Sam Hudson, once a highly respected attorney, is now fighting for his life on death row. Convicted of the horrible rape and murder of his own wife and daughter and facing lethal injection, it seems that there is nothing left for him but to die. But when he embraces his wife’s faith and turns to God, miracles begin to happen. Now Sam must come to terms with his past and present circumstances if he is to have any hope of surviving his future.
Listening to a sermon about Dennis Rader the BTK serial killer and forgiveness, I began to wonder: Is there a limit to God’s forgiveness? And as believers, should there be a limit to ours? I decided to explore this question in my book Beyond Justice, in which my protagonist Sam Hudson must confront these very questions.
As for my book Darkroom (Simon & Schuster/Howard Books May 2012), recent tragedies in the life of my family found meaningful outlets of expression, along with a high-stakes plot, which my wife and I conceived while discussing what we felt made a great book.
STARTING OUT, WHO WERE THE AUTHORS WHO INSPIRED YOU? WHO INSPIRES YOU NOW?
I’ve been inspired by C.S. Lewis on many levels. But I also have been inspired (and continue to be inspired) by Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Grisham.
HOW DOES YOUR FAITH INFLUENCE YOUR WRITING?
My faith has an influence on my entire life. Every aspect of it. While I don’t go around hammering people over the head with my faith, it definitely shapes my view on life, my decisions, my principles, and gives me a hope beyond the natural. This cannot help but become part of what I write. In fact, most of my ideas come after prayer and studying the Bible. I try my best to write as the Holy Spirit directs me. When this happens, the writing flows, I didn’t have to think too much about it because the words just naturally come to me. I try to view my books and stories as parables. Christ spoke profound truth to the simple and the learned through parables. I hope to speak the truth about live, love, and faith through my stories and invite all, especially those who don’t believe, to take a look without prejudice and decide for themselves.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN YOU WANTED TO BE AN AUTHOR?
I have loved creating stories, plays, and movie scripts since I was a child. I can almost date it back to the 1st grade. But I chose the path of a musician. It was only 6-7 years ago that I decided I wanted to pursue writing as a career. My family and I had to make some sacrifices, but we believe this is a calling from God and that I should walk in it (as it states in Ephesians 2:10.)
WHAT DO YOU MOST HOPE THAT READERS GET FROM READING YOUR WORK?
So many things. I hope they will be entertained and keep turning the pages until they finish my books. I hope they will be moved and develop new perspectives which they never had before. I hope they will find truths about God and get a glimpse of how awesome He is. And most of all, I hope they will find their lives changed for the better as a result of reading my books. Commercial success is great, but I want to write books that my readers will always remember and even come back to read again and again.