Paul Alkazraji's Blog - Posts Tagged "spiritual"
A Superior brand of fiction
Interview with Tom Hilpert, author of the Lake Superior Mysteries.
By Paul Alkazraji, author of The Silencer
Tom Hilpert.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a missionary kid – I grew up in Papua New Guinea. I’ve always loved books, and I’ve always loved writing. It’s been a thrill these past few years to finally be able to express that.
Tell us a little about your books.
I have a little ‘series’ going: the Lake Superior Mysteries. You can read them out of order, but each book features the same setting and cast of characters. The first two are ‘Superior Justice’ and ‘Superior Storm’. My latest in the series is ‘Superior Secrets’. The main character is a pastor named Jonah Borden, who lives in a small town on the shore of the world’s largest freshwater lake (Lake Superior). Typically, he gets caught up in mysteries as he tries to help his parishioners.
In the first one (Superior Justice), a parishioner is arrested for murder. Borden talks to him about it, and hears his confession. Only the confession isn’t of guilt – it is the parishioner’s alibi. Now Borden knows he is innocent, but he can’t tell anyone how he knows, or what he knows. The adventures come as Borden tries to prove him innocent without revealing the secret confession. In the second (Superior Storm) Borden ends up in the middle of a mystery as he tries to help an elderly widow recover her stolen money. The latest (Superior Secrets) is a little more personal for Jonah Borden. His fiancée, Leyla Bennett, is a reporter who wants to do an investigative report on a local cult. She joins the cult ‘under-cover’, but after a while it looks as if she might have been brainwashed into really being a member. As Jonah tries to get her out, he uncovers something much bigger than he ever imagined.
Is there an aspect of it you are particularly pleased with?
These are strong, memorable characters who are also a little quirky. There tends to be quite a bit of humor peppered throughout the books. My readers seem to appreciate that, and I admit I am kind of pleased with it myself. I’m a pretty serious guy in person, but I enjoy writing witty and funny dialogue, and hearing from fans about it.
Share with us a paragraph of your choice from your new book.
[Well, in keeping with my answer above]:
‘On Sunday, in honor of my name, I preached a whale of a sermon. It was hard to tell how many people fell asleep, because it was cold out, and some people cheated by keeping their scarves on, but I bet it was less than six. My record was thirteen, but that time was a funeral, and there were a lot of old people attending who were worn out by grief and late nights of watching Wheel of Fortune. Of course, it was always hard to tell the sleepers apart from the Norwegian Lutherans, not to mention the dead people. They all tended to express the same amount of emotion. I consider myself an elite preacher, because I regularly inspire a few Lutherans to nod in agreement when I’m speaking.'
Tell us about something you like or dislike in one of your characters.
One of the ‘supporting cast’ of characters is Julie, the part time secretary. A lot of my fans seem to really like her, but she makes me just a little uncomfortable. She’s a little too literal-minded and a little too sarcastic, but I guess that makes her seem pretty real.
Fiction writers put characters in dramatic situations ultimately to ‘say’ something. What are you saying in your work?
I think I have an overall message for the series, and that is that Christians – even pastors – are real people. They aren’t perfect, but they aren’t what the media usually makes them out to be, either. The faith of the two main characters is real, and it makes a difference, but this isn’t a morality play. Faith comes into the story because they are people of faith, not because the story is ‘about’ faith, so to speak. One way I like to think about it is this: I do not write ‘Christian fiction’. I am a Christian who writes fiction. Spiritual things come up in the books because the characters are spiritual people, not because I’m trying to use the book as a platform to preach. Even though Jonah Borden (the protagonist) is a pastor, you will never find the content of one of his sermons in these books. I’ve had some positive feedback about this approach – from people who are not Christians, especially.
How does your faith influence your writing?
One of my hopes in writing is to let my faith shine through in a way that is real, not contrived. Mostly, these are fun mystery stories; they happen to involve people of genuine faith. As such, I try to be true in my writing to that aspect of the characters, just as I try to be true to the agnosticism of one of the supporting characters.
What aspect of the craft of writing do you find most enjoyable?
That’s tough. I enjoy dialogue, for sure. My characters often surprise me, and make me laugh.
What books or authors do you like to read?
I am voracious and omnivorous in my reading. I read mystery, historical adventure, Young Adult fiction, fiction classics, fantasy, western, non-fiction history, non-fiction psychology, non-fiction science, Christian classics, and contemporary Christian living.
Tell us about something you’ve read recently that moved you.
The Pressure is Off, by Larry Crabb (non-fiction); The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (fantasy fiction).
What are you most thankful for in life?
My wife and children.
Links:
Superior Justice:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003...
Superior Storm:
http://www.amazon.com/Superior-Storm-...
