Monday, December 13, 2010

~*~Please Help Save this Book Series~*~

I am asking anyone to help join me and other fellow fans in helping to save The Berinfell Prophecies. A beautiful book series by the great Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. Book 1 Curse of the Spider King and Book 2 Venom and Song are available at most local Christian book stores, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. If you love to read, especially Christian fantasy please add it to you Christmas wish list :-) They also make a wonderful gift, even to non- Christians! I have so many stories on giving these books to others... it has been something that has really touched my heart!

Thomas Nelson the company that published these books is thinking about not publishing the third and final book to this beautiful trilogy. But us who are fellow fans, parents who love good moral books, and ones who have a huge heart for Christian fantasy can stop this... but only if we tell and share on how we feel about this to Thomas Nelson by writing the head person for this series a letter. Please don’t hold back on this, every voice counts, even if you have not read this book series you can still help! If you would like to help leave a comment or a like and I will send you the information on writing a letter to Thomas Nelson. Don’t let another good book series by great authors be lost forever!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Give Water. Buy Life!



I joined the beautiful Jennifer Hopper and Christopher Hopper of Team Hopper in giving the gift of safe water this Christmas... A small gift of $10 brings safe water to one person... how awesome is that! :-) Join our team @ www.giftsofwater.com/teamhopper

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I am thankful


There is so much to be thankful for :-) Thank you God for your great love and blessings you have given me. I'm so thankful for my beautiful friends and family. I'm thankful for the great country that I live in... even though at times it doesn't seem very great I'm still truly very blessed to be an American woman!

~*~Happy Thanksgiving everyone~*~

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

CSFF Blog Tour, Venom and Song: Last Post :-)

I apologize for not posting my last post for the CSFF blog tour on Venom and Song by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. I thought I did until I went in my blog to write another book review and I saw that there wasn't another post on Venom and Song.So here is my final post along with a few new changes :-)

I would like to share with you today a little about the awesome tribe building contest that the authors have brilliantly put together with these books and my review on Venom and Song.

The tribe building contest can be found at a neat website called The Underground if you read The Curse of The Spider King you will know why it's named that way. Will last year I participated in the tribe building contest, I was part of a tribe called Nightwing and we won! What was so much fun about this contest was that you got to interact with the authors and make some awesome friends. I wasn't able to make it to the grand prize which was a very neat book signing in Champagne Illinois, but was able to watch it live. Talk about wow...teens and young adults from all over the country came to this book signing and met each other for the first time in person. It was very touching! Please check out The Underground and join a tribe :-)

~*~Champagne Illinois Book signing~*~


My Review~
Now I didn’t have any spider problems like I did from reading The Curse of the Spider King. lol Seriously that was creepy. Venom and Song follows right after the end of Curse of the Spider King. With more epic battles, more scary bad guys, a touch of romance, and a great sacrifice from one of the seven... Venom and Song was just as awesome as Curse of the Spider King. I would highly recommend The Berinfell Prophecies. You can relate to the characters no matter what age you are. The authors have done a beautiful job at making a new series that you'll want to read again and again and share with your family and friends.
Go buy Curse of the Spider King and Venom and Song today :-) I guarantee that you will love it!

Monday, September 27, 2010

CSFF Blog Tour, Venom and Song: Day One



Today is the first day of the September CSFF Blog Tour, this month's blog tour is on a book called Venom and Song by Christopher Hopper and Wayne Thomas Batson. Now anyone who knows me knows that WTB and CH are two of my favorite authors. These two are masterful storytellers. Their stories always cut deep to the heart. Truly they are a perfect pair to write a series together.Not only are these two guys great authors, one is a pretty cool youth pastor, the other is an awesome middle school teacher and both greatly love their beautiful families and God. I highly recommend you check out their blogs!




Wayne Thomas Batson – http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com
Christopher Hopper – http://www.christopherhopper.com


Now Venom and Song is book two of The Berinfell Prophecies, so today I'm going to tell you a little about book one Curse of the Spider King.




The Seven succeeding Elven Lords of Allyra were dead, lost in the Siege of Berinfell as babes. At least that’s what everyone thought until tremors from a distant world known as Earth, revealed strange signs that Elven blood lived among its peoples. With a glimmer of hope in their hearts, sentinels are sent to see if the signs are true. But theirs is not a lone errand. The ruling warlord of Allyra, the Spider King, has sent his own scouts to hunt down the Seven and finish the job they failed to complete many ages ago.

