The Spectrum Chronicles, Part IV

Title: Heart Chaser

Series: The Spectrum Chronicles #4

Author: Thomas Locke

Genre: YA (13-16) Sci-fi Alternate Reality

Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Heart Chaser:

Eleven days had passed since their successful attack on the pirate stronghold. Eleven days of powering along the lightway course, headed for the Solarus system. Eleven days without another contact with pirates or a single message from Wander.

The silence took its toll on Consuela. She kept up steady watches, searching the darkness of space with her heightened sensibilities. Yet in truth the danger of pirates did not keep her in the control room as much as the hope of another word from Wander.

Sleep did not come easy to her during that eleven-day voyage. Her dreams were filled with images of Wander crying out to her, the message lost because she was not listening. She remained tired much of the time and gradually became more withdrawn.

On the last day before their arrival at Solarus, Consuela remained at her station for hours after her watch had ended. Captain Arnol had warned her that as Solarus contained a Hegemony military base, she would not be able to search far afield. There would be too great a danger of being detected. So she stayed and she searched until her weariness rose and fell like great waves and she stumbled out of the control room and fell into her bed.

A young woman plunges into a secret mission to rescue her loved one.

The Writing: The writing of Heart Chaser remains closely tied to the previous two books in the series, Dream Voyager and Path Finder. The points of view are clear-cut and the boundaries set by those points of view are observed most of the time. Characters are interesting and the plot moves forward with moderate tension, though both are slightly predictable.

Since Heart Chaser is the final book in the Spectrum Chronicles, I was especially interested in how this story would end. As a whole it satisfies the reader, even if the climax is a little abrupt, wrapping up the problems a touch too easily and neatly. However, I especially appreciated the lack of a drawn-out ending or long explanations of how everyone lived the rest of their lives, commonly found in fantasy stories. Heart Chaser ends simply, with closure for the reader without losing the feeling that the characters continued to live on.

As in the all the books, a delightful thread of humor weaves throughout the story. I especially love the scene in the middle with a space version of extreme snowboarding. It is one of the highlights of this series. I wish more of these types of memorable scenes had been included throughout The Spectrum Chronicles.

The Story: The strong spiritual thread from Path Finder continues to gain strength in this story. Perhaps too much strength. While Biblically sound, the spiritual principles tend to be squashed together into single scenes, where they become the overwhelming focus. The result is preachiness. In addition, I think I find the tone preachy because the spiritual thread does not directly impact the climax or outcome of the story. You can remove those elements of the story, and the plot will be unaffected. This then gives me the feeling that those principles were put into the story to teach me something and that the story is only there to serve that purpose—whether that was the author’s intention or not.

Summary: If you are willing to overlook mediocre writing and don’t mind the preachy tone of the story, Heart Chaser brings a predictable but solid close to The Spectrum Chronicles with a wonderful flair of humor. Good for a light evening of reading.

Rating: 2.9 out of 5

Still interested? Order Heart Chaser here.

(Click to see reviews for Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3.)

Conference Crush

For me, it’s that time of year again when life turns crazy and the pace becomes frantic and despite all my best efforts, my progress is going in reverse.

No, it’s not back-to-school time for me. It’s the pre-conference crush.

Near the end of September, I will be attending the American Christian Fiction Writers conference, and I’m into full swing of preparation panic. Proposals to perfect. Documents to back-up. Pitches to practice. One-sheets to prepare. Schedules to plan. People to contact. E-mails to print. Outfits to pick out. Papers, folders, notebooks, pens, pencils, clothing, shoes, accessories, tickets, chocolate (yes, chocolate) to pack.

It raises my heart rate just thinking about it. How am I going to remember everything, much less get it done? I have to sleep sometime!

Having been here before, though, I’ve learned there is only one cure for this conference crush, and it goes completely against grain: I must shut down. Turn off the computer. File the papers. Shelve the books. Take a deep breath. Walk away from everything, physically and mentally.

And remember.

Remember that I have been here before. Remember that it isn’t my job to impress. Remember that God has provided for me in the past and He will do so again in the future.

Ultimately, it all comes down to Him. As a writer, I have been given every advantage to learn this craft of mine, from time to money to education. I even have some talent, I am told. But still the doors of publication remain closed to me. I can’t force them open. Period. Only God can do that.

