Author Behind the Story Blog Series - Tez Brooks
Elections. Our forefathers obviously thought they would be a good idea. And in light of what they faced - a tyrannical king imposing his will upon masses two thousand miles away - we can understand their reasoning.
What our forefathers believed, too, was in the general goodness of man. If left to decide, they designed a constitution, allowing the American to always choose the right thing, the right side, and the right candidate. Well, at least the majority will do so, that is.
What our forefathers failed to understand or believe was Isaiah 5. There a section in that chapter that aptly describes the state of the world as I write. Evil is good. Good is evil. Darkness is Light. Light is Darkness. Bitter is sweet, and sweet is bitter. People are wise in their own sight. Getting drunk is a badge of honor and makes everyone smile (Have you seen the beer commercials?). Wicked people are declared righteous for a bribe. Those who are righteous have their good standing removed. No matter how much you organize mankind into this or that kind of society, his sinful nature will twist that governmental structure into an evil empire run by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).
Said all that to say this: Make sure you are serving the right Kingdom (Matthew 4:17). The Kingdom of Heaven has all of those things listed above correct. Evil is still evil. Good is what God is, and He alone, according to Jesus (Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19). Light is still Light, and darkness comes from the evil one.
This is where our next guest comes in. He, too, is trying to point people in the direction of the heavenly kingdom. And yes, we know we are a week late in posting this blog interview, as we typically post on the second Wednesday of the month. However, our guest was out of the country, so we cut him a little slack on the deadline.
Welcome with me our next guest to the Author Behind the Story Blog Series, Tez Brooks!Tez, we need you to kick this interview off in traditional ABTS fashion. Give us a quick bio.In fifty words or less, who is Tez Brooks?
A multipleaward-winning author, filmmaker, and speaker, Brooks was recently namedone of the Top Writing Coaches by the Coach Foundation. His work appears inGuideposts, Power for Living, The Upper Room, CBN.com, YouVersion, Focus on theFamily, and more. He and his wife are full-time missionaries with fourchildren.
I’m going to give you a shotgunlist of favorites. List your favorite in each category and then tell us in onesentence why it is your favorite.
On your mark. Get set. Go!
FavoriteSong of All-Time: “Xanadu” by Olivia Newton-John because it says somuch and makes so much sense.
FavoriteNon-Fiction Book: The 1939 Farmer’s Almanac. It’s life-changing, weatheror not you read it.
FavoriteBible Verse:“Jesus wept.” (Amplified Bible)
FavoriteMovie:“The Swimmer” (1968)starring Burt Lancaster. The plot and the acting will leave you shaking yourhead in wonderment.
FavoriteActor or Actress: Eve Plumb. I am still not sure why she never won anEmmy.
FavoriteTV Show:It’s a toss-up between Teletubbies or Barney and Friends. (Hmmm....)
FavoriteNovel:Farrah Fawcett… oh wait! I thought you said “navel.” (I'm not even going to touch this...both literally and figuratively.)
Favorite Author: Paul Sheldon
FavoriteSport:I don’t care for sports, I’m not athletic. So let’s say, tic-tac-toe.
FavoriteTeam: Team Edward from Twilight? (I'm getting a little worried about this interview...)
FavoriteSubject in School: Study Hall
FavoriteSubject Now:I’m not in school now.
FavoriteTeacher in School: None of my teachers are in school. They allgraduated decades ago.
FavoriteTime of the Year: 12:17 pm
FavoritePlace to Vacation: Earth…for now
Well, that went well, uh, I mean, not too bad. The "Dad Jokes" crowd will love it. :-)
Everybody seems tohave a bucket list. Do you? If so, what’s on it? If not, why not?
Mylife as a missionary with the Jesus Film Project has taken me all over theworld. So by God’s grace, much of my list is checked off. But I’d like tosee the Egyptian pyramids and walk the Great Wall of China, if the Lord sends methere at some point.
If you had your lifeto live over again, besides being an author (which we guess would be yourobvious answer), what profession would you choose?
I have a long history of acting and directing in the '80s and '90s. If I could have made enough to live on, I would have been afull-time actor. I loved acting in my younger days and the thrill ofperforming, especially in faith-based theater and films.
Besidesstorytelling, what talents do you have?
I paint (that talent was passed down from mygrandfather) although I'm not as good as he was. I also sing, act, and anythingcreative. One day I‘d like to learn how to play the guitar.
Of all thestories/books you have written, which one is your favorite? And what compelledyou to write this story?
