DISQUS

Yo, Mark! Happy day before Thanksgiving!
And yes, you have "outed" me. I am hopelessly addicted to ANIMOTO!!
: )
Mer

This is great information, Mark. I love blogging and I enjoy connecting with other writers who live far away, but sometimes I really wonder why we do it.

Hmmm. Maybe I'll never know.

: )

Mark,
Hi! How was your vacation! Great, I hope.

Well, I just tagged you for a meme.

You're it.

:)
Merrie

The heart of a tiger.

Grrrrrr.

: )

Merrie

Interesting post, Mark. I'd like to get that book.

I've struggled with the whole public speaking thing (don't really like it, but I usually get good response when I do), and maybe I just need a different approach. Perhaps if I view it as teaching versus speaking, I would enjoy it more.

Thanks for the encouraging post!
: )
Merrie

Merrie Destefano's last blog post..Hunting for The Hunted

A writing project? With a prize?

Sounds like fun, MDG.

MGD
(Your evil twin. Because twins are never nice.)

Merrie Destefano's last blog post..Fiction FIRST: Excerpt from Finding Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson

Mark,
I've had my own long, dark night of the soul. More than once (probably because I'm older than you.)
:)
I've had times when I cried out to what felt like a spiritual vacuum. Not like God wasn't listening or nearby, but almost like He had been stolen from me.

I do believe that this world is infinitely different from the next. That we will never again have to endure separation from our Beloved. But I also believe there's a reason for our days of shadow. Faith is built in the quiet recesses of the valley, not on the bright shining mountaintop. I want to live on the mountaintop, an inch from the face of God, filled with joy and spiritual blessings. But I fear my roots would be too shallow.

I hate those dark nights, weeks, months. But I honestly don't think God likes them either. I think He would rather reveal Himself to us, take us on His lap and hold us. I think those dark times are painful for Him too. He may sit, just on the other side of a tissue-thin veil, listening for our voice to speak His name, just one more time.

We are like toddlers, learning to walk without holding onto anything. It's scary and daunting and it seems like everyone else already knows how to do it.

But it's not true. We all have to learn to walk by faith. It's part of the deeper walk, part of the higher calling (no pun intended). I believe that those who struggle with this are most likely right on the brink of something unbelievably monumental. That it's one part spiritual growth and one part spiritual warfare. That at that same moment that God pulls back into the shadows, the shadows come to life and attack.

I think this is why God gave us knees. That's where our fiercest battles are fought. And won.

I wish I could hear His voice, see His face, feel His arms around me, too. But I am so glad that He sent His Holy Spirit to live inside me.

I appreciate your honesty, Mark. I will be praying that your dark night lifts.

Blessings,

Merrie Destefano's last blog post..The Price of Freedom

Beautiful. Inspirational. I think I'm addicted already.

Thanks for sharing, Mark.
:)

Merrie Destefano's last blog post..The Price of Freedom

Thanks, Mark, for including me as a friend and as someone worthy of trust. (Ditto!) Trust is hard to establish in the blogosphere, but surely not impossible. It sounds to me like those people checked a box on a survey, but didn't really read the question.

I mean, I think everyone who surfs the Net has found several blogs and sites that they trust. If those sites gave them information, they would quite possibly believe it.

Don't we read on-line news and believe it? Granted we've come to accept AP as a reliable source. But they get their facts wrong from time to time, they have their worldview that can affect their "take" on a situation. We all have to learn to read between the lines.

So, I agree with the hidden conclusion: "Notice the number one source of credible information: 'People like themselves.'"

Thanks for pointing out this report to us!

I love that widget. I have it on my site too.
:)
Merrie

I sat next to a television producer at a writer's conference once. I was, and am always, trying to decipher high concept. To me, it's like everyone is suddenly talking in German.

What? (that's my reaction, since I can't understand.)

This very nice young man in television tried to explain it to me. In about six words. It didn't really help. Not at all.

Here's what he said:

It's like "Snakes on a plane."

