Tabletop RPG Podcast and Roleplaying Resources
Earlier this year, Zondervan gave Kingsbury what is believed to be a "seven-figure" advance on a new nine-book contract that doesn’t begin until fall 2008.
Such lucrative deals once were reserved for more mainstream authors.
With religious books the publishing industry’s hottest sector— it was the biggest gainer with an 11% rise in 2004 — major publishers are seeking to lock up top or promising authors for the long term.
Christian Book Sales are Surging
According to the Book Industry Study Group, which uses data from all sectors of the industry, total U.S. book sales rose 2.8 percent in 2004 to $28.6 billion, while religious books saw 11 percent growth to nearly $2 billion.
Christian fiction is enjoying a boom that has been linked by some to George W. Bush’s presidency.
And some comments on Lauren Winner on the market:
"There’s definitely a blurring of lines between religious books and self help books," said Lauren Winner, 28, who is studying for a doctorate in American religious history.
Winner said that religious imprints are raising their literary standards, pointing to the major Christian publisher Thomas Nelson’s fiction imprint Westbow, launched in 2003.
"It’s wholly devoted to doing subtler, less hit-you-over-the-head Christian fiction," she said.
ABA Action Tales with Mortal Combat
Watch a typical suspense-thriller or action movie these days and you’ll find the body count soon mounting. Heroes from Indiana Jones to Rambo find themselves killing the bad guys in self-defense or revenge. Count how many Nazi’s get knocked off in the Indiana Jones movies! Mainstream ABA fiction is much the same.
There Are 5 Ways Protagonists Face Killing:
But what about CBA fiction? Can protagonists kill? Is it only in self-defense?
Let’s have our discussion on Dave Long’s Faith*In*Fiction discussion board to review the boundaries set by the industry on this topic. Join us on the forums! (Look under the ‘For Writer’s’ section)
Here Are 5 Ways Protagonists Face Killing:
Man on a Mission
Hollywood action movies and ABA thriller love to include Shoot-Em-Ups. Think of the Tom Clancy books where political enemies routinely find death at the hands of the protagonist.
The ‘Man on a Mission’ kills simply because he (or she) needs to kill. The character is on a quest, and killing is part of the game.
Such excuses seem flimsy in CBA fiction. Hair-trigger killing by a protagonist is not acceptable. Doling out death is not something to be done without careful consideration.
And so, CBA fiction features characters that pull their punches.
I recently read a Dragons in our Midst novel by Bryan Davis. The hero has sword fights with the bad guys. Does the hero stab the enemy, dealing him a mortal blow? Nope. What does he do instead?
He uses the flat of his sword to knock them out.
What about you? Know of CBA works where the hero kills other than in simple self-defense?
Post you comments on the forums.
License to Kill
James Bond is the archetype figure for protagonists who have a ‘license to kill.’ Characters employed in occupations such as soldiers and police are sanctioned to kill in certain circumstances. It’s in their job description.
Dee Henderson’s books such as the O’Malley series are a great example in the CBA space where military occupations cause protagonists to face a killing scenario. Do you recall the hero pulling the trigger though?
The CBA market does seem to put some boundaries here. The ABA market has many Rambo-type characters, vigilantes who are deputized to go knock off the bad guys.
By contrast, an ABA character may pull the trigger, but they are clearly wearing their white ten-gallon hat when they do so.
Can you think of exceptions?
Mortal Combat in Lawless Lands
Think of the old-fashioned Westerns (now politically incorrect), with Cowboys and Indians killing each other, a sort of 1800’s guerilla warfare.
Fantasy literature often propels the main character into a world where normal laws of the State simply don’t apply. There are no police handy to intervene. In such Lawless Lands, the hero is granted a de facto ‘License to Kill.’
Faceless Enemies
One technique to bypass the whole moral dilemma of killing by introducing faceless enemies.
Star Wars is a great example of this. Think of Episode I. The body count surely numbered in the hundreds by movies end. Buy who were being sliced in two by the Jedi heroes?
Robots walking on two legs like men, and a demonic looking Alien (Darth Maul).
Episode IV (the original Star Wars) didn’t have the nice CGI technology of this decade. So what did director George Lucas do in the original film? He had faceless clones in helmets. Stormtroopers.
And who can forget armored, faceless Boba Fett dying in Episode V?
Tolkien had his heroes hewing goblins and trolls by the cartful.
Faceless enemies like aliens, robots, and evil beasts let your hero kill with abandon.
Villains that Deserve to Die
What do you do when your tale just begs to have the villain die? We cheer when the evil Emperor Lord Sidious dies in Star Wars Episode VI. What if they had simply arrested the Emperor and put him in jail? What a let down.
But we need to keep our heroes righteous. A hero is merciful, but often faces a villain that deserves to die. What do you do? Simple.
Have fate kill off the bad guy.
Think of the first Spiderman movie with Tobey McGuire. When Spidey faces his uncle’s killer, he stays the hand of retribution. Oh dear, the killer trips and falls to his death by accident. How sad. Then you have the climax — a fight between Spiderman and the Green Goblin. Does Spiderman kill him? No. The Green Goblin attempts to kill Spiderman with spikes from his flyer, and instead impales himself.
I can think of many other examples from the ABA space. Can you think of examples from the CBA space?
Post you comments on the Faith*In*Fiction discussion board under the ‘For Writer’s’ section.
50 years-old may be a good age for a mid-life crisis but it is also the perfect age to publish a novel designed to become a best-seller, according to a study of best-selling novels and their authors over the past half-century. The average age of writers in the year that their novels topped the hardback fiction section of the New York Times Bestseller List during the half-century from 1955–2004 was 50.5 years — according to a study conducted by Lulu (www.lulu.com). Below is a graph of the average age of bestselling authors over the last 50 years.
FocusonFiction.net has expanded with a new look, new services, and new profiles of top Christian novelists, including a feature interview with Frank Peretti running May 2nd – 31st. Peretti’s interview highlights his writing journey, his inspiration, and the story behind the story of his latest novel, “Monster.”
Kelli Standish, editor of FocusonFiction, says:
Frank Peretti is one of the founding fathers of today’s Christian fiction. We’re excited to promote his work, and give our readers the chance to glimpse the heart behind his pen.
FocusonFiction’s new and expanded features include:
FocusonFiction.net was launched in 2002 by Standish to share the passion and purpose of today’s Christian authors through thoughtful interviews and in-depth reviews. Since the launch, Standish has featured novelists such as Ted Dekker, Robin Jones Gunn, Deborah Bedford, Dale Cramer, Rene Gutteridge, Cindy Martinusen, and Randall Ingermanson.
To suggest interviews or book reviews, authors and publishers can e-mail reviews@focusonfiction.net.
Dicehaven is an actual play podcast featuring various tabletop RPGs. We’re currently playing Imperium using the Traveller RPG (Mongoose 2nd Edition).
Listen now to our first episode.
Listen to us on iTunes, Spotify, and other platforms (links are at anchor.fm/dicehaven).
Follow our Instagram posts at instagram.com/dicehavenpodcast.
Hello and welcome to Dicehaven! We are a game club in the DFW area who play tabletop roleplaying games. Check out our RPG podcast and our musings and resources on roleplaying.
© 2025 Dicehaven
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
Recent Comments