UFOlogy has moved through several different iterations over the last seventy-plus years. Since the first well-known UFO sighting took place in 1947, the U.S. military has been investigating… Read More

The following is an excerpt from my book Christian Horror: On the Compatibility of a Biblical Worldview and the Horror Genre, from the section entitled Christian Horror Offers Redemption Ami… Read More

I’m thrilled to announce that the 2nd edition of “Christian Horror: On the Compatibility of a Biblical Worldview and the Horror Genre” is now live at Amazon! The second edi… Read More

The first iteration of Christian Horror: On the Compatibility of a Biblical Worldview and the Horror Genre, was drawn from a series of blog posts I had assembled between 2005 and 2015. That… Read More

Thomas Gray, an 18th century poet, is responsible for the often-quoted phrase, “Ignorance is bliss.” However, the entirety of Gray’s actual quote is, “Where ignoran… Read More

My father used to say he was “a good bad example.” But in retrospect, he was probably a better “good example” than a bad one. At this writing. he’s bee… Read More

My new non-fiction project, “Christians & Conspiracy Theories: Investigating Alternative Truth-Claims without Buying in to Fear, Fanaticism, or Tribalism,” is now avai… Read More

Last weekend, two films about demonic possession released. The Pope’s Exorcist and Nefarious both ended up in the Top 10 weekend box office numbers (3rd and 9th respectively)… Read More

I’m having a blast working on my next book: a non-fiction project entitled “Christians & Conspiracy Theories: Investigating Alternative Truth Claims without Succumbing to F… Read More

‘The Visitant‘ was a story I conceived while researching my essay “On Conspiracy Theories and Why Christians SHOULD Be Interested in Them.” During that research… Read More

Over the years, I have received a good number of emails from new writers looking for publishing advice regarding their stories. Specifically ‘Christian Horror’ stories. This… Read More

When Christians claim to be both ‘pro-choice’ and ‘pro-life’ they betray ideological bias and ignore the broader teachings of Scripture In an Opinion piece e… Read More

Christian themes and biblical imagery contribute greatly to the contemporary horror genre. Whether it’s Catholic exorcists, angels and demons, end-times apocalypse, or visions of Hel… Read More

When approaching biblical doctrines, it’s been suggested that the student apply something referred to as “theological triage.” Albert Mohler defines “theological tr… Read More

A literal void occupies center stage in “Outer Range,” the new Amazon Western/Sci-Fi series. Sadly, a spiritual void prevents any significant metaphysical messaging from the sh… Read More

C.S. Lewis famously said, in his introduction to The Screwtape Letters, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve i… Read More

From my latest article at Lorehaven Amazon ‘Rings of Power’ Promos Threaten to Burn Middle-Earth in the Fires of Industry: The Lord of the Rings is an important cu… Read More

Literary criticism tends to follow the spirit of its age. This is nowhere more evident than in the genre of horror. More recent literary interpretations of seminal works of horror like… Read More

Abbie Richards’ “Conspiracy Chart” became popular in 2020. I featured it in my lengthy piece on conspiracy theories. The chart serves as a barometer, not just of contempo… Read More

I used to be part of a writers group called “Edgy Christian Fiction.” At the time (early 2010’s), Christian fiction writers often debated pushing the content envelop of t… Read More

This week we learned that a close family friend killed himself. Sadly, this is not a new experience for myself and my family. We’ve had two very close friends previously commit su… Read More

The Survival Prepper movement has gone from fringe to mainstream thanks, in no small part, to the COVID-19 virus. Before the pandemic, most responsible citizens aspired to be disaster-prep… Read More

Back in early 2015, I interviewed Jason Wisdom. We’d connected rather randomly on Facebook. Having a musical background and an interest in apologetics, Jason posted a lot on the inte… Read More

Like many of you, 2021 has been a memorable, if not crazy, year for the Durans. For those of you who know us, or just follow me on social media, here’s a brief update on some of… Read More

The global pandemic has resulted in many unforeseen consequences, some of which we may not fully understand for decades. But perhaps one of the most interesting has been the increased inte… Read More

