All posts by Morgan L. Busse

Morgan L. Busse is a writer by day and a mother by night. She is the author of the epic fantasy Follower of the Word series and the award-winning steampunk series, The Soul Chronicles. Her debut novel, Daughter of Light, was a Christy and Carol Award finalist. During her spare time she enjoys playing games, taking long walks, and dreaming about her next novel.

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CSFF Blog Tour- The Skin Map, Day 3

November 3, 2010 Morgan L. Busse 11 Comments

Before I jump into the Spiritual Factor of The Skin Map, I want to highlight two of the participants of this blog tour. First is Fred Warren‘s blog on tattoos. Personally, I find tattoos fascinating (no, I am not currently sporting one nor probably ever will), but the history it holds in some cultures and the meanings behind the tattoos of people I know make this art interesting. Tattoos are important in The Skin Map since the ley lines map is literally tattooed onto the man who has explored all these ley lines. Fascinating 🙂

Next is Rebecca LuElla Miller‘s post on the opening quote of The Skin Map and the physicist quoted (Quote is “Why is the Universe so big? Because we are here!” John Wheeler). Her response to John Wheeler’s question would be a bit different (the Universe isn’t so big because of us but because God is bigger). Check out her post and see what more she has to say.

Now, moving on to the Spiritual Factor.

I’ve come to realize since last month that I should come up with a definition of what I mean by the Spiritual Factor. There is always debate on what makes Christian fiction Christian versus just secular. Is it a clear presentation of the gospel? A God similar to the one in the Bible? Moral behavior?

Here’s is what I have come up with and will use as the measuring stick when I talk about the Spiritual Factor of the books I read: what about the book brings the reader into a more deeper understanding of God. This can range anywhere from a non-Christian exploring the elements of faith to a long time follower experiencing the growing pains of faith. I do not believe it is enough to have morally good people in a Christian book and cross ones fingers and hope the reader picks something up. I believe there should be some purpose. And I explore how well the author brings his/her point across.

Now for The Skin Map.

I will say I did not see a lot of God in the book. And I think I can safely say none of the main characters are Christians. There was a quick definition of God that threw up some red flags but I’m not sure if Stephen’s intentions were to show this was the belief of the scientific men he was portraying. Here is the quote:

“All the universe is permeated, upheld, knit together, conjoined, encompassed, and contained by the Elemental Ether, which we recognise as an all-pervading, responsive, and intelligent field of energy, eternal and inexhaustible, which is nothing less than the ground of our very being and the wellspring of our existence- that which in ages past and present men have been pleased to call God.” (pages 56-57)

I hope this isn’t his definition of God because it sounds eerily familiar with how the Star Wars Universe describes the Force. God is not an intelligent field of energy. He is a being possessing of personhood.

The only character in the book that seemed to have a belief in God was Etzel, the German baker Wilhelmina runs into when she is transported back to Sixteenth century Prague. His faith intrigues Wilhelmina and you see her considering it.

But that is all I saw in this book. Now this book is first in a series and perhaps there is more to uncover in the next few books. Personally I’m curious to see how the characters (and perhaps the author) show how God is involved in the ley lines and hopefully in the characters’ lives themselves. I’m especially interested to see if Etzel’s beliefs have affected Wilhelmina.

Until I am able to read more in the series, my vote is out on how much of a Spiritual Factor there is in The Skin Map. I sure do hope the direction of God is not towards the quote I have above.

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CSFF Blog Tour- The Skin Map, Day 2

November 2, 2010 Morgan L. Busse 5 Comments

Yesterday I wrote about the cool parts of The Skin Map. Ley lines, time travel, other dimensions: all the things that make for a great science fiction. Today I want to explore the Writing Factor of this book.

Stephen Lawhead has been around for a while. He is probably most famous for his fictional work on the Arthurian legend and early Celtic History. His most recent work is a retelling of Robin Hood (I have not yet had the pleasure of reading the series, but it is on my list). All that to say, Stephen is good. Really good. And I found that to be true of The Skin Map.

