Marcher Lord Press: One-of-a-Kind Christian Publishing Company

While Jeff Gerke is no stranger to the publishing, his newest foray into the business defines his passion for Christian speculative fiction. Under his pen name, Jefferson Scott, he has written several near-future technothrillers. He co-authored the non-fiction Be Intolerant which went on to become a bestseller. Gerke has worked for Multnomah, Strang Communications, and NavPress. In 2006, he struck out on his own and founded the popular speculative fiction site Where the Map Ends and has since expanded to form Marcher Lord Press, a unique Christian speculative fiction-only publishing company. In this first of a three-part interview, Jeff Gerke discusses the background and events leading up to the formation of MLP.

Jeff, some background. What points of your own spiritual sojourn have led to the path of speculative-fiction?

Ever since the original Star Wars came out-when I was 12-I've dreamed in speculative worlds. I know I had had leanings in that direction before 1977, but when I saw Star Wars something came alive in me. I suddenly understood the power a story could have-and it was a speculative story that did it. A few years later, in college, I discovered The Lord of the Rings and I was similarly stunned. Once again I was moved beyond words, and once again it was a speculative story that did it.

Both of those stories, I realize now, are "hero's journey" tales. Anthopologist Joseph Campbell originated the idea that certain stories and story patterns recur in all human cultures throughout history. The most fundamental of these is called the hero's journey.

It's essentially a coming-of-age story. Or, in Jungian terms, a story of individuation. A young person is taken from his safe but boring normal world and thrust into an epic adventure that involves specific components, such as a mystical forest, strange allies, and an impossible quest. At the end, the hero enters the dragon's lair and either slays the dragon or fails to. If he is successful in his task he brings the prize and his hard-earned wisdom back to the village for the benefit of his people, among whom he is now a hero of lore.

I believe the hero's journey resonates so deeply in us and is found in every culture because God put it there. I see it as one of the fingerprints of God on His creation. It is, in truth, the story of man. We were taken from Eden and thrust into a cruel world. One of us, a hero, faced and defeated the dragon and now we have access to the spoils of His (Christ's) victory.

So in a way, my journey toward a love of speculative fiction is tied up with my spiritual journey. Now I want to tell hero's journey stories through my own fiction. Indeed, my current work-in-progress is an epic fantasy that follows this pattern.

Other worldviews have evangelized with spec-fic for decades. Why do you think the Christian subculture has been so slow to recognize spec-fic as the literary handmaiden of worldview? Is it a problem that only 20% of book sales go to adult males?

Well, first, we should remember that Christians have been writing speculative fiction for a century and a half, at least. George MacDonald and G.K. Chesterton predate Charles Williams and J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. There were doubtless others throughout history writing what we would recognize as a form of Christian speculative fiction. The Christian imagination is always telling stories.

But in our modern, post-Tolkien era it's true that Evangelical Christians in America, especially, are reluctant to embrace the speculative genres.

I think this is the aftermath of conservative Christianity's reaction to the Sixties and Seventies. Anything that was embraced by that free-love, anti-war, drug culture-and was SF and fantasy ever embraced by that culture-had to be bad. Anything that took us to alternate worlds or states of consciousness probably should be avoided. Indeed, there is today in some circles a lasting suspicion of Christian fiction of any kind, much less the wacky kind we love.

And perhaps it was eschewed exactly because it is such a powerful platform for worldview evangelism. Maybe the feeling was that unless we can know exactly what this author is saying and unless it points directly and unequivocably toward the denomination-approved doxology, it should be discouraged.

But there is no better stage for acting out plays of good vs. evil than speculative fiction. Whether it's Frodo vs. Sauron or angels vs. demons or Luke vs. the Emperor, speculative fiction is always talking about ultimate universal issues. Even in stories that aren't that black and white, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, still the genre allows us to take the lid off our reality and wonder what must be beyond it.

Like it or not, when any novelist sits down to write speculative fiction, he is dabbling in the spiritual realm. It is the most natural genre for discourse on God and spiritual realities. And who better to lay claim to that realm than Christians? It's our territory, ruled over by our God, and we ought to be taking possession of the land.

