Interview with Twe Stephens

What is one thing that no one would usually know about you?

I was raised in the Church and I was content with what I was taught. We were taught
that divorce was an unforgivable sin and the only exit from that sin if that happened
was to be celibate for the rest of your life and never remarry. And I believed that, and
many things I didnt totally understand because I was immersed loyal to my
denomination. It was my identity and who I was in the Lord I was a diehard Baptist. I
got married really young but unfortunately, it didnt work out.

I was scared for my soul because I knew what the ramifications of divorce were in my
belief system. I stayed married many years in absolute misery, until I hated that woman
more than my fear of hell. I divorced her and ended the blackest misery of my entire
life, but I was angry at God for condemning me for simply falling in love. There is
nothing worse in life than a bad marriage. I resigned myself to the fact that I was going
to hell. Something seemed so unfair.

Many years later, I read a book called marriage is not the unforgivable sin, and it
changed my life. After that, I never trusted in the system, any denomination, or
minister of God to teach me the truth. And that became the catalyst to dive me deeper
into the bible, the lost books, and the Apocrypha to find what the word of God really
said. I studied like a demon for three decades reading everything - anything.

If it wasnt for that ill-fated marriage I would have never become a Christian writer - or
learned the things that I know now, that I try to put into all my novels, which I call the
trampled truth.

1. What did the best review you ever had say about you and your work?

Most of my reviews say that my writings are brilliant, a masterwork, and totally
shocking in their scope. One reviewer said that he had never heard ideas like that
before, and it shocked him to his core the nature of God, why he did the things he did,
and why we are here in this evil world. I have received many emails from my readers
saying that my novels defy any category and have been akin to reading the bible.
Many have commented positively on the scope of my endeavour to document the
history of God from before the big bang, everything in between, and ending at the
final eternity over a scope of four novels. I got feedback that some parts of my novel
made them cry, and that is awesome to me: to be able to awake budding spirituality
within a soul, because of simple words.
2. What did the worst review you ever had say about you and your work?

Many have called me a blasphemer because I mix the truth of God with fictional
characters. One reviewer said that he could not finish the book because he believed
that I was blaspheming God but he did end my saying that it was a masterwork of
fiction.

3. How did you choose a title for your book?

There are three ages of God, or three universes of God. The age that was billions of
years before the dawn of mankind, the flesh age, and the final eternity. The church
system doesnt accept the world that was. The first novel, The Universes of God: The
Chronicles of the Angels showcases what happened in heaven, and canvasses the birth
of evil and the reactions of God and the Angelic wars there. The greatest story ever told
continues through two more books and ends with The Universes of God 4: The final
Eternity. I call the continuing story The Universes of God Quadrilogy.

4. Are there any occupational hazards to being an author?

I write for many hours at a time and need complete peace. I am constantly being
interrupted and it stymies my creative flow. There are hundreds of hours of pure
research done to make my novels as true as possible, for I am accountable to the Lord
for what I put in them. Another thing is the vast volume of information that I want to
put in but cant, because I want the story to flow, and have interesting characters that
are full developed. The first novel was almost six hundred pages and I had to hone it
down to three hundred because it was just too much information.

5. Have you ever wished that you could be or do anything else instead of writing, and if so
what?

I never wanted to be a writer. I thought I was incapable of writing a book. One day a
friend of mine asked me what I was going to do with all my decades of studying. She
said that God must have given it to me for a reason. I didnt know how to answer her.
And I prayed about it and the Lord told me to write his story, from beginning to end, in
a fictional format, so anyone who has never read the bible could know the story of God
in its totality. If I had my choice, I would just enjoy my retirement, sit back, and relax
from my decades of working hard. I would start a non-profit to help someone less
fortunate than I, go into business and make more money. But I am locked-trapped in
the will of the Lord, because I cannot stop until the series is over.

6. Have you ever written naked?
I have written naked, but only for a moment, trying to write down inspiration before it
is gone. I always carry a small note pad with me just in case ideas come for a scene or
character interaction. In fact, Ive even pulled off the road to write some idea that I
had. I write whenever the inspiration leads me, regardless of where I am, for I breathe
and live my novels all the time without abatement.
7. What is the single biggest challenge you faced when writing your book?

Research, research, and more endless research. The Universes of God 3: The Chronicles
of the Antichrist is the most research-intensive book that I have ever written. There is
so much information that I have to constantly decide what to put in and what to leave
out. The story of the Tares and the Synagogue of Satan is filled with evil. I often
submerge myself into these evil characters weeks at a time and it scars my soul. One
person emailed me after reading an excerpt and asked me if I was a Christian. And that
hurt but Ive been told many times that I present the most accurate portrayal of evil
theyve ever seen. You have to know why evil does what it does, and why they shake
their fist at their Creator despite the fact they know they cant win. The challenge is to
stay holy while submerging yourself, month after month, in scalding evil.

8. Do you have any hints or tips for aspiring writers?

Never trust your own editing. I made that mistake when I wrote my first novel. I re-
read it a million times, re-edited even more and it was full of mistakes to the point
that I had to pull it off the shelves and get someone else to edit it. I do not know why
we cannot edit our own work; but it is an immutable truth, just as misery loves
company. Never will I understand it, but it is a deficit all human beings have.

9. How do you remain sane while working?
Only by the grace of God and the support of my family. I have deleted whole chapters
because I didnt like them. I once had my computer crash because of a power outage
and lost three chapters I was so depressed because I did not want to re-write them. I
stopped writing and was in a pit of depression for about a month. After that, I have
backups on my backups on my backups, for I never trusted the electric company again!

10. Are you jealous of other writers?
No. It took a while to master the show and not tell paradigm that all great writers
use. I like the writings of many other authors more than my own, but one cannot
change the way they write. It is something you cannot learn in school. You are who
you are, and you write the way that you write. You cannot go to school, get a PhD in
writing and suddenly become a best seller, by the nature of your education. It is like
chess - you either have the GIFT or not. Nevertheless, I have learned from other writers
just by reading their works and applying some of their strategies to my own works.

11. Where do you find your inspiration?

I find my inspiration through the Holy Spirit and wanting to do my Fathers work.

12. Have you had to learn new skills and tricks or attempted impossible feats in order to get
a book finished?

When I first started writing, the hardest thing for me to do was to write dialogue that
sounded convincing. I even got Dragon Naturally Speaking so I could speak and record
natural dialogue to write. I recorded family members to have conversations pertinent
to the novel, to make the dialogue seem more natural. It took a while, but now I am
able to write effective dialogue that doesnt seem stiff, unnatural, and stupid.

13. What is the book that you wished you had written?

The first book that I had planned to write was a scalding review of the modern Church
system and its dark history. It was going to be called Why I Dont Go to Church; but the
Lord led me in another direction.

14. Tea, Coffee, Water, Juice, Wine or Beer ... which do you prefer when writing?

Coffee.


15. Are there any habits you wish you didnt have?
I wish that I could be more driven. I procrastinate a lot and get distracted by everyday
living, and it takes me inordinate time to get these novels finished. I wish that I were
more disciplined as some authors who write 1000 words a day minimum and do it
faithfully.