Now 13-year-olds on the brink of the Age of Reckoning when their Elven gifts will be manifest, discover the unthinkable truth that their adoptive families are not their only kin. With mysterious Sentinels revealing breathtaking secrets of the past, and dark strangers haunting their every move, will the young Elf Lords find the way back to the home of their birth? Worlds and races collide as the forces of good and evil battle. Will anyone escape the Curse of the Spider King?

If you would like to see my review for COTSK click this link review on COTSK, but remember to hit the back button to return here :-)
And check out my interview that I had the honor of having with Christopher Hopper and Wayne Thomas Batson, last year for book one of The Berinfell Prophecies. ~*~Curse of the Spider King Interview~*~

Please come back tomorrow for more on this months tour :-)

Also please check out what the other tour members are saying about Venom and Song.

http://sevendogsandababy.blogspot.com/"> Angela
http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com"> Brandon Barr
http://www.AdventuresInFiction.blogspot.com/"> Keanan Brand
http://pagesofdiscovery.blogspot.com"> Amy Browning
http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/"> Beckie Burnham
http://morganlbusse.wordpress.com"> Morgan L. Busse
http://www.hiddenvalleysimplicity.com"> Melissa Carswell
http://jeffchapmanwriter.blogspot.com/"> Jeff Chapman
http://valeriecomer.com/"> Valerie Comer
http://www.the160acrewoods.com/"> Amy Cruson
http://csffblogtour.com/"> CSFF Blog Tour
http://www.scificatholic.com/"> D. G. D. Davidson
http://projectinga.blogspot.com/"> April Erwin
http://going-greene.blogspot.com/"> Tori Greene
http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/"> Ryan Heart
http://www.613media.com/"> Bruce Hennigan
http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com"> Timothy Hicks
http://jessebecky.wordpress.com/"> Becky Jesse
http://crisjesse.wordpress.com"> Cris Jesse
http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/"> Jason Joyner
http://www.molcotw.blogspot.com/"> Julie
http://carolkeen.blogspot.com/"> Carol Keen
http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/"> Krystine Kercher
http://www.momofkings.com"> Dawn King
http://www.slygames.net/"> Leighton
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/"> Rebecca LuElla Miller
http://www.leastread.blogspot.com/"> John W. Otte
http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/"> Donita K. Paul
http://www.sarahsawyer.com/blog> Sarah Sawyer
http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/"> Chawna Schroeder
http://www.bluerosesheart.blogspot.com/"> Tammy Shelnut
http://www.jamessomers.blogspot.com/"> James Somers
http://reviewsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/"> Kathleen Smith
http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/"> Rachel Starr Thomson
http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php"> Robert Treskillard
http://christiansf.blogspot.com/"> Steve Trower
http://frederation.wordpress.com"> Fred Warren
http://www.galacticoverlordinchief.blogspot.com/"> Jason Waguespac
http://www.fantasyandfaith.com"> Dona Watson
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/"> Phyllis Wheeler
http://www.jillwilliamson.com/"> Jill Williamson

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

CSFF Blog Tour on Starlighter




This months blog tour is on, Starlighter by Bryan Davis. He is the author of the bestselling fantasy series Dragons in Our Midst, Oracles of Fire, and Echoes from the Edge.
The truth be told I’m not really a Bryan Davis fan... I know how could I not be. Please no hate comments over that ;-)
Starlighter, was an interesting book that kept you turning the pages to see what would happen next, had great characters and a neat Christian twist. The coolest thing about Starlighter, is that it is going to branch off into an adult series after from what I understand four YA novels.


Check out the awesome trailer for it :-)




I would recommend Starlighter, but in my opinion for ages 13 to adult and yes I will for sure get book two when it comes out next year!

