When you are writing for the Christian culture, there is a whole gamut of expectations.
A good book or movie or screenplay should be emotionally satisfying. When they're done, you want people to breathe a deep sigh and say, 'Wow.'
The people that usually have the most trouble with my books are the ones that pick them apart from a theological point of view.
I always want to be on the cutting edge.
My main goal is still for the books to minister in some way, to teach a spiritual truth, to enlighten people.
Kids are not going to sit and read a slow-paced book. Neither are adults.
I'd like to write a series that, in an adventurous and fun way, teaches kids a way to discern between good and evil, to establish a foundation on moral absolutes.
Some folks run from the doubt and go backward. You try for all the spiritual Band-Aids you can find... when actually, what you need to do is press forward, to accept those doubts and work through them.
The Gospel can stand up to scrutiny.
There's a reason evolution is a hot-button issue. It's not just a matter of science, either. It's a matter of the big questions in life - why are we here, what is truth, where is our moral basis?
If you're going to read a Peretti book, you're going to get a message. But the book is a pretty good read.
I'm given a lot of credit with opening the doors for Christian fiction. It was kind of a difficult field when I got into it... But I don't feel like a king.
I became very timid, very retreating. I wouldn't talk to anybody. I didn't look you in the eye. I just had that kind of personality as a kid that basically puts a target on you.
First of all, I was a good Christian kid. My mom and dad taught me never to fight. So I never fought. The other kids picked that up right away. They said, 'Oh, he's not going to try to do anything.' They'd push me, shove me, hit me. I'd just stand there and take it.
When I was a kid, I really got into monsters.
When you are making a movie, there are a zillion cooks in the kitchen, and you don't always get what you want to do. The story can always go in a different direction than what you would like. You compromise, and there is dealing and bickering.
Just like all my novels, 'Illusion' is a good way to observe where Frank Peretti was in his life when he wrote it.
It's man's nature to abuse knowledge and power, be it in the realm of science, government, or Wall Street. Take God out of the picture, and you have real trouble.
I'm a very methodical writer. Before computers, I used reams of paper and stacks of index cards.
I hear a lot of, 'I'm a writer because of you.' It's not a bad feeling, but it sneaks up on you. You don't ask for it.
