Christian Fiction News: Tolkein's Time Warner Suit

The estate of "Lord of the Rings" creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company hasn't paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion the films have grossed worldwide.

The suit, filed Monday, claims New Line was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts to Tolkien's estate and other plaintiffs, who contend they only received an upfront payment of $62,500 for the three movies before production began.

The writer's estate, a British charity dubbed The Tolkien Trust, and original "Lord of the Rings" publisher HarperCollins filed the lawsuit against New Line Cinema in Los Angeles Superior Court. If successful, it could block the long-awaited prequel to the films[The Hobbit.]

..."The Tolkien trustees do not file lawsuits lightly, and have tried unsuccessfully to resolve their claims out of court," Steven Maier, an attorney for the Tolkien estate based in Britain, said in a statement. "New Line has not paid the plaintiffs even one penny of its contractual share of gross receipts despite the billions of dollars of gross revenue generated by these wildly successful motion pictures."

-By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer,

My thoughts: Are you serious? Not a penny?

Your thoughts...

Show Me that You Love Me

Ever get to the end of a project, then wonder was this the best use of my talent? I am in the final editing phase of a novel, but lately my heart has been tugging at me. My story is good. No complaints. But...this year I want to go a level higher in my writing. So when I received John Legend's Live from Philadelphia CD from my godmother for my birthday that tug turned into a bonafide-only-Dee-could-write purpose.

So I have begun another rewrite to make sure I infuze what I know God has been telling me to say, but I felt it was too uncommercial/unmarketable to discuss. Social justice--unlike anyother thing in my life right now--makes me want to write stronger. Be better. Affect the world. Now I wonder. Has anyone else been changed?

Continue reading "Show Me that You Love Me" »

Weekend Chatter Box: ACFW Genesis Contest

I'm on the fence about entering the ACFW Genesis Contest. Entered before I had good marks, but...'

• what is the benefit for participating?


• how does help an unpubished writer?


• can a writer of color receive a fair shot to enter?

Your thoughts...

More Chatter Box:

• Weekend Chatter: Obama on Christianity Today
• My Weekend Chatter Box Response: Christian Curse
• How Twitter can Create Momentum for your Book Tour

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The Daphne du Maurier Writing Contest

The Daphne du Maurier Writing Contest for Excellence in Mystery/SuspenseUNPUBLISHED DIVISION
The contest is open to any writer who has never been contracted in book-length fiction (40,000 words or more) from any publisher.
Any manuscript that has previously finaled in the Daphne including honorable mentions is not eligible for entry again.There is no limit to the number of entries per author, but each entry may be entered in ONLY ONE category.
Membership in Romance Writers of America® and/or MRSRWA is not a requirement for entry.

Deadline: Entries must be received NO LATER THAN March 15, 2008. Early entries will be held until all entries are received. All entries received after the deadline will be returned to sender.

Winners will be announced at the RWA® National Conference in San Francisco in 2008.
 The first place entry in each category will receive an engraved bookmark, a cash prize of $25 and a gift certificate for one COFFIN online class.
 The second-place entry will be awarded a certificate, a cash prize of $15 and a gift certificate for one COFFIN online class.
 The third-place entry will be awarded a certificate, a cash prize of $10 and a gift certificate for one COFFIN online class.
 The remaining finalists will receive certificates.
The top overall scoring entry will receive the Daphne du Maurier Award.

Contest Rules

ENTRY FORM

Weekend Chat: The Black Literary Elections

An excerpt from Salon's The battle of the literary endorsements...

Every campaign has its theme song, and now, apparently, every Democratic
candidate must also have his or her own dowager African-American
literary icon. Last week, poet, memoirist and greeting card scribe Maya Angelou
-- who read "On the Pulse of the Morning," a poem she wrote in honor of the
occasion, at the 1993 inauguration of Bill Clinton -- has just published a poem paying tribute to Hillary Clinton.
This week, novelist and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison sent a public letter of endorsement to Clinton's main rival, Barack Obama.

Wekend Two Cent Question: Who gives a flying flip? Although I am a writer and a fan of both writers, who they endorse don't amount to a hill of beans with me. Does it you? If so, why?

Bynum Weeks Reconciliation

Juanita Bynum reconciles with husband Bishop Weeks. Juanita Bynum and her estranged husband Bishop Thomas Weeks have decided to reconcile their marriage. According to a person close to both Bishop Thomas and Prophetess Juanita, the couple are undergoing "spiritual counseling" together in an effort to reconcile their marriage.

"They[Bymun & Weeks] both need spiritual healing from the Lord, but they're committed to rebuilding their marriage ... Please give them some privacy."

Oh, they can have some privacy alright. I don't know these people and I'm trying hard not to be judgmental. I'm a domestic violence survivor and I hope that whatever is going on between the two also results in an apology to others like me. We struggle daily with shame, heartbreak and financial woes, because we have left our abuser. I'm a bit rich right now. I hope all goes well...Better yet, I hope this is a rumor.

The Weekend Reads: Austen as Fiction

Every other Friday, Christian Fiction Blog will feature two Christian novels perfect for a weekend read. This month's picks: Becoming Jane Austen and My Soul to Keep (Dylan Foster Series #3)(Multnomah.).


Becoming Jane Austen(Bethany House). This is the novelized version of the movie, Becoming Jane, which is a fictional account of Jane Austen before she became an author. Both the novel and CD are available just in time for Valentine's Day.

Melanie Well's My Soul to Keep (Dylan Foster Series #3)(Multnomah.) SMU psych professor, Dylan Foster witnesses a kidnapping during a child's birthday party in the park. The police have no leads and she's a little compulsive to give up on finding Nicholas, the kidnapped. So with the help of the six-year-old Christine, the party host and a girl with a special spiritual and psychological gift they set out to recover him. But what she finds is more than her worst nightmare. There's a good chance that her nemesis, Peter Terry (The Soul Hunter .) is behind this. If he is, then she's in for more than a fight for her life, but her soul.

This book is a psychothriller with a little romance sprinkled around. If you're a Allison Breenan or Dean Koontz fan, then you will warm up to this chiller. (Feb, 320 pp, $12.99)