Disney on Ice Chicago–Ticket Giveaway!

I’m giving away a family pack of tickets to opening night:
Wednesday September 8 at the United Center in Chicago!

Comment below and tell me why you’d like to win tickets.

That’s it. No strings, nothing difficult. Just a comment

For other entries, you can:

  • Follow this blog by clicking on the RSS feed in the menu bar above.
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  • Follow me on Facebook.
  • you may post the following to Twitter or Facebook daily:

Win opening night tickets to Disney on Ice-Chicago 9/8/10 from @michpendergrass. http://bit.ly/cA3KEm #giveaway #nwi #chicago

Don’t forget to come back here to comment for your extra entries!!!

Winner will be randomly drawn Monday, September 6th at 9pm central time. Winners will pick up tickets at Will-call window with photo ID.

Additionally:

A SPECIAL OFFER FOR YOU!

Purchase a 4-pack of tickets for only $44 (Valid Monday-Thursday and

Friday Matinees, excluding holidays) and save $4 on all weekend shows

by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com and entering the coupon code:

MOM*

Enter Code in the “MC Promotions Box” on Ticketmaster.

* * *

United Center in Chicago, IL

September 8 – 12, 2010

Wed. Sept. 8– 7:00 PM

Thurs. Sept. 9– 7:00 PM

Fri. Sept. 10– 7:00 PM

Sat. Sept. 11– 11:30AM, 3:30PM & 7:00PM

Sun. Sept. 12– 11:30AM, 3:30PM & 7:00PM+

+Spanish Language Shows.
*Use promotional code MOM when purchasing tickets at the United Center Box Office, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Enter Code in the “MC Promotions Box” on Ticketmaster. Minimum purchase of 4 tickets required. Not valid on Front Row or VIP seats. No double discounts. Service charges and handling fees may apply.

Popinjay–Abnormal

A dead monarch at the beach

is

abnormal.

No?

* * *

Next week’s prompt is: DOMESTIC

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White Castle and Christian Fiction

Alternately titled, Christian Fiction is the White Castle of books.

Three men took a road trip to a conference in Ohio. One saw White Castle and HAD to have some. One did not know about the burger joint. One warned strongly against the consumption of said burgers.

Brian Hatcher, like me, has a strong aversion to White Castle sliders.  He’s vehemently against their very existence and is absolutely right when he says they’ll rot your insides.

Eugene Johnson, however, loves them. 10 in 10 minutes. Even if they do give him a writhing belly ache after. Even if they do, indeed, rot his guts.

Michael Knost had never had a White Castle burger and ordered breaded clam strips from the drive-through instead. And was quite appalled to think Eugene would order 10 burgers!

Later, Brian went on to explain that he wasn’t against the mini-burger genre, it just wasn’t very well done as far as mini-burgers go. To prove his point, he ordered mini-burgers at the Winking Lizard.

To prove my point, let’s just say, I’m not against Christian fiction. I just want a better burger. I don’t want a burger that pretends to be on the cutting edge of burgers. Just like I don’t want Christian fiction labeled “edgy.”

Mike Duran tackled some questions around this word, this Edgy thing. Mike says

To my wife, a steak with any trace of pink in it is “raw.” To me, the bloodier the better. Likewise, to some readers of Christian fiction, any trace of language or sex is “edgy.” But to me, if it’s not “raw,” it’s over-cooked.

The problem is not with the term “edgy” Christian fiction. I think it is more of an internal problem with some of the Christians. Especially the ones who want to dictate and control the moral compass of the general population of other Christians.

The difference I’m beginning to see when I compare CBA and “secular” fiction is that CBA is so enmeshed that for whatever reason one sub-genre cares (and is vocally loud and brash) about what another sub-genre is doing. When I go to a horror conference (just got back from one) there aren’t Harlequin writers there telling me the stories we print are too disturbing, scary, bloody, deliquent. And I’m not going to an RWA conference telling them they’re selling smutty, fru-fru, girly crap.

I can’t help but laugh at  the thought.

Can you see it at a horror con?  ”Psssst…hey you, yeah. You. Come over here. We’ve got some edgy horror fiction here for ya. Y’wanna try some?”

Or maybe in the general fiction market. Boy that Cormac McCarthy was edgy writing about the dark and dreary post-apocalyptic world.

It’s just silly.

And it’s an oxymoron.

You can’t write within the confines of the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) and write anything at all that can be considered “edgy” (The guy’s haircut on the front page of the blog lends to the stereotype. Great job guys!!)

You can’t do it because Christian fiction is not at the forefront of anything. Except maybe Amish stories. And really, if you want to be at the forefront of such arcane nonsense? More power to ya.

I would like the world a lot more if the overseers would change the label “Christian fiction” to “G” fiction. Let’s be realistic here, it’s not even PG.

So instead of heading to the bookstore to find the shelves lined with genres, I’d rather them look a little more like my local Blockbuster. “Action/Adventure” or “Horror” or “New Releases” so that I can pick up a book and just decide for myself what I want to read.  Sheesh, people all over the place are doing these book trailers. Why not just go all the way?

