Lots of fantasy links and a couple of cultural ones this week! 
Love and Comfort in Fantasy, or Why George R.R. Martin Isn’t the American Tolkien (John Adcox) – While I eschew Game of Thrones for the porn-fest it is, this article is beautiful and excellently illustrates why Tolkien, Lewis, Rowling, and other authors have written books more likely to be enduring and loved for generations. It’s all about the love.
The Gospel Was Given for a Time Like This (Tim Challies) – I can’t stand it when Christians panic and go around flailing their hands over the state of the world “these days,” so I loved this calm and comforting post.
About Those “20 Minutes of Action” (Ann Voskamp) – Beautiful words from Voskamp about the rape scandal that’s been in the news so much lately. “Son. When the prevailing thinking is boys will be boys — girls will be garbage. And that is never the heart of God.”
The Real Reason That Christians Don’t Read Fantasy (K.M. Carroll) – My friend Kessie muses on the root cause for the poor sales of Christian fantasy books. “…Mostly kids are allowed to read mystery, talking animal adventure, and historical fiction. These kids then grow into adults who prefer to read the same things. They’re not interested in the darker, edgier fiction out there. However, the Christian spec fic authors want to read and write adult books. They want sex, swearing and blood–all things that aren’t appropriate for kids books.”
Why We Need Christian Fantasy (E. Stephen Burnett) – Several reasons why there is value in the “Christian fiction” subculture. Personally I am in favor of Christians writing for the secular market as well, but there is a place for Christian fiction too!
Why Your Character’s Goal Needs to be 1 of These 5 Things (K.M. Weiland) – This isn’t a new post, but I happened across it and found it really useful.
The post Simmer Starters – June 11, 2016 appeared first on The Simmering Mind.