You may purchase Starlighter here - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310718368/
Check out the Author's blog - http://dragonsinourmidst.blogspot.com/
Check out the Author's Web site - http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher :-)


Please, check out what the other tour member for this months tour are saying about, Starlighter by Bryan Davis :-)

http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com
"> Brandon Barr
http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/"> Beckie Burnham
http://jeffchapmanwriter.blogspot.com/"> Jeff Chapman
http://blog.rlcopple.com/"> R. L. Copple
http://csffblogtour.com/"> CSFF Blog Tour
http://word-up-studies.blogspot.com"> Stacey Dale
http://www.scificatholic.com/"> D. G. D. Davidson
http://scriptoriusrex.blogspot.com/"> Jeff Draper
http://projectinga.blogspot.com/"> April Erwin
http://askandrea.adamsweb.us/"> Andrea Graham
http://going-greene.blogspot.com/">Tori Greene
http://www.thehahnhuntinglodge.com/"> Nikole Hahn
http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/"> Ryan Heart
http://jessebecky.wordpress.com/"> Becky Jesse
http://crisjesse.wordpress.com"> Cris Jesse
http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/"> Jason Joyner
http://www.molcotw.blogspot.com/"> Julie
http://carolkeen.blogspot.com/"> Carol Keen
http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/"> Krystine Kercher
http://www.momofkings.com"> Dawn King
http://www.slygames.net/"> Leighton
http://winningreadings.blogspot.com/">Jane Maritz
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/"> Rebecca LuElla Miller
http://www.leastread.blogspot.com/"> John W. Otte
http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/"> Donita K. Paul
http://prochristroetlibertate.blogspot.com/"> Crista Richey
http://thestuffyouneedtoknow.blogspot.com/"> SarahFlan
http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/"> Chawna Schroeder
http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/"> Rachel Starr Thomson
http://christiansf.blogspot.com/"> Steve Trower
http://frederation.wordpress.com"> Fred Warren
http://www.fantasyandfaith.com"> Dona Watson
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/"> Phyllis Wheeler
http://www.jillwilliamson.com/"> Jill Williamson
http://kmwilsher.blogspot.com/"> KM Wilsher

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

CSFF Blog Tour: Raven's Ladder~

Today is the second day of the second Apirl CSFF Blog Tour. This time it is on a book called, Raven’s Ladder by Jeffrey Overstreet, book three of the, Auralia Thread series. In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

As always I love giving the Bio on the author :-) Not only is Jeffrey Overstreet a Christian fantasy writer, but he also reads and writes full-time as a contributing editor for Seattle Pacific University’s Response magazine, and does movie reviews, which have been turned into a book called Through a Screen Darkly. Enjoy this bio on a man of many cool colors ;-) And please read my review posted below his bio. ( Sorry for this very long post...)




JEFFREY OVERSTREET started lookingcloser.org in 1996, the same year he began writing what would become the first book of his series The Auralia Thread.

His writing on film and music on the site quickly became a hub for discussion about the relationship between faith and art, leading to the publication of his “memoir of dangerous moviegoing” — Through a Screen Darkly — in 2007, the same year that Auralia’s Colors was published.

Auralia’s Colors earned the rare honor of two Christy Award nominations, and was recommended by independent booksellers as a BookSense Notable selection upon its release. Publisher’s Weekly raved, “Overstreet’s writing is precise and beautiful, and the story is masterfully told.” More reviews of Auralia’s Colors, and interviews with Jeffrey about the book are available at AuraliasColors.com.

Through a Screen Darkly earned a “Starred Review” from Publisher’s Weekly. The book is used as a textbook at Seattle Pacific University, Fuller Seminary, Northwestern College, Bryan College, and in other schools and L.A. film programs.

Around the same time, Jeffrey co-founded a non-profit arts group in Seattle called Promontory Artists Association, and created a periodical about faith and art called The Crossing, which featured work by writers like poets Scott Cairns and Luci Shaw, as well as interviews with artists like musician Linford Detweiler of Over the Rhine. The Crossing eventually closed up shop due to the number of activities and endeavors that began in Promontory’s growing community. Promontory eventually became The Artists Guild, which continues in Seattle.

In 2001, Jeffrey began writing “Film Forum,” a weekly column for ChristianityToday.com, comparing and contrasting film reviews in the religious and mainstream press, and examining the nature of dialogue about art in the church and popular culture. The column continued until mid-2007, when he began focusing on full film reviews for Christianity Today’s new film site, ChristianityTodayMovies.com. From 2008-2009, he contributed a monthly column named after his book, “Through a Screen Darkly,” to ChristianityTodayMovies.com.

