoc science fiction series and Darkyn dark fantasy series. She is the author of Paperback Writer, a popular publishing industry blog, and has been involved in the online writing community since 1994 as a teacher, mentor and occasional activist.
Visit Lynn’s Blog

I hope you’ll stop by on the 19th and join the conversation.