A Hero, or two, arrive on the Fantasy Fiction Scene

I get pretty aggravated because I have some really talented writer friends who have finished some awesome manuscripts, but they can't sell them. The CBA market is too tight, too uptight, and to poor to take chances. But that means nobody gets to read these fantastic tales but a few reader friends of the aspiring author. Somone else got ticked off about this sad situation and he was in the position to do something about it. So a new publisher, unconventional and sorely needed, is about to spring on the scene. I've seen the prototype book and it is every bit as good as those the standard publishing houses put out. So if you are interested in "speculative fiction," read on:
Marcher Lord Press is an indie publishing company dedicated to Christian speculative fiction: fantasy, SF, time travel, and the rest. Marcher Lord Press is the brainchild of CBA industry veteran Jeff Gerke, founder of http://www.wherethemapends.com/. Gerke is working to make Marcher Lord Press the premier publishing of Christian speculative fiction from Day 1. And Day 1 is this week! Marcher Lord Press is launching with three novels:

Summa Elvetica by Theodore Beale is a philosophical fantasy about what would happen if something very much like the Roman Catholic Church existed in a fantasy world and decided to tackle the question of whether or not Elves have souls.
The Personifid Invasion by R. E. Bartlett is action SF on a ruined Earth in which "interdimensional beings" discover they can take over the artificial bodies into which humans have transferred their consciousnesses.
Hero, Second Class by Mitchell Bonds is an epic comic fantasy about a young man who yearns to be a hero in a world in which Heroes have monthly dues and Villains are allowed only one eclipse per fiscal quarter.

Marcher Lord Press officially opens for business on October 1. They're holding a massive prize giveaway on that day--so be sure to get over to http://www.marcherlordpress.com/ before then to register to win. The grand prize is a trip for two to the 2009 Comic-CON convention in San Diego. Launch Day events also include free bonus books to be given away when you purchase one or more Marcher Lord Press novels on October 1.

Here's a little blurb about one of the first three books: Hero, Second Class is a delightful roast of all the fantasy fiction elements we hold dear. It is said that only someone who loves something can truly lampoon it. So it is in this case. Bonds' novel is a riot.
Quest with Cyrus, our young protagonist who aspires to be a Hero. But Heroes have a guild, you see, and lots of rules. One has to pay one's dues, apprentice to a Hero in good standing, and comport oneself as befits a member of the Heroes Guild.
Cyrus is fortunate to be serving his apprenticeship during a True Crisis, during which an Arch Villain is on the loose. An ambitious hero-in-training could make quite a name for himself during such times.
Cyrus's progress toward achieving his next level in the Heroes Guild is complicated by a wise-cracking dragon, a self-narrating knight, a droll zombie, and an attractive young woman who also happens to kind of be a cat.
On top of it all, Cyrus is discovering he has strange, non-standard-issue magical powers that definitely don't fit into his plans. And the Arch Villain (along with sundry Villains Guild members) has suddenly taken an intense personal interest in our plucky young protagonist.
If Cyrus isn't careful, he's not going to live long enough to become a Hero of any class.
Hero, Second Class, Mitchell Bonds, Marcher Lord Press, October 2008, 620 pages, $14.99