July 21, 2025 • 29 mins
Zachary Hagin, an emerging voice in the realm of Christian fantasy literature, joins T.S. Wright to delve into the fascinating world of storytelling that intertwines faith and imagination. The episode kicks off with a vibrant discussion about the genre, drawing parallels with literary giants like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, while Hagin shares his personal journey of writing the Eternity series. They explore the delicate balance between crafting compelling narratives and conveying profound truths, emphasizing that the struggle between good and evil is not just a narrative device but a reflection of the human experience. With a humorous nod to the binge-worthy nature of epic tales, the conversation weaves through Hagin’s creative process and the moral dilemmas faced by his characters, particularly in his upcoming work, Aisha's Secret. Ultimately, this episode offers listeners a refreshing perspective on how fantasy can serve as a modern parable, inviting them to reflect on their own paths to truth and the transformative power of storytelling.
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Delving into the enchanting world of Christian fantasy literature, this episode of Kingdom Crossroads takes listeners on a captivating journey alongside host T.S. Wright and author Zachary Hagin. They explore the intricate tapestry that weaves faith and imagination together, highlighting the compelling narratives found within classics like J.R.R. Tolkien's *The Lord of the Rings* and C.S. Lewis's *The Chronicles of Narnia*. Hagin, a passionate storyteller, brings his own experiences to the table, discussing his journey as a writer and the driving force behind his *Eternity* series. He reflects on the importance of storytelling in conveying moral truths, emphasizing that the battle between good and evil is a timeless theme resonating with audiences across generations. The conversation meanders through Hagin's creative process, touching on the challenges and triumphs of transitioning from one series to another, revealing the depth of character development and the emotional investment required in crafting such narratives. As they sip metaphorical cups of tea and share anecdotes, the atmosphere remains light and engaging, making complex themes accessible without sacrificing depth.
The duo dives deeper into the heart of Hagin's latest project, *Aisha's Secret*, a refreshing take on the Aladdin tale that juxtaposes truth and deception within a fantasy framework. Hagin artfully illustrates how the protagonist grapples with the weight of her...
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Episode Transcript
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(00:13):
Welcome everyone to theKingdom Crossroads.
I am your host, T.S.
wright, and I am so glad thatyou can join us today.
Before we dive into today'sepisode, if you haven't already,
please take a moment to followor subscribe and give us a like.
This ensures you won't missout on any future episodes and your
likes help us boost our visibility.
(00:36):
Thank you for being part ofthe Kingdom Crossroads community.
So have you ever heard of theLord of the Rings or the Chronicles
of Narnia?
How about J.R.R.
tolkien or C.S.
lewis?
Well, today you are in for aspecial treat as we are going to
(00:56):
dive into the genre ofChristian fantasy novels.
Honestly, it is a personalfavorite area of mine as I absolutely
love the Lord of the Rings series.
Well, joining us today isZachary Hagin, an author that specializes
in this genre.
He is already an accomplishedauthor who has written the Eternity
(01:17):
series and is working to reachthis generation of believers through
the art of storytelling.
So, Zachary, welcome to the show.
Yeah, thank you so much forhaving me.
It's a real privilege to be here.
Well, Zachary, we're just gladto have you.
And man, I'm gonna be honestwith you before I have you just dive
into your bio here for a second.
(01:38):
I'm just, I'm absolutelyfascinated by this genre.
It's, you know, when I findgood quality shows that are in this
genre, I mean, I binge watch.
I'll just be honest with you.
I just want to grab a big oldbowl of popcorn.
The one you dive in and eatyour way out, you know, and, and
just watch for hours.
And I could sit there andwatch Lord of the Rings for hours
(02:00):
and never move.
So.
So, yeah, for sure.
I've done like half daymarathons of them.
I've never done everythingfrom Hobbit through to the end of
the Return of the King atonce, but I've done the Hobbit and
then I've done the Lord of theRings series one day after another.
(02:21):
Man, that's.
Yeah, so you're right therewith me.
I mean, and I'm also a Starwars junkie too.
So, you know, I grew up onStar Wars.
I was actually four gettingready turn five when I watched when
the very first original Starwars came out.
And.
And I don't know, I thinkthat's what kicked in my fascination
with morality tales, you know?
Yeah, for sure.
Good versus evil.
(02:43):
What?
That is a classic battle andit's something that appeals to most
everyone.
Yes.
And I love it myself.
So.
But anyway, let's do this.
I want to first ask you thisquestion, Tell us about.
Just, just give us a.
An understanding of who youare and kind of where you came from.
And a little bit about your bio.
(03:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
So, like you said, I'm aChristian fantasy author.
At least that is the genrethat I have written in so far.
I'm also a teacher and a homeeducational coach.
I have a beautiful wife, a newson and a couple dogs.
We live Florida, and I write.
That is probably my biggestpassion in life.
(03:29):
I've always wanted to be an author.
On my bookshelf behind me, Ihave like these little paper books
that I stapled together when Iwas a kid that have very rudimentary,
unhinged stories in them, butthere they were.
(03:49):
And so the desire to write hasalways been on my heart.
And I do think that it's aspiritual gift that God has given
me to be able to engage others with.
I've been very privileged withthe reception of my books so far.
While they're not to the levelof popularity of CS Lewis or JRR
Tolkien's books as of yet, Ihave been privileged that those who
(04:14):
have gotten their hands on mybooks have been blessed and they've
really enjoyed it, that it'sbeen fun for them to read.
