"Applause. Enjoy it, but never quite believe it." -- Robert Montgomery

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COUNTDOWN TO NARNIA: THREE MORE DAYS ...

As the big-budget film The Chronicles of Narnia prepares to open this Friday, the LA Times spotlights at the vision of billionaire Philip Anschutz, owner of the film's producer Walden Media. A sequel, Prince Caspian, is already in the "tentative planning" stage, for production next fall and a 2007 holiday release if the first film succeeds.

Also: "Walden is launching a book imprint in partnership with a major publisher. Anschutz is also considering expanding his film company into such areas as television production and video games."

See the whole story here.

Meanwhile, Infuze Magazine has an interview with Walden president Michael Flaherty. (Free registration is required to read the story.)

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Q&A WITH NOVELIST TOM BUFORD

Over at Chris Well: Learning Curve, we have posted a Q&A with Tom Buford, author of the supernatural thriller Fires of Darkness.

Fires of Darkness is a tale of spiritual warfare in the small town of Cory, Nebraska. When something strange happens to Douglas and Amy Canton's farm house and rocks the community, they lean on a memorable cast of characters for support and encounter another world in their search for the meaning of this tragedy.

In the Q&A, Mr. Buford shares the best writing advice anyone has given him, his literary and spiritual influences, and what aspect of God he hopes readers get from his fiction.

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RELIENT K ROCKS MTV

Crossover superstars Relient K are performing tomorrow (Wednesday) night on MTV's "Hard Rock Live" at 7 p.m. CST.

Keep up with the guys' latest antics at their official site, www.relientk.com.

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"LEFT BEHIND" AUTHORS DISASSOCIATE FROM FILM

CBA E-news reports that "Left Behind" (Tyndale) co-authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins felt the need to announce they had no part in the recent DVD release of Cloud Ten Pictures' Left Behind III: World at War.

A press release stated: "While the authors leave it to their readers to judge the quality of the new video and do not wish to disparage any positive ministry that might come from it, they remain hopeful that a theatrical film version of their works will eventually be made that will faithfully capture and deliver the profound message of the 'Left Behind' books and create the same powerful and positive impact in the theater that it had in the books."

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IT'S JUST AN HONOR TO BE NOMINATED ...

Infuze Magazine is publishing a collection of their best Short Stories and Poems from 2005 -- and asking readers to help decide which stories and poems make it into the volume.

The nominated short stories were announced yesterday (including my own short story "Little Country Church"). This is your perfect chance to catch up on any of the great stories you missed this year.

Cast your vote here.

(Eligible poems will be nominated later this week.)

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RECENT HEADLINES AT LEARNING CURVE

Conversation With Anne Rice

RSS And What It Means To You

International Thriller Writers

Tempest All-Star Comic Book For Disaster Relief

The Second Chance

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Chris Well is the author of the suspense thriller Forgiving Solomon Long (Harvest House). He is a member of International Thriller Writers, Inc. Find him online at StudioWell.com, or at his new blog, Learning Curve. (Subscribe to the RSS Feed).

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