Sean Bastable is the author of this week’s book review in ‘So What’ (see ‘My Simple Faith’ in the book review section). We thought it would be good to catch up with Sean and find out a little more about him and his book.
SW: Sean, this is the first book you have authored – describe the process behind it for us. Had you always wanted to write as a long-cherished dream or calling, or did the compulsion to write just come out of the blue?
Sean: I think everyone wishes they could write a book at some point in their life and I guess I'm the same in that respect. But this particular book was very much a spontaneous, accidental thing. I didn't say, "Ooh, I'd like to write a book now" and then sat down and wrote. It was more of a spontaneous thing that just sort of happened. My dad had not been well and been fighting cancer for five years and at one point I was sitting next to him in hospital and started to write. And I think that when a member of your family is not well, there's a lot of emotion that comes to the surface and the book was kind of birthed out of that. I just started to write pondering God and thinking about what happens in life beyond what we see, and within four or five days I'd written the first few chapters.
SW: Try to describe in one sentence what your book is about.
Sean: It's a book about God and Love and everything else and the fact that you can only reason so far - the final step is always a leap of faith, whatever path you choose.
SW: Since the book was published, what has the general response from the public been? Has it achieved all you hoped it would?
Sean: Writing a book is one thing, getting people to read it is a whole other thing all together! But as my cousin keeps reminding me, success is not about the number of books sold, it's the number of lives changed. Looking back over the last couple of months though, I'd say it's been a reasonably good start given that it's more of a hobby than a job. I'm also very shy and completely rubbish at selling anything, which hasn't helped much. Highlight of the year though was a 30-min documentary and TV interview with Vision Magazine and Trinity Broadcasting Network that aired in September. They did a great job of putting it all together and I got to drive a Ferrari!! You can check out the video on the website www.mysimplefaithbook.com.
SW: Do you have any writing projects you are currently working on? If so, can you give us a general idea what to expect?
Sean: Yes! I also work with Faith for Daily Living, a non-profit organisation that publishes a Christian daily devotional booklet every two months. Our latest initiative that I'm very excited about is the launch of a new student edition for younger readers that comes out in January 2011. Readers can find out more on the Facebook Fan page (Faith for Daily Living - Student Edition) or by emailing ffdl@saol.com. Then I've also started writing a sequel to my book, "My Simple Faith [IN ACTION] - and why I don't want to be run over by a bus!" It's a slow process, but hoping to have something readable towards the end of next year.
[Picture depicts Sean behind the wheel of a (borrowed) Ferrari. You will find out the significance of this if you read the book].