Author: Rob Currie
Submitted: January 14, 2020
Tell us a little about yourself. Rob is an award-winning author whose work has been published in The Chicago Tribune Online, The Detroit News, and Focus on the Family Magazine. This is his third book. His experience with kids includes raising two sons as well as years of teaching Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, children's church, and Pioneers. He teaches psychology at Judson University. His hobbies include playing basketball, writing humorous poetry, and cooking.
What was your motivation behind this project? It started as a fun father-son project, a story for us to write together with no intention of seeking publication. But when editors offered encouragement, I decided to seek a wider audience.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? The book is designed to grab kids' attention from the first page with exciting action and compelling characters as it plants gospel seeds in readers' hearts.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? Looking back I see the providence of God because of how the book developed. Probably half a dozen times veteran editors or agents asked for a major rewrite in order for them to consider the book. After six months of hard work I'd submit it only to be turned down. But I am grateful for that process because each time I went through that cycle of revision, the story improved significantly and finally became what it needed to be. I'm grateful to those individuals for sharing their insight and expertise.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? Where do I start? As a children's author I have the perfect excuse to read great books for kids. A few I've enjoyed are Code of Silence by Tim Shoemaker, Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Among my favorite books for adults are In His Steps by Charles Sheldon, and Bible Characters from the Old and New Testament by Alexander Whyte.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: Half of the author's royalties go to Compassion International, a Christ-centered organization which serves the physical, economic, and spiritual needs of children in poverty around the world.
