Conclusion of Interview with Vince Stone

Here are the answers to the rest of the questions that I asked Vince Stone. I hope you enjoy his answers as much as I did.


I realize that there were usually traitors within a king's household. By the end of the book, we know who the traitor is. Are there any more lurking in the king's house that want to bring ruin and destruction upon him?
I’m sure there are, but I had to limit my characters. I’m not very deep, nor am I that organized.

Baal worship was quite prevalent during Elijah's time. I think you may have toned down their activities just a bit for the book. Can you tell us any more about the things they actually did during their worship rituals? Did they go so far as to kidnap people?
Yes, I did tone it down. Researching Baal worship is very uncomfortable for a believer. You find yourself going to websites that just give you the creeps. I learned what I needed to know and clicked out of there as soon as possible.

When will the sequel to this book be released?
The Kindle version is being released December 19, 2011. The printed copy about a month later.

Do you think your book is able to compete with the other books out there that appeal to young people, books like Harry Potter?
If I’m really lucky, yes. There is a place for a book like this, but it’s hard to break through. I think it’s a fun little read and tells a neat story that’s not been told before. Elijah was a REAL person. A person young people can look up to. What I’m finding to be difficult is breaking through to get teens to give it a chance. I have to fight my way through all the vampires, spells and games where kids kill each other. It’s not easy.

What was your goal in writing this book?
At my age, I need a creative outlet for my strange brain. You can’t get better as a writer unless you write. So, that’s what I did. I wanted to present a new take on Christian fiction. I can’t recall any Christian fiction that has my style of humor.

When did you first realize that you were meant to write?
I’ve always been creative. Writing is nice because you can do it alone with no extra help. You can’t produce a film alone, or a play. But alone at my keyboard, I can take something from beginning to end.

Have you written any other books? If so, what are they?
My first book was a self-help parody called, Embracing Your Inner Mediocrity: Making Peace with Reality. It did pretty well and got me on national television a couple of times. It’s short and funny. While making fun of the “excellence” industry, it has a nice message underneath about the value of contentment.

Once you started writing this book, how long did it take you? How much research if any, was involved?
This book is pretty short. I finished in three months. Research consisted of reading a lot of manners and customs books, maps, Bible atlas, web research stuff like that.

What new doors has your writing opened up for you? Were there any opportunities that you had never considered before?
It’s still a new book that I think is unique. I seem to be selling more to women instead of teens. That’s a bit surprising but cool. I’ve yet to hear from Spielberg about the movie rights. Someone needs to tell him about this young Jewish hero!

Do you ever get writer's block? If so, how do you deal with it?
I did on the sequel. I cranked out an interesting adventure for the first 100 pages then got stuck. You just have to give it time. Write something else, then go back. It works itself out.

How do you manage to balance your time between family, friends, and writing?
Writing at this point is a hobby. I only do it when I have the time or a deadline. I don’t stress about it. Why should something you like doing be stressful? Although, letting my wife read the first draft is always stressful. She is my main audience. If she likes it, I’ll move forward.

If you could spend one hour with just one person, who would you choose? Why?
I’d probably pick Spielberg. I’ve seen all his movies and he is arguably the greatest filmmaker of all time. I could pick his brain for hours. I always wanted to be a film director, now I’m too old. If only I’d had YouTube when I was young. The digital movies I would have made…

Do you have any advice for writers who are striving to be published?
Self-publish! Hire an editor and get a nice cover done. Ebooks are the way for all new authors to find an audience. And make money to boot. Write and write some more. Even it if stinks. You’ll only get better.



Thank you, Vince Stone, for such a wonderful and informative interview. I bought my own copy of this book just because I wanted to read it. If you would like to read Vince Stone's fictional account of the childhood of Elijah, I have included a link to Amazon below. There is also a link for the sequel, Elijah: the Sidonian Conflict, a book which hasn't yet been released, but can be pre-ordered.

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