CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Has anyone read this book? It's by a new author named Sue Dent. It's--believe it or not--a Christian book where the main protagonists are a vampire and a werewolf. (And it's a Christian fantasy book that DOESN'T feel forced to be a half-hearted attempt of a Lewis-esque alegory! YAY!)

The book takes an interesting twist by making vampirism/werewolfism a "curse" that, while giving most of the basic traits from legends and hollywood, also means that if they ARE killed, they have no chance for an afterlife, their ability to feel emotions are limited and they also can't talk about anything "holy" without great pain.

My Mom knows the writer on a forum, so that's how I heard about it--I was really skeptical at first, but I'm pleasently surprised! It's nice because it is *not* preachy at all, but doesn't hide that it's a Christian book, either.

Has anyone else read it? Or is this another one of those books I know that no one else knows exists? XD

Is the author's name a fake pseudonym? Stu Dent? Student? Get it? Ha ha XD

Edit: Sorry... I totally misread that...

XD No, as far as I know, Sue Dent's her real name.

It IS really close to Student though, isn't it?

Well, with a premise like that I think I'm bound by some sort of universal law to try to find and read this. Just from that it seems to have a lot going for it, but I'm curious: how do the religious aspects factor into the plot?

Wow! This does sound interesting.

Well . . . well . . . I couldn't help but drop in. Yes, Sue Dent is my real name however, being slightly "slysdexic" . . . ummm . . . .dyslexic, I did see, after time, how close my name looked like Student. I actually almost decided to use a pen name like Stu Dent but decided the "hokiness" my work against me. Since my real name isn't Stu, I decided not to chance it.

But do go read the reviews at amazon if you have a concern about what the book may be about. I so just love vampire/werewolf fantasy and get very tired of others using this genre as a springboard into the occult etc . . . etc . . .

As a boost for those who like horror and think this might be too lame, Nicholas Grabowsky, author of Halloween IV as invited me to the World Horror Convention in March of 2007 as one of his guest. He rather enjoyed the book and was quick to applaud the way I stuck to my guns.

As a boost for those who don't like horror and think it might be to scary. The same Nicholas Grabowsky called it an "adorable" story.

So there you have it. I new genre all together!

But do go check out the reviews.

I'm not going to lie and say that the sentence that was the second to the last made any sense to me at all.'I new genre all together'?

Actually I'm not opposed to a well written monster story myself,especially since I number Buffy,The Vampire Slayer as one of my favorite tv series.

I'm afraid many of my sentences don't make sense. LOL Which is why I always have an editor close by. (Not close enough sometimes though) I just had a hard time trying to figure out whether to market this as horror or fantasy or Christian fiction. I just decided to let it market itself.

And I love Buffy too . . . until it began to spiral out of control. IMO.

This book is very buffy-like. That is also my opinion.

Some have compared it to Ann Rice, which I don't get. Others have mentioned it in the breath with Stephen King. Perhaps not a new genre. Perhaps just a confused one.

I'd like to think this makes more sense but I fear it doesn't.

Anyway, the reviews are fairly enlightening.

Well I haven't seen it around yet but will have to check the next time I am in
either Barnes & Nobles or Borders.It's interesting though that Rice returned to the
Catholic church after years of being agnostic/atheist(can't remember which one)and her latest book is Christ The Lord.

Just keep in mind my publisher is new. We are set up with Barnes & Nobles and any Barnes & Nobles can order it if they don't have it on their shelf. We have an account person calling around now getting the book placed. Borders should be on-line here soon. Of course you get one easily through Amazon or http://www.jscbooks.com

And hey, there's a new Christian Alternative to Myspace that I just learned about. They'll be spotlighting Never Ceese in a couple of weeks. You guys should check it out. It's called http://www.shoutlife.com.

Just wanted to share that. It looks like a really cool site if they can keep it going.

Ok pardon my asking this but why did you decide to spell Cease as Ceese?

The female protagonist's name is Ceese, hence I presume the title is a pun. As far as I know that name doesn't come from any real-world language, but I can't say anything more than that because I haven't actually read the novel.

It also mirrors the sequel's title of Forever Richard, which intrigues me. That isn't a pun as far as I know, so it appears to be contrasting with the first title. Interpretations of that could go quite a few different ways, but I'll hold off until I actually read.