The second story in The Auralia Thread, Cyndere’s Midnight, arrived in bookstores in September 2008.

Jeffrey reads and writes full-time as a contributing editor for Seattle Pacific University’s Response magazine. Jeffrey contributes two articles about film to the Image website every month. For his writing about movies, he was honored with the 2007 Spiritus Award at the City of the Angels Film Festival. His review of Sophie Scholl: The Final Days won an Evangelical Press Award in 2006.

In 2009, Jeffrey brainstormed a new website called Filmwell with his longtime film-reviewing colleague Michael Leary. Filmwell now features a number of experienced contributors, and has become a site for unpredictable exploration and inquiry related to cinema, especially foreign and independent films. (The tagline reads, “Is this a film blog?”)

Jeffrey’s commentaries and reviews have also been published in magazines like Paste, Risen, Image, Relevant, Books & Culture, and SPU’s Response.

These days, Jeffrey keeps a busy calendar for public speaking about the arts at film festivals, universities, churches, teachers’ conferences, and on radio programs around the U.S. In the last couple of years, he was invited to speak to media professionals in Ede, The Netherlands; at the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing in Grand Rapids, Michigan; at the Trinity Arts Conference at the University of Dallas in Dallas, Texas; and Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa; at the Northwest Christian Writers Renewal conference in Seattle, Washington; at Seattle Pacific University’s Day of Common Learning (two years in a row); and elsewhere.

In 2005, Jeffrey’s film reviews were celebrated in a front-page feature of The Seattle Times’ Sunday magazine (Pacific Northwest) (see the archived main page here), and his work has been noted in TIME Magazine.

Born into a family of educators, Jeffrey grew up in Christian education: in Oregon, at Portland Christian Schools; and in Washington, at Seattle Pacific University.

He and his wife Anne, a poet and freelance editor, can be found writing in the coffee shops of Shoreline, WA, or teaching their cats, Mardukas (6) and Zooey (3), to high-five. (You get bonus points if you can explain why they named him “Mardukas.”)





~My Review
Auralia's Colors, Cyndere's Midnight, Raven's Ladder, are those cool names or what? Every since Auralia's Colors, was first published I've been very much wanting to read it. The teaser on the back of the book and the awesome haunting cover art just screamed "Read Me!" Somehow I never got around to buying it and reading it, now mind you my wish list of books is a long one, that continues to grow, so I guess it sadly got pushed down the list and what a bummer that was. Finally after reading Raven's Ladder I bought the first two books.

I greatly regret not reading Auralia's Colors and Cyndere's Midnight, before Raven's Ladder. Raven's Ladder is not a book that can stand on it's own, at least in my opinion. For I was very lost. The premise of the book was nicely done, but a big hole was missing which I knew was from not reading the first two books. The hardest thing for me was understanding, knowing, and connecting with the characters.

I was so lost from the very beginning from too many characters at one time, names that were too similar and names too hard for me to remember. Now please don't think I'm saying Jeffrey Overstreet wrote a bad book, nor I am I giving him a bad review. All I am saying is read Auralia's Colors and Cyndere's Midnight first in order, for you will enjoy and understand Raven's Ladder much better. Some series books can stand alone, some can't and truly that's not a bad thing. I do recommend Raven's Ladder, for I see that there is going to be an epic story behind the story of the series!


Check out Jeffrey Overstreets Website~ http://lookingcloser.org/category/journal/


Buy Raven’s Ladder~- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400074673

See what other tour members are saying about Raven’s Ladder by Jeffrey Oversteet :-)

