Flying Colors Meets Imaginary Jesus!

I just got a note from my old boss, Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics.  Joe has an amazing shop... in fact, when I was last in there (in the East Bay... Walnut Creek, California) I told Joe that I wished I had my daughters with me so they could see a "real" comic book shop.

In his note, Joe mentioned that he is stocking Imaginary Jesus at Flying Colors!  If there was any doubt that it was the coolest comic shop of all time, I think those doubts can now be laid to rest.  And, not only is this shop responsible for the genesis of the Hate Club, it's also the original habitat of the now MIA Frog of Hate.

Here's the note that Joe sent out to his e-mail list:

Now in Stock at Flying Colors is a very cool book called IMAGINARY JESUS.


It's the first novel written by MATT MIKALATOS... and it is Highly Recommended!


Matt was on staff here at Flying Colors in the '90s, along with he crew that included Sam, Alan, Roland, Gavin and Adrian. Since his time here, Matt has graduated from UC Riverside, been a high school teacher, a missionary in China and also graduated from Western Seminary.


So, yes, this is a book with a lot of Christian spiritual thought in it. It is also one of the better comedies you'll read in any genre. Starting in a laid-back Portland coffee shop, Matt encounters a dude who could be Jesus, a talking donkey and a wild man named Pete... who could just be an apostle.


IMAGINARY JESUS follows the trek of Matt, Pete and the donkey as they chase after the one they think is the real Jesus.


The quest even takes Matt and his cohorts back to FLYING COLORS.


That's right, part of the novel is set right here in my favorite comic shop (and hopefully yours, too).


All through this novel are reminders that Matt is really a comics geek disguised as a Christian thinker.


There's comedy gold in reading IMAGINARY JESUS...and it may just help you on your personal quest to find the Real One while you're at it.


This is a book that can be enjoyed by believers and non-believers alike, as it veers far away from preachiness and sticks to the goal at hand--- delivering Matt from all the misconceptions he's carried about who Jesus is---and by extension, how Jesus is misunderstood in this world.


Congrats on the book, Matt!

And, in another wide shot of the book, we can see that Imaginary Jesus has its coolest placement yet... it's sharing a shelf with a book by Gene Colan!

If you're in Northern California, be sure to stop by Flying Colors to buy your copy of Imaginary Jesus! And tell Joe that Mikalatos sent you!

Imaginary Jesus discussion guide. Now available to guide your discussions.

The time has come at last to allow people to start discussing Imaginary Jesus.  If you go to our brand new downloads page you'll discover a discussion guide, a question and answer with yours truly and a free download of the first chapter of IJ.  Feel free to pass them along to your friends and enemies.  And also those people who you regard with mild apathy and are watching with interest to see whether they will become friends or enemies.

Come hang out tomorrow night...

Upcoming event from Cornelia Seigneur:

This month’s Rolling Hills Writers Connection meeting, Thursday May 20, at 7 p.m. in the East Atrium features Guest Speaker Matt Mikalatos, a recent Western Seminary graduate, Campus Crusade for Christ missionary, and author of the just-released book, Imaginary Jesus, published by Tyndale.

Matt will share his journey of the pen, his vision for fusing faith and art, and how he came to sell his first book to one of the top Christian publishers in the nation. He is already working on his second book for Tyndale.

I got to meet Matt for coffee a couple of weeks ago and he is a great guy.

Come network with writers of all genres. Get connected and inspired. Learn of opportunities to be published and use your writing as a ministry. Network and share ideas. Bring a cup of tea and what you are working on if would like.

Rolling Hills is located at 3550 SW Borland, in Tualatin. http://www.rollinghills.org/writers-connection

For more info on Matt, visit his website: http://imaginaryjesus.com/

Jesus vs. the Automobile

Brian Ricci and Angela Tam both sent me this little gem: Apparently someone ran into Lord Jesus Christ with her car.  Yeah, that's right.  Some guy got his name legally changed to "Lord Jesus Christ" and then got hit by a car.  Which is not, I guess, a big surprise.  If I were him I'd be watching out for falling pianos as well.

More Sightings...

Carla Friberg sent in this latest Imaginary Jesus sighting, this one from the Barnes and Noble in Richland, Washington.  Looks like it's on some sort of display table, that's pretty cool.  Well done, Barnes and Noble and gracias, Carla!

