Happy Monday!
Each Monday I would like to take some time to get to know some of our favorite authors. My hope is that this will help readers connect with the authors.
Today I would like to introduce you to: Andrew Huff!
Andrew is a new to me author. I had heard great things about his books and had the opportunity to “meet” him at Fiction Readers Summit this year. I’m happy to get the opportunity to get to know him better this way!
Author bio:
Andrew Huff is the author of the action-packed Shepherd Suspense Series from Kregel Publications. The first book in the series, A Cross to Kill, was a finalist in the Mystery/Thriller categories of both the 2020 Foreword INDIE awards as well as the 2020 ACFW Carol Awards. Huff is an accomplished novelist as well as screenwriter and has worked in the church media and entertainment industry after spending 10 years as a leader in local church ministry. He currently calls North Texas home where he and his beautiful wife Jae raise their brood of boys and rescue dog.
To help us get to know him, I have given him some questions and here are his responses:
Q: How long have you been writing?
A: I have been writing honestly since I was very young. I’ve always dabbled in storytelling, crafting original storylines with my action figures when I was a child. From there, I moved to drawing comics, then started dabbling in fiction writing as a young adult. It was just after getting married at the age of 22 that I sat down to write my first novel. Like many authors before me, the first full length novel I wrote was atrocious; but you have to start somewhere!
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: I am in the middle of writing the first book in a new series with Kregel called Task Force Phantom. This new series is set in the world of my previous series (Shepherd Suspense) and will follow an international task force of intelligence officers tackling issues and crises of a more global nature. The first of three books will debut in 2023.
I already mentioned the first novel I ever wrote. Recently I’ve returned to that story and am looking at potentially doing another pass at it now that I’ve gotten better writing tools and experience under my belt. It’s a rip-roaring action adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones and although it doesn’t directly tie into my other series, there are some Easter eggs that suggest the stories all take place in the same fictional universe. If all goes well, I’m thinking of releasing that book for free to my website subscribers.
Last but not least, I am also moving into screenwriting as well. I’ve had the fortunate opportunity of writing short form films and web series over the past couple of years and am working on moving into longer form screenwriting (a full-length series pilot or feature film to be exact). So I’m working on a lot of exciting things!
Q: What are some of your writing must haves? (Drink, snack, supplies, etc.)
A: My favorite type of fiction to read is action thrillers (probably not a surprise, haha). I have devoured authors such as Clive Cussler, James Rollins, and Matthew Henry. I’ve also enjoyed authors such as Dan Brown, although Brown’s novels often contain a thread of antagonism toward God and the Church. In fact, it was this hostility that prompted me to attempt to write my own action thriller with a biblical worldview at its center. Specifically, my all time favorite novels are The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum) and Sahara (Clive Cussler) with a special shout out to H. Rider Haggard’s People of the Mist as a spectacular novel that was one of the first in the action adventure genre.
I also pick up the occasional nonfiction book, usually a book on theology from thinkers such as C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. I’ll also work in a book on the craft of writing, usually focused on a particular aspect such as point of view or building characters. In between all of those might also be a book that’s been recommended and aligns with a particular interest of mine. You never know when a random nonfiction book might inspire a new fiction idea!
Q: What are some of your favorite books?
A: My favorite type of fiction to read is action thrillers (probably not a surprise, haha). I have devoured authors such as Clive Cussler, James Rollins, and Matthew Henry. I’ve also enjoyed authors such as Dan Brown, although Brown’s novels often contain a thread of antagonism toward God and the Church. In fact, it was this hostility that prompted me to attempt to write my own action thriller with a biblical worldview at its center. Specifically, my all time favorite novels are The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum) and Sahara (Clive Cussler) with a special shout out to H. Rider Haggard’s People of the Mist as a spectacular novel that was one of the first in the action adventure genre.
I also pick up the occasional nonfiction book, usually a book on theology from thinkers such as C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. I’ll also work in a book on the craft of writing, usually focused on a particular aspect such as point of view or building characters. In between all of those might also be a book that’s been recommended and aligns with a particular interest of mine. You never know when a random nonfiction book might inspire a new fiction idea!
I have saved my favorite question for last!
Q: What would you like readers to take away from your books?
A: More than anything, I want readers to finish one of my books with a smile on their face. I want the time to have gone by so fast because they were so invested in the story and caught up in the action. I write the kind of books that I love to read, books that are as fast-paced and full of thrills as any Tom Cruise movie.
I also hope that after closing one of my books a reader also understands a biblical worldview better than when they began. Whether the reader is a Christ-follower or not, I want them to feel the Christian and non-Christian characters in the story were representative of real life. And hopefully, the way the Christian characters respond to the situations in the story are informative as to how powerful the Gospel is at changing lives. Sometimes my books feature a clear Gospel message, and then sometimes the biblical worldview is simply presented in how the characters act. Either way, I want readers to be inspired to pursue Christlikeness in their own lives as well.
To find out more about Andrew and his books you can check out his website here.
I’m also featuring his most recent release, Right Cross. Its the 3rd book in the Shepherd Suspense series. I’m adding this whole series to my TBR! Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf!
About the book:
Heart-pounding action meets spiritual choices in this thrilling finale to John Cross’s saga
First he left the CIA. Then he left pastoral ministry. Now John Cross has been imprisoned in one of Great Britain’s most infamous prisons. Has he reached the end of his rope? Or is this another move in a dangerous spy game?
Christine Lewis, United News Network’s rising star television anchor, is determined to find out. But in her pursuit of answers, Christine finds herself at the center of a cyberterrorist plot to alter the balance of power in the world. From the English coastline to the Rocky Mountains, John must partner with the CIA and MI6 in a race against the clock to stop the threat of nuclear war and save the lives of everyone he holds dear.
The concluding story in the Shepherd Suspense trilogy is a globe-trotting, action-packed adventure with threads of biblical truth woven in. Fans of high-octane thrillers will be on the edge of their seats with Right Cross.
All The Bookish Adventures 