Okay, I know that was a movie. A movie I never want to see. But somehow it epitomizes high concept.

Sigh.

By the way, Mark, thanks for adding Alien Dream to the High Calling Blogs Writing & Publishing widget.

Way cool! I added it to my blog, too.
:)
Merrie
PS
I'm not bugging you today. You've got work to do.

April Fools. Good choice.
:)
Merrie

Mark,
I started to post here yesterday and got interrupted. Guess what? My copy of Eifelheim just came in the mail.

SOMEBODY at Mount Hermon told me it was just the most awesome book, so I ordered it from Amazon when I got home.

I can't wait to dig in. Disclaimer: I'm no mathematician, so I have a feeling a lot of this book will go over my head. But I already love the grasshopper alien. I mean, how cool is that? Grasshoppers do look like they come from another planet.
:)

Hi, Camille!
Was that the time I was asking Randy to help me with my parallel universe pitch?

It was good to meet you! And yes, I bet you would really like taking Randy's mentoring clinic. He's a great teacher!
:)

Mark,
I know I'm coming into this conversation late, but did you ever find out how blogging was bad for someone's writing? I have a few guesses. One, the person wasn't getting her writing assignments finished on time. Two, the style of writing on her blog was different than her professional writing. Three, this one is tough, she was talking about things on her blog that were supposed to be confidential.

Unfortunately, I probably just painted you into a corner. You might not be able to discuss this situation on your blog, since it's a touchy subject.

But it could be good topic to discuss in an open forum, no pointing fingers sort of way.

Thanks for giving such a thorough over-view of the conference.
:)

Well, Mark, I'm up for the task! I'll try to put together something in the next day or so.
:)
The interesting thing to me, as you were describing this scenario, is that "standing" also reminds me of "waiting." I've spent so much of my life waiting for what God was going to do next. Waiting to be healed when I was sick. Waiting to get a job when I was unemployed. Waiting for the return of joy when I was depressed.

And yet, standing, when we truly are standing in the Lord, is the solution to waiting. It's the process of making our faith real, believing God is going to come through, so we stand on His word and wait. It doesn't mean He is going to do exactly what we expect.

Just that He will never forsake us. Never leave us. No matter what.

I love your analogy, Mark.

Blessings,
Merrie Destefano

Mark,
I really thought you would have gotten home by now. I'm so sorry. California just doesn't want to let you go. It seems like a nice state, a sunny state, a state filled with happy people, but in reality it's vortex. In fact, you may have already been sucked into the California black hole and it might not even be the real you posting.

Perhaps I should be quiet. The vortex may come after me next . . .

I hope the real you gets home soon. And I hope your family is doing okay. Many prayers for your safe return.
Blessings,
Merrie

It was great to meet you, Mark! I hope that you finally got home safely. Arrgghh, airplanes and bad weather. A gnarly combination.

Many blessings on your sci-fi journey. You'll have to keep me posted on how it all turns out.

:)

What did I like about the first page?

For me, the writing was so fresh and vivid. I was captivated immediately. It reminded me of the beginning of the movie "Willow."

And, Mark, I LOVE your widgets! You made those? Yourself? Are you a techno-genius, or something?

I just have two things to say about your widgets:
1. I wish I knew how to make something like that.
2. I wish that whenever I get a novel published, somebody decides to be that creative and nice and will make me a wonderful present like that.
:)

Great job, Mark. Five stars!!
Blessings,
Merrie Destefano

Great post! I always appreciate someone who likes both sci fi and fantasy.

"So why do we seek our dreams from television instead of a more mystical vision?"

I agree with your question. I know I have to "veg out" for a certain period of time every day, but I never could understand people who let that become their entire life. It's like taking the inactive road instead of the interactive one. I'd rather people went out and got involved in community service that submit to the oppiate of the masses.

On the other hand, when my book gets published (or should I say "if"), I want everyone to watch it on DVD.

So I am double-minded. And selfish. And evil. Think I 'll put that into one of my characters.

Blessings on your blog tour!