To celebrate the release of the 3rd Anthology of The Crossover Alliance: Superheroes, we have conducted an interview of sorts to showcase the contributing authors and to give some background to their stories to see where the edgy and speculative elements originate. There are no questions in this interview, just the authors being in the driver's seat telling of their inspiration that led to their stories.
Before we continue, here is the background to The Crossover Alliance for those visitors who do not know what we are about:
The Crossover Alliance is a unique publishing company specializing in Christian fiction that contains edgy, real-world content. We weren't satisfied with the 'rules' that many Christian publishing companies have tried to pin Christian authors in - however well-intended these rules were - and so we set out to create a publishing company that both breaks many of these rules and also adhere to biblical principles. Our fiction is fearless, sometimes scary, sometimes raw and edgy. But there in the middle of it all, you will find a light to help you find your way through it, you will more than likely find redemption within the darkness, and most importantly you will find fiction that is true to the story, not the rules.
What We Publish
When we say 'real-world content' in Christian fiction, you might be wondering what that covers exactly. Real-world content can mean a great many things - violence, cursing, sexual content, etc. But it can also represent themes that aren't always welcomed or addressed in Christian fiction, such as abortion, slavery, genocide, etc. We want to be a publishing company that specializes in compelling, true-to-the-story, authentic fiction while also keeping with Biblical standards. We don't try to be edgy just to be edgy. We aren't into shock-and-awe, but more into telling a story that entertains, enriches, and even sometimes digs to the deepest part of you and shows you the horrors of the world while also showing you the path through those horrors.
To investigate more about The Crossover Alliance, go here:
Some pursue heroism, others are thrust into it. Superheroes. They live among us, some hidden in plain sight, others as well-known celebrities. All carry a burden and a purpose: to destroy the evils of this world and keep the common man safe from harm. But evil is a strong thread that refuses to be cut. How much sacrifice will need to be made to destroy that which seeks to destroy us, and are there enough heroes to do the job?
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Ok, sit back and let the authors of The Crossover Alliance tell you about their stories that comprise our 3rd Anthology:
Steve Rzasa
Author of Airfoil: Hotspots
I'm the author of eleven novels of science-fiction and fantasy, with a handful of short stories to my name. My professional career has been split between newspapers and libraries, but both have focused on the written word. It's always been my passion, whether reading or writing. Marcher Lord Press (now Enclave Publishing) printed my first two novels, The Word Reclaimed and The Word Unleashed seven years ago, and ever since I've been expanding my horizons, telling stories that carry messages of hope and redemption. The methods I use to tell those stories, however, have changed, and thus I've become involved with The Crossover Alliance.
Airfoil: Hotspots is an adventure my hero, Brandon Tusk, endures over the span of a week. He's juggling home life as a single father, work as a librarian, and friendships as he tries to stop a maniac arsonist. I wrote Hotspots last summer, when I heard about the proposal anthology, as a follow-up to the yet-unpublished but finished novel Airfoil: Origins. It's a self-contained adventure that takes its cues from the superhero tales I enjoy - DC's Arrow and The Flash, the Marvel properties like The Avengers and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. What always fascinates me is the clashing of the mundane with the extraordinary. How do you stop devastating evil, while making sure you have a job and can bring home a decent salary to support your family?
The Airfoil stories, couple with my latest novel Man Behind the Wheel, are my foray into a new type of fiction, one unconstrained by the rules that hamper traditional Christian story-telling. Taking greater risks makes all of us better writers - and readers.
Website: www.steverzasa.com
Twitter: @SteveRzasa
Facebook: Steve Rzasa
Michelle Levigne
Author of Living Proof
I've been a word addict since the Cat in the Hat and Weekly Reader Book Club. On the road to publication, I fell into fandom and am now a card-carrying recovering Trekker, with 40+ stories in various SF and fantasy universes. My training includes working in quality control in an advertising agency, support staff at a weekly newspaper, the Institute for Children's Literature, a BA in theater/English and MA in film and writing. My writing career became "official" when I won 1st place in the Writers of the Future Contest -- check the winner's anthology volume VII if you don't believe me! Since 2000, I've had 60+ novels and novellas published in SF, fantasy, YA, and sub-genres of romance. I freelance edit for a living, but only enough to give me time to write. I still hope to break into Hollywood, or at least convince SyFy to film one of my series.
