INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, GUY STANTION III

Guy Stanton III is the author of many novels, The Warrior Kind series (comprising 5 books) and The Agents For Good series (comprising 4 books). All can be found on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in both printed and e-book formats or from your local Christian book store. 

I recently read his first book, A Warrior's Redemption (The Warrior Kind, Book 1) and was so impressed I decided to interview him. 

Please read on to get a glimpse of what makes this author tick! 

Okay Guy, how about we start this interview with you telling us a little about yourself?

- Well I’m the third guy in my family to be called Guy. People have been known to address both my father and I in public as “Hey you guys” and not even knowing that they’ve named us. I was born on a beautiful family farm and taught the meaning and the rewards of hard work at an early age. I grew up somewhat sheltered from the world outside of the farm, until I started branching out when I attended college. I really branched out when I got it in my head to join the online dating site eHarmony, where I met my beautiful wife Beth. We now have three children, who are our greatest blessings other than the gift of Beth and I being matched together to share the rest of our lives with each other. I belong to the Creator and His hand on my life shapes everything that I do and am. 

What inspired you to become an author and has it always been a desire of yours to write? 

- I was an avid reader growing up, but I lacked the confidence to think that I could ever be capable of enthralling people with my words. It wasn’t until I started dating my wife that I started dabbling with writing. I wrote her a short romantic story themed of all things in the World War I era, which I gave to her the first Christmas we celebrated together. She loved it. So I started another story, A Warrior’s Redemption. Three years later I finished it, and I haven’t stopped writing ever since. I love writing! I’ve always been able to express myself better in written form than by verbal communication alone and for me the action of becoming an author has been life affirming in so many ways.

Do you think there is anything significantly different about Christian Fiction, as opposed to non-Christian Fiction?

- Well to answer the question let me first talk about music. I used to be a big secular music fan before I met my wife. In the car she kept changing the radio station to Christian music, namely the radio network called Klove. It rubbed off on me. I didn’t even care to listen to secular music anymore. Whether you're listening or reading something that has the life fulfilling gospel of Jesus in it or a song of praise and worship to the Creator of us all, it has the power to change you and build you up in those moments when a worldly bandaid just isn’t enough to get through the hurdle of the moment. They say you become what you eat, but I think what you read and listen to has a bigger impact in terms of the actions that determine your eternal destination.

What kind of reaction are you hoping to receive from readers?

- In a word I hope it is a “positive” experience for them. My goal as a Christian author isn’t to be either preachy or beyond the reality that we all live and struggle in. Beyond being a positive experience I also hope that it will be an enthralling experience for them that helps to provide the entertainment that we crave as humans. I want to provide with my writing a safe place for others to enjoy letting go from the reality that we all face each day in our lives. Hopefully my writing will also inspire them to live life with a renewed perspective and not just be a distraction from it.

What has surprised you the most about becoming a self-published author?

- How hard it is. As a self-published author with a thin wallet starting out you pretty much have to do everything. In addition to writing my books I’ve had to learn how to properly format and edit them. I’m my own publicist scouring the internet and whatever other means that are available in search of a way to better promote myself and my literary work. I had to learn how to social network, commission artists, and build a website, all things I had absolutely no experience at before. While it is hard to be self-published, it is also extremely rewarding, as in a way I remain the captain of the ship and not just a spectator to my own literary success.

How has writing and being an author impacted your relationship with Jesus Christ? 

- My success as an author has come as a direct result of obedience to God. There have been things I’ve wanted to write that I heard a “no” to. There have been topics and situations that I didn’t want to touch with a ten foot pole that I heard “write it”. I’ve been obedient and as a result I know that my ability and God given gift to write has been taken deeper, as I have been led to write about deeply personal topics in ways that illustrate my own spiritual progression as much as it may chronicle a potential reader’s experiences. When you read my stories you are very much reading the story of me steadily finding my way into a deeper and more personal relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God has given me the gift of being a great writer and now I seek to bless Him with the gifts He’s given me, as I want to be faithful with what I have been so generously given. Not only a faithful servant, but also one that bears fruit and helps to sow the seeds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the lives of others.

Obviously becoming an author has been a huge accomplishment for you, but can you tell us what a major goal of yours is outside of the world of writing?

