Q3 2015 Update

For all my new blog content, please visit the new Blog Site: http://www.3lcpublishing.com/blog/

But for those who want to stay here for now, here's a real quick update!

• In the spring, Figures.com published a brief look at my experience getting caught in the Star Wars hype of Force Friday.
• My “Tour of Middle Earth” Lego Photo Journey on FLICKR was completed over the summer. I wish it would have yielded more results, but oh well-it was fun. 
• I have found many new joys over the last few months and continue to promote many of them on Twitter. Check 'em out.
• To Retreat from Romance has been pushed back to 2016. It's a disappointment, to be certain, but I am ecstatic to finish it.
• Stronghold is still headed for a complete revised edition--found some more tweaking was necessary and had to extend my timelines. 
• X3church group leadership continues to go well; and by summer’s end, we may have 3 new leaders in my zone!
• National Novel Write Month is less than a month away, and I am partially through my outline and looking forward to actually drafting a new novel. 
• Creations for Charity are due this month, and I hope to wrap up the builds this holiday weekend!

All that being said, I have mixed emotions moving into Q4! Saddened by the delays on some projects, but feeling blessed and praising God because of what he is doing despite my lack of organization and time management.

Thanks again for visiting, and please check out semi-regular content on The 3LC Publishing Site

Q2 2015 Update

For all my new blog content, please visit the new Blog Site: http://www.3lcpublishing.com/blog/

But for those who want to stay here for now, here's a real quick update!

• In the spring, Figures.com published my interview with the founder BRICKWARRIORS as well as a little story about my collecting habits shifting to Lego.
• “Tour of Middle Earth” Lego photo project on FLICKR is going strong. 
• In light of this post last week, I’ve been promoting some of my favorite podcasts and artists on Twitter. Check 'em out.
• Rewrites on my first children's book have halted, but I'm still hoping to finish the second draft by August 1st.
• To Retreat from Romance is now on deck to be released before 2016, and I am ecstatic.
• Stronghold is headed for a complete revised edition (you may recall, I was debating this in April). 
• X3church group leadership continues to go well; and by summer’s end, we may have 3 new leaders in my zone!
• National Novel Write Month is coming, and I am outlining my project with full intentions of participating.
• Also this fall, I’ll be participating in Creations for Charity once again. 

All that being said, I am feeling good as I move into Q3! Thanks again for visiting, and please check out semi-regular content on The 3LC Publishing Site

More Updates from 3LC's Main Site

Hi All,

My apologies if I've appeared dormant. I should be linking my current content at the end of each month for those checking this location rather than the NEW 3LC BLOG for updates and articles. I've posted a few articles at since January, and I invite you to visit the new location and give them a read!

First, here's additional entries in my ongoing Writing as Worship series:

"Writing Through the Walls"
"I'm No Intellectual"
"On Joy and Creation"
"What Are You Writing"
"Sanctification and the Writer's Revising"
"On the Costs of Writing"
"The Need to Find the Time to Write" (an intentionally bad title, I assure you)


Outside of that series, here's an article about my first re-reading of Stronghold since its 2013 publication and also provided an overall quarterly update.

Thanks for stopping by the old haunt; please feel free to check out the new diggs.

More New Content at 3LC Publishing

Hello Friends,

I am working through some of the issues on the 3LC publishing site; however I have continued to blog while I solve these problems. Please visit the address above to read my latest or see the below links directly for last week's content:

In God's Image Interview with Writer Ben Avery

 Writing as Worship: Writing as a Creationist

New Content at the 3LC Publishing Site

So, my friends, I am not nearly as tech savvy as I would have thought, and I am having some troubles on the 3LC publishing site. I've gotten my latest post to publish, but I am having a difficult time getting it formatted to the landing page.

Needless to say, those checking the site for updates will be hard pressed to locate them, so I think it best to link back to the new content from here as I repair the issue.  Please click below for my latest:

On Writing as Worship: An Introduction

Saying Good-bye to 2014

As we close on 2014, I am left with a single thought: I am going to do better in 2015.  I must.

Ending the year in such a headspace is difficult, but I would be lying if I implied anything otherwise. The truth is that I gave up on my dream for a season (or at least 2 months); I lost sight of what I loved and why.  I put money in place of value, and I filled my time with needless diversions and excuses rather than doing the hard work required to become a great writer. And I lamented these choices while I was making them and even moreso after the fact.

