Jennifer and I have been going non-stop since arriving in Atlanta, with hardly any time (or availability) to post online. Since finishing up at ICRS (formerly CBA) in downtown Atlanta, we have been covering a lot of ground with the Fantasy Fiction Tour.

Wednesday we left Georgia and presented at a homeschooling group in Manchester, TN. It was great to connect with such warm families. Then we drove north to Nashville and did a wonderful signing at Borders on West End Ave. We had many wonderful people stop by, all very supportive of the books. We also had a special guest drop by, known affectionately in the Hopper clan as Uncle Phil Keaggy. He even humored us with an interview. Look for it in the “DAY 3″ video re-cap. My senior editor, Jodie Nazaroff, and her husband, Michael, housed us. We love you!

The next morning, we headed to Knoxville and hit three stores: Borders, Lifeway and Cedar Springs Christian Bookstore (see “DAY 4″ part 1). From there we drove west and finished the day at the Barnes & Noble in Asheville, NC. We even had sword combat lessons from a wonderful lady right in front of the store, which drew a good crowd! (Coming tomorrow on “DAY 4″ part 2). Our dear friends Shannon & Sherri McCready housed us that night.

Today we drove to Charlotte, NC and presented in Barnes & Noble. Both Wayne and Bryan were presented with gifts from the reads, including a painting, a song, and a 100-page manuscript! Then we headed north to Raleigh and had a fantastic event in Borders. Tonight we’re staying with my long-time friends Pete & Donna Nero here in Raleigh. We just got done swimming in their beautiful pool and we’re hitting the hay. Tomorrow we’re up bright and early and heading to Richmond, VA.

Thanks for reading, and please make sure to hit Wayne’s, Bryan’s and Sharon’s blogs as well as the Fantasy Fiction Tour main site for the new videos at: www.fantasyfictiontour.com

Blessings!

CH

Jennifer and I made it safely to Atlanta, pulling in at 7:00am this morning. With over 19 hours on the road, it made for one exhausting day. We hit three hours of dreaded Pennsylvania Rt. 81 construction, but the rest was smooth sailing. Can’t thank you enough for your prayers, everyone!

I managed to grab 40 minutes of shuteye before heading over to the convention center at 9:00am this morning. Our author Meet & Greet for the Tour was momentous to say the least. All four of us met up for the first time as a group, and were presented with our brand new individual swords and shields by Real Armor of God .com CEO John Cooper. I was so stoked! We had fun horsing around and meeting people.

But I want to know: Who decided it was a “good idea” to give Christopher Hopper a sword in public? And then Wayne and Bryan? Sharon–you’re gonna’ have to help us out here…

Tomorrow we’ll be back at the convention center for more signings and media attention.

A special PS: we just got word that a MAJOR US newspaper is going to be running a whole story on the tour with interviews! I’ll let you know more when I have the official go-ahead to speak freely.

And a 2nd special PS: I was just informed by my publisher today that The Lion Vrie is officially sold out (in a record two weeks!), and is going for a second printing! What this means is that the book buyers will have to wait to get more, so if you want a copy, get one quick as stores will soon be out of stock! And the best part? YOU made that happen! Thanks for your enthusiastic support of the book…

Hope you like the “DAY 1″ video re-cap to the right (see the Vod:Pod side bar).

Blessings!

CH

When even the gate agent recommends you should drive from NY to GA, you know it’s bad. Booked s-o-l-i-d.

Thanks for those that posted comments! Appreciate your suggestions, and your prayers.

We’re having our Chevy brought to us and then hitting the road from the airport. Should be in early morning tomorrow. You better believe we’re getting footage for tomorrow’s video re-cap on the FFT site!

Blessings! And thanks for hanging with us!

CH & JH 

Upon arriving here at the airport, we discovered that every flight out of Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse is overbooked for the next 48 hours.

Now, I’m not sure about you, but I’ve always wondered how they overbook a flight in the first place. But two days’ worth? Just seems like bad business to me. But what do I know.

Anyway, we’re honestly thinking about driving all the way down to Atlanta if we can’t get on the next flight. If you are reading this, please send us a comment–we’re taking an online poll of our readers:

YES – we should drive 15.5 hours to Atlanta.

NO – we should stick it out and hope for a flight.

Thanks!

CH

Jennifer and I are just hours away from heading to the airport for ICRS in Atlanta, thus beginning the long awaited kick-off to the Fantasy Fiction Book Tour!

I had the chance to speak with Wayne twice today. He’s stoked and, like me, probably won’t be able to sleep tonight. Sharon is already in Atlanta sending back great reports of the happenings there; there already seems to be a cool buzz about the tour. And Bryan and his daughter Amanda will be en route tomorrow morning with the Fantastic Four Tour Mobile.

