Author Behind the Story Blog Series - C. Kevin Thompson

 

It's been a while since we posted an interview with an author. Well near a year, actually. It wasn't part of the plan. It was simply life getting in the way of an author with some medical issues. 

"Hello." (See me waving?) "That would be me."

Yet, despite the absence of new posts, God has been good. We have had over 25,000 views since November 2024. We're on pace to break 30,000 views in a year! All I can say is, "Wow!"

When deciding who I should contact to line up our next interview, it was brought to my attention I had never done one. Of course, this was by design. I started this blog to do two things. First, to showcase other authors. Second, to be a link to any writings I published, like back when I wrote for Seriously Write and other publications. "And since you do not write for those entities any longer," one person said, "readers would like to get to know you too." 

So, after weeks of consideration, and because twelve years of work on The Blake Meyer Thriller Series has come to a close, I was urged to take this time and showcase my writing for a change on this venue as a "reward of sorts" for being faithful to the series and not giving up (and trust me, there were times when I contemplated it).

Therefore, without further ado, I'm going to sit down on the Florida Front Porch, grab a glass of sweet tea in this sweltering heat we are experiencing, and answer a few questions. 

And since interviewing myself seems a bit weird, I'm going to reword the questions a little for you...and me.

I will, however, answer the first I always put to our guests, which is, in fifty words or less, who is C. Kevin Thompson? 

Besides a writer, I am a husband, a father, a grandfather, aminister, a teacher, a school administrator, a drummer, and a sinful slave, whobecame a friend of his Master, and is striving to please HIM by being obedient (John14:14-16).

Before you ever got a notion ofbecoming a writer/author, how old were you, and what were you doing in thattime of your life?

To save time, Iwill allow my story on mywebsite to answer this question. Click on the link to read it.

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.

 

FavoriteSong of All-Time:  This is atough one. There are so many ones I like. However, the one I keep going back tois Forever by PFR

FavoriteNon-Fiction Book (other than your own & besides the Bible): Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your IdentityIn Christ by John MacArthur – This book has opened up my understanding ofthe entire Bible. Things make so much better sense now.

FavoriteBible Verse:Romans 12:1-2

FavoriteMovie:Hopscotch (featuring Walter Matthau,Glenda Jackson, Sam Waterston, and Herbert Lom). I don’t why I like this movieso much, but I saw it for the first time on TV and really liked the storyline. Ofcourse, being on TV made a big difference. They bleeped out Ned Beatty’s mouth,which was a good thing, but I didn't know it at the time. I bought the DVD years later and was shocked. “Thatwasn’t in the version I saw!” Also, this was a book turned into a movie, and both were written by the author. I haveto admit…the movie was much better.

FavoriteActor or Actress: I don’t really have a favorite, per se, for I have found allactors and actresses play some roles very well and other roles not so much. I favorpicking roles from different actors/actresses.

FavoriteTV Show:This is a tough one too. Blue Bloods,24, The Blacklist, Sherlock, Shetland, Vera, DCI Banks, are a justa few.

FavoriteNovel (other than your own): AChristmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Such a great story in so few words.

FavoriteAuthor (other than you): Fiction: Arthur Conan Doyle & Michael Crichton.  Non-Fiction: John MacArthur and F. F. Bruce

FavoriteSport:College Football. By far. There is not a close second, here, just so we're clear.

FavoriteTeam (Can be any sport, any level): Florida Gators

FavoriteSubject in School Growing Up: If I am being honest? Girls.

FavoriteSubject Now:It is a three-way tie between English, History, and certain subjects withinscience. These come in handy when writing, and I find them fascinating...now.

FavoriteTeacher in School: Mrs. Sue Crumpton – She sparked my love for writing.

FavoriteTime of the Year: Fall – A high of 65 degrees, no clouds in the sky, leavesturning color, and a steady 10-15 mph breeze? I think that will be thetemperature of Heaven, by the way..

FavoritePlace to Vacation: The beach. I could sit on a balcony and listen tothe waves come ashore forever.

FavoriteDrink:Unfortunately, Coca Cola Classic. I’m a recovering Coke-aholic, and I am gladto report I am losing my love for it (for health reasons). Coffee is a closesecond, and there will never be any recovery sought. This keeps me sane.

FavoriteFood:It’s a tie. Pizza (pepperoni) and steak (rib-eye). If I could eat these with noill effect, that’s all I would eat. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sure, I'd add some eggs to the steak for breakfast when I wasn't eating leftover pizza...and now, I'm hungry.

