http://youtu.be/xdCmOS4N8dc
Will Montgomery on Romance
Will Montgomery is a Christian writer and speaker living in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the author of two books so far:
- The Polar Bear, a theological look at his life
- Lukewarm, a novel
Will is sassy, funny, and entertaining, as you know if you watched his video, above. Will is going to give away a copy of his novel, Lukewarm, to one of our readers! If you’d like to be the lucky one, then you should leave a comment below.
We caught up with Will and asked him a few questions about himself as a writer.
MTAR: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Will Montgomery: I like Duck Dynasty.
MTAR: What do you do when you are not writing?
Will Montgomery: I run the booking division for Reach Your City and Gresham Hill Management. I work with amazing people who love God and truly desire to reach the world for Jesus through Christian entertainment.
MTAR: What inspired you to write your first book?
Will Montgomery: I had always wanted to write a book, and now that I’ve written two, it’s still surreal that I actually finished one. My high school English teacher, Valerie Anders, once remarked “that the literary world had no idea what it was in for.” I’m still not sure if that was a compliment or not.
MTAR: What books/authors have influenced your writing?
Will Montgomery: I’m more of an “author admirer,” so I’d have to say Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway,
MTAR: Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?
Will Montgomery: Not yet. My first one was self-pubbed by choice, and my second was traditionally published.
MTAR: What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
Will Montgomery: I’ve been fortunate that most people have kept their criticisms to themselves, but not everyone in the world that reads my book will like it. That’s just the nature of opinions. There are some out there who think Shakespeare is boring, or that he wasn’t a real person.
MTAR: What has been the best compliment?
Will Montgomery: I had a person that I knew quite well tell me that they forgot they were reading my book and by the end, was surprised that they knew the person who wrote a book they enjoyed so much.
MTAR: Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Will Montgomery: I appreciate each and every one of you and I hope you continue down this literary journey with me. My slogan is “I write. You read. We become friends.” And I really mean that.
MTAR: Dogs or Cats?
Will Montgomery: My fiancée Claire and I have two dogs. Bo is a 4 month old Black Lab, and Birdie is a 7 week old Black and White Lab mix. They stay at Claire’s house. J
MTAR: Do you have a specific writing style?
Will Montgomery: I’d say it’s very conversational in nature. The one comment I get the most about my style is that people who read my books feel as if I’m sitting with them and talking. And I like that.
MTAR: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Will Montgomery: I think there’s a stigma in Christian entertainment that our product, our art, if you will, cannot measure up to its secular counterpart, and I think that’s false. Still, I’m here to prove that not every book in the world has to have gratuitous sex and violence to be thoroughly enjoyable and extremely realistic.
MTAR: What books have most influenced your life most?
Will Montgomery: Again, The Bible. Nothin compares to that. Regardless of how you feel about religion, it is a perfect narrative on life, love, and other mysteries.
MTAR: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Will Montgomery: Karen Kingsbury, no question about it. I worked with her for almost three years and most of what I know about good Christian fiction comes from her. She is amazing!
MTAR: What book are you reading now?
Will Montgomery:Deep Below the Ocean by Justin Keith Morgan
MTAR: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Will Montgomery: I’ve begun outlining the sequel to Lukewarm, entitled Numb.
MTAR: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Will Montgomery: My faithful blog readers, without a doubt.
MTAR: Do you see writing as a career?
Will Montgomery: I would hope so. The industry is so overrun is extremely talented writers and storytellers, that it’s probably wise to keep my day job for a few more decades, ;).
MTAR: Do you ever experience writer’s block?
Will Montgomery: For me, the hardest part of writing is the idea. Once I have that, the rest takes care of itself. That’s why an outline is vitally important. With my first book, a non-fiction work called The Polar Bear, I did not use an outline. With Lukewarm, fiction, I had no choice. It was hard enough as is to keep up with the characters and their “personalities,” if you will.