Saturday, February 9, 2013

"The Q Manifesto" --A Christian Thriller You Don't Want to Miss!



Clash of the Titles presents...


 The Q Manifesto by Alan Schleimer.

A new Dead Sea Scroll stuns the world. Is it a forgery or the end of Christianity?

Not long ago, experts announced that an ancient papyrus referred to Jesus Christ as having a wife. It caused quite a stir before being quickly discredited. But what if an even more explosive papyrus was found that showed the gospels were faked and that document passed every modern test for legitimacy? That is the premise for The Q Manifesto. 

The story centers on Jay Hunt, who quit a lucrative Wall Street career to become a backcountry tour guide. Soon after, an ancient manuscript is uncovered that reveals the Gospels were an orchestrated fiction. Though its revelation stuns the world, Jay ignores it until his father, a retired Dead Sea Scrolls expert, gets in over his head investigating the scroll. Chased by assassins, Jay soon learns that the world’s only chance to survive Armageddon depends on him deciphering a cryptic trail of clues in his quest for the truth.


An Unlikely Prospect as an Author
Alan Schleimer wasn’t always a writer. In fact, he says that he was the least likely candidate to become a published author. About ten years ago, he was enjoying a career in the corporate world. The former energy trader and business development professional with a finance MBA claims he struggled writing a two-paragraph business letter. “I kept getting these cool ideas for a book. I thought some day, if I ever retired, I would write it. Well, I noticed that these ideas came more frequently while I was spending my quiet time meditating. Eventually, I became convinced it was a calling from God, and I began writing full-time. The story that started it all was a Christian fiction fantasy. It was a great learning process filled with numerous rookie mistakes. I took writing classes and attended writing conferences until deciding to write the kind of fiction I liked to read—mystery/suspense/thrillers.”

Police Academy
Besides studying writing, Alan is a graduate of Sugar Land’s Citizen Police Academy. He describes it as “A great program for anyone, but it was an ideal introduction for me to police procedures. You can read about police work, but the Academy brings to life the daily risks and snap judgments police officers must make to keep us safe.” Besides his Academy participation, he has studied martial arts, finance, and what he calls the divine source of all truth—the Bible.

Evidence that the Police Academy and other studies have enriched Alan’s writing is reflected in one reader’s review, which praised it as a “magnificent debut whose stunning depths, pivotal settings and tangible descriptions manifested themselves in imagery akin to an HDTV movie.” His storyline was cited as a “masterfully crafted, full-immersion thriller written with intelligence, heart and virtue, brilliantly plotted, and played out at machine gun pace.”  Pleased that his book is categorized as Christian fiction, Alan prefers to think of it as a family-friendly wild ride with a message of hope and a challenge to anyone’s faith.


Awards
The Q Manifesto was named the top inspirational/religious novel of 2012 by the national website Daily Cheap Reads. Previously the story garnered the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis award in the mystery/suspense/thriller genre. Schleimer’s debut novel is a suspense thriller and has been compared favorably to Dan Brown’s "Da Vinci Code" for its masterfully-executed twists and turns. 


Connect with Alan
The Q Manifesto is available as an eBook at Amazon and by month’s end at most online booksellers in a print edition. You can connect with Alan through his website www.alanschleimer.com and “Like” him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AlanSchleimer.Author.



Sunday, January 27, 2013

Olympia Finalists Announced



Today brings Clash of the Titles to the end of Round Two of our first annual Olympia Award.

The Olympia is a literary contest dedicated to Christian fiction and offered only to unpublished writers. In Round Two, the first 3,000 words of entrants’ manuscripts were read and scored by non-industry readers. 

A hearty THANK YOU to each of these women who set aside a portion of their time for this contest. Without them, the Olympia would not be.

Of all our submissions, only the top three scores move on to Round Three. 

Those scores go to manuscripts belonging to:

Bethany Kaczmarek
Laura McClellan
Elaine Manders

Our warmest congratulations to these three authors!

During Round Three, their manuscript excerpts will be read and scored by the following generous individuals:

DEBORAH RANEY--award-winning author
AMANDA LUEDEKE--literary Agent of Macgregor Literary
STEVE HUTSON--literary Agent of WordWise Media

The winner will be announced 
Friday, March 01, 2013.

Best wishes to our finalists!

The remainder of the contest's entrants can expect to receive their scores by Friday, January 25.

In the meantime, stop by COTT and vote for your favorite book this week: www.clashofthetitles.com

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Electric Cocktails

Me Skyping

Yesterday I was farting around on Twitter because I was supposed to be writing and I am the master of avoidance.  Anyway, I follow a lot of writers and I'm always amazed at the awesome advice I come across in those 140 character bursts.

For example, I read this post by Elizabeth Vail on Heroes and Heartbreakers site about painful pasts and tortured heroines.  It was really helpful and since I didn't follow the website, I would never have come across it if it wasn't linked by @elizabethscraig who I find to be one of the most informative Twitterers in the industry.  You should check out her Mystery Writing is Murder blog too.

I said all of this at a party I attended last night. Some of the people knew I was an author and asked me about getting started. Every time I said that it was important to connect with other writers via Twitter or Blogs I got the raised brow.


Isn't that a time waster? I was asked.  Well...sometimes. But mostly it is not. Mostly...its an incredible asset to a writer.

Why? Because I connect with other people serious about their work. I network and hear industry news tidbits I find helpful information like what press is looking for submissions at the moment.  I get funny anectdotes and hear whats going on with whom...Its a giant cocktail party/golf game with my peers.

Business people do it. Doctors do it. Politicians do it. Teachers, not so much, but they hang out in the lounge and eat junk food and gossip, which is the same. (My husband is a teacher so I have it on good authority.)

There are a lot of reasons to hang out virtually. I've learned so much from writers further in their journey than I. I've been reminded of why I write by people just starting out.  I've made friends, realized how cool Steampunk is, and arranged to hang out at conferences.  

None of that is a time waster. Its an investment in your career as an author.  So get out there and follow and post and Tweet.  You just might like it. :)

Until next time...Go Write!