Oh do allow me to explain! The werewolf in the story is Cecelia. I knew a man named Cecil once and many called him Ceese though probably not spelled that way. I also did some google searches to make sure it was an acceptable nickname. In other words, one that has been used before. The answer was yes. The title itself came to me while I was walking through our mall one fine morning and looked up to see a huge banner advertising perfume. It read: Never Cease something, something something. I don't remember all it said because after I read those first two words, I knew I had my title.

In my mind a title should make a potential buyer stop and go, "huh!" Which is exactly what mine does. If this book were self-published, I probably wouldn't have been as bold as to have this for a title, fearing that many might discredit it as poorly edited.

However, this book was picked up by a publisher who had no problem with the title. A traditional publisher who doesn't print 10,000 of something with a typo that blatant. I did however decide to not have a play on words, so to speak, in the sequel. But . . . I may change my mind.

After putting this title on the book, I've run into numerous people who go by Ceese. Do go check out the reviews though if you're skeptical about whether you might enjoy it. You can even do a book search inside the book on Amazon and Google.

Hope that answered the Never Ceese(ing) question of the title. LOL

Oh wow! It was a fun surprise to check this thread and see you posting in here, Sue! (I really ought to check topics I make more often for posts!)

That's really exciting that you've already been invited to a convention. I hope it goes well for you! The only conventions I've ever been to are anime conventions, but they're a ton of fun.

I was wondering about "Forever Richard" as the title...the first time I heard it was trying to figure out the pun. Took me a bit to realize there wasn't one. XD I have to admit, I'm pleased that Richard's name is in the title, though--he was one of my favorite characters.

Shoutlife looks pretty cool....and that's an awesome Jack Sparrow cosplayer in your profile!
(P.S. I'm not sure how well you know her, but I'm Rebecca's (on Faithwriters) daughter.)

I was pleased to see you had started this thread. I'm so glad you enjoyed Never Ceese! It was for your birthday, right? Yes, I decided I'd give Richard more play in the second book. However when I told a werewolf fan this they were upset I might not give Ceese enough of a role. Actually they're each going to have about an equal amount of time splitting it between a new character and many of the old ones.

What did you think of the paragraph about the sequel? I'm debating about putting it on my site but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read Never Ceese yet.

Decisions, decisions. But thanks again for reading and let me know if there is anything that you'd like to see in the sequel. It's pulled up on my computer even as I type.

Yes, I got it around the same time as my birthday. ^^ Although, actually, part of the reason my Mom got it for me is that I'm hoping to start a blog soon covering different "geeky" topics (fantasy literature, anime, video games and such), and I was wanting to review the book for the blog. (It's not started yet, although it should be soon, once I get over with Finals.) I only just recently finished it, though, since I was reading another book at the time. (To compare, it took me something like...two weeks to finish that book...and Never Ceese only took me about a weekend. I was that hooked!)

Definately make sure that Richard doesn't *overwhelm* the book. XD I love all the characters, so it's going to be really exciting to see them all back. Ceese, particularly--she had a sweetness about her, even with the curse.

The paragraph about Forever Richard sounds really interesting, particularly the part about Josh. I think it'd be OK to put it up on your website, as long as it's under a link, and it's clear that it's information about the sequel.

As for suggestions for the next book...(I should put this under a spoiler cut.)
[spoiler]One of the biggest things I'm hoping for in the next book is some explanation about Penny's backstory, as well as the strange powers she and Cassie share. The relavation that Penny used to be a vampire was fairly sudden, so it'd be interesting to know a bit more about her. As long as it isn't too difficult to fit into the story!
Dr. Henderson could use some fleshing out, too. It's probably not really too essential since he's a villian, but compared to all the other characters (who were really well developed), he came across as a bit of a flat "evil scientist" archetype. I mean, sure, he's fairly crazy, but he's still human. ...well...kind of?
The only other thing I can think of would be it'll be nice to get some expansion on the relationships between Richard and Cassie, and Rodney and Ceese. I'm pretty sure you're already planning on doing that, though! (Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you were already planning on doing *all* of this).

Oh, and while I'm using the spoiler tags, I can't wait to see Richard's reaction to his father crashing in his castle, packing a sawed-off shotgun (I'm assuming that's who the "long-lost relative" is...although, considering that same sentence already mentions a vampire in Richard's castle, I could be wrong). I can't decide in my mind if he'd be overjoyed to see his father, or dismayed/alarmed seeing an intruder in his house with a shotgun! (Probably both!)[/spoiler]

Whew. That was a long post!
Good luck with the new book! I can't wait to see it!