So why then am I all in a tizzy? My job is to do the best I can with the time given.

What if that’s not good enough yet? Then that’s where I’m at. Why should that bother me? There’s no shame in being an apprentice, and all the striving in the world will not make me one iota better. God alone can make me grow, whether physically or occupationally. My job is to learn what He places before me to the best of my ability—and to learn it again if need be.

So if I don’t have control anyway, why am I wasting all this energy on panic? I am who I am because of the grace of God. I am where I’m at because of the grace of God.

And if that’s not good enough for you, take it up with God: He’s in charge.

Feet on the ground, head in the clouds,
Chawna Schroeder

“Whatever is Lovely” Part I

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely…think about such things.” Philippians 4:8, NIV

“Whatever is lovely”—for me this is the most elusive quality in Philippians 4:8. How can anyone define what is lovely? Isn’t beauty in the eye of the beholder?

Yet maybe this old axiom is true only to a point, for there seems to be an innate sense of what’s beautiful in all of us. Otherwise why do some things commonly seem lovely to us all? Like mountains colored by sunset and the fragrance of flowers. Or the texture of a kitten’s fur and the sound of voices singing in harmony. And who can resist a child’s smile?

More than that, God created all these things and much more besides, which he himself declared beautiful (Genesis 1:31, 2:9). So if God has a sense of what’s lovely and we are created in his image, why wouldn’t we also have that sense?

Granted, our sense of beauty can be twisted and distorted. It is part of having a sin nature. But that doesn’t mean we can’t tell when something pleases our senses—whether touch, taste, sound, smell, or sight—and feel the softening of the heart when we meet such things.

And that heart-softening may be the true mark of what’s lovely. Even the Greek word Paul uses in Philippians is a combination of the preposition to and the word philos—love or tender affection. What is lovely moves us toward love and affection.

So perhaps beauty is not so much in the eye of the beholder as it's in the tenderness of the beholder's heart.

The Trophy Chase Trilogy

Title: Legend of the Firefish

Series: The Trophy chase Trilogy #1

Author: George Bryan Polivka

Genre: Adult High-Seas Adventure

Excerpt from The Chase, Chapter 1 of The Legend of the Firefish:

“You deaf, boy?”

Packer Throme didn’t answer. The last thing he wanted now was a fight. Dog Blestoe was a big man, bigger than Packer by three inches and thirty pounds, and Packer’s elder by thirty years. Leathery, gray-headed, lean, and muscular from a lifetime of hard labor, Dog stood across the table with his hands knotted into fists.

Packer stayed seated and silent.

Dog snorted. He had made sure Packer had left town humiliated four years ago. He would make sure the boy returned the same way. He rammed the table with his thigh, sloshing the mug of ale sitting on it. Packer caught it before it tipped.

“Say something!”

Packer didn’t look up.

Dog grabbed the back of a wooden chair and tossed it aside, clattering it across the plank flooring, where it nearly shinned one of the regulars. “Disrespect!” he seethed, nodding around the pub at the undeniable proof Packer had just offered them all.

They did not nod back. These fishermen had come with their usual intentions, to talk and drink and smoke their pipes and do some modest complaining after a hard day of sea. Not to witness this. Not again.

“Stand up, boy!”

Packer studied his ale.

A failed-pastor-turned-swordsman steals away on a pirate ship to hunt the legendary Firefish.

The Writing: The Legend of the Firefish is a mixed bag when it comes to the writing. The premise is compelling—who can resist pirates, swordfights, and political intrigue?—and the plot executes that premise in a well-paced manner.

But I had problems with the numerous points of view (POVs). On one hand the omniscient narrator is reminiscent of the old storyteller style—complete with ramblings—and is part of the charm of this story. But on the other hand, the numerous POVs and head-hopping within a scene distances me from the story.

Sometimes exceptionally delightful characters can reach across that gap to connect with the reader. But although protagonists Panna and Packer are likeable and the secondary characters are colorfully drawn, I personally struggled to care about what happened to them.

Nonetheless, the details and descriptions are excellent, if long-winded for my taste. You can almost hear, feel, smell, and taste, as well as see, this world that resembles the one of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century seafarers.

