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It's beginning to SOUND a lot like Christmas!

Posted by Sean Taylor on December 10, 2008 at 11:44am
It's finally uploaded! Now you can listen to the new (my band) Nothing Regal Christmas CD in order, every cut, right here in our SoundClick playlist. The first 12 songs in the playlist all have the "All Because Of You" icon, and they're ready to stream, our Christmas present to you. Enjoy!Either follow this link: http://www.soundclick.com/nothingregalOr just use the jukebox below:
Now playing: Nothing Regal
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Why so blue, lady?

Posted by Sean Taylor on December 9, 2008 at 11:00am

For anyone here who was alive and reading comics in the 1940s, skip to the pictures link below. If you're not part of that demographic, read this.

Anyway, James Ritchey III and I are working on a revamp of the old character a la James Robinson's Starman, dealing with the legacy of the Golden Age bleeding into the current age and how heroism and adventure has become a different animal now in so many ways. James is currently the brainy genius behind AC's Green Lama: Man of Strength revival, and I'm really looking forward to working with him on this Golden Age mystery woman.

It's gonna be fun, and I can wait to get to work on it more, but for now, I'll have to be happy with these few concept sketches.


The original Blue Lady in all her old-school glory.


An early concept sketch of the new design by James Ritchey.


The latest of the new design. Now with yummy fishnets. Yes, guilty as charged. I like fishnets on superheroines. So sue me.

Cool, huh?

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I get this a lot. (Dominatrix vs. God soapbox)

Posted by Sean Taylor on December 9, 2008 at 7:14am
I got this from a fellow writer the other day:
Do you mind if I ask you a slightly touchy question? I've noticed from a few of your posts that you are a Christian. Furthermore, I found a link that you had posted on your wall to the Christian Comic Art Society (which I promptly joined).Here's my question: How do you reconcile your Christian beliefs with writing the Dominatrix comic? I admit that I've never read the book so it may be rated G; but based off of the covers and the few things that I have read about it... I don't think that's the case.I'm asking not to attack you; but out of genuine interest. I am mostly into art and there are a lot of jobs that I could go after if I were willing to do more graphic or sexual illustrations.How do you reconcile the disparities in your mind? Or is it that you don't try. Just look at it like a job kind of thing and leave the morality for Sunday morning. Again, I'm not trying to attack you. I'm trying to understand and maybe learn something that I could apply to my own life.
My response:
I love that question actually. I used to work for the North American Mission Board, and no longer do. Was asked to leave for my PG book Fishnet Angel, actually. They'd freak if they read Dominatrix. I tell folks at cons the book is not porn, even if the marketing points that way. It's like a Tarantino film. Very modern pulp. And ultimately it has a redemptive message in it that is subtle.As for any language, violence, or nudity, my take is that the Bible I read is filled with violence, genocide, infanticide, incest, rape, holy sexual love, and yes, even course language in the original Greek (Paul, no less). To make the Bible into a literal film would be rated X not even NC-17, and so such topics are not off limits for Christ followers, when pursued with obedience and faithfulness.If they cause other Christians to worry about me, I can live with that. If they cause non-Christians to worry and stumble, then that would be an issue, but honestly the fact that I choose to write redemptive tales in subjects the contemporary church would probably prefer to ban has only opened more doors to real relationships with people who would never darken the door of one of our churches.The very question you asked is the one people ask me all the time at cons and particularly in online interviews and such.My morality is a 24/7 thing, though many do "treat it as a job" and leave morality "for Sunday." For many, I just choose not to ignore "dangerous" topics that the contemporary church has issues with.It's like the art question for me. Is nudity okay? Sure, great art is filled with it. Is it appropriate for all people or all ages. No. But then again, neither are certain parts of Scripture, which is why you don't see Bible stories for kids based on Song of Solomon or Lot's nieces seducing him. Still applicable though. The modern church just has a view that everything should be sanitized and "kid safe" by and large, and I simply disagree with that based on my reading and understanding of God's Word.I don't profess that all Christians should follow my take. There's still a place for Max Lucados and the Left Behinds. That's just not my calling.I'm called to travel the most dangerous path that causes all kinds of misunderstanding and potential condemnation by the church. But I can live with that. I have good role models from Christ to Bonhoeffer.
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Updated -- Best redemptive films

Posted by Sean Taylor on December 4, 2008 at 11:17am
Don't be surprised not to find these recommended by churches or anything, necessarily, but at their core, films all have messages that "preach" better than most sermons.And yes, if you're a moral majority type, be warned that a lot of these are rated R and include things like "bad words" and some nudity.In no particular order...1. The Spitfire Grill2. The Apostle3. Saved4. The Shawshank Redemption5. Chocolat6. The Sky Is Watching7. Black Snake Moan8. Shadowlands9. Cool Hand Luke10. The Green Mile11. Meet John Doe12. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban13. The Poseidon Adventure14. Luther15. Spirited Away16. The Return of the Jedi17. Blade Runner18. The Matrix Revolutions19. Unbreakable20. Pulp Fiction21. Kal Ho Naa Ho22. 16 Blocks23. The Dark Knight24. Superman25. The Reaping26. The Exorcist27. Star Wars: A New Hope28. Ghost in the Shell29. Stephen King's Desperation30. Stephen King's The Stand31. Ikiru
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Looking for CCAS Friends who can interview and write an article