So I'm counting my blessingsand I'm excited to get the books
into more people's hands astime goes on.
Well, hey, I'm going to tellyou right now, I'm waiting for your
book series to become a movie.
(04:35):
And I will, and I will be.
I will love it.
And I, I guess, you know, we'll.
We'll cover some of this stuffat the end and actually a couple
of questions that I have that,that I want to ask about something
I could potentially access.
But let's start with this.
What is it like working on anew project after spending four years
writing the Eternal Chronicles series?
(04:57):
Yeah, so it's.
It's definitely been a bigtransition because I did spend four
years with these charactersdeveloping their journeys and their
faith development because, ofcourse, it doesn't.
Like, for example, Elior inthe beginning of the books, doesn't
really have a real relationship.
Kind of mocks the idea ofpraying, but by the end, he's got.
(05:23):
I won't spoil much for thosewho haven't read it, but he does
have that faith journey, thatconversion, to where his relationship
with the characterrepresenting God in the series is
dramatically different fromwhere it starts.
So leaving those charactersand starting over with another character
(05:46):
in my upcoming book, Aisha'sSecret has been different because
it's kind of going back to the beginning.
But it's also refreshinggetting to tell a new story where
someone, even if God isn'texplicitly mentioned in Aisha's secret,
sort of like he's notexclusively mentioned in Esther,
(06:08):
there's still this underlyingmorality that has to exist there.
And seeing her develop thathas been really exciting.
So I love working on newprojects, but I definitely miss the
characters and the journeythat we went on together, writing,
(06:30):
writing and being in that series.
So I have a, I have a, aninteresting question in all this
as we're, as.
I'm just listening to you, youknow, go on about the projects and
I've done, I've done somewriting myself and I'm actually completing
a complete discipleship series.
Mm.
Give me, give me kind of someof that balance that you have to
(06:54):
try to find.
And you know, when you'rewriting that with the other pieces
of your life and you know, allthat stuff, because I know how much
it consumes me when I'mwriting for sure.
So maybe, maybe just speak tothat a little bit.
Well, let me dispel this ideaof balance.
(07:14):
I don't think it exists.
I think that you can take careof one thing in your life a little
bit more and then you switchpriorities the next day and it's
kind of.
You're juggling.
There is no balance.
There is no.
I'm going to figure out theperfect schedule where it's always
going to work 100% of the time.
No.
Sometimes the baby needs to befed every hour instead of every two
(07:35):
or three or four.
Sometimes you have moredeadlines with your day job.
If, if you're not fully in thecreative space yet like I am.
And sometimes there are dayswhere absolutely nothing is in your
way and you can write 5,000 words.
Have I had a day where I'vewritten 5,000 words for this book?
(07:57):
No.
If I could have two of thosein the next week, I'd be completely
done with this project and Icould start editing.
But I don't think that balance exists.
But I do think that discipline exists.
Everything needs to get done.
It will get done one way oranother or it won't.
(08:21):
And so if getting it done is anon negotiable, you just, you find
the discipline and thediscipline helps you find the time.
Yeah, I kind of find the same thing.
What I, what it is is when mymind gets to that, I use the old.
It's kind of a quote byAbraham Lincoln.
(08:42):
If I'm Going to spend sixhours chopping down trees.
I'm going to spend four hourssharpening the axe and two, actually
doing the chopping.
And so you get yourself intothat momentum.
Once I'm into that momentum,it's hard for me to break that momentum.
Yeah.
I mean, I'm just going to.
Yeah.
Whether I'm in the editingprocess or I'm in the writing process,
(09:03):
and I do a lot of voice totext and then go back and do.
And then edit that to help mereally put my thoughts out there
and get that flow.
It's.
It's hard to break when I'm inthat mode.
I just.
It's something I.
For sure.
I thought about doing voice to text.
It doesn't work for me writingnarrative, but it does work.
(09:25):
Or like, more conversationalor like articles.
Articles.
I will try to do voice to textand then edit those.
Yeah.
And that's.
And of course, you know, the stuff.
A lot of the stuff right nowI'm writing is I'm developing lessons.
You know, it's curriculumbuilding is really what it is, so.
Right.
Yeah.
It's a little bit easier to dothat than when I'm writing the book
(09:49):
that I'm going to write on theseven ages of the church.
That's kind of wondering howthe voice detects will work with
that versus the other.
So.
Yeah, I understand.
So tell me some things thatyou kind of miss about writing this
series, this EternalChronicles series, and maybe some
things that you're kind ofglad not to be dealing with anymore.
(10:10):
So I definitely miss thecharacters in the world because it
was so much fun and it was myfirst original kind of creation.
And so that sense offamiliarity and kind of going home
that I always had when I wroteanother book in that series is, in
(10:32):
a sense, probably goneforever, unless I write more in the
history, like before thebeginning of the series.
I could write prequels, but Iwould have to have a very clear demand
for that.
What I don't miss, I thinkthat because the stakes were so high
(10:55):
and it was such.
There's over half of.
I think there's half a millionwords or so or close to it in the
entire series.
So it's a good chunk of timeinvestment both to write and to read
it, that the suspense was kindof tiring.
(11:17):
Like the story wasn't tired,but it was ready to end.