The Story: The strongest part of The Legend of the Firefish may very well be the deep thread of theology weaving through the story. Well-intertwined with the characters’ personalities and decisions, it directly impacts the climax, as any good spiritual thread should, and provides both a challenge and encouragement to believers on topics such as complete surrender, God’s sovereignty, and how His power is perfected in weakness.

My single complaint about this aspect of Firefish is that long theological musings (at least a half-page long) frequently show up right in the midst of the highest tension. This drains the tension and halts my forward progress, so that in the end I skim over rather than ruminate on (my preference) the truth being imparted.

Summary: The Legend of the Firefish isn’t my favorite book of the summer. However, I largely contribute this to my personality, reading preferences, and current stage of life. (For more specifics, see my standards for reviews.) At a different time, I might have thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Therefore, if you’re a lover of high-seas adventures or just enjoy descriptive writing with a historical flair, The Legend of the Firefish may be well worth your time to check out.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

Interested in The Legend of the Firefish? Order it here.

Polivka on Technology, the Sea, and the Peculiar Art Called Writing

Today it’s my privilege to introduce you to Mr. George Bryan Polivka, author of The Legend of the Firefish.

C: First off, many readers enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at writing. Could you share one or two trivia facts/anecdotes about the process that we might otherwise not know?

GBP: It's hard to know what might be interesting. All right, true confessions... I focus on wordplay a lot, having studied Shakespeare and having started out writing poetry. I will occasionally come up with a turn of phrase I really like, and I mean really like, but find to my great disappointment that it doesn't really fit in the story.

So I have actually gone back and rewritten scenes, even changed plot lines, so that my little turn of phrase will work! I love quotable, memorable lines that sum things up, and I'll do a lot to make sure every book has enough of those to satisfy me.

Another thing I will share... I don't believe anyone, no matter how good a writer, can do this alone. It's a peculiar art, in which you have to dive deep, deep, deep into an imaginary world that becomes so real you can see, hear, touch, smell it... and you put all your secrets into it, your dreams and hopes and fears and failings (whether you mean to or not)... and then you emerge, ta da! and everyone else passes judgment. And that is how it must be.

But what I've found is that my wife, Jeri, is my best critic because she knows me and doesn't let me get away with anything. She tends to read the first stages, what are ultimately early drafts, and really provides the painful input. She's an avid reader of all sorts of fiction (final drafts only!), and so when people praise my writing she wonders what all the fuss is about. I like to say she's never read anything I've written that's any good! And I thank God for it.

C: Lol! And writing is a peculiar art—that’s why I think we writers are peculiar people. But peculiar people often beget unique ideas. Could you share come of your inspiration for The Legend of the Firefish and some of the reasons you decided to do this genre in the first place? High-seas adventures aren't exactly common fare in CBA.

GBP: There were several factors that went into it. I wrote Firefish more than 10 years ago, when the Internet boom was just picking up steam. I was fascinated by the power of new technologies, which are essentially about taking what God has created in the physical world and reshaping it, mastering it, for human ends. Gun powder, nuclear power, rocket engines, computers, all great technologies fit that description. I remember thinking that greedy men with no scruples could do a lot of damage with a powerful new technology, while those who had higher goals would be caught up into their maelstrom, and only by the grace of God find some way to work through the mess to find a positive outcome, harnessing that technology for the good of all. Out of that came Firefish, pirates, and Packer Throme.

As for the high seas... to me, having been born in farm country in Illinois, there is nothing more alluring than the ocean. It speaks of greater, bigger, deeper things, tamable to a degree, but always dangerous. The perfect setting.

C: I can perfectly identify with that allure, being a Midwesterner myself.

At the start of this book, you make it clear that this isn't a "magical" story, but more like a pseudo-history of an era long. What was your rationale behind this decision and how did you capture the feel of that time period so well?

GBP: It wasn't a conscious decision to leave the magic out. I wrote this before Harry Potter, before Pirates of the Caribbean, and was really influenced more by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien than anyone else. Lewis wrote a space trilogy without magic.

My big "what if" was just, "What if on all those old charts of the sea, where they put the sea monsters on the outer corners, there really were sea monsters?" I never liked alternate histories, so I just created a world in which that was true.

