Stephen D. Edwards (Weekly Author Spotlight 29 March 2021)

AUTHOR BIO

Stephen D. Edwards began writing while in high school, but lost the passion for it in his late 20s. He is the author of a memoir titled “The Branch and the Vine” about the author’s battle and victory over from depression, available at Amazon and Kobo. His passion reignited, he now writes Christian fiction that encourages and uplifts in ways that non-fiction cannot do. He is also the co-author of “Wisdom for Growing Leaders” for the Marble Leaders ministry in Nigeria.

QUICK INTERVIEW

Where are you from?
“I grew up in Latin America moving every 2 to 4 years. I now live in Edmonton.”

When did you first realize you wanted to be an author?
“I was in my senior year of high school when I got the bug to write poems and short stories, but quit when I became depressed. When I found freedom from the darkness, I wrote this memoir which I have published and now I enjoy writing novels and short stories.”

What is your favorite genre to read/write?
“I most like to read historical fiction, because I enjoy history.”

What do you like to do when you are not writing?
“I love to be in nature, especially where there are mountains, where I can celebrate what God created for all to enjoy.”

How do you do research for your books?
“That depends on the book. For “The Branch and the Vine,” I had to look into the many possible causes for depression and sort of backwards-engineer how I managed to receive the gift of freedom from the dark hole.”

Who/What inspired you to write The Branch and the Vine?
“The short answer to that is God. I had gone through a difficult time meeting a goal and it looked very bleak. I felt like a failure and made plans to end my life. Then I felt a prompt to pray and the spirit of suicide left me. A year later, I got free from the depression that plagued me for 35 years. Right then, I had to write the book.”

What was the highlight of writing this book?
“Writing the last four chapters on gratitude, hope, faith and struggles for me was the most inspiring thing that ever happened to me.”

Is there any new release we can expect in 2021 or in the future?
“I have many things on the horizon which I work on these days. The one that is closest is another memoir on the same topic of depression written for non-Christian readers. That memoir is titled The Joy at the End of the Tunnel. I have two short story collections that I’m working on and novels about King David, St. Peter, Simon of Cyrene and another historical novel about bullfighting. All very exciting to me!”

What do you think makes a great story?
“For me it is about encouraging through the story. For example, the novel “David the Prophet King” which have in the works to publish is about the prayer and spiritual life of the man who was undoubtedly Israel’s greatest king before the arrival of Jesus as the Messiah.”

What advice can you give to an unpublished author?
“Don’t give up. If it seems like there’s no way to succeed through your writing, there is a way and it will be revealed to you.”