Guest blog - Jeff Gerke of Marcher Lord Press

Captain's Log, Stardate 09.10.2008

Today, I have a guest blog from Jeff Gerke, publisher of a new Christian speculative fiction press that launches on October 1st!

Marcher Lord Press (MLP) is the premier publisher of Christian speculative fiction. Founded by Christian publishing industry veteran Jeff Gerke, MLP is dedicated to producing the best in Christian science fiction, fantasy, time travel, spiritual warfare, superhero, vampire, and other wonderfully weird Christian novels. MLP produces full-length print novels for Christian adults.

Marcher Lord Press releases three books a season in two release seasons a year: October and April. Go to http://www.MarcherLordPress.com to meet the authors, read sample chapters, see cover art, and more.

And now, here's Jeff!

You Want To Read What?

Christian science fiction? Christian fantasy? Christian time travel or superhero or…gasp…Christian vampire fiction?

What’s gotten into you? Don’t you know nobody publishes that kind of weird stuff—not for Christians, anyway. Why not pick up this Janette Oke prairie romance instead?

Is there someone like this in your life, someone who wouldn’t read a Christian romance novel if his life depended on it? Someone who wishes there were fantasy or SF or even weirder fiction out there from a Christian point of view?

I’ll bet if you thought about it a minute you could come up with someone—a husband, brother, father, son, daughter, or nephew—who might fall into this category. Maybe it’s even you!

The hard truth is that there’s next to nothing available for these good people. Oh, we have Ted Dekker and a handful of others, and those books get gobbled up eagerly. But beyond that, there’s very little.

Why is that?

Mainly because of a Catch-22. The main buying demographic for Christian fiction is white, American, Evangelical women of child-bearing to empty nest ages. Consequently, publishers put out novels that appeal to this demographic.

So we get the five genres: romance and romantic comedy, contemporary and women’s fiction, female-oriented historical and biblical fiction, female-oriented thrillers and mysteries, and the “lits” (chick-lit, lady-lit, etc.).

You’ll notice the conspicuous absence of anything weird.

The perception is that no one outside of this demographic buys Christian fiction. Therefore publishers do not produce novels for anyone outside of this demographic.

When someone outside of this demographic does venture into the potpourri-laden knickknack tea party that is the modern Christian bookstore, he finds no fiction that interests him. And so he ceases shopping for fiction at those stores. Catch-22.

We’ve already established that we all know people who desire Christian fiction that doesn’t fall into the aforementioned genres. Where can they find the kind of novels they love? Or are they forced to read secular novels in these genres, and swallow all the garbage?

For twelve years I worked inside the Christian publishing industry to try to change this. I wrote Christian technothrillers (see www.JeffersonScott.com) and, while I was on the editorial staff at each of the three CBA publishers I worked for, I fought to acquire Christian speculative fiction—SF, fantasy, etc.: the weird stuff.

Over those years I had a number of successes. I was able to get some speculative novels through the acquisitions and publishing process. At one of these companies I even helped launch a fiction imprint dedicated to Christian speculative fiction. My guiding thought was that if I could just get good speculative fiction out there, people would find them.

But they didn’t. By and large, the speculative novels I was part of publishing did not succeed in the marketplace. Because…? Because the people who would love them had already stopped looking for them. The industry had already driven them away.

And so I began dreaming. I began seeking solutions to the problem. How could I get amazing Christian speculative novels to the people who would devour them if only they could find out about them?

That’s how the idea for Marcher Lord Press was born.

Marcher Lord Press is a small, indie publishing house producing Christian speculative fiction. We don’t even try to get into bookstores—Christian or otherwise. Why would we try to get these books into places where our target reader doesn’t go?

Where are our target readers? They’re online. Therefore Marcher Lord Press markets its books exclusively online. Like Amazon.

MLP is a royalty-paying publisher producing full-length print novels for adults. It is not a vanity press. It does not produce e-books. It is not for a YA audience.

Marcher Lord Press launches on October 1 of this year. We will release three original Christian speculative novels: a comic fantasy, a far-future science fiction, and what I’m calling a philosophical fantasy. Go to the site to find sample chapters and cover art.

While you’re there, sign up to win one of the incredible prizes we’ll be giving away on launch day. And tell your friends to do so, too, because every time someone signs up and names you as referrer, your name goes into the prize drawing another time.

If you’re looking for Christmas gifts for those folks in your circle who would adore weird Christian if it was available, now you know where to look.

