Writers in the suspense/thriller genre are a unique breed.
They weave words so you sense the tempo of each paragraph (and your heart rate)
quickening toward crescendo; crafting stories with near-superhero ability.
Frank Peretti is the quintessential suspense novelist. Like most superheroes,
it took Frank awhile to discover his unique talent. But unlike them, he was far
from alone in his journey…
John: Good
afternoon Frank, why don’t you kick things off by telling us a little about
your upbringing.
Frank Peretti:
Well, I was born in Leftridge,
Alberta. I was Canadian for a
month or so and then my folks moved right down to Seattle. I was up in Canada just long
enough to mess up my citizenship, so now I can’t run for president or anything…
JOHN : Oh, did
you have aspirations for that?
Frank: Well, no,
I wouldn’t know the first thing about that! (Laughs) My dad was an American
citizen who grew up in Seattle, went up to Canada to work
for the summer and met my mom who was a Canadian citizen. About a month or so after
I was born they came [back] down to Seattle.
JOHN : So that’s
where you grew up. Well now we know you didn’t want to be president, but you
did have aspirations of becoming a musician…?
Frank: Yeah I
did, that was clear back when I was just getting married. Man, I was between
the ages of 19 and 22, right in there [somewhere]. I was starving (laughs), but
yeah, I traveled with a couple of groups…
JOHN : And you
played banjo for a band called Northern Cross, right?
Frank: Oh my,
yeah! I’ve played [banjo] for over 30 years. I’m learning the guitar now, maybe
that’s because I’m mellowing in my old age (laughs). Well way back when I was first playing, [my
wife] Barb wasn’t even old enough to come in and hear us play. We were playing
in lounges and things and the banjo was my primary instrument. I actually
played the bass too, come to think of it. Then we got out that group and traveled
with a Christian ministry group called Living
Waters for two years. I think that was the sum and total of my musical
efforts. I tried to do some solo ministry and that bombed (laughs), so I ended
up being a carpenter and a printer working in a print shop, doing whatever I
could to make a living. The thing is, after all of those early years of just
doing this and doing that, I didn’t really figure out that I was supposed to be
a writer until I was pushing thirty.
Family: So how
did you make that transition from musician and print shop worker to your first
novel?
Frank: I think two
significant things happened. Number one (I don’t remember the exact year, close
to about 1982 or 83 but I remember where I was), I was at Deception
Pass in Washington. Barb and I were on a little
mini-vacation just to get away – we were so burnt out in ministry we didn’t
know what to do. I had pastored a church with my dad for five years and we were
just worn to a frazzle. I was kinda feeling like, well, here’s another thing
I’ve failed at – I didn’t succeed at being a musician, didn’t succeed at being
a carpenter and now I’ve kind of burned-out of the ministry. What am I supposed
to do? I remember sitting on this bluff above the ocean just talking to the
Lord and it was so clear, such a peace, such a joy, the Lord finally confirmed
in my heart, “Frank you’re supposed to be a writer.” That’s what I’d always
wanted to do. Through all this other stuff I was doing, I always went back to
the writing, and it was writing that made me feel whole, complete. So, man!
That was when I finally figured that out. Now the second thing that happened: I
had started This Present Darkness, [but]
I’d been pecking away at it for five years, so I just concentrated and got that
book done. Then I went through the process of trying to get it published, which
was long and tedious - about fourteen different publishers... and finally it
got published in 1986 – 26 years ago… 26 years!
JOHN : Wow, so did
you have other books in the works before that time?
