Monday, December 17, 2012

Interview with James L. Rubart


James L. Rubart entertains and challenges audiences with his new thriller, Soul’s Gate

James L. Rubart’s novels entertain readers while challenging them to reexamine their own lives. Soul’s Gate(Thomas Nelson/November 6, 2012/ISBN: 978-1-4016-8605-5/$15.99) explores healing from our deepest wounds and embracing God’s calling for our lives — challenges that often have a strong hold over us.

Soul’s Gate poses the question: what if you could travel inside another person’s soul? What if you could battle for them and be a part of Jesus healing their deepest wounds? Thirty years ago, that’s exactly what Reece Roth did—until tragedy shattered his life and ripped away his destiny. Now God has drawn Reece out of the shadows to fulfill a decades-old prophecy about four warriors with the potential to change the world. In order to fulfill God’s plan, Reece will have to face his deepest regret in order to train them.

 An interview with James L. Rubart, Author of Soul’s Gate

Q: What drew you to write supernatural fiction?

From the moment I read The Chronicles of Narnia in 7th grade I’ve been enthralled by supernatural and fantastic stories. Toni Morrison says, "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." That’s what I’ve done and why I’m writing supernatural fiction.

I love been swept away by a story that goes beyond ordinary, everyday life, and gives me hope and opens my mind to ideas I’d never dreamed possible, and that’s what I desire to do for readers.

Q: For those who may be asking, “What is supernatural fiction?” how would you explain the genre?

The term “Supernatural fiction” is a huge umbrella covering multiple sub-genres, so let me answer the question for my particular brand of fiction: For me it’s taking ordinary contemporary settings and interjecting the extraordinary into them. If you look at the Bible, it’s full of science fiction, fantasy, and speculative type stories. The difference is the tales in the Bible are true. What I do is take those fantastic things in the Bible and turn them into a story in our modern world.

Q: Where do your ideas come from?

Everywhere and anywhere. From headlines, other books, a line spoken by a friend, movies, and a hundred other ways. And most of the time I’ll hear or read something and the story pops into my head unannounced. I never go looking for an idea, they always seem to find me.

Q: Is Reece a human with special God-given powers or is he an angel?

Great question because he’s neither. At first glance he does seem to have extraordinary powers no one else has, but Reece believes anyone can have these powers, and he’s wants to teach them to others so they can use them too.

Q: What is the main “take away” you hope readers will hold on to after reading Soul’s Gate?

Freedom, freedom, freedom. I think if you look at an author’s work as a whole you’ll see a repeating theme in all their novels. My core theme is seeing people set free. Freedom from their past, freedom from their brokenness, freedom to step into their God designed destiny. I want people to finish Soul’s Gate and be more free than when they picked it up.

Q: What can readers look forward to in the rest of the Well Spring series?

You won’t tell anyone, right? Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free (Isaiah 61:1). And yet we have an enemy that has come to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). In the next two books of the Well Spring series, that battle intensifies as Reece and the others fight to fulfill a prophecy that puts them at the forefront of a war that will either bring incredible freedom, or destroy everything they and everyone around them cares about.

For more information on James L. Rubart and his books, visit www.jimrubart.com.  Click here to watch the Soul’s Gate book trailer. You can also become a fan on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.


Bestselling author James L. Rubart challenges readers to go deep with his latest novel, Soul’s Gate

Ever since reading The Chronicles of Narnia in seventh grade, author James L. Rubart has been enthralled with supernatural and fantastic stories. He loves being swept away by a tale that goes beyond the ordinary and explores ideas he never dreamed possible. It’s what he tries to do with his own stories. This desire is clearly evident in his latest release, Soul’s Gate (Thomas Nelson/November 6, 2012/ISBN: 978-1-4016-8605-5/$15.99).

“Toni Morrison says, ‘If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.’ That’s what I’ve done and why I’m writing my particular brand of supernatural fiction even though I knew it wasn’t mainstream,” says Rubart. All the major publishers rejected Rubart’s first novel, ROOMS because they didn’t know what to do with it. But once ROOMS was finally published, it took off immediately allowing Rubart to effectively create his own genre. 

“I love to take ordinary, contemporary settings and interject the extraordinary into them. If you look at the Bible, it’s full of science fiction, fantasy, and speculative type stories. The difference is the tales in the Bible are true. What I do is take those fantastic things in the Bible and turn them into a story set in our modern world.”

Rubart’s novels entertain, but they also make readers think. Deeply. For example, Soul’s Gate explores the idea of facing and healing our deepest wounds and restoration of lost parts of our lives, themes Rubart not only writes about but also speaks about as well all over the country. Ultimately, as with all of Rubart’s previous releases, the core theme of Soul’s Gate is freedom. “I want people to finish Soul’s Gate or any of my other novels and be freer than when they picked it up. Freedom from their past, freedom from their brokenness, freedom to step into their God designed destiny.”

There’s no question Rubart is making a significant impact with his novels. In addition to a rabid following of readers, his previous releases have garnered critical acclaim, awards, and have risen to the top of best-seller lists. His first novel, Rooms (2010), won a Best Books 2011 award from USA Book News, as well as RT Book Reviews Inspirational Novel of the Year.  His second novel, Book of Days was nominated as a RT Book Reviews Inspirational Novel of the Year, and his third, The Chair was Christian Retailing’s TOP PICK in September 2011, a Christy Award finalist, and is an ACFW Carol Award nominee.

About Soul’s Gate

What if you could send your spirit inside other people’s souls to fight for their freedom?

Thirty years ago, Reece Roth traveled into the souls of others to heal them of their darkest wounds—until tragedy shattered his life and ripped away his destiny. Now God has drawn Reece out of the shadows to fulfill a decades-old prophecy about four warriors with the potential to change the world. But it will mean facing his darkest hour.

Reece stood and faced the group. “Every now and then we get a break from reality. A glimpse into the other world that is more real than the reality we live in 99 percent of our days. The Bible is about a world of demons and angels and great evil and even greater glory. A world the prophets saw; the world Enoch, and Elijah, and Paul, and John the apostle all saw. A world that is all around us in every moment if we would have eyes to see and ears to hear.”

The group gathers at a secluded and mysterious ranch deep in the mountains of Colorado where they will learn to see the spiritual world around them with stunning clarity and how to step into the supernatural as powerfully as anyone in the Bible did.  The four have a destiny to battle for a freedom even Reece doesn’t fully fathom. However, they have an enemy determined to destroy them — one who will stop at nothing to keep them from their quest for true freedom and the coming battle of souls.

Click here to watch the Soul’s Gate book trailer.

For more about James L. Rubart and his books, visit www.jameslrubart.com, on  Facebook and on  Twitter.

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