Could you please tell us what motivates you to write?
Several factors drove me to start writing in 2012. First of all, I was still angry about how popular works of fiction like THE DA VINCI CODE peddled gross falsehoods about the origins of Christianity and got away with it! Secondly, someone loaned me a historical novel by a very well-known Christian author and I was totally underwhelmed by it. The author didn't seem to have a very solid grasp of Roman history and his dialog was riddled with gross anachronisms and frankly, the story just wasn't that good. I thought that I could write a better story, and false pride aside, I think I did. But underlying those two things was the simple fact that I have dreamed of being a writer since I was in high school. I was 48 years old and not getting any younger, and suddenly this idea that had been kicking around in my head for a couple of years came pouring out, and THE TESTIMONIUM was born.
eLectio is a Christian publisher and your work is Christian based. Can you elaborate on the role your faith plays in your writing?
My faith runs through everything that I write, just as it runs through all the other parts of my life. It doesn't make me better or holier than anybody else, it's just a huge part of who I am. So when I write, my faith comes out in the story. There's a little bit of me in nearly every character I create. My villains reflect the kind of person I could be if God had not saved me, my heroes are the kind of Christians I wish I could be. They're human, like me - to paraphrase HAMILTON, they "rise and they fall they break and they make their mistakes" - but in the end, they choose to do the right thing, the God-honoring thing, in the rather difficult circumstances my imagination puts them in. I have a strong background in apologetics, so many of the arguments I have studied and debated for years come out as part of the dialog in my stories.
You have four books published with eLectio so they must be pleased with you and you with them. What would you say to somebody considering to publish with eLectio the pros and cons?
Jesse and Christopher and the Electio crew have been absolutely wonderful to work with. From editing to cover art to providing me with the copies I order in a timely fashion, they have been incredibly efficient. When I get discouraged by poor sales, Christopher is always willing to buck me up with solid suggestions and sound advice.
One thing I will say, though - being an author is HARD WORK. Your books will not sell themselves, no matter how good they are! You HAVE to hustle, promote, and put yourself and your books out there constantly, relentlessly, and enthusiastically. Electio will help you when they can, but ultimately, you have to be your own publicity department. They have several hundred other authors with works either in print or pending, so they don't have time to do your work for you!
Of your four books are they a series? Please give us a snippet or synopsis for each one.
Without really intending to, I have wound up writing two distinct trilogies - one set in modern times, involving the adventures of a group of Biblical archeologists; the other set in ancient Rome, intertwining the story of Christianity's origins with those of the men who were running the Roman Empire during the First Century.
THE TESTIMONIUM was my very first work, and it was inspired by an Easter monologue I performed in chapel one year at the Christian School where I teach. I portrayed Pontius Pilate, dictating a letter to Rome about the events of the Passion Week (basically trying to cover his rear end after knowing he had sent an innocent man to his death). Later that year, while reading some of the earliest works of the Church Fathers (second century Christians who were closely linked to the Apostolic Age), I ran across a quote from Justin Martyr, writing to the Emperor Antoninus Pius: "That these things did happen, you can ascertain from the Acts of Pontius Pilate." In Roman parlance, "Acts" were any kind of official report or record. So there WAS a report from Pilate to Caesar about the crucifixion! I began to wonder - what if that report were found today? What if it confirmed the narrative of the Gospels? How would the world react? That was when I sat down after school one day and began describing how an earthquake had struck the Isle of Capri, damaging the ruins of Tiberius' palace . . . and so began the story of THE TESTIMONIUM.
After I finished it, though, I moved on to my other project, the "Rome" stories. But, after finishing the first book in that series, I couldn't help but wonder - what happened to Josh and Isabella and Father MacDonald and all the other characters I created in THE TESTIMONIUM? Did they ever do another dig together? Did Josh and Isabella settle in her native Italy, or in the States? A picture began to form in my mind, of a remote cave uncovered during an excavation in the Negev Desert, of Father MacDonald patiently searching it for any sign of ancient occupation, of a false wall concealing an ancient tomb . . . and MATTHEW'S AUTOGRAPH was up and running! I love this story, although it is my poorest seller. Fast-paced and fun, it reunites the Capri Team on a new excavation, with another amazing, startling, and disturbing discovery: the tomb of St. Matthew, containing the original copy - the "autograph" - of his Gospel. Or is it? I'll let your readers discover for themselves!
