Zachary Bartels Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.

A. I’m the author of several books, the pastor of an incredibly normal-sized congregation, the husband of a beautiful and talented woman, the father of a six-year-old ninja, and a consumer of large quantities of espresso.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A. I’ve loved writing stories as long as I can remember. I started writing short stories and screenplays in college and gateway-drugged into novels in seminary.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?

A: I started getting serious about putting out actual books when I teamed up with my friend (and award-winning author) Ted Kluck, to launch an indie micropress called Gut Check Press in early 2010. I say “serious,” but this may have been (and continues to be) one of the least-serious endeavors out there. Still, we produced some satires that made some noise and I put out my first novel 42 Months Dry under that imprint. In 2012, I signed with a literary agent, and in 2013, I signed a multi-book deal with HarperCollins Christian Publishing.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Playing Saint?

A: Playing Saint is a supernatural suspense novel about an up-and-coming megachurch pastor and television personality named Parker Saint, who is on the verge of achieving everything he’s ever wanted (namely: a syndicated TV spot and a self-help book that’s all-but-guaranteed to be a bestseller). But when he goes full-prima-donna and lashes out at an airline employee, he finds himself on the wrong side of the law. To keep a public scandal from unraveling his growing empire, Parker agrees to serve as an “expert consultant,” assisting the police in solving a series of occult-related killings. Problem is, Parker’s anything but an expert, faking his way through the investigation by slipping away to consult his smart phone. He finds himself drawn deeper into a web of intrigue involving an obsessive and demanding detective, a trio of relentless Vatican operatives, a string of botched exorcisms, and a centuries-old conspiracy to conceal a mysterious relic—and he begins to question everything he has been trying so hard to protect.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Playing Saint?

A: At its core, the book is about the tension that every pastor (and, to some extent, every Christian) feels between humble, faithful service to our Lord on one hand, and building our own name, brand, and success, on the other. I thought it would be fascinating to explore that invisible, subtle, internal conflict against an incredibly visible, overt, good-versus-evil conflict (i.e. man of God vs. the Kingdom of Darkness in the form of a demon-possessed killer).

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

A: That we cannot resist the Devil with any effectiveness until we first submit ourselves to God, and that positivity in and of itself is powerless to save you. Only Jesus’s substitutionary death and triumphant resurrection can raise a broken sinner from death to life.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?

A: There’s this sequence where a grizzled old Spanish priest/Vatican agent with kind of a Medieval agenda finds himself having to hear confession in an American touchy-feely church, which I think is hilarious. I also relished writing the awkward scenes where Parker is in way over his head (his first crime scene, autopsy, etc.)

Q: What inspires you to write?

A. Practically everything, from reading Puritans’ prayers and studying Scripture to watching an episode of Breaking Bad. Coffee and fine cigars play their part too.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?

A: It’s been way bigger, in that Thomas Nelson flew me down to Nashville to talk about my book at their sales conference and I got to hang out with some of the big Christian suspense authors in Colleen Coble’s suite in St. Louis. But it’s also been smaller, in that—apart from a handful of things like that—everything has been exactly the same as before  . . . except that now people regularly ask me how my book is selling, to which I kind of mumble that I don’t really know.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?

A: Write a ton. Write stuff you know you’ll never show anyone. Write a variety of things I’d say “read widely” like everyone says, but I’d be a hypocrite if I did, because I read very narrowly. Also, write exactly the stuff you want to read. Don’t follow some formula or bend your story to a pre-fab set of rules. There’s already more than enough formulaic stuff out there.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A. We’re just finishing up edits on my next book The Last Con, which comes out in July. It’s about a reformed con man forced back into a life of crime to save his family. It’s full of heists, chases, relics, conspiracies and secret societies. I’m pretty stoked about it.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?

A. I love hanging out with my family and friends, watching good movies, drinking good coffee, cycling, pretending I can play the guitar, preaching and teaching, and trying not to step on Legos with my bare feet.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?

A. My website is www.zacharybartels.com.  From there, you can find my facebook, twitter, pinterest, blog, podcast, goodreads, amazon page, and all the other stuff. For a guy with no iPhone, I’ve crammed myself into every corner of the Internet pretty effectively.