RA | During my college years I was
trained in a church environment
where the pastors were authoritarian,
legalistic, and verbally abusive.
Consequently, I became just like
them. The first church that I planted
in Europe—made up of people
from more than twenty different
nations—graciously helped me see how
destructive I was becoming. My journey
out of this legalistic mindset was long
and painful. So, it’s true; my first three
novels were birthed out of a therapeutic
need to put into writing the things
I learned and witnessed during my
painful transition from strict legalism
to gracious freedom. A Quiet Roar,
however, was simply written to provoke
further discussion, further debate, and
further study on the subject of female
pastors. And I felt that the rural south
would be a great and fun setting for this
subject matter.
Q | In what way do you feel writing fiction
personally helps process the “nonfiction”
hardships in your own life?
RA | A good work of fiction, I believe,
can convey important messages that
we will listen to, messages that we
wouldn’t listen to if conveyed by a real
person. We are not as defensive when
we are standing on the outside reading
“someone else’s” story and are suddenly
slapped with a stinging rebuke or selfrevelation.
I find that my characters—
though fictitious—talk to me, teach me,
and correct me in a way that wins my
respect and gets my attention.
Q | Talk about some of the main topics
that drive this particular storyline and
why you chose these particular themes.
(i.e., personal tragedy, racial prejudice,
religious misogyny, lack of connection in
the community toward Hispanic families
etc.)
RA | I’ve learned through the years
that we all have blind spots. If we only
associate with people who look like we
do, think like we do, and believe like we
do, then we will all be blind in the same
areas and never know we are blind. The
mark of a wise man is someone who
welcomes correction. All the abovementioned
topics that saturate A Quiet
Roar are areas where many of us are
blind. I selected these particular themes
to help us become aware of our blind
spots and to promote healthy changes.
Q | Where can readers buy a copy of your
book?
RA | The book, either as an e-book
or paperback, can be purchased from
Amazon. An autographed copy can
be ordered from my website at www.
RandallArthur.com
A Quiet Roar is available now on Amazon (both in paperback and e-book versions). Autographed copies, along with wholesale copies,
are available at http://www.RandallArthur.com
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/www.RandallArthur.com