Like most optimists, however, I see a benefit to these lost days. You see,  I have tried--with little success, really—to share with you my writing journey--the up’s and down’s and day-to-day. If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time, you know that while I’ve shared highlights and disappointments, I’ve failed to be consistent (which is a key component of a successful blog) and am changing my goal set for 2015. If nothing else, the season when I became distracted is evidence that writers can lose sight of the prize and yet return to it—and with greater productivity and vigor than they might have had were they to have coasted through that period.

But as I’ve said, that period is passed, and my mind is set on the future. I have many things I plan to accomplish in the next 12 months, but the major ones are as follows:

To revise and re-release Stronghold

To release To Retreat From Romance

To draft my first fantasy novel (During National Novel WriteMonth, 2015)

To release study aids for my two novels in PDF format on my publishing site.  

To publish my first children’s book, Franklin Finnigan

To publish a series of blog posts regarding Writing as Worship

Maintain a consistent presence on Twitter and Flickr

This looks insurmountable, but it is not. I am confident I can get all of this done if I approach it correctly--treating each of these projects not as large works to be completed in a few sittings but rather as the end results of many intentional, shorter sessions and countless smaller tasks. Like dieting or building muscle, patterns of consistency and hard work will dictate the outcomes of the above and ultimately bring the success toward which I am reaching.

Of course, it’s all in God’s hands. Any good work I am able to accomplish is by his grace alone. I must never forget this; in fact, I must always affirm it—placing it at the forefront of my efforts and goals. Does the above list honor him? Will finishing these projects reveal more of his beauty to the world? Will these works benefit the kingdom or merely me; and if the latter, am I prepared to walk away from them? 

As I’ve said repeatedly, time will tell. And that time will happen in the next 12 months. I am deeply looking forward to this; my soul longs to see the outcome of this time next year.

May the Lord grant me the time and energy to chase it with unabashed enthusiasm. May he carry me to such work that his glory would be evident to all who engaging the output of 3LC Publishing. May my vainglory and conceit be stifled in light of what he wants me to accomplish, not for my glory but for his.

Pray for me, that all this and more should come to pass. And thank you advance for not only this prior year but for staying with me in the one to come.

Review : The Lamb & The Fuhrer Graphic Novel

The Lamb & The Fuhrer

From Kingstone Media

Written by Ravi Zacharias

*PLEASE NOTE: I received a hardcopy of this book to review for the publisher.

The Lamb & the Fuhrer is a recent collaboration between Ravi Zacharias and Kingstone Media, and together they create a somewhat effective look at each man's final judgment after death. I can’t praise the book entirely for what I believe is a real narrative "sin", but I can say that the work provides some of Kingstone's most intense and provocative material to date.

So, let me get my gripe out of the way first, and we can be positive moving forward. The book opens with the framing device of a German national taking his American friend on a tour of important locations from the Second World War and its aftermath. During the tour they discuss Hitler’s position, and what it must have been like (will be like?) in the moment he stands before Jesus Christ to give an account of his life. They interject local German hero and Christian author Deitrich Bonhoeffer as a witness during the judgement, and they envision the discussion’s content and outcome.

Why I Intend to Keep Writing in 2015...

2014 was a hit-and-miss year. I've documented this. But now we're headed toward 2015; and frankly, my mind's been there for some time. To be honest, I've been wrapping some final posts for the next ten days, but my real focus is almost exclusively on the coming 12 months--and a relaunch of sorts. Lord-willing, I am going to be able to better hone my energies on a few specific goals and projects, making the next 12 months far more productive, useful, and fulfilling.

A few housekeeping items:

• As I've said, this address will be moving to directly to the official 3LC site.
• Further, the ongoing blog on that site will now have a set schedule. Tuesdays and Fridays, all year.
• Those posts will be focused content with "long term" goals in mind (but more on that in 2015).
• The "In God's Image" series will likely end. Inasmuch as I love the idea, I do not think I will have the content to warrant continuing it in the new year. Of course, if I can get enough responses and interests, I'll certainly be resurrecting it.
• With some additional help and reinforcements, To Retreat From Romance will be released before December 31.
• And it will hopefully be one of several works to be published during the year. 

Again, I have no excuse for being so lax this last quarter. I admit that I let certain expectations and disappointments derail my motivation, but excuses are meaningless at this point. Now is the time to renew and continue. To work. 

I will say, that perhaps one of the best things that could have happened to me occurred this last quarter. I realized how much I loved writing, and I realized how deeply I am compelled to do it. I simply do not feel I am living my life to the fullest unless I am putting words to the page and making it happen, if even in small incremental steps. When I am in my zone, I feel a sense of doing what I was designed to do. I may have felt led to write a novel, but now I feel designed to stay a writer.

