Specials: Auralia Meets Graeme; Gaffney on CAFF; Chattaway on Faith/Film

I’m going back into a period of intense imagining, polishing up the sequel to Auralia’s Colors. So, offline I’ll be rather antisocial for the next few weeks, and my blogging may slow down a bit.

By the way, did I mention that I’ll send you autographed copies of Auralia’s Colors if you want to give them as Christmas presents? Just follow the instructions.

Or, if you prefer not to have any ink scrawled on the title page, just pick them up at your local bookstore, or online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble and Auralia’s favorite bookstores.

It’s exciting to see some coverage of Auralia’s Colors in the realm of “General Fantasy.”

Here’s Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review.

Every so often I read a book and know within a few pages that I’m in for the duration. One book, eight books, it doesn’t matter how long the series turns out. I’m there at the start and I’ll be there at the finish. Tad Williams, Greg Keyes and Steven Erikson (amongst others) have all trapped me in a book buying frenzy, now it’s the turn of Jeffrey Overstreet with his novel ‘Auralia’s Colors’.

Thanks to the strange working practices of one of the UK’s largest delivery firms (naming no names), this book found it’s way to my desk rather than through my front door. I had my reading list all mapped out for the next few days but I’d finished my current book and thought I’d flick through ‘Auralia’s Colors’ on the way home. Fast forward a few days and the reading list is once again in need of re-shuffling. ‘Auralia’s Colors’ is a magical read, that’s all I can say. It’ s by no means perfect but it’s not far off.

For those of you who have read Auralia’s Colors… have you posted your thoughts on Amazon to spice up the review list there? There are more Amazon reviews appearing all the time… some flattering, some discouraging. Here’s a day-making response from WyoGirl:

So often I read a book and then pass it on to a friend because my shelves can hold no more books, but Auralia’s Colors gets to stick around. This is a book I want my children to read when they are teens. Overstreet names his influences in his acknowledgements, but he neglects to tell us that while the spirits of his great writing teachers are felt in the writing, Overstreet’s world is completely new. It must be his vast knowledge as a movie critic that allows him to create such a magical and imaginative world. This story is filled with heroes that tugged at my heart, namely Auralia and Ale Boy. But Overstreet surprises the reader with thieves capable of great integrity and Queens and Kings capable of massive thievery. This fast-paced, wildly creative tale filled with compelling symbolism and imagery is sure to enthrall readers.

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City of Angels Film Festival coverage

Wish I had time to write more about the films I saw at the City of Angels Film Festival, but I’m on deadline for some reviews now. I’ll just link to Sean Gaffney’s blog, where he talks about the television writers’ panel discussion, which was a real highlight… as was the hilarious interview with Larry Wilmore (the Diversity Man on “The Office”).

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The volatile territory where faith and film intersect…

Peter T. Chattaway’s article on the wild, wild world of faith and moviegoing is up at Christianity.ca.