For Irish author Glenn Meade,
every book begins with prayer.
“I never underestimate the power of it,” Glenn
says. “There was a time, long ago when I was
younger, that I would have scoffed at that statement.
But I’ve learned, so often in life, that prayer
does work. We are listened to.”
An engineer by trade, Glenn has trained pilots
and written for newspapers, but for more than
fifteen years he’s written novels. In fact, he’s
just re-released his very first book, Brandenburg
(Howard Books). Updated and edited for today’s
reader, the story’s theme is as relevant now as
when it first came out in 1997. “Probably even
more so,” the author agrees, “what with the rise
in neo-fascist groups worldwide.”
Sparked by a wartime secret an elderly SS officer
shared with him in real life, Glenn says the
hair stood up on the back of his neck when he
heard it, and he knew immediately the tale had
legs. The story of a movement of ex-Nazis plotting
to take over modern-day Germany, originally
Brandenburg was written entirely in longhand. “All
of the historical elements are pretty much true and
took up a lot of research time,” Meade says.
While Brandenburg might not
be an overtly “Christian” novel,
in all of Meade’s stories there’s
an inherent Christian moral
stance, and his faith is extremely
important to his writing. “I consider
myself a Christian writer,
and I try to ensure that all the
big Christian issues—truth,
redemption, forgiveness—figure
in my novels in some way.
Christian writers have to work
harder these days to get their
message across, and do it in subtler
more populist ways. No easy
task. As a man and author, I’m
endlessly curious and intrigued
by the world and its inhabitants,
and I’m a great believer in the
consummate importance of love
and forgiveness.”
This article originally appeared in the April/May 2013 issue of FamilyFiction Edge digital magazine. Subscribe for free today!