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Well, Duh! The Disappointing Thing About The JK Rowling Mess

Rowling mentions that she has “deep concerns about the effect the trans rights movement is having” on her charitable foundations directed toward children and women. She also mentions that she’s concerned about what’s happening to free speech. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Favorite Authors

Authors can captivate a reader, maybe more than a genre does, but to keep their loyalty, an author needs to keep delivering. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Have Comic Books Taken Over Speculative Fiction?

I have to wonder if people like these superhero movies made from comic books primarily because they do NOT say anything particular about society (and therefore are not in danger of offending anyone) · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Holidays And Celebrations – Reprise

Holidays and celebrations seem to be a staple in society. Many pagan cultures held festivals and commemorations, some connected to their religious beliefs, and certainly Western society under the influence of Christianity fostered holidays consistent with the tenets of their faith. Consequently, novels that incorporate familiar festivities seem anchored in reality. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Ghosts . . . In The Bible?

Ghost stories, to me, are much like demon and angel stories. Real angels and demons do exist, but few stories stick to the Biblical narrative that show us what those supernatural beings are like. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

March Madness And Quidditch

The key to Rowling’s worldbuilding is the consistency with which she infuses the different into the normal. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Violence In Speculative Literature

Speculative fiction is built upon a violent struggle. The goal is never to learn to co-exist with evil or to just learn to get along or to agree to disagree. Instead, two opposing forces, two incompatible worldviews square off. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Fantasy Isn’t For Rabbits . . . Or Kids Exclusively

Are Christians, then, the only people who “outgrow” speculative stories, who don’t want to read fantasy or science fiction as adults? Or is this an incorrect perception publishers have reached? · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Ron And Hermione Or Harry And Hermione?

J. K. Rowling, having gained perspective in the intervening seven years since the final Harry Potter book released, thinks she made a mistake. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Thankful Characters

Despite privation, death, dangers, and concerns for the future, the settlers found reason to rejoice. They exhibited a degree of contentment, a gratitude for what they had rather than resentment for what they had lost. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Do We Need Books?

Speculative fiction has moved to visual media in a big way. And not just stories devoid of spiritual truth. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

No Pressure

Writers live on the edge of expectation. Unpublished authors live with the expectation of editors for crisp writing, fresh stories, yet ones that aren’t so far “out there” that readers will not want to go on the reading journey with them. The expectation is that writers will find that razor thin balance between the comfortably familiar and the inventively original. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

What Makes Fantasy Work? Part 1

Readers love Narnia and Lord of the Rings, and they love a handful of later fantasies. But a lot of stories don’t go viral, don’t get hundreds of reviews, and in fact get tepid responses. So what makes fantasy work? · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Holidays And Celebrations

J. K. Rowling was not alone in making use of this-world holidays. C. S. Lewis created a powerful, and Christian, message in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by referencing the fact that Narnia suffered under a never-ending winter–always winter and never Christmas. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Readers And Writers

Special thanks to all those who participated in Spec Faith’s Shredding, Round Two. I couldn’t help but think as I read through what everyone had to say, how vital it is for writers to hear from readers, not just other writers. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Inklings, Part 3 – J. K. Rowling, An Honorary Member?

As early as 2000 John Granger, author of several books about Harry Potter, floated the idea that the creator of the series, J. K. Rowling, was at least an Inklings wanna-be. In part he debunks the idea that Rowling’s rise […] · Rebecca LuElla Miller