Frank: I’d
written screenplays mostly. I was trying to get something going in movies and
television (laughs), but [those scripts are] still sitting in a drawer
somewhere… Interestingly, back in 1983 I told a story to some junior high kids
at a camp and the other camp folks and pastors said, “You should write that
down and get it published.” And so I wrote and sent it to Crossway Books and that
was The Door in the Dragon’s Throat
which turned out to be the first of the Cooper
Kids’ Adventures [Series]. So that was published and (I think) Escape from the Island of Aquarius before
This Present Darkness. As a matter of
fact, it was The Door in the Dragon’s
Throat that kind of opened the door for This
Present Darkness because Crossway turned that [proposal] down the first
time. But they liked the kids’ books and that convinced them that I knew how to
write. So they said “Could you send us that other idea you had?” I hadn’t even
typed [This Present Darkness] up yet,
it was still in rough draft form, so Barb and her mom and I got three
typewriters going, typed that up and mailed it to them (that was back in the
old days when you mailed things) and by
cracky! They published it! (In a booming voice) And the rest is history.
I was working in a ski factory up until just about 1988, and
I didn’t really become a full- time writer until Crossway decided they needed the
sequel, so I started Piercing the
Darkness. They asked me how long it was going to take, and so I told them “well
it took me five years to do This Present
Darkness,” so they said, “well how much do you need to live on?” (laughs) They
gave me an advance to live on, so I knuckled down, finished Piercing and sent it to them. I remember
my first day as a full-time writer. I got out of bed (I didn’t have to go to
the ski factory!) and I turned on my very first computer: a Corona 4 megahertz computer with a big five-inch
floppy drive. And so I wrote Piercing on
that computer…
JOHN : What kind
of computer did you write Illusion
on?
Frank: I have a Mac!
I’ve moved up in the world.
JOHN : After both
of the Darkness books you wrote a
book called Tilly which was quite a departure
from the other two. What brought about that transition?
Frank: Wow,
that’s a good question. Let’s see, I’ve got to turn back the pages of time here…
Tilly had her beginning clear back before
I was a published author. I was working odd jobs and thinking, Boy I’d like to
do a movie or TV and so I came up with this story of Tilly. I realized I couldn’t do that [TV], but I did have a tape
recorder, so I thought, I’ll write and produce a radio play. So I had this reel-to-reel
tape recorder and I borrowed some microphones from my church. I was living in a
25-foot travel trailer at the time with Barb (laughs), so we hung sleeping bags
and blankets up in the trailer to make a sound studio and I brought in actors (just
people from my church), and we recorded this story. I managed to get it
broadcasted on KCIS, the local radio station in Seattle at the time. From there we had a
little bit of interest perked [so] then (they did, or I did, or someone) sent
it down to Focus on the Family, and I remember someone told me that copies of Tilly (on little cassette tapes) were
passing each other in the hallways at Focus... So they bought the rights to
produce their own version for the radio and broadcasted it, and I think maybe
they still are! That turned out to be one of their most popular broadcasts. Somewhere
down the road [after that], I’ve got books out with Crossway and the radio show’s
popular, so [my publisher] said “maybe we should come out with a book version”
so then I wrote Tilly as a novel. So
see, she had a history going way back before I wrote my other books but then became
a book much later.
JOHN : Very
interesting. You’ve been consistently keeping people on the edge of their seats
with your suspense thrillers for years now. Tell us a little bit about your mindset
for Illusion.
Frank: Any book [I
write] is just a whole bunch of different ideas that fall together. I wanted to
do a book that was relational – which would talk about the marriage
relationship – that was kind of a metaphor or parable of the body of Christ and
its longing to be with the Bridegroom, Jesus. Ya know, that whole pervasive
spiritual longing to be reconciled to our Creator and to be right with things. So those were kind of
the thematic elements. I created Mandy as a metaphor for a lost soul wandering
around wondering who am I, where do I belong, why do I feel lost? And then there
was the cool story-vehicle that I found: let’s use stage magicians, because
then we can create this situation where Mandy is reverting in time through some
kind of a weird inter-dimensional “timewarpy” thing that also enables her to
make these incredible illusions. [Then] that opens up the opportunity to create
mystery and suspense and good guys and bad guys and the chase at the end. So
all of these things come together and finally form a story, but those are the essential
ingredients I started out with.