As to capturing the time period, my mother used to get me and my brothers involved in historical re-enactments, open houses in restored 19th century homes where we'd spend the day showing visitors how everyday life looked in 1818 or whatever. So I picked up a lot of the details doing that.

But a lot of it is just imagining yourself in the situation. What do you see? How would this be done? And where I don't know, there's Google!

C: What reader would you like to reach with this story and what would you like them to take away from this series?

GBP: It's aimed at believers. This is not missionary work, and I'm no evangelist. If you don't already have an appreciation for spiritual things, then being thrust into the mind and hearts of people working out their faith may not be that appealing.

But I do believe there's an important message here, one that God has worked into me through long, hard struggles... and I think for the most part He's finally beaten me into submission over it. And it's this: Power is granted from above to the meek, the weak, the humble who seek him with all their hearts. Great power, power beyond anything the world, flesh or devil can throw at you. And (here's the kicker) it's the only way He grants power. Anything else is human strength, people waving banners and psyching themselves up to "just do it." And that won't stand the flames.

This is a truly revolutionary truth, when you start to work it out into everyday life. Lay down the struggle; cease striving. That's the truth these books attempt to portray.

C: So how has writing this story exactly impacted you?

GBP: As hinted above, the way God impacted me plays out in the story, not the other way around. But He has given me this stage on which to share his Truth, and a talent to do it, and I'm extraordinarily grateful that he has humbled himself once again, allowing himself to be cast in a poor story from a cracked and crumbling earthen vessel like me. I know God wanted these books published. I know it because I wrote a dozen books over 25 years with not so much as a nibble, and he made it painfully clear all that while that it was not time. Now it is.

C: Any final thoughts you'd like to add?

GBP: I want to thank you, Chawna, for taking an interest and getting the word out.

C: Thank you for taking time to answer my questions.

For more interesting stuff, check out Bryan's blog or some of reviews posted by the other bloggers (listed at the bottom of yesterday’s post). Or if you can’t wait to dive into The Legend of the Firefish, click here to order.

Starring George Bryan Polivka!

Welcome to the August Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy blog tour!

This month we’re showcasing George Bryan Polivka and The Legend of the Firefish. The first book of his Trophy Chase Trilogy, The Legend of the Firefish is a high-seas adventure for all those who enjoy pirates, sea monsters, and sword-fighting.

I’ll be posting an interview with Mr. Polivka tomorrow and a full book review on Wednesday. But in the meantime, I encourage you to hop over to Mr. Polivka’s blog, where he writes from Cap’s pub in Nearing Vast, the setting of The Legend of the Firefish. Or check out the CSFF blog tour home and Harvest House (the publisher of The Legend of the Firefish) for a fun contest about talking like a pirate. Enter and you could win free books! (Always a good thing.)

But if that’s not quite to your taste, there’s always plenty of things going on with the other CSFF bloggers:

Trish Anderson, Brandon Barr, Wayne Thomas Batson, Jim Black, Justin Boyer, Grace Bridges, Amy Browning, Jackie Castle, Valerie Comer, Karri Compton, Frank Creed, Lisa Cromwell, CSFF Blog Tour, Gene Curtis, D. G. D. Davidson, Janey DeMeo, Merrie Destefano, Jeff Draper, April Erwin, Linda Gilmore, Beth Goddard, Marcus Goodyear, Russell Griffith, Jill Hart, Katie Hart, Sherrie Hibbs, Christopher Hopper, Jason Joyner, Kait, Karen, Dawn King, Tina Kulesa, Lost Genre Guild, Terri Main, Rachel Marks, Karen McSpadden, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Eve Nielsen, John W. Otte, John Ottinger, Robin Parrish, Lyn Perry, Deena Peterson, Rachelle, Cheryl Russel, Mirtika Schultz, James Somers, Steve Trower, Speculative Faith, Jason Waguespac, and Daniel I. Weaver

Interested in ordering The Legend of the Firefish? Click here.

The Spectrum Chronicles, Part III

Title: Path Finder

Series: The Spectrum Chronicles #3

Author: Thomas Locke

Genre: YA (13-16) Sci-fi Alternate Reality

Excerpt from Chapter One of Path Finder:

Counsuela did not have much time.

