A New Journey

Hello old friends...

2006 was a while ago now

Thank you all for spending time with me at Spoiled For The Ordinary. I have met some great friends here, I've been involved with some great discussions, and I have grown a lot while writing this blog.

Wow. I started it back in 2006 and it's been a wild ride. I think back to all the life events that have happened in that time frame:

• I blogged about losing a job
• We traveled to Germany for an international worship and missions festival
• I got a new job
• I had a beautiful baby girl
• I read a lot of books
• I had a visit here from Anne Rice
• Read some more books
• Started helping with the CSFF Tour
• Finished my first novel (!)
• Started a new ministry
• Went to my first writer's conference
• And I've posted some silly stuff along the way

Unfortunately, Blogger isn't quite up to snuff for what I want to do in the future, so I will leave this up as a pointer for my new blog. I have my own domain name, www.jasoncjoyner.com, and the blog is at www.jasoncjoyner/blog.

However, it will still be Spoiled For The Ordinary.

I hope you'll join me over at the new site. We'll talk about faith. We'll discuss fiction. And we'll have some fun.

I will be announcing a giveaway at my new blog tomorrow to help kickstart things. Please stop by and find out what's in store.

Again, thank you for all of those who have entered into a journey with me here. Becky, Mark, Nicole, John, Morgan, Keanan, Steve, and many others. I am blessed by your words and friendship.

So to leave you with a phrase from my new favorite show:

Allons-y!
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And Now For Something Completely Different

As the Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy Tour concludes our May feature with the science fiction book Numb by John W. Otte, I have something to share.

This is the last time Spoiled For The Ordinary will be in the CSFF Tour.

Yep.

I've been involved since almost the beginning, but some things are showing their age, and it is time for something new.

Don't take that wrong. The CSFF Tour is going strong and needs to continue.

I'm talking about my Blogger home.

I've been doing Spoiled since 2006. There have been ups and downs with my blogging, but I've stuck with it.

But it's time for a new home.

Spoiled For The Ordinary 2.0 will be at www.jasoncjoyner.com/blog starting May 1st.

The focus will still be on Faith, Fiction, and Fun, but it's time to move to a cleaner Wordpress layout and my own domain name. Oooh, fancy pants.

I hope you'll join me there.

Look for the first post on May 1st, and I'll announce a giveaway at that time.

Thanks for the memories CSFF Tour. I'll see you at my new home.

CSFF Tour - Numb Day 2

Usually, being numb is not fun.

I can attest, as I currently have a pinched nerve that is affecting a couple of fingers on my right hand. BTW, if you see any typos, I blame it on not feeling the keys.

But one author saw something different in that idea. Thus, the new adult science fiction book Numb by John W. Otte.

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Crusader is numb.

He doesn't feel emotions or pain. This makes him the perfect instrument of God's divine judgment, as divined by the Ministrix. If he stays obedient, he will earn his justification and receive pardon for his sins.

As one of the Ministrix's top operatives, he is used to success. But when he is charged with killing Isolda Westin, something happens.

A rush of emotions.

Suddenly Crusader can't process with his usual clinical coldness. Instead of killing Isolda, he kidnaps her to discover the secret of this strange failing. But doing so will damn his soul.

What is a holy assassin to do?

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What an intriguing premise! The good news is that John delivers on all fronts: characters, plot, and the science fiction setting. Set against a war between the atheistic Praesidium and the holy church Ministrix, the novel finds Crusader striking down heretics and protecting the Church's interests.

His name is appropriate, yes?

Crusader is a driven character and his resistance to emotional or physical pain is something he leans on heavily to accomplish his mission. When he freezes with the feelings that Isolda triggers, he doesn't know what to do. The conflict keeps the reader guessing and intrigued throughout the book. The action keeps careening through space stations and starships.

Not only does the action hold attention, the characters have depth so they aren't just plot puppets. Isolda has strengthens and doubts, and Crusader wrestles with these pesky feelings that he hasn't had to deal with before.

Finally, the ideas that Numb introduce are very thought-provoking. The Ministrix believes that Christ came down from the Cross as a conquering Lord, ready to impose His will after defeating death. This idea gives the brutal treatment of Ministrix opponents a logical justification. There's a fringe group that has different beliefs, and their quest to avoid the heavy hand of the Church plays into the conflict as well.

Overall, John Otte has written an intelligent and exciting science fiction novel with a sincere wrestling of spiritual issues. Any sci-fi fan should enjoy this book.
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If you'd like more on this book, see Becky Miller's post for all of the participants and updated info.

CSFF Tour Day 1 - Numb

"Are you my mummy?" photo by Karen Barnett

Hello science fiction fans. The Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy Tour for May is featuring a great book by an awesome guy.

But for some reason he chose to wear a mask in this picture.

We are featuring Numb by John W. Otte, an adult science fiction book.

Tomorrow I'll get into the book, but I'm blessed to count John as a friend. We've interacted through the CSFF Tour for years, and then we met at the ACFW Conference in Dallas in 2012.

It was my first contest, and having a familiar face in the crowd kept me hanging with John and the cool speculative fiction crowd, even though my WIP was suspense.

We met up again at the same conference in Indianapolis last September and continued to have a blast. So when I review the book, know that there is some bias, but I'll try to be objective.

Here's some fun facts about John Otte to get us started.

He stands out in a crowd. Or should I say, above a crowd.

He might be something of a conspiracy theorist.

John is an ordained Lutheran pastor.

He is the organizer of the infamous game nights at the ACFW Conference. Once Upon A Time, there was a Fiasco...

He's written a YA superhero series: Failstate, Failstate: Legends, and the third book due later this year.

John knows how to suffer. (He's a Minnesota Vikings fan.)

He's an avid gamer. ("Shepard." "Wrex.")

John is a great brainstormer to help other novelists. We gathered by the elevators in Indy to talk stories, and if John got an idea, his hands would shoot to his head like he was miming putting on a hat (or doing a moose impression). I've got trademark pending for his tagline: Don't modify your story, Otte-fy your story.

One last link: here's his tale on how he came up with the idea for Numb.

See all the people below? Those are my fellow tourists on the tour. See what they have to say about Numb and check back tomorrow for my review.


Julie Bihn
Jennifer Bogart
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Pauline Creeden
Vicky DealSharingAunt
Carol Gehringer
Victor Gentile
Rebekah Gyger
Nikole Hahn
 Carol Keen
Emileigh Latham
Rebekah Loper
Jennette Mbewe
Amber McCallister
Shannon McDermott
Shannon McNear
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Faye Oygard
Writer Rani
Nathan Reimer
Jojo Sutis
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Shane Werlinger
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White