One way I like to rate books is how fast I want to get back to reading the book again after doing housework or other mundane things in life. Some books can feel like homework (ok, gotta finish the book). Some are somewhat interesting (yeah, the plot is kinda engaging). Some are good (I look forward to reading it some more). And then some make me come up with an excuse why the dishes/laundry/and sometimes kids can wait until the book is done because I have to finish it. The Skin Map fell between good and I have to finish this book.

Why is this? I like to dissect a book and see why I found myself engaged so I can include it in my own writing. One thing that pops out at me about books I find myself loving are the characters. I have to fall in love with at least one character to hook me. If I’m not invested in a character or characters, I will eventually not want to follow the book anymore. Same goes for tv, movies, etc…

The plot was engaging, the descriptions great (Stephen Lawhead includes a lot of food descriptions… I constantly found myself hungry when reading J). But what hooked me was one of the characters: Wilhelmina. Funny enough, the main character was okay (Kit Livingstone). I related to Wilhelmina because she acted like I think any strong willed no nonsense kind of woman would act in her place: scared, but with enough wits to navigate her way in the world and time she found herself in.

I won’t give away any spoilers, but I really enjoyed this book. The Skin Map is fast paced, moving between time and dimensions, but also realistic in how the characters deal with their surroundings and the ley lines. That can be a pet peeve of mine: people who don’t really act surprised when they find themselves in a different time or place.

Stay tuned tomorrow as I explore the Spiritual Factor of The Skin Map.

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

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CSFF Blog Tour- The Skin Map, Day 1

November 1, 2010 Morgan L. Busse 4 Comments

It’s the end of October and time for another book review brought to you by the CSFF Blog Tour (Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy for those still trying to remember the acronym :)). This month we are reviewing The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead. I would highly encourage you to click on the book link. An awesome book trailer opens up the website and explains the premise of the book more than I could ever do justice to. But just in case you want me to try and explain anyway, here I go!

Ley Lines: unexplainable forces of energy around our world that allow a person to jump through time and dimensions. Kit Livingstone possesses the gift to make these jumps. But jumping can be dangerous. You never know if you’ll end up in a tiger filled jungle or on the battlefield. You need a map to help you know where to go.

Such a map exists, tattooed onto the body of a man who has mapped out these times and dimensions. This map is priceless and sought by everyone who knows of its existence. Some of those searching for it are willing to do anything to obtain it, even murder.

Cool Factor: I had briefly heard of ley lines before reading this book. This book brings those ideas to life. The thought that there are other dimensions of our world, shaped by choices we did not make in this world are fascinating. What if the Confederates won the Civil War? What if Luther had never protested the Catholic Church? What would our world look like then? (these are not mentioned in the book, I just mention them to illustrate what dimensions of our world could look like. Stephen uses examples of British history changed in his book).

Along with different dimensions are different times. Sixteenth century Prague. Ancient Egypt. Our modern times. How would you cope if you were thrown into another time? Wilhelmina (who became my favorite character in this book) faces this obstacle when she follows Kit through a ley line and ends up in Sixteenth century Prague alone. I was rooting for her as she faced her fears of being in a different time period and making the best of it (she came up with a Kaffe House and being a coffee fan, I loved reading her chapters how she survives by introducing coffee to Europe).

Tomorrow I will take a look at the Writing Factor. Until then, click on the links below to see what other CSFF Bloggers are saying about The Skin Map:

Red Bissell

Thomas Clayton Booher

Christian Fiction Book Reviews

Rebecca LuElla Miller

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

Christian Life

No Faith, Know Faith

October 21, 2010 Morgan L. Busse 6 Comments

I remember the day when I realized I had no faith in God. We had just moved to Portland a couple weeks earlier and found out we were pregnant. Prior to this pregnancy I had gone through a devastating miscarriage and was still feeling the repercussions from it. I feared I would lose this baby too.