The realization struck her as soon as she stepped into her living room. She could not say how she knew, but the certainty was there, and it sped her actions. Not to mention attaching wings to her heart.

The entire time she tried to talk through her mother’s alcoholic fog, part of her mind remained fastened upon the thought that she would soon be back with Wander. The surging thrill lifted her beyond her mother’s muddled bewilderment, beyond her own pain of loss and departure. For this time there was a sense of belonging elsewhere, tied to this new mysterious place by her love for a man. A sensitive, openhearted, talented young man. One who truly cared for her…

(Paragraphs omitted to preserve the ending of the previous book.)

… “Mama, are you listening to me?”

“Of course I am. Don’t ask silly questions.” Here mother’s words were slurred, and her eyes remained glued to the television.

The bland voices of soap-opera stars mouthed lines that made no sense whatsoever to Consuela. She resisted the urge to walk over and turn off the set, knowing from experience that it would only start an argument. “I’m going away for a while. I have to. There’s something important I need to do.”

A young woman tries to locate a friend kidnapped by the empire he served.

The Writing: Much of what I could say here echoes what I wrote concerning the previous book, Dream Voyager. The characters are not very complex, but retain enough depth and humor to connect with the reader. The points of views are carefully contained—no head-hopping—which allows for a deeper connection to the characters.

Likewise, the plot has enough tension and suspense to keep you reading, while the humor of book one resurfaces in this third book. A smile can cover many flaws.

There is some minimal back story (telling you what happened in previous books) crammed into the first couple chapters. Mr. Locke tries to keep it to the background, but isn’t quite successful (such as in the omitted paragraphs from the excerpt above). However by chapter three, most of that’s done, and the story takes off from there.

The Content: The spiritual themes become more prominent in Path Finder. Salvation and surrender are the main topics—logical themes considering the plot. However, their integration seems a bit haphazard and strained. This results in preachiness and drawn-out discussions/explanations, as if the reader isn’t smart enough to figure out it himself. On the positive side, it never returns to the heavy allegorical style of book one.

Summary: If you can overlook the preachiness and lack of depth, some nice spiritual threads weave through a straight forward but interesting plot, with a delightful sprinkling of humor. Not bestseller material, but an enjoyable read for a couple hours.

Rating: 2.9 out of 5 stars

Still interested in Path Finder? Click here to order.

(Click to see reviews for Book 1, Book 2, and Book 4.)

Some Interesting Reading

Today, when hunting for an old recipe, my family pulled out our White House Cookbook. 603 pages long, it was originally printed in 1887, and reprinted as an expanded version in 1899. Hence, it has recipes and other information you’ll find nowhere else. Sometimes that is a good thing, as a perusal of the last chapters of the book shows. Maybe you’ll be amused by some of the miscellaneous material like I was.

The menus for a Wednesday in August:

Breakfast--Fresh pears, cracked wheat, brain cutlets, meat omelet, lyonnaise potatoes, huckleberry griddle-cakes, wheat bread, coffee

Luncheon--Broiled salmon, sliced pressed lamb, tomatoes with mayonnaise, French bread, sponge cake, blackberries and cream, iced tea

Dinner--cream of spinach soup, fried chicken á la Italienne, tomato sauce, boiled sweet potatoes, stuffed egg plant, green corn boiled, young onions, rice pudding, peaches and cream, walnut cake, coffee

“Health suggestions”:

How to Keep Well--Don’t sleep in a draught. Don’t go to bed with cold feet. Don’t stand over hot-air registers. Don’t eat what you do not need, just to save it. Don’t try to get cool too quickly after exercising. Don’t sleep in a room without ventilation of some kind. Don’t stuff a cold lest you should be next obliged to starve a fever. Don’t sit in a damp or chilly room without a fire. Don’t try to get along without flannel underclothing in winter.

Leanness is caused generally by lack of power in the digestive organs to digest and assimilate the fat-producing elements of food. First restore digestion, take, plenty of sleep, drink all the water the stomach will bear in the morning on rising, take moderate exercise in the open air, eat oatmeal, cracked wheat, graham mush, baked sweet apples, roasted and boiled beef, cultivate jolly people, and bathe daily.

