Featured Interview With Ben Christian
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Greetings everyone! I'd like to thank the Awesome Book Promotion team for giving me the opportunity to join you today.
My name is Ben Christian and I was born and raised in the small town of Silsbee, Texas. It is about 1.5 hours east of Houston, Texas and likely the most exciting thing that you will find in Silsbee is our local Walmart (laughs) or a strangely large number of car dealerships. Most people in the area travel to Beaumont, Texas for shopping, eating, etc. There were times that I wished that I lived in a bigger city but one thing I can say about Silsbee is I've met some great people there and have made some lifelong friends. Many of my friends who are closest to me this day are people that I met in grade school. It's a small community but a tight knit one where you don't have to go too far to find someone that you know.
I still live in Texas to this day and have had the opportunity to travel to many different parts of the state (my favorite areas are Dallas, Austin, and Houston.) By day, I crunch numbers and stare at spreadsheets as an accountant but when I'm not at work, I enjoy writing of course, but also spending time with my family, trying new restaurants, and attending car shows. Speaking of which, did I mention that I am a very big car fanatic? Primarily, I like classic muscle cars but I appreciate anything from the classics to tuners. Cars are a way to express who you are and I've met some amazing people in the car community (not to mention had some fun at the 1/4 mile drag strip (Houston Raceway Park) in Baytown, Texas!) While I don't have any pets (I had a few fish at one point), I spend more time with my cars than I should but I feel like everyone having their own unique taste is what keeps the world going round.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When asked this question, the usual response I see is most authors had a fascination with books at birth but it was a little different for me. It's like the books sort of found me. I'm not saying that I didn't like to read but let's just say at a young age, I would have rather been playing my Playstation than reading a book (yes, I still play video games to this day!) For those that know what AR points are (aging myself here), there were many times that I struggled to get mine because I didn't read as much as I should have back then. Through high school, I did pick up more books and it grew to even more in college though most of those were textbooks. The college I began at though had a start of the art library (I believe it's 8 stories total) and I spent many days in there studying and found a strange peace. One thing lead to another and before I knew it, I was online purchasing books of my own for my collection. I did dabble into writing at an earlier age on assignments at school and can recall getting positive feedback on things that I had written but at the time, I didn't think too much of it. I would write a short story here or there based off of things that I had seen but I was very secretive about my writing. It wasn't that I didn't feel confident in it, but more of it was my way of getting some things out of my head. I saw it almost as an escape. My first novel, Deep Wounds, was in the making for SEVERAL years and there were so many times that I wanted to quit on it but every time I tried, it wouldn't leave me alone. It underwent several revisions and the final product is MUCH different than the original draft but you can still see bits and pieces of the original. The process of taking it from draft to finished novel was a tedious one because I am very selective of who I choose to work with but the support that I've received from the writing community and readers is unreal. What keeps me going is I have so many stories in my head and so many messages to tell that I feel like can help someone. I feel like if one person reads one of my books and gets a message out of it that helps improve their life, then my mission for that book was done.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
It is impossible for me to pick a single favorite author because I've got so many that I enjoy being taken on adventures with a select few that I enjoy are Ted Dekker, Denora Boone, Ali Parker, and Leonard Clifton.
When it comes to genres, my favorite genres are christian fiction, action/adventure, and horror/mystery. I've come to open my mind now and try other genres which has been a blessing in itself because who knew one of the best books that I would ever read would be sci-fy (check out Transference by Brandon Keaton.)
Who inspires me in my writing is an interesting question because it could actually be you! Many of the characters in my books are loosely based off of people that I either know personally or have met in passing. My goal is to make believable and likable (for the most part) characters and what better way to do that than to use actual people? It may be a combination of traits/characteristics that define one of my characters but when I look around, I believe that everyone from the homeless man on the street corner to the billionaire CEO at the top of a skyscraper has a story. How did they get to where they are? What did they go through to get there? Did they face adversity or was it given to them on a silver platter? Who helped them get there or who did they cross? These are things I think about in my writing that helps me shape characters, scenes, and the full story line.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My debut novel, Deep Wounds: Fortune of Faith, is a christian suspense story that follows the life of an ex street racer who has now settled down with a family and built a career at a successful accounting firm. Enjoying every day of his new life, tragedy strikes when he is laid off from his job. Unable to find another job and trying to save their house, he puts everything in his bank account on the line in a street race that changes his life forever. With his wife stepping out on him, he now must fight to keep his family together while battling the demons of his past that are bent on taking everything from him. #Herbattle #Hiswar
The story of Deep Wounds:Fortune of Faith itself is not based on a true story but many of the scenes and elements of the story are based on real things that I've either seen or experienced firsthand. I had the experience to drive many of the cars featured in the story as I wanted to be sure to capture the raw driving habits and sounds of the engine. It's nothing like going from 0-60 in under 4 seconds with the sound of a supercharged V8 screaming in your ear. This is my first novel of many that I have planned but this story will always be dear to my heart. Why? Because I put a big part of myself into the story in the development of the message. On the surface, the story has plenty of action, street racing, and a couple of twists and turns but as the author, my goal was to deliver on the message of faith. I hope each and every person who reads this book not only enjoys it but asks themselves what does faith mean to them and how do they apply it to their daily life.
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