It came to a very natural conclusion.
So I. I don't miss trying tofigure out where that was, because
I was trying to figure thatout at the beginning.
And it was like, okay, is thisof kind to be a three book arc, a
(11:37):
four book arc?
And it ended up really nicelyat a five book arc.
But that was actually kind ofa late decision because the fourth
book was initially going to bethe last one.
But if I did that, it would belike 145,000 words, which would have
been double the size of any ofthe other ones.
And it felt out of place to dothat, so I split it into two books.
(12:00):
Wow, so you ended up with five books.
Ended up with five books, yeah.
And we'll.
We'll cover the names of thosebooks at the end because we want
to make sure people know whenand what they're getting.
So.
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
And I'm making sure I'mpronouncing this name right.
Aisha's.
Aisha.
Aisha.
(12:21):
So Aisha's secret is anAladdin retelling, right?
Mm.
Okay, so how does that tieinto your.
With your, you know, yourChristian fantasy genre?
How does all that work?
Yeah, so Aisha, while Godisn't necessarily explicitly mentioned
in the book, because I amtrying to find a little bit more
(12:44):
wider appeal with this book, Ireally wanted to tie in some of the
themes that the Disneyretelling of the original Scheherazade's
tale kind of brought in.
And I'm emphasizing truthversus lie.
So the twist with Aisha'ssecret is that Aladdin actually is
(13:08):
a prince, but Aisha is the onethat finds the genie and makes the
wish to be a princess.
And in order for her to remaina princess, she has to maintain this
lie, that Aladdin is just amerchant, that she really is the
princess born to the sultan.
(13:30):
And if a single person becomesaware of the truth, the entirety
of the lie is broken.
And so she has to wrestle with this.
Do I live in this beautifullie and all of the entrapments and
chains that it's placingaround me, or do I tell the truth,
(13:54):
possibly lose everything, losethe love that she's gaining with
Aladdin, lose the only fathershe's ever known and all of the security
of being royalty, but be freein her heart and soul.
And so that dichotomy betweentruth and a lie, I think is something
(14:19):
that everyone can resonatewith, because one of the biggest
roadblocks to freedom in theChristian life is believing lies
like, I'm not.
I'm not good enough.
Well, God died for us while wewere yet sinners.
And so if he thinks we're goodenough in our sinful state, how Much
(14:40):
more worthy are we in ourredeemed state, because that's what
he did on the cross.
He finished the work.
Who are we to say that he'slying when he says that we are good
enough because of what he did?
And so I think that while it'snot an allegorical take on a biblical
(15:01):
story, the wrestle betweentruth and lie is something that we
all need to come to terms within our own lives and learn that truth
is freedom.
Amen.
Amen.
You know, one of the thingsthat the discipleship series, you
(15:21):
know, you and I were talkingabout, that I've written, is that
we, our first standard isembracing the truth.
And a lot of that is aboutdeconstructing falsehoods in your
own theology.
And so we kind of take peoplethrough a 10 lesson series of how
to do that.
That's really what it is.
And it's, it all starts, andthis is kind of the free lesson I
(15:44):
give everybody before we gobeyond that is that we have to realize
that God actually owns us.
He has complete ownership overus and everything around us.
We don't get that.
So I think that's, I thinkthat's fascinating how you're, how
you build all this into that story.
That's.
I'm.
(16:04):
Man, I, I definitely amwaiting for this thing to become
a movie.
I'm already, I'm just, I'mpumped up and got chills now.
So, so I got.
My next question is, what doyou think is the most important thing
a Christian author shouldfeature in their writing?
I think the most importantthing to feature is even above biblical
(16:30):
stories or retellings, becauseI love those.
I love the lion, the Witch andthe Wardrobe.
I love, obviously I wrote andallegorical kind of take on this,
on the New Testament or thegreat controversy between Christ
and Satan.
But the most important thingis clarity of evil and good.
(16:52):
I think that morally grayvillains don't really have a place
in Christian writing becauseeither they're a villain or they're
not.
Now, I think villains can beredeemed, but I don't think that
makes them morally gray.
Right.
Because that's repentance.
(17:17):
So a clear division where it'snot confusing who the good guys and
the bad guys are.
I think that's the mostimportant thing, that we are clear
with our messaging that whatlooks good is good and what looks
bad is bad, right?
(17:39):
Yeah, we have that cleardefinition of good and evil, I think
is important because, I mean,let's face it, the enemy that's trying
to attack us in our real life,he is a master of the 98% truth and
the little bit of that 2% lie.
But what that 2% lie does isit takes you away from God.
(18:03):
Satan is the greatest moralistthat has ever existed.
If you don't disseminate thatwith truth and be able to separate
that, then what basicallyhappens to a person is that you can
think and be living this goodmoral life and living your best life
and think you're living it.
(18:25):
Right.
But if you're not in God andyou're not in Christ, then it doesn't
matter.
In the end, it all ends thesame thing.
And so we, I think, havingthat clear definition, and that's
why, again, I find this genre,I love this genre, is because it
so clearly dispels that goodand evil.
Right.
I mean, I think of them asmodern day parables, like we're writing
(18:45):
stories.
Christian authors are writingstories that bring in those moral
and biblical themes in a waythat's simplistic and easy to digest.
And I think that's soimportant because the way that Jesus
taught was through story,which means that story has power
to change lives, it has powerto change minds, and most importantly,
(19:09):
it has the power to instructand instill truth.