When I eat, I don’t choose White Castle. Though many people do.  But let’s call a spade a spade. White Castle is not anything close to a burger made from a grass-fed, organic, fresh butchered side of beef, cooked on a charcoal grill, with slices of  still-warm-off-the-vine tomatoes from the garden.

Just like Christian fiction isn’t edgy.  At least this brand of fiction churned out by the CBA houses is not edgy.

* * *

Eric Wilson challenges: Is it Time for Christian Fiction to Die?

* * *

Want to read some stories with sustenance? Stories that make you think? That bend the rules by asking questions others are too timid to ask? Stories that leave you with more questions than when you started? But also, stories that come from a Christian worldview?

Start with these two.

This is My Blood by David Naill Wilson

Silent Graves by Gary Braunbeck

* * *

The bottom line is that I saw years ago that the CBA wasn’t for me. Specifically when I signed up for the ACFW conference in 2006 and said I was a horror writer and they labeled me a thriller.  Since then I have kept in touch with my CBA friends, but have set out to make sure I was putting my money where my mouth was.

If we want to change things, we have to move forward. So the CBA doesn’t publish stuff I like. Guess who publishes stuff I like now? That’s right. Me. ;) And of course, in the “secular” market you can find tons of books written from a Christian worldview. I don’t need the CBA for fiction.

People will either lead or follow.

I choose to lead.

Context 23

This weekend, I’m honored to be on three panels at Context 23 in Columbus, Ohio.  Here are the dates and times of the panels.

I love getting to  hang out with my friends and enjoy writerly-type talk!!

Saturday, Aug. 28, 10 am
“Blogging – Creativity and Publicity” with Jason SanfordMaurice Broaddus, Janet Harriett, Joseph Martino, others and me.

Saturday, 4:00 pm
“Southern Horror”with Jason SanfordMichael Knost, others and me.

Saturday 8:30pm
“Christian Horror” with Michael West, Jerry Gordon, Scott Sandridge, and myself.

Going

Summer’s not my favorite season. Fair skin (transluscent!) and no tolerance for heat makes me cranky.

And you know how I get when I’m cranky.

My boy, on the other hand, has his daddy’s olive skin. They brown like biscuits.

He enjoys the water.

The sand.

The quiet.

And sometimes the raging war.

If I put on sunscreen and dip myself in the cool Lake Michigan waters, though, I forget to be cranky and I actually relax.

I want to go back.

Maybe it’ll help me be nice again.

Popinjay–Confident

I’d been thinking all week of how I could possibly take a photograph of my definition of confident.  I wanted to post something about The Midnight Diner going to print–how I had all these plans for a big reveal of the book at the conference I’m attending this weekend, Context 23. But then I received word from the printer (multiply times over) that there was some problem with the file and I admitted defeat…I’m not going to have a book to take with me even though I paid for a dealer’s table months ago.

Then I got an email that my book proposal for Visual Prayer was rejected.

So. Y’know.  Confidence is something that’s just not tangible right now.

Maybe that’s why my brain forced me to turn off all things logical (and painful) to spend hours and hours in my makeshift studio. I entered at 10am Saturday. I did stop to eat, but went right back to it. Left after midnight. So 14ish hours on Saturday.

Woke up Sunday to find I wasn’t finished.  Entered around 9:30am. Left at 11pm last night. Almost 14 hours Sunday.

28 hours of creating.

And I’m not finished. I want to spend all day in there again, but I have (ick) responsibilities (ick) I even hate that word right now. I just want to be surrounded by my art.

It makes me feel confident.

* * *

Next week’s prompt is: ABNORMAL

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Popinjay–Breathtaking

I forgot how completely breathtaking this is for me.
Wondered why I hadn’t taken advantage of the peace.
And was reminded I need to go here more often.

* * *

Next week’s prompt is: CONFIDENT
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Popinjay–AFRAID

This is the view out the side door of our house.

Beautiful trees.
Standing upright.
This.
This is a view of those beautiful trees with 90mph+ winds.
Severe thunderstorms.
Tornado warning.
While I love storm chasing, it might make me just a little, teeny, tiny bit afraid.

* * *

Next week’s prompt is: BREATHTAKING
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You’re Not Seeing Things

My new site is under construction. Please visit http://zanesmilkmachine.blogspot.com/ to read today’s post.

Today.

August 7, 2010

59 years ago on this day, Phil’s mom was born.
16 years ago on this day, Phil and I met in a traffic jam and shared our first kiss.
2 months ago on this day, my mom died.
There just doesn’t seem like there’s a whole lot for me to say today. I’ve been rejoicing and giving thanks for my husband and our life and crying and grieving the loss of mom.
It’s always both at the same time for me. Living and Dying. Beautiful and Ugly. Right and Wrong. Always in the middle of an intersection of good and bad.
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