I like looking at the books around it... this time we have Anne Rice's spiritual autobiography on one side, and The Love Dare's daily devotional for married couples.

Shasta Kramer of Portland, Oregon, also sent in this picture of Imaginary Jesus in the Red Room of Powell's Books.

I ran by Powell's and signed all the copies they have on the shelves, so if you're in the Portland area and looking for a copy of IJ, that's a great place to shop!

Fear the Frog of Hate!

Imaginary Friend Matt Turkington sent me this terrifying story about the Frog of Hate that I wanted to share with everyone:

When I got to work yesterday there was the attached frog sitting on my desk. My first thought was, "Oh no! What did I do to upset Mikalatos so much? Is it because I still haven't bought a copy of his book (even though I check bookstores for it)? Or because I didn't write a glowing online review?" This was immediately followed by the more rational, "Wait, HOW would he have gotten in my office?" or maybe, more importantly, "does he really care?" But then I saw the nearby note that said something about relying on God and I realized you had nothing to do with it. Oh well. Just thought I'd share that.

I wrote Matt back to make sure he knew that I care enough to send Hate to him if he deserves it.  He told me that he is now living in irrational fear of frogs.  Which begs the question... is it irrational if it is something that should be feared?  For instance, is a phobia of sharks really a phobia or just good common sense?  I vote for common sense.
 

Wild Imaginary Jesus Takes Over Like a Weed

You may remember our recent tutorial in which I explained that when you see Imaginary Jesus as in Figure A, that you would be applauded, lauded and generally praised for re-configuring the shelf space to look more like Figure B.

Jake Demaray of Bozeman, Montana wrote to say that when he got to the bookstore, someone had already beaten him to the punch!  Observe:

Now that is a committed Imaginary Friend, to rearrange things so spectacularly. Also, kudos to the bookstore for carrying 5 copies! Now I would like to encourage the fine people of Bozeman, Montana, to swarm in there and buy all those copies.

Thanks for sending in the photo, Jake! If you'd like to follow Jake on twitter, you can do that here.

If you'd like to send in your own photos (of Wild Imaginary Jesus Sightings, of you reading the book somewhere or other pertinent silliness) feel free to send them to me on twitter, on facebook or, if you can figure out my clever code you could e-mail me at gmail.  Clever code involves my first and last name and a dot.

Life Outside the Box: Jonathan Weyer, Author of "The Faithful"

Jonathan Weyer is a campus minister with the Coalition for Christian Outreach at The Ohio State University and an ordained minister in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. He is the founder of The Thomas Society, a student led ministry dedicated to answering questions from skeptics, doubters, agnostics and atheists. Along with the atheists at Ohio State, he won a Multicultural Award from the university for working to bridge the gap between atheists and Christians. Jonathan has just recently been added to the Secular Student Alliance speaker’s bureau, the only Christian and minister to currently have that distinction. Jonathan is a great guy, a lot of fun, and a deep thinker. 


Today he is bringing us a post about why Christians should be writing horror.

You should read Charles Williams.

What’s that? You’ve never heard of him? I can’t say I’m surprised. His books are hard to find. No one in the evangelical world trumpets his novels as spiritual tour de forces. No one makes epic movies out of them.  Why? That’s probably easy to answer. Williams’ novels are very high on the weird stuff-o-meter. They are stories full of phantom lions, a possessed tarot card deck and two dead girls wandering an in-between world trying to save their friend who is being slowly killed by a magician.

See, I told you.

Still, most people are amazed when I tell them Williams was the driving force behind a little group called the Inklings. Yes, those Inklings, the same writer’s group that contained J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, two of the best writer’s of the 20^th century.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of both. Lord of the Rings is my deserted island book. However, I hate that Williams doesn’t get the credit he deserves, not just the convener of the Inklings, but as an amazingly talented writer. A writer who inspired me to take the leap into the realm of what I call, Sacramental Horror.

I’m sure that phrase is going to raise some eyebrows, so let me explain.

One day, I was reading the two dead girl story called All Hallow’s Eve. I kept thinking, “Could I write a ghost story? Should I? I mean, I’m a minister, isn’t that kind of weird? Won’t it raise some eyebrows?” But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized my own naturalistic bent, which seemed odd to me that I would have such prejudice. So, I set out to write a ghost story called The Faithful, a book full of sacramental horror.

Let’s start with the horror.

