Guide to categories: Author Interview – an interview with an author

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About the Book

Book: Mojave Rift

Author: J.W. Gilbert

Genre: Christian Fiction – Action/Adventure

Release Date: March, 2021

Mojave Rift follows a young man, Arcon, as he attempts to leave an isolated community called ArcPoint. He seeks an outsider, Elaina, a young woman with the skills to help him cross the treacherous CalNeva Rift. For eight years they’ve violated the law restricting all contact with those known as the Mojave People. Jesus himself made that restriction, after he returned to rule earth from Jerusalem over a hundred years ago. Ranger Dan is the man in charge of upholding that law, and has no idea what he’s getting roped into.

Click here to get your copy

About the Author – John Gilbert Wozniak

John Gilbert Wozniak (JW Gilbert) grew up in an Oregon farm town. He retired in 2016 as an international data center cooling expert. Around the turn of the century, he began writing as a hobby. After years of expert guidance and a lot of editing, his ArcPoint trilogy is complete. His intent is to write books that are enjoyed by all ages—biblically accurate—with a touch of adventure, romance, and humor. JW has been married to his best friend Darlene since 1980. They are both retired and enjoy the hobby of creating lapidary jewelry. He is a member of Oregon Christian Writers, Mensa, ALLi, and the Tualatin Valley Gem Club.

More from JW Gilbert

I became an avid fan of Christian fiction, especially after reading This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti. I was working 12-hour night shifts as a data center technician and had ample time on my hands. At one point I was devouring a book per night but my favorite genre, action/adventure, was almost non-existent in Christian fiction. So, as is the case with many would-be authors, I decided to write the book I wanted to read. The setting? The future when Jesus is ruling the world, as told in Revelation chapter 20. My protagonist? Arcon, an adventurous young man from an isolated tribe of people. The premise? The people of ArcPoint don’t know that the outside world is safe and that Jesus has returned.

My first attempt at writing went well. I wrote my first draft in three weeks, edited it for six months, and landed a hybrid publisher with the final manuscript. The book garnered four- and five-star reviews, so I was pleased. (Not bad for someone who’d flunked English three times.) I was glad the reviews showed that the writing was good, but my readers were missing the message. I pulled it off the market.

For the past few years I’ve been honing my skills as a writer and reworking my ArcPoint story. There have been a few challenges. While researching, I found over a thousand verses in the Bible that sparked ideas for the time period I was writing about. Now the original book has become a trilogy, plus a prequel. However, traditional Christian publishers were not in the market for adventure stories, so I had to learn about self-publishing. And then, like a page right out of my prequel, the unexpected happened—a pandemic. I decided it would be best to put off publicizing until the entire trilogy was available. Now it is.

To see if the first book was ready to be self-published, I sent copies of Mojave Rift to Reader’s Favorite for professional reviews. It got five stars across the board. Then I entered Mojave Rift in their contest and won a silver medal. All the reviewers seemed to appreciate my inclusion of action, romance, and humor in a squeaky clean, fast-paced, futuristic novel.

I hope my ArcPoint series receives high scores from English teachers, but since I still don’t know a passive voice from a hole in the plot, we’ll see. Writing likable characters and adventure stories that run deep and inspire is something I enjoy. I’ve worked hard and it’s a thrill to get high audience scores.

BTW, did I mention the world-building for the isolated tribe in my story is set in America? Now that was a challenge.

Author Interview with J W Gilbert

When did you first know you wanted to be an author? 

I started writing simply as a hobby. My career in HVAC had propelled me to international status, and I loved it. But the more I wrote about what I learned about God, the more I started to love that. One day I was at a massive trade show, preparing for a five-year project. I was too young to retire, but I’d had enough. I found a quiet place to cry out to God to let me pursue writing. That evening at my hotel, I found an email offering me a lucrative early retirement. I took it, and have been writing ever since. 

When you are not writing, what other hats do you wear? What do you do for fun?

I’m a lapidary artist, creating works of art out of semi-precious stones.

What is your favorite genre to read? What about that genre draws you?

It has to be Christian, but either biographies in non-fiction, or spiritual thrillers in fiction (like Peretti).

Who did you have in mind as you wrote the book?

It may sound narcissistic, but myself. There is a bit of me in almost every character. I’ve lived many of the scenes in the series to some extent. But each character is also scrambled with other people I know. I also wrote it to satisfy my own need for something to read. I couldn’t find any Christian action/adventure books.

Which character did you enjoy writing most?

Probably Ranger Dan. I love humor, and I was able to give him a lot of it. Arcon was a close second, mostly because he is a lot like me.

What is your current WIP?  What can you tell us about it?

Mojave Lee. It is a prequel to the ArcPoint trilogy, taking the reader from our current time period to about 60 years in the future. I plan to write it in a different style than the trilogy.

Thanks for joining us today and giving a bit of a peak at who you are.

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Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, October 10

Splashes of Joy, October 11 (Author Interview)

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Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 14

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, October 15 (Author Interview)

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A Modern Day Fairy Tale, October 17 (Author Interview)

Beauty in the Binding, October 18 (Author Interview)

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Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, JW is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a print copy of Mojave Man!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/28432/mojave-rift-celebration-tour-giveaway

Read more Author Interview posts