After finishing this one, I wrote the second volume of my Rome trilogy, and then decided to check in on the Capri Team one more time. The result was a powerful, although sometimes dark, adventure tale called THE GNOSTIC LIBRARY. Father MacDonald, an archeological consultant for the Vatican, is called to Egypt to help excavate an incredible find: a library of scrolls and codices from the early splinter sect of Christianity known as the Gnostics. Larger than any previous discover of ancient Christian writings, the library promises to answer many questions about the split between the Gnostics and the Apostolic churches, and the formation of the New Testament canon. But the Black Desert, where the library has laid buried under the shifting dunes for seventeen centuries, is a huge and remote place, and a radical band of jihadists associated with the Islamic State have taken refuge there from Egyptian authorities. Father MacDonald and his colleague, British archeologist Dr. Katherine Feezel, are taken captive and subjected to unspeakable torments at the ands of their captors. It is up to the rest of the Capri Team - Joshua and Isabella Parker, and his mentor, Dr. Luke Martens and his wife Alicia - to race to Egypt and help rescue their friends! THE GNOSTIC LIBRARY is a fitting conclusion to the Capri Team trilogy and will leave readers on the edge of their seats! It is being released on May 1 of this year.
What do you like most about writing?
Creating the characters of my story and watching them slowly assume a life of their own. Often I have no idea what role they will play in the story when I first introduce them. Sometimes a character I thought would be major falls by the wayside, other times a minor throwaway character becomes central to the story. That's the other thing I love: hopping on the back of the story and letting it take me where it wills. I often begin a book having no idea how it will end!
What do you like least about writing?
What do you like least about writing?
When life gets in the way of my writing, and I have to go weeks on end without touching my latest story.
Seeing beloved characters die because the story decrees it must be so.
Seeing my Amazon sales rank slowly fall because people aren't buying what I write.
How do you market your books? Are there any tips that you could give to the many people who either published with small independent presses or self publish?
The formula that seems to work best is: 1. Social Media. 2. Public Appearances. 3. Repeat 1 and 2.
NEVER assume your books will grow wings and fly on their own! You have to do the flapping for them if you want them to soar.
What are your plans in the future regarding your writing? Do you have a long term goal?
I'd like to earn enough from writing to maybe retire from the classroom someday. Maybe get a movie contract, or an epic TV miniseries, an adoring fan base, and a nice lake house to spend my golden years in, writing and looking for arrowheads in between book signings.
What is your method in writing a book? Do you first have an outline or do you make things up as they go?
I always try to come up with a catchy prologue and work from there, but as I said, the story has a mind of its own. I tell it where I think it ought to go, and then it proceeds to show me why that was the wrong direction.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
A line from one of my favorite movies, THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN: "A writer writes . . . always!"
How has your life changed since your success in writing?
Well, my success has been limited, but I'm really still just getting started. My first book came out just a little over three years ago! But it is fun to see people and have them say: "I really loved your book!" I've gotten out, met thousands of people, sold hundreds of books, and gotten lots of reviews, most of them good and only a few bad. I've learned a lot about the publishing industry and how things work. It's been fun!
What do you see for the future of literature in general?
I don't know that I can venture any predictions there, but I can tell you one thing: traditional, analog books may not be going away soon, but brick and mortar bookstores are a dying breed. I was stunned when the Hastings chain shut down, but it joins Walden Books and B. Dalton Booksellers on the ash heap of commercial history. Amazon is the future, and EBooks will become a larger and larger share of the market from here on out.
Tell us something about yourself.
Let's see - I'm a teacher, pastor, husband, father, amateur archeologist and paleontologist (not as fancy as it sounds, I like dinosaur bones AND arrowheads!), video game junkie, third degree black belt, and goat rancher. I think that about covers it. Oh, and I write a blog - you can read it here: http://lewisliterarylair.blogspot.com/
Tell us something about the importance of God in your life?
He created me, He loves me despite my shortcomings, He has blessed me far beyond anything I deserve, and my awareness of Him, my love for Him, my fascination with Him, informs everything I do. As the Greek poet Menander said: "In Him we live and move and have our being."
What is your favorite scripture?
John 1: 14: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Who are your favorite authors?
OK, I am VERY eclectic. In the field of apologetics, I love Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, and William Lane Craig. For grins and giggles, no one can top Dave Barry. And for page turning fiction - Stephen King is probably still American's greatest living writer; Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have created an unforgettable character in their Agent Pendergast series, and H.P. Lovecraft's stories still have the power to terrify almost a century after they were written. For Christian fiction, I enjoy the works of Paul Maier, as well as several of my fellow Electio authors, like George Dalton and Gary Knight. I confess I haven't read your book yet, John! (Hangs head in shame)
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