First, let me say I’m not talking about modern day slasher movies. That isn’t really horror. It’s basically violence porn and it’s disturbing. What I mean by horror might better be described as an extreme unsettling of a cherished view of the world, especially when it comes to our illusion of safety. This unsettling comes from the use of the uncanny or the supernatural, such as in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or Frankenstein.

So, how  Is that horror? I think this is because we don’t like changing our view of the world. It requires a kind of death.  I can’t think of anything more horrifying than to have my safely constructed vies of things questioned or shattered. All good art should be able to this, but I think novels of the uncanny have the inside track. They should disturb you. They should cause you to question your carefully constructed reality. They should get you to face things you really don’t want to face. And with stories of the uncanny, or horror, they get you to face things like death, our illusion of safety and the possibility that there is unseen world around us. This, I’m guessing, is the most unsettling notion of all. The one we try to explain away by telling kids, “it’s just your imagination.” When deep down, we realize, it just might not be....

Now, what do I mean by sacramental? This one is much easier. I’m not talking about sacramental in the former sense, as in, the official sacraments of the church. Rather, I’m talking about the Judeo-Christian idea that everything on earth is sacred and belong to the Lord. The physical world and everything in it is "tov", or good. The physical world radiates with reminders of God and holy things.

All good Christian writers see the world this way. Novelists have to be very concrete in their writing. It’s interesting to note that most of the good Christian novelists are Catholic, Anglican or Orthodox. I mean, as I’m sitting here in my coffee house writing this, I can’t think of one good Presbyterian (my side of the church) novelists. They just don’t exist. Presbyterians are very good at abstract theology, but not so good making things concrete. We have a thing about images. They make us theologically twitch.

Taking that all together then, the novels of Charles Williams (and mine, I hope) really seek to unsettle people with the idea of the unseen world crashing into this one, to challenge our default naturalism, which is true even for Christians. They try to get us to see the world of the Nicene Creed which speaks of the “Seen and the Unseen.” Ghost stories, stories of the uncanny or tales of just plain weirdness make us that kid again, reading long after we are supposed to be in bed. We shut off the lights and we are alone. Anything could happen in that alone time. In that aloneness, we have to face the unknown, which for me, is where God starts to speak.

When He does, that can often be scarier than anything I can conceive.

Comedy Central starting a new half-hour long cartoon about Jesus in the Big City

Dear Comedy Central,

I see that you are starting a new cartoon about Jesus but that you aren't even sure exactly what it is about.  You're not sure if it will offend Christians (and frankly, it's pretty hard to tell what is going to offend Christians sometimes, right?).

Anyway, just thought I'd throw it out there that here I am, a published author who writes comedies with Jesus in them, who is also a Christian.  So if you need a creative consultant who can help you from offending Christians while still being funny, give me a call. 

Okay, I can keep you from offending *most* of the Christians.

Imaginary Jesus... in Mexico!!!

Imaginary Friend Amanda Little McDaniel sent in this picture of herself reading Imaginary Jesus while on vacation in Mexico!

She said, "Hi Matt! Finished Imaginary Jesus on my trip. Here is a pic to prove it. :) Hands down my favorite part was KJV Jesus! I laughed so hard I had to put the book down...even snorted. HA! Amazing job and really enjoyed it...beautiful ending:"

Thanks, Amanda!  Feel free to send your photos with Imaginary Jesus and I'll put them up on the blog here.

An Interview with Sarah Atkinson, Senior Acquisitions Editor for Tyndale House Publishers

Entering into the world of publishing is like entering another culture.  There are many wonderful things that you would like to take pictures of, and also many things that make you scratch your head and say, "Someone please tell me what is happening.  Or take me somewhere familiar, like McDonald's."  I thought it would be helpful for all those writers out there to interview some of the people involved in making Imaginary Jesus happen.  Our first victim -- uh, interviewee -- is my good friend Sarah Atkinson.  Enjoy!

Matt: What is your official title?

Sarah: Senior Acquisitions Editor for Tyndale House Publishers.

Matt: And what exactly does an acquisitions editor do? What does a typical day look like?

