The Catalyst Leader: 8 Essentials for Becoming a Change Maker is an incredible resource for leaders who want to rise up and take charge. In this book, Brad Lomenick gives eight essentials for being an influential leader. We had a chance to chat with Brad about his book, as well as his vision for young leaders.

1. What is The Catalyst Leader about?

The Catalyst Leader lays out the eight essential traits one must develop to become a change maker and, ultimately, a Catalyst Leader. I hope this book will provide practical leadership answers for a new generation of aspiring leaders who are looking for answers and solutions, not just leadership theory. It’s a practical guide for leading now and leading well—a leadership handbook for the next generation of leaders. The book presents the key essentials that I believe will define our generation’s ability to influence over the next 20–25 years, laying out what it means to be a Catalyst in this generation. The Catalyst Leader is packed with a combination of candid interviews with thought leaders, research with the core leadership community, and overall leadership best practices. A rising generation of leaders needs to be equipped for the task of leadership.

2. Talk about your passion for leaders.
 
I have a deep passion for helping leaders lead well. It’s what drives me. At Catalyst, we are crazy about gathering, inspiring, and releasing the next wave of leaders who love Jesus and have a burden to be Catalysts in their communities and culture. I believe it’s my stewardship and my responsibility to help these leaders do their jobs well all over the country, and I’m incredibly optimistic about the next wave of leaders who are now stepping into leadership roles. It’s a generation of leaders willing to work their guts outs for something bigger than themselves, willing to work together to accomplish the big vision. This book is about the broader Catalyst movement.

3. What can leaders expect from the book?

The Catalyst Leader provides practical help for all leaders at any stage of their leadership journey, defining what it means to be a Catalyst in this generation and inspiring us all to be true change makers wherever we lead. I believe the book is defining, practical, inspiring, and timely. It provides perspective and practical application that leaders can put into practice immediately. I hope the book is a kick in the pants, a punch in the gut, and a pat on the back. Both challenging and encouraging.

4. Do the leadership essentials in The Catalyst Leader apply differently for older leaders and younger leaders?

The eight essentials for becoming a change maker are applicable to every leader, young or old. But there are some specific responsibilities that younger leaders have to take on, such as the notion that they are called but not yet equipped. This is not as true for older leaders. Also, the way a younger leader views legacy is different.

5. When you look five to ten years down the road, what is your hope for The Catalyst Leader?

I want to see our generation finish well. I want this book to be a timeless resource for a whole new generation of leaders. I hope to see churches, organizations, businesses, nonprofits, and teams use this resource for equipping their leaders. I want to see hundreds of thousands of leaders all over the world leading now, and leading well. My hope is that The Catalyst Leader will create change makers who saturate all areas of our culture, and that a leadership revolution will begin. Ultimately, I want to see the leadership culture transformed.

Download The Catalyst Leader: 8 Essentials for Becoming a Change Maker on Vyrso today!

We talked with John S. Dickerson, senior pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church, about his new book, The Great Evangelical Recession.

Vyrso Voice: You’re an award-winning journalist and senior pastor—how have you combined your two passions?

John S. Dickerson: This book combines journalistic research and pastoral Bible teaching in a unique way. I thank God that we have a number of great researchers and statisticians in the Christian community. We also have some gifted pastors who write. However, it’s rare that the two—researcher and pastor—meet in one book. The Great Evangelical Recession is unique in this way. The first six chapters gather, organize, and interpret research from dozens of experts—making sense of data that few people have time to wade through. The second half of the book is a pastor Bible study. It examines God’s Word to describe how we can adjust course in America. It’s specific and practical.

Vyrso Voice: Throughout your book, you provide readers with irrefutable data. What was the most influential piece of data you found?

John S. Dickerson: I think we all sense that the culture is rapidly changing. I was surprised to see just how fast it is changing. For example, a Gallup poll shows that between 1996 and 2011, Americans entirely flip-flopped on their view of same-sex marriage. In 1996, the majority opposed it. By 2011, the majority of Americans favored same-sex marriage. When you consider that this issue was a given in the United States for more than 200 years, that is a stunning rate of cultural change.

Vyrso Voice: You include “Six Trends of Decline” in your book; which one stands out to you most, and why?