Relief from asthma--Sufferers from asthma should get a muskrat skin and wear it over their lungs with the fur side next to the body. It will bring certain relief.

“Miscellaneous Recipes”:

To Remove Stains from Marble--Mix together one-half pound of soda, one-half pound of soft soap, and one pound of whiting. Boil them until they become as thick as paste, and let it cool. Before it is quite cold, spread it over the surface of the marble and leave it at least a whole day. Use soft water to wash it off, and rub it well with soft cloths. For a black marble, nothing is better than spirits of turpentine.

“Toilet Recipes, Items”:

For Dandruff--Take glycerine four ounces, tincture of cantharides five ounces, bay rum four ounces, water two ounces. Mix, and apply once a day and rub well down the scalp.

“Articles Required for the Kitchen”:

Among the 130+ necessary items listed are:

2 sweeping brooms and 1 dust-pan
2 cake pans, two sizes
4 bread pans
1 lemon squeezer
1 dozen patty pans, and the same number of tartlet pans
1 large tin pail and 1 wooden pail
4 milk pans, 1 milk strainer
1 flour sifter
2 jelly molds, two sizes
1 meat saw
1 clock
2 frying pans or spiders, two sizes
1 stove, 1 coal shovel
1 kitchen table, 2 kitchen chairs 8 dozen clothes pins
1 clothes wringer

And last but not least, “Measure and weights in ordinary use among housekeepers”:

2 wine-glasses equal one gill or half a cup

Now how come I didn’t know that? :o)

Whatever is Pure

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure…think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 NIV

Pure gold. Pure water. Pure…fiction?


That last one doesn’t seem to quite fit, does it? After all, the first two are compliments, often used to endorse the high quality of the gold or water. The third we usually use as an insult.

But all three exemplify what pure really means: Something is uncontaminated by foreign particles. Pure gold is 100% gold. Pure water contains only H2O molecules. Pure fiction lacks any facts.

Of course, that definition isn’t exactly the one I had in mind for the application of this fourth principle. What, then, is fiction that is pure?

Perhaps it would be easier to think of this in the negative: Pure fiction lacks contamination. What contaminates? Sin. How does sin contaminate fiction? By producing the same (sin) in us, for the actions and words that come from the heart of man is was makes him unclean, i.e. contaminated. (Matthew 15:18-19)

This demands we not only know how fiction squares with Scripture (compliance to “Whatever is right”), but also we be aware how movies and novels affect us personally.

For example, there is nothing wrong, per se, with a graphic sex scene between a husband and wife. Sex between a man and a woman within the bonds of marriage is proper and right, even sanctioned as holy within Scripture.

However, because of the sexual desires aroused by such a scene, fantasizing, lust, and other impure behavior could be evoke, especially in a single like me. For Matthew 5:28 states that “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Fiction causing that kind of response can hardly be classified as pure.

Therefore, pure fiction does not stir up thoughts or attitudes that might cause contamination—sin—should it escape out of our hearts and into our lives.

The Spectrum Chronicles, Part II

Title: Dream Voyager

Series: The Spectrum Chronicles #2

Author: Thomas Locke

Genre: YA (13-16) Sci-fi Alternate Reality

Excerpt from Chapter One of Dream Voyager:

Consuela was delighted when Rick could not come to pick her up and it had nothing whatsoever to do with his reputation. She was happy because it meant he would not be able to see where she lived, or how she lived, or with whom. Consuela did everything she could to separate her school-life from her home-life.

Not even the girls on the cheerleading squad had ever visited her home. This was very odd, because the girls took turns inviting the squad over for Wednesday night meals. When it was Consuela’s turn, she treated the group to dinner at the local hangout, saying her mother was down with the flu—though the extravagance cost her a month’s wages. Which was another odd things about Consuela—some afternoons and Saturdays she worked for the most expensive women’s boutique it town. One of the girls discovered it only because her parents took her there for a sixteenth birthday ball gown, and who should wait on them but Consuela. When the other girls asked her about it, Consuela played it very casual and grown-up, saying it was easy work, she met a lot of interesting people, and it gave her money to buy clothes. Which was a strange thing for her to say, since Consuela had only a few outfits that any of them had ever seen, but she mixed and matched them so cleverly that it was really hard to tell. And none of the clothes looked expensive enough to have been bought where she worked.