JOHN : At the end
of the book you make reference to the story being a lot about you and your wife.
How much of Illusion is actually you
and Barb?
Frank: Oh it’s
woven through there! Mandy and Dane are their own characters, but boy-oh-boy
yeah, as far as the spiritual journey and the emotion – really getting into the
heart of the matter – I drew upon my own love and relationship with Barb. Mandy’s
devotion to Dane, I modeled that after Barb’s devotion to me. And Dane’s (shall
we say) awe at this wonderful woman that would love him and be so tenaciously
devoted to him for 40 years, well that’s drawing upon my own feelings and
experience. See, I’m 61 now and it’s interesting, you get to this age and you start
looking back and reflecting on the journey you’ve been on. And that’s what Dane
does. A lot of that happens in this book; Dane is looking back and reflecting
on his journey and his relationship with Mandy over the years. So you don’t see
a direct correlation between Barb and me with Dane and Mandy, but the content,
the fiber, the grist, the experience from which the writer writes – that’s Barb and me.
Frank Peretti's ILLUSION
JOHN : Have you
ever approached a book and found it emotionally difficult to write?
Frank: Yeah, The Wounded Spirit is the first one
that pops into my mind. That was a very difficult book because it was talking
about all of the bullying and harassment I got growing up. Dealing with wounds
that go way back, it was still kind of a cathartic experience for me because
there’s all of this stuff in there [that]
just lies in there all your life. So I started writing about it and I had to
dredge all that up and start dealing with it. So that was a real tough book
emotionally. Illusion wasn’t
difficult emotionally, but it was emotional. I went through a lot of emotions
writing that because I was reflecting on my own love for Barb and what that’s
been all about. It’s a very, very human book. The Wounded Spirit was human
too, but also very difficult.
JOHN : At certain
points in your career various people have used your books as sort of “manuals”
for dealing with the spiritual realm. How comfortable are you with that?
Frank: I’m not
comfortable with that. That opens up this whole conundrum that (maybe other
fiction writers haven’t run into, but for some strange reason I have, where at
least in the realm of spiritual warfare) readers have a hard time
distinguishing between fact and fiction. Maybe it’s because the books came out
at a time when fiction was not a widespread genre in Christian publishing. Maybe
Christians weren’t used to fiction being fiction! (laughs) But, I’ve had folks
ask me, “Are you going to come out with a study guide to go with your Darkness books?” No, no! Study the Bible,
don’t study these books. These are just an imaginative treatment on a theme, ya
know, they’re just to paint a picture that inspires, uplifts and provides a
fictional, imaginative model of what it could be like. Over the years, my books
(as far as that goes) have been given a lot more credence than they should. I
don’t think people should take them quite that seriously. They’re not a theological
treatise; they were never intended to be. I find myself in awkward situations sometimes
because people think I’m some great authority on spiritual warfare, but I’m
not. I never have been.
JOHN : So, when
you’re confronted with that, how do you respond?
Frank: When I wrote
those books and afterward, I opened myself up to all kinds of people with all
kinds of experiences, some real and some delusional. I’ve gotten letters and
books and conversations from people with the most sordid stories of demonic,
satanic abuse and all kinds of things. I’ve talked to some who are clearly in need
of professional help, who have a serious problem but now they’ve attributed it
all to demons. Ya know, the second coming, the rapture, there are certain
topics out there that are just juicy; they’re appealing, there’s a certain
fascination with things like that. Over the years, I’ve taken a much more balanced
and sober view of all of this. I believe in the realities of what I’ve written
about, but [I think] we can get a little too obsessed with it and start getting
into realms that really aren’t healthy, I don’t like going there anymore. I
tell people I’m not a specialist about spiritual warfare… it was 26 years ago I
wrote that book. I would hope as any Christian should, that I’ve grown and I’ve
gone through other seasons and lessons of my life, and that the Lord is leading
me on to other things... That’s the interesting thing about it: you write this
book that [becomes] so popular that it’s
the book you are known for, and people
are still picking up it up and enjoying it – which is fine with me, but then I
have to make an adjustment because wow, I’m not there anymore! (laughs) So when
I meet people in the bookstores and that’s what they’re all excited about, I
still have to engage them in conversation and show my appreciation (of course!)
