About Davis Bunn
Davis
Bunn is an award-winning novelist whose audience
spans reading genres from high drama and action thrillers to heartwarming
relationship stories, in both contemporary and historical settings. He and his
wife, Isabella, make their home in Florida for some of each year, and spend the
rest near Oxford, England, where they each teach and write. Visit Davis at
www.davisbunn.com.
Q & A with Davis Bunn
When you finished
writing Lion of Babylon (book 1 in the Marc Royce series), did you just
keep going with the storyline and wrote Rare Earth at the same time? Or
was there a time gap in between?
Normally by the time I complete a
story, I have been living with the characters and the tale for about a year.
What I need more than anything just then is a break. I don’t need to stop writing;
I just need to write about something else. The emotions for a new book have to
be fresh. The characters are not just continuing on. They are starting over. The emotions and the
concepts and the tension and the theme are all brand new. The names stay the
same. The rest of the universe shifts on its axis.
Marc Royce is not your typical hero. Where
did you find your inspiration for his character?
As I started researching the first book in this series, Lion of Babylon, I took a flight where I
was seated next to this very remarkable woman, an amazing combination of hard
intelligence and great gentleness. She was reading a pocket New Testament. We
started talking, and it turned out that she was a special operative, formerly
with the State Department intelligence division, and now working with the
Department of Defense Intel. I found myself drawn by this incredible paradox of
ruthless focus and very intense calm.
Soon after this flight, I had an opportunity to meet a senior figure
in the CIA. I had never had any contact with the intelligence community, and
all of a sudden I was finding one door after another being opened, because both
of these people—the DOD Intel officer and the CIA agent—took it upon themselves
to help introduce me to their worlds. I have found this happen on a number of
occasions, and these ongoing miracles humble and astound me. I drew on these
people as the basis for structuring my hero.
What can readers expect to find in Rare Earth?
All my books hold to one key aim—to create a story that carries a
moral, and together result in an impact or challenge or inspiration or
comforting assurance that remains long after the book is set down. That, to me,
defines a worthy effort.
What kind of character is Marc Royce?
He carries his faith into a world that
likes to think Jesus no longer plays a role. He sees himself as the ultimate
outsider, wounded by the loss of his wife, searching for a place he can call
home, and an ideal worth living for—or giving his life for.
Tell us about one or two other key characters.
Like the book that launched this series, Rare Earth is a story about the
missionary church. Many of the other characters are Kenyan, and reveal the
amazing role that believers play in this nation.
What type of research did you do for this series?
I worked in Africa for four years
early in my adult life. I was not a believer at that time. I came to faith four
years later. I taught in Kenya last year, the first time I had been back to
sub-Sahara Africa in almost twenty years. Going back to Africa now, as a
believer, has opened my eyes to many things. Seeing with the compassion of
sharing faith and seeking to serve means that I do not merely observe, I share
with them. I hope this comes across in my story.
Research is a huge component of all
of my stories. But with Lion of Babylon
and Rare Earth, the situation was
quite different. In both these Royce novels, I was combining knowledge gained
in my previous business life with the perspective gained from my walk in faith.
It has been quite a fulfilling experience, personally, to revisit these lands
and see them through the eyes of our compassionate God.
Which
character in Rare Earth do you
connect to the most?
This is the second book starring Marc Royce. He is a complex individual
with a lot of amazing traits. I feel like I am finally coming to terms with the
depths of this man.
Which
character was the most difficult to write?
There is a Luo chief in Nairobi, a strong leader who has had everything
stripped from him except his faith. He is the uncle of another great man,
another leader. To have two people from the same tribe, and create individuals
that stood out as unique portraits, was very challenging. I feel that I have
done a solid job with them. I look forward to hearing what my readers think.
What
was your favorite scene to write in Rare
Earth?
It is very rare that a first
scene holds such a powerful connection for me. Generally it is one where there
is a revelation between characters, or a defining moment when a person’s eyes
are truly opened to the eternal for the first time.
But in Rare Earth, when I shut my eyes and envision the story, it is that
first scene that blazes into light. Travelling on the UN chopper from Nairobi,
watching the volcano take shape upon the horizon. Marc Royce has been sent out
there to fail. And to die. I really am pleased with that opening sequence.
What’s
next in your writing pipeline?
The film project Unlimited,
for which I wrote the screenplay, has now ‘wrapped’, that is, filming has been
completed. The producer and director are now deep into the editing process.
Meanwhile, I must get busy and write the novel.
I had the whole thing backwards here, doing the script first, but it
has been a lot of fun, and the concept remains very fresh. So hopefully it will
come alive on the page as well as the screen. Both the film and the story are titled
Unlimited, and are slated for release
in September 2013.
How can readers find you on the Internet?
WIN A FREE BOOK!
The publisher has provided us the opportunity to give away one copy of the paperback edition of Rare Earth by Davis Bunn.
Here are the rules:
1. The winner must have a non-P.O. Box address in the United States
3. You will get a second entry if you sign up for Davis Bunn's newsletter (http://www.davisbunn.com/news.htm) Leave a comment here stating you have done this.
4. You will get a third entry if you LIKE Davis Bunn's Facebook page (facebook.com/davisbunnauthor) Leave a comment here stating you have done this.
The contest will close August 14, 2012 and a winner will be selected randomly from those who entered.
2. To enter the contest, leave a comment below, answering this question: If you could serve as a missionary in another country, where would you go?
I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Bethany
House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I
have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal
Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.