We had no medical insurance and were in the midst of trying to find some. Unfortunately, my status as expecting mother made me an existing condition so no one would take us. I finally went to see a doctor as the second trimester approached just to make sure everything was all right. That’s when we received the big news: you’re having twins!

Now we needed medical insurance more than ever. I knew a twin pregnancy would not be normal. Finally we found someone who could help us out. Then the bomb dropped. We had to get the paperwork in that day in order to get the insurance because our 60 days was about to elapse (for those who have never had to fill out the paperwork for private insurance, they can make doing taxes look easy lol). Of course, we found that out only a couple hours before the deadline.

With Dan busy with his new job and me trying to move into our new house, juggle two toddlers and deal with twin size morning sickness, I felt something snap inside of me. We weren’t going to make the deadline.

Suddenly I saw our future loom in front of us, full of medical bills we couldn’t possibly pay. And in that moment I realized something else: I didn’t believe God would come through for me. I stood there, staring at the wall and felt the truth of that thought shake me to my core. I had no faith in God.

If you had asked me before that moment, I would have said of course I have faith in God. But now I realize that for years I had worked under the subconscious impression that everything happened because of hard work with a little luck thrown in. I had always been able to take care of myself.

But this insurance situation was way out of my hands. I could not work hard enough. Actually, I couldn’t work at all, not with two little ones needing me at home and two more on the way.

I felt deep shame when I realized I had no faith. What kind of Christian was I? Little did I know that moment was the beginning of God tearing away all my securities until all I had left was Him.

God did come through for us. The paperwork made it in minutes before the deadline. And as a cherry on top, we had a pretty uneventful twin pregnancy. But God wasn’t done yet. My faith muscles were weak. They needed to be trained. So a year later, Dan lost his job.

That story is for another day. But during that dark year, my faith muscles were worked out to the max. Everything I had put my security in to save me fell through. We had no home, no close friends, not even a church family. All I had was God. And He showed me he could be trusted. No, He didn’t come through in the way I thought he should. But he always came through.

My faith had grown enough that a year later when my son had to be life flighted to Portland, I had someone ask me how we were going to pay the medical bills. I didn’t even blink when I said God knew this was going to happen and has something planned to take care of those bills. And you know what? He did. Just not in the way I thought he would 😉

I don’t believe faith is the absence of fear but rather the belief in something greater than what you fear. I still fear things all the time. Trust me, I wish I could turn that emotion off. But then I look at God and I see something greater than what I fear.

Or perhaps I should say I feel God. After all, faith is like being blind. We can’t see what’s ahead of us or even around us. But in the dark I can feel God’s hand on my life and I can hear his voice. He won’t let me fall, not if I cling to him.

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

Book Reviews

Book Review: Hero, Second Class

October 15, 2010 Morgan L. Busse Leave a comment

Let me start off by saying this isn’t my usual category of book. I’m usually a more dark, gritty, intense, character driven kind of reader. So when I was given Hero, Second Class to review, I wasn’t sure how much I would like it. After the first few chapters, I was blown away (or maybe laughed away). I loved it!

Hero, Second Class is about a young man named Cyrus Solburg who is apprenticed to Crimson Slash. Between P.L.O.T. Devices, narrating Heroes, and Villain Monologues, Cyrus has a lot to learn before he can become a proper Hero and join the Heroes Guild.

Quick wit and puns run rampant in this book. Imagine Monty Python and the Holy Grail, only clean. If you love to laugh, but tired of the same old trashy humor out there, Hero, Second Class is the book for you.

For more information on Hero, Second Class, click

http://www.marcherlordpress.com/books/hero_second_class.html

* I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in order to review.

Personal

Another Day Older…

October 8, 2010 Morgan L. Busse 4 Comments

And hopefully another day wiser. In other words, its my birthday. I’m now over a third of the way through my life (if I live as long as the average human being… then again, I’m not average ;)).

So today I look at my life, both my future and my past. I have been blessed, I have had sorrow, I have been through fearful dark valleys and I have seen miracles. I’m sure my future has the same forecast. But the one constant between both past and future is God. He was there the day I became me. He will be there the day I take my last breath. And everything in between.

