Jeff's Favorite Books Of 2014

by Jeff Reynolds

This is my last blog of the year, and I'll do as I did last year by giving the fifteen favorite novels I've read in 2014. I know this year's not over yet, and I'm planning on reading three more novels this year (all of which are sequels to books that are on the list), which will put my total at 26, by 21 different authors, a dozen of which I hadn't read previously. At first, I was going to give just the top ten, except it would exclude some good books I've read. They will be listed in alphabetic order by title.

Allow me to also throw down the guantlet. I'd love to see the lists for my other contributors, and also for the readers of this blog. It would be interesting to see how much overlap there is on the lists.
 
But first, let me start with the five non-fiction books that I most recommend for the year, in alphabetic order:

• Christian Theology of Public Policy by John M. Cobin. This book is challenging my thinking of the role of Christianity to the state -- I'm not sure I agree with all his points, but he did get the grey cells working.
• Creature Of The Word: The Jesus Centered Church by Matt Chandler, Josh Patterson, and Eric Geiger. Excellent on looking at the role of the church and how it can be cenetered on Christ.
• Getting To Know The Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction by Brian M. Litfin. A good look at ten people who had an impact on Christianity prior to 500 A.D., including my long-time favorites Tertullian and Athanasius, and a new hero, John Chrysostom.
• Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman. This edges out a similar book, Follow Me by David Platt. Both are good dealing with the cost of being a follower of Christ.
• Sacred Pathways: Discover Your Soul's Path To God by Gary Thomas. It develops the premise that there are nine spiritual temperments by which we worship, and gives tests on how to develop them.

I'll start my novel list with an honorable mention: Friend Me by John Faubion (interviewed Feb. 9, 2014). This was on my list from last year, but it wasn't released till this year.

So without further ado:

1. The Advocate by Randy Singer. When I interviewed him in February, 2013, his book Dead Lawyers Tell No Tales had yet to be released, but he was more excited about this story. Unlike his typical contemporary legal thrillers, this goes into history, giving a fictional look at the historic character of Theophilus (Luke 1, Acts 1). This book borders on being literary fiction.
   
2. Amberly by Mary Elizabeth Hall. Flirts between being a fantasy and a historical romance the setting is fictional but mirrors the time of the American Revolution. I love the politics involved in this story.
3. Amish Vampires In Space by Kerry Nietz (interviewed November 3, 2014). Sounds like camp, but this is a top notch, very creative science fiction story. 
4. Blown Away (re-released on e-book as Bumping Off Binky) by Nancy Mehl. I interviewed her June 3, 2014 about her latest book, Gathering Shadows. I loved this book because it's a great cozy mystery with a lead character who's both entertaining and smart (most cozy mysteries have a main character who's more one than the other).
5. Conspiracy by Suzanne Hartmann (most recently interviewed April 3, 2014). The second of the Fast-track thriller series. 
6. Dark Road Home by Elizabeth Ludwig (interviewed October 24, 2014). Second installment of the wonder Edge of Freedom trilogy.
   
7. Deadly Devotion by Sandra Orchard (interviewed July 3, 2013). Excellent suspense novel -- grabs you at the first sentence. Or is it a mystery? Actually, it's successful at being an excellent hybrid, fufilling both genres, a rare feat.
8. Death by the Book by Julianna Deering (interviewed most recently July 3, 2014). The second Drew Farthering mystery.
9. Heaven's Prey by Janet Sketchley (most recently interviewed two days before this one is posted). Another suspense story that plunges you into danger in the first chapter and never relents. 
10. The Merely Mortal by J. P. Leck (interviewed May 5, 2014). This horror story is very creative, with an intriguing writing voice, and characters that aren't ones you'd normally be associating with. 
11. Murder At The Mikado by Juliana Deering. Third of the excellent Drew Farthering mystery series, and my favorite of the three. If you like traditional mysteries, you'd love this.
12. A Newly Crimsoned Reliquery by Donna Fletcher Crow (most recently interviewed July 28, 2014). The latest in the Monastery Murders, featuring Father Anthony, one of my all time favorite fictional characters. A highlight is a debate between Father Anthony and an athiest. My favorite in the series was last year's An Unholy Communion, but this one isn't far behind.
13. No Safe Harbor by Elizabeth Ludwig. One of the best woven stories I've ever read.
14. Prophet by R. J. Larson. The start of a fantasy trilogy, looking at a 17 year old girl called to be a prophet, and her encounters with various heads of state.
15. Son of Truth by Morgan Busse. Another fantasy story, this one being the second part of a trilogy.

I'd love to know what my fellow contributors consider the best books they read, as well as the readers here.

Interview and Book Giveaway with Kerry Nietz

by Jeff Reynolds

WE HAVE A WINNER!
CONGRATULATIONS TO JOY HARTSHORN!

This month I have the honor of interviewing Kerry Nietz, who's published by Marcher Lord Press.  We'll be giving away your choice of any of his books, in your choice of print or e-book. The three rules are below.

Jeff Reynolds: How did you come to faith and how did you start getting into writing?

Kerry Neitz: I’m one of those fortunate individuals who came to faith in Christ at an early age. My parents were (still are) very dedicated Christians, and while not perfect, were great models for me growing up. Plus the church we attended was like family. 

I usually say I was eight when I came to know the Lord, but it might have been even earlier. Best decision I ever made. Doubtless saved me from a lot of poor decisions and heartache. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 3:6 “In all your way acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” In the course of my Christian walk I’ve found nothing more accurate than that. God gives straight paths to those who acknowledge Him.

