tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187732632024-03-07T18:50:38.294-08:00subcreatorsWe have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming a “sub-creator” and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall. - J.R.R. TolkienABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-64462050107385202922015-01-26T14:21:00.001-08:002015-01-26T14:21:12.317-08:00The Blog is Moving!This blog will soon be moving to a new home on Wordpress! So stay tuned for the new address once it's up and running!ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-87622756105147954542013-01-07T09:34:00.001-08:002013-01-07T09:34:04.287-08:00The Little LeafNow that Christmas has come and gone, and I am no longer holding this information hostage in order to surprise family members, my first children's book was published on December 6, 2012! Yay.
I think Turbo did a great job with the art, and I still love the little story. A big thanks to Steve Porter for the lecture that inspired this story and to Calee for all the work to get it out and get it ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-68556010590004653562012-08-22T09:33:00.002-07:002012-08-22T09:33:55.142-07:00And His Kingdom Shall Have No End
He came to me at night, as He often
does—my mind unguarded and dreaming—with a message for my king. A vision he
brought me. A vision of such staggering majesty all I could do was weep.
I saw a light, bright as the moon,
enthroned in the darkness above. It gleamed, majestic and regal, for all the
world to see. Until it went out. Another light followed it, dimmer than the
first yet brighter by ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-49361400984857622022012-02-02T09:57:00.001-08:002012-02-02T09:57:23.024-08:00TranspositionsHey folks, just wanted to give you a heads up that a brief article I wrote will be up on St. Andrews' University's Institute for Theology, Imagination, and the Arts' blog (Transpositions) tomorrow. Please head on over and check it out. I'll be discussing the article via the comments throughout the day and beyond, so if you have any thoughts, questions, or want to participate in the dialogue at ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-2925177281389189852011-11-22T08:39:00.001-08:002011-11-22T08:39:42.207-08:00A Fun Little ThingSo I entered a short story competition that involved using Lulu to self-publish a story of 600 words or less. Lulu will post your work for sale (or for free) on the iBookstore and for Barnes & Noble's Nook. Here's a link to my story on the iBookstore :-)
Kind of fun . . .ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-39470273247610597812011-02-28T08:55:00.001-08:002011-02-28T09:52:40.846-08:00Jabberwocky reduxNow it's on its way for real :-)And here's the new website featuring . . . my poem!Were you so inclined, you could also order it here.ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-42429680109867085302011-01-25T09:08:00.000-08:002011-01-25T22:05:36.263-08:00Coming in FebruaryAfter much delay, Jabberwocky 5, featuring a poem by yours truly, will be printed and available. My contributor copy will then fly across the pond to me. Woo hoo! I've included a shot of the cover for your enjoyment.ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-67377066180526364272010-11-18T19:47:00.000-08:002010-11-18T19:50:57.096-08:00And another one . . .Just a quick post to say that another of my short stories will be popping up in the wild this January. It's in an Australian publication (ooooh, how exotic) called This Mutant Life. And yes, it is a super-hero story.ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-6874836513048413642010-10-13T07:20:00.000-07:002010-10-13T07:36:02.294-07:00JabberwockyHey everyone. Follow this link and check out the list of contributors to the upcoming edition of Jabberwocky.Notice any names you recognize? Aside from Oscar Wilde of course.And while I'm at it, I know this is a little old and most of you have already checked it out, but here's a link to a short story I had published earlier this year with Residential Aliens.ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-41186818759172136562010-10-07T16:57:00.000-07:002010-11-18T19:35:50.837-08:00A Bruised Reed He Will Not Break<!--StartFragment--> I see him descending the mountain with a crowd. Does he know I’m here, on the edges and removed? Outside. Always outside. Does he have words for one such as me or are his words for them alone? I must know, for only he can help. “Unclean!” I shout. “Unclean!” With the babble of voices surrounding him, no one hears. I cry louder. “Unclean! Unclean!” Those closest to me ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-91227704719576037682010-08-14T09:42:00.000-07:002010-08-14T09:47:50.107-07:00Matthew 5-7I stand on a hillside with many others. I don't know how long we've been here, nor do I care. The Teacher is speaking. Already my heart and mind are full. I doubt I can take in any more. Each word he speaks seems pointed at me; each word challenging my long-held beliefs.The eyes of some around me are turned inward now, examining a heart touched by words on love, holiness, trust--there are ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-38192426344464558912010-06-19T13:37:00.000-07:002010-10-04T09:29:16.472-07:00Matthew 19:13-15"Go ahead son," my mother says to me. "He's just over there."I take tentative steps toward the crowd of milling children and adults. The noise is deafening. Loud voices rise above the clamor rebuking and driving people away. My feet stop moving and seem to take root in the ground below them. The yelling men sound angry and angry men are scary for one as young and small as me. I can go no closer ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-26320639723297932672010-03-04T22:22:00.000-08:002010-03-04T22:34:41.935-08:00John 15:12Last week I was reading John 15, one of my favorite chapters anywhere in the Bible, and read a verse I've read countless times before, but the Spirit used it to confront an area of