Highlights from the RotGK Blog Tour

Rebecca Luella Miller has started a three-part series discussing something very unusual when it comes to discussions of this sort -- what she thinks was done right in the Legends of the Guardian King series. I find that immensely refreshing and advise you to check it out on her Speculative Faith post for Monday, with follow ups Tuesday (today for those of you reading through Feedblitz) and Wednesday on her own blog, A Christian Worldview of Fiction.

Rebecca Grabill has posted a very clever and endearing "Review that... Wasn't." Thanks, Rebecca. I'm still chuckling. And lest anyone think she is all rosebuds with regard to reviewing the book (heaven forbid!), she has promised to present the thorns on Day Two. I can only hope it will be something along the lines of "The Thorns that...Weren't." ;-)

Beth Goddard is hoping to repost links to reviews of the earlier books in the series on Tuesday and is offering a contest of sorts for those who drop by and comment on "which of Karen's books, specifically which scene, affected you most in spiritual terms." She'll choose one of the commenters to win a free copy of any of my books they desire. I've really enjoyed the different scenes people are noting as having stood out for them. Why am I not surprised that they're all different?

Sharon Hinck also has a lovely review up of LOE, and offers a bit of retrospective as to how we became friends.

Gene Curtis has posted a very interesting piece on sales rankings, and has thrown out the suggestion of starting a targeted buying campaign to see if people can get Return of the Guardian King onto Amazon's best-selling list. I admit to skepticism, but I'd be fascinated to see if it really would make any difference. Check his blog for the details.

Kameron M. Franklin has posted a his take on the strengths and weaknesses of RotGK with regard to literary/craft aspects. While overall he enjoyed the book and would recommend it, he was nevertheless disappointed with it on account of some of those weaknesses and also some theological issues which he will discuss Tuesday.

(Kameron, let me thank you here for taking the time to read and review the book. I tried to leave a comment on your blog, but wordpress wouldn't let me. I appreciate the opportunity to get a glimpse of your viewpoint, and have to say I even agree with you on some of the weaknesses you cited.)

Likewise blogger John W. Otte, a Lutheran pastor, enjoyed the book overall, but found the ending less than he'd hoped for. "A good ending," he pronounced it, "but not a perfect one." In his opinion. (And I loved that he made a point of saying that!) He, too plans to discuss on Tuesday the theology or, as he puts it, the "depiction of Christianity in the series."

Other bloggers who promised reviews on Tuesday were Tina Kulesa, Chawna Schroeder, April Erwin, Wayne Thomas Batson (who has been all over with his fun and enthusiastic comments -- thanks Wayne!), Dawn King, and Karri Compton. Heather R. Hunt reviewed the book for Title Trakk and will be posting her review on her blog as soon as it is up on Title Trakk.

Also check back with Chris Deanne's and Shannon McNear's blogs for the completion of both the interviews each of them did with me. Shannon's interview questions were particularly challenging to answer because they were so different. (What did you learn through writing this book, spiritually as well as writingwise or any other way? How do you feel you've grown since Arena and Light of Eidon? How was the writing process different for RotGk than the others?) I hope you'll enjoy the results.

And please note, the recommendation for Blog tour participants is that they post all three days. If they can't do that, then they're to put up at least one post relating to the featured subject sometime during the tour. So if you have cycled through all the names on the list Monday and found some bloggers who have not yet posted anything, check back Tuesday or Wednesday.

Enjoy the Tour and if you haven't signed up for the giveaway I'm sponsoring (an autographed set of all four of the Legends of the Guardian King books) please leave a comment telling me you'd like to be entered, or send me an email if Blogger won't let you comment. I'll announce the winner Wednesday evening (or Thursday through Feedblitz)

Here are the rest of the bloggers participating in this tour:

Nissa Annakindt; Jim Black; Grace Bridges; Jackie Castle; Valerie Comer; Frank Creed; CSFF Blog Tour; D. G. D. Davidson; Janey DeMeo; Linda Gilmore; Marcus Goodyear; Andrea Graham; Jill Hart; Katie Hart;Sherrie Hibbs; Christopher Hopper; Becca Johnson; Jason Joyner; Karen;
Lost Genre Guild; Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium; Rachel Marks; Caleb Newell; Nicole; Eve Nielsen; Robin Parrish; Rachelle; Cheryl Russel; Hanna Sandvig; Mirtika Schultz; James Somers; Tsaba House Authors; Steve Trower; Daniel I. Weaver

Grace,
Karen