Fiction Addict

Jill Williamson is a novelist, dreamer, and believer. She grew up in Alaska with no electricity, an outhouse, and a lot of mosquitoes. Thankfully it was the land of the midnight sun, and she could stay up and read by the summer daylight that wouldn’t go away. But in the winter, there was nothing better to do than daydream. Both hobbies set her up to be a writer. Her debut novel, By Darkness Hid, won an EPIC Award, a Christy Award, A Carol Award nomination, and was named a Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror novels of 2009 byVOYA magazine. Jill has served alongside her youth pastor husband for the past twelve years and loves working with teenagers, especially to encourage young writers. She gives writing workshops at libraries, schools, and churches. Learn more on Jill’s website: www.jillwilliamson.com.

My story began when I Photoshopped a half-living/half-dead tree. I had seen such a tree in front of a house that had burned down. It inspired me. It is the header image on my author website (www.jillwilliamson.com).

When I was ready to start writing the book that became By Darkness Hid, the first thing I did was draw a map. And this map was way too big and looked a little bit like Africa, but I went with it. I knew then that I wanted half my land cursed in Darkness, so I shaded the western half of the land gray. I liked the idea of barriers that separated Darkness from Light, so I added some mountains, and a manmade wall in the south. I added a lot of dots to depict cities.

Way too may dots.

It overwhelmed me to think about naming all of these places! So I erased a few. But I still had a bunch to name.

So I stole a trick that J. K. Rowling used in the Harry Potter books. Read the rest of this entry »

Rob Stennett is the author of two novels, The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher and The End is Now. He’s the creative director of New Life Church and an accomplished film and theater director. He lives in Colorado. Learn more about Stennett at www.robstennett.com.

I’m just going to cut to the chase: I am person of faith. I have been for most of my life, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ve had Ann Rice moments where I wanted to write a grand Facebook posts explaining everything wrong with Christianity. Instead I’ve stayed an active member seeing everyday the good my faith has done in my life and the lives others. The problem is my most public contribution to Christianity is writing satires about a variety of juicy spiritual subjects: The rapture, angels, demons and megachurches to name a few.

Because of these writings I have been called an atheist/agnostic, a blasphemer, and a heretic. Some critics have said something to the effect of: I don’t see anything funny about this. I can see if an atheist wrote it, but you’re a Christian. You should be writing things that build us up not tear us down. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, let’s get this out of the way right up front. I’m the cranky old guy in this Fiction Addict gang. You know – the guy who’s seen it all before and is quick to remind you of it. When everyone starts crying about how the sky is falling I’m the one who replies, “Get over it; I was there back in ’62 when Castro was ready to throw nukes at us and we made it.” In truth, I’m not exactly over the hill though I’m looking at the other side a whole lot more up close and personal than guys like Josh and James.  And, while Lori is bragging about her kids I’m pulling out pictures of my grandkids.

The point is I’ve been through a lot of stages in life and many stages in reading. The stories of my childhood are still with me. When I was in third grade my parents bought me a subscription to Readers Digest Condensed Books. Through them I met Captain Horatio Hornblower, Robinson Crusoe, the wonderful stories of Jack London, and now that I am secure in my manhood I can even admit, the Bronte sisters. Sprinkled in was the complete Hardy Boys and Tom Swift Jr. series as well as Danny Orlis: Missionary Bush Pilot. Read the rest of this entry »

James Andrew Wilson is a human, a man, a husband, a father of three boys, an aspiring novelist, a spy, a superhero, a conversationalist, a recluse, an artist, a serious humorist, an aficionado, a skeptic, a believer, a sleep-walking insomniac, a child, a dreamer, a realist, a real boy, a truthful liar, a ham, a beef, an archer, an unreliable witness, a wise investment, an etc., an i.e., a bullet point, and many other things unmentionable. He also enjoys garlic and good wine. You could, and should, read more about him here, or here, but not here.

Dear Author Of The Greatest Novel Ever Written According To Your Mom:

If you read my bio, then you are well aware that I am a busy individual. I have great respect for my time and expect you to as well. You have written a novel and promised me that it is entertaining, enlightening, and worthy of the hours required to read it.

We will see. Read the rest of this entry »

Josh Olds was born reading…or near that. He is a contributor at Fiction Addict as well as the founder of TheChristianCritic.net book review site. Read more about him here.

Spring break was last week for me. It meant a week’s reprieve before diving back into college classes and working about half my usual hours. Spring break is a legendary time where many folks pack their bags and head towards the coast to spend a week on the beach or some other sort of vacation. Me? I took my vacation into the world of Story. But why do we even have stories? Read the rest of this entry »

Lori Twichell is a proud book geek and Jake Chism’s partner in crime at Fiction Addict. Her job is to help manage and run the day to day tasks and she, on occasion, helps stir the crazy just enough to keep it fun.

I am a voracious reader. I mean that’s probably obvious from the fact that I help Jake with the running of a website titled Fiction Addict right? But even that doesn’t really cover it. Reading is like oxygen. Sunlight for a plant. Without a book in my hands or an idea in my mind, I’m certain I would shrivel up and cease to exist. I need to read. I thought everyone was like this until I met someone who said they don’t read unless they’re forced to for some project or for school. This stopped me short. Really? There are people who don’t like to read? How is that…possible? I decided that this needed some more research. Read the rest of this entry »

Jake Chism is a self diagnosed book junkie and the founder of FictionAddict. Read more about him here.

As long as I can remember story has held an incredible power over me. I think it all started with Saturday morning cartoons in the early 80′s. I was head over heels for Scooby-Doo, He-Man, She-Ra (yes, I’ll admit it) GI Joe, and Transformers. My love for those iconic animated series soon transformed into a total fascination with all things Star Wars. A fascination, I must admit, that has only grown over the years and has become ingrained into my very being. My Star Wars fandom isn’t as intense as those who collect unopened action figures or those who are ready to throw down when discussing the “Han shot first” debacle. My love for Star Wars has been and always will be story-centric. I could care less about action figures, autographs, conventions, and collectibles. Instead, give me the films (prequels included), give me the Clone Wars animated series (which is way better than you think), and give me some healthy doses of the ever growing Star Wars Expanded Universe (novels for me…I’m just not a comic book guy). I just can’t get enough of the story.

It’s not always been about Saturday morning cartoons and Star Wars for me, though. That’s just where my love for story began. Read the rest of this entry »