A View from Brock Eastman's Window - Taken - and a GIVE AWAY!

I had the pleasure, recently, to interview debut novelist Brock Eastman about the first book in his Quest for Truth series, Taken. Brock is a 27-year-old father of two who works full-time in the marketing department of Focus on the Family. He is a self- identified “marketing guy” who didn’t discover a love of reading until he was challenged to read the Harry Potter series with his future wife. It was another challenge, sparked by a conversation with a friend , that caused Brock to consider the question, “Could I set out to write a book that deals with life and death and what that really means?”


Brock sought to find answers to the questions that he felt that kids would want to know, and he did so in the most unusual way! I hope you will enjoy meeting Brock as much as I did! He talks super fast, so if you want to experience meeting him as I did – read FAST!!


Brock has titles for every reading age, and he believes kids enjoy reading about kids instead of adults. So what does he do? He figures out a creative way to isolate them!


Why did you do that Brock?


I originally set this story in Africa – missionary kids on a houseboat. (No one knows this! You can share the secret!) But I couldn’t figure out how to isolate the kids in modern day, because in present day, they would just go to the local authorities. And I had to create a really compelling reason for the truth of the gospel to be hidden and give the kids a quest.


So, outer space became the open door I needed and then became the mode of transportation to get the kids to different locations. The book isn’t so sci-fi that kids can’t understand it. The story has realistic features that enable the kids to follow the story.


Tell us about your road to publication, Brock.


I wrote the first two books as one volume for family and friends to read, and everyone kept telling me it was really good, even though it was a grammatical mess. After a while, I decided to show my book to an author that I knew, Bryian Davis, and he took a look at my manuscript and made some suggestions.


After that, I borrowed a writing guide and looked up everyone that I thought would be interested in my story. And I know you are totally not supposed to do this, but I just sent out an email blast to the publishers I wanted to meet at the upcoming ICRS in 2010. I wound up scheduling meetings with a lot of publishers, and I began to think, “I only have one story to pitch, and what if there is more than one publisher interested? So I put together a synopsis for another series called, “The Attic.”


There were equally as many publishers interested in “The Attic” as "Quest for Truth". But once I heard from P&R and their ideas about the Quest for Truth series, I knew I had found the right home for my work. God made this really clear to me, and I was actually getting ready to fax a contract to another publisher, and I knew my heart wasn’t in that. P&R had such a great vision for the series!


So how did all of this work out for you?


Well, I have a five book contract for the Quest for Truth series, and a trilogy for Sages of Darkness, and one book for the Focus on the Family Imagination Station series. The Attic is sitting until I can commit to new contracts in 2014. I have nine books to complete by 2013! And I’m not a writer! I’m a marketing guy! I have to give it all to God. If God is in it, He will open the doors to tell the story He has given to you. He’s there.


Brock really is an exciting guy to meet, and he is passionate about providing stories that parents will feel safe giving to their kids. He writes night and weekends, because, hey! He’s a marketing guy!!


I have an autographed copy of this great book to GIVE AWAY!! Leave you comment and contact information on this post to be entered to win!