The horror genre has long been a vehicle for social and moral commentary. The Atomic Age spawned many cautionary tales about the potential dangers of nuclear weapons, whether they be mutat… Read More

This review contains major spoilers. *** As a young preacher, I learned early on that the “The mind cannot retain what the seat cannot endure.” Even the best of sermons m… Read More

Apologist Frank Turek’s book, Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case, expounds upon the premise that atheists must borrow from theists in order to make their poi… Read More

Here’s a glimpse into my creative space and some of my process. Thanks to my daughter at Lightframe Photo for assembling this video. (Link below) Read More

Francis Schaeffer coined the phrase “Doing the Lord’s Work, the Lord’s Way” in his book No Little People. In it, he argued that “the central problem of o… Read More

In Storytelling, Portraying Universal Human Experience is Superior to Emphasizing Identity Particulars My first novel featured a female protagonist. Being that my then writing group con… Read More

The growing divide between Christians who advocate LGBTQ affirmation and inclusion and those who hold to traditional biblical sexual ethics is tragic but necessary. Jesus was talking a… Read More

How our failure to interrogate scientists, academics, researchers, and journalists is creating a class of (perceived) infallible elites. In 2008, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and cultura… Read More

In 2010 Audrey Assad released a worship album entitled “The House You’re Building.” At the time, she was a gospel singer gaining in popularity among evangelical audie… Read More

Two local ministers met for coffee. One pastored a small, struggling church while the other pastored a large, thriving church. “Why is your church growing?” the first pastor as… Read More

“The Holy Bible contains some of the oldest UFO sightings on record.” Or so says the Aetherius Society. Perhaps the most famous, they suggest, is the Star of Bethlehem. What ev… Read More

(The links in this post are not necessarily an endorsement of the positions or opinions held by their authors.) The denunciation of conspiracy theorists is currently in high gear. Especia… Read More

An excerpt from my latest article, appearing at Lorehaven: *** We often use the term “Christian ghetto” in a way intended to sound derogative. This phrase refers to an arti… Read More

The afterlife — and even the “before life!” — play a crucial role in Pixar’s latest release, “Soul.” But unlike the traditional Heaven & Hell pa… Read More

Pulitzer Prize winner, David Garrow, who authored a biography of Martin Luther King in 1986, admitted last year, after looking through newly released archival FBI documents, that King’… Read More

Saint Jerome Writing by Caravaggio I posted some pictures of several ceramic skulls in my office, and a fun conversation ensued on Facebook. Later that evening, I received a short letter… Read More

In Pt. 1 of this series I suggested that both the demographics of readers and publishers, as well as the demographics of the evangelical church, have contributed to the disparity of male rea… Read More

The third book in my Reagan Moon series is live. Here’s the blurb for The Third Golem: He was the Prophesied One, the Twelfth-borne of Chaos… and he drove a ’66 El Cami… Read More

The Apostle Paul knew the importance of a proper approach. In the Book of Colossians he wrote, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity… Read More

My non-fiction essay, “Christian Horror: On the Compatibility of a Biblical Worldview and the Horror Genre,” is now available on audiobook. Narrated by veteran voice artist R… Read More

It should come as no surprise that the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), the world’s largest Christian Fiction organization, is primarily comprised of females. I say that… Read More

Jesus told stories that did not always have a positive or uplifting outcome. Oftentimes, there was ambiguity in their resolve. Sometimes there were images of horror and dread. For exampl… Read More

Folk horror is sometimes considered “a subtrope of religious horror,” not for its address of organized religion, per se, but for its appeal to broader folkloric rituals, lege… Read More

Despite the recent closing of 170 Lifeway bookstores, Christian readers remain optimistic about the market. An article in Forbes magazine reflected this optimism stating, Christian and f… Read More

MIKE: Thanks for visiting CW! You’ve just released your second book, Whispers from the Depths, which you published with Janeen Ippolito, a mutual friend. I love what she’s doing… Read More

Munashichi, Future Economic View of Innocence, 2015 Literary subgenres morph at incredible speeds. The reasons why are embedded in a complex web of social, political, psychological, literary… Read More