Camy here: Thanks, Jeff!

Prelude for a Lord now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited

The new, extended version of Prelude for a Lord is now available on Amazon! I am re-releasing Prelude for a Lord , which was originally published by Zondervan but I got the rights back. Zondervan had a strict word count limit, so I cut about 20,000 words from the manuscript, but now that I have the rights back, I’m releasing the extended version before I cut the words out. The book is now about 120,000 words (the Zondervan version was 100,000 words). Don’t worry, I’m still working on the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series. I’m just re-releasing this book since Zondervan is no longer selling it and some people wanted to read it. I’ll work on the Gentlemen Quartet series after I finish the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series (Lady Wynwood is projected to be 12 books). There will also be some neat cross-over between the two series! I’ll eventually do annotated chapters with Easter Eggs and behind-the-scenes content for Prelude for a Lord , but for now, they’ll only be available to my Launch Tea...

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Winners - FORMULA FOR DANGER

The winners of FORMULA FOR DANGER are: Jasmine A. Veronica B. Gail D. Lindy E. Barb F. Tammie J. Meg O. LeAnn R. Bonnie T. Sharon T. Congratulations! (I've emailed you. Please email me at camy {at] camytang[dot}com if you didn’t get the email message.) I know the rest of you are crying in your mocha almond lattes that you didn’t win. Cheer up! Order the book! Formula for Danger by Camy Tang HER LIFE WAS ON THE LINE Someone wants dermatologist Rachel Grant's latest research, and they'll do anything to get it. Including trashing the plants needed for her breakthrough scar-reducing cream--and trying to run Rachel down. Desperate for help, she turns to Edward Villa, the only man she trusts. But the greenhouse owner knows too much about Rachel's research, and now he's a target, too. Break-ins, muggings, murder...the would-be thief is getting desperate--and getting closer. Edward vows to protect Rachel at all costs. Yet with time ticking away, Edwar...

Writing Progress on Camille's Next Book

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Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7 annotated edition

Earlier I had posted that you can now buy Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7: Spinster on my website. But I forgot to mention that for a limited time, if you buy the eBook or the paperback , you’ll also get the annotated edition eBook with Easter Eggs, behind-the-scenes tidbits, research notes, and random author commentary FREE. Once the book goes into Kindle Unlimited, I can no longer offer the annotated version on my website, so be sure to get it now before the book goes up on Amazon. 10% off coupon code for ALL BOOKS I finally got all the Lady Wynwood’s Spies regular paperbacks in my store, and if you use the coupon code website10 , you can get 10% off all the eBooks and paperback books in my shop! NOTE: If you’re waiting for the Special Edition paperbacks, those will be available in my Kickstarter later this month. Get 10% off https://camilleelliot.com/shop/

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

Free short story: How Laura Met Aya

One of the perks of Tier 2 and higher in my Patreon is that they get a bonus short story twice a year. They voted to read about how Laura met the Senhora and so I worked on “Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain” at the end of November and I’m just about finishing it up right now. When outlining this story, because it was so intertwined with how Laura meets Aya, I ended up writing a short story about how they met, which became the prologue. (And then the story of how Laura meets the Senhora exploded into a novella instead. I’m not sure exactly how. I just kept writing and writing and writing …) Anyway, as a Christmas gift, I decided to give my patrons the prologue of “Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain” because it’s a complete short story about how she met Aya, which I think some of you might like to read. (In order to see the post, you may need to register for a free Patreon account and then Follow my page for free). Enjoy! “Lady Wynwood’s Encounter” (how Laura met Aya)

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...

I GOT A CONTRACT!

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.29.2006 I had a wonderfully funny blog post planned for today, but I got sidetracked by some news yesterday! Zondervan has offered me a three-book contract on my Asian chick-lit series ! I’m still stunned by everything that’s happened. The series is actually a 4-book projected Asian chick-lit series about four cousins who fall under the infamous family title "Oldest Single Female Cousin," and their ruthless, wealthy grandma applies pressure on each of them to improve their lack of love interests. I think the first book is tentatively scheduled to be released in August 2007. The blurb on the series is on my website here . Brandilyn Collins posted to the ACFW loop about my writing journey, and Tamara Cooper asked that I share it. And since you all know how much I like to talk , here it is. My writing journey: Like most writers, I have wanted to write since I was very young. (In high school, I wrote a fantasy novel that will never see the light of day ...

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Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter