Adam Blumer Interview

Q: How did you get your start writing fiction and what genre do you predominantly write in?
A. I’ve loved to write stories since I was a kid and studied novel writing in college. I completed five unpublished novels, mostly for youth, before I began Fatal Illusions, my first published novel of Christian suspense, in the spring of 2002 in conjunction with a Writer’s Digest novel-writing correspondence course. Literary agent Steve Laube, a well-known and respected voice in Christian fiction, responded enthusiastically to my book proposal and asked to see the entire manuscript. Though he ultimately declined to represent me, he kindly gave me eight suggestions on how to make the novel publishable.
Energized, I followed his advice and got to work. Kregel Publications later offered me a contract. God opened a door I never could have opened for myself. I love to write clean Christian thrillers.

Q: What does your writing space look like?
A: I have been blessed with a wonderful home office. Though I often like to write in other locations, this is by far my favorite place. I can close the door, shut out life’s distractions, pray, and become immersed in my story. Now and then, if I need a break, I can glance out the window and delight in God’s creation.

Q: What part of a writing career do you find most difficult?
A. Book marketing. One cannot guarantee sales. I wish a book release was like the movie Field of Dreams. “Build it, and they will come.” If only it were that easy. There is almost an equal amount of work in just promoting the book.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release, Kill Order?
A: Here is the book burb:

When he sleeps, the forgotten terrors of the past come alive.

Grammy-winning pianist Landon Jeffers’s brain cancer has given him only a few years to live. But when he sleeps, the forgotten terrors of his past torment him. When he wakes, shameful memories come rushing back. Desperate for answers, Jeffers discovers that a brain implant intended to treat his cancer is really a device to control him, forcing him to commit terrible crimes. Now he’s being manipulated by an evil crime syndicate and a crooked cop.

What if free will isn’t? What if your every move is predestined? If you kill, are you guilty of murder?

Q: What did you enjoy most about writing this book? Least?
A: While I’m typically an organized plotter, I took off the training wheels on this project and let the story glide where it and the characters wanted to go. The journey became both fun but scary.

My least favorite part was writing the ending. I had the premise and some plot developments in place, but how the story ended took more work than I expected. The hardest part of novel writing, in my opinion, is choosing the right path that comes out at the right ending. There are so many moving pieces and critical decisions along the way that the writer can become paralyzed, overcome by too many choices. If you’re an indecisive person, you’ll never succeed as a suspense novelist.

Q: What is the main theme or spiritual message of this book?
A: Children of God can say no to evil.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m finishing the sequel to Kill Order and hope to have something ready for my literary agent this fall.

Q: If you could have dinner with 2 people, who would they be?
A. Jesus Christ and my father, Larry. I’d love to ask Jesus why, out of millions, He chose me to be one of His children. That would be only one of many questions for Him. I’d also love to see and chat with my dad, who passed away in 2011 from brain cancer. In fact, some details of his cancer journey provided ideas for Kill Order.

Q: Do you have a favorite hobby?
A. I love to read. When I was a kid, I devoured Hardy Boys books—and yes, even my sister’s collection of Nancy Drew. While growing up, I read Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Ray Bradbury, and Madeleine L’Engle. Eventually I gravitated to suspense fiction by authors like Frank Peretti, Terri Blackstock, Ted Dekker, and Steven James. I grew weary of whodunits and preferred suspense novels. I like novels that grab me around the throat, keep the pages turning, and never let go until the final period. Suspense novels filled with plenty of action and conflict captivate me like no other books I read, though I also have a fondness for good literature, fantasy, history, biography, true crime, and science fiction.

Q: What is the most rewarding thing you have ever done?
A. Getting married and having a family. I was married at twenty-six, a bit older than most of my peers. For a while, I worried I would never find the right woman, but God taught me, after several dead-end relationships, to let go and let Him lead me to the right person. And He did. After giving up on dating, I went on a trip to the Holy Land to learn more about God—and there Kim was in the Boston airport. One thing led to another, and we were married in November 1996. God has blessed us with two beautiful daughters. I’m truly a blessed man.