A constant topic of debate among my Christian novelist friends has to do with market aim — Should they aim for the mainstream market or the Christian market? One reason that many Chris… Read More

What follows contains major spoilers… First-time writer/director Ari Aster has described his debut feature film, “Hereditary,” as a “family drama that di… Read More

Mental illness is one of those subjects that the evangelical church has struggled to address. During my time in the pastorate, I came to know several people (probably more) who struggle… Read More

“Christian fiction” and “Biblical worldview fiction” are not synonymous. Their differences, however, are not always acknowledged. “Biblical worldview fiction&rd&hell…Read More

I’ve been around Christian writing circles long enough (from 2004-5-ish to present) to remember when Christian YA fiction was not a thing. I still recall speaking to a literary agent… Read More

As part of my research for a future project, I’ve been reading The Cryptoterrestrials: A Meditation on Indigenous Humanoids and the Aliens Among Us by Mac Tonnies. It’s quite fas… Read More

Herman Melville in his classic, Moby Dick, wrote about Captain Ahab’s impassioned, myopic search for the white whale. It is a great symbol of the cosmic conflict between good and evil… Read More

Back in April, 2011, I posted an article entitled The New Demographic: Christians Who Don’t Like Christian Fiction. It received a good amount of feedback, and currently has over 130 c… Read More

There are many arguments for why Christian artists should avoid depictions of evil. The very concept of “clean,” “family-friendly” fare is based on the assumption th… Read More

My horror / military sci-fi novelette, Requiem 4, is now available in Audible audiobook. Narrated by industry veteran Dan Kassis, he captures the ominous vibe and diversity of characters wit… Read More

This is NOT a deconversion story! I suppose I need to be clear about that right up front. Why? Because deconversion stories are currently trending. What is a deconversion story? Good questio… Read More

Would you like your kids to become bed linen wizards? Teaching kids how to make their beds can be easy or frustrating, depending on their ability to retain the habit. Here are some tips not… Read More

I’m thrilled to announce that my spiritual memoir discipl·ish: My Unconventional Pilgrimage thru Faith, Art, & Evangelical Culture is now available for pre-order for Kindle… Read More

Famed scientist Stephen Hawking died earlier this week at the age of 76. He is largely regarded as one of the most important physicists in history. Of course, the tributes came pouring in… Read More

Are Humans basically Good? David Mamet’s recent “conversion” to conservatism has been a lot on my mind. Mamet is one of our greatest, most prolific, playwrights and screenw… Read More

Engraving of “The Vision of The Valley of The Dry Bones” by Gustave Doré NPR recently explored the ongoing popularity of zombies in pop culture. In Why The Zombie Craze St… Read More

My article Why the Popularity of Horror Movies Might Encourage Christians recently appeared at the popular evangelical site The Gospel Coalition. In it, I explore the ongoing appeal of the… Read More

x-men apocalypse, from trailer gallery The poor reviews of Maze Runner: Death Cure, the final installment in the trilogy, have lead some to ask whether the genre has finally reached max… Read More

In the process of doing research for a pending project —  Christian Sci-Fi: On the Compatibility of Biblical Worldview and the Science Fiction Genre — I have interviewed sev… Read More

Image StarWars.com CAUTION: Spoiler Alert for Star Wars: The Last Jedi! I liked a lot of things about the new Star Wars, but there are some genuinely eye-roll worthy scenes. One of the most… Read More

Shiva statue at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider Both the Bible and Science predict/envision a Singularity[1], a landmark event that will rock the world and redirect the course of human hi… Read More

Photo source: http://www.vedic.com This summer, at a writer’s conference I attended, popular Christian author Ted Dekker described himself as a “Christian mystic.” During t… Read More

Thrilled to be a part of this huge giveaway. This weekend, Requiem 4 is only $0.99 for Kindle. It’s only one of many books offered through the podcast group Lasers, Dragons, and… Read More

I’ve spent the second half of my writing career unlearning what I was taught in the first half. Like any good novice, it started with “the writing rules.” Now, by &ld&helli…Read More

