We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marcus Griffin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marcus, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

The story idea that led me to become a novelist was the answer to a simple prayer. I wanted God to show me…me. I was toward the end of my military career of almost 22 years, and I had planned on becoming a screenwriter after retirement. I wanted something different.

During that time, I was searching for something with meaning. I wasn’t in the best place spiritually, although others wouldn’t have guessed. During my spiritual decline, a young airman I had mentored had given me a frame with a poem called A Godly Man. She didn’t know I was jacked up spiritually, and I didn’t share it with her.

I discovered I had a way of setting aside my feelings and focusing on the issue at hand with others. I was able to help others spiritually and emotionally, but still be in a bad place. I don’t think anyone except my wife knew the depth, but I felt I could handle most anything in a professional manner.

To add to my discontent, I was told about something that happened in the church I attended and loved, and that pushed me over. Usually, what others do doesn’t surprise me, but this one was a blow. I saw the church differently, and my questions mounted and remained unanswered. I grew tired of whatever cycle I was in, and at that point, it felt like blessings were for sale. “Give $500 or $1000 for that ultimate blessing.” It felt like I had to earn God’s love, and I got to a place where I didn’t want to play that game anymore. I told God, “Been there. Done that. You’re going to have to bless me where I’m at.”

I stopped attending church, tithing, you name it. I couldn’t turn the channel fast enough if the church was on TV. I let the anger fester, but only those closest to me knew. Later on, I would attend church, but I was no longer truly engaged.

Around that same time, when I was retiring, the story idea that eventually led me to become a novelist started to develop. The idea intrigued, challenged me, and addressed the answers to many of my questions. The more I wrote, the more the story came to life and gave me something to focus on and address the issues that plagued my mind.

I also got my answer to my prayer, and God showed me… me. I learned that no man is above the Word of God. I didn’t differ from the person at church who fell. It’s amazing how much I could judge that person, but I wasn’t living up to my calling. To God, missing the mark is missing the mark, no matter the reason, and more importantly, I should have never let anyone affect my relationship with God. That’s why it’s called a personal relationship.

That simple story idea, or answer to my prayer, changed my life’s direction and revealed my passion for writing. If I were to create a genre, I would call it The Edgier Side of Christianity. Where is God when all hell breaks loose?

Little did I know that the same idea would take me on a 17-year therapeutic journey. I published my first novel, Nothing Left to Give, in 2020. I plan to publish the second novel, Beyond Words, in early 2024, and the third novel, The Other Side of Forgiveness, around Christmas 2024.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m an author, aspiring publisher, and screenwriter with a deep passion for writing stories of redemption, hope, and faith steeped in real struggles.

I retired from the Air Force in 2006 after almost 22 years of service. My current day job as a contractor in cybersecurity helps me take care of my family, funds my passion for writing, and gives me the freedom to develop my own voice. I love things money can’t buy, and I love fantasy football.
I respect the necessity of editing and dedicate my time to learning the process of publishing. I enjoy helping others fulfill their goal in writing while gaining the confidence and skills to repeatedly succeed in their desired endeavor.

I recently started Blue Cutlass Publishing, LLC, as an umbrella for future projects. In 2024, the goal is to build a solid foundation that provides a seamless publishing process with a clear spirit of hope and faith.
I’ve been married for 34 years and am very thankful to my wife, who supports me and gives me time to write and pursue my passion. She also plans to publish a children’s book in 2024.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 1995, my wife was expecting our child while I was stationed in San Antonio, Texas, and working in the computer field. I was pursuing a music degree at a local community college, and we planned to return overseas. We spent 4 years in England, and we loved it!
My wife was told she needed surgery to carry our son full term, but our prayer was she wouldn’t have that surgery. The day before the operation, her doctor called us into his office, and he said, “There’s something wrong with the baby. Medically speaking, he’s going to die. It will take a divine intervention for him to even be born.”

The doctor canceled the surgery and expected my wife to eventually miscarry. We walked out of the office visit numb. God has a way of speaking to me. It’s like I could hear something on the inside, and he said to me, “Give me a chance.” That gave us hope.

