Fred was born in Tacoma, Washington, but spent most of his formative years in California, where his parents pastored a couple of small churches. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1983, and spent 24 years in the Air Force as a bomber navigator, flight-test navigator, and military educator. He retired from the Air Force in 2007, and now works as a government contractor in eastern Kansas, providing computer simulation support for Army training.Fred has been married for 25 years to the girl who should have been his high school sweetheart, and has three kids, three dogs, and a mortgage. When he's not writing or reading, he enjoys running, hiking, birdwatching, stargazing, and playing around with computers.Writing has always been a big part of his life, but he kept it mostly private until a few years ago, when it occurred to him that if he was ever going to get published, he needed to get serious about it. Since then, he's written more than twenty short stories that have been published in a variety of print and online magazines, and a novel, The Muse, that debuted in November 2009 from Splashdown Books, which was a finalist for the 2010 American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award for book of the year in the speculative genre. Speculative fiction is his first love, but he writes the occasional bit of non-fiction or poetry, just to keep things interesting.
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Fred, I marked “Other,” but I’m not sure how to categorize the posts I like best. Maybe it’s discussion or controversy. I like posts that challenge my thinking.
I like the idea of Stephen’s book club because that would be a way of generating discussion, but that’s a little more like CSFF. I guess “news” is one way to start discussions, but so can biographies, I think.
At any rate, I’m following this poll closely because I want to learn what visitors prefer too.
Becky
Discussion, I’d say
I checked “Other” because I’m interested in “all of the above”. When I subscribe to a blog, it’s usually because it has several of each category. If it has everything on the list, I’m extremely happy. Spec Faith has most or all of those, and I’m always thrilled with whatever you guys cook up.
Lately I’ve been enjoying the author interviews on Mondays. I’m getting to hear about authors and books I wouldn’t have found normally.
I have very posts on here I don’t like! Almost all of them I read and enjoy immensely!
However, I would have to say Slice of Life/ Hobbies/ Educational are the best.
If I had to pick the least, I’d say discussions. For me, they’re usually really hit or miss. Either it’s fascinating or, well… people on the internet locked in even friendly debate chases me off.
But! Even there, I’m usually okay…
It really depends on the blog! Like Rebecca and Galadriel, I do very much enjoy the discussions and controversy posts here at Speculative Faith. But I like most of what is posted here! 🙂 To be honest, though, I’m not a huge fan of fiction posts or humor (humor usually being fiction, too). When those come through on my newsfeed, I tend to skip or skim them, and don’t bother to click through like I usually do. They just don’t generate as much discussion, and discussion between Christian writers and readers is one of my favorite things about SpecFaith!
I voted for Reviews, but I also would have voted for Hobbies/Special Interests if it were possible to vote for 2.
Reviews are the primary content that draws me to most of the blogs that I read. I might read almost anything, including tangential interest posts, but I usually come primarily for the reviews. I actually originally started reading Speculative Faith for its deep philosophical articles about storytelling, speculative fiction, and Christianity. In particular, I think it was Mr. Burnett’s series about the New Earth that made me keep coming back.
Having no formal reviewing system was a serious lack in Speculative Faith for a long time. The new system allowing for user-submitted reviews is excellent! Not only does it make reviews visible and generate interest for the books, but it makes ordinary readers like me feel important, because we can submit our own reviews and appear on the front page. 🙂
Other – I love the thought-provoking articles exploring our faith and the media we read/watch. I love the meaty discussions and how everyone brings their understanding/perspective to the table.
Hmm. This is interesting. I think I’ll let this cook a couple more days before I say anything about the results.
I picked “Education” because I’m a new writer trying to glean what I can from those who have experience. What I’ve appreciated and learn the most from is authors who present their knowledge or experience as take-it-or-leave-it advice and conclude with asking what their readers think about the topic and participate in discussion.
I also like stories of fiction and humor and life experiences- especially if there’s a lesson there I can pick up about art, beauty, faith… I love a good story that makes me feel something or see things from another perspective. But I’m not likely to post a response to a story, or even a good information piece that I enjoyed… because although I know the short little “good post” or “I really enjoyed this” is appreciated by the author- If I haven’t been invited to respond in the article itself I really don’t usually think about it.
One of my favorite blogs had an Audience Participation Friday for a while. Every Friday there would be a request for a particular kind of life story, a fiction writing prompt, a question of peoples favorite you-fill-in-the-blank, a prompt for a writing that meets certain requirements… it was a lot of fun and I loved participating in those.
What I don’t like: Controversial “news” had grabbed me for a while, but those “discussions” seem more destructive than constructive- designed to bash whoever doesn’t agree with the author- and I’m just tired of taking the bait and getting whacked. If you are sharing a biased inflammatory opinion- I’m not even going to read it anymore. Only closed minded people present things in that way, and my 2 cents are better off in my pocket than being trampled on the ground. If you just want affirmation go find a support group, don’t post it to the internet.
Well, I think that’s more than 2 cents worth of opinion. Hope it is helpful.