I’m sometimes asked: “What inspired you to write (insert title of book or other writing)?” And that is often not an easy question to answer. My guess would be that few – if any writers – can answer such questions without some deep thought and consideration. After all, what DOES inspire us to write? For many of us, first-hand life experiences drive our writing. For others, it’s periods of meditation and thinking upon various topics that provide us with the ideas we put on paper.
Whatever our fount of inspiration, I believe it is important that we revisit – and in some cases, share – what it is or was that motivated us to take that first step toward putting and idea on paper. For me, generally speaking, inspiration for stories usually comes via a combination of current events (i.e. – news stories, human interest, etc.) and simply thinking upon a given topic.
Regarding my latest novel, “Soul Sprints,” inspiration came largely in the form of a real-life story that took place in my hometown of Pace, Florida some years ago. Specifically, two of our local public high school administrators came under fire at one time for praying publicly at a county-sponsored gathering of teachers and administrators. Being the arch-conservative, Bible belt town that Pace is – and likely will be for some time – there was much consternation and controversy over the lawsuit that was filed against these two men – to the degree that the Bible might actually characterize the public response as “wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
For my part, I supported the two defendants and thought (and still think) that they had every right to pray publicly, regardless of their status as school district employees. I’ve never been of the belief that you are to check your personal – religious, or otherwise – beliefs at the door once you become an employee of any particular government.
However, at the same time, this particular fiasco also got me thinking about a larger topic; namely, WHAT IF? What if another religious faith adherent had done the same thing? What if, instead of two WASPy Christian males, the “perpetrator” of the heinous crime of praying was instead a black Muslim? Would there have been the same level of outrage in response to a First Amendment injunction or lawsuit forcing a black Muslim to cease and desist? Or would such an outcome have been met with indifferent silence, or worse – APPROVAL from the community? How exactly would that look in a small, southern town?
And thus the character of Soulemain “Soul” Rasheed was brought into being.
From there, what I figured would be merely a story about religious liberty soon blossomed into a larger tale of football (which I’ve always loved), small-town life in general (which I can certainly relate to), and the larger themes of love, friendship, community, and tolerance – which are somewhat nebulous ideals that I believe most of us aspire to, but often need help with illustrating as we seek to internalize and live those values out.
And so I hope my readers will not only find enjoyment in “Soul Sprints,” but will also come away with something far more invaluable as they turn that final page and begin thinking about these more profound themes. And I hope you will stay in touch with me and let me know your thoughts once you’ve finished reading.
God bless, and happy reading.
