How does your faith impact how you approach writing?
Well, obviously in War Torn it is the absolute focus of the story. But even in my other books, I strongly resist to put things in the books that are gratuitous.
Don’t get me wrong, my characters can be salty when that’s the reality of the story, but I don’t do any of that for effect—only when the story or character demands it. Most of my stories are meant only to entertain, but for sure I don’t want to compromise my faith for that entertainment, and I’m pretty sure I don’t.
War Torn is different. While I hope it is both touching and entertaining, there is a message of hope through Christ that I want very much to share with families who need it.
What are the challenges of being a Christian writing stories about characters struggling with trauma and violence? Does your worldview ever cause a conflict with your co-authors?
Writing on those topics can be a challenge no matter what—especially when you’re creating experiences that you’ve dealt with yourself. There are times in many of my books where writing a particular scene or interaction takes me back to places hard to go or stir up memories of those I’ve lost.
But that’s a good thing. While sometimes painful, that’s what brings the realism that the Andrews & Wilson brand is now famous for.
In War Torn, which is by intent deeply personal and therefore painful, that was magnified a thousand times because the emotions and struggles were the heart of the story. And many of those emotions were mine.
It made it harder than ever to write—and harder still to read and edit. It was emotionally exhausting. But if the book can help a single combat veteran or spouse find their way to a closer walk through the fictional experiences of Jake and Rachel, well, that is so worth it.
My only co-author is one of my closest friends—Brian Andrews, a fellow Navy veteran—and we share a worldview. Because we are like brothers, even the minor differences we may have cause no conflict at all personally. We have the utmost respect for one another personally and professionally.
What do you hope readers get out of War Torn?
I hope that the story will resonate with Military members and veterans who have experienced the painful questions about God that are found in the horrors of war—and that maybe Jake’s journey to find answers will help them on their own journey. Same for their families, and especially their spouses.
Wendy and her amazing faith were central to my finding my way all the way home. I hope spouses find inspiration in Rachel’s story.
And the message in the book is not unique to combat veterans—there are any of a myriad of tragedies we suffer in our fallen world that raise the same questions and doubts. I hope that the book can help others through their own struggles outside of war, of course.
Lastly, I hope that War Torn can provide insight for those without a direct connection to the military, in the hope they can better understand the sacrifices made by both military members and their families. In particular, we have a vision of duplicating around the country the Men’s military ministry and the Military spouse support group that we have been able to launch at our church in Tampa.
These ministries have had a tremendous impact on families in need, and we pray that there can be faith-based support like ours in all communities across the country, especially now, in the face of the longest continuous war in our history. That’s why we want pastors, group leaders, and other faith organizations to read this book and not only learn about these needs, but inspired to address them in their own communities.
To that end, we are offering support through links to organizations that can help for the veterans and their families, and speakers and other support to churches and organizations wishing to start their own ministries. We can be reached for this help at our website WarTornNovel.com and there is a page to contact us directly there as well.
Visit Jeffrey Wilson’s author page:
https://www.familyfiction.com/authors/jeffrey-wilson
War Torn
Jeffrey Wilson
Discover more about Jeffrey’s book here:
https://www.familyfiction.com/authors/jeffrey-wilson/books