Marching band season is upon us

School started last week and the kids had been in band camp for three weeks prior to that. The show looks to be promising - hope they do well and rack up the nice trophies like they did last year.

Our school will be hosting a competition this year, which is something new for most everyone (apparently we hosted an upper state competition which is different than a regular competition one year but I wasn't involved in the band during that time).

So being that both my younguns are in the marching band (Hailie is in the colorguard this year again (she played tuba last year and it ruined her shoulder) and Benjamin is in the pit or frontline) that means football season is upon us. We had our first football game this past Friday (played against my alma mater) and lost but they still have pictures taken and posted in the local newspaper. Here is my son on the pit cart as they are coming off the field (and doesn't he look happy?)





Let me know what you think. See you all in the postings - E :)

Addicted or not?

You decide - I feel I'm only semi-addicted to blogging - but I just like taking some of these fun little quizzes just to see how accurate they are. Of course with only 5 questions being asked the answers having to be somewhat concrete with no gray areas or taking into account that you could two ways, some of these little quizzes are really just that - for fun - not true, or anything else - lol

60%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Dating Site

Some cool stuff

We were at the music store a couple of weeks ago, getting the girl's flute repaired and ordering musical supply stuff they would need for school and Hailie saw the guitar picks sitting on the counter. So she was looking at them and then we had an idea to make jewelry from them, earrings mostly.

So here are the first two pair of earrings she made - we call them singles and doubles - lol and a barrett with rhinestones. - Enjoy - see you all in the postings - E :)

What Planet Should You Rule?

I guess I can't complain - says I should rule Saturn - at least it didn't say I should rule Pluto which is basically no longer considered a planet. So how do we now teach our kids that there are only 8 planets and not 9 as we had learned all those many years ago? Not sure but I'm glad I'm not a teacher.

I found this poll on a friend's blog - - Suzy's Scribbles - so check it out - she has some pretty interesting stuff on her blog ---- http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SuzyScribbles/

You Should Rule Saturn

Saturn is a mysterious planet that can rarely be seen with the naked eye. You are perfect to rule Saturn because like its rings, you don't always follow the rules of nature. And like Saturn, to really be able to understand you, someone must delve beyond your appearance. You are not an easy person to befriend. However, once you enter a friendship, you'll be a friend for life. You think slowly but deeply. You only gain great understanding after a situation has past.

What Planet Should You Rule?

See you all in the postings - E :)

Read a good book lately?

Here's a novel idea - release good books to be found and read by others. The concept sounds interesting and fun. So if you like to read and want to share a good book with someone, check out the following site - BookCrossing http://www.bookcrossing.com/ - you read a book, register it, get a BookCrossing ID and a url so that others who read the book can post where it's been caught or released, et cetera -

I've got some books I can release maybe - lol - hope to see you all in the postings - E :)

Friends, school, and just chat in general

So my friend Chai, a youngun I met on a writing group forum, was chatting with me this evening (okay it is officially Thursday morning in South Carolina but still Wednesday night in California where she lives) and she was updating me on her plantar wart situation (she's had them burned off with acid and now has had them frozen off with something similar to Compound W but at the doctor's office instead of doing it herself. Anyway - she is in pain and says the freezing hurts more than the acid burning off - which is believable because it is like dry ice - or something like that being put on your skin.

She reminded me that today (August 9) is her birthday - so all of you drop by her blog http://raindropsays.blogspot.com/ - and wish her a happy 19th and many more.

got to hit the sack - I didn't fall asleep until after 4 last night (or Wednesday morning) and I struggled like crazy to stay awake and work all day - stay cool - see you all in the postings - E :)

Virtual Book Tour Interview and Schedule

Here is the interview with Karina Fabian, one of the editors for Infinite Space Infinite God, followed by her virtual tour schedule - so you can check out the other interviews and reviews posted on other people's blogs - enjoy - E :)


Q: What's your new book about?
K: Infinite Space, Infinite God is thought-provoking sci-fi with a Catholic twist.

The 15 stories cover the gamut of future science, from genetic engineering to asteroid mining to interstellar travel. They span the topics of sci-fi: time travel, space opera, dystopia, psychological thrillers and sci-fi mystery. Finally, they examine the Catholic worldview in the challenges of the future, from evangelizing to aliens to determining the soul-status of artificially created humanoids, to religious orders and even saintly miracles.

It won the EPPIE award for best electronically published science fiction of 2006 and is coming out in print August 15 from Twilight Times Books. www.twilighttimesbooks.com.

