Robert, describe yourself for our visitors.
I’ve been writing books for the past 14 years. My first novel for young readers, A Way Through the Sea, came out in 1994. Before that, I’d been a newspaper editor, reporter, assistant pastor, and advertising writer. I went to school at Simpson Bible College in San Francisco, where I met my wife, Ronda. We have three young adult kids scattered around the country. We live in the Pacific Northwest, in Idaho. Ronda works at a local pediatric dentist office, and we enjoy traveling together whenever we can. We attend church in a nearby city. I also love the outdoors and sailing when I get a chance, working on my old boat, and walking the hills with my dog Freckles. She’s a cocker spaniel/sheltie, but getting a little old.
How do you find time to connect with God?
A couple of years ago I updated a nonfiction devotional classic by Brother Lawrence, called Practicing God’s Presence. The book really resonated with me because of Lawrence’s simple, straightforward approach to knowing God, and I tried to translate his older language into something we could all understand, kind of like in the style of The Message Bible. Anyway, he said, ‘I don’t know of a better, sweeter life than an unbroken conversation with God, a life of unlimited free minutes with him.’ So although a special time of devotion and prayer is so important, we can also walk with God wherever we’re at, praying throughout the day. That’s what I try to do.
Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books?
I’ve really enjoyed Randy Alcorn’s work. One of my favorites is Safely Home. For an escape/adventure Alton Gansky is great. Some of my other favorite authors are Deb Raney (contemporary), Bill Myers (suspenseful), and Donita Paul (fantasy). Oh, and Kathy Tyers for sci-fi.
Tell us about your journey to publication.
I really had no expectations – I wasn’t expecting anything big to happen. I just thought, ‘Ok, I’ll write a book.’ I was inspired by the stories my folks had told me – they had grown up in Denmark during World War II, so I thought it was a good place to start. I decided to write a story based on real history, while adding some pretend characters. If nothing else, my own kids would have a typed, photocopied book that they could pull off a shelf and say, ‘This is grandpa’s story,’ or ‘This is grandma’s story,’ and that would be fun enough. That was my first goal, but then as I got into it, I figured maybe it was a book. I worked on it steadily for several years, often as I commuted to work on the bus. Finally I sent off a sample chapter, my cover letter, and my outline to a bunch of Christian publishers I thought would be interested. Bethany House was the first to respond a few weeks after I’d sent it in. They wanted to know about the possibility of a series, and what appeal it had for boys. It kind of blew me away! I wasn’t quite expecting that, but that’s the way it turned out!
Tell us about your current book?
I am totally excited about being able to write a fantasy/science fiction trilogy. It’s called the Shadowside trilogy, and the first book is called Trion Rising. Here’s the back cover blurb:
Life couldn’t be better for 15-year-old Oriannon. An eidich, she remembers everything she hears and reads—which comes in handy at exam time. The planet Corista was made for people like her, the highborn. And being the daughter of a Ruling Assembly elder doesn’t hurt, either.
But when a strange new music mentor begins to teach them a different way to play their songs, well, she’s not sure she wants things to change… that much. And the trouble really starts when Mentor Jesmet starts doing strange things and teaching even stranger ideas. Could he really be a Faithbreaker, an enemy, the way Orianon’s father says?
Oriannon isn’t so sure, but she does discover a frightening new outlook on life after her friend Margus gets in trouble for following Mentor Jesmet. That’s right before she loses her way on the dark side of her small planet and is taken in by a cliff-dwelling people she didn’t know existed. There on the Shadowside, the Owling devoutly follow a miracle-working man named Jesmet—who looks an awful lot like Oriannon’s band teacher back home!
How will she ever get home? And when her new friends face a deadly threat from her own people, can the once self-centered Oriannon follow her heart. . . and save half the planet?
How did you come up with ideas for this book?
(Scratching my head…) From watching too many Star Trek reruns when I was a kid? No, seriously, I’ve always enjoyed science fiction, but I wanted to write one that was accessible. In other words, sci-fi for kids who didn’t necessarily like the genre. I also wanted to pack it with biblical truth, a sort of allegory. This is the perfect vehicle.
List your three most recent books.
I mentioned Trion Rising. Coming out in a few months is Homespun Harvest, a farm family story with the Guideposts book club. (Check out the series site for more: www.guideposts.org/heathercreek) Another recent series is called "The Wall," and it follows young teens through the Cold War years behind the Berlin Wall.
What’s next for you?
Right now I’m doing the final edits for books two and three in the Shadowside trilogy. Book two should be out in the fall, and book three in spring of ’09. Keeping busy!
Where can visitors find you online?
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