Interview with Jack Stinson

1. What inspired you to write this story?

I helped with an inner-city homeless ministry for about five years where I got the inspiration for High Street. I saw just so many people who’d hit bottom because of horrible decisions – many of them barely out of high school. I wanted to write a story that would be a vehicle for many things: the salvation message, warning to kids & parents, present a glimpse of this dark area normally swept under the rug…

2. Who is your favorite character and why?

Boy, that’s a tough question! I’m going to say Harold. He was such an innocent, childlike guy.

3. How have your personal faith and beliefs influenced your story?

Salvation and redemption through Jesus was something that came up often. Also mankind’s inability to ‘do it alone’ without God is a Biblical teaching that was in the back of my mind always.

4. What was the hardest part of writing this book?

Sticking to the despair and gloom of the homeless culture and various addictions. From my experiences in ministry to the homeless, I saw the victory of the enemy over and over again. It’s ugly, and I wanted to stay true to that reality. Maintaining that for an entire book was hard. But I felt it was necessary.

5. What was easiest?

The plot. I knew the entire story before I started the book. I struggled with descriptions and details, but I knew what I was writing about.

6. What's next for you?

I actually just finished a book of short fiction titled Hard Pursuit. It’s similar to Sherwood Anderson’s book Winesburg, Ohio, in that it is a collection of short stories centered on a common theme. (Actually, in his case it was town.) Hard Pursuit is about middle-class people affected by a corporate downsizing in a bad economy. I’m currently doing a lot of reading and plan to start another novel later this year.

For more about Jack or reviews of his book, High Street, check out the CFRB book tour. Click on any of the links under the banner to the right.