Q: You've been doing a lot of interviews this month on your virtual book tour. (Readers can see the full tour schedule below and at http://isigsf.tripod.com). You've mentioned several times that you chose the stories according to three principles: engaging writing, believable use of science or "fictional science" and sound Catholic doctrine. For a change, tell us what really drew you to each the stories?

Karina: Summarizing stories -
The Harvest, Lori Z. Scott: The characters drew us to this one. Barry, the priest, had a strong faith, but also had doubts and needed a push now and then, whether from his father or from the human/animal hybrid who needed his help. We also liked how Lori treated the question of whether artificially created humanoids have souls.

Hopkins’ Well, Adrienne Ray: A lot of folks tried to do the "transporter story," but Adrienne was the only one who did it uniquely and compellingly. The horror Private Talbot felt when he realizes what happened to him, Riggen's March-it's all a little spooky and very cool.

Brother John, Colleen Drippe’: Colleen had written a Lost Rythar story for our previous anthology, Leaps of Faith, so hers was a no-brainer to include. Colleen writes great adventure stories--lots of action.

Interstellar Calling, Karina L. Fabian: This one has a funny story. We had an alien abduction story chosen but at the last minute, the author pulled it. We loved the idea, however, and Karina decided that, rather than change the introductions, she'd try her hand at a similar theme. It wrote itself fast, and has gotten a lot of compliments from reviewers.

Our Daily Bread, Karina and Robert Fabian: We wanted to do a story in the asteroid belt, and several things wove their way in--the idea of worship in a remote area, which is a little more difficult for Catholicism, Karina's dad's deaconship and the increasing responsibilities he faced, and the idea of having more than one Calling in life.

Brother Jubal and the Womb of Silence, Tim Meyers: Tim has incredible talent to produce strong images with little actual description. The flow is absolutely perfect for life on the moon and the interweaving of poetry and meditations transformed this "man on the moon" story into literature.

Mask of the Ferret, Ken Pick and Alan Loewen: This was just fun! So far out in the future that it reads more like Star Wars than Star Trek, the detail in the universe, even down to the slang, made it easy to believe.

Little Madeleine, Simon Morden: Again, this was a unique idea, but what really drew us were the characters and the plausibility of Simon's world, even if not his order of bodyguard nuns. Madeleine could be any teen seeking a way out of a desperate home situation; it was easy to get drawn into her plight.

The Hosts of the Envoy, Alex Lobdell: Alex had written a story about High Hopes for Leaps of Faith and we adored the character, so we specifically asked for more adventures of the lost test-pilot/canary astronaut. Once again, he gave us a fun and engaging story with a uniquely Catholic twist.

Understanding, J Sherer: By writing a police thriller set in the future, J impressed us by giving us a story that met all our standards but wasn’t the usual sci-fi trope.

Stabat Mater, Rose Dimond: This has been our most controversial inclusion because a woman is ordered to accept the calling as priest, but we really enjoyed this story because of the depth and complexity of the faith of the characters, the realistic treatment of the troubled girls who are visited by Mary, and the idea that there are no easy answers.

Canticle of the Wolf, Alan Loewen: Alan actually submitted this to us for Leaps of Faith, but we felt it a little too "Catholic" for that anthology. Karina loved it so much, however, that she'd kept it for years, and when we started this anthology, it was our first acceptance. Karina has always loved St. Francis, and Alan presented a new take on his story while keeping the gentle, loving aspects of his character intact.

These Three, Karina and Robert Fabian: The idea came from a song about a spacer who was severely injured in a ship accident, but must crawl several decks to get to the rescue beacon to call for help. The imagery of the song inspired us to write our version of the accident and character, and what better angle than to have the patron saint of spacers help him in his struggle?

Far Traveler, Colleen Drippe’: Colleen took two tropes that have been done to death-- time travel and witnessing the crucifixion--and made them fresh. The other cool thing about Colleen's stories is that they don't read like what most folks expect from religious fiction, yet they have a strong faith message.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff: We loved it and were disturbed by it at the same time. Just an incredible story--'nuff said.

Q: Obviously, you're pleased with the book, but what are you hopes for it?
K: Naturally, we hope that it sells well; but even more, we'd like sci-fi fans of all religious persuasions to enjoy the stories and think about the issues presented. After all, that's what good sci-fi's for.