But don't look for traditional Christian publishing companies to suddenly decide they want to publish lots of speculative fiction. Not so long as their books reach the demographic they currently reach. That is, as I've written on my site, an audience that is not, as a group, into weirdness. (See Tips 16-18 on my Fiction Writing Tip of the Week column.)

Happily, small indie publishers are coming along now that can sidestep this publisher-demographic barrier and get awesome Christian speculative fiction to the awesome Christians who crave it. I hope Marcher Lord Press is leading the charge.

How did the Boss put you onto a Christian spec-fic only publishing company, and what's your vision for this fiction-ministry?

The idea for Marcher Lord Press began, at least in seed form, in 1995 when my first Jefferson Scott novel came out. Virtually Eliminated is a near-future technothriller that I thought was going to set the Christian fiction world on fire. When that didn't happen-and didn't happen for the second and third novels in the series-I began wondering what was wrong.

I thought it was me. Maybe if I'd written a better story or whatever, things would've worked out differently. I thought it was my publisher: maybe if they'd publicized it more, things would've worked out differently. Much later I realized it wasn't either of those things.

Then through the intervening years, as I went to work for first one and then ultimately three Christian publishing companies, I continued campaigning for more Christian speculative fiction. I would recommend good speculative fiction proposals to committee. I would campaign to get more marketing for the ones that were published. I would encourage writers at Christian writer's conferences. I would talk it up wherever I could. But I kept being frustrated.

I finally realized what I've written in Tips 16-18, referred to above. After twelve years of beating my head against the wall, it dawned on me that the entire CBA fiction industry is set up to service a demographic that is not interested in speculative fiction. Nothing against the CBA or that wonderful demographic. But no matter what I tried, so long as this was the demographic those publishers reached, Christian speculative fiction would never become a beloved genre.

Yes, we've had remarkable exceptions. Indeed, all of the breakthrough Christian novels in the last thirty years have been speculative. Think Peretti, Jenkins, and Dekker. But have those books created an enduring and expanding demand for more books like them from any and all talented novelists? Not hardly.

So in the last year or two that I was on staff at Christian publishing companies, the idea for an independent publishing company began to really grow. What if, I would often dream, I could bypass this logjam and publish cutting-edge Christian speculative fiction and get it directly to the people who want it?

I realized I'd have to go a completely different direction from traditional Christian publishers. For one thing, they weren't ever going to suddenly be interested in this kind of fiction. So there was no use trying to get Christian bookstores to carry it. For another thing, the people served by those publishers and bookstores weren't the people interested in this kind of fiction. The content providers and the content consumers were in a happy marriage. But the people I was after were in a different milieu altogether. So I knew I'd have to go after them a different way.

My vision for Marcher Lord Press is that it will become a flashpoint for a revolution in Christian publishing. Not just the publishing of Christian speculative fiction, either-all kinds. There are many kinds of Christian content that ought to be produced but can't be so long as the CBA industry blocks and squelches it. For all the wonderful work CBA publishers do, they're not going to be the ones to throw open the gates to alternative media and content. They have their customer base to consider.

But we don't have to be subject to their blockade anymore. We're living in an unprecedented age in which indie content providers can leverage the Internet and digital media to get their products directly to the audience who wants them.

So after Marcher Lord Press becomes fabulously successful selling Christian speculative fiction (oh, please, oh, please!), and after it becomes the exclusive publisher for Jefferson Scott fiction [gin], let's do the same with other Christian content that ought to be out there. How about machinima? Manga? CG animated films? "Brown bag" books? Comics and graphic novels? Webisodic programs?

We haven't fully realized it yet, but we're living in a fantastic time. But don't look to the established Christian media giants to go in these directions. It takes a special kind of person to go there. It takes, well, the kind of mind that loves Christian speculative fiction.

Viva la revolution!

It's my experience that our genre fans don't bother looking for their favorite fiction, because it hasn't, until recently, existed. Where on the Web have you gotten the warmest welcomes?