Yes.
That's why the clarity, Ithink is important, because it's
not always clear.
You're right, the devil's themaster of that 2% lie.
But if it's clear in how weteach our kids and the stories that
we tell them and what they'reallowed to grow up on, it'll be clear
for them later when they'remaking choices that aren't as distinct.
(19:35):
Yep, you're exactly right.
Amen.
Hey, I just.
All I can say to that is amen.
That's awesome.
So we're, we're kind oflooking through this and one of my
questions to you is this ishow has writing impacted your personal
faith journey as you've been,you've been speaking about, in a
(19:57):
way, the faith journey.
You and I have been conversingabout that.
But how's it affected yourpersonal faith journey?
Yeah, absolutely.
So when I started writing myfirst book, I didn't know what was
going to come out of itbecause I initially was writing.
I wrote the first 12ishchapters for a college class and
(20:20):
then I put it away.
It wasn't until I kind of hada job experience that I picked it
back up.
I lost my first teaching job.
I was let go through a veryweird string of events that I look
back on I'm like, I can takepersonal responsibility.
(20:41):
I think about 60% of that.
The other 40% was maybe a lackof grace and help on the other side.
But the end result was the same.
I lost that job.
I got really sick.
There were physical injuriesjust because I was all over the place.
And I was left in essentiallyalone in my house.
(21:06):
My wife would still had herjob, so she was going to work, and
I needed something to latch on to.
So I.
In.
In the transition from I havenothing left, this series was God
(21:33):
taking me through my own faithjourney and showing me what he wanted
me to do with all this timethat I had in between teaching jobs.
So the writing, Eternity'swell, the first book in the Eternal
Chronicles series was really aconversation almost between me and
(21:59):
God in processing the grief ofwhat I'd lost.
Because I lost a really goodfriend, I lost my job.
Everything was gone within,you know, the span of a couple weeks
in January of 2021.
And God and I had thatconversation there.
(22:19):
Particularly the conversationsbetween the three main characters
and the character thatrepresents Jesus in the Eternal Chronicles
were conversations aboutprocessing grief, were conversations
about connecting to a higherpower that was there for my good,
(22:42):
loved me, and wanted thatpersonal connection.
And while I had been raisedChristian, through writing that first
book, I reached a deeper levelof commitment and love with God because
(23:04):
he used that writingexperience to heal my heart and allow
me the stepping stones to getto where I am now.
Gotcha.
Well, that's.
That's an amazing journey.
I mean, you know, and.
And I think one of thebiggest, most powerful things we
(23:25):
can do, because even though itmay not be true, people in their
mind, you know, and in theirinterpretation can think that the
Bible or parts of it are not true.
You know, and they.
They can think that it's, youknow, they can rationalize it away,
you know, in their itchingminds, as the Bible will tell us.
However, what they can'trefute is personal testimony.
(23:49):
And I think that's so powerfulthat you have that testimony to go
with your writing.
And I really hope peopleembrace the fact that and pay attention
to your testimony as they read this.
Because usually what we find,and you know, this in writing, is
that you will see reflectionsof somebody's experiences come out
(24:13):
in their writing.
And the fact that you had thisfaith journey and there were struggles
that you went through that Godwalked you through them.
He didn't make you avoid them,but he walked you through them.
I think it's just a powerfultestament to who God is.
First of all, and then hishand working you to get to the point
(24:37):
to where he can really use you.
Yeah, absolutely.
And what I hope people see asthey read through the series is I
had a student that read mybook describe Elior, the main character,
as whiny in the first book.
And that's fair.
He's kind of whiny in thefirst book.
(24:57):
But I hope what they see asthey read through the series is that
we go from a whiny, kind ofdisconnected person to someone who
has been redeemed and embracedthe inheritance that the God of that
world has placed on theirshoulders, much like we need to do
(25:18):
in our walks with God.
Amen.
Amen.
So I want to say this, Zachary.
This has been.
This has been amazing.
I love this genre.
Just the man again.
I'm.
I cannot wait till thisbecomes a movie.
I just.
I got that feeling, you know,that you're gonna be.
(25:40):
You're gonna be for doing amovie, man.
And, hey, invite me to theset, because I just want to see how
you do it, you know?
And maybe we just record livefrom the set and how this is going,
you know?
Yeah.
If that happens, I will inviteyou to the set.
Maybe we can do anotherinterview on the set.
Amen.
Hey, that would be.
I would take you up on thatfor sure.
So here's my question.
First of all, I don't know this.
(26:01):
Are the books available inAudible, too?
The first book is Eternity's.
Well, we had a fantastic voiceactor do that for Audible.
It's an expensive process.
So I'm waiting to make mymoney back on that first audiobook
to do another or at least getinto the black on the series.
(26:25):
I mean, I haven't gone in debtto do it, but I haven't made my money
back from any of it yet.
Gotcha.
You want to do quality, youpay for quality.
So I put out a quality product.
We're still on the phase wherethis hasn't made me a ton of money,
but it has paid me back inother ways.
So I keep doing it.
Sure.
But first chance I get, I willbe having that same voice actor come
(26:50):
back and do the rest of theseries, because he did a fantastic
job.
That's awesome.
That is absolutely awesome.