http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com"> Brandon Barr
http://bookshiddencorner.blogspot.com"> Rachel Briard (BooksForLife)
http://www.AdventuresInFiction.blogspot.com/"> Keanan Brand
http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/"> Beckie Burnham
http://www.mamabzz.com"> Melissa Carswell
http://valeriecomer.com/"> Valerie Comer
http://csffblogtour.com/"> CSFF Blog Tour
http://word-up-studies.blogspot.com"> Stacey Dale
http://www.scificatholic.com/"> D. G. D. Davidson
http://sjdeal.blogspot.com"> Shane Deal
http://scriptoriusrex.blogspot.com/"> Jeff Draper
http://projectinga.blogspot.com/"> April Erwin
http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/"> Ryan Heart
http://jessebecky.wordpress.com/"> Becky Jesse
http://crisjesse.wordpress.com"> Cris Jesse
http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/"> Jason Joyner
http://www.molcotw.blogspot.com/"> Julie
http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/"> Krystine Kercher
http://www.momofkings.com"> Dawn King
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/"> Rebecca LuElla Miller
http://linalamont.blogspot.com/"> Nissa
http://www.leastread.blogspot.com/"> John W. Otte
http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/"> Donita K. Paul
http://prochristroetlibertate.blogspot.com/"> Crista Richey
http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/"> Chawna Schroeder
http://andrealschultz.blogspot.com/"> Andrea Schultz
http://www.jamessomers.blogspot.com/"> James Somers
http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php"> Robert Treskillard
http://christiansf.blogspot.com/"> Steve Trower
http://frederation.wordpress.com"> Fred Warren
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/"> Phyllis Wheeler
http://kmwilsher.blogspot.com/"> KM Wilsher

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Concept Art for Writers by R.P.H.




Have you ever wanted your characters to come to life? Ever wanted a book
cover for your special book? Get custom art made just for you by R.P.H


$25.00 For a Pencil Drawing

$30.00 For a Color Pencil or Gel Pen Drawing

$40.00 For a Watercolor Drawing

I will be willing to work with you on prices if you would like more than one drawing.

Size of art will be done on a 9"x 12" sheet of paper, and then will be mailed to you after approval by you. Depending on the detail of the work, time will vary on how fast it will get done.

Please leave a comment to tell me what you think, or if you would like something custom drawn. And check out my Facebook fan page for more pics of my art...
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Concept-Art-for-Writers-by-RPH/304719460508


God’s care,

~Ryan

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

See His Love

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...

1 Peter 1:3





See His Love
by
Jesus Culture


See His love nailed onto a cross
Perfect and blameless life given as sacrifice
See Him there all in the name of love
Broken yet glorious, all for the sake of us


This is Jesus in His glory
King of Heaven dying for me
It is finished, He has done it
Death is beaten, Heaven beckons me


Greater love no one could ever show
Mercy so undeserved, freedom I should not know
All my sin, all of my hidden shame
Died with Him on the cross, eternity won for us


Such love, such love
Such love is this for me (repeat)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

CSFF January Blog Tour: North! Or Be Eaten.

Sadly I never received my free copy of “North! Or Be Eaten.” so I didn’t have the pleasure of reading Andrew Peterson’s epic tale. But from all the great reviews I've heard about it I decided to order both books from, The Rabbit Room :-) I can’t tell you how “North! Or Be Eaten.” was, but I can give you a little info about the author. I first heard about Andrew Peterson, through the great Christopher Hopper’s website. He sounded like a cool guy with many talents (similar to CH) not only is he an author, but he is also a talented musician, pretty cool hey :-)




Andrew Peterson's Bio~


Frederick Buechner said, “The story of one of us is the story of us all.”

Perhaps this explains why we are drawn to great storytellers, why we yearn for connection with those whose own stories seep with imagination.

Singer/songwriter Andrew Peterson fits inside both of those categories. And the most recent chapter for this prolific storyteller includes a stunning new album, Resurrection Letters, Volume II.

Since completing his last album, The Far Country, independently, Peterson recently signed on with Nashville-based Centricity Music for the Resurrection Letters, Volume II release. His career accomplishments, including the Top 10 radio hit "Nothing to Say" and a Dove Award nomination for his song "Family Man,” make Peterson a reputable addition to Centricity’s roster. The respect, according to Peterson, is mutual.

“The thing that first drew me to Centricity was that they like and believe in my music. That seems kind of silly, like it should go without saying that a label would actually care deeply about your songs, but you'd be surprised how often they just don't. This new situation feels like I'm part of a team,” explains Peterson. “I wanted to do everything I could to get these new songs into the world to do their work.”

The idea for Resurrection Letters, Volume II came to Peterson unexpectedly last Holy Week while writing a series of meditations for his website, andrew-peterson.com. One of his online readers called those writings “resurrection letters”, and a light went on. “I knew I wanted that to be the title of the album, but I didn't know why,” says Peterson. “Then I saw that the songs I was writing were mostly connected by that theme.”