That was one of the main reasons I started www.WhereTheMapEnds.com. I wanted to compile the definitive Booklist of Christian speculative fiction. (I believe I have done so, by the way, though it needs to be constantly updated!)

When I began compiling it I expected to find fewer than sixty total books to put on my list, most of which would be Lewis and Tolkien and Left Behind, I thought. Boy, was I wrong. That initial list had over 200 titles. I was amazed. For a guy who always complained that no one ever published Christian speculative fiction, I had to admit I was wrong. There was a ton of it out there, most of it I'd never heard of. The current version of the Booklist has over 450 titles. Yikes.

But most of it, as we've said, is not to be found in Christian bookstores. Many of these novels were either self-published or have gone out of print, or both. Many of them are examples of a CBA publisher trying the genre, only to then watch the poor thing go under the surface, unmourned and unremembered.

Once again, though, we're living in the best time to be lovers of Christian speculative fiction. Most of those old titles can be found online-through online booksellers and/or POD presses that are keeping out-of-print titles alive. Then there are those aforementioned indie publishers coming along to specialize in Christian speculative fiction. Ah, what a time to be alive. ;-)

My announcements about Marcher Lord Press have received the warmest welcome from places like the Lost Genre Guild and the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blogtour. Fans of Christian speculative fiction have banded together online for support, brainstorming, and mutual yuks. The Anomaly, the forums and what-if factory for WhereTheMapEnds, is a great example of the types of awesome people these sites bring together.

I have been thrilled and honored to rub elbows with these fans of Christian speculative fiction. They're my kind of people: I'm publishing for them! It's been wonderful spreading the news with them about Marcher Lord Press and seeing them get excited about the launch. They encourage me so much.

Our genre awoke at the Tolkien films, and we, of course, hope the Lewis films roll the Christian fantasy snowball downhill. Horror has its foot-in-the-door with the spiritual thriller bookshelf label. Sci-fi yet languishes. How do you see the three subgenres shaping up in real-world publishing terms?

First realize that SF trails way behind fantasy in secular publishing, too, so that's not something specific to Christian publishing.

I personally don't believe Christian speculative fiction of any kind will ever-as a genre-gain traction in mainstream CBA publishing. People say, "Well, all we need is one big hit to break out and then people will be clamoring for more like it." Um . . . not so much. No one could say that the Left Behind novels were not breakout hits-but is the audience clamoring for more end times fiction? No. Peretti's books were breakout hits, but have they created a thriving market of spiritual warfare novels within the CBA? No. Same with Dekker's books.

I'm hugely grateful to God and to these authors for the pioneering work they've done and for the success they've had, but I'm saddened to see that their triumphs have not resulted in a broader acceptance of speculative fiction among the core CBA fiction demographic. I've come to realize, though, that this isn't to be wondered at. Tips 16-18 explain why.

As for Christian horror . . . fuhgedaboudit. Now, authors like Kathryn Mackel and Shane Johnson use the term "chiller" to describe what they write, which is pretty much Christian horror. But it's never going to fly to call it what it is, not so long as things are the way they are in the traditional CBA industry.

Christian SF will have a hard row to hoe for the foreseeable future. SF is one of the least popular subgenres of American publishing, and Christian SF is a niche of a niche, to say the least. But I love it, personally, and publishing it is one of the reasons I'm launching Marcher Lord Press. Plus, I always pull for the underdog.

One of the few criticisms I've seen of your new imprint is that Marcher Lord Press lacks a distributor, and is therefore challenged at getting books into brick & mortar stores. I've told people if MLP moves books, the distributors will come to you. Is there any news on this front?

I wonder if people who say this truly understand the realities of the situation. No, I'm not trying to get into bookstores. For one thing, the people who want the kind of fiction I'm going to be producing don't go into Christian bookstores anymore, not looking for speculative fiction, anyway. And I'm not trying to get into secular bookstores because, like it or not, my books would be shelved with the other Christian fiction (in the area I affectionately call Death Row), and we're back to the original problem.

