Q&A: February 2007

Q: What do you hope to accomplish through your writing?

A: While I enjoy writing, and I love the excitement of having someone enjoy what I've written, I do want my work to be a reflection of God's work in my life. He has given me the ability to write. Though my novels aren't Christian novels, I do have a Christian testimony that is infinitely more meaningful to me than my literature. What I write is fiction; my testimony is real.

Check it out here.


Q: Who is your target audience?

A: Anyone who likes to read, and even some people who don't. One thing I hope that Epic does is truly become a cross-genre work, enjoyed by readers of everything from science-fiction, to drama, to romance. So far, the feedback I've received has supported this.


Q: What is your biggest challenge in making your characters come to life?

A: Honestly, having them fail or endure hardships. I'm attached to every one of these characters, from the most important to the least. It's hard to see them suffer, and it's especially hard to see one of them die. Unfortunately, hardships and even death are a part of life. No character is truly safe from paying the ultimate price. If it's meant to happen, I as the author am obligated to allow it to. This hits me as hard as it hits the most emotional of readers.

It's also difficult to expose a character's flaws. Not every act we do is innocent, and not every thought we have is pure. It can't be any different with my characters. When I look into a character's thoughts and actions, I have to think like that character, and even if for a brief moment, become that character. Sometimes that kind of honesty is hard. But I owe it to the story, and to the reader, to get it right.

It's like applying the method style of acting to literature. That's the best way I can think to describe it.