AUGUST
DATE: Place to visit

1: www.doylebooks.com (summary)
www.kaleidosouls.info, Day 1 (summary)

2: www.kaleidosouls.info, Day 2 (interview)
http://writetype.blogspot.com (guest blogger)

3: www.thewritingjungle.blogspot.com (interview)

4: www.freewebs.com/mary-andrews (interview)

5: http://writeurthoughts.blogspot.com (interview)

6: www.catholicfiction.net (interview)
www.elysabethstories.blogspot.com (interview)

7: http://timewithtannia.tripod.com/ (interview)
www.writeandwhine.blogspot.com/ (interview)

8: http://www.jillelizabethnelson.com/artisticblogger.shtml
http://www.shoutlife.com/jillelizabethnelson
http://www.myspace.com/jillelizabethnelson (interview)

9: http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/ (interview)

10: http://cmwforum.blogspot.com (review)

11: www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com (interview)

12: www.thedarkphantom.wordpress.com (interview)
7:00-9:00 PM: www.writerschatroom.com (Live Chat)

13: www.lostgenreguild.com (review)
http://gloriaoren.blogspot.com (interview)

14: http://www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/dragons-of-the-pyramid-book-reviews.html (review)

15: http://beverlyjean.livejournal.com (interview)
www.virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com (trailer)

16: http://cfvici.blogspot.com/ (review)
http://catharsys.wordpress.com/ (interview)
http://cdrippe.wordpress.com (summary)

17: http://www.annmargaretlewis.com/ (interview)

18: 12 Noon: Live Chat: http://jolinsdell.tripod.com
http://blog.myspace.com/grace1979 (review)

19: karen Syed (interview and summary)
http://blog.myspace.com/grace1979 (review)

20: www.marilynmeredith.blogspot.com (interview)

21: www.snoringscholar.blogspot.com (review)

22: http://solshine7.blogspot.com (review and interview)
http://scifijournalist.blogspot.com (review and interview)

23: www.jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com (interview)

24: www.authoralley.blogspot.com (interview)
http://www.karenee.blogspot.com/ (interview)
www.disturbingreviews.blogspot.com (interview)

25: www.thebookpedler.wordpress.com (interview)
www.paulinebjones.blogspot.com (interview)

26: www.livejournal.com/~paulinebjones (interview)

27: http://penelopemarzec.blogspot.com (guest blogger)
http://aspiringauthor.blogspot.com/ (interview)
http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/ (interview)

28: http://www.myspace.com/happywriter (guest blogger)
http://zyphe.blogspot.com (review)
http://360.yahoo.com/raeshylle (review)

29: 12 Noon: Live Chat "Infinite Space, Infinite God and the Infinite Possibilities of Book Marketing" http://www.virginiajennings.zoomshare.com/5.html

30: www.noveljourney.blogspot.com (interview)

31: http://afrankreview.blogspot.com/ (review)




I don't know when the review will be posted on my site but I will squeeze it in - probably near the end of the month - E :)

Media Release for Infinite Space Infinite God

M E D I A R E L E A S E

CONTACT: Karina Fabian
Phone: (540) 538-3327
E-mail: karina@fabianspace.com

For Immediate Release

Elysabeth's Emerald City (http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com)
Features a Unique Look at Sci-Fi

Internet, World-Wide-- Infinite Space, Infinite God, edited by Karina and Robert Fabian makes a stop at Elysabeth's Emerald City on August 6, 2007, on its August virtual book tour.

"Virtual book tours are a terrific means for getting word out to readers," said Karina Fabian. "Bloggers like Elysabeth have audiences who are interested in books, in quality fiction, and in matters of writing, science and faith. We're visiting 43 sites over the month. We've had great fun preparing and expect to generate a lot of buzz about Infinite Space, Infinite God."

Infinite Space, Infinite God, which won the EPPIE award for best electronically-published science fiction comes out in print August 15 from Twilight Times Books. It features fifteen stories about the future Catholic Church. They tell of Catholics struggling to evangelize to aliens and lost human colonies and to determine the soul-status for genetically modified humans, genetically-designed chimeras, and clones made from the Martian sand. They feature the adventures of religious orders devoted to protecting interstellar travelers and inner-city priests. Two stories explore how technical advances allow monks to live in solitude on the Moon and to help one criminal learn the true meaning of Confession. The introductions discuss present doctrine and current trends in technology to set the framework for the stories and to encourage discussion. (Media room available at http://isigsf.tripod.com.)

Elysabeth will post an interview from Karina exploring a bit more about the book.

The Fabians’ first anthology, Leaps of Faith, featured Christian SF and was a finalist for the 2003 EPPIE and 2004 Dream Realms awards. Karina Fabian helped found the Catholic Writer’s Guild, and Robert Fabian is a former speechwriter for the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and writes about space policy. Learn more at www.fabianspace.com.

Infinite Space, Infinite God is available in bookstores or online at www.twilighttimesbooks.com.

Infinite Space Infinite God info

Is that religion in my science fiction or science fiction in my religion? The writers of the Catholic SF anthology Infinite Space, Infinite God (www.twilighttimesbooks.com) have so seamlessly combined the two that it's hard to tell.