The revelation was equal parts encouraging and horrifying. I was encouraged in that "writing" was not a short-lived fad but rather a true desire that I cannot seem to dismiss. Further, any writer can publish, find an audience, and have an effect on that audience in ways he or she does not realize, regardless of whether one sells books or blogs or works in more collaborative fields. If one wants to write, he/she can do so and never be certain who is reading and benefitting from it. So doing the work matters, not just for oneself but for his/her audience. Thus, I was encouraged. 

I was horrified, however, to realize that this is truly what I feel fit to do, but I believe it will be a very long time before I can justify doing it for a living; in fact, I may never reach that day. The thought of spending the next 35 years working in a field other than what I am built to do can be frightening, but who knows what is in store for the future. 

All I know is that in the present I am focused and driven, and I'm going to take steps toward that future even as I continue to work hard at my 9-to-5 and support my family. I am looking toward 2015 with a sense of expectation and excitement I did not have in 2014. I think it could be the greatest year for my writing endeavors this far. I would like that very much, and I hope you'll join me on that journey as I take it. 

As always thank you again for reading, and please check back here over the next two weeks for my last posts at this address.

C

Recommendation : The Kingstone Bible : Volume 7 : The Exiles

The Kingstone Bible : Volume 7 : The Exiles

From Kingstone Media

*PLEASE NOTE: I received a hardcopy of this book to review for the publisher.

Kingstone Media has given comics readers another portion of the Old Testament in graphic novel form thanks to The Kingstone Bible: Volume 7: The Exiles. This interesting view into the plight of Israel is not only full of powerful storytelling but dynamic art, making it yet another valuable addition to the ongoing anthology (Volumes 1, 3, and 4, I have already reviewed). By collecting the stories of Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, the Kingstone Bible gives an impression of life for the Jewish people following their being taken to Babylon, while also highlighting some fantastic moments of this Biblical era.

Daniel provides the reader with the life story of one of the most beloved prophets. From Nebuchadnezzar through Belshazzar, this retelling shows the anti-Semetism of the times as well as the Lord’s ongoing faithfulness over the course of several decades. While some of the art could have gone further in detail (say, with Nebuchadnezzar’s going insane), the book is vibrant and moves at a relatively smooth pace.

Ezra follows Daniel and proves to be the weakest (and shortest) chapter in the volume.  I applaud  Kingstone for their attempt to capture Ezra’s plight, but I do not recall the thrust of the story at all, which is saying something given that I am writing this only two days after having reading it. That's just the truth. While I plan to revisit this piece of the volume, this interpretation of Ezra did not affect me on my initial reading.

Perhaps that is because it is overshadowed by Nehemiah, which is another wonderful segment of the volume, particularly because it highlights the difficulty of the prophet’s role in not only rebuilding the walls but also defending and governing the people. Nehemiah was a far more charismatic figure than I had previously considered, and the role his integrity played in his success is communicated beautifully. The best praise I can give Kingstone is that this volume made me want to revisit the text in a traditional Bible and see how it describes what Kingstone so vividly shows. This is some of my favorite work in The Kingstone Bible.

The book closes with Esther, and one could argue that Kingstone saved the best portion of the volume for last. While I enjoyed Nehemiah more, I think Esther is the best piece in The Exiles. Thanks to Beautiful art by Javier Salteres, the story of this Hebrew maiden turned Persian Queen is the quintessential tale of elegance and humility bringing honor and opportunity. I have never been so captivated by Esther’s story, and Kingstone’s telling allows it to move gracefully, like a fairy tale or modern princess film.

Noticeable by its absence is the voice of the Lord (except in the book of Daniel). It’s an interesting development considering the prior volumes that included the presence of God so overtly; however, in this portion of Israel’s story, it makes complete sense—and even benefits the narrative in providing context to just how far Israel as a nation had wandered. God did not speak to the Hebrews directly at this time; he used the prophets (and I think they are covered in another volume). His lack of direct, divine intervention is felt, but his ongoing faithfulness and mercy is as well.

Overall, The Exiles is a dense and moving tome. I hate to be hard on the book of Ezra, but it is a weak link in an otherwise fantastic chain of stories. The Kingstone Bible continues to surprise and delight with another great volume. Frankly, I wish I had a few million to toss their way to commission a full, chronological tale of the Scriptures, as they have the talent pool to create a vibrant and spiritually satisfying version.  Until that day, however (ha, ha), their present anthology will suffice as a wonderful version of The Bible in the comics medium.