John S. Dickerson: To me, it’s the meta- or megatrend. That is, the combined force of all these trends working at once. Other authors have highlighted some of the individual trends. For example, the fact that the Church is losing its young people: that has been well documented by David Kinnaman and Drew Dyck, among others. My heart in writing The Great Evangelical Recession was to connect the dots and inform thinking Christians that all these trends fit together. When we zoom out to see all these trends advancing simultaneously, we realize that we cannot simply continue doing American Church as we have known it.

Vyrso Voice: In addition, you provide “Six Solutions for Recovery.” What solutions can we start enacting right now?

John S. Dickerson: All six of the solution chapters can—and should—be implemented soon. They are unchanging scriptural truth that we have either forgotten or obscured because of our American cultural lenses. The first of those six solutions is to humble ourselves before the Lord. This requires us to embrace our weakness, as the Apostle Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 12. American Christianity is weaker than we thought, but this is a great opportunity for us to invite God into our weakness—so that He can show His power. As He told Paul, “My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Vyrso Voice: How has researching and writing on this topic challenged you personally?

John S. Dickerson: A few years ago, God called me to pastor a small church in a small city. I left journalism thinking that I would get to pastor a quaint church and have a blank slate to apply the principles in this book. God had other plans. He continues growing that church, every month and every year. As exciting as growth is, it seems that we are constantly playing catch-up just to love and care for the people He is bringing us. And so, my personal challenge is to apply the second half of this book in my own congregation. We have a long ways to go.

The Great Evangelical Recession is on sale for $6.99 through March 17. Download it today!

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit ministry dedicated to teaching the principles of God’s Word and assisting the church in ministering to the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled, and unsupported people around the world.  His ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions, and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity.

We were able to talk to Randy about Money, Possessions, and Eternity and how to have a biblically centered mindset regarding our treasures.  Because of Randy’s rich answers to each of our questions, we’ve broken this interview into a four-part miniseries on finances. This is the fourth and final piece in the series—enjoy!

Vyrso Voice: How would you describe the process of weaning yourself off your dependence to stuff? Are there withdrawals? A detox process?

Randy Alcorn: I think one of the most basic ways we can begin weaning ourselves from our dependence to stuff is by realizing that you can’t take it with you. You’ll never see a hearse pulling a U­Haul. If that point is clear in your mind, you’re ready to see the paradigm­shifting significance of what Jesus is saying in Matthew 6. He takes that profound truth “You can’t take it with you” and adds a stunning qualification. By telling us not to store up treasures on earth, but instead to store up treasures for ourselves in Heaven, Jesus is saying, “You can’t take it with you—but you can send it on ahead.”

Matthew 6:19-24 shows us that we’re to avoid storing up treasures on earth not as an end in itself, but as part of a life strategy to lay up treasures in heaven. A person may give up all earthly treasures without ever investing in heavenly treasures. Jesus is not looking for ascetics or hermits, but eternity-wise investors. Jesus is not speculating, he’s speaking of sure things. When he warns us not to store up treasures on earth, it’s not just because wealth might be lost. It’s that wealth will definitely be lost. Either it leaves us while we live, or we leave it when we die.

Whatever treasures we store up on Earth will be left behind when we die. Whatever treasures we store up in Heaven will be waiting for us when we arrive.

If your treasures are on earth, each day you are moving away from them. If your treasures are in heaven, each day you are moving toward them.

He who spends his life moving away from his treasures has reason to despair. He who spends his life moving toward his treasures has reason to rejoice.

It’s a revolutionary concept, this great adventure of giving. If you embrace it, I guarantee it will change your life.

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit ministry dedicated to teaching the principles of God’s Word and assisting the church in ministering to the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled, and unsupported people around the world.  His ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions, and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity.

We were able to talk to Randy about Money, Possessions, and Eternity and how to have a biblically centered mindset regarding our treasures. Because of Randy’s rich answers to each of our questions, we’ve broken this interview into a four-part miniseries on finances. Be sure to check back tomorrow for part 4.

Vyrso Voice: When judging your relationship to money and stuff, where is a good place to start? How do you make an honest assessment of your relationship to your possessions?

Randy Alcorn: Many of us have never known what it is not to be materialistic. This is why we need so desperately to read the Scriptures, grapple with these issues, bring them to God in prayer, discuss them with our brothers and sisters, and look for and learn from those rare models of generous living in our Christian communities.