  

What makes youcringe?

Foods that were never intended to be eaten. I saw two videosrecently which had me dry-heaving. One was of a woman who had four large leopardfrogs positioned on a baking sheet. They were sitting on a bed of some kind oflettuce and had been bathed in some kind of oil. She then took live, blackcreatures – I could not tell if they were baby eels or some kind of leach, butbased on how active they were, I believe it was the former – and tossed one ortwo into the open mouths of the four frogs. She then took an egg mixture insome kind of Pyrex mixing bowl and poured it all over the frogs and in theirmouths. (Are you getting ill yet?) She then baked them in a primitive oven,pulled them out, and proceeded to take large tongs, grab one of the frogs, andeat it, starting with the head.

I’m out. I’ll choose starvation. "Lord Jesus, Come."

You know, we had a garden, right? It was beautiful. It had all thefood we would ever need in it (not to mention eternal life!). And I have tothink the whole earth was just like it. As Adam and Eve’s family grew, therewould be a need for more acreage and plant distribution. But instead, we wanted the one piece of fruitthat was off limits. We traded all of the lusciousness of the Garden of Eden in(and eternal life!) for baked leopard frogs. Baked frogs? Really? Oh, and the othervideo? The woman was cooking rats in a pot like gumbo. She pulled one out andstarting eating it like a cob of corn. You see how sin has tricked us intothinking such cuisine is normal? 

Everybody seems tohave a bucket list. Do you? If so, what’s on it? If not, why not?

There are several places on my bucket list I’d like to visit. I’d love totravel the roads, take the boats, and walk the streets the Apostle Paultraversed on his missionary journeys. I’d also like to walk and travel thepaths of Jesus, from Nazareth to Capernaum, from there to Jerusalem, toBethany, to Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, and the Sea of Galilee.

And then there’s Europe, Australia, Hawaii, and Alaska.Better start pinching my pennies, huh?

When you look for a new home, what are the things that are important to you?  

Funny you should ask. Ha! We’re actually doing this right now. We’ve been in the market for a new home for about six months. Although we have: 1) narrowed down the area; 2) continued to scour Realtor.com and the other sites; 3) have decided we’d like a split-plan, a living room big enough to hold the family when they come over, a walk-in shower in the master bath that doesn’t require doors, shower curtains, etc., a decent-sized lanai (pool is optional), a back yard big enough for the grandkids to play, and a kitchen with a sizeable place for food prep, like an island or “bar-type” extension; 4) and as we know floors, paint, etc., can be updated or changed to suit, we also are keeping the Lord's will in mind. When you read about John the Baptist living in the wilderness as a stark dichotomy to the religious erudites of his day, or think of Jesus when He says "the Son of Man doesn't have a place to lay His head," it puts things in perspective. Jesus and John were definitely a contrast to House Hunters.

In addition, those houses containing everything we desire are pricey at current interest rates. If we compromise, then what goes? Since this will probably (?) be our last home, it’s a difficult choice, so we are being patient and continuing to keep our ears to the ground and our eyes on Jesus.  

We are also considering building a house, too, as an option. Another option is to get a cheaper fixer-upper. We know enough people in the construction field to get help, advice, etc. If we do either of these, then we’ll make sure we can get all these things included...eventually. And I can do the flooring, tile work, etc., as that was the family business growing up. Good skills to fall back on, it I ever had to…just not sure the knees can handle it these days.

Do you have afavorite line from a movie or book? If so, what is it and explain why it isspecial to you?

Do you remember the show, Remington Steele? I’m kind of like him. I’m always quoting movies,books, comedians at various times. But some I think of or actually say are: 

     “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” from Jaws.     “Must go faster! Must go faster!” from Jurassic Park.     When people say I’m crazy, I reply: “You’re justgetting that now?” from Sherlock.      “Sleep is a weapon too.” from The Bourne Identity (the book, not themovie).     “I taught Jason Bourne everything he knows, butI didn’t teach him everything I know.” from 30 Days Hath Revenge (Sorry, I know this seems like a shameless plug, but I douse it).

 

If you could go backand have a “do over” concerning something in your life (we’re thinking aboutsomething non-writing related here), what would you have done differently?

When I was in ministry as a pastor, I was young, both inyears and in my walk with the Lord. Because of this, I listened to those aroundme I respected and took their counsel as “gospel.” I wish – and have for yearsnow - I would have followed “my gut” (which I later learned was the HolySpirit) and been obedient to His leading. Instead, it’s been the school of hardknocks, for sure, to get where I am now, to unlearn all that the powers that be taughtme about pragmatism and instead allow God to renew my mind (Romans 12:1-2).

