Fiction Writing and Spirituality with Brian Vannoy

Have you ever felt called to write a book? In this episode we’re joined by Brian Vannoy, who decided to pursue his desire to write a spiritual-supernatural book called “Falling Toward Redemption.” This came as a surprise to himself, as for most of his life he never thought he would become a published author. Brian shares the details and unexpected turns of his journey to becoming an author in today’s episode. He also explores how angels and demons relate not only to his book, but to humanity as a whole. On this episode of the Live. Love. Engage. podcast: Why Brian is okay with the idea of not knowing what to do with his life. The reason Brian felt compelled to write a book. What the core messaging of his book is. The white lie that got Brian closer to publishing his book. What has surprised him about the people he’s worked with along the way. How growing up Mennonite influenced Brian’s life. Why he says he still doesn’t consider himself a writer. The motivating factor driving Brian to complete his trilogy. The trick to truly scary (Alfred Hitchcock style) writing. How people often mistake Lucifer for a demon, and what he actually is. The doors Brian says people don’t want to open. Why humanity is more than what we see in the mirror. How Brian believes the enemy is trying to divide humanity today. The importance of each person’s perfectly designed purpose. Tangible evidence that the separation between people and God does not exist. How Brian came to be exposed to encounters with things not of this world. Connect with Brian Brian’s email : author.b.d.vannoy (at) gmail.com Quick Links: Join the Live. Love. Engage. Community Intuitive Business Coaching The Live. Love. Engage. Book Support the Podcast with BuyMeACoffee.com Enjoying what you're hearing on Live. Love. Engage.? Subscribe on Goodpods or your favorite podcast platform, and click here to leave a 5 STAR Review. TRANSCRIPT You're listening to the Live Love Engage podcast. On today's show, author Brian Vannoy shares the deeper spiritual meaning of his supernatural novel falling toward redemption. Stay tuned. I am Gloria Grace Rand, founder of the Love Method, and author of the number one Amazon best seller, Live, Love, Engage, How to stop doubting yourself and start Being Yourself. In this podcast, we share practical advice from a spiritual perspective on how to live fully, love deeply, and engage authentically so you can create a life and business with more. Influence and income. Welcome to Live Love, Engage. Namaste and welcome. I am so glad that you are with us today because I've got a guest joining us who I connected with a few months ago. And I want to, I’m gonna tell you all about him in a second, but first I wanna welcome Brian Vannoy to Live. Love, Engage. Hi, how are you? Thank you for having me. Nice to be her. Well, it is good to have you and I wanna share with all of our listeners today, just, a little bit about this gentleman and, well, I thought he would make an interesting guest for us today because, That says, Bio says he's a true Renaissance man. Brian is a, he's been a formerly trained chef who worked for Fortune 500 Company, four Star Hotel and Premier Caterer. Then he's also been involved in auto manufacturing working with Ford, making the F-150 truck. And he’s also currently an over the road trucker with over a million safe miles to his credit. And in, along the way, he also actually was kind called to write a book. He's wrote a book that is described as a spiritual supernatural novel called Falling toward Redemption. And, I would love for you to share with our listeners, Brian, what, what kinda prompted you to able to, or to decide that you, embark on a another career as, as an author? I’ll be 63 in November, Maybe. I haven't quite figured out what I wanna do with my life yet, but, That's okay. Cuz God does, God, God has. So, about 15 years ago, he came to me as God always does, when you seem to be least prepared for him to do that. And, he chose me. He told me he wants me to write books, which of course I was Jonah and I ran away as fast as I could because you have to understand English was my worst subject. the only time I ever had to do summer school in summer was in seventh grade was because of English. Last thing I could ever dream of myself being would be a published author. but God has this unique way of picking the least. People that you would think of to fulfill his purpose. So, he gives me stories and like movie scenes, the whole movie scenes and, the way I was given these stories in the books, working on a trilogy book one is out now book, like you said, book two is in the hands, the same hands of the same. They did book one and I'm desperately trying to finish book three of a trilogy. Wow. And, it’s, it's not so much about the books the way I I was given them and the way that he wants me to write these books is