In the parable of the great banquet, Jesus describes invitations that went out to three men (Luke 14:16-24). All three declined. One said he had to go look at his newly bought field. Another had just gotten married and didn’t have the time. The third man had just purchased five yoke of oxen and was anxious to try them out. The master is angered by these excuses, and he orders his servants to “go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” Speaking of those originally invited, who were preoccupied with other concerns, Jesus said, “I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet” (Luke 14:24).

There was nothing wrong with what any of the three men were involved in. They didn’t stay away from the banquet because they were stealing or committing adultery. They stayed away because they had more pressing concerns—a new field, a new wife, a new herd. But regardless of their reasons—good or bad—the bottom line was the same: They were so preoccupied with their new treasures that they said no to the banquet giver and missed the banquet. Significantly, those without material resources were available to accept the invitation.

I think we need to ask ourselves tough questions. Including, for what seemingly good, legitimate, and compelling reasons am I saying no to God? Are my possessions and other pressing concerns causing me to miss the banquet? How would my family and I benefit, and how would God’s kingdom be furthered, if we gave away those possessions?

The only way to break free of materialism is through giving. God hasn’t entrusted us with so much to raise our standard of living, but to raise our standard of giving. So why not liquidate some assets and cut expenditures, and give increasingly more to God’s kingdom? Why not draw a line and say “this much and no more—we can live comfortably on this level of income, Lord; if you provide more than that we’re going to invest the excess in your kingdom.” If you do that, you will experience great joy and you’ll sense God saying to you “Well done.” And your children will grow up in a home that’s really about God’s kingdom.

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit ministry dedicated to teaching the principles of God’s Word and assisting the church in ministering to the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled, and unsupported people around the world.  His ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions, and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity.

We were able to talk to Randy about Money, Possessions, and Eternity and how to have a biblically centered mindset regarding our treasures. Because of Randy’s rich answers to each of our questions, we’ve broken this interview into a four-part miniseries on finances. Be sure to check back tomorrow for part 3.

Vyrso Voice: It is hard for churches to address issues of money because the church has developed the reputation for being money-hungry. This definitely wasn’t how people viewed the early church. How do you think the church developed this reputation? And how do we begin to change it?

Randy Alcorn: People were amazed that the apostles were plain, ordinary men, with no great education or social status (Acts 4:13). Peter said to the crippled man, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3:6).

Although the leaders of the early Church and many of its first members were uneducated and poor, some of them middle class, over time some churches became wealthy, and their pastors became educated and moved to the socioeconomic status once reserved for the Pharisees. There’s nothing wrong with education or money, but certain temptations accompany the status that goes with both. The higher our social standing and the more silver and gold we have, the harder it is for others (and sometimes for us) to believe our message that Christ is our greatest asset and the center of our lives. It becomes harder to trust Christ when you have other assets you can trust.

One thing churches can do is give away large amounts of the money they collect. Our hearts go where we put our treasures, and by giving to missions and the poor and needy our hearts go to those things. That way instead of building our own little kingdom, which is a big temptation for churches, we focus on building God’s kingdom.

We’ve rationalized and justified our lust for money and possessions. Worse, we have baptized our materialism, couched it in religious terms and affirmed it as God’s plan for our lives. That’s prosperity theology, health and wealth gospel, and it’s from the pit of hell. It obscures the true gospel.

We need to ask ourselves whether a materialistic world can ever be won to Christ by a materialistic Church. I don’t think it can.

One problem is that when churches do address the subject of stewardship and giving, a fundamental mistake they often make is tying the teaching to a specific project or need. We preach on giving because the offering is down or to kick off a building fund drive. The result is that people view the instruction on giving merely as a fundraising tool, a means to the end of accomplishing our personal or institutional goals. (Indeed, often that’s just what it is.)

I recommend scheduling messages on giving when there are no special pleas to give. In a society preoccupied with money and possessions, Christians will continually be exposed to wrong thinking and living. Certainly, we cannot expect the Christian community to take Scripture seriously unless pastors clearly teach and apply it.

Fellow Christians ought to disciple each other in financial stewardship. Young believers need to see biblical lifestyle principles embodied. Those who’ve learned about the bondage of debt the hard way need to warn others. Young couples need to hear their elders tell of their joy in giving, and how God has used it in their family. Husbands and wives need to be encouraged to discuss and act on these truths.