Infinite Space, Infinite God is an anthology of fifteen stories about how the future Catholic Church uses--or fails to use--its faith, wisdom and imagination to grow with the changes of the future. Within its pages, you’ll see the Church struggle to evangelize to aliens and lost human colonies and to determine the soul-status of genetically modified humans, genetically-designed chimeras, and clones made from the Martian sand. You’ll read the adventures of religious orders devoted to protecting interstellar travelers and inner-city priests, and experience how technical advances allow monks to live in solitude on the Moon and help one criminal learn the true meaning of Confession.

Karina and Robert Fabian, editors the Christian SF anthology Leaps of Faith, which was finalist for several e-book awards for best anthology, have applied the same high standards of writing, doctrine and science to Infinite Space, Infinite God. Its authors span the spectrum of faith and writing experiences, from published writers like Colleen Drippe and Maya Bohnhoff to promising new talent like Alex Lobdell, former editor of Montana Catholic.

This book contains not only fantastic stories from new angles but introductions exploring the issues and the Church’s current thinking that aim to spark discussion among Catholic and non-Catholics alike.

Entertaining and thought-provoking, Infinite Space, Infinite God represents the best in SF tradition.


Click here for more info on the book. Watch for interview with Karina on Monday - E :)

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR

I've volunteered to do a virtual book tour for Karina Fabian's book - Infinite Space, Infinite God. She and her husband co-edited this anthology of short stories focusing on a thought-provoking sci-fi theme with a Catholic twist.

Here is the information on the book - Interview will be posted on Monday. Review of the book to follow later this month.


Infinite Space, Infinite God
An Anthology of Catholic Science Fiction edited by Karina and Robert Fabian



Title: Infinite Space, Infinite God
Author: Karina and Robert Fabian, editors
Category: Science Fiction
ISBN: ISBN 1-933353-62-7
Format: Trade paperback
Publication Date: August 15, 2007
Pages: 288
Price: $18.95 US
Trim: 6 x 9
Available from: Twilight Times Books, www.twilighttimesbooks.com
First Print Run: 5000
For More Info: http://isigsf.tripod.com

2007 EPPIE Award Winner for Best Science Fiction

Come explore the worlds of “Infinite Space, Infinite God.” Meet genetically engineered chimeras and aliens who wonder what a human religion holds for them. Share the doubts, trials and triumphs of humans who find their journeys in time and space are also journeys in faith.
Experience spine-tingling adventure. Marvel at technological miracles—and miracles that transcend technology—and meet the writers who made a leap of faith and dared to incorporate familiar religion with fantastic universes.
Entertaining and thought-provoking, Infinite Space, Infinite God represents the best in SF tradition. Faith-filled fiction for readers that think.

Reviewer comments:
“...an excellent collection of science fiction short stories. These authors’ imaginations are astounding, pulling me into each and every story from the first paragraph, and then masterfully entwining their writings with Catholicism. The characters come alive in vivid detail making each story’s uniqueness stand on their own merit. Highly recommended, not only to devoted sci-fi readers, but to those who have never read the genre before.”
Reviewed by PJ for Scottieluvr’s "Chewing the Bone" reviews.

Karina Fabian is a freelance writer and catechist at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Fredericksburg, VA. She has sold her fiction to Eternal Night, Samsara, Hereditas, and Asimov’s. Rob Fabian is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force who is actively involved in the use of space, whose articles have been published in Journal of Space Policy.

Infinite Space, Infinite God can be ordered directly from Baker & Taylor, Ingram, or the publisher, Twilight Times Books, PO Box 3340, Kingsport, TN 37664; or via the Internet at http://twilighttimesbooks.com.

Behind on postings and reading blogs

I've been in a funk lately and have not really been keeping up with my blogs and my postings and reading other people's blogs. I apologize and if you have left a comment recently and I've not responded to you, again I apologize for not getting back to you. I'm trying to work out of this funk.

Just letting you all know I am sort of back and have some things coming up soon - see postings to follow - E :)

Hailie's new toy

As you can see from the slide show just added, Hailie got a new digital camera and she's been playing with it. It was an early birthday present she talked her father into getting for her. Guess if she can't have a cell phone like all her friends, she can have the camera - cheaper really - lol - takes pretty good pictures for a not really expensive camera (only $85 at Wal-Mart).

Band camp started this week so both are going strong with that and she's been taking pics at school of some of her friends too - will post those when I get copies of them -

Work is going better - got switched back to my old account and am a happy camper - enjoy the slide show - E :)

Check out my Slide Show!