The Kingstone Bible, Volume 7: The Exiles is available at The Kingstone Media Group site, as well as Amazon.

Eureka...kinda

As I look to wrap up 2014 and renew my efforts in the coming year, I have had a realization--an important one. Frankly, the last few months I was vexed by what to do with my continued writing pursuits. What projects I should abandon? What ends I should pursue? I feel like I am finally getting my answers.

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't lost some hope. In truth, my enthusiasm waxes and wanes more oft than the moon itself. I have had my days in despair; my hours of inaction. I've given into those "other" whispers--not the Spirit's gentle voice or the encouragement of the Scriptures but the self-doubt and inclinations toward surrender. I've given ear to the accuser, to the enemy; I've let him sow his seeds of discontentment and fear. I've mused on his taunts and ill charges, and he has snatched more of my attention than I would like. He's held me at bay longer than I care to admit.

Review: The Kingstone Bible : Volume 4 : The Judges

The Kingstone Bible : Volume 4 : Judges

From Kingstone Media

*PLEASE NOTE: I received a hardcopy of this book to review for the publisher.

Bottom line: I am torn regarding The Kingstone Bible : Volume 4. The weakest entry in the anthology thus far, this graphic novel is a rough read, and I am unsure if that is inherently due to the content or to the execution. One can go through the book quickly, but it is not a pleasant experience. Of course, given that this is a lawless era of Israel's history, perhaps discomfort is the point. You see why I'm torn.

Kingstone pays close attention to their interpretation of the text and as such limits their creative freedom. I believe the book conveys what is presented in the Holy Scripture, which is admirable, but the translation suffers because it does not present more contextualization (which i believe they did to great affect in their adaptation of Genesis).

If nothing else, this book shows Israel’s folly and the horrendous immorality of the ancient world. Between the injustices of the rulers and the harsh mistreatment of women, one can see why God would have placed his chosen people in the geographical location that he did; the great tragedy of Israel’s history is that they fell into the culture rather than changing it.

The Book of Judges almost serves as a microcosmic picture of Israel (and, arguably, the church) as wayward followers. Things go well; God’s people reject him; as life gets worse, they return. When they do, he delivers them, and once it gets good again, they forget. I’ve seen this narrative repeat itself in history as well as in my own life. To see it in such detail on the comic page is difficult.

But it’s not just Israel’s nameless masses or the surrounding enemies that are the problem. Judges is a book of failures and antiheroes. To his credit, writer Art Ayris in no way attempts to put a spin on the multiple protoganists that Judges provides in order to make them Westernized heroes. They are all essentially as foolish and, at times, immoral as any of their enemies, but God uses them for his purposes in spite of their weakness.

This is why the books is so unpleasant; the stories of Judges take place in a sort of outlaw frontier, and none of the characters fit the Western model of hero. In fact, some of the stories are merely displays of the horror among those who clearly reject Jehovah and his law.

Again, The Kingstone Bible: Volume 4: Judges suffers from the narrative problems inherent in any direct interpretation of the original Scripture. The book is confusing, and the characters difficult to engage. This shows interpretive integrity but lacks creative license one might expect or desire to make the book more palatable in the comic medium. The experience is uneven but poignant; and as I said, that may be the reason the book exists. 

The Kingstone Bible: Volume 4: Judges is now on Amazon.com

Fear, Failure, and Forward Momentum

Well, here we are: midway through the last month of 2014. The time has passed more quickly than I would have expected. Sure, some days have been long, others not so. I've had the pleasure of savoring many moments and etching new memories while also failing to cherish many more that I let slip through my mind.

I'm off my marks for web traffic, blog posts, tweets, and a wealth of other personal goals. I've gained weighed and lost muscle. My love for the Lord has increased even as my strength and discipline seemed to leave me. I'm really not sure how I'll look at 2014 in the long scheme of things.

Recommendation: "All My Love" by Trip Lee and "Dead Preacher" by Jackie Hill Perry

If you've been at the blog for any amount of time, you know I like hip-hop. Just recently I wrote a recommendation for LeCrae's Anomaly, and I have previously also praised the work of Beautiful Eulogy.

Two recent songs have caught my attention, and I thought it worth my time to commend them to you, alongside some honorable mentions. The tracks I'll be sharing today are especially beautiful due to their overall theme of redemption overcoming depravity and brokenness. A great many hip-hop songs focus on the latter, but few end with the hopeful outlook of the below ballads.