Churches can also build credibility by actively and generously supporting Christ’s work around the world. Church budgets often designate less than 10 percent of their income to missions. And what’s called “missions” often includes ministries directed at reaching our own country or community. More than 90 percent of an average local church budget never leaves the country, it remains as part of America’s wealth. All of us should be giving regularly to our local churches, and we should encourage our leaders in turn to invest an even larger share of their church budgets in world missions.

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit ministry dedicated to teaching the principles of God’s Word and assisting the church in ministering to the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled, and unsupported people around the world.  His ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions, and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity.

We were able to talk to Randy about Money, Possessions, and Eternity and how to have a biblically centered mindset regarding our treasures. Because of Randy’s rich answers to each of our questions, we’ve broken this interview into a four-part miniseries on finances. Be sure to check back tomorrow for part 2.

Vyrso Voice: Why do you think people find it so easy to compartmentalize their relationship to stuff apart from their spirituality?

Randy Alcorn: We find it easy because materialism is the air we breathe. It’s just normal. We become blind to it, and it has blinded us to our own spiritual poverty. Jesus rebuked the Laodicean Christians because although they were materially wealthy, they were desperately poor in the things of God (Revelation 3:17-18). Puritan Richard Baxter said, “When men prosper in the world, their minds are lifted up with their estates, and they can hardly believe that they are so ill, while they feel themselves so well.”

I think one of the most basic things we need to do in order to break the bonds of materialism is to always think in terms of God’s ownership. From beginning to end, Scripture repeatedly emphasizes God’s ownership of everything. Stewardship is living in the light of that overriding truth. It’s living with the awareness that we are managers, not owners; that we are caretakers of God’s assets, which he has entrusted to us for this brief season here on earth. How we handle money and possessions demonstrates who we really believe is their true owner—God or us.

Some of us have heard that before, but the fact that it doesn’t sink in is demonstrated by how we go about spending our money. In the financial world, a good investment manager is very careful, and never takes unnecessary risks. He doesn’t do with his client’s holdings whatever he feels like. Why? Because he knows those assets don’t belong to him; they belong to his client. Good stewards always act in the owners’ best interests, consulting and listening carefully to the owner in order to understand and implement their investment priorities.

If we really believe God is the owner of all that has been entrusted to us, we should be regularly asking him, “What do you want me to do with your money and your possessions?” When we fail to do that, we demonstrate that we don’t get Stewardship 101–it all belongs to God. That has tremendous implications for our relationship to stuff, as well as our view of debt, our spending habits, and our philosophy of giving and investing in eternity.

Arlene Pellicane has been featured on The Hour of Power, The 700 Club, TLC’s Home Made Simple, and Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah. Her book, 31 Days to a Younger You: No Surgery, No Diets, No Kidding (available from Vyrso) shows women how to be beautiful from the inside out.

Recently, our own Tayler Lindsey had an opportunity to talk to Arlene about 31 Days to a Younger You, how to feel better, and how to genuinely improve one’s energy.

Vyrso Voice: Does it really take just 31 days to look and feel younger?

Arlene Pellicane: You’ve got to start somewhere! Most of us have an unhealthy habit that will age us prematurely—whether it’s a lack of exercise or a love for donuts. If you think of making a change for life, it’s too overwhelming. But if you start with a doable time period like 31 days, you can make some wonderful changes that will make you look and feel younger in probably less than a month.

Vyrso Voice: What would you say to women who believe that outward appearance shouldn’t be their priority and that people should accept them as they are?

Arlene Pellicane: Your outward appearance may not the most important thing in life, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of it. Sure, it’s better to be a person of character than a person with good looks. But why does it have to be either/or? Beauty comes from the inside out. My friend said she’d love to go to work in her pajamas (ah, the comfort!), but she would never do that out of consideration for her co-workers. How she looks affects other people. In the same way, we ought to do our best to look as attractive as possible to the people around us. Especially as believers, we are ambassadors of the King.

Vyrso Voice: Can busy women apply these principles in a short amount of time?

Arlene Pellicane: Yes! By reading for five to ten minutes a day and then doing a simple action step, a busy woman can start looking and feeling younger in days. I know a busy single mom who read my book and started doing crossword puzzles to challenge her mind, lifting weights, and cutting out white flour from her diet. She feels better already, and those are just a few small changes that can make a big difference.

Vyrso Voice: What are some areas of the heart, mind, and body that you cover?