Superior Secrets:
http://www.amazon.com/Superior-Secret...
By Paul Alkazraji, author of The Silencer
Tom Hilpert.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a missionary kid – I grew up in Papua New Guinea. I’ve always loved books, and I’ve always loved writing. It’s been a thrill these past few years to finally be able to express that.
Tell us a little about your books.
I have a little ‘series’ going: the Lake Superior Mysteries. You can read them out of order, but each book features the same setting and cast of characters. The first two are ‘Superior Justice’ and ‘Superior Storm’. My latest in the series is ‘Superior Secrets’. The main character is a pastor named Jonah Borden, who lives in a small town on the shore of the world’s largest freshwater lake (Lake Superior). Typically, he gets caught up in mysteries as he tries to help his parishioners.
In the first one (Superior Justice), a parishioner is arrested for murder. Borden talks to him about it, and hears his confession. Only the confession isn’t of guilt – it is the parishioner’s alibi. Now Borden knows he is innocent, but he can’t tell anyone how he knows, or what he knows. The adventures come as Borden tries to prove him innocent without revealing the secret confession. In the second (Superior Storm) Borden ends up in the middle of a mystery as he tries to help an elderly widow recover her stolen money. The latest (Superior Secrets) is a little more personal for Jonah Borden. His fiancée, Leyla Bennett, is a reporter who wants to do an investigative report on a local cult. She joins the cult ‘under-cover’, but after a while it looks as if she might have been brainwashed into really being a member. As Jonah tries to get her out, he uncovers something much bigger than he ever imagined.
Is there an aspect of it you are particularly pleased with?
These are strong, memorable characters who are also a little quirky. There tends to be quite a bit of humor peppered throughout the books. My readers seem to appreciate that, and I admit I am kind of pleased with it myself. I’m a pretty serious guy in person, but I enjoy writing witty and funny dialogue, and hearing from fans about it.
Share with us a paragraph of your choice from your new book.
[Well, in keeping with my answer above]:
‘On Sunday, in honor of my name, I preached a whale of a sermon. It was hard to tell how many people fell asleep, because it was cold out, and some people cheated by keeping their scarves on, but I bet it was less than six. My record was thirteen, but that time was a funeral, and there were a lot of old people attending who were worn out by grief and late nights of watching Wheel of Fortune. Of course, it was always hard to tell the sleepers apart from the Norwegian Lutherans, not to mention the dead people. They all tended to express the same amount of emotion. I consider myself an elite preacher, because I regularly inspire a few Lutherans to nod in agreement when I’m speaking.'
Tell us about something you like or dislike in one of your characters.
One of the ‘supporting cast’ of characters is Julie, the part time secretary. A lot of my fans seem to really like her, but she makes me just a little uncomfortable. She’s a little too literal-minded and a little too sarcastic, but I guess that makes her seem pretty real.
Fiction writers put characters in dramatic situations ultimately to ‘say’ something. What are you saying in your work?
I think I have an overall message for the series, and that is that Christians – even pastors – are real people. They aren’t perfect, but they aren’t what the media usually makes them out to be, either. The faith of the two main characters is real, and it makes a difference, but this isn’t a morality play. Faith comes into the story because they are people of faith, not because the story is ‘about’ faith, so to speak. One way I like to think about it is this: I do not write ‘Christian fiction’. I am a Christian who writes fiction. Spiritual things come up in the books because the characters are spiritual people, not because I’m trying to use the book as a platform to preach. Even though Jonah Borden (the protagonist) is a pastor, you will never find the content of one of his sermons in these books. I’ve had some positive feedback about this approach – from people who are not Christians, especially.
How does your faith influence your writing?
One of my hopes in writing is to let my faith shine through in a way that is real, not contrived. Mostly, these are fun mystery stories; they happen to involve people of genuine faith. As such, I try to be true in my writing to that aspect of the characters, just as I try to be true to the agnosticism of one of the supporting characters.
What aspect of the craft of writing do you find most enjoyable?
That’s tough. I enjoy dialogue, for sure. My characters often surprise me, and make me laugh.
What books or authors do you like to read?
I am voracious and omnivorous in my reading. I read mystery, historical adventure, Young Adult fiction, fiction classics, fantasy, western, non-fiction history, non-fiction psychology, non-fiction science, Christian classics, and contemporary Christian living.
Tell us about something you’ve read recently that moved you.
The Pressure is Off, by Larry Crabb (non-fiction); The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (fantasy fiction).
What are you most thankful for in life?
My wife and children.
Links:
Superior Justice:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003...
Superior Storm:
http://www.amazon.com/Superior-Storm-...
Superior Secrets:
http://www.amazon.com/Superior-Secret...