Posted by Scott A. Shuford on December 4, 2008 at 7:38am
I'm looking for volunteers who like to interview people by phone or email and who would be able to write up article maybe once a month or so to be posted on this site, depending on how many people we have who are ready and able. Anyone interested, please forward me a note along with any background info and a couple of writing samples. You don't have to be a pro, just interested. At Your Service, Scott A. Shuford CCAS Board Member FrontGate Media, Founder/CEO www.frontgatemedia.com P.S. ADWEEK Cover Story Features FrontGate Media in Discussion on Role Of Religion In Modern Consumer Culture.
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some cfs

Posted by Carole McDonnell on December 3, 2008 at 6:22am
Call for Submissions - She Nailed the Stake Through his Head - Tales of Biblical TerrorCall for SubmissionsSeeking short stories for the Dybbuk Press anthology She Nailed the Stake Through His Head: Tales of Biblical Terror (working title).What I'm looking for: Short stories primarily, ideally between 1000 - 12000 words. All stories must be based in some way on Biblical stories. Actually have a familiarity with the Bible. I may consider poems if they are particularly good but I hate 99% of all poems I read. This is primarily a horror anthology so the creepier the better. In many of these stories, you really don't have to work too hard to make them horrific.Shouldn't be said, but please don't send me stories that are so ungrammatical and clumsy in their execution that they hurt to read. Style counts. Style counts a lot. I am a great fan of authors with great style. I'll read Tanith Lee's 5th grade essay on why she wants a pony before I even think of picking up another Dan Brown book for any other purpose beyond hurling it at the wall.Suggested:Retellings of Biblical Stories from the perspective of another character.Kiastic StorytellingDeconstructionist Commentary akin to RashiBiblical stories retold in different literary styles (high adventure, Victorian, Romance, Mystery, etc.)Modern stories told in the Biblical style (Best use Robert Alter's Art of Biblical Poetry and Art of Biblical Narrative if you want a crash course)Parodies of Prophets"Queen Esther vs. The Brain Eating Penis Monster from Outer Space" (note that just sticking this title on a lame story is not going to endear you to me. Write a story that would justify this kind of title and I'm interested)Biblical Movie Parodies (kind of a tough one considering that this genre gave us Lot freeing the slaves of Sodom, Edward G. Robinson playing Aaron in full gangster mode, splatterpunk Jesus and Richard Gere disco dancing in a diaper)Basically if you're sticking with Biblical tales in Biblical times you have about 1500 years to work with. Empires rose and fell in this time.Lists of Some books that may Help:Torah Study 101Ibn Ezra25 Jewish BooksBible Study SamplerOutrageous Tales from the Old TestamentWhat I'm NOT looking for:Normally this is the place where I say that I don't want any vampires, werewolves or ghosts but if you can stick a vampire into a King David story or put zombies in Ancient Assyria then I actually want to see it.One Caveat to the last note: I read The Last Days of Jesus the Vampire. I thought it was a very clever idea that was poorly executed. Regardless, I'm not going to be terribly enthused with "Jesus was a vampire" stories.Primarily, no preachiness. If your story is nothing more than an excuse to get on a pulpit, I'm not interested. That cuts all ways. The Left Behind series would have been fun in a goofy crazy way if it didn't keep stopping to tell the reader that JESUS IS LORD (then again, it's audience wouldn't have made it a bestseller.) But that also goes for atheist stories.And please, no stories about how all the goddess worshippers were beautiful earth mothers until the mean old monotheists ca me along and killed everyone. I read enough of that Starhawk crap during my collegiate hippie phase.I should also note that I've been publishing a lot of books geared toward adolescent males recently - splatterpunk, tough guy fiction, etc. - and I'm getting a little sick of the lack of decent female characters. So stories with strong women characters (there are plenty in the Bible - Sarah, Jezebel, Yael, Devorah, Rivkah, Esther, etc.) will make me happy.I'm also 99% certain that I won't like your Adam & Eve story. Don't know if anyone writes these things anymore. I suspect that they've been ridiculed into the historical dust bin, but just in case, please don't send yours my way.Format: Attach as either a .doc or an .rtf. DO NOT send .docx attachments. All .docx attachments will be deleted unread.Pay: $50 advance against equal share of royalties to be paid out no later than publicatoin.Reading Period: December 1 - December 31, 2008. All stories submitted before December 1 will be deleted unread! And yes, I do mean BEFORE December 1. I might extend the deadline for after December 31 if I don't find enough stories to fill an anthology (I'm shooting for between 8 and 12. I can go as low as 7.) I'm