sin. In this verse Jesus says, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you."The Spirit prompted me to ask myself a very simple question: "Do I want the world to hate me?" To which I couldABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-64093970293399727452010-02-17T21:19:00.000-08:002010-02-17T21:20:56.984-08:00Why I gave up tea for LentRenee and I spent some time last night praying about what the Lord would have us do for this Lenten season, largely at the recommendation of Dr. Peters, priest and professor extraordinaire. It sounds silly to me to say it, but I've never asked this of the Lord at Lent before. I've just picked something and gone with it. It occurred to me as we prayed that every Lenten sacrifice I've ever made ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-86879031372807089532009-08-14T08:23:00.000-07:002009-08-14T08:34:31.700-07:00Another oneWhat's up with these dreams of having dinner with authors? Last night I dreamed George R.R. Martin and I shared a pizza at what must have been a country club. There were fountains, big stretches of lawn, and, of all things, tetherball, though I didn't challenge him to a match. I wonder who would have won if we'd played . . .ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-75535672010722597652009-08-07T22:08:00.000-07:002009-08-07T22:28:22.492-07:00Why not?I started reading Richard Foster's Prayer today and in the intro to part one he shares this little story:"A disciple once came to Abba Joseph, saying, 'Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, my little fast, and my little prayer. And according as I am able, I strive to cleanse my mind of all evil thougths and my heart of all evil intents. Now, what more should I do?' Abba Joseph ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-22819813030810849192009-07-25T10:33:00.000-07:002009-07-25T10:44:15.057-07:00Thank you Kate ElliottFor anyone curious to know a little more about the process of writing a novel and what it has been like for me personally, one of my favorite authors, Kate Elliott, writes here on the subject of how writers talk about writing. I've shared a little bit through e-mail and on this blog about the doubts that creep in about my writing abilities and the worries over the quality of what I've created. ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-44788868088690591962009-07-11T15:31:00.000-07:002009-07-11T15:57:16.814-07:00A conversation with Patrick RothfussFirst of all, let me apologize to all of you who have been waiting over 3 weeks to hear how my conversation with Patrick Rothfuss went. I can’t believe it was that long ago. There has been a lot for me to think about and I wanted to listen to the whole conversation again in case I missed something. Thank you for your patience.The morning of our conversation I had a strong sense that it would be ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-2011488352009508112009-06-10T10:43:00.000-07:002009-06-10T10:48:20.149-07:00A couple nights ago I dreamed I had dinner with Neil Gaiman . He was witty, charming, and quite funny. I wish I'd asked him some questions . . .ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-20332477600237729502009-04-01T15:32:00.000-07:002009-04-01T15:38:34.416-07:00Drinking from a Dry Well<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-46521370606594287142009-02-10T20:53:00.000-08:002009-02-10T21:03:42.698-08:00Carrion ComfortBut ah, but O thou terrible, why wouldst thou rude on me Thy wring-earth right foot rock? lay a lionlimb against me? scan With darksome devouring eyes my bruised bones? and fan, O in turns of tempest, me heaped there; me frantic to avoid thee and flee? Why? That my chaff might fly; my grain lie, sheer and clear. -Gerard Manley Hopkins This slice of “Carrion Comfort” blesses my soulABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-60748687154537759892008-08-14T19:26:00.000-07:002009-02-10T21:04:21.196-08:00The Dark Knight So I've now seen The Dark Knight three times, and while I can't say I've enjoyed the movie, I can say it is a good film--perhaps even an excellent one. And something stood out to me the first time I watched the movie that crystallized this evening as I read Spiritual Theology by Simon Chan. Chan writes: "Even if the devil as a fallen spirit being were not to exist, there are enough ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-83567577863716880312008-02-05T15:24:00.000-08:002009-02-10T21:00:03.688-08:00Ancient and Beautiful and TrueGeorge R.R. Martin once wrote in The Faces of Fantasy:The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams are alive, more real than real ... for a moment at least ... that long magic moment before we wake. Fantasy is silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli. Reality is plywood and plastic, done up in mud brown and olive drab. ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-15152127046592171022007-09-18T08:50:00.000-07:002007-09-18T08:56:29.257-07:00Robert JordanYesterday morning I got the news that Robert Jordan passed away. I don’t know if any of the few who check this blog read his epic The Wheel of Time, but it heavily marks my literary world. I was introduced to his series as a freshman in high school, back in 1995, and though I went through bouts of frustration at the lack of apparent motion through the middle books in the series, I continued to ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773263.post-61758108880171980132007-07-24T15:01:00.000-07:002007-07-24T15:02:11.571-07:00PsalmsI don’t know if I have ever been as challenged and encouraged by the Word of God as I have been these past 2 weeks while reading the Psalms. They contain great wisdom and direction from the Lord on how to worship him as he deserves, how to mourn our sin deeply, and how to hope in His great love and mercy. What a blessed and treasured time it has been, though immensely difficult as well. It ABShaefferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03656616326059782961noreply@blogger.com0