How "Living Proof" came to be:
I created a shop full of magic called Divine's Emporium, and its mystical proprietress, Angela, for a short story. The town of Neighborlee, Ohio, grew around it. It's a combination of Roswell, Eureka, and Sunnyvale, but without the vampires or weird science. Lanie Zephyr, our heroine is one of the guardians of Neighborlee's magical weirdness. She is also based on my brother, a wheelchair-bound comedian. With a liberal amount of his totally bizarre sense of humor and doorknob-level view of life. When I figured out how and why Lanie landed in her wheelchair, I "discovered" she used to be a high school teacher and track/basketball coach. I also "discovered" the Neighborlee tradition, of Senior Prank Night -- when high school seniors make a last-ditch effort to avoid walking through graduation. Lanie was just doing her duty, as schoolteacher and guardian. And the rest is Neighborlee history.
Website: www.Mlevigne.com
Website: www.Mlevigne.com
Twitter: @MichelleLevigne
Kristin L. Norman
Author of The Last Call.
Kristin was born and raised in the ‘forgotten borough’ of New York City. She has lived on each coast and now resides in the frozen tundra that is Northern Michigan. She is a pastor’s wife, mother of two, teacher, worship leader, and now…an author. The Last Call is her first published work but sees this story as only the beginning.
You can follow her at:
www.facebook.com/KristinLNorman/
Glenn Odell (the main character of my story) came to me as I was driving to work at 7:30 am. I was passing a large farm and in the distance, I could see a couple of cows milling about and the thought came to me…what if someone had a superpower where they could smell everything they could see? At first, it seemed ridiculous and I enjoyed filling the duration of my car ride playing out what that might look like. As the thought developed, I found myself creating an entire character, story, and world. I realised that I needed to tell Glenn’s story. With that, my journey into becoming a writer began. I submitted my short story, The Last Call, but the writing did not stop. Within four months of my short story submission, I began and completed my first novel.
Timothy G. Huguenin
Author of The Bald Man
Timothy writes short stories and novels in the speculative fiction genre, generally leaning toward horror. He lives in West Virginia with his wife and dog. You can find his first novel, When the Watcher Shakes, on Amazon in ebook and trade paperback. His second novel, Little One, will be released in July. Visit tghuguenin.com to keep up with his life and writing.
I came up with the idea for The Bald Man when the superhero movies were starting to get big again. My wife sometimes argues about what technically makes a superhero—if a superhero doesn’t have super powers, doesn’t that just make him an ordinary hero? We have all these humans/aliens with strange powers that decide to use their powers for good. Then there’s Batman and Iron Man, whose powers are…being rich and smart, I guess. The super villains are usually the opposite: humans/creatures with extraordinary abilities (or lots of money) who decide to leverage their power for their own gain or amusement, to the direct (and usually intentional) harm of others.
But I wanted to explore a character who finds himself with an unnatural ability but wants zero attention or responsibility. An unwilling superhero—well, he has the super, but with only that, should he be called something else? And, in the end, will he be held accountable for what he does with his power?
Website: tghuguenin.com
facebook: facebook.com/tghuguenin
twitter: twitter.com/tghuguenin
Rosemary E. Johnson Author of Fly Like A Bird
Rosemary lives in the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. She’s known to sit in the sun and carry on conversations with her cat, make fairy houses, and run around barefoot. She’s fascinated by the Myers-Briggs personality types and finds them extremely helpful in coming to understand her characters (she’s an INFP). Music is a big part of her life—she plays violin in the Auburn Symphony and enjoys listening to music while she writes.
As a fantasy girl, Rosemary has a thing with dragons and thinks it would be cool to speak Sindarin. One of the reasons she writes speculative fiction is summed up in this quote by Lloyd Alexander: “Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.”
Rosemary has three short stories published in anthologies by Inspire Christian Writers, and she’s excited about her superhero story with The Crossover Alliance.
Fly Like A Bird was written because I was pushed off a cliff. Metaphorically, of course. My friend saw the submission guidelines and said, “You need to do this”. I resisted at first because it was a stretch and I don’t like cliffs, but she’s a pro at pushing me. So I poked around on Pinterest and found some random story prompts and took it from there. I thought it’d be fun to do a story where the protagonist gets a superpower and hates it. I wrote the story, edited it, sent it to my friend for critique, edited it, and finally submitted it. And guess what. I flew.
Website: rosemaryejohnson.com
Facebook: rejdragonwriter
Twitter: twitter.com/rejdragonwriter
Pinterest: rejdragonwriter
Adam Collings
Author of Chronostream's Father
Adam David Collings is an author of speculative fiction. He lives in Tasmania, Australia with his wife Linda and his two children. Adam draws inspiration for his stories from his over-active imagination, his life experiences and his faith.
