Finally! A delightfully simple, fresh approach to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ for today’s adults and youth. Watch it all happen on this historically accurate guided tour through Jesus’s life–like you are there–from birth to resurrection. With love, hope, and even humor, come to know Him as a real person. Watch as He dramatically unveils Himself as the God of all creation and the Savior of the world. Find insights and solutions for even your toughest, modern problems. No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, the Spirit of God will whisper how it all applies to your life as you ponder the thought-provoking questions at the end of most chapters. The non-judgmental tone, evidence-oriented approach to building faith, and short chapters make this the ideal book about Christ for today’s insanely busy, sometimes skeptical readers.
Hello book lovers! Today is a day where I will be writing another author spotlight for a well-accomplished author whose work I have loved. As you know book lovers I love learning about authors and the inspiration behind their work, it fascinates me and adds to the depth of the book because the reader will be able to better understand it. That is how the author spotlights were created because I soon discovered that you lovely readers ALSO love learning about author’s, so I am excited to tell you a little bit more about author R. Christian Bohlen whose book Jesus Christ His Life and Mine captivated and moved me from beginning to end. I personally would recommend this book to all of those that love Christian living books and memoirs but really the book can be read by anybody as it is flawlessly written and highly enjoyable. With today’s author spotlight, a biography of the author and an interview between me and R. Christian Bohlen will be shared, and I hope that you book lovers enjoy reading it! To kick this off here is an author bio about the wonderful R. Christian Bohlen!
R. Christian Bohlen has been involved in ministry and church leadership for over thirty years, including oversight of a prison ministry program, which is his signature cause as an author. He holds an M.S. degree in communications and has received multiple personal and team awards as a human performance improvement consultant, instructional designer, and program manager to Fortune 500 companies throughout the United States and Canada.
Now, how wonderful does R. Christian Bohlen sound?! R. Christian Bohlen is a truly exceptional writer and I hope that you lovely readers have a read of the author’s work because you will not regret it! Please see below an interview between me and the author and I hope that you enjoy R. Christian Bohlen’s answers to my questions, they are incredible and provide some great advice too!
Thank you for joining us today at Red Headed Book Lover! Please tell us more about yourself
I grew up in western Pennsylvania in the United States. My parents were from the Netherlands and I grew up speaking Dutch, which was kind of neat. I’m married to wonderful, unique woman who makes everyone laugh and has a heart of gold. We were unable to have children but have had loving dogs over the years.
I’ve been involved in ministry and church leadership for over thirty years now, including oversight of a prison ministry program, which is my signature cause as an author. I have an M.S. degree in communications and have received multiple personal and team awards as a human performance improvement consultant, instructional designer, and program manager to Fortune 500 companies throughout the United States and Canada.
Could you please tell us readers about your book and what inspired you to write your book?
First of all, I had a pretty rough time finding God and getting my spiritual feet planted. In fact, I told the whole story on this live TV interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ata0FSU_PMo plus an intense and uplifting post of my own: My Conversion Story.
Once I truly started believing in Jesus Christ and understanding who He is, I wanted to give my very best efforts to helping others understand it. I’m a teacher at heart so my “special project” became helping others to understand and love Him as the God of all creation and our very best friend in the world!
The “aha moment” came to me about 20 years ago when I was teaching at a juvenile corrections facility. A young man had been given a Bible and he couldn’t make heads or tails of it on his own, of course. I was a reading a scholarly book about the life of Jesus and I was having this magnificent movie-like experience. That’s when the thought came to me, “There has to be a way to create that same experience for readers like my young friend here, but in a shorter, easier format than all of these overwhelming, thick books!”
That’s where it all started! I never lost the passion for it all these years and I know this is one of the reasons God planted and pruned me on this earth.
What would your advice be for aspiring writers?
Get feedback early and often. And get a trusted editor or team of editors. I craved getting feedback from others as I wrote this book because I was always wondering if it would truly resonate or what I could do better.
I had nearly 100 test readers help me during the development of Jesus Christ, His Life and Mine. It made all the difference. I changed a lot over the years and gradually honed in on the strategies and writing style that seemed to work for as many readers as possible. The topic for my book is so important that I truly wanted it to have universal appeal. So far, that’s how it appears to be working. All ages are responding really well to this 1st edition.
In your opinion, what is the most important thing about a book?
You have to have something to offer that meets a felt need. (I’m thinking mostly non-fiction, self-help, or similar genres.) In order to be meaningful book, it needs to solve a problem and fill a gap.
In my case, there was a gaping hole in the Christian book market. My publisher, Larry Carpenter, is one of the most seasoned, respected men in the industry and when he read my manuscript, he replied, “This book is sorely needed today.”
That’s the kind of response you want. This book is sorely needed because it addresses a mindset that’s unique to our times. There simply wasn’t an easy-to-read book about the life and teachings of Jesus that makes it all applicable for busy, skeptical, modern readers. And now there is!
What is your writing process like?
Ha! Good question. I NEVER want to follow the process I went through to produce this book. It was all over the place because it was the first time I’ve ever done it.
But I’m preparing another book now and here’s what I’m doing:
– Float the book idea and proposed title among book professionals or your social media followers
– Prepare a high-level design plan with chapters, structural elements, target audience, etc.
– Develop a few prototype chapters
– Circulate prototype among test readers for feedback
– Apply feedback and develop remaining chapters after you have a comfort level about the strategy and style
– Write the whole thing
– Run the draft by willing test readers (and offer freebies for participants)
– Get it edited
– Publish as appropriate for your circumstances
Do you have a set schedule for writing, or do you only write when you feel inspired?
Yeah, that’s a great and a tough question. I have so much to do right now with promoting this book that I’m challenged to find time for the next one. So far, I’m winging it on a day to day basis. But that’s too stressful and has to change. I’m likely going to plan half-days where I do nothing but write.
Of course, there’s blog writing to fit it too. And Facebook and other social media posts. It really gets a little overwhelming. So time management is a tricky one.
And I’m a certified project manager for my day job! Ha!
Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors?
I have to confess that my reading has fallen off with the sheer busyness of my day job, home life and writing.
I love the scriptures. I love the little book–now a classic–Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, which I read every day.
I sometimes read books to offer reviews for pastor/author friends.
My favorite reading experiences were the Victor Hugo books, Les Miserable and Hunchback of Notre Dame. I find Hugo to be a master of design and prose. I listened to audiobooks of both, which were masterfully narrated. Unforgettable experiences that have enriched my life and writing skills.
Lastly, when can we readers expect to read more wonderful books from you?
My next book will have a title something like this, which I haven’t floated by my social media followers yet:
“My Spouse is NUTS! Hope, Healing, and Humor for Christians Who Love Spouses with Mental/Emotional Illnesses.”
Here are a couple of posts that make clear why this topic is so dear to me and why I believe God really shaped me to help otherw with this. There are a lot of families suffering with this.
Hope for Families with Borderline Personality Disorder
What You Didn’t Know about My Amazing Wife
You can read a bit more about me here, plus lots of other great blog post, free audiobook files, downloads, and more.
Its official book lovers, I am obsessed with R. Christian Bohlen! If you have liked what you have read about the author and are interested in learning more, then please do have a browse of the links below and be sure to have a read of the preview too! You will not regret it.
Goodbye for now book lovers,
Amazon U.S. – Amazon U.K. – Goodreads
Author: Barnes & Noble – Smashwords – Book Depository – Walmart
