Interview of Scott C. Ristau

by

J. D. Webb

1) First, tell us bit about yourself.

I received my Masters degree from the University of Illinois-Springfield and live in Illinois with my wife, Allison, and two children, Jarrid and Jordan.

2) Master and God appears to be a mixture of inspirational, historical and suspense. How do you characterize the novel?

Actually, I think the preamble to your question does a pretty good job of characterizing my book. It is historical in that the fictional story is set in the context of real events, namely the defeat of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, the final year of the Jewish Revolt. Furthermore, I hope readers will find inspiration in the Christian principles expressed by the book’s protagonist, Simon the Zealot, and his demonstration of sacrificial love, which comes as a consequence of putting faith into action. And finally, the obstacles which threaten to prevent Simon from rescuing his estranged son from the Romans and converting him to Christianity create suspense throughout the book.

3) And then you have a paranormal romance coming out next year. Tell us about it?

The book, Love In The Mist, is a modern day romance with a paranormal twist scheduled for release by Wings Press in August 2008. The heroine, Nigella Ranun, is a morgue attendant at Cook County Hospital. She is intelligent and pretty yet very shy. Her loneliness is relieved by the arrival of a corpse brought into the morgue who, except for the inert condition of his heart, is physically the man of Nigella’s dreams. His ghost pursues Nigella with an ardent passion and his spirit is nourished by her surrender. As their romance evolves, however, Nigella discovers an evil aspect to her spectral suitor. It is then that a long-forgotten childhood friend reemerges in her life, offering the possibility of redemption and a chance at true love.

4) How do you create suspense in your stories? Do you have a formula?

I try to create characters that the reader will care about, then place those characters into situations of uncertainty where they are compelled to make moral and practical decisions about the future in addition to reacting to their precarious circumstances. Beyond that simple rule of thumb, I don’t think there is one formula for suspense appropriate to every story.

5) Are your characters based upon real people or do you create them entirely?

In the case of Master and God, which is historical fiction, some of the characters were real people. So I tried to remain true to the historical appearance, attitude, and conduct of characters like Vespasian, the Roman governor of Judea, and his son, Titus. An historical figure, Simon was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples but little is known about him. He is mentioned in the Bible only four times (Matthew 10:4, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15, and Acts 1:13). So Simon and his family are much more products of my imagination.

6) Do you prepare a comprehensive outline or something less for a novel?

I prepare a bare-bones, skeletal outline when starting a book. The outline then gains details as I write the story.

7) What books are you currently reading? Any favorite authors?

Right now, I’m reading The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, a sad story about a guy who sells his wife and daughter at a country fair. Victor Hugo (Les Miserables) and Alexandre Dumas (The Count of Monte Cristo) are probably my favorite authors. But I also love anything written by Dean Koontz.

8) How do you juggle your writing with having a full-time job and family?

That question would probably elicit a playful roll of the eyes from my wife meant to imply that my juggling act often results in my dropping the ball.

9) Will you give us a sneak peak at your work-in-progress? What's next?

I’m working on a story called Rhine Gold, which is a modern day adaptation of an old and complex fable that originated in Europe centuries ago. My version involves a secret organization dedicated to preventing future attempts at persecution and extermination of the Gypsy people such as occurred in Europe during the Holocaust.