Adam is a great lover of stories, enjoying them in books, movies, scripted TV and computer games. Adam hosts the monthly youTube show 'Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Bulletin' sharing the latest news on releases from Christian who produce speculative fiction. He is also involved in mixing the live video stream for his local church.
Reason for this story:
I've been a life-long fan of superheroes, so when I heard that the Crossover Alliance were using them as the subject of their next anthology I knew I had to submit something. I started a story, and it was okay, but it didn't really go anywhere. Life moved on. Other projects grabbed my attention. As the deadline neared I knew that I had to get something together or forget about it. Then, in a way that I can only describe as God inspiring me creatively, the story came to me.
The story Chronostream's Father explored some issues I was struggling with. I have a son with special needs. I think all parents feel unqualified for the job sometimes, but this is heightened when your child needs that little something extra. I wondered what it would be like to raise a child with super powers. It seemed a fun twist on the genre to tell the story from the parent's point of view. I created a flawed protagonist. A Christian who doesn't quite have it all together. I'm sure we can all relate. Ultimately, the story reminds me that God's grace is sufficient for me.
I had to decide what type of powers my character would have. Time travel is another love of mine. I realised that the ability to pause and rewind time would be cool, but what really got my blood pumping was the idea that due to the wibbly-wobbly nature of temporal mechanics, this hero's origin story would not be at the beginning, but at some indeterminate time in the future.
As a bit of extra fun, I set my story in the same universe as an unfinished superhero story I had sitting on my hard drive. Good inspiration to get back and finish it. Finally, I set the story in my home state of Tasmania. Why? Because it's one of the most awesome places on earth. Trust me.
http://www.adamdavidcollings.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/collingsshow
http://twitter.com/#!/adamcollings
The story Chronostream's Father explored some issues I was struggling with. I have a son with special needs. I think all parents feel unqualified for the job sometimes, but this is heightened when your child needs that little something extra. I wondered what it would be like to raise a child with super powers. It seemed a fun twist on the genre to tell the story from the parent's point of view. I created a flawed protagonist. A Christian who doesn't quite have it all together. I'm sure we can all relate. Ultimately, the story reminds me that God's grace is sufficient for me.
I had to decide what type of powers my character would have. Time travel is another love of mine. I realised that the ability to pause and rewind time would be cool, but what really got my blood pumping was the idea that due to the wibbly-wobbly nature of temporal mechanics, this hero's origin story would not be at the beginning, but at some indeterminate time in the future.
As a bit of extra fun, I set my story in the same universe as an unfinished superhero story I had sitting on my hard drive. Good inspiration to get back and finish it. Finally, I set the story in my home state of Tasmania. Why? Because it's one of the most awesome places on earth. Trust me.
https://www.youtube.com/user/collingsshow
http://twitter.com/#!/adamcollings
Jen Finelli
Author of Hierro
God killed his son, but let Jen Finelli live. Since then, Jen has ridden a motorcycle in a monsoon, hunted down two secret societies, swum with sharks, betrayed an organization trying to control the news, discovered murals in underground urban city tunnels, and etc ad infinitum. She's going to be a superhero one day if God lets her, but for now, she's a multi-published sci-fi author four months away from her MD. You can read more about Carl from Hierro, and his teammates, at http://igg.me/
Why I wrote the story:
Author of Hierro
God killed his son, but let Jen Finelli live. Since then, Jen has ridden a motorcycle in a monsoon, hunted down two secret societies, swum with sharks, betrayed an organization trying to control the news, discovered murals in underground urban city tunnels, and etc ad infinitum. She's going to be a superhero one day if God lets her, but for now, she's a multi-published sci-fi author four months away from her MD. You can read more about Carl from Hierro, and his teammates, at http://igg.me/
Why I wrote the story:
Hierro is about a Puerto Rican engineering student struggling with Multiple Sclerosis. As a medical student, I've not only helped treat patients with MS but also found deep inspiration in the lives of activists like the late Chris Klicka who made a difference despite their debilitating disease. Because I live in Puerto Rico, and I've worked in construction and studied engineering, in some ways Carl's experiences also reflect mine. If you enjoy the story, you can also read about the other heroes of the team Carl starts in "Origins: A Guardian Anthology" which you can get as an add-on if you order my book about the comic book character who shoots his author.
Clayton Webb
Author of The Trojan Initiative
My name is Clayton Webb. I grew up on a farm in Alberta Canada fighting whatever evil creatures were lurking nearby. Now I fight the evil creatures lurking in the imaginations of my 4-year-old son and my wife Trisha. I work as a communication technologist and spend the day dreaming of anything that isn't work.