Thanks again for everyone’s amazing participation in the pre-tour blog-blitz. Please keep up with us on the FFT website and post comments often: we’d LOVE to hear from you!

I’m off to bed…hopefully…

CH

I’d like to introduce one of my favorite people in the world to you by way of his new presence in cyber space. Of all people that blogs were created for, Christian Fahey is chief among them. It’s probably best that he came to me only recently, asking for help to set one up, so that the rest of us had a chance to get content on our own blogs. In just three days he has uploaded more content than most of us will stick up in a year (or more).

Christian’s heart for God, combined with his insatiable thirst for knowledge, and his expansive collection of countless volumes, makes him one of the most brilliant men I’ve ever met, and one we should all spend some time near. And the beauty of blogging? If you can’t get to be near him physically, you can get to know the material that has been instrumental in shaping him.

His post today fits Fantasy Fiction Tour perfectly…

So without further delay, I give you the Artistic Theologue.

Enjoy!

CH 

As part of the Fantasy Fiction Tour pre kick-off, I’ll be running a four part interview this week with John Copper, CEO of Real Armor of God (.com). John’s generosity is immense, as well as his heart for the Lord. He has graciously donated four beautiful swords to the four author’s, as well as hand crafted, hand painted shields with the tour logo on them. [Wayne, Bryan, Sharon and I beam gratuitously]. You’ll get a chance to see the pieces as we’ll be arriving at each stop with them. Please check out his website, and leave your comments on this post for all to read.

CH

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CH: Can you share with us one testimony about how your business has crossed into ministry?

JC: I’m so glad you asked – this is why we are in business. There are literally thousands of websites selling swords and we are the only Christian site. We position our education and materials to get people curious about, “What is the ‘Armor of God.’”

The top of our main pages have a horizontal menu that lists ‘Roman Era’, ‘Medieval Times’, The Renaissance’… and ‘Armor of God’.  Well most people know these time periods, but if they are not Christian, they likely have never heard of the Armor of God. We use our Armor of God page to explain spiritual warfare plus we have many links to many other Christian topics.  Our hope is to plant Christian seeds in the minds of people that might not ever have seen or heard anything about Christianity at any other time in their life.

We also have a more direct path into ministry with our Witnessing Coins.  The Witnessing Coin is a fun, creative and effective tool to share Jesus with non-Christians and struggling Christians alike. Based on the Bible verses from Ephesians 6:13-17 and John 3:16, one side of the coin shows two cliffs and the cross of Jesus and is designed for pure Christian witnessing and evangelism. The other side of the coin shows the Full Armor of God pieces which is the spiritual armor described in Ephesians 6:13-17. This spiritual armor is what God provides each believer for daily victory over temptation, trials, test, suffering, and sickness. This side of the coin is used to encourage people in the Lord during temptations and trials, or to encourage another Christian who is in troubled.  The Witnessing Coin has been used internationally by many evangelical organizations and within the USA it is used for things like VBS, Sunday school lessons, Christian gifts, etc…

You can visit http://www.realarmorofgod.com/witnessing-coin.html to see samples and learn more about how the Witnessing Coins can be used in your area.

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A big thanks to John for the interview, his generosity, and his heart for God’s people!

As part of the Fantasy Fiction Tour pre kick-off, I’ll be running a four part interview this week with John Copper, CEO of Real Armor of God (.com). John’s generosity is immense, as well as his heart for the Lord. He has graciously donated four beautiful swords to the four author’s, as well as hand crafted, hand painted shields with the tour logo on them. [Wayne, Bryan, Sharon and I beam gratuitously]. You’ll get a chance to see the pieces as we’ll be arriving at each stop with them. Please check out his website, and leave your comments on this post for all to read.

CH

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CH: What is one fact people would find interesting or shocking about historical swords or armor? Maybe a common myth or a little known piece of trivia?

JC: Good question.  I actually have read more than 30 books (and who knows how many websites) as I have done comparative research I preparation for my own website articles. I especially look for things that are not common knowledge and interesting tid-bits of information. There are really two things specific to swords that I have found to be very interesting and not widely known.

First, swords in the Medieval Ages were considered to be disposable weapons – not the indestructible super weapons Hollywood depicts in movies. In a battle or tournament, when a knight’s sword would bend or break, he would call to his Squire (attendant to a knight) was responsible for bringing various weapons and replacement swords to his knight. Several swords could be damaged in a single day.  In the evening, the swords were taken to a blacksmith (or swordsmith if one could be found) who would repair the swords.