Arlene Pellicane: For the heart, readers are led to be more joyful, recover that childlike faith, roll with the punches, and laugh again. As we grow older, it’s easy to think “I’m losing my mind!” So we spend time to focus on improving memory and strengthening our brain power through learning new skills and doing hobbies we enjoy. The adage “move it or lose it” rings true, so we spend the last part of the book focusing on improving our exercise and eating habits, plus fashions dos and don’ts as we age.

Vyrso Voice: Many women are tired and bored with their lives. How can they add some excitement to the mix?

Arlene Pellicane: It’s very easy to settle into a routine and become bored with life. But thankfully, it’s also very easy to shake off lethargy to do something exciting. It’s as simple as putting something on the calendar that you are looking forward to: a women’s retreat, coffee with a friend, a day trip, or enrolling in a painting class. It can be anything and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Is there a hobby or destination you loved as a child? Make plans to do that again. Create many “I can hardly waits” in life. Notice, you have to create these moments. They don’t automatically come to you.

Vyrso Voice: What are some tips for relieving stress or making time for yourself?

Arlene Pellicane: Exercise is a great stress reliever whether it’s an intense exercise class at the gym or walk around your block. Find something you enjoy that helps you “change channels” so you can walk away from the things that are stressing you out. It may be reading a Psalm or a chapter in a book, calling a friend, asking someone to pray with you over the phone, or journaling. If you see you have a particularly busy week or you’re in a demanding season of life, schedule time in your calendar for down time. Set aside a weeknight where there are no outside activities and re-group. Protect that time or something or someone will take it away.

Download 31 Days to a Younger You from Vyrso today!

The Lotus Keeper, K. R. Dial’s new novel from Kirkdale Press, presents a harrowing picture of the child sex trade. Dial’s hero, recent law graduate Sam Toney discovers that his new firm is involved in a nefarious trafficking business. Faced with this revelation, Toney is forced to confront his priorities and what it means to be a hero.

Written as part of Dial’s ongoing ministry to rescue the victims of child prostitution, The Lotus Keeper tackles the sex trafficking epidemic. Dial led corporate intercessory prayer for the International Justice Mission, helped form the Atlanta Justice Coalition, and served as a volunteer guardian ad litem for abused and neglected kids, receiving her district’s top honor as Rookie of the Year for her courtroom advocacy of a local teenage prostitute. She wrote The Lotus Keeper after a trip to Thailand spent researching the issue of child sex trafficking—and meeting the victims face to face.

We were able to talk to author K. R. Dial about her novel and her passion for advocacy. You can read the rest of the interview on Logos Talk.

Vyrso Voice: What was your biggest challenge in using fiction to tackle such a sobering topic?

K. R. Dial: I could have written a research paper in one year about this topic. Fiction is difficult for me. I spent at least a whole year staring at a white screen and a blinking cursor, and a decade writing the book. To intertwine academic material into your characters’ lives and dialogue is not easy to do. But it’s done by writers every day. I’m just very, very slow at it.

Vyrso Voice: How difficult was it to walk the line between being overly graphic or sensationalistic and being descriptive enough to communicate the severity of this topic?

K. R. Dial: Not difficult at all. The Bible is never graphic, yet it communicates the most heinous of sins. It was my goal that no one’s stomach would turn while reading the book. No intelligent person needs a description of child prostitution to know what it is, and that it must be stopped. What I describe is an underground and covert system to bring the perpetrator to the victim, as well as the equally clandestine plan to destroy this system.

Vyrso Voice: The Lotus Keeper seems as much a story about Sam’s character arc as it is about the larger issue of human trafficking. How do you want people to identify with Sam Toney?

K. R. Dial: I would have never finished the book without Sam. I wanted to finish his story, to test him, to put him through tribulation and watch him become a man. No, not just a man; I wanted to watch him become a hero. He started his professional life only wanting to make money. I took him on a journey to wanting to make a difference. To be honest, I want people to read the book and decide it’s never too late to be somebody’s hero. I want people mired in sin to shed their shame and make a stand for righteousness. My Christ Jesus is ready to coach just such people.

Vyrso Voice: A huge challenge for a first time author is silencing (or ignoring) some of the critical inner voices: “No one’s going to take you seriously,” “You don’t know enough about this issue,” etc. Did you struggle with any of that while working on The Lotus Keeper?