putting out the call for stories now because I want interested parties to write their stories and revise them before submitting them. I don't want trunk stories with cover letters trying to explain why your vampir e is a Christ figure.Reprints: Yes, I will take reprints, but let me know if it's a reprint or not when you submit.Send to: tim_lieder (AT) yahoo - .rtf or .doc format only. If you want to put it in the body of the text, well go ahead.Things Aren’t What They Seemby From the Asylum Books and Pressedited by Katherine SangerIn the grand tradition of SF, we are looking for stories about aliens among us. They can be trying to fit in, take over, or steal away the promotion that you deserve. Does your neighbor drink an awful lot of milk? That guy at work not seem right? Who are they? What are they doing here?We’re looking for flash fiction (up to 1,000 words) and short fiction (1,001 to 5,000 words) that tell the story of aliens in our world. (Please note: No “jar of Tang” endings. No “dream” endings. No elaborate set-ups on aliens planets to make it look like Earth in order to…you get the idea.) Word count is firm. Any pieces above or below the word count will not be read. Please submit only one story. Please do not submit poetry -- this is for fiction only.Your story can fit anywhere in the speculative rainbow -- SF, fantasy, horror, or just plain strange! Humor is a plus, but is not strictly necessary. (Yes, you can have aliens in your medieval of fantasy-based world…the aliens can be good or evil..or just trying to survive on $6.50 an hour.)Payment is $15 for flash fiction and $30 for short fiction. All authors accepted will also get one copy of the anthology.UPDATE - 10/31/08Things Aren’t What They Seem:Acceptances and rejections of all submissions have gone out, both mail and email. If you have not heard from us, please send us an email at ksanger@fromtheasylum.com as some of the emails did bounce and I’m sure if it’s my system that is at fault.We are re-opening the submission period, to last from October 31 until December 31. While we received a number of excellent stories, we have not yet reached our desired length as the anthology will not be heavy enough to assist in beating our alien neighbors.Guidelines remain the same. We are still looking for both flash fiction (under 1,000 words) and longer works (up to 5,000 words).There are two important things I would like to emphasize, however.Aliens *must be* the main thrust. No tacked on aliens that don’t figure into the plot.Humor is preferred over horror (although humorous horror often works for us!).To enter:Please send your submission to:From the Asylum Books and Press“Things Aren’t What They Seem”PO Box 1519Dickinson, TX 77539Include a cover letter with your name, your pseudonym (if applicable), your email address, your phone number, your mailing address, the name of the piece, the word count of the piece, and a short biography. Include a SASE if you would like to be notified of rejection.Or email:fta@fromtheasylum.comPlease cut and paste your file (text, not html) into the email. We do not accept attachments.Please be sure to use the subject line “Things Aren’t What They Seem Submission” or your piece may be put into the general submissions.In your email, include your name, your pseudonym (if applicable), your email address, your phone number, your mailing address, the name of the piece, the word count of the piece, and a short biography.Closing Date: We will be keeping the submissions for the anthology open until May 15. Responses to the first set of submissions will be going out by the end of April.Publication Date: If closed by April 15, we will be publishing in November.At this time, we hope to respond to entries within 4 weeks of receipt.Co-edited by Erzebet YellowBoy & Sean WallacePublished by Prime Books.We are seeking short stories and poems for the fourth issue of Jabberwocky, scheduled for publication in July 2009.The elements and bedrock of Jabberwocky can be largely described as the -ical approach: lyrical, whimsical, mythical, in all its forms, particularly short fiction, poetry, and illustrative. There are no boundaries, no restrictions, no genres. If you love the art of the written word, its structure, its flow, its language, I suspect you'll love Jabberwocky.Original fiction only. No reprints. Multiple submissions accepted.PAYMENT:$.01 per word for fiction$5.00 per poemPayable on acceptance.WORD LIMIT: 4000 words.RIGHTS: First world English rights, non-exclusive world anthology rights, and non-exclusive audio anthology rights. Download the20author-anthologist contract here.READING PERIOD: 1 October, 2008 - 1 February, 2009Our response time is 2 weeks.Email your story in rich-text format (RTF) to us at jabberwocky.magazine@gmail.com. Include the title of the story in the subject of the email and a brief bio in the body of the email.Please send queries to the same address. Thank you!http://anthologynewsandreviews.blogspot.com/Also check out the anthology sections on www.ralan.com
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2009 GLYPH COMICS AWARDS