Do you have a crazy,interesting, behind-the-scenes story about the publishing world you’d like totell your readers without boring them to death with industry gobbledygook?

Oh, there’s a few. One involves this very series we arepromoting right now, The Blake Meyer Thriller Series. I write about this alittle in the preface to the first book in the series. The first publisherstarted to go belly up without telling anyone, and when other authors startedto pull their works, it was decided by my agent at the time that I should dothe same, since the life of the contract had officially run its course.

After receiving zero responses from emails, I finally had towrite one to the then current employer of the individual who was still incharge of publishing house. It had become a situation of Christian integrity atthat point for me, and I did not feel the actions of the publishing house were honoringGod, thus having the possibility of bringing reproach on this institution as well. Interestingly, a couple of days later, I received an email from the editor, promising aformal split within thirty days. The statement came, and we signed it.

That entire process took roughly a year from start tofinish. They weren’t a shady enterprise. They came highly recommended. I justthink the company grew too large, too fast, and they were not recoupingfinancially what they were spending on the front end. Then, with losing authors left and right, the ship sunk. 

And did I tell you about the swindler who sent me a contractand then took $300 from me? That was in the infancy of my writing career when Iwas greener than green grass and about a naïve as they come. She’s since been arrested (I did not haveanything to do with her arrest), and for a while, I was receiving restitutionin the form of a check from the prison system in Texas. I’ve got about $5 of itback so far...in 20+ years. Author beware, for sure. I later learned she was on the Preditors and Editors website. Wish I had known that website existed BEFORE I traveled down that hole. Live and learn.

Of all thestories/books you have written, which one is your favorite? And what compelledyou to write this story?

My favorite so far is my first one published, The Serpent’s Grasp. When I was inmiddle school, I had aspirations of becoming a marine biologist. I guess that’swhy I like the beach so much. However, I get
deathly seasick on boats, and whenI learned marine biologists spend months at sea, I knew that wouldn’t work forme. My love for the sea never wavered, though, and The Serpent’s Grasp is proof of it. I’m also proud that it tookFirst Place in the First Fiction category (Debut Novel) in the 2013 SelahAwards, beating out some other titles which have done very well for themselvessince then.

Tell us about whatproject you are currently working on.

I recently finished Devilof a Crime, which is the last book in the six-book Blake Meyer series. It’sbeen thirteen years in the making (because of all the publishing issues Imentioned before and other things). It’s definitely been a labor of love, in away, and I could not just quit and leave Blake and others hanging out there. Toomany readers had invested time and money into the first books.

Once I get past the initial release date and marketingplans, my efforts will turn to a new mystery series. I am really excited about it.I have to admit, this first book just may become my favorite, as I really likethe characters. It’s middle grade fiction, and the books will be a series ofstandalones. It all began actually as an idea I originally wrote as adultfiction. When a friend read the manuscript and said something about the characters neededmore humor and shouldn’t be so serious all the time, I took it to heart and saton it for about fifteen years while I worked on other things. Now, I’ve takenthese two characters and pushed them back in age to middle school. Once I made thechange, the characters came alive. My critique group loves the story and thinksit may be the best thing I’ve written yet. The book is written, although thereare a few tweaks I need to make, but those should not take too long. I plan torelease it this fall (looking at mid-November). The cover art work is all donetoo. 

If you have noticed, I haven’t given away the title, andthat’s for a reason. We will be doing a build up to the cover reveal and thenthe pre-order release date hopefully sometime in mid-to-late September. Be on the lookout!

What surprised youthe most during the research for the series you are finishing up?

The reality of it. What do I mean? As I was writing the Blake Meyer series, article after article came out, along with a couple of books, demonstratingin real time what Colin Murphy and his ensemble of bad actors had cooked up.One such example of many was an article by Meghan Roos in Newsweek that came out in October of 2021, eightyears after 30 Days Hath Revenge waspublished. Eighteen people died from using an aromatherapy spray they purchasedat Walmart, which was produced in India for Better Homes & Gardens. Thespray had a rare but deadly bacteria in it. CDC officials determined thebacteria came from mud in a nearby area close to the production facility. Apparently,workers carried it into the facility on either their hands or feet, and itsomehow got into the spray as it was being produced and packaged. At least,that’s the explanation that came out, which interestingly enough, has vanished fromthe original article. It was a CDC investigation, and it now says that webpagehas moved and is no longer available. It could be all on the up-and-up.However, after reading Ken Alibek’s book, Biohazard,I’m inclined to think there may be more there than meets the eye.

