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Senin, 23 Mei 2011


Interview with Kevin Benton

Kevin Benton is an inspirational speaker determined to share the message of hope, healing, and hell with all who will listen. His latest book, "A Field Trip To Hell", takes the reader into the depths of Hell, exposing them to its 30 revealed torments, while sharing Biblical accounts of Hell in a non-threatening, yet entertaining way.

What was your path towards publication like?
My path towards publication was one of just believing in my manuscript or soon to be book and soliciting it to publishers for publishing consideration. Out of the three publishers that I sent my manuscript to, all three expressed an interest in publishing my book. I felt in my heart that Liberty University Press was the publisher for me because they provided the much needed personal touch that I desired.

In this business, sometimes your relationship with your publishers can very be impersonal and distant but because I really valued whose hands I placed my manuscript in, Liberty University Press was the unanimous decision. It also helped that Liberty University Press is my Alma matter and I already had a relationship with the people and the school.


Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book?
My recent book is called "A Field Trip to Hell". It is a Christian-fiction book that is, despite the title, very encouraging, inspirational, and informative.

It is a versatile book with various characteristics to it. Some have even described it as being two books in one. It is autobiographical, doctrine, and theology. It is also Christian-fiction and evangelistic in nature.

I begin by telling my personal story of experiencing pain and suffering, or what we sometimes classify as going through "hell". In this portion I describe many of the insurmountable odds that I had to overcome to go from the worst basketball player in the playgrounds all the way to the professional basketball ranks.

One of the trials I had to overcome was being sick to the point of death and the doctors giving me one day to live and the miraculous event that caused me to walk out of the hospital in three days. Afterwards I transition into answering some questions about the ultimate place of pain and suffering…Hell.

In this part of the book, I answer some of the most widely asked questions about Hell. Next, I take my readers on an actual descriptive field trip, or tour, of Hell and expose them to the 30 revealed torments of hell firsthand. I even explain why there are 30.

Next I encourage readers to understand that God loves them, which is the true focal point in life.


What is your biggest obstacle when it comes to pitching yourself as a writer and what steps have you taken to overcome that obstacle?
The biggest obstacle when it comes to pitching myself as a writer is the topic of my book itself. Hell is an avoided and shunned topic and many people will not even venture to find out what the book has to offer simply due to the book's topic.

I overcame this obstacle by using an elegant looking picture of myself that says “author” and not "devil worshipper". Sometimes people perceive me the wrong way because of the topic of my book so my picture sends a message that I’m just a humble and down to earth guy who wrote a book on the topic of hell.

To add to this, when I send a pitch about my book, I convey the total message of the book which is surprisingly encouraging, inspirational, and informative.

Lastly, I let them know that I make a transition to what is deemed the ultimate place of pain and suffering by taking readers on a field trip there, expose them to the 30 revealed torments of Hell firsthand without them having to stay for eternity. After that, they go back home for a lack of a better statement.

This makes the topic more appealing, less dreaded…as people wonder, "What are the 30 torments of Hell and why 30?" All of which are answered by reading my book.


How do you balance your life as a writer with your duties as a parent or spouse?
Balance is not only the key but a must because giving birth to a book is almost like having a child, so-to-speak. The hard work begins after publishing the book because it is 90% marketing… which is an ever-turning and sometimes tiresome wheel.

What works well for me, and my family, is my work schedule. I am a Child Care/Social Worker who works the midnight to eight in the morning shift. When I come home from work my wife is heading to work. When she comes home I’m pretty much done with my work for that day and we are able to spend our quality family time together. Still…Sometimes during the more busy times, you just have to put your work down and for the sake of keeping your priorities in order to make sure that your family comes first.


What is your best advice for getting past writer's block?
When experiencing writer's block, take a break and go do something that you find relaxing, enjoyable, and fun and then return to your writing with a handy thesaurus next to you to help you through it. If you can find antonyms and synonyms to words that you may want to use, you will eventually find the word that you need or want. In the more severe cases of writers block, you may want to take a day or two hiatus from writing and come back refreshed.


What was the best writing-related advice you ever received?
When writing, use the technique called "Show and tell". You want to not only just tell what is happening, but describe what is happening. This keeps readers engaged and makes for captivating books… books that once you start reading them, you just can’t seem to put them down.

There is a plethora of writing-related advice that I have received but his technique has helped me tremendously. It is so rewarding to hear people say, in reference to my book, “Once I started reading your book, I can’t seem to put it down.”


What do you feel is the single most detrimental thing a writer could do to destroy his/her career as a writer?
In my humble opinion, plagiarism is a detrimental and very quick way to destroy your career. To me, this is the unpardonable sin for all writers. You lose credibility but most of all respect as a writer and as a person. If this label is attached to a writer, it will most likely follow you for the rest of your writing career and it will be very hard to shake.


What’s ahead for your writing?
To be honest, I’m not sure but I do have some other field trips that I would like to take my readers on. I have an idea about some other concepts but I really have not decided. That the one thing that I like about fictional books is that you can take your readers anywhere you want and it accepted.

Visit Kevin Benton at http://www.kevinbentonministries.com/

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This post was sponsored by The Dabbling Mum.

For more articles geared towards authors and writers, check out DM's Writing Center.
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