Featured Interview With Steve Wilmot
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a first-time author at the age of 67. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and finally pulled the trigger. I grew up in a small town in NE Indiana. After graduation, I headed to college to train to become a pastor. I pastored for 37 years in five different churches. My wife, Becki, and I live in a small town where we pastored for 28 years. For the last 25 years before retirement from the church, I also delivered mail for the United States Postal Service. I’m enjoying retirement by gardening and landscaping around our house, reading and writing, and babysitting my grandkids.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I am a reader from an early age. Books took me away from a childhood and teen years in which I battled insecurity, inferiority, and fear.
I don’t know when I started writing for sure, but for sure as a Junior in high school. I signed up a journalism class and ended up as assistant editor of the school newspaper. As a Senior, I was editor. Since then I’ve written curriculum and newsletters for the churches where I’ve served and for over a decade, I wrote a weekly spiritual column in two local newspapers. (I’m still doing that now.)
Finally as a senior citizen, I wrote my first book, a novel called “Cornered in Shallow Water: One Man’s Journey from Crippling Fear to Faith and Freedom.” A few months later, I wrote, “Do It Scared: 20 Devotional Readings to Turn Scaredy-Cats into Warriors.” More books are coming.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read anything by Tedd Dekker and John Eldredge.
Books by Andy Stanley, Judah Smith, Steve Farrar, and Bill Thrall have greatly impacted my life.
I am drawn mostly to Christian non-fiction books, but also enjoy biographies and novels written by Christian authors.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
In my first book, I told the story of a pastor who battled fear. Fear that kept him in the shallow end of the pool where he could touch bottom. Fear that imprisoned him in his comfort zone. He learned how to overcome his fear primarily by believing and living out several Bible verses that gave him courage, increased his faith, and defeated his enemy.
My latest book is a companion to that novel. I took 20 key Bible verses that the pastor found life-changing in his battle with fear and wrote a devotional about each of them. My hope is that these devotionals will inspire, encourage, and provide more weapons in the arsenal of my readers doing war with fear.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Steve Wilmot’s Website