Send to KindleI’m please to welcome Steve Biddison to the spotlight today. Steve is a great guy with a big heart. Welcome, Steve….
We’d love to know a little about who you are when you’re not writing.
Although writing has been my dream since middle school, my career has mostly been defined as a basketball coach. I loved working with high school kids and helping mold a group of individuals into a team set on reaching goals. I guess you could say that coaching and writing, though seemingly two distinct entities, are both in my blood.
In addition to teaching and coaching, I did spend 4 years as a youth pastor. Those were perhaps the four most rewarding years of my life.
So I guess Christian writer isn’t that much of a stretch. How did you come to be a Christian writer?
I didn’t set out to be a Christian writer. I was a writer who was a Christian. In fact my first book was a book about coaching basketball. It has gone in and out of the top 10 kindle books for coaching basketball. It was after I wrote that book and realized I was now pursuing the dream God had put into my heart when I was a teenager that I published a short sermon series called Pursuing Your God-Given Dreams.
While I was a youth pastor, I wrote daily devotions each month for the students in my ministry. Years later, I revisited all those writings and put together an updated devotional book spanning the life and teaching of Christ.
The funny thing is when I set out to write my first novel several months ago, I did not intend it to be a Christian novel. It was going to be a YA fantasy novel that takes place in other worlds. But the more the story developed, the more I began to see the parallel’s in this story to the fall of Lucifer and the redemption offered by Christ. So it kind of morphed into a Christian Young Adult fantasy novel.
It’s amazing to me how if you look hard enough, everything goes back to that spiritual war and spiritual truths. So if you weren’t writing, what would you be doing?
I would probably be coaching basketball.
Who are your greatest influences either writing or personal?
I would have to say that in a lot of ways my father has been one of the biggest influences on my life. He is a pastor and in some ways a mentor.
Very important to have parents you can look up to. If you could give one piece of advice (not writing related), what would it be and why?
I believe that inside every Christian, God has placed dreams He wants us to pursue. Often times we put those dreams aside because of circumstances in life. Or maybe, we are afraid to fail. My advice is to forget the past fears and failures, focus on the future that God wants, prepare in the present for what God is doing, and then pursue it with a passion.
What has been your greatest challenge in life so far? How did you handle it?
I have had times of uncertainty where I have lost a job and had no idea what would happen. But just like God always does, He showed Himself to be faithful and provided a job at just the perfect time.
What do you like to read? What are some of your favorites that you have read?
I enjoy a wide variety of books. Depending on where I am in life makes a difference as to what read. Before every basketball season, I read books on coaching and leadership. More recently, I have been reading books on marketing, especially in the area of ebooks.
Do you have a quote or saying that you live by?
My favorite quote is actually from the Bible. I guess you could say Philippians 3:12-14 is the motto I have adopted since I began my writing career.
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.
Philippians 3:12-14 NLT
This passage is not only my motto for writing, it is also the subject of one of my first books, Pursuing Your God-given Dreams.
What are you working on right now writing-wise?
Right now I am in the early stages of writing the sequel to my YA Christian fantasy novel, The Center Circle. I so much enjoyed writing Book 1 that I can’t wait to dive headlong into book 2. However, the market is also demanding that I put out a few more coaching books before next fall. And I am currently in the middle of writing a Bible study based from the book of Nehemiah about how we can be used of God right now in our lives. So I am busy writing.
Very cool! Tell us about what you have out for us to enjoy.
I would like everyone to give The Center Circle a chance. Yes, it is YA, but it is not limited to teenagers only. I think you will not only find the action moving quickly in this age old battle of good vs. evil. But by getting in on the beginnings of this trilogy, you will see the infancy of a brewing a romance that will climax in a way that saves not only our world, but many worlds.
I also want to invite each of you to follow my blog. I write at least once a week usually on pertinent issues of that week. For instance, my post following the death of Whitney Houston was one that many people read. I also include devotionals aimed at practical Christian living in my blog. And of course, you will find updates about all my writing on that website as well. You can find my blog at www.stevebiddison.wordpress.com
11) Where can readers find you on the ‘net?
I would very much love to get to know each of you. I will answer any comment or message you send to me. Readers are the heart of what I do and as I get deeper into my writing career, I want to involve the readers in certain decisions as much as possible. For instance, the cover of my latest release, The Center Circle, was voted on by those on my facebook book page.
You can find me on my blog and website at www.stevebiddison.wordpress.com. Please sign up to follow the blog and we will be able to stay in contact that way.
My facebook book page is Steve Biddison Books http://tinyurl.com/7ukq7zm
Finally, all my books can be found on my author page at the Amazon Kindle store. http://tinyurl.com/6lr65an
Thanks so much for visiting with us, Steve! Good luck and God bless you as you pursue YOUR God-given dreams!
