#christianwriting — Public Fediverse posts

Ever read scripture hoping God would take your side in a fight? I did this morning. A tired prophet talked me down before I finished my coffee. It went cold. Glad my heart didn't.

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https://fiveminuteobservations.com/2026/10/05/getting-even/

Launching the Christian Fantasy Novel Pebble’s Bond on Substack

Pip: Fantasy novels, Substack launches, and the art of asking your friends nicely — Marcia Lee Laycock is keeping busy, and this site is keeping up.

Mara: That’s the territory today. We’re looking at the rollout of a Christian fantasy novel called Pebble’s Bond, serialized on Substack, with behind-the-scenes posts tracking the writing process alongside it.

Pip: Let’s start with the launch itself — how it began, how the world got built, and how readers are being recruited.

Pebble’s Bond: The Launch, the World, the Ask

Mara: The story here is a serialized fantasy novel landing on Substack in real time — chapters going out weekly, paired with a companion series pulling back the curtain on how the whole thing came together.

Pip: The first Behind the Scenes post sets the tone directly. The announcement reads: “I’ll be posting chapters of that novel beginning one week from today, August 24th.”

Mara: That’s a public commitment with a date attached, which is a different kind of accountability than just saying a book is coming. The chapters are live, the companion posts are live, and readers can follow both tracks simultaneously.

Pip: The second Behind the Scenes episode, Creating Pebble’s World, moves from announcement into craft — what the setting actually looks like, the place called Ter Elsker that Pebble calls home.

Mara: And there’s a warmth to how that episode closes. Readers are invited to respond, with the note that the author won’t “growl at you the way a certain character in Pebble’s Bond does.” The world-building is already leaking into the conversation around the book.

Pip: Which brings us to the third post, Help Your Friends Find Pebble, and this is where the math gets honest.

Mara: Very honest. One paid subscriber, roughly forty readers at the time of posting. The ask is straightforward: share the link with anyone who likes fantasy, send proof you did it, and your name goes into a draw for a free book — either a dystopian middle-grade novella or a Christmas devotional collection.

Pip: A raffle for word-of-mouth. There is something genuinely old-school about that, and I mean it as a compliment.

Mara: It’s a direct, low-friction way to turn existing readers into a distribution network. The novel is out there — the work now is getting it found.

Pip: A serialized fantasy, a behind-the-scenes companion, and a reader raffle — the infrastructure of a small literary launch, built by hand.

Mara: More of Pebble’s world is still coming. Worth watching how the readership grows alongside it.

Help Your Friends Find Pebble

Good morning everyone. Most of you know that I am posting my Christian fantasy novel, Pebble’s Bond in a series on Substack, along with short bits called Behind the Scenes, all about the process of writing it.

So far I have only one paid subscription and about 40 readers.

So … would you do me a favour and spread the word by sending this link to all your friends and family, especially those who like to read fantasy? I will be forever grateful. Send me some kind of proof that you have done so and I’ll put your name in a draw for a free book – your choice between a distopic middle-grade novella (Fredrik’s Choice) or a collection of Christmas devotionals (Love in the Room.

Here’s the link to the first Behind the Scenes post – Why I Wrote Pebble – by Marcia Lee Laycock – Pebble’s Bond

Thanks so much for your support and help with this.

Blessings, Marcia

Behind the Scenes Episode 2

Good morning all. Episode two just released – Building Pebble’s World. Check it out – (2) Creating Pebble’s World – by Marcia Lee Laycock

The next episode of Pebble’s Bond will go live on Friday. I’d love to know what you think of all this. Don’t be shy, I won’t growl at you the way a certain character in Pebble’s Bond does. 🙂

Paul Walker, retired Anglican priest and self-described spiritual traveler, is launching a new Medium series called "Mark Unbound: Faith, Doubt, and the Down-to-Earth Jesus." His approach treats the Gospel of Mark not as doctrine to be recited, but as a provocative, living text with the power to challenge and disrupt. Sharing as an interesting read for those drawn to faith, literature, and big questions.
#Faith #Bible #ChristianWriting #Spirituality #BiblicalLiterature
https://medium.com/inspire-believe-grow/introducing-a-new-series-mark-unbound-e60aa9e5e44e?sk=v2%2F656afa81-d99f-48bc-9f5e-a09973f6425e