When people get their mind made up about something, then it's: 'Don't bother me with facts.' They've got their minds made up and dismiss you out of hand. Some people don't even give you a fair hearing.
Evolution is the key to avoiding the whole issue of God. When you challenge evolution, you're basically challenging someone on a spiritual level.
There's nothing sacred about the book you've written. The Bible says there's safety in a multitude of counselors. The movie is the movie, and the book is the book. They're different critters, and each must stand on their own merits.
When I first started out writing the 'Darkness' books, there was, at least in my mind, a certain sort of rulebook we had to follow.
At the bottom of a Peretti novel is the biblical view of things, the Christian message. Whether you're a Christian or not, you're still going to have to deal with good versus evil.
I try to write cinematically. Let me define what I mean by that. First of all, I try to write in a visual way so that the reader can watch a movie in their head. And it keeps moving. I try to structure the stories like a screenplay may be structured.
Moviemaking is just really neat, and I really like doing that. I'd like to get into it more, but in terms of my role in all of this and in terms of the gift that God has given me, I had to come to the conclusion that my strength is as a storyteller, creating the story.
The Lord God carries us throughout our lives just as a father carries his child. The Lord carried me, and He still is. He made you. He knows what you're good at. He knows what you can do and what you can become. Trust Him. Love Him. He'll always love you back.
The logical outcome of evolution is that it makes monsters. We turn into monsters because evolution takes away everything that makes us human in the sense of our moral accountability, our moral absolutes, and our idea of being distinct from the animal kingdom.
We have a God who loves us. We are in the palm of his hand. He doesn't leave us, and He doesn't forsake us.
My earlier books, 'The Oath,' 'This Present Darkness' were pretty straight adventure. 'The Visitation' is like a deeper book, more thought-provoking. It probes at character more.
I like doing thrillers.
Generally, my notes and outlines comprise more words than my novels. I suppose that's one reason I'm a comparatively slow writer, something that has always bothered me given the fact that other authors can turn out a book every six months while I usually take about two years.
I don't watch television.
I'm just a slow writer. I'm picky and careful and fastidious.
I don't know what idea is going to hit me when.
I wanted to write a novel where the meaning is in the story and characters and the subliminal, in the shades and nuances. It's exciting to develop that as a writer.
'Illusion' is a story of God's love and our hunger to find him when we're separated from him. If I can paint a picture of two people still in love after 40 years, that's a pretty good message.
There are writers, and there are readers who want something more. They want to get at the grist of life.
I'm trying to move a little more toward literary fiction while still retaining a popular feel.