As for the second part of your question, in some respects, I have been writing most of my life. Scraps of things I wrote as a kid still turn up at my parents’ house. I didn’t get serious about it until fourteen years ago, though. My first book (non-fiction) was published in October of 2003, so this month marks a writing anniversary for me.  It has been an interesting ten years.

JR: Could you tell us about your latest book and how did you get the idea for that book?

KN: Love to!

The story’s genesis goes back a couple years. Amish novels were all the rage, and my publisher, Jeff Gerke, sent out a mock cover to the Marcher Lord Press authors. An obvious spoof. It featured a bonneted female vampire with some Amish paraphernalia behind her. Also behind her was a large window with a view of an orange planet. Enough to make it clear that the setting was in space. The novel’s title was Vein Pursuit and it was part of the Amish Vampires in Space series. Jeff said it was the ultimate speculative novel! A genre crossover that was sure to be a hit. It was a joke he shared at writing conferences he attended, as well.

A year or so passed, and at one point I told him that someone should write that Amish Vampire in Space book. I didn’t think it was me, because I tend toward hard science fiction, and the title screams: Camp! Plus, I had a trilogy of my own to finish. (The DarkTrench trilogy, which started with A Star Curiously Singing.)

Then last year I got this idea about how it all might work, and not be campy. A theme emerged along with a couple key characters, so I started writing. Before I knew it, I was 30,000 words in. I emailed Jeff to tell him what I was doing. When he stopped laughing, he encouraged me to continue. I finished last June and sent it to him. He liked what he read, so here we are.

JR:  Was this book as fun to write as it sounds? What was the greatest challenge you faced writing it?

KN: It was great fun to write. It felt like a speculative novelist’s playground to me. Plus the characters really drove the plot. They just started showing up on the page and took over. The book is my longest, but I felt it could’ve been much longer if I hadn’t reined them all in a little.

The biggest challenges were a) creating authentic Amish characters, and b) contriving plausible science fiction vampires. I had some help with the first one, in the form of a friend who’s an Amish romance writer. With the second, I was pretty much on my own....but not really. God is always gracious to me when I’m doing research. Providing just the right science or intriguing idea when I need it.  It is a difficult process to describe, but it has happened with all my sci-fi books. It is typically like “Well, Lord, I’ve written myself into a corner here...whoa, oh wait, this will work. Thanks!”

JR:  You mentioned your name's in half a dozen other books. Could you tell us about them? And is one of them "But Who Would Be Dumb Enough To Even Try It?"

KN: Sure! I’m fond of all my “children.” I have a sci-fi trilogy that speculates a world under sharia (Islamic) law. The main character is this technological slave named Sandfly. He has an implant in his head to connect him to the future version of the internet, while also keeping him on the straight and narrow via little shocks called “stops.” 

The trilogy starts with A Star Curiously Singing. The third book in the series, Freeheads, won the Epic award this year, and was just named a medalist in the Readers Favorite award competition. What is neat there is that in both cases the book was entered in the mainstream science fiction (not Christian-specific) category, even though it is clearly a Christian book. 

This February my standalone sci-fi novel Mask was published. It takes place in the Pacific Northwest in the not-too-distant future where everything is decided by a vote. The main character, Radial, is a collector. If you get voted out of the city, he’s the one to come get you. It was just named a finalist for the 2014 Epic award.

I also rereleased my memoire FoxTales this summer. New cover, new revisions, and the addition of some fun souvenirs from my files (maps, funny memos, and whatnot).  I’m happy with how it turned out.

That brings us to the two collaborative projects I’ve been a part of. One of those is a short story anthology, Ether Ore, which showcases many of the Marcher Lord authors. I think my story, "Graxin", is tons of fun, but all the stories are great.

Finally, there’s the collaborative fantasy story that many of the Marcher Lord authors helped craft: But Who Would Be Dumb Enough To Even Try It? Each week, for fourteen weeks, a different author would pick up the reins of the story—often from the perspective of a different character—and run with it. It was terrific fun and really seat-of-your-pants writing. There was very little overall planning, so you were at the mercy of whatever the last author left you the week before. Challenging, fun, and a bit chaotic. Despite that (or maybe because of it) I think story turned out quite well. 

That’s one advantage of being part of the Marcher Lord fold. Literary experimentation is encouraged. 

JR:  Probably, for anybody coming up with a new novel is having a tough act to follow. For a novelty story that stretches a genre, I'd guess the challenge is greater. What's next on the agenda? Or are you planning a historical romance next?

KN: LOL. No, no historical romance planned as of yet. You know, I’m at one of those places where I’m open to wherever God wants to take me, writing-wise. There are several things I could do—step back into any of the worlds of my other books, but right now I’m really busy with promotion of what I’ve written already. That takes more time than you might think. 

After that...we’ll see.

JR:  Thank you for your time. Is there a web-page people can keep in touch with you at?

KN: Absolutely. My website is www.nietz.com. I’m also regularly on my Facebook author page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kerry-Nietz/195064863396

Thanks for inviting me!

Jeff to Reader:
Now, for the giveaway. You have your choice between the books he's mentioned, in your choice of format. You just have to do three simple things:

1. Leave a comment. 
2. Include your e-mail address.
3. Tell us what you would consider a title for a book that would grab people's attention like Kerry's Amish Vampires In Space