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.

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.