You can find me on twitter at c2webb@87 and I hope to have my blog up and running in the next couple of months and it is www.c2wtales.com
I wrote this story because I love superheroes and I loving trying to encourage the readers of my stories to dig a little deeper into what being human is all about.
Free Audio Drama:
Enjoy a free audio drama of The Trojan Initiative by Clayton Webb, courtesy of our friends at the Untold Podcast! Click on the link below:
Author of Without Blemish: A Philosophy of Preaching.
I am a Husband. Father. Pastor. Storyteller. Reader. Comic Fan. Slave of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Without Blemish: A Philosophy of Preaching is directly connected to my professional life as a pastor. I dedicated it to J. Kent Edwards, my ongoing preaching mentor because I wanted to give readers a grotesque image of what the state of preaching often looks like in the Western Church.
Several years ago, one of the main scenes came to me while I listened to a sermon that mangled the biblical text to suit the speaker's agenda (rather than God's). It was a great scene, but I couldn't figure out how to wrap a believable story around it. When the topic for this anthology was announced I realized the superhero genre was the type of universe this story belonged in.
I also have an ongoing fascination with local folklore. Whenever I visit a new place I enjoy getting my hands on locally written ghost stories and legends. I've lived in Northern Michigan for five years now, and the legend of the Dogmen has fascinated me. They worked perfectly for a superhero story.
So, my love for good biblical preaching, and enjoyment of local legends resulted in "Without Blemish: A Philosophy of Preaching".
He hosts a speculative fiction podcast on untoldpodcast.com,
He preaches at the Orchard Church in Traverse City, Michigan— orchardchurch.net.
He can found on Facebook: www.facebook.com/untoldpodcast
Twitter: @nathanjnorm and @untoldpodcast
JD Cowan
Author of Someone Is Aiming For You.
I started writing when I realized the stories I wanted to read were not being written. Not being a fan of modern fiction, I decided to try my hand at it. My blog, Wasteland and Sky, is mainly about entertainment and storytelling and musing on both.
Someone is Aiming For You started as a desire to tell a superhero story from a vigilante perspective. Old noir and detective pulps had always interested me, and this gave me the tone I needed.
I'm a fan of old heroes like The Shadow and The Question who add a bit of a thoughtful approach to heroes. What exactly is The Shadow? Is he a man? A demon? An angel? Justice incarnate? That mystery behind his origin always fascinated me into questioning just what he was. On the other side of the coin is The Question. The Question is a hero searching for Truth while evil crashes in on him from every angle. His struggle for Truth is just as engaging as his fight for justice. These two heroes inspired me greatly. The Seeker came from them.
Oh, and there was also Daredevil, specifically based on the TV version. His battle between God and Satan fascinated me. As a Christian, I wondered just how a hero who knew there was evil out there just outside his door would react to constantly being faced with it. Matt Murdock can go about his day as a lawyer; the Seeker doesn't have that luxury.
Those who want to find me can see me can do so at wastelandandsky.blogspot.ca, twitter @lonewolfandjd, and my e-mail at lonewolfandjd@gmail.com.
D. A. Williams
D.A. Williams is a farmer’s wife and mother by day and a dark Christian fiction writer by night. She finds time to write between cups of coffee and is prone to bouts of procrastination and dreams of grandeur.
I wrote sinEater as an exploration of the lines of villainy and heroism. I wanted to blur the lines between the two and juxtapose true morality with that notoriously slippery sin, Pride. I hope that readers will find sinEater to be a different sort of superhero story that makes them question the roles we are assigned in life, and to seek discernment and wisdom, both.
I wrote sinEater as an exploration of the lines of villainy and heroism. I wanted to blur the lines between the two and juxtapose true morality with that notoriously slippery sin, Pride. I hope that readers will find sinEater to be a different sort of superhero story that makes them question the roles we are assigned in life, and to seek discernment and wisdom, both.
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Thank you, authors, of edgy, speculative fiction for giving us a glimpse of the creative talent that God has gifted you! Readers always appreciate where a story comes from and it is even more real and special when you tell us of your inspiration! This only encourages us to read more of your work, and develop a greater love for this emerging genre.
What an inspired list of authors who want to express a common thought. Though they have a variety of backgrounds and experiences, they also have a common goal. It's a difficult task to tell a great story and still have the theme carry a Christian message. These great authors look beyond their own needs in order to share that goal - that of showing in story form how God can and will help each one of us overcome adversity through a step of faith. If you are looking for an inspiration in life that will help place you in that lost corner to come out swinging a club for Christ, then visit these authors and read their books. Author Terry Palmer
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