One of the perennial themes of my fiction is the supernatural, and a continuing search for what my characters, and what I, really believe in.
I recently read ‘Blood Sacrifice,' by Michael Lister, which features a death during an exorcism, a popular topic right now as the film ‘Deliver Us From Evil,' hits the big screens.
The main character of the Michael's books is John Jordan, a prison chaplain, who also struggles with his beliefs even as he investigates crimes, so I was keen to talk to the author about how we both walk the line of faith and reality.
You can watch the video below, or here on YouTube. You can also listen or download the audio on SoundCloud or below. There's also a transcription below the multimedia.
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Michael Lister is the award-winning and bestselling author of the John Jordan suspense thrillers, with a supernatural edge, as well as historical hard-boiled thrillers. He also writes non-fiction, screenplays, and short stories.
We discuss:
- How Michael's writing journey started and progressed
- How Michael was himself a prison chaplain and how his own work has impacted his writing
- What the job of prison chaplain involved
- The character of John Jordan and his struggles with faith
- Balancing belief with story and walking the fine line of religion
- How the exorcism can be read as possession, but it can be read as psychological. I come down on the side of the demonic and we talk about our own interpretations
- Why are people so interested in exorcism?
- Talking about our influences – including my own experience of Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness at aged 15
- Michael's non-fiction books about the meaning of life in film, based on a series of reviews he wrote for a paper
- The themes in Michael's work that he keeps returning to
- Sense of place and why Michael is passionate about his area of Florida
You can find Michael and his books at MichaelLister.com and on twitter @michaellister. Blood Sacrifice is here on Amazon.
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