Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Tour for Imaginary Jesus

The grand folks over at CSFF have been hosting a blog tour for Imaginary Jesus this week, and there have been a lot of great posts.  It's great fun to see people share their reactions to the book.  If you like science fiction and fantasy and would be interested in participating in the blog tours in the future, they're held once a month and you can often request free copies of the book!  Here's a link where you can find more information and sign up for future tours. 

Here's a list of this month's participating blogs if you'd like to take a sample:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Valerie Comer
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

Thanks, Oregonian!

You may be coming by my site for the first time today because of the article in today's Oregonian.  I wanted to take a moment to publicly thank all of the fine employees at the Oregonian, everyone I have interacted with there has been very kind in the whole process... editors, reporters, photographers and whomever it is who delivers the paper to me at 5ish every morning.  I can hear the whomp when it hits my front step.

A quick note about Imaginary Jesus... this book is a comedy about our misconceptions about Jesus, and it's meant to be a fun read whether you're an atheist, a conservative Christian or something in between.  You can read the first chapter if you click on the "downloads" link above.  And if you're local and looking for a copy, Powell's downtown has a stack of them in the Red room, and I dropped by the other day and signed them all, so you can get a signed copy there.  Most of the bookstores in town have copies, too, and of course you can always order from the online bookstore of your choice.

There's also a contest you might be interested in entering, deadline is July 1st.  You could win an iPod, Kindle and 100 bucks to Powells, plus lunch with yours truly at a restaurant from the book.

Lastly, I want to say that everyone is welcome here... it really doesn't matter what your religious background or beliefs are, you're welcome to be part of the conversation here so long as you have a sense of humor and can respect other opinions that may be expressed.

Gracias.  I look forward to getting to know you.  Feel free to leave comments with your questions and I'll be glad to answer them, or send me a note and I'll write you back when I get a chance.

--Matt

Red and Black -- ATTACK!

Two chapters of Imaginary Jesus take place in the very real Portland restaurant, the Red and Black Cafe.  It's an "ethical, non-hierarchal" business, meaning that all the workers are also co-owners, and they cook vegan food.  My best friend, Chris, introduced me to the place, and I found it so charming, interesting, odd and fun that I immediately glommed onto it for the first site in my novel.

Recently, I was interviewed for an article in the Oregonian newspaper, and the reporter, Cornelia Seigneur read Imaginary Jesus and then took her vegan daughter to the Red and Black.  While there, they saw a police officer be asked to leave after buying his coffee.  She wrote a blog post about it, and now it's in the news.  I hear rumors it may be in the news again tonight.  Go figure.

The way I see it, this is part of the job of a book like Imaginary Jesus... it's pulling in two very different audiences, causing people to interact who wouldn't have otherwise, and creating some interesting and I hope beneficial conversations.