K. R. Dial: My critical inner voice was persistent, loud, and almost successful. My novel is a fast-paced three-hundred page thriller and it took me a painful decade to write! My friend Don Brown is a prolific writer of longer, more complex thrillers and he produces each of his novels within a year. My inner voice thought she had beaten me. But my inner voice didn’t attack me on my knowledge of subject matter. I’m an excellent researcher, and my inner voice only goes for my vulnerability. It’s like this, “You’ll never finish,” “You’ll give up.” “This is too hard.” “Just stop now, and people will forget you’re writing a book.” I was never able to silence the voice in my head, but some real people started to raise their voices too. And I started to listen to the encouragement God was putting all around me. When Don Brown read my perpetual half-a-novel and left me a voice mail with, “We’ve got to get you published,” I cried and thought for the first time that maybe my inner voice was a liar.

Vyrso Voice: When you finally finished The Lotus Keeper, who was the first person you wanted to tell?

K. R. Dial: My husband. For over ten years he had heard me whine, complain, moan, and cry as I surrendered to my inner voice. And for all those years he said, “If no one publishes it; we will self-publish; we will get it out there; just finish it; I know you can do it.”

The book is dedicated to him. He is Sam. He is Marvin. He has the heart that is at the core of these heroic characters. I could not write about the lives of these brave men had I not been privileged to be married to a noble man for over 20 years. My husband has never physically rescued another human being, but his dedication to me and our children burns in his heart. My husband’s love for me is palpable. When I first told him I loved him, he said, “What does love mean to you?” I gave a childish, emotional answer. He said, “No. Love means that you are willing to die for that person. I would die for you. That is how I love you.” We were not Christians then. So how did he have the Gospel in his heart like that? I have never stopped pondering the enormity of his strength and wisdom.

Vyrso Voice: When people are exposed to an issue like sex trafficking, there is often a huge emotional response followed by a sense of paralysis. What would you advise to someone who really wants to get involved but has no idea where to start?

K. R. Dial: Learn, pray, and raise awareness. The International Justice Mission (IJM) holds its Global Prayer Gathering every April in Washington, DC. When I first attended, I felt like I had finally found my spiritual family. I would look around the prayer circle and think, “These people pray like me.” Desperate prayer for God to fight evil in this world. Every action that you will ever take on behalf of the victims must first be conceived in prayer. That’s God’s plan for rescue.

You can learn more about what you can do at www.ijm.org And to explore more on what the Church can do, check out my blog at www.krdial.wordpress.com

Don’t forget to read the rest of this amazing discussion on Logos Talk.

The Lotus Keeper is available today from Vyrso for only $4.49. Download it today!

Here is the second part of our two-part interview with Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey, authors of The Swiss Courier. In this installment, Goyer and Yorkey share both the process of collaborative writing as well as their process for writing historical fiction.

How did you decide to collaborate on a manuscript? 
Who did what?

Mike: You might say that Tricia and I started on a lark. We had this germ of an idea about a Swiss courier being asked to do something that she never envisioned doing. As we discussed plot ideas, I wrote them down and then sent my file to Tricia, who added more thoughts. After several months, we had a strong outline of what we wanted to do. Then I would write a chapter or two and send them over Tricia, who would edit, make suggestions, or even rewrite whole sections. The process pretty much went like this throughout the entire manuscript. I wrote chapters in my “spare” time as I had other editorial commitments, so it took me about two years to finish the first draft. Then Tricia and I went back and forth on edits as she worked around her busy schedule. This was definitely a labor of love.

Tricia: Mike put the ideas on the page . . . and I worked to bring the people and the story to life. There were some sections (technical stuff) where I gave very little input. There were other parts (like the romance) where I, yes, rewrote whole sections! I thought we worked well together, as we each respected the other person’s talents.

How do you go about writing a novel based on historical fact? How does that shape the manuscript and tone of the book?

Mike: I read the definitive biography of Werner Heisenberg—Heisenberg’s War: The Secret History of the German Atomic Bomb by Thomas Powers. A couple of books about American and British pilots interned in Switzerland during the war (Shot from the Sky and Refuge from the Reich) were especially helpful. World War II novels dealing with the Switzerland and the OSS were beneficial, such as The Swiss Account by popular novelist Paul Erdman. Once you have this information in your head, you create these characters and let things play out as you envision everything happening. By the end of the novel, I really believed that [Swiss Courier characters] Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler lived!