As the holidays approach, my art activity typically increases. Last weekend, my son-in-law and I were vendors at the annual Riverside Day of the Dead event. This was a huge venue, attended b… Read More

My novelette, Wickers Bog: A Tale of Southern Gothic Horror, is currently free for Kindle. What readers are saying about the story: “…a captivating and creepy tale with su… Read More

I started this website back in 2005. I’m sometime asked why I named my blog deCOMPOSE. It comes from my short essay entitled Let Us Decompose which was first published i… Read More

There’s no shortage of hatred for Halloween. Mainly from well-meaning religious folks. “Halloween is the devil’s holiday!” “Witches, vampires, and ghosts are no… Read More

The Hero’s Journey is a narrative pattern first identified by mythologist Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Campbell identified “a universal motif… Read More

A writer friend recently pondered (in an online writing community I’m part of) whether he should use a pen name when publishing his fiction. The reason? He’s a minister at a chur… Read More

Sometime in the early 1950s, the CIA began a “quest to locate an ESP-enhancing drug.” As part of that quest, the Defense Department appointed Henry “Andrija” Puharich… Read More

I was recently interviewed at Family Fiction about my recent novella Requiem 4. I don’t necessarily see my stuff as particularly “family friendly.” That’s not to say… Read More

Had I not heard God being addressed as “Father,” I would never have equated my father with him. My father was a large man, as most fathers are to sons. Mine was more so. A thick… Read More

Frozen Heart by Sephirothsdx on Deviant Art “Write for your audience.” This is common knowledge among authors, a staple of advice at most writer’s conferences. Know your au… Read More

Scott and Becky Minor, founders of Realm Makers, as Dr. Strange and the Ancient One. Sometimes I don’t think I fit in with geeks. Which could be a problem when you attend conferences m… Read More

My latest story, a sci-fi/horror novelette entitled Requiem 4, is now available on Kindle. Think Lovecraft meets Spectral. Here’s a short blurb: *** Graviton Cemetery—the bigges… Read More

I recently stopped subscribing to a Christian podcast on films when, during a two-part examination of John Carpenter’s horror classic The Thing, an entire show was dedicated… Read More

Tip of the Iceberg — Image by © Ralph A. Clevenger/CORBIS Later this week, I’ll be teaching a class at a writers conference entitled “Writing for the General Market.&r&hell…Read More

One of the most recent theatrical trailers for Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant includes this ominous tagline: “The path to paradise begins in hell.” In an an article at Scre… Read More

I recently dared to suggest on social media that Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale was feminist propaganda. Interestingly enough, I received pushback from two different sides — Th… Read More

Saint Death, second book in my Reagan Moon, paranoir series, has made it to the semi-final round of the Alliance Award voting. The Alliance Award is sponsored by Realm Makers and is a reader… Read More

In a recent post entitled The Non-Partisan Author,  Dan Balow, President of Gilead Publishing, expressed what is a fairly common sentiment about writers keeping their mouths shut r… Read More

That’s the name of the new project I’m working on. (The pic on the right is just a placeholder until a more professional cover is designed.) Aside from the fact that I’m fa… Read More

Apparently Donald Trump is making Doomsday Preppers out of those who once scoffed at the apocalypse. Wherever you fall on the political spectrum, you must admit that the election of Trump ha… Read More

Is there an anti-religious bias in publishing and the art and film industries? The answer often depends upon what side of the question you fall on. According to this breakdown of Democrat vs… Read More

Last week, the Chicago Tribune published a piece about how Publishers are hiring “sensitivity readers” to flag potentially offensive content. Here’s how they framed the pro… Read More

In his adaptation of the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, prog-rock artist Alan Parsons employs Orson Wells to read some of Poe’s works. It’s a wonderf… Read More

The end of 2016 left me rather exhausted, but I’m finally getting back into the writing groove. The project I’m most excited about is the third book in my Reagan Moon series… Read More

In response to a piece I wrote several weeks ago, Can All Myths Be Redeemed?, novelist H.G. Ferguson agrees that “myths can and should be redeemed, but there is a danger here.” P… Read More