Most of the authors I interview on the blog are like me: struggling self-published authors hoping to somehow find an audience, trying to sell a book here and there. But today we’ll hear about a successful author, Greg S. Baker. A prolific author, much of his work is self-published. But he seems to have found the formula for getting sales.
So I thought I’d like to hear from him on the blog, and that you might too.
Q: In a couple of paragraphs, tell us about your journey to being an author.
Greg: I’ve always wanted to write, ever since I was a teenager. I even made an attempt at writing a fantasy novel with a friend in high school. We mailed the manuscript off to a big-name publisher and received a very nice rejection letter some months later. Discouraged, I set it aside to follow a different plan that God had put on my heart: pastoring. I pastored a church in Colorado for 13 years, but the passion for writing never went away.
While pastoring, I began writing again, and even landed several contracts with smaller publishers. This eventually led to a passion for writing that would honor God more so than my first attempt as a teenager did, so I stepped down from pastoring and began a ministry in Christian literature. While writing my own books, I also began a ministry specifically to help other Christian authors: Affordable Christian Editing Services. And since then, I’ve published over 20 books myself and our small service has helped thousands of authors with editing and publishing services.
Q: The Davidic Chronicles seem to be the mainstay of your published books. Tell us a little about the series, and specifically about Book 1, Anointed. It has over 450 ratings and a high ranking on Amazon. Is this your highest selling book?
Greg: The Davidic Chronicles is by far my most popular series. It is a set of biblical fiction novels revolving around the life of King David from when he is anointed by Samuel to when he was again anointed king in Hebron. To honor the Scriptures, I did not change any of the facts we are given from his life. But I fictionally filled in what might have happened between those facts. The goal was to create an interesting and entertaining read that would create wonder and excitement for the Scriptures. I wanted people to think, “Is that really in the Bible?” And then I wanted them to go and look for themselves. I tied together many of the facts that people overlook, such as the fact that Joab was David’s nephew or that Abner was Saul’s cousin. I wanted people to see that there is more to the Bible than they think with a casual read.
I also incorporated a tremendous amount of research into the time period, including the culture of the Philistines (Israel’s main rival during David’s life). I flushed out the characters with the personalities that the Scriptures hint about where possible and insert aspects of the wider culture that are often overlooked.
I really did enjoy writing them.
Q: Is the Davidic Chronicles series complete, or are more volumes coming? Perhaps you’ve moved on to a new biblical fiction series.
Greg: I have no plans on expanding the Davidic Chronicles at this time. I wrote another series of four novels on the lives of Daniel, Jeremiah, and Nebuchadnezzar, which I call the Rise of Daniel series. I also intend to write an antediluvian series of 9 novels that focus on three men: Seth, Enoch, and Noah.
Q: One of my problems is a writer is a malady I’ve named “Genre Focus Disorder”. I can’t concentrate on any one thing. I see you have books in both fiction and non-fiction, but fiction—specifically biblical fiction—seems to dominate. Why does this appeal to you as a writer?
Greg: I love biblical fiction for many reasons. First, I love to write, and they say that you should write about what you love and what you know. Well, I know the Bible—at least a little bit—and I love the Scriptures. So writing biblical fiction helps me to get excited about the research, the process of writing itself, and helping others make connections in Scriptures they would not normally make.
Jesus taught in parables. These stories resonated with people and taught them truths they might otherwise dismiss or not apply. I would like to do something similar.
Q: Apart from biblical fiction, what do you write most?
Greg: That depends. I have a set of Christian fantasy/adventure novels that I love writing, but I also enjoy writing non-fiction books. Last year, I published a book that is meant to help first generation Christians with the very specific and particular battles they fight. I write what I’m passionate about, and for many authors, such passion is derived from experience, enjoyment, need, and purpose.
I’m looking forward reading some of Greg’s books. You can find his books most easily through his website, https://gregsbaker.com/.