And how about how can someonemaybe either, get in touch with you,
learn more about yourservices, purchase the Eternal Chronicles
series.
Tell us how that can happen.
Yeah.
So hopefully by the end ofthis next week, my website, ZacharyHagenRights.com
(27:15):
will be completely updated andmore information will be available.
On there.
Everything is available on Amazon.
So all of my books, myworkbooks, my novels, my short story
that's sort of a lead magnetfor the series are all available
(27:36):
on Amazon through my author page.
So if you just search ZacharyHagen, one of my books should be
the first thing that pops upand you can get to my author page
through there.
I'm also on Instagram andTikTok acrehagenwrites and the Eternal
(27:57):
Chronicles series for thatseries specifically on Instagram
as well and on Facebook withZachary Hagenrites as well.
So what we will do is we willput all this stuff in the show, notes
and links and things that,that to help people to get to those,
to those spots to be able toconnect with you.
(28:19):
And I just want to say thankyou for being on the show.
This has been, this has beenwonderful to have this conversation
with you and, and I lookforward to other conversations that
we could potentially have inthe future.
So I, I'm definitely going tobe inviting you back when you get
some of these other thingsdone and we talk more about this
because I, I find this subjectjust awesome.
(28:40):
I mean, it's just fascinating.
Like I said, I'm, I just, I'mwaiting for it to be a movie.
So I get my big old bowl ofpopcorn and man, I'm gonna binge
watch.
I'll wait till all five moviesout so I just watch them all at once.
I can't.
From your mouth to God's ears.
Exactly.
Amen.
So.
Well, I just say, folks, thankyou for turning tuning in to today's
(29:01):
show into our episode here.
And we appreciate you spendingtime with us and being a part of
the Kingdom Crossroads community.
If you enjoyed what you heardand we kindly ask you again to hit
that subscribe that followbutton, give us a like your support
always allows us to keepproducing this content and sharing
these experiences with you,ensuring that we can continue to
(29:21):
grow and bring you even moreenriching content in the future.
On behalf of myself andZachary, I say so long.
This is T.S.
wright, and until next time,go forth in total surrender to the
one who owns and reigns overall creation.
And I tell you this, andyou'll hear me say this a lot.
Let the great harvest begin.
Welcome everyone to theKingdom Crossroads.
I am your host, T.S.
wright, and I am so glad thatyou can join us today.
Before we dive into today'sepisode, if you haven't already,
please take a moment to followor subscribe and give us a like.
This ensures you won't missout on any future episodes and your
likes help us boost our visibility.
(00:36):
Thank you for being part ofthe Kingdom Crossroads community.
So have you ever heard of theLord of the Rings or the Chronicles
of Narnia?
How about J.R.R.
tolkien or C.S.
lewis?
Well, today you are in for aspecial treat as we are going to
(00:56):
dive into the genre ofChristian fantasy novels.
Honestly, it is a personalfavorite area of mine as I absolutely
love the Lord of the Rings series.
Well, joining us today isZachary Hagin, an author that specializes
in this genre.
He is already an accomplishedauthor who has written the Eternity
(01:17):
series and is working to reachthis generation of believers through
the art of storytelling.
So, Zachary, welcome to the show.
Yeah, thank you so much forhaving me.
It's a real privilege to be here.
Well, Zachary, we're just gladto have you.
And man, I'm gonna be honestwith you before I have you just dive
into your bio here for a second.
(01:38):
I'm just, I'm absolutelyfascinated by this genre.
It's, you know, when I findgood quality shows that are in this
genre, I mean, I binge watch.
I'll just be honest with you.
I just want to grab a big oldbowl of popcorn.
The one you dive in and eatyour way out, you know, and, and
just watch for hours.
And I could sit there andwatch Lord of the Rings for hours
(02:00):
and never move.
So.
So, yeah, for sure.
I've done like half daymarathons of them.
I've never done everythingfrom Hobbit through to the end of
the Return of the King atonce, but I've done the Hobbit and
then I've done the Lord of theRings series one day after another.
(02:21):
Man, that's.
Yeah, so you're right therewith me.
I mean, and I'm also a Starwars junkie too.
So, you know, I grew up onStar Wars.
I was actually four gettingready turn five when I watched when
the very first original Starwars came out.
And.
And I don't know, I thinkthat's what kicked in my fascination
with morality tales, you know?
Yeah, for sure.
Good versus evil.
(02:43):
What?
That is a classic battle andit's something that appeals to most
everyone.
Yes.
And I love it myself.
So.
But anyway, let's do this.
I want to first ask you thisquestion, Tell us about.
Just, just give us a.
An understanding of who youare and kind of where you came from.
And a little bit about your bio.
(03:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
So, like you said, I'm aChristian fantasy author.
At least that is the genrethat I have written in so far.
I'm also a teacher and a homeeducational coach.
I have a beautiful wife, a newson and a couple dogs.
We live Florida, and I write.
That is probably my biggestpassion in life.
(03:29):
I've always wanted to be an author.
On my bookshelf behind me, Ihave like these little paper books
that I stapled together when Iwas a kid that have very rudimentary,
unhinged stories in them, butthere they were.
(03:49):
And so the desire to write hasalways been on my heart.
And I do think that it's aspiritual gift that God has given
me to be able to engage others with.
I've been very privileged withthe reception of my books so far.