That blog thing sounds like a good project to do over the holidays. I'd definitely wait till after finals. I know I can't wait to see the review. And I think I shall post that blurb under "spoiler."

My big concern now is whether to leave the sequel open for a third book. I really want to do a prequel. Perhaps I could just leave a few things up for consideration. hmmmm . . . But let me know when your blog up.

Yes, I'll definately let you know! ^^ It should be up fairly soon--my last day of school for this semester is tomorrow. So it'll be up in a couple of weeks at the latest.

A prequel would definately be really interesting. I'm a backstory freak, so I love prequels!

Well I will wait and see if I can find it and then see what I think of it.I have read
Charles Williams btw,also I hope it isn't overly preachy.I really hate 'Christian
novels' that are really just sermons in disguise.
btw:Have you ever heard of a Sci Fi novel called Warp Angel?The protagonist in it is Jewish.Which was the reason I bought it at a Friend's of the Library book sale as I thought it was interesting that someone actually wrote a serious Sci Fi novel with a Jew as a heroine.Really nice change of pace.

Don't worry, it's not super preachy. I dislike books like that, too. XD It has a message in it, but it doesn't beat you over the head with it.

I didn't write it for the Christian market specifically. I just wrote from the heart which happens to fit nicely into the Christian market. To see if it passed the test of not making it too preachy, I let Nicholas Grabowsky of Halloween IV review it. His work has been reviewed by Stephen King, Clive Barker and Wes Craven. Mr. Grabowsky absolutely loved it. You can find his review and many others on my site. Oh and W. D. Gagliani another horror writer also reviewed Never Ceese and said that it successfully gave those who wanted a little less darkness in their horror somewhere to go as well as making an entertaining read for those who were jaded or something like that. The review says it much better. It's also on my site. Aside from that, I don't like my fantasy preachy either and I certainly wouldn't write it that way. Long live Tolkien and all the others!!!

I shall have to check this out.

I perfer the term Monster to Horror to stories about creatures like werewolves and vampires since that is a more accurate description.To me horror would denote something more on the lines of Psycho or the works of Poe.
btw:Werewolves go back to the old myths when it was said the Gods could transform into animals and I also believe this was the basic belief behind the concept of the Berserker in the Norse sagas.A Berserker was a warrior who supposedly was able to transform into a bear or any other wild beast in the heat of battle.At least they were said to behave like them when they fought.
Hmmm...would love to see a story about a Berserker who could really do that.
Myself if I ever wrote a book it would be about a 15 year old boy who can transform himself into a Magic Catgirl.It would be a comedy patterned after
Ranma 1/2 ,Tokyo Mew Mews and Cardcaptor Sakura.MEW!

Update on Never Ceese. It made it to the 2006 Preliminary Ballot for a Bram Stoker Award in Superior Acheivement in a First Novel. I was honored to learn this and just wanted to share.

Is that like getting an Edgar or Hugo nomination?I am unfamiliar with the Bram Stoker which is why I ask.

It's an award for superior achievement in horror writing, which makes it a more specialized award but it's one of the most prestigious awards for a horror writer. As far as I know they award one or two books (ties are allowed) for each of a number of different categories each year. So you can feel free to make your own comparisons to an Edger or Hugo.

About the announcement itself, I'm glad for you. I need to read this even more now.

I ws in the neighborhood and thought I'd add that Never Ceese is book of the month for April at the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers Association) and is up for Book of the Year there as well. Praying hard for that one. Just got back from the World Horror Convention in Tornoto where I got to meet Kelly Armstrong, Brian Keene and a couple of other Christian Horror writers. You can read about it at http://www.suedent.blogspot.com. Just wanted to share.

Sue

uc pseudonym wrote:It's an award for superior achievement in horror writing, which makes it a more specialized award but it's one of the most prestigious awards for a horror writer. As far as I know they award one or two books (ties are allowed) for each of a number of different categories each year. So you can feel free to make your own comparisons to an Edger or Hugo.

About the announcement itself, I'm glad for you. I need to read this even more now.

I think a perfect horror story would be one about a writer stuck in Canadian customs while trying to get to a horror conference in some big eastern Canadian city whilst being stalked by a vampire that looks like Alec Baldwin!

*shivers* I thought that was Alec Baldwin! LOL

I think I posted that before the entire Alec Baldwin thing was all over the news,or maybe it was a bit after.I forget which.