Tricia: To balance that, I usually read a lot of “true” stories. I’ve written about spies in my Chronicle of the Spanish Civil War series, and I devoured as many autobiographical accounts as I could. I’m thankful Mike focused on the technical details so I could play with the motivations, fears, and inward battles that these people faced.

What do you hope a reader takes away from The Swiss Courier?

Mike: An appreciation for those who stood up against the Nazi regime. All it took was a jealous neighbor to denounce you to the Gestapo, and you were in for a heap of hurt—and probably a painful death.

Tricia: A sleepless night! Ha! I hope this story will entertain. I also hope the reader will come away with “external” knowledge about this time in history and “internal” strengthening of one’s own convictions.

If you want to enjoy a sleepless night full of intrigue, excitement, and romance, download The Swiss Courier for $4.49 (available at this price through February!) from Vyrso today.

We had an opportunity to discuss The Swiss Courier (on sale for $4.49 until February 29!) with authors Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorky. Here’s what they had to tell us about how they met, why they used Switzerland as a backdrop for a novel about World War II. If you are a fan of historical fiction, subscribe to Vyrso Voice so you don’t miss the next installment of this enlightening interview!

How did you decide to write The Swiss Courier?

Mike: Five or six years ago, Tricia and I met online through the Writer’s View, a place where Christian writers, editors, and agents can gather online to bat around ideas and what’s happening out there. I had just finished writing my first novel, By the Sword, which is a Mideast thriller set in modern times about how Islamic elements in Iran want to take Islam back to its roots, which is conversion by the sword.

I was getting rejection after rejection for By the Sword, and Tricia helped point out why. I wrote and rewrote, and I eventually got By the Sword sold and published with Broadman and Holman in 2006. After that experience, Tricia and I started kicking around some ideas about a World War II novel, which was up my alley since I’ve always thought of myself as a Second World War buff.

Tricia: I think our conversation really took off when I met Mike and his lovely wife Nicole at a large book convention. Once we started talking about World War II it was clear we both loved this time in history. I was also excited because Nicole is Swiss—her accent is lovely! I can’t think of many novels that have been written about WWII from a Swiss character’s perspective.

Why a book centered in Switzerland during World War II? What made you want to focus on this particular story in history?

Mike: My interest in Switzerland stems from being married to a Swiss native, Nicole, for 30 years, and our more than two dozen trips to her home country. Back in the early 1980s, before our two children arrived, we lived one year in Geneva and six months in Zurich so that I could experience Swiss culture. I did a variety of things, from working in a sporting goods shop to teaching tennis at a large indoor club.

One of the aspects about World War II that I was always fascinated by was how Switzerland figured into the global conflict. I read several books about Switzerland’s role during World War II. Although Switzerland declared its neutrality after the invasion of Poland, the landlocked country had to be militarily prepared to defend her neutrality since Nazi Germany had already invaded several other “neutral” countries, including Belgium and Denmark. I learned that the U.S. set up an espionage network in Switzerland, headed by Allen Dulles, starting in 1942. In fact, all the Allied and Axis powers had spy networks operating in Switzerland during the war, and there was a “war of wits” that made for a lot of intrigue.

Tricia: Two aspects that excited me most were both the presence of the OSS (American spies) and American soldiers (being held after making it into Swiss air space).

This isn’t just a Swiss story—it’s a story about American lives that were impacted within the Swiss border.

How much of The Swiss Courier is true? Can you give specific examples?

Mike: Much about The Swiss Courier is true, which begins with a faithful recounting of the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler’s life on July 20, 1944. At that time, Werner Heisenberg, a German winner of the Nobel Prize, was leading the efforts to build the world’s first atomic bomb. American and British pilots were landing their damaged planes in Dübendorf, Switzerland, rather than ditching in Germany, where they stood a good chance of being shot on sight. More than 300 Allied pilots were interned “for the duration” of the war in the Swiss Alpine villages of Davos and Adelboden. Allen Dulles established the OSS—the forerunner of the CIA—in the capital of Switzerland, Bern, in 1943, to start running a spy network. Switzerland did close its borders to Jews and other refugees because “the boat was full.” Switzerland also allowed German trains to pass through Switzerland while going back and forth from Germany to Italy.

Check back, or subscribe now, to catch the rest of this interview. And download The Swiss Courier now to get it at $4.49!