While they're not to the levelof popularity of CS Lewis or JRR
Tolkien's books as of yet, Ihave been privileged that those who
(04:14):
have gotten their hands on mybooks have been blessed and they've
really enjoyed it, that it'sbeen fun for them to read.
So I'm counting my blessingsand I'm excited to get the books
into more people's hands astime goes on.
Well, hey, I'm going to tellyou right now, I'm waiting for your
book series to become a movie.
(04:35):
And I will, and I will be.
I will love it.
And I, I guess, you know, we'll.
We'll cover some of this stuffat the end and actually a couple
of questions that I have that,that I want to ask about something
I could potentially access.
But let's start with this.
What is it like working on anew project after spending four years
writing the Eternal Chronicles series?
(04:57):
Yeah, so it's.
It's definitely been a bigtransition because I did spend four
years with these charactersdeveloping their journeys and their
faith development because, ofcourse, it doesn't.
Like, for example, Elior inthe beginning of the books, doesn't
really have a real relationship.
Kind of mocks the idea ofpraying, but by the end, he's got.
(05:23):
I won't spoil much for thosewho haven't read it, but he does
have that faith journey, thatconversion, to where his relationship
with the characterrepresenting God in the series is
dramatically different fromwhere it starts.
So leaving those charactersand starting over with another character
(05:46):
in my upcoming book, Aisha'sSecret has been different because
it's kind of going back to the beginning.
But it's also refreshinggetting to tell a new story where
someone, even if God isn'texplicitly mentioned in Aisha's secret,
sort of like he's notexclusively mentioned in Esther,
(06:08):
there's still this underlyingmorality that has to exist there.
And seeing her develop thathas been really exciting.
So I love working on newprojects, but I definitely miss the
characters and the journeythat we went on together, writing,
(06:30):
writing and being in that series.
So I have a, I have a, aninteresting question in all this
as we're, as.
I'm just listening to you, youknow, go on about the projects and
I've done, I've done somewriting myself and I'm actually completing
a complete discipleship series.
Mm.
Give me, give me kind of someof that balance that you have to
(06:54):
try to find.
And you know, when you'rewriting that with the other pieces
of your life and you know, allthat stuff, because I know how much
it consumes me when I'mwriting for sure.
So maybe, maybe just speak tothat a little bit.
Well, let me dispel this ideaof balance.
(07:14):
I don't think it exists.
I think that you can take careof one thing in your life a little
bit more and then you switchpriorities the next day and it's
kind of.
You're juggling.
There is no balance.
There is no.
I'm going to figure out theperfect schedule where it's always
going to work 100% of the time.
No.
Sometimes the baby needs to befed every hour instead of every two
(07:35):
or three or four.
Sometimes you have moredeadlines with your day job.
If, if you're not fully in thecreative space yet like I am.
And sometimes there are dayswhere absolutely nothing is in your
way and you can write 5,000 words.
Have I had a day where I'vewritten 5,000 words for this book?
(07:57):
No.
If I could have two of thosein the next week, I'd be completely
done with this project and Icould start editing.
But I don't think that balance exists.
But I do think that discipline exists.
Everything needs to get done.
It will get done one way oranother or it won't.
(08:21):
And so if getting it done is anon negotiable, you just, you find
the discipline and thediscipline helps you find the time.
Yeah, I kind of find the same thing.
What I, what it is is when mymind gets to that, I use the old.
It's kind of a quote byAbraham Lincoln.
(08:42):
If I'm Going to spend sixhours chopping down trees.
I'm going to spend four hourssharpening the axe and two, actually
doing the chopping.
And so you get yourself intothat momentum.
Once I'm into that momentum,it's hard for me to break that momentum.
Yeah.
I mean, I'm just going to.
Yeah.
Whether I'm in the editingprocess or I'm in the writing process,
(09:03):
and I do a lot of voice totext and then go back and do.
And then edit that to help mereally put my thoughts out there
and get that flow.
It's.
It's hard to break when I'm inthat mode.
I just.
It's something I.
For sure.
I thought about doing voice to text.
It doesn't work for me writingnarrative, but it does work.
(09:25):
Or like, more conversationalor like articles.
Articles.
I will try to do voice to textand then edit those.
Yeah.
And that's.
And of course, you know, the stuff.
A lot of the stuff right nowI'm writing is I'm developing lessons.
You know, it's curriculumbuilding is really what it is, so.
Right.
Yeah.
It's a little bit easier to dothat than when I'm writing the book
(09:49):
that I'm going to write on theseven ages of the church.
That's kind of wondering howthe voice detects will work with
that versus the other.
So.
Yeah, I understand.
So tell me some things thatyou kind of miss about writing this
series, this EternalChronicles series, and maybe some
things that you're kind ofglad not to be dealing with anymore.
(10:10):
So I definitely miss thecharacters in the world because it
was so much fun and it was myfirst original kind of creation.
And so that sense offamiliarity and kind of going home
that I always had when I wroteanother book in that series is, in
(10:32):
a sense, probably goneforever, unless I write more in the
history, like before thebeginning of the series.
I could write prequels, but Iwould have to have a very clear demand
for that.
What I don't miss, I thinkthat because the stakes were so high
(10:55):
and it was such.
There's over half of.
I think there's half a millionwords or so or close to it in the
entire series.
So it's a good chunk of timeinvestment both to write and to read
it, that the suspense was kindof tiring.