A high-school girl struggles to maintain the masks of who she is when she is whisked into a new world.

The Writing: The writing of Dream Voyager is better than the first book (which is more like a prequel), Light Weaver. The characters are a little more complex, though still pretty predictable, and the over-done allegory has given way to better plotting. No head-hopping, which is a relief after some of the books I’ve been reading of late, and there’s little preachiness.

However, thrusting characters—and readers—into different worlds comes with the challenge of how to convey all that new information. Mr. Locke doesn’t quite pull it off flawlessly and tends to give the reader large sections of new information, thinly disguised as dialogue.

The other major flaw is the sudden addition of another point of view near the end of the book for one chapter. This POV is not found anywhere else in this series and is very misleading, as it raises expectations that are never fulfilled.

The Story: As with Light Weaver, the story of Dream Voyager has a clear Christian message and provides very safe reading. The only questionable thing might be the inexplicable, almost supernatural talents that main character and her friends exhibit, but the underlying implications are that these talents are gifts from God, much in the way a prodigy might be gifted in music or mathematics.

Summary: Mediocre writing with a clear Christian perspective, Dream Voyager provides some interesting reading, worth reading once if you have a couple spare hours.

Rating: 2.9 of 5 stars

Interested in Dream Voyager? Click here to order from Amazon.

(Click to see reviews for Book 1, Book 3, and Book 4.)

“Whatever is Right,” Part II

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right…think about such things.” Philippians 4:8, NIV

Three weeks ago we covered the definition of this third standard of Philippians 4:8, right or righteous. We ultimately defined it as conformity to three things: God’s standards (e.g. the 10 Commandments), God’s will (e.g. giving thanks in all circumstances), and God’s character. (For further review, check out Part I.)

Now how this applies to living may seem obvious, even if it’s difficult to carry out, but what does “righteous” fiction look like?

In many ways, this expands on our first standard, “whatever is true.” But where that dealt with facts/laws—things written into the world or which we know innately (historical fact, scientific law, moral truth)—this third standard speaks to those truths specifically revealed in Scripture.

Maybe it’d be wise to define a couple terms. Moral truth/law, as I’ve been using it, is those spiritual truths written into the world much like scientific laws and which we know innately, whether we want to admit it or not. We drink poison and we will die—that’s scientific law. We sin; we will die—that’s moral law.

But the truth that the third standard refers to is Scriptural or revealed truth. We do not know this innately, so God reveals it to us through His word, the Bible. For example, Jesus is the son of God (Matthew 16:15-17).

Therefore, not only is fiction to conform to moral law, but also to revealed truth: If a novel or movie declares Jesus is merely a man, it defies the revealed truth of God’s character. If a theme promotes revenge over forgiveness, it violates the revealed truth of God’s will (Romans 12:17, 19-21). If a story shows that adultery okay, it disregards the revealed truth of God’s standards.

So does your reading line up with the Word of God?

Feet on the ground, head in the clouds,
Chawna Schroeder

Getting Back on Track

Whew! It has been a busy couple weeks.

A writing friend once advised me that growing as a writer requires three things: Writing, living, and resting. Since I seem to do things in chunks, these last two weeks have been weeks of living. Haven't gotten a scrap of writing done, as my lack of blogging shows. Instead I've been walking around Monticello, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown.

Originally I'd thought I would have time to work during evenings at Williamsburg--I mean, how else was I going to fill seven days with only Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown to occupy my time? But there was so much to do that I still didn't have enough time, even though I crammed nearly every minute of those seven days with something! Concerts. Dramas. Interaction with actors who stay within their characters. (It's quite interesting explaining to someone with a 1770's mindset where I live and why two ladies are wandering around unescorted. I'm glad I'm a writer and practiced at making up stuff as I go :o)

But now I can get back on track and back to blogging. I'll try to have my normal Monday post up tomorrow. In the meantime, the proof of my activity--a few pictures of the six hundred I took on this trip.

Williamsburg:

















Monticello:

















Yorktown Battlefield:













Replica ships docked at the Jamestown Settlement: