Evil geniuses have never conquered the world because they always invest in mediocrity. Whether it be sub-par thugs without enough brains to actually pull off a task, or superbly talented henchmen with a bit too much ambition, or perhaps the devastatingly beautiful lady assassin, with a tad too soft a heart.

Well that and they tend to monologue a bit to much to satisfy their over-inflated egos giving the hero just enough time to escape and foil there evil schemes.

Yesterday Becky asked what to do about Christian SFF books that are just plain bad. And yes, there are books like that out there (naturally I’m not talking about your book, or my book, but that other book over there. You know, the one even bookworms can’t stomach). But Becky wants to know, do we spread the word about the sadly worm-free book or do we promote it anyway, simply for the sake of getting more exposure to the fact that there is Christian SFF out there?

Well let’s look at it this way.  If someone complained to you that there is no bread any more, and nobody would want it if there was any, and yet you had five loafs of bread which would you show them. The one fresh from the oven, with mouth-watering moistness and that all too yummy warm radiance, or maybe the two that aren’t quite oven fresh, but still all good and yummy-licious. Maybe even bring out the one that’s tiny bit–stale but still good for toast.  Or perhaps you would bring out the other one, the old, green and two minutes away from getting up and walking loaf. Of course you wouldn’t show them the last one. Just the sight of it would ruin their appetite for bread for at least a week (unless you quickly shoved the oven fresh bread in their face, slathered with rich, to-die-for strawberry jam).

Here’s the rambling point. If there is a book out there you can’t stomach, you don’t do any favors to your cause by brining attention to it, negatively or positively. The best you can do is let it die a quiet and peaceful death, maybe in the back pasture with a nice gentle brook and a happy little butterfly (that was really very mean and a bully as a caterpillar, thus it’s being trapped with said book).

Maybe it’s mean, cruel and heartless of me to say so, but not every book deserves to see the light of day (trust me, I’ve created some of the freaks myself).  If we promote and shove books out to the masses in a desperate, undiscriminating flood then we will only hurt our cause. All it takes is one or two bad books to sour a reader for a long time (and if that reader happens to be in a position of influence… Well it isn’t pretty).

There is one more very sinister creature lurking in the shadows, waiting to devour unsuspecting E.G.s as well. One much more sinister than any 007 or Kim Possible.

But I’ll talk about it next time…