(11:17):
Like the story wasn't tired,but it was ready to end.
It came to a very natural conclusion.
So I. I don't miss trying tofigure out where that was, because
I was trying to figure thatout at the beginning.
And it was like, okay, is thisof kind to be a three book arc, a
(11:37):
four book arc?
And it ended up really nicelyat a five book arc.
But that was actually kind ofa late decision because the fourth
book was initially going to bethe last one.
But if I did that, it would belike 145,000 words, which would have
been double the size of any ofthe other ones.
And it felt out of place to dothat, so I split it into two books.
(12:00):
Wow, so you ended up with five books.
Ended up with five books, yeah.
And we'll.
We'll cover the names of thosebooks at the end because we want
to make sure people know whenand what they're getting.
So.
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
And I'm making sure I'mpronouncing this name right.
Aisha's.
Aisha.
Aisha.
(12:21):
So Aisha's secret is anAladdin retelling, right?
Mm.
Okay, so how does that tieinto your.
With your, you know, yourChristian fantasy genre?
How does all that work?
Yeah, so Aisha, while Godisn't necessarily explicitly mentioned
in the book, because I amtrying to find a little bit more
(12:44):
wider appeal with this book, Ireally wanted to tie in some of the
themes that the Disneyretelling of the original Scheherazade's
tale kind of brought in.
And I'm emphasizing truthversus lie.
So the twist with Aisha'ssecret is that Aladdin actually is
(13:08):
a prince, but Aisha is the onethat finds the genie and makes the
wish to be a princess.
And in order for her to remaina princess, she has to maintain this
lie, that Aladdin is just amerchant, that she really is the
princess born to the sultan.
(13:30):
And if a single person becomesaware of the truth, the entirety
of the lie is broken.
And so she has to wrestle with this.
Do I live in this beautifullie and all of the entrapments and
chains that it's placingaround me, or do I tell the truth,
(13:54):
possibly lose everything, losethe love that she's gaining with
Aladdin, lose the only fathershe's ever known and all of the security
of being royalty, but be freein her heart and soul.
And so that dichotomy betweentruth and a lie, I think is something
(14:19):
that everyone can resonatewith, because one of the biggest
roadblocks to freedom in theChristian life is believing lies
like, I'm not.
I'm not good enough.
Well, God died for us while wewere yet sinners.
And so if he thinks we're goodenough in our sinful state, how Much
(14:40):
more worthy are we in ourredeemed state, because that's what
he did on the cross.
He finished the work.
Who are we to say that he'slying when he says that we are good
enough because of what he did?
And so I think that while it'snot an allegorical take on a biblical
(15:01):
story, the wrestle betweentruth and lie is something that we
all need to come to terms within our own lives and learn that truth
is freedom.
Amen.
Amen.
You know, one of the thingsthat the discipleship series, you
(15:21):
know, you and I were talkingabout, that I've written, is that
we, our first standard isembracing the truth.
And a lot of that is aboutdeconstructing falsehoods in your
own theology.
And so we kind of take peoplethrough a 10 lesson series of how
to do that.
That's really what it is.
And it's, it all starts, andthis is kind of the free lesson I
(15:44):
give everybody before we gobeyond that is that we have to realize
that God actually owns us.
He has complete ownership overus and everything around us.
We don't get that.
So I think that's, I thinkthat's fascinating how you're, how
you build all this into that story.
That's.
I'm.
(16:04):
Man, I, I definitely amwaiting for this thing to become
a movie.
I'm already, I'm just, I'mpumped up and got chills now.
So, so I got.
My next question is, what doyou think is the most important thing
a Christian author shouldfeature in their writing?
I think the most importantthing to feature is even above biblical
(16:30):
stories or retellings, becauseI love those.
I love the lion, the Witch andthe Wardrobe.
I love, obviously I wrote andallegorical kind of take on this,
on the New Testament or thegreat controversy between Christ
and Satan.
But the most important thingis clarity of evil and good.
(16:52):
I think that morally grayvillains don't really have a place
in Christian writing becauseeither they're a villain or they're
not.
Now, I think villains can beredeemed, but I don't think that
makes them morally gray.
Right.
Because that's repentance.
(17:17):
So a clear division where it'snot confusing who the good guys and
the bad guys are.
I think that's the mostimportant thing, that we are clear
with our messaging that whatlooks good is good and what looks
bad is bad, right?
(17:39):
Yeah, we have that cleardefinition of good and evil, I think
is important because, I mean,let's face it, the enemy that's trying
to attack us in our real life,he is a master of the 98% truth and
the little bit of that 2% lie.
But what that 2% lie does isit takes you away from God.
(18:03):
Satan is the greatest moralistthat has ever existed.
If you don't disseminate thatwith truth and be able to separate
that, then what basicallyhappens to a person is that you can
think and be living this goodmoral life and living your best life
and think you're living it.
(18:25):
Right.
But if you're not in God andyou're not in Christ, then it doesn't
matter.
In the end, it all ends thesame thing.
And so we, I think, havingthat clear definition, and that's
why, again, I find this genre,I love this genre, is because it
so clearly dispels that goodand evil.
Right.
I mean, I think of them asmodern day parables, like we're writing
(18:45):
stories.
Christian authors are writingstories that bring in those moral
and biblical themes in a waythat's simplistic and easy to digest.