Sarah: I manage the proposal evaluation process for our book team. Each proposal undergoes an initial review so we can determine whether to move it forward internally to our sales team (where we ask our reps’ opinions on how it will perform in the marketplace) and then to Publication Committee (where we officially request approval to publish it). Then, once a book is acquired, I guide it through our internal system, working closely with our editorial, design, and marketing teams. In terms of a “typical day…” it’s Monday evening as I write this, and some of my activities today have included: (1) title/subtitle brainstorming for a new book (2) reading proposals (3) talking to an agent to reschedule a project (4) requesting some changes to an audio book we’re currently in the process of recording (5) creating “fact sheets” for our sales team to help them pitch upcoming products (6) writing back cover copy (7) giving feedback on a front cover design. I also ate some Cheez-Its, and told a couple of stories about my dog.

Matt: I noticed that when trying to acquire "Imaginary Jesus" there were two acquisitions editors involved. Were you afraid that the author would be a mean-spirited jerk and you needed someone to document his behavior?

Sarah: Yes. The truth is out! (No, not really. I work closely with Jan Long Harris, Associate Publisher of Books, on all of my projects. We brought Imaginary Jesus in together.)

Matt: Have you wanted to be an acquisitions editor since you were very young? What drew you to this job?

Sarah: I don’t think anybody wants to be an acquisitions editor when they’re very young. Not at my elementary school, at least. We all wanted to be dog trainers because that was the most interesting session on Career Day (puppies)! As early as high school, though, I knew I wanted to work with books in some way. I did a publishing internship at InterVarsity Press during college, and when I found myself getting genuinely thrilled about minor editorial fixes (“See that comma? That one? I PUT IT THERE.”) I figured I was on the right career track. It’s been ten years and I still think that was a good move.

Matt: When it comes to submissions at Tyndale House right now, what sort of book are you seeing to often?  In other words, what sort of proposal makes you groan and shake your head and say, "Not another one of these"?

Sarah: There isn’t a specific subject that fits this description for me, because any topic can be compelling if the writing is good. Sorry that’s not as snarky an answer as you may have expected! Besides, as soon as I said something like “I am SO sick of getting proposals about three-headed penguins” then maybe somebody with a terrific three-headed penguin story, one that really breaks out of that boring old penguin box, would read my comment and decide not to send it to me. And I can’t take that risk.

Matt: Describe your dream book.  What sort of book are you hoping to find?
Sarah: Right now, I would be excited to find a strong spiritual travel memoir. Also, any book guaranteed to hit the bestseller lists should definitely come to me. :)

Matt: Please explain why you have named your dog "Bullet."

Sarah: No. People will judge me.

Matt: Our readers demand to know: What is the worst thing about being the acquisitions editor for "Imaginary Jesus"?

Sarah: I’m still a little mad that I had to break both my arms in order to acquire it. (Readers, I am not being metaphorical here. We’re talking two arms in actual casts. It’s a long story.)

Matt: What is the best thing about your job?

Sarah: I am part of a wonderful team. Even if I didn’t love my work as much as I do, it would still be a pleasure to come to the office every day and work with this immensely talented group of people. This sounds very Stepford, but it’s true. (The second best thing? One of my colleagues is taking a cake decorating class and brings the results to work. Homemade frosting!)

Matt: Tells us a couple of your favorite books.

Sarah: The Great Divorce. Emma. Girl Meets God. Watership Down. Anything by Adrian Plass. And I don’t have the complete manuscript yet, but I am anticipating that Craving Grace by Lisa Velthouse, which I acquired and which will come out in 2011, will fall into this category.

Matt: What else would you like to say to our millions upon millions of readers?

Sarah: If you are an aspiring writer, you may find it helpful to hear what an acquisitions editor (me!) appreciates about working with an author (Matt!). He’s a terrific writer, and he keeps up an interesting blog that keeps me coming back between books. He’s genuinely interested in connecting with his readers—for example, he makes it a point to reach out to anyone who blogs or writes a review about Imaginary Jesus and thank them. He meets deadlines and responds to emails. Come to think of it, the only thing he really does wrong is make his emails very funny, so that I always save them to read until last. (This is no skin off my nose, but kind of works against him when I have 100+ other messages.)

Also, Imaginary Jesus is awesome. Please buy it. The first time I read it, I knew by page 24 that I desperately wanted to work on this book (thanks to the Frog of Hate). There is nothing like it in Christian fiction and it is a privilege to be part of launching it.
Matt: Sarah, thanks for your time, and thanks also for revealing that bit about the funny e-mails.  I had no idea.  From now on, expect deadly serious correspondence.  Readers, feel free to leave any other questions you have for Sarah and I will send them to her in a somber email and maybe she will answer them for