Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
BANGOR, ME (ANS) -- “I don't honestly know when I discovered I was a storyteller. It might have been when I was eight, when my mother caught me sneaking out of the house,” says author John Michael Hileman.
“I told a yarn of how I had been sleepwalking, and she bought it! Of course it helped that I was only wearing my underwear and was, in fact, sleepwalking. But still, it was quite a story. We laughed and laughed.”
 |
Author John Michael Hileman |
In a recent interview with ASSIST News, Hileman says: “In my youth my skill as a storyteller always had me staying after class with my English teachers. It was the same lecture every time. ‘Blah blah blah, you have the talent and the brains to write. Blah blah blah, your grade would be much higher if you paid attention.’ Or something like that. I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention. Anyway, my teachers all said the same thing -- I had the ability to tell stories, but my grammar and spelling and all that other stuff stank.”
Hileman told ANS the most helpful thing he ever did for his writing career was to marry a woman who aced English.
“My wife is my editor,” he said. “She is brilliant and beautiful. Of course only the former has anything to do with your question, but I threw in the latter because I know she will edit this before I send it back to you, and because it's true.”
 |
Cover artwork for Hileman's first novel 'VRIN.' |
Hileman explained 'VRIN', more about that book, its theme, plot, and purpose.
“VRIN: ten mortal gods” is a supernatural mystery about a man stuck in a very unusual predicament. He wakes in a world that is not his own where the people believe he is a god -- and what's interesting is -- they may be right. He can see the invisible threads that hold their world together, and he can manipulate the threads to change objects with his mind. But being a god isn't all it’s cracked up to be. He must negotiate a maze of dangers to find his way home. It is a journey which takes him through layers of understanding about who he is, and how he ended up in this world.”
Hileman said VRIN is best described “as a cross between Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, and Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy.”
“It is a story of hope and redemption that will give readers a view of eternity from an entirely new perspective,” he said.
Hileman continued: “As a storyteller, what attracts me to writing is the opportunity to paint my scenes using the thoughts and emotions of the characters.
“In writing, there is a level of depth that cannot be captured with any other medium. This is especially true for the kind of stories I write: mysteries. I love a good mystery. My love for mysteries started with Origin of the Stainless Steel Rat. I wanted to know why a young man would rob a bank, and then be annoyed because the bank teller had not pushed the alarm button. For me mystery transcends genre. I am as comfortable with a Sherlock Holmes novel as I am with a Star Trek novel.”
Hileman said that if he was to compare himself to another author, it would be Ted Dekker (without the blood...).
“Our writing styles and narrative voice are strikingly similar but, unlike Ted, I don't delve into the macabre to get my reader's pulse going. I'm in the Alfred Hitchcock camp. You don't have to show the blood to thrill your audience. No offense, Ted.”
As the head of television production for the largest church in central Maine, when he’s not writing the weekly Sunday school skits, leading worship, or filming and producing his church’s weekly television program, Hileman is writing. He says he writes ‘contemporary pop fantasy with a spiritual twist.’
Hileman was asked to describe the kind of writing that he means by this, and tell us where he gets his ideas?
“There are many genres of fantasy: Epic, High, Medieval, Urban, etc,” he said. “I choose to call what I write 'Contemporary Pop' because, though I write fantasy, it is more accessible to the masses. I take familiar characters and themes, and place them in extraordinary circumstances -- not unlike Star Wars. The audience thrilled to see the special effects in the first Star Wars movie, but it was the story of a young country boy coming of age, a tender hearted smuggler, and a feisty princess that made the story transcend the genre. It wasn't simply Science Fiction -- it was a grand adventure for everyone. That's what my stories are, a story everyone can love. Case-in-point: my wife hates Science Fiction novels, but she loves my stories.”
As for where his ideas come from, Hileman said VRIN came from a dream, “but I suppose the other ideas come from all around me.
“There is nothing new under the sun, but God has a given me a gift for thinking out of the box. I simply pose a 'What if?' question, and see where it goes. If I like the outcome, I write about it.”
 |
Cover artwork for Hileman's second book 'Messages.' |
Hileman said: “The theme of Messages is, ‘Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ After a staggering business failure, I found myself wondering if God was actually directing me, or if I was following my own vain imagination. Out of this personal struggle of faith, ‘Messages’ was born.
“In Messages, I explore the concept of faith by creating an exaggerated allegory. Instead of a Christian, the main character is an agnostic, and instead of a still, small voice, I gave him an in-your-face conversation with God by way of messages leaping off signs and t-shirts and such.
“The question this character must answer is, Can I trust these messages to protect me from terrorists while I hunt down a dirty bomb in the heart of a large city? By writing Messages I was able to look at the concept of trusting God from an entirely new perspective and, as a result, my faith was increased. It is my hope that it will also increase the faith of those who read it.”
I asked Hileman about his aims and goals in writing, and what he hopes to achieve?
“I write stories for my readers, because I know who they are, and what they are looking for in a great book,” he said.
“My readers enjoy characters who are true to life, not perfectly good or perfectly bad, but a confusing mixture. My readers want a story that is fast- paced and packed with twists and turns that make them hunger to turn the page. My readers love God as much as I do, and they aren't offended if I paint my stories from a Christian world-view. And finally, my readers want stories with highs and lows, laughter and sadness, and scenes they can treasure forever.”
Hileman said he wants readers to feel like they got something more than just a good book.
“That is why I pour out my own personal experience into each chapter, and do a tremendous amount of research on things I am not familiar with. My goal is to cram as much mystery and emotion as I can into everything I write, so that folks want to read my books again and again in order to wring out every ounce of WOW!.
“One reader sent me an e-mail saying he read my first book seven times! Many others have read it at least twice. If reader feedback is any indication, I am hitting close to my goals, and that is exciting. I am a grateful man.”
When asked what does he see as the importance of novels like his to the reading public, Hileman said: “Literary Classics Book and Review said it best: ‘Messages, by John Michael Hileman, is a high-energy, fast-paced work of fiction, packed with grit and substance.’ The world needs more stories with substance.”
Hileman says he is waiting to establish himself as an author before he heads down the road of turning his novels into movies.
Of the process involved in taking that road, Hileman said:“Turning a book into a movie is fairly straightforward, however: Convert the novel to a screenplay, create a cover letter, grab a copy of LMP Literary Market Place 2011 from the library, and shop the cover letter to movie studios. Once a studio ‘Options’ the screenplay, it sits until they are ready to pool the resources and make it happen,” he said.
Readers interested in learning more about Hileman’s stories, can visit his webpage www.mystery-novel.blogspot.com and get plugged in.
| ** Michael Ireland is the Senior International Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of the National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior International Reporter |  |
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment