By: Kelvin Oliver
T4JYM: How long have you been a Christian?
KG: I have been a Christian for about 36 years.
T4JYM: Can you share a short testimony with our readers?
KG: I grew up going to a Lutheran church, where I heard a lot about God and had a sense of the story of the gospel, but I don’t think I became a believer until after my senior year in college at a Young Life camp in Colorado Springs. It was during a 20-minute time of reflection after the message on the cross that I gave what little I knew of my life to what little I knew of Christ’s. “I’m not sure if you would ever need it,” I remember saying, “but if ever you need anything, I would happy to help.” Kind of stumbling, inarticulate commitment, but a genuine one.
T4JYM: When and how did you accept Christ into your heart?
KG: See above.
T4JYM: What is the main focus in your ministry? Teens? The lost? The hurting? Why did you decide up on this as a focus?
KG: The focus of my ministry is mainly to Christians. The appeal of my writings and my teaching seems to be a fairly broad audience, ranging from teens to the elderly.
T4JYM: How much editing was involved? Did you do it all alone or did you send it to people to edit?
KG: I edit my own writing quite rigorously before it ever goes to the editor. With the exception of sending the manuscript to my literary agent for his feedback, I don’t generally send my early drafts out for other people to critique. I did, however, do that with my latest book, The North Face of God. I had my board of directors review it, along with the three men I interviewed for the book.
T4JYM: How many times did you have to re-edit your works? Were they rejected by publishers?
KG: I edit my work so many times you wouldn’t believe. Then the editor makes his suggestions. And then I do a final polish on the manuscript.
However, with my last book, The Divine Embrace, I asked the editor to stop his work so I could do a complete re-write of the manuscript.
T4JYM: Who have been your biggest influences in life? Who have been your biggest influences in your life as a writer?
KG: Some of the biggest influences in my life were my grandmother, my Young Life leader—Scott Manley, and Jack Deere, who is an old friend from college. Also Howard Baker, who was a friend from college.
In terms of literary influences, my favorite non-living writer is C. S. Lewis. My favorite living writer is Frederick Buechner.
T4JYM: How has this book been received by the general public? Has there been positive feedback? Any negative feedback?
KG: My last book, The Divine Embrace, has found a small but affectionate audience, which is fairly typical of my books. The response has all been positive.
T4JYM: What are your next plans for writing? Do you plan to do any more books along the same lines as this book? Will you move on to new writing?
KG: I have written 23 books for the Christian market, which is a lot. They are mostly short books so it is not as immense a contribution as it sounds I plan to take a couple of years off from writing. After that, I’m not sure.
T4JYM: What is generally your target audience? Do you write specifically to ministry workers or have you written other books targeted at other audiences? How do you decide on what audience to focus your writing on?
KG: I write to a broad audience, I think. I don’t target a certain age-group, gender, or demographic. I just try to write as honestly and clearly as I can. That’s really my focus.
T4JYM: What is your favorite verse in the Bible and why? Same question, but for book of the Bible.
KG: Philippians 2:3-11. That’s the passage dealing with the death of Christ and how it relates to us as his followers.
T4JYM: I loved reading Treasure in an Oatmeal Box and thought it was an excellent resource. Where did the idea for the book come from?
KG: Thank you. Treasure in an Oatmeal Box was the first book I ever wrote.
When I finished, I felt that God had created me to be a writer. I was 30 at the time. In some form or fashion, I have been doing it ever since. I wanted to write something short, which was important to me because I wanted to make sure I could finish it. I also wanted to write something close to my heart. It is a novella about a set of twins, a boy and a girl, with the boy being mentally handicapped. I have always had a tender spot in my heart for children with disabilities, and that is where the idea came from.
Be the first to comment