Joel Rosenberg

Joel is a friend of mine from Minnesota who writes the popular Guardians of the Flame series, and I've enjoyed getting to know him, especially since my first attempt at writing fiction was a bad sci-fi imitation of his books. The big twist was that it was set in a Traveller universe instead of an AD&D one. Clever, eh? He's a good guy and a very good shot. Don't mess with him....

Bruce Bethke

Bruce is one of the funniest writers in America. Another Minnesota writer, his work could easily be mistaken for the illegitimate test-tube progeny of PJ O'Rourke, Douglas Adams, and Neal Stephenson. I think it is safe to say that without his help, I would not be a published author today... so blame him, if you are looking for the responsible party.

Charles Stross

Let's see, I'm not at all in sync with his religion, his politics or his personal aesthetic, so why am I recommending his site? Only because he is, in my opinion, the most interesting and important writer in science fiction today. The Accelerando collection simply blew me away, combining insightful, intelligent views on economics, technology and politics with a light but razor-sharp style in a thoroughly entertaining manner. The Atrocity Archive, on the other hand, is the perfect blend of Dilbert, James Bond and the Cthulhu Mythos.

A first taste of Stross is like your first time with Tolkein or Gibson. Fantastic stuff! Don't forget to check out his web journal too, it's quite funny.

Lois McMaster Bujold

After I finished the first draft of REBEL MOON, the writer's group which was made up of several well-known Minnesota writers was kind enough to read the manuscript and comment on it. After three hours of detailed and humiliating evisceration, Lois made the comment: "yes, that's all true, but there's enough story in there that it kept me up late." That was all the encouragement I needed. She's a kind and talented woman with a veritable spaceport of Nebula Awards on her mantle thanks to her BARRAYAR books.

Pat Wrede

Referencing the above, it was Pat who did more than her fair share of the eviscerating. But I am very grateful to her, because her razor-sharp critique underlined the point that if I wanted to become a successful writer, I was going to have to get more serious about my work. Her DRAGONS books are a unique spin on the fantasy staple, and I particularly like SORCERY AND CECILIA.

Umberto Eco

I believe Dr. Eco is the planet's greatest living writer, and I admire his work tremendously. Several years ago, I shamelessly misconstrued my position as an occasional contributor to the St. Paul Pioneer Press and managed to set up an interview with him through his agent. Unfortunately for my wife, I'd run into the owner of a film production company the night before, one thing led to another, and before she knew it, I'd hired a film crew and received Dr. Eco's permission to accompany him on his visit to a nearby monastery in St. John's, Minnesota. Try doing that right after getting married!

So if anyone needs twelve hours of Dr. Eco on film, well, just shoot me an email.

The Critters Workshop

Critters is an on-line workshop and critique group for serious writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. I'm a member myself, and I occasionally run a short story through the grinder just for kicks. I strongly recommend that anyone with an interest in writing for publication visit the Critters web site and read through the membership requirements.

The SF Site

This is an excellent SF&F reviews site, featuring author interviews and a number of interesting book-related columns. I quite enjoy it.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Books and Authors

A SF&F site which tracks forthcoming books. No reviews, but excellent connections to various author web sites, book excerpts and whatnot. They were kind enough to allow me to use their stylish book covers which you can see here on the Novels page.

The Christian Fantasy Webring

It seemed to make sense to join this web ring, being a Christian Fantasist and all. I still have to figure out how to get the ring code working, so this link will have to do for now.

Psykosonik

My old band. I don't think Paul is doing much with music these days, which is really too bad. He's a good guy and an extremely talented musician. The two of us founded the band together just after I finished college, but we gradually went our separate ways as he became more interested in pursuing ambient music, whereas I favored a more aggressive, industrial style. Except for a few lyrics here and there, I had very little involvement with the second CD, Unlearn. It was an interesting experience, though, and it's nice to see that people still enjoy listening to our songs. Mike is doing sound effects for a computer game company now, and Dan is doing a project called HedNoize in Los Angeles.

Creed

I love this band. Their three CD's have a permanent place in my CD changer. They are not generally considered a "Christian band" and yet there can be no mistaking the passion of the lyricist's faith in Jesus Christ. Their music is an intense, emotional roar of protest against the darkness of a fallen world, and is at times surprisingly analytical. "What If?" is my favorite track, a howling indictment of the terrible costs of dogmatic secular intellectualism.

ASL

Advanced Squad Leader is a wargame without equal; it is the game of tactical infantry combat in World War II. While its value as a historical simulation is a matter of some debate, it is an intriguing form of intellectual entertainment. To put it in the simplest terms, it is a game of chess at the platoon level, only with squads instead of pawns and Panzers in the place of rooks and bishops.

The MFL

The Minnesota Football League is the fantasy football league in which I have been involved as a franchise owner since 1994. It started as a computer game played with my college roommates, and has since evolved into what is primarily a brutal forum for public recrimination, insinuation, obloquy, and humiliation. A reasonable familiarity with the lyrics of Public Enemy and the geography of metropolitan Minnesota, a taste for the bizarre, and a twisted sense of humor are pretty much required to find anything amusing in this cesspool of viciousness that occasionally passes for wit.

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