Featured Interview With Jonathan J Stotler
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Jonathan J Stotler was born on the Highveld of The Republic of South Africa. The child of missionaries to South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho, he grew up admiring, respecting, and loving the land and people of Africa, spending his formative years among several different people including the Venda, Zulu, Xhosa, and Ndebele. He currently lives in Boonton, New Jersey and works in the field of Medical Education, but his heart is never far from Africa.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing poetry at a young age. The soul-driven angst and spiritual search played out on paper for many years. It was that early exploration of how a single word can effect the soul that first caught my attention and pushed me to write my first outline. It was later, in college, that my first novel took shape. After a hiatus of several years due to college, career, and family I picked up the pen again and now have a dozen or more manuscripts in one stage of development or another.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I generally have at least two or three books on my nightstand. I love historical fiction and adventure novels. I have always loved history and cultures, and the immense research that goes into weaving a fictional story around historical events is fascinating. As you read James Michener’s books you can almost see the volumes of information that had to be gathered. I also regularly am reading something by Clive Cussler or similar for something more contemporary and adventurous.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Jabulani is a story of childhood in Africa. More than that, it’s a demonstration of what faith and the Fruits of the Spirit in daily life may look like through the eyes of a child. The idea for Jabulani sprang from a desire to share, in a practical way, the Fruits of the Spirit with my own children, and do so within the context of the African culture in which I grew up. Jabulani lives with purpose and loves with purpose, and shares his story across diverse cultural lines.
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