I think I appreciate “Adult-o-Nomics”the most because it’s filled with wisdom from scripture, myself,and others.It’s a practical advice book for young people who are just launching out ontheir own for the first time. I had fun compiling it and making it easy toread.
Do you ever receivenegative reviews from readers? If so, how do you respond when you see them?
Honestly, it doesn’t bother me. I have a thickskin, because I deal with rejection all the time from publishers. So, when areader posts a negative review I remember not everyone has to like me or mybooks. That’s ok. A lot of people didn’t like Jesus either.
Tell us about whatproject you are currently working on.
I’m working on a book that offers 100 discussionquestions you should ask your fiancé before the wedding. It is an expandedversion of an articleI wrote for Focus on the Family based on the pre-marital counselingI have done with couples as their officiant.
Has your writingcrossed over into other areas? If so, how? If not, will it?
I have written flash fiction a few times and a fewshort film screenplays that won awards at film festivals. One in particular istitled Jangled.I enjoy writing these because they are quick to complete, and they help medevelop the skills for a longer work of fiction in the future. Creating storyfrom scratch is so much harder than nonfiction. I really admire authors who canwrite engaging stories with interesting characters.
As a writer, what is“success” to you? And has that “definition” changed over time as you havetraveled down the writer’s path?
It used to mean obtaining a good contract from alarge pub house and selling thousands of books. I was one of those authors whofelt that only traditional publishing through an agent was the way to go. Overthe years, however, my definition of success is “finishing the book and makingit available” to those who need it. If that means self-publishing and onlyselling a few hundred, so be it. We only have a few short decades on this planet, and we each have a lot of valuable information, advice, and stories to pass onto others. Matthew 25 reminds us that if we are to be good stewards of thetalents God has given to us, we must work to invest those, not bury them on ourhard drives.
What’s the craziest thing you haveever done?
I was going to say skydiving for my 50th birthday but maybe that’snot so crazy these days. A lot of people have done that. So I’ll go with eatinga tarantula and a rat. Yes, you read that correctly. In Cambodia I ate a friedtarantula. And in Africa I ate a BBQ’d rat because someone dared me.
That's why I could not be a world traveler to just anywhere. God banned certain things in the Old Testament for a reason. I'm convinced tarantulas and rats didn't make the cut in Acts 10 when Peter saw the sheet come down from heaven. Just sayin'...
We know “Readers are leaders, andleaders are readers.” Is there a book you’ve read in the past five years or so thathas helped you become a better you? If so, which one was it, and how did itaffect your life?
Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul. It changed my entire spiritual life and openedmy eyes to the amazing fact that I can bring nothing to the table when it comesto being born-again. God brought it all, and my salvation is not fragile. If youstruggle with your identity in Christ and your security as his child, this bookis for you.
I love R.C., but I have never read a book by him yet. Guess what's going on my TBR list?
When you look for a new home, whatare the things that are important to you?
I prefer newer homes, because I’m not a fixer-upper kind of guy. I need a greatview from the front or back. I need a room for my writing studio and a spareroom for company. A nice yard is important to me. I need lots of natural lightinside. In my bathroom, I don’t like open floor plans….I need a toilet room witha door please. LOL.
What Bible scripture has impactedyour life the most, and why?Phil. 3:12 is my favorite verse. It reminds me how desperately I need Christ tocontinue transforming me.
Isthere anything else you’d like to share with our readers about you, or anythingwe didn’t cover?
I love helping other writers. Teaching at writer’s conferences and sharing myknowledge is fun, and I love spending time with my peeps. When I’m not attendingthose, I enjoy coaching authors through Purple Mountain Literary Services. It’sso life-giving to me to help writers improve their craft and get a leg up by learningabout the industry. I have a few openings for clients, and if any of yourreaders are interested, I’m happy to connect through my website attezbrooks.com
Okay, readers, you heard him. Looking to improve your writing career? There you go. "Get a wiggle on," as Vera Stanhope would say.
But if not, and you're just looking for more books and articles to read, then check out Tez's website and social media accounts:
Thanks, Tez, for taking the time to stop by the Florida Front Porch and chat for a while. And to our readers, your numbers are growing! We're almost at 100,000 hits! Thank you for making ABTS and all this blog has to offer a success!
Until next time, which will be in December, May God bless America, and more importantly, may America bless God!
Kevin
PS - And don't miss out on Kevin's latest book, A Pulse of Time (A Blake Meyer Thriller - Book 5 of 6). Book 6 - the final "chapter" - is slated for release Dec. 2024!