the core messaging is messaging that people have heard are their lives. No one's fallen too far to beyond, to be beyond God's grace, mercy, love and forgiveness, redemption, and interesting timing. That book, the physical books, were launched Easter week as everybody focuses on the purpose of Easter. And the reason we celebrate Easter is because of salvation and, and the work of Jesus Christ to calvary and forgiveness. And, it just happened to work. I have, I have, I say that tongue in cheek. It just happened to work out, but of course that doesn't, that doesn't exist with God. He had that planned all along. So the eBooks have been out since, the beginning of the year. You have to understand this has been a 15 year journey to this point, because I wrote it half-heartedly and finished. In record time, but it showed, and it needed a lot of work. But I, I was adamant about, All right, that's it. I'm, I'm done. I did what you told me to do and I forgot about it. And he left me alone for 10 years. About three years ago, he came to me and said, You're not done yet. Oh, you need to rewrite this. I'm like, You gotta be kidding me. I thought I was done with. Because I kind of just forgot about it. I didn't, you know, I thought it was just, I thought it was just writing it for my own edification, my own, the idea of like pursuing, you know, this to become public, you know, was like, ugh. You know? But I did it. I mean, as I could look back on it now, and I'm like, How in the world did I end up as a published author? I have no concept of how that happens. Except by the grace of God. And I mean, I queried over 300 literary agents. I don't have a literary agent. I have a publishing contract with Morgan James with no literary agent. Wow. So people that are pursuing this, take a moment. Let this sink in. I mean, cuz things like this don't happen. Uh, You know, but I, I queried like over 300 agents and publishers, large and small, both here in the US and Australia and England, and trying to get in the back door with made the big five, you know, with like the Australian branch of, of Penguin House, you know, that sort of thing. But of course it doesn't work like that. Yeah. You know, and but one of my LinkedIn contact. Just happened to be, again, tongue of cheek. Just happened to be , the acquisitions editor of Morgan James, Mr. Terry Whelan. And it's funny because they were one of my first rejection letters, uh, like Stephen King made a great, made a great point about his journey, how he started out as he had this big spike on the wall that he impaled all his rejection letters on and, and, I had their rejection letter because what I sent them was the first, basically the first draft that I kind of wrote half-heartedly. Right. And over the course of a couple months, Mr. Wayne and I went back and forth and he's like, Did you ever send me what you wrote? And I'm like, I didn't wanna say, Well, yeah I did, but you rejected it. I'm like, Well, I told a little white line. I'm like, Well, no, I did it because actually, you know, I had gone back and rewrote it with help. Right. And he's like, Well, send it to me. Send me everything you got. And I'm like, Really?? This doesn't happen. You know? I'm like, Sure. You know? And a couple weeks later, uh, history, he's like, We're gonna, He's like, You've, you've made it more, You made it farther than like 95% of the people that I see. You know? I'm like, mm-hmm. Okay. I'm like, What does that mean?? I don't understand what you're saying. He's like, We're getting ready to offer you a contract. I'm like, you know, like, Oh. So I now have a contract that covers everything. I mean, it's just audio and foreign rights and Wow. You know? I'm like, Wow. So it actually is coming up on two years now, June. We're almost through May. So I guess I could say next month, uh, June will be two years. I had the contract in my hands for two years. So, and it's been, it's been, you know, it's been, uh, I've been published, I'm sorry. I've been posting, little vignettes, little videos on, I, I primarily use Instagram and Facebook and. LinkedIn and I call my publishing journey and I post these little all, all the, all the good and bad and ugly, you know, of the journey that I've been on. I mean, it's been delayed, uh, primarily for financial reasons because I couldn't, I just couldn't afford to do the things I needed to do. Uh, I'm now an owner operator. Before I was just a company driver. Mm-hmm. So I wasn't making really that. Like I'm making now, even with the, the high diesel prices. I mean, it is kind of put a crimp on everything, but Yeah. You know, uh, but I, I'm here talking to you because I could afford to attend the National Publicity Summit. Mm-hmm. I mean, there's no other, there's no other way. I mean, because I, I, I made the income as an owner operator was, gave me the opportunity to be here talking to nice people like you. You know,...