The songs flowed in the days and weeks to follow, lyrics mostly about death and rebirth, about the way that picture pervades all of creation. It wasn’t long before Peterson had returned to local Nashville recording spots (with befitting literary names like Mole End Studio and Night Owl’s Nest) to begin tracking. As with his preceding two albums, Andy Gullahorn and Ben Shive, the co-producers and fellow sojourners he calls the Captains Courageous, accompanied Peterson.

“I've been making music with Ben and Andy for years now, and we've found a good rhythm,” Peterson says. “They're both exceptional musicians and songwriters, men from whom I have learned a lot, both about music and about God. They were around when all these songs were being written, and even co-wrote several of them with me, so there was never really much choice in my mind about who would produce the album.”

Throughout his dozen-year career, Peterson has managed to attract a remarkable cast of musicians to his projects. Alison Krauss and Ron Block of Union Station are previous contributors, and for Resurrection Letters, Volume II he called upon folk artist Pierce Pettis for vocal backing and the legendary Stuart Duncan to bow his fiddle on a song. The recording also features Jill Phillips, Andrew Osenga (Caedmon’s Call), Gary Burnette, Don Chaffer (Waterdeep), multi-instrumentalist Gabe Scott, percussionist Ken Lewis, and of course Peterson’s prodigious collaborator, Shive, who produced, played piano, and conceived the album’s lush string arrangements.

“One of the most exciting things that we were able to do was the choir,” Peterson says. “Ben [Shive] and I had the idea to record a choir for the end of the song ‘The Good Confession,’ so we put the word out that we were looking for people to sing on the record. People drove and flew from all over the country, many of them people I recognized from our shows. We gathered about forty folks who had never heard this song, and recorded them singing, ‘I believe He is the Christ, Son of the Living God.’ It was beautiful. Hearing that choir enter at the end of the song is my favorite moment on the record.”

During the recording though, Peterson realized that he had more to say. He recalls, “Folks have asked me over the years if I'd consider putting together an Easter album, something similar to Behold the Lamb of God” (his popular Christmas project and accompanying annual tour). “I've resisted that because I feel like Behold the Lamb is in some ways as much an Easter celebration as a Christmas one. I felt good about this album, the sound of it, and the songs I had written. But one day I woke up feeling like this was the second half of the story. These songs are about our lives in the wake of Christ's resurrection. Not until I was mostly finished with this record did I realize that I still want to write an album about the actual death and resurrection of Jesus.”

For this reason (and because he liked the quirkiness of the idea), Peterson decided to label the project as Volume II. Volume I will be the follow-up, though it has yet to be written.

Peterson’s songs have long centered on family and faith, and Resurrection Letters, Volume II offers no exception. “All Things New”, the first single, is at the heart of the album. According to the artist, the song offers an invitation to believe in the stories of Christ, in His promise to purify us from the inside out.

“When at Easter we sing, ‘Christ the Lord is Risen Today,’ we're proclaiming that He is the resurrection and the life. It isn't just something that happened, or just something that's going to happen--it's happening now. The sun is always rising somewhere,” Peterson says. “I know that if I'm able to keep my eyes open, to really pay attention to the days as I move through them, there's a wealth of inspiration.”

That inspiration also found its way into another song, "Windows in the World,” which carries the theme deeper. “God litters our paths with little moments of truth, signs along the way that speak of His purposes,” he continues. “Sometimes those signposts, or bread crumbs, are general, like the change of seasons, the way a seed falls to the earth, dies, and rises again. Other times those signs are very specific, like the sacraments of Communion and marriage. These are pictures that God uses to remind us that we are called to a deep and lasting relationship with Him.”

When not pouring imagery into his songs, Peterson focuses on another kind of writing. Last March, Waterbrook Press published the author’s first fantasy novel, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, to critical acclaim. Garrison Keillor’s News from Lake Wobegon and The Chronicles of Narnia, along with bedtime tales Peterson spun for his daughter Skye and two sons Aedan and Jesse, inspired the book. In fact, he has already begun penning the second installment of the Wingfeather Saga series. In 2007, a richly illustrated children’s book, The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats (Thomas Nelson), became a visual companion to Peterson’s song of the same name. In addition, he’s been lending his diverse talents to the VeggieTales establishment, co-writing three children’s songs with solo artist and friend, Randall Goodgame.

