Ted Kluck is a great writer and a funny guy. So when I heard that him, along with several authors, had released a satirical end times thriller, I had to know more. Ted and fellow author Zach Bartels offered to answer a few questions about the book. Then enter below win a copy…
1. For those who have not read the book, give us a quick synopsis of the book and main characters.
Well, it has all of the following in it: guns, microchips, professional football, hipsters, romance, and a little bit of dispensational theology which, as we learned by reading (or as it were, not-reading) the Left Behind series in the 90′s are all the ingredients of a good end-times thriller.
As for main characters, Ted Strongbow is a lantern-jawed millionaire evangelical figurehead quarterback of a professional football team called the Denver Values. He is semi-worshiped by most of evangelicalism. A character like that would never happen in real life…it’s how you can tell we’re going into the world of fantasy.
Dr. Tim Van Shrimpy is a 175 year old self-styled Bible scholar and Christian television personality with millions of followers the world over, all waiting for him to reveal the date of the rapture (again). He’s also good with nunchucks.
Duke Morrison is Strongbow’s coach and as you’re reading the book you should just envision him looking exactly like former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka circa 1987.
Alex Roth is a college sophomore, a wannabe writer, and a hipster. He’s the kind of guy who grows a beard because it makes him look “more literary.” Also, he’s the kind of guy who gets blown to pieces near the end of our book (SPOILER ALERT).
There’s also midget assassin, an episcopal priest, a gorgeous young reporter, a former fundamentalist college professor, and a tramp-stamped, Skoal chewing old woman who likes to shoot guns.
2. Are you planning any sequels and will Tim LaHaye or Jerry B. Jenkins be involved?
If they’re involved it will be because their names are probably at the bottom of a cease and desist letter. Seriously though, they’re not mentioned in the novel except in Frank Turk’s foreword which, true to form, has very little to do with the actual book. Also, our publishing company and your blog may or may not be wholly-owned subsidiaries of a large, multi-national billion-dollar defense contractor named LaHaye Armaments.
Sequel-wise, true to form in this genre, we’re planning anywhere from three to 144 sequels, complete with merchandising including children’s versions, study guides, a crappy album, and action figures.
3. It says on the front written by committee. Who is the committee and why did you choose to do it that way? And how? (pass it around? brainstorm?)
The committee was comprised of myself (Ted Kluck), my business partner at Gut Check (Zach Bartels), a shadowy figure named EL Duncan who is a hermit and who may or may not be a woman, and a seminary student named Brad Atchison.
We chose to do it because it was fun. More fun than writing by myself, that’s for sure, which is saying something because I’m an introvert who got into this business (writing) primarily so that I could be alone most of the time. This book was a blast. We would each write a chapter and then hand it off to the next person with no instructions and no expectations. Our idea was to put a handful of really talented, fun people in a “room” (virtual) and see what happened.
4. Have you ever considered incorporating vampires, zombies, and/or Amish women.
No.
5. Why should people spend their hard-earned $2.99 on this book?
The fact that it’s $2.99 makes it cheaper than pretty much everything in the world. Also, it takes the average person just a few minutes to earn $2.99 and this is a handsome volume that you could potentially enjoy and treasure for generations. I feel like it’s the kind of enduring work that deserves a place next to classics of Christian literature like…(crickets chirping)…and of course…(more crickets chirping).
6. What else has your company done in the satirical realm?
We’ve done a couple of short “ha ha” send ups of Young Reformed Culture as well as the Emergent Church (RIP 2007). You can read all about them and buy them here.
ALRIGHT, NOW FOR THE WINNING A COPY PART. PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS A KINDLE VERSION ONLY. TO ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN SIMPLY USE THE FORM BELOW. (RSS READERS CLICK THROUGH)