If you had one person you couldmeet (think ONLY Bible characters here) and could spend as much time as youwanted with that individual, who would it be besides Jesus, and why?

Again,a hard decision. However, I think it would be Daniel. He was faithful from ayoung age, was taken into captivity, stood up to the most powerful man in thatday, Nebuchadnezzar, and showed by a righteous life how not only God could andwould honor it, but also how God would protect him. Daniel never stood in frontof the Babylonian ruler’s palace and protested the food like many Christian would do today (Daniel 1). He didn’trefuse to help the evil king, like many Christians would do today. Instead, he was obedient to God and was honoredfor it by interpreting the king’s dreams. As a reward, he was lifted up into aposition of power as chief of the Magi (Daniel 2), which God was able to use toset the stage for Matthew 2 hundreds of years later. Then, when the king wantedeveryone to bow to the image of himself and forbade anyone from honoring anyother god but him, Daniel remained faithful. He didn't protest or write op-ed pieces. He just continued to pray and worship God alone. Evil men plotted against him,tried to use his righteousness against him, and had him ultimately thrown intothe fiery furnace (Daniel 3). You know the rest of the story as the chapter progress.

Danielserved under four different kings and faced many blessings and hardshipsbecause of his faith. Yet, each time Daniel was falsely accused, he stood fastto his faith, and God delivered him. As a result, the kings who attempted totake his life ended the scenes by commanding the entire nation to honor the Godof Daniel. Thus, Daniel lived a Beatitude life for God before the Beatitudeswere the Beatitudes. He thus fulfilled what Jesus said at the end of thoseBeatitudes, speaking of being salt and light, “In the same way, let your lightshine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Fatherin heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Daniel did exactly that, and that would be a man Iwould want to get to know better.

What Bible scripture has impactedyour life the most, and why?

Matthew5:3-12. Jesus lays out what kind of person enters the Kingdom of Heaven inthese verses. They start with the first step, a broken and contrite heart and arealization of who you are (a destitute beggar) in light of who God is (Holyand Righteous). It progresses through each verse, showing us how the heart transformsinto an eventual peacemaker, i.e., one who tells others about Jesus so they,too, can be at peace with God instead of at war with Him (Romans 5:1). And ofcourse, there comes the sharing the gospel part and the hatred and persecutionit brings. But take heart. Our "enemies" are the mission field, andthey hate us because of the Jesus we share with them. It’s not personal,although it feels that way. It’s the devil’s children believing his lies andfeeling the sting and shame of sin when we shine Jesus’s light on their wounds.

Is there anything else you’d liketo share with our readers about you, or anything we didn’t cover?

Ihave more ideas for books than I have time to write them. I good problem tohave, I hear, as some authors struggle to churn out a book a year. Once Iretire, then it will be full speed ahead.

Ihave a book (could be a small series) already foreshadowed in the Blake MeyerThriller Series. It would be a follow-up series, starring Julee Scarfano, witha cameo appearance by Blake. There will be a great deal of research to do forit, so it’s on the back burner currently.

Ialso have Book 2 in the middle grades fiction series mapped out and ready towrite, and this series could have as many as 20-30 books in it before it's over. We'll see. I have some unique plans for it, for sure, that I believe all readers will appreciate. 

AndI have some ideas for another series of adult fiction standalones that wouldrequire me to travel and research areas and their history, which would be awonderful thing. It would be a great tax write-off, too, right? And maybe Icould combine this idea with that bucket list I mentioned earlier…

Alright everybody, I'm done. That wasn't too painful, was it?

If you're interested in following me on social media, through my newsletter (which only comes out when we have a new book release), then you can go to my website @ www.ckevinthompson.com and find all my social media outlets there, which include Bookbub, Facebook, Instagram, X, Amazon, Pinterest, and Goodreads (although I will admit, some of those are more updated than others).

Thanks for stopping by!

Kevin  

 

PS - This interview was done and uploaded on July 12, 2025. On Monday, July 14th, I learned, along with thousands, that Pastor John MacArthur had been hospitalized, and the prognosis was not good. Within hours, Pastor John left this earthly dwelling for his heavenly home. I'm happy for him. He's where we all long to be, and we do not grieve like the word does, for we have hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). However, I am sad to see him go. Even in the last year of preaching, God was giving him fresh insight, and thankfully, he shared it with others just like he did for well over fifty years.