Many would consider the current setting of Peterson’s multi-faceted work somewhat idyllic. Last year, he relocated his family of five to a charming little house on the side of a hill just south of Nashville. The storybook dwelling offers a respite from the artist’s hectic schedule, while also quenching the boyish side of Peterson, always thirsty for a new adventure.

“There are woods to play in, a front porch to palaver from, and rabbits and deer aplenty. We call it the Warren--a fancy name for a rabbit hole--because of the rabbits in the yard and the fact that I had just finished Watership Down when we bought the place,” Peterson says. “Junipers, hackberry trees, and white oaks abound, not to mention the pumpkins, apple trees, and blueberry bushes we planted. There's a dried up pond, a tree house, a front porch swing, and our oldest friends in Nashville as neighbors. We’re very grateful.”

Usually found with his hands dipped inside several honey pots at once, Peterson has also launched an online artists’ community known as The Rabbit Room (www.rabbitroom.com). Here songwriters, artists, and authors converge to share ideas. Music can be heard, new and used books from favorite writers can be purchased. It’s a place where imagination roams free and connection is made, two elements that seem to permeate everything Peterson touches.

“To love, to hope, to dream is to exercise the imagination, and the more you use it the bigger and better it becomes,” says the writer. “I try to be constantly aware of the gift it is to be alive, to recognize that the world is full of surprises, that God isn't hiding behind the curtain like the Wizard of Oz, concealing Himself because He's smaller than what He projects. Instead, the veil that conceals God's fullness exists because of his mercy, because our minds couldn’t contain him and would probably fry to a crisp. He shows himself to us in small doses, urging our imaginations to expand that we might find ourselves lost in wonder, truly awake and able to see the world not just as it is but as it will one day be.”




You can purchase both books " On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: Book One of The Wingfeather Saga and North! Or Be Eaten: Book Two of The Wingfeather Saga for $22.00 from The Rabbit Room, plus they are autographed
0r
You can purchase North! Or Be Eaten. Here- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400073871

Please visit the series site - http://wingfeathersaga.com/?p=464
Please visit the Author's site - http://www.andrew-peterson.com/

See what others are saying about, North! Or Be Eaten.

http://www.christiansciencefiction.blogspot.com"> Brandon Barr
http://fantastyfreak.blogspot.com/"> Justin Boyer
http://pagesofdiscovery.blogspot.com"> Amy Browning
http://csffblogtour.com/"> CSFF Blog Tour
http://word-up-studies.blogspot.com"> Stacey Dale
http://scriptoriusrex.blogspot.com/"> Jeff Draper
http://projectinga.blogspot.com/"> April Erwin
http://straitjacketchillers.blogspot.com"> Todd Michael Greene
http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/"> Ryan Heart
http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com"> Timothy Hicks
http://jessebecky.wordpress.com/"> Becky Jesse
http://crisjesse.wordpress.com"> Cris Jesse
http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/"> Jason Joyner
http://www.molcotw.blogspot.com/"> Julie
http://carolkeen.blogspot.com/"> Carol Keen
http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/"> Krystine Kercher
http://www.momofkings.com"> Dawn King
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/"> Rebecca LuElla Miller
http://newauthors.wordpress.com/"> New Authors Fellowship
http://linalamont.blogspot.com/"> Nissa
http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/"> Donita K. Paul
http://prochristroetlibertate.blogspot.com/"> Crista Richey
http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/"> Chawna Schroeder
http://andrealschultz.blogspot.com/"> Andrea Schultz
http://www.jamessomers.blogspot.com/"> James Somers
http://originalbooks.blogspot.com"> Steve and Andrew
http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/"> Rachel Starr Thomson
http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php"> Robert Treskillard
http://frederation.wordpress.com"> Fred Warren
http://www.galacticoverlordinchief.blogspot.com/"> Jason Waguespac
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/"> Phyllis Wheeler
http://kerani-in-the-world.blogspot.com/"> Elizabeth Williams
http://kmwilsher.blogspot.com/"> KM Wilsher