Eddie Gaston

Verified Silver Account

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

I love working out. I am a 57-year-old personal fitness trainer. I am blessed with good health. I can still do exercises that were hard to do when I was half the age I am now: One-arm pushups, pistol squats, handstand pushups, and some beast mode cardio. I also enjoy listening to music. I like modern praise and worship. I am also a fan of classic rock and some hard rock as well. I love writing. I would like to be in a position where I could write more. I like going to church, reading my Bible, and fellowshipping with friends.

When and why did you start writing books?

I started writing 30 years ago. I started mostly because I saw it as an intellectual challenge. I was reading a lot of books at the time. I wondered how authors did it. They brought 80-100k words together to create a flowing, connected experience that evoked emotion. That intrigued me. At the time, I had trouble writing a three-page letter that conveyed my thoughts in a way people could understand. So, I challenged myself to write a novel. Since then, I have written five novels, some novellas, and numerous short stories.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

I started letting people read my work and got good reviews. I was smart enough to not just listen to what my family had to say. I was in a position where I could give my writing to total strangers and have them read it. They had no reason to tell me anything other than the truth when they reviewed my work. Those beta readers telling me that my writing was really good and moving is what made me decide to write professionally.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

Gabriel Clayborn, the protagonist in His Amazing Grace, is my favorite. I call him protagonist. He is also antagonist because in many situations he is his own worse enemy. I can relate. I lived a lot of my life making my own path more treacherous simply by making bad choices, being hardheaded, or just because I didn't love myself enough to do better.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

Definitely His Amazing Grace. I have sometimes referred to it as cutting a vein and bleeding all over the page. There are many life experiences that I pulled on in writing that book. Even though it is fiction, there are a lot of true life emotions in those pages.

Who is your favourite author and book?

This isn't a one-answer question. Books: The Holy Bible, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Five, The Stand, Shogun, and many more. Authors: King, Michael Marshall, myself, Cormac McCarthy, and of course many more.

What book are you reading right now?

The Bible and Robert McCammon's The Five for maybe the fifth time.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

God, life, past experiences, hopes for the future, people.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Watch movies, read, listen to music, workout, and cook.

Do you have any new books in the works?

Yes. I am working on a Self-help journal, a commentary on John's gospel, and I'm also editing some novels that were written as secular suspense/thrillers but I now want them to be more in line with Christian fiction.