Another interesting tid-bit is that in both the Medieval Ages and The Renaissance the aristocracy prevented common people from owning swords or even possessing them.  Even though the cost of a sword was so expensive that a commoner never had hopes of being able to buy one, just having a sword in your possession could land you in jail (even if it was a gift or family heirloom). Laws were passed that were very specific as to who could own swords and weapons, and who could not.  Of course, this made it very easy to control the general population. The local army was fully armed with steel armor, swords, etc… and peasants were limited to using farming tools as weapons.  (Now many people might know that the peasants only had farming tools as weapons, but they may not know the why.)

We have lots of information like this, and much more, on our website.

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Tomorrow: Learn about how John’s business and ministry converge!

The Mount Vernon Gazzette (VA) put a new article out yesterday regarding the tour. Pretty good write up, I must say! Click HERE to read.

Enjoy!

CH

Happy Independence Day!

As part of the Fantasy Fiction Tour pre kick-off, I’ll be running a four part interview this week with John Copper, CEO of Real Armor of God (.com). John’s generosity is immense, as well as his heart for the Lord. He has graciously donated four beautiful swords to the four author’s, as well as hand crafted, hand painted shields with the tour logo on them. [Wayne, Bryan, Sharon and I beam gratuitously]. You’ll get a chance to see the pieces as we’ll be arriving at each stop with them. Please check out his website, and leave your comments on this post for all to read.

CH

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CH: Do you have a favorite sword?

JC: Well, yes, and it changes regularly. If I had to pick just one, I guess it would be my G2 Katana (SWD5064), also known as a Japanese Samurai sword. My brother had a katana set when we were kids and I always wanted one for myself. I like this one because it has a brown suede wrap and 3 tones of brass and bronze in the fittings. It’s stunning! Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it is also made from high-carbon steel (fully functional) and endorsed by Kyoshi Mark E. Randolph, founder of the International Katsujinken Kenjutsu Kendo Federation (I.K.K.K.F.). I would have to say this sword is my favorite.

With that said, my licensed Lord Of The Rings–Anduril Sword and my G2 Excalibur Sword–are both a close second. They are very unique, but not made anymore (I can’t get them even if I wanted).∆

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Tomorrow: Something you never knew about the historical sword!

As part of the Fantasy Fiction Tour pre kick-off, I’ll be running a four part interview this week with John Copper, CEO of Real Armor of God (.com). John’s generosity is immense, as well as his heart for the Lord. He has graciously donated four beautiful swords to the four author’s, as well as hand crafted, hand painted shields with the tour logo on them. [Wayne, Bryan, Sharon and I beam gratuitously]. You’ll get a chance to see the pieces as we’ll be arriving at each stop with them. Please check out his website, and leave your comments on this post for all to read.

CH

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CH: What propelled you to want to sell swords as an occupation? Seems like every boy’s dream!

JC: [Laugh] Yes, you would think so – and I know more about swords than I ever really intended. Actually, I never thought in a million years I would be doing this. My background is in sales and marketing for wholesale distribution of computers and supplies. I was given a sword by my father-in-law as a thank you gift. Of course, my wife did not want it in the house… so we agreed to have it framed and put a scripture verse plate under the sword (Hebrews 4:12). It looks great and has been an interesting conversation piece in our house over the years. With new friends and people we are not sure of their faith, we conclude our sword explanation by turning the conversation to Jesus and a gentle witnessing conversation.

A few years later, we were given a medieval knight figurine which had all the pieces of the armor of God. I told my wife how much I had always wanted something like is and how awesome I thought it was. Next thing I know I was telling her, “I bet there are a lot of other Christian men who would like these too.”

We started the business on $500 and two products we manufactured, a sword frame with any scripture and a medieval knight figure with a paraphrase of Eph 6:13-19. Of course, I needed to find a few swords to offer people. Since the knight figure was all about the armor of God and we were selling “real” swords, we decided to call the company Real Armor of God.com (http://www.realarmorofgod.com).

The sword market is heavily saturated and very competitive. I laugh when I look back at our humble beginnings. We had about 15 different swords we offered at first and averaged about 450 hits a month on the website. God has blessed us and we now have about 700 items we sell in 155 categories with about 5 million hits a month (400,000 pages read a month for those interested in the details).

We also have a great deal of education and historical information on the site for people to learn from. Christians really like our Knighting Ceremony information and use it for Raising A Modern Day Night graduations. (Of course they also get a nice sword and or a custom painted shield for their son too.)

Our staff personally evaluates every product to ensure only the better quality items are added…and customers love it. ∆

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Tomorrow: John’s favorite sword!

The Fantasy Fiction Tour continues to get some cool press. First Publisher’s Weekly ran a story on it, and now the Associated Press ran a segment of my little trailer on their weekly religious video piece. Click HERE to read and watch.

Enjoy!

CH