This month, I welcome to this blog three Christian writers who are launching some interesting and surprising novels. Today’s guest is Cheryl Colwell, author of The Proof, available today at http://bit.ly/NewNovelTheProof along with some great premiums to celebrate the occasion.

 Q: Why do you think being a Christian is important enough to write about it? 

CHERYL COLWELL: Words carry influence. Jesus said He came to earth to testify of the truth. Since He lives in us, instructing us in truth and the joy that brings, it is only natural that we desire to share that good news in our writing. 

Q: You write Christian fiction. Why do you call it Christian? How is it different from any other fiction?

CHERYL COLWELL: My writing comes out of my Christian worldview and values. Some of my novels have religious themes, but most do not. However, the main protagonists portray, or end up portraying, how it is to have God active and intervening in their lives. 

Q: Do you think of your writing as a ministry?

CHERYL COLWELL: Absolutely. There is no doubt that writing is one of the “good works He created for me to do before the foundation of the earth.” 

Q: When you write, what do you want your book to do for your reader?

CHERYL COLWELL: I want to encourage them to abide in Christ in a deeper way, trusting God to be involved in their daily lives. 

Q: Contemporary culture in the US is rife with conflicts over Christianity, secularism, and New Age ideas. Why do you think a person should be a Christian instead of adopting any of the other options? 

CHERYL COLWELL: The very definition of “God” is that He reigns over us and created us. A “god” we build in our own image – the way we think a god should be — would, by reason nullify itself from being a god. Thankfully, there is a REAL God who pursues His creations and transforms us into HIS image. 

Q: In your book, what do you share with the reader that will help the reader live a Christian life in the midst of cultural conflict?

CHERYL COLWELL: The Proof is a wonderful adventure, but the story is also a quest for truth, providing a time to explore one’s own beliefs. There are several factions struggling to find a religious artifact, revealing flawed inner motivations that parallel many in today’s culture. A major theme is, Who stole your God? In the story, we see that secular teaching, abusive people, and our wrong choices at work to mask the beauty of God under a cloak of lies.

Q: What is the difference between your central character(s) and a successful secular thinker? 

CHERYL COLWELL: Though Gabe adopted a secular mindset, it was not working for him. God had bigger plans for him but first had to strip him of the falsehoods he had adopted. Only then, in God’s strength not his, could Gabe succeed.

Q: What does your book do for Christian readers who are looking either for entertainment or inspiration in a fictional story?

CHERYL COLWELL: They will get a deluge of both! The Proof is a contemporary suspense story that dips back in time to events that influence Gabe’s life in the present day. It has mystery, romance, courage, villains, AND Jesus appears in the story in a most significant way. 

Q: Does your book have anything to say to people who believe that the world is limited to our time/space experience?

Destiny plays a large part in the story as we see God weaving His will through generations, spanning time and using His foreknowledge.

Q: In what way does your book serve as your testimony of faith in Christ?

CHERYL COLWELL: I can only write of how God has changed me and how I have seen Him change hundreds of others who have made the decision to trust that Jesus is who He said He was. My characters live out those changes as I give them words and actions and divine motives.

Q: Secular thinkers often say to Christians, “I don’t think you should push your religion on people who believe something different.” What is your response?

CHERYL COLWELL: We can’t push anything on anyone. If I respectfully share my devotion to my loving Father, someone else can respond however they choose. How they respond is not my responsibility.

Q: What do you believe to be the lasting value of your work to the contemporary culture?

CHERYL COLWELL: I hope it will open the eyes of many who have fallen for the unexamined assumptions that declare there is no god, or, I am god. I hope thousands of readers will come to see how big and good and faithful God really is.

Q: What else would you like to say about your personal values, your Christian faith, or your call to be a Christian writer?

CHERYL COLWELL: I began to write at 55, a time when most careers are winding down. Everything in my life has been valuable for creating these novels. I am thrilled that this is what God chose for me to do and thrilled for the ministry He had waiting for me at this age.

Q: Interested readers can get to know you better at your website at www.cherylcolwell.com . Please tell my readers about the book you are launching this month.

Shrouded in mystery, a precious relic known as Il Testamento, or The Proof, circulated among the early Christians for centuries. Before their deaths, its guardians hid it from their adversaries, leaving only a crude map of its location. For centuries, it lay in darkness. Until now. Reports of its existence have resurfaced, inciting an ancient rivalry between a ruthless group that seeks to destroy it, and a secret association that lusts for its power. Summoned to Siena by a grandfather he has never met, Gabriel Dolcini is thrust into a dark maze of danger. And into his divine destiny.

 

 You can buy it today at http://bit.ly/NewNovelTheProof