- I want my last day alive to have been, but the end result of a steady progression of being faithful in all the things that my Savior has set down for me to accomplish in this life. Above all I do not want to model the early fire of Solomon’s reign only to drift into pitiful spiritual obscurity in my latter years. My goal is to be as King David, always in awareness of my Lord and seeking to do His will, even as I rely on His mercy to recover from the mistakes that I’ve made along the way.

So we know you like to write, but can you divulge to your fans out there what’s something that you like to do in your downtime, when you're not writing?

- It may sound strange, but I love to build stone walls. Call it a heavyweight alternate form of jigsaw puzzle mania, but I love looking at a pile of mismatched and oddly shaped rocks and somehow forming them together into a cohesive pattern that has both strength and visual appeal of form. Flower garden arrangement holds many of the same challenges and rewards as well. The two often go well together and fulfill the need within me to be creative. 

Can you give us a personal perspective of your own novels?

- There meant to be picked up and devoured by people with minds, who have not yet lost a youthful quality of imagination. My books are meant to transport the reader to the scene of action and catch them up in suspense for what comes next. Their addictive in a good and wholesome way that often ensnares me the author into re-exploring the realms of past imagination. My books will always contain a Christian influence of thought, which I pray never leads any astray from the straight and narrow path set before all Christians to walk down in life’s journey to eternity. 

For a Christian author you address some rather adult situations such as sexual temptation, demon possession, and violence. Do you think you’ve gone too far for Christian fiction?

- No I don’t. I think to much of what’s available in the realm of Christian Fiction is bound up in a false utopia of thought. The reality that we all face each day deserves to be addressed, especially from a Christian perspective. Being tempted into committing sexual sin, confronting demons and even the power of satan in our lives, as well as the violent aspects of life often needed to preserve liberty and the right as Christians to worship our God are all concepts that need to be discussed within the confines of the Christian world. I’ve termed my fiction as “Reality Fiction” and to that end I’m going to use my writing to minister to not only Christians, but to those who are lost and have suffered damage at the hands of worldly forces and the lies of demons. God meets each of us in the ruin of our own life calamities, in turn I want my writing to be pertinent to the people, who are going through those calamities, as yet one more tool at God’s disposal to reach another life with the saving knowledge of Jesus. 

Your fans, I’m sure, want to know if there is more to come. Would you mind giving an exclusive glimpse for us of what is to come?

- I have lots of ideas, with more coming every day. I’ve got my Water Wars series set for release Summer 2014. I think I’ll open a lot of eyes in terms of a Biblical point of view in terms of the lost city of Atlantis and other ancient mysteries. Further out I’ve got a Science Fiction space trilogy that I’ve loosely named Guardians of the Truth. It’s early, but that series may perhaps have a tie in with my series, The Warrior Kind. I have several standalone books planned. One will take place in a Biblical setting around the time of The Tower of Babel another will be more of a Contemporary Thriller with lots of suspenseful action and conspiracies. I have two epic novels that’ll have plenty of sword and battle action. One will center on a fictitious rendering of the Apostle Phillip’s later ministry in India, and the other will illustrate in allegorical detail the seven New Testament churches transposed over into a Lord of the Rings type setting. At some point I intend to write some westerns, as I grew up and was inspired by that genre. I find inspiration from many sources, but by all means if fans of my work would like to suggest book themes for the future be my guest.

Wow! You’ve got a lot planned for the future. Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans? 

- God-willingly the journey that you have begun with my words has yet many exciting twists and turns for you to experience. I have no intentions of becoming a less prolific author. The time to work to affect positive change in the world for Christ is now, and it is my hope that my words will help promote that change within the hearts and minds of many, while still being an entertaining and encouraging pastime pursuit for those already saved.

Do you have any words that you’d like to leave us with?

- I’ve had two repeating words that God has used to educate me for quite some time. They are, “patience and trust”. These are hard concepts for me to seemingly come to grips with, but I continue to endeavor to learn and master them. Patience for the things needed and the desires that I’ve asked for. Trust that in God’s good timing all will be accomplished as it should be, as patience is born out into experience, which leads to a deeper faith in God able to move mountains.

You can keep in touch with Guy Stanton III at http://www.words-of-action.com/