The other issue is purely financial. If I wanted to get into bookstores I'd have to go with a traditional printing press, which means I'd have to print thousands or tens of thousands of books at a time. Which means way more expense at the outset. It also means I'd need shipping and warehousing-because I don't have room for that many books in my garage. It also means I'd need a distributor and a distribution system. Which means I'd have to accept 60% discounts on the books I publish. That would kill me financially. This also means I'd have to accept returns, many of which would come back to me unsuitable for resale. So that's a loss. I'd also need a sales force to present my books to the distributors and the bookstore chains. And I'd need a collections department to be sure every bookstore paid its bills.

Now, if the people I'm after don't go into bookstores (secular or Christian) looking for the kind of fiction I publish, why in the world would I go through all that to get into bookstores? It would be ludicrous.

Okay, so maybe that means the person can't walk into his local bookstore and buy MLP novels off the shelf. But even if I were trying to get into bookstores there's no guarantee I'd be able to do so. Stores and chains have only so much money they can spend to order new books, and that money is more than spoken for by the big publishers. Maybe a few stores-ones that love the underdog, too-would carry my book. But there's no guarantee that any of those stores would be the ones our dear shopper would frequent.

Let's say one or more of my books goes great guns. Even then I'm not sure I'd want to get into bookstores. Again, why would I want to give away 60% of my profits when I'm keeping 100% of it doing it my way?

Now, I do have a handshake agreement with a major Christian publishing company who might be willing to take on any of my books that goes large. They would make it one of their books and put it in their catalogue, handle the printing and returns, have their sales guys present it to the chains and distributors, etc. In that case, I (and the author) get a cut of the action but we don't have to do any of the ugly parts of the process. I might go that way if such a situation presented itself. Let's all hope we come to that juncture. But until then, nope.

The people I'm after are online, most of them. They're already ordering online from Amazon and CBD and such, so this wouldn't be a new model for them. An Internet-only, direct-to-consumer model makes a lot more sense to me than trying to get into bookstores.

What events will you be attending this travel season?

I'm currently scheduled to be on faculty for three Christian writer's conferences this year: the Colorado Christian Writer's Conference, the Oregon Christian Writer's Conference, and the ACFW Conference. I'm very excited about these. I'm teaching the major continuing fiction track at the first two, and am attending the ACFW conference for the first time. That latter one takes place only days before Launch Day for Marcher Lord Press. I hope to generate a lot of excitement for the press at all three events.

I have no plans to attend the ICRS convention or related trade shows. Again, why? Those are for the people playing the CBA game, trying to get into Christian bookstores, and I'm not.

Can you give the readers any hints about what's to come in September 2008? and where should one go for more information?

The Launch Day for Marcher Lord Press is October 1, 2008. So I hope September will be full of excitement about that launch. I'm trying to arrange for a flurry of interviews, reviews, profiles, and blogtours to be done in the month of September. My hope is to generate a veritable stampede of folks coming to the site.

The main attraction, besides the books themselves, will be the massive prize drawing I'll be having on Launch Day. I'll have dozens of prizes to give away, but the main one is the grand prize: a trip for two to the 2009 ComicCON convention in San Diego.

I went to the 2007 ComicCON and, oh my goodness, what a playground for lovers of speculative fiction. I saw and met some of my favorite film directors and actors, including Blade Runner and Alien director Ridley Scott, the cast and crew of 300, the cast of Heroes, and the cast and creators of the new Battlestar Galactica series on the Sci-Fi Channel.

High points for me included shaking hands with Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi from ST:TNG) and David Prowse (the guy in the Darth Vader suit) and having my photo taken with Richard Hatch (Apollo in the original Battlestar Galactica series and Tom Zarek in the new series). Man, great times.

And I'll be sending a winner and a guest to that.

For more information, your best starting place is always the Marcher Lord Press Web page, which is www.MarcherLordPress.com. While you're there, register to win the prizes. Registered folks will receive e-mail updates about what's going on. And if you have a specific question, you can find me hanging out at The Anomaly.

It's always a personal pleasure for me to shine a spotlight on how we're trying to live His will. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

Thank you for the opportunity to do the interview, Frank!