for how they’re enjoying [This Present
Darkness]. You can look at all of the books I’ve written over the years,
and each book reflects a different place I was in my Christian walk. In The Oath,
I was concerned about sin, how we were harboring sin and being cavalier about
it. Then in The Visitation I wrote from my own frustrations with my ministry and with
Christianity in general, how we can go through times of darkness and disillusionment
but the Lord is still with us. I wrote Prophet
to talk about my concern at how the gatekeepers of information can control what
we think. I wrote Monster just to take
a stab at evolution, and Illusion because
I’m reflecting on how beautiful it is – the gift of marriage and the gift of
love – and how it’s so sorely needed in our culture right now. I sure would
like people to catch a spark when they read this book [and say] wow, I’d love for
my love to be like that or I’d like to find a love like that, instead of all
this flaky stuff going on. It would be nice to find something that really endures.
JOHN : Frank, we
really appreciate you giving us grace to ask a question like that. Switching
gears a bit, are you a book reader?
Frank: Oh yeah! Usually
the pattern I fall into is reading fiction, to keep my own creative juices
under discipline, keep learning. It’s the same way I learned how to play the banjo.
I’d listen to other banjo players and pick up licks and see what they’re doing
– that’s how I learned. I read other fiction readers and see what they’re
doing, keep a good awareness of style and where fiction’s going. So I’m always
learning. The other area of reading I do is usually whatever I’m interested in at
the time, whatever God’s speaking to me about at the time. For example, right
now I’m gravitating toward books that deal with church history, worship, where
the church is now and where it’s going. I’ve got just a few pages left and I’ll
be done with Where in the World is the Church?
by Michael Horton. That was a good book because it shook me up in terms of the
old “four wall syndrome.” [He talks about how sometimes] everything the church has
to be within the four walls and we can’t touch the outside culture because that’s
worldly. He’s just addressing hey, God made music, He made beauty, He made literature,
and it’s to be created and used everywhere. We don’t want to get into a Christian
ghetto where we stop engaging the culture and just come up with a Christian
version of everything – staying within our four walls. So it’s a neat book
anyway. And then I read Church History in
Plain Language by Bruce Shelley and that was good because it gave a whole
history of the church, real nice read for a layman like me to go through there
and see where the church has been. That really provides context for what I’m
thinking about now because I’m struggling a lot with what the church is doing,
where it’s going, so that’s where I feel God prodding, ya know? It’s like when
I write a book I try to figure out, what’s God saying to me? What’s the subject
for today, or this year? And The Church is [the current subject], so that’s
what I’m reading now.
JOHN : One last
question: what do you do to relax?
Frank: (laughs)
Well I’ll tell you, I go out and work in the yard. I hadn’t been out to work in
awhile and the weather finally broke a little bit, we had a little sunshine. So
I went out and spaded the garden, pulled weeds, worked on our water fountain a
little bit, and boy that felt good. (In a booming voice) There’s something to
be said for nice manual labor out in the sunshine! (laughs)
JOHN : Well Mr.
Peretti, we are huge fans of your work, and we appreciate how you’ve always
been a witness for Jesus.
Frank: Well, I
appreciate that, ya know - I just want to let Jesus work through me. That’s the
big lesson I’m working on from the Lord right now, “Frank, write from your heart
and be honest.” There’s so many strains on the market ya know, write this,
write that, this is what’s hot right now, and I’m dealing with what is God saying
to me. What am I going to write about? What is from my heart and not just my
wallet (laughs). I’m glad what I’ve written resonates with you.
*To purchase Illusion,
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