So here’s to a day that brings me closer to finally going home and seeing the invisible God who’s hand I have felt all my life.

“You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:15-16

Personal

The Hands of God

October 1, 2010 Morgan L. Busse 2 Comments

This was the bunny fluffy post I was going to write about two weeks ago. At the time, I felt more exhausted that anything else, so I wrote about God’s Gym instead.

I decided to write about the hands of God the following week. Life happened and my bunny fluffy post took a decidedly different turn. I personally experienced the hands of God this weekend when I faced the death of a small furry friend.

Let me start off by sharing a story. Two boys came to my home a month ago carrying a pet carrier between them. Inside this carrier was the smallest, skinniest kitten I had ever seen. He had also just peed on himself, which made him appear even more pathetic. These boys were trying to find a home for the little guy.

I am an animal lover and felt instantly sorry for the kitten. But before I would take him, I had to make sure he wasn’t feral. So I took him out of the carrier and immediately the little guy looked up at me with the biggest eyes and began to purr. Love at first sight.

We named him Tiger.

Tiger immediately went to the vet. He had a flea problem and who knew what else. He was small for his age and needed fattening up said the Vet. So we took him home and fed him, loved on him, and gave him everything a growing cat needs. Our dogs loved the little guy and got along great with him. And he was a lover: all he did was find a lap to lie on and purr.

Sometimes when you get a cat, you take a chance on getting a cat with good personality. Tiger was perfect. Except for one thing. He was a very sick kitty and we didn’t know it.

He went in for his next vet visit and had only gained an ounce. The vet was concerned now and wanted to start running some blood tests the following week.

Tiger never made it past the weekend.

I will not go into details, but watching an animal die broke something inside of me. You feel helpless as you try and comfort the little thing. In the end, we had to put Tiger to sleep.

I cried and prayed and cried and prayed. For the first few hours I would find myself expecting to see Tiger come trotting into the kitchen and asking for food. Or jumping up into my lap. Then I would start replaying his last painful hours. Going over and over my helplessness to save him. I couldn’t let Tiger go, even though he was already gone.

I asked God to help me. I couldn’t do this alone. And then I had this picture in my mind: me as a little girl with pigtails clutching her little kitten while God knelt before me, holding his hands out, telling me to let him have Tiger. I was scared to give him Tiger. I felt like letting go of Tiger would mean I would forget him.

But then I realized God could take care of Tiger so much more than I could. And he was asking me to let go. I do not know what happens to animals when they die; I do not believe the Bible is clear enough for us to make a stand one way or another. But the Bible does tell us about God. And what I’ve read about God is that his hands are loving, strong, and gentle. He takes care of this world and everything in it. Including kittens. So I know whatever God has done with Tiger, that Tiger is in good hands now. And so are we.

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CSFF Blog Tour- Venom and Song, Day 3

September 29, 2010 Morgan L. Busse 5 Comments

Today I want to look at the Spiritual Factor of Venom and Song. What makes this book different than all the other YA fantasies out there? What are the spiritual elements of this book?

The elves of Allyra worship a being called Ellos. Since this is a Christian fantasy for young adults, I automatically assumed Ellos was God in our world. Later it is explained that he made the world and the elves would quote ancient scripture.

So the question I had while reading this book is why do these teenage elves follow Ellos? How do they know he is real other than taking the word of Grimwarden and some of the other elves? I have not yet read book one, so I do not know the religious background of these seven teenagers, but in Venom and Song, they all seem to believe in Ellos. No one questions his existence, no one questions that he is on their side, no one questions that they are doing what Ellos wants them to.

But Ellos does not seem to be a part of their own personal lives. It felt like Ellos is God, out there, looking down on them, but not necessarily a part of their everyday lives. To be honest, it felt a lot like how I think many of us view our own Christian lives. We know God is here, everywhere. We know God loves us. But I think a lot of times we go days, even weeks where we live our own lives. Sure, we toss up a prayer when bad times come. But if we’re honest, we don’t really connect with God on a deeper level.