We definitely didn’t ask for this. Here we were. We focused on what we could do. We even went through grief therapy, trying to prepare us for our upcoming loss. Each week, as my wife went to the doctor, they expected her to miscarry, but as the weeks went by, our son hung in there with a strong heartbeat.
I won’t belabor the story. Our son was born at 37 weeks, 4 days, with multiple medical conditions. He spent a month in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). I got on the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), ensuring my son’s medical needs were taken care of.
The pivot occurred when I realized we would most likely spend the rest of my career in San Antonio, Texas, because of his unique medical issues. Our son had over 10 surgeries. My wife tells me, “We just stopped counting.” We worked with the heads of each Wilford Hall department and were blessed to have some of the best doctors and nurses. After doing dialysis for 21 months, he had his kidney transplant at University Hospital. My wife stopped working as a teacher, and our household income was cut in half. I can understand how marriages can dissolve once health issues occur because of the pressures and financial burdens that occur.
My love for music didn’t change. I tried to continue my quest for a music degree, but life had already changed, and my dreams went on the back burner. My wife also put her career as a teacher on the back burner.

My wife was eventually able to go back to teaching, but she had to stop again after five years to homeschool our son. He was later diagnosed with autism. That finding was more of a relief because my wife knew something was wrong.

Throughout the entire time, God had blessed us. We had a wonderful church and an outstanding support system through it all. My wife and I leaned on each other. We discovered that life happens.

My son is 28 now. His transplant was over 25 years ago. He’s exceptionally smart and an excellent storyteller and illustrator. Very creative.

The pivot turned out to be a true blessing, mainly because we trusted God and committed to the new direction of life. We never went lacking financially, and we remained flexible. Even though I could fill up the pages of everything my family and I went through, the glass-half-full metaphor really worked and helped me see the opportunities, especially in music.

I sang on a praise team for 3 years, was part of a live recording, and was a director of a children’s choir for several years.

Sometimes, those pivots can be just a correction in course and purpose. At least, that’s what it was for me and my family.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I was ready to publish my first book in 2009. I contacted a professional editor who had worked for Simon and Schuster for seven years. My book at the time was over 80,000 words. She cut my novel down by over 40,000 words. She even cut out one of the main characters because he wasn’t necessary to the story. Her suggestions would have made my novel a best seller, but it wouldn’t have been my story.

When we had my phone consult, she gave me two critiques that made a tremendous difference. First, I needed to return to school and learn my craft. She suggested UCLA online. The second genuinely stuck with me. She emphasized. “You are talented.”

Afterward, I had to decide whether to stick with her changes and go for the money and success or get back to learning my craft and developing my voice. I chose the latter, kept my day job, and signed up for classes at UCLA, which proved to be an exceptional school for writing.

Although I didn’t fully understand how to correct the story, I got back to writing. I must admit, my writing was cleaner after my experience with her. I was thankful that she was honest about my weaknesses and her constructive criticism gave me the ability to move forward. I’m not saying the criticism was easy to take, but it was necessary. Over the years, my resilience strengthened and came in ebbs and flows. I would love to say I was constantly climbing, but I would be lying.

After 1000s of dollars, over 10,000 hours of writing, numerous classes, and mentorship, I came to respect and appreciate the craft of writing; I didn’t let the story die but kept pushing to finish. I am so thankful I stuck with it. I have grown tremendously, and I mentored a friend who wrote and published 2 books since 2022.

Resilience? I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today without it. My editor was right about me back in 2009, even though I put everything she cut back into my book, which I finally published in 2020. I learned “Show, not Tell” at UCLA and much more. Oh yeah, the 10,000-plus hours of actual writing didn’t hurt at all, either.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marcuspgriffin.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063809100145
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-griffin-5681a224/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarcusPomreyG

Image Credits
Steve Kuhn (Black and White) Steve Kuhn of https://www.kuhndesigngroup.com/ Black and White Covers – Book 1 Nothing Left to Give Black and White Covers – Book 2 Beyond Words /art from Shutterstock photo Royalty free by contributor Alenavlad for Cover – Beyond Words Color Photo for Nothing Left to Give (Grady Carter Photography) Cover Art Color for Nothing Left to Give (Myrna Galan of Galan Graphix)