Tales of the Lonely Sun Blog tour!

I am so excited to talk more about this wonderful new blog! If you haven’t checked out their site, then click here!

Today we have the special treat of featuring a guest post by Merie Shen, the blogger behind Imperial Scribis. But before we begin, here’s a bit more about Tales of the Lonely Sun:

We’re four girls who love reading, writing, and most importantly, Jesus. The Lonely Sun emblem symbolizes the Light amidst the Darkness, an illustration of the world and how it’s always been.

We hope to focus on reading and writing books that are full of light opposed to books centered around darkness. The Tales of the Lonely Sun team are spreading the word about good moral books, and how to write them.

We host a seasonal writing contest for writers looking to share their work, and offer book reviews for the book dragons among us.

TLS also has a short story contest! Here’s a bit about that:

Every two months we at TotLS hold a short story writing contest. Every contest sports a different theme, and sometimes we collaborate with other influential blogs/bloggers for special prizes and guest judges. Abigail Harder is the official story judge, but she never works alone! Expect to see familiars around the writing community who will comprise the rest of the judges and select which one of your stories will be the winner.

To continue reading about their contest and the submission guidelines, click here.

About Merie:

Merie Shen is an artist at heart, a daughter of ministry, and a Chinese-Korean spy. Thanks to a lifetime surrounded by three very different and very strange cultures, her love for world folkways and folklore constantly infiltrates her writing. From the beginning, her stories have been inspired by C.S. Lewis instead of Tolkien, Lewis Carroll instead of Harry Potter, fairytales instead of Disney, and Kung Fu Panda instead of Marvel (don’t ask). She also spends time drawing what appears in her mind or in nature, discovering and rediscovering the magic of books, and staring off into space. Her mascot changes with her daily moods and she blogs at Imperial Scribis.

Merie lives in the fascinating city of Beijing, with her missionary family and their cat, whose name is either Kipling or Mimi or maybe both.

Let’s give a big welcome to Merie and dive into her guest post…

What makes a great book great?

There are dozens of answers to this question, and each one varies with the opinions of readers. In this age and day, books have a wider range of audiences and “acceptable” genres than ever before. It isn’t hard to see why certain tropes and familiar storylines have taken over corresponding genres. It also isn’t hard to see why much of the YA and Christian fiction markets have been so heavily affected. 

These days, many books marketed toward teens and young adults contain unnecessary content. It’s quite evident that books written during a certain time period are strongly influenced by the time period of the author– that’s common knowledge. Yet it applies to more than just contemporary fiction.

More than just modern contemporary YA novels contain unnecessary content: you can very easily find the same thing in mainstream speculative fiction genres. Graphic violence or creepy morbidity easily reflect the darkness that play too much of a role in growing up… but where, then, is the light? Why do these characters not search for one?

In today’s society, a lot of people have given up on finding it.

Perhaps that’s why so much of fiction is so dark and unforgiving, despite the “happy endings” bestowed upon the characters, darkness– in the form of gag-worthy content– seems to shadow the light with every step. Why is it cool to swear or curse? How is it that young children are sheltered from ugly language and inappropriate romance only to be exposed to a barrage of it upon reaching teenagerhood? Wouldn’t that be a lot of work for nothing?

Then you look at Christian fiction, and maybe you get a little tired of the absolute purity radiating from too much of these stories. I as a Christian do not want to read a book about a perfect Christian girl who falls in love with a perfect Christian guy and never commits any sin throughout the entire story. I want to read a book to enjoy it, to learn the lessons in it, to connect with lovable but flawed characters stumbling through their journey in life. I’m a flawed person stumbling through life and I have difficulty connecting with God all the time. I don’t read a book to be preached at by unattainably perfect characters.

I’m assuming that you don’t, either. As C.S. Lewis said, “The world does not need more Christian literature. What it needs is more Christians writing good literature.”

Writing stories that don’t fall into any of the categories above is not easy at all. Perhaps you don’t want to write a story with an allegory to represent Christianity. Or perhaps you need to present the ugliness of a dark world in order to bring light into it. Or perhaps you just don’t want to be preachy. One of the best remedies for any case of being a Christian writer is to read good, light-filled books and see how other authors have dealt with such predicaments. 😉 

If you’re looking for unique ideas for an allegory, check out The Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. For those searching for ways to avoid preachiness, I would recommend The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. There are plenty of books out there that deal with light in very, very dark worlds– the dystopian genre is good for that, and there are many different ways it’s handled. As for other recs, I get the feeling that this blog tour is supposed to help promote TotLS, so I’ll just give in a bit and mention that we have more recommendations on our site. 😉 

“There are two ways to spread light in the world: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.” — Edith Wharton

WASN’T THAT AWESOME? I love what Merie had to say, and I hope that it has inspired you as a writer. Tell me your favorite part of the guest post in the comments!

Here is the blog tour schedule so you can visit all the lovely blogs involved and learn more about Tales of the Lonely Sun:

TotLS Tour Schedule

Monday, Dec. 9

Angela Watts: Blog Spotlight @ The Peculiar Messenger

Jenna Terese: Guest Post by Merie @ Jenna Terese

Kellyn Roth: Blog Spotlight/Guest Post by Merie @ Reveries

Kim: Blog Spotlight @ The Writing Process

Kristen Hogrefe: Guest Post by Jorja @ Kristen Hogrefe

Jennifer Guyer: Interview with Merie @ Fantasy Ordinary

M.H. Elrich: Interview with the Team @ M.H. Elrich

Tuesday, Dec. 10

Sabrina: Blog Spotlight/Interview with Jorja @ Confessions of a Writer

Elizabeth Dragina: Guest Post by Merie @ Elizabeth’s Corner

Mark Borne: Interview with the Team @ The Mark Borne Nexus

Wednesday, Dec. 11

Abigail Harder: Blog Spotlight @ Books, Life, and Christ

Grace: Guest Post by Merie @ Grace M. Morris

Thursday, Dec. 12

~ ANNOUNCING SHORT STORY CONTEST WINNERS ~

Friday, Dec. 13

Diamond: Interview with the Team @ I Have 12% of a Plan

Abigail Harris: Guest Post by Merie @ Read Write Breathe

Saturday, Dec. 14

Ash Ronnel: Interview with the Team @ Ash Ronnel

Jo: Blog Spotlight/Interview with Merie @ Pananaw

Maya: Blog Spotlight/Interview with the Team @ Wandering Wordsmith

Isabel Olivetti: Blog Spotlight/Guest Post by Mya @ Chasing Fantasia

Giveaway

The giveaway runs from December 8 to the 15th. This giveaway is U.S. and Canada only… I’m so sorry, international folks!

This giveaway is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nadine Brandes. (But it is with Mya Gray.)

ONE WINNER WILL RECEIVE

• A SIGNED COPY of Hide and Seek by Mya Gray (yes, our very own Mya!)
• A hardcover copy of Romanov by Nadine Brandes
• Bookish & TotLS stickers
• A $10 Amazon gift card
• Assorted tea bags 

Enter the giveaway here!

Exciting stuff, right? 😉 Have a nice day, friends!

What do you think about Tales of the Lonely Sun? Did you like Merie’s guest post?

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