Your author tagline is “Inspiring Adventures with an Edge.” Elaborate on what that means pertaining to your novels for teens.

I aim to write adventures that will grab the interest of young readers and provide hours of exciting entertainment. Life is edgy, so keeping the story is real as possible without crossing the line is the key to entertainment. Entertainment first, then it isn’t difficult to write from the perspective of hope. I want to give kids hope that they, too, can conquer this difficult period of life and walk away from this story feeling good about life and themselves.

Your Intense series is clean and age-appropriate without being saccharine or shying away from real issues teens face, such as divorce, drugs, and bullying. How do you strike the balance of being relevant while still writing an entertaining, edifying story?

Talking with tweens and teens, or their teachers and youth leaders, reveals that kids today are facing these issues whether we acknowledge it or not. By delving into these things as a writer, effective plots seemed to flow naturally. I also believe that you can find humor and irony in most situations, so I look for those opportunities as the plot is developed.

• Escape (Intense Book 1)
• Run (Intense Book 2)
• Chase (Intense Book 3)
• Intense Series
• Companion Bible Study for Run: Finding Friends & Handling Bullies

What are the keys to writing a relatable hero, the kind with enough foibles to keep him human but who manages to to defeat the bad guys in the end?

Embody the contradictions of young students (especially boys) in the hero’s character. Boys want to be included, and yet they want their space. They want to be the hero, but struggle with fear and insecurity. They want independence and yet crave real family relationships. They want to do things their way, yet for those who exercise faith, they can experience God doing extraordinary things through them.

What role does good fiction play in a vibrant faith life?

I believe that a Christian worldview most easily and fully reflects reality. Therefore, if fiction accurately reflects life, then nearly everything about life can point to faith. From God speaking the universe into being, to His wanting a close and dynamic relationship with each one of us, to Him providing a way for human redemption and forgiveness, all of these things can be found or applied to stories. So entertaining faith-based fiction is not only exciting and real, but can stimulate faith and draw us closer to God. 

“I see you in everything, all day
And every beat of my heart keeps reminding me”

TobyMAc – “Everything”

Being an author wasn’t your first career. How did you come to writing fiction?

I’ve always loved reading and would often find myself daydreaming about a book and then taking it on a tangent. But I never considered writing; I didn’t think I was good enough. And between family, my business and ministry, I didn’t have the time—writing was out of the question. But glaucoma changed all of that. Suddenly I had lots of time but had to figure out—really find grace to navigate a new situation. I began telling stories to my children . . .

Read Escape for FREE on Kindle!

What project(s) are you working on now?

My next book in the Intense Series is tentatively titled, Hide, (but I’m also considering Nowhere to Hide, and Open Water). This adventure is set in Boca Raton, Florida, where Tyler is vacationing with his cousins. They are caught up in a mysterious disappearance that has to do with modern day pirates, a couple of nosy oceanographers and treasure buried in plain sight. I’ve researched the Spanish Gold Fleet of 1715 that was destroyed by a hurricane leaving the wrecks of fourteen ships scattered from the Florida Keys to the Sebastian Inlet on Florida’s east coast. Two of the ships are unaccounted for . . . 

I want to give kids hope that they, too, can conquer this difficult period of life and walk away from this story feeling good about life and themselves. Click To Tweet

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Glenn writes inspiring adventures with an edge. No matter how dark the day, finding hope to pursue the prize is the core of all his novels and studies. An award-winning author, he is a  graduate of Vision Loss Resources and Bethel Seminary. His short stories have been published in Splickety, Havok, Cadet Quest and Partners magazines. Father of six and grandfather of seven, Glenn enjoys tandem biking, kayaking, and daydreaming. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife.

Links:

Website: http://wwwglennhaggerty.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlennHaggertyAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/grhaggertyjr

Amazon Author Page: https://www.Amazon.com/Glenn-Haggerty/e/B015RN2C28

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/15943355-glenn-haggerty

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