Posted by Carole McDonnell on December 3, 2008 at 6:14am
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 2009 GLYPH COMICS AWARDS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED;JUDGES NAMEDThis past May, in the closest race in the brief history of the Glyph Comics Awards (GCA), Sentences, the autobiography of underground rapper MF Grimm, a.k.a. Percy Carey, walked away with the grand prize of Story of the Year. This year promises just as competitive a race.The GCA Committee has selected their panel of judges for the 2009 competition. They are:• Valerie D'Orazio, president, Friends of Lulu• Mathan Erhardt, writer, Comics Nexus• Ed Mathews, columnist, Pop Image• Tim O'Shea, writer/interviewer, TalkingWithTim. com• Elayne Riggs, comics reviewer and commentatorAny comics publisher – small, large, corporate, independent, self-published – as well as online comic creators and cartoonists for newspapers and other periodicals, are invited to submit black-themedmaterial released from January 1-December 31, 2008 for consideration for award recognition. The Committee defines black-themed work as any comic with any combination of the following: a black protagonist( s), or at least a black character(s) pivotal to the direction of the story; a setting(s) or a theme(s) that explores the black experience within the United States and/or abroad, past, present, and/or future; and/or a comic of any kind written and/or illustrated by a black creator(s).Anyone wishing to submit their comic book or comic strip for consideration in the 2009 competition should e-mail GCA Committee Chair Rich Watson at rich.watson@ gmail.com The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2009.The 2009 Glyph Comics Awards ceremony will be held at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC) in May 2009.For more information about ECBACC, contact blackageofcomics@ ecbacc.comGot this from the www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com ning
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Free Book Download: Matt Bronleewe's thriller HOUSE OF WOLVES

Posted by Scott A. Shuford on December 2, 2008 at 9:37am
The multi-talented Matt Bronleewe just let me know that the audiobook for his thriller HOUSE OF WOLVES is now available for FREE at iTunes! The link provided here should send you to the right place...(just search for "House of Wolves podcast" on iTunes if the link doesn't work...) http://www.new.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=100292520243&h=_gcJh Enjoy! Scott
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talk to me. we need each other.

Posted by Matthew on December 2, 2008 at 7:16am
hey everyone. good to hear from you lately, and i miss talking on here. I think that doing facebook or myspace is easier, but this is a community, and a family that I need to stick with, and although those others are good also in their own right, I really think that we need to start making stronger bonds on here, and get to know each other a bit more. I will make an effort to do so.thanks and I will talk to you soon.matthew
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The Protean Explosion - Finished!

Posted by The Last Witness on November 27, 2008 at 5:21pm
Wow, I just finished writing the third book in The Last Witness series. It's entitled, "The Protean Explosion" and it should be available for sale in late March. It took me a bit longer because I was writing the fourth book at the same time (Gods of War) and because of that, I'm about halfway finished with it.So keep in touch with www.thelastwitness.com. I'm blogging over there now, and of course at www.jerrywelch.com.Happy Thanksgiving everyone and I pray you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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Starting in Asia

Posted by Christina Morrison on November 27, 2008 at 11:21am
We are pursuing plans to begin our magazine distribution in Asia. A friend with connections pursued a friend with connections and lo and behold, it seems that Wise Tales will likely begin by sending electronic copies to our Asian friends and distributing through a Christian publishing house. This is how things stand at this point. It's a bit slower than first expected but no less exciting for all that. Thanks be to God.
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Happy Thanksgiving to my online friends and family!

Posted by Sean Taylor on November 26, 2008 at 5:44pm
Just wanted to take a moment before I head off to my in-laws house tomorrow for turkey, ham, and all the trimmings to tell everyone who takes the time to keep up with my online life a very, very happy Thanksgiving holiday.Whether you celebrate for religious reasons or otherwise, I hope that you will be able to find and focus on something you have to be thankful for spiritually, financially, family, emotionally, physically, psychologically, or otherwise.So, if you're able, spend some time with family and/or friends, eat something delicious and maybe even start a new tradition that brings people together.But for crying out loud, be careful on Friday if you plan to go shopping. Don't become a traffic statistic or become "that person" at the toy store (don't pretend you don't know the one I'm talking about).
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Facebook's Marvel Movies Group

Posted by Scott A. Shuford on November 26, 2008 at 9:50am
I just ran across this group on Facebook through a friend of mine there. I would certainly encourage all our CCAS friends who are Marvel fans to participate there: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=6649183874&ref=nf Can our DC fans find a similiar group on Facebook? How about either one on MySpace? Use your signature file to tell people about CCAS.
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Pimping some friends' work

Posted by Sean Taylor on November 26, 2008 at 7:13am
If you haven't checked out Martheus and Janet Wade's Jetta saga of graphic novels because you couldn't find them in your local comics store, you no longer have to wait. They're now available in your local shop via Haven Distributors.These are some really fun books, especially if you're a samurai or Buffy fan.jettaflyer.jpg
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