Lauren Smith: What is your book about?  

The Desert has no King

Lauren Smith: How much research went into writing it?    

Frederiko Aguilar: I lived in the gambling world for over 45 years, and know people who lived the journey of the underworld.

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Confessions of a Catholic Schoolgirl

Lauren Smith: So did you go to Catholic school? 

Michelle Kane: Yes, I myself, did attend Catholic school for nine years. I think it would surprise most people that private school kids are not saints.  Also, surprisingly, the character of "Father Fingers" in CONFESSIONS OF A CATHOLIC SCHOOLGIRL is based on my real life pastor, who was recently on our local news for being "sexually inappropriate" with young girls.  So...the rumors about him ended up being true. 

Lauren Smith: What do you think would surprise people most about Catholic schools?

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A Virtual Book Review Network Exclusive.... 

Speaking with David Dent, author of Alex Webster and the Gods 

 VBRN: What inspired you to create a work of science fiction? 

Alex Webster and the Gods

VBRN: How did you arrive at the idea of Yahweh as the first capitalist? 

David Dent: About the same time that I was considering ideas for my book, I was also taking a course in world religions. During one class the professor asked about the nature of god as presented in the Old Testament. Rather than responding from a theological perspective, I considered it from a modern reading of the Bible, asking, What kind of business leader was Yahweh? This was not by chance because my career at that point dealt with issues of corporate governance and management.  Interestingly, I found that one can argue Yahweh’s management style evolves from an entrepreneurial, hands-on deity to a maturing manager who, overtime, introduces more sophisticated management and control methods to achieve his goals. The cause for these changes is that Yahweh, like any good manager, learns from experience. His evolution is similar to that of many entrepreneurs who create new ventures and navigate them to successful organizations. In Yahweh’s case, his brand dominates the religion market, with Christianity taking about a 32 percent share worldwide. In other words, Yahweh’s story is not unlike that of Bill Gates or Henry Ford, evolving from a temperamental, even eccentric, entrepreneur to the avuncular, but distant, Chairman of the Board. And the idea tied in beautifully with the notion of a religious market. Arguably, Yahweh is the world’s first and oldest capitalist and, to this point, most successful. 

VBRN: How did you decide on Jupiter as the old god looking for a comeback?

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Kindred Spirits

Lauren Smith: Why did you write this book?

hristopher Kimball Bigelow: This novel is my fifth book on Mormonism. Much of my other writing taps into my Mormon superego, but this story taps into my Mormon id. I gave myself freedom to explore some of the more juicy, shadowy areas of the Mormon experience, including sexual sin, folk beliefs, and the nature of marriage and relationships. Kindred Spirits is very much a character study, letting realistic characters take their natural paths without trying to manipulate them into idealized behavior, which is what happens in most fiction written by Mormons. I suppose in some ways it's also a character study of my own dark side, as some of the situations and odd beliefs and other story aspects reflect my own autobiographical experience, which I fictionalized by combining my own stuff with other things I've imagined or observed. Another reason I wrote this novel is because I wish there were more Mormon stories executed in a manner similar to top contemporary writers such as John Updike, Philip Roth, Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan, and other mainstream literary authors. I'm not saying that my novel rises to their level of accomplishment, but certainly Updike is my main influence, and I wanted to attempt something similar.

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