Note here: I am not trying to pick on this book. I think it’s a good book, especially for the audience it was written for (10-13 yr olds). And in a world where more and more of this age range is reading fantasy (I know, I’ve seen what my library and bookstore has to offer and some of the fantasy out there for these kids scares me), its good to have an alternative.

But I think there could have been a more personal spiritual factor. So many of our church kids grow up hearing bible stories and God, but it never goes below the surface. Going back to my post yesterday, that personal spiritual understanding of Ellos and how he is an intimate part of these teenagers’ lives could have been better understood if the story had been told from just one of the teenager’s viewpoints.

For example, show that teenager struggling with leaving his life back on earth, his new role, emotional garbage he’s carried about being an orphan, and does Ellos really exist and care about him. And not just one scene, but a whole sequence of scenes throughout the book, showing the journey of that elf as he comes to see himself in his new role and see Ellos for who he really is.

So there’s my spiritual take on the matter. Do I recommend this book? Definitely yes. Unless you’re arachnophobic 😉

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CSFF Blog Tour- Venom and Song, Day 2

September 28, 2010 Morgan L. Busse 9 Comments

The Writing Factor: Yesterday I wrote about the cool stuff of Venom and Song. Today I want to talk about the writing.

First, I thought Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper did a great job capturing the tone and language of their teenage characters. They also gave colorful descriptions of Allyra. From the caverns of Nightwash to Whitehall where the teenage elves trained, I felt like I could see everything.

And action. Lots and lots of action :). This is not a slow paced book. Between escaping warspiders, sliding down zip lines through the forest, training in the danger room and fighting a war, there was no time to sit and sip tea for these teenage elven lords (yes, that was a pun for anyone who finished the book lol).

Here is my one problem with the writing: there were so many characters I was trying to follow that I was never able to engage in the story. I think the story would have been stronger if it had been told from the point of view of one, two, or maybe three characters. Instead, I was constantly jumping around between the seven main characters along with a couple of the minor characters. There were too many heads for me to follow.

Like I said above, this book is filled with a lot of action. Action is good. You don’t want to hear the story of a well-written character that cleans the lint of his toes while he contemplates the universe. But action doesn’t mean a lot to me unless I care about the characters first and what happens to them. And because I was constantly jumping around between all the characters, I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters. I was never given enough time with one character to build that connection.

That is the one thing I wish differently about the book. I believe the story would have been stronger told from just one of the teenagers. But that’s just my opinion :). Tune in tomorrow where I will take a look at the Spiritual Factor of Venom and Song.

*In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

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CSFF Blog Tour- Venom and Song, Day 1

September 27, 2010 Morgan L. Busse 6 Comments

As part of the CSFF Blog Tour this month, I had the privilege of reading Venom and Song by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. I have broken my review down into three parts: The Cool Factor, The Writing Factor, and The Spiritual Factor. Today I will be looking at what is absolutely cool about this book (after all, you can’t have a science fiction or fantasy book without having cool stuff :)). So let’s get on with it!

The Cool Factor: Venom and Song is the second book in the Berinfell Prophecies. We follow seven teenagers who find out they are not humans but really elves living in our world. And not only are they elves, but they are the seven lords of the elves. The first book in the series (Curse of the Spider King) ends with these elves escaping our world through a portal back to their own world of Allyra.

Venom and Song is the continuing story about these young lord and lady elves as they discover their new world and how to control their powers. Cool Factor here: not only are they elves, they have some amazing abilities! Foresight, strength and healing, air walking, speed (like super fast), marksmanship, thought reading (aka mind reading), and fire.

One part of the book I really liked is when the seven teenagers… err… elves are learning how to use their powers together as a team. Imagine the Danger Room for the X-Men elf style :).

This book is a fast-paced, action packed story for young adults (or those young at heart). Tune in tomorrow for a look at the Writing Factor. Until then, check out these other participants of the CSFF Blog Tour to see what they are saying about Venom and Song.