And I think that's soimportant because the way that Jesus
taught was through story,which means that story has power
to change lives, it has powerto change minds, and most importantly,
(19:09):
it has the power to instructand instill truth.
Yes.
That's why the clarity, Ithink is important, because it's
not always clear.
You're right, the devil's themaster of that 2% lie.
But if it's clear in how weteach our kids and the stories that
we tell them and what they'reallowed to grow up on, it'll be clear
for them later when they'remaking choices that aren't as distinct.
(19:35):
Yep, you're exactly right.
Amen.
Hey, I just.
All I can say to that is amen.
That's awesome.
So we're, we're kind oflooking through this and one of my
questions to you is this ishow has writing impacted your personal
faith journey as you've been,you've been speaking about, in a
(19:57):
way, the faith journey.
You and I have been conversingabout that.
But how's it affected yourpersonal faith journey?
Yeah, absolutely.
So when I started writing myfirst book, I didn't know what was
going to come out of itbecause I initially was writing.
I wrote the first 12ishchapters for a college class and
(20:20):
then I put it away.
It wasn't until I kind of hada job experience that I picked it
back up.
I lost my first teaching job.
I was let go through a veryweird string of events that I look
back on I'm like, I can takepersonal responsibility.
(20:41):
I think about 60% of that.
The other 40% was maybe a lackof grace and help on the other side.
But the end result was the same.
I lost that job.
I got really sick.
There were physical injuriesjust because I was all over the place.
And I was left in essentiallyalone in my house.
(21:06):
My wife would still had herjob, so she was going to work, and
I needed something to latch on to.
So I.
In.
In the transition from I havenothing left, this series was God
(21:33):
taking me through my own faithjourney and showing me what he wanted
me to do with all this timethat I had in between teaching jobs.
So the writing, Eternity'swell, the first book in the Eternal
Chronicles series was really aconversation almost between me and
(21:59):
God in processing the grief ofwhat I'd lost.
Because I lost a really goodfriend, I lost my job.
Everything was gone within,you know, the span of a couple weeks
in January of 2021.
And God and I had thatconversation there.
(22:19):
Particularly the conversationsbetween the three main characters
and the character thatrepresents Jesus in the Eternal Chronicles
were conversations aboutprocessing grief, were conversations
about connecting to a higherpower that was there for my good,
(22:42):
loved me, and wanted thatpersonal connection.
And while I had been raisedChristian, through writing that first
book, I reached a deeper levelof commitment and love with God because
(23:04):
he used that writingexperience to heal my heart and allow
me the stepping stones to getto where I am now.
Gotcha.
Well, that's.
That's an amazing journey.
I mean, you know, and.
And I think one of thebiggest, most powerful things we
(23:25):
can do, because even though itmay not be true, people in their
mind, you know, and in theirinterpretation can think that the
Bible or parts of it are not true.
You know, and they.
They can think that it's, youknow, they can rationalize it away,
you know, in their itchingminds, as the Bible will tell us.
However, what they can'trefute is personal testimony.
(23:49):
And I think that's so powerfulthat you have that testimony to go
with your writing.
And I really hope peopleembrace the fact that and pay attention
to your testimony as they read this.
Because usually what we find,and you know, this in writing, is
that you will see reflectionsof somebody's experiences come out
(24:13):
in their writing.
And the fact that you had thisfaith journey and there were struggles
that you went through that Godwalked you through them.
He didn't make you avoid them,but he walked you through them.
I think it's just a powerfultestament to who God is.
First of all, and then hishand working you to get to the point
(24:37):
to where he can really use you.
Yeah, absolutely.
And what I hope people see asthey read through the series is I
had a student that read mybook describe Elior, the main character,
as whiny in the first book.
And that's fair.
He's kind of whiny in thefirst book.
(24:57):
But I hope what they see asthey read through the series is that
we go from a whiny, kind ofdisconnected person to someone who
has been redeemed and embracedthe inheritance that the God of that
world has placed on theirshoulders, much like we need to do
(25:18):
in our walks with God.
Amen.
Amen.
So I want to say this, Zachary.
This has been.
This has been amazing.
I love this genre.
Just the man again.
I'm.
I cannot wait till thisbecomes a movie.
I just.
I got that feeling, you know,that you're gonna be.
(25:40):
You're gonna be for doing amovie, man.
And, hey, invite me to theset, because I just want to see how
you do it, you know?
And maybe we just record livefrom the set and how this is going,
you know?
Yeah.
If that happens, I will inviteyou to the set.
Maybe we can do anotherinterview on the set.
Amen.
Hey, that would be.
I would take you up on thatfor sure.
So here's my question.
First of all, I don't know this.
(26:01):
Are the books available inAudible, too?
The first book is Eternity's.
Well, we had a fantastic voiceactor do that for Audible.
It's an expensive process.
So I'm waiting to make mymoney back on that first audiobook
to do another or at least getinto the black on the series.
(26:25):
I mean, I haven't gone in debtto do it, but I haven't made my money
back from any of it yet.
Gotcha.
You want to do quality, youpay for quality.
So I put out a quality product.
We're still on the phase wherethis hasn't made me a ton of money,
but it has paid me back inother ways.
So I keep doing it.
Sure.
But first chance I get, I willbe having that same voice actor come
(26:50):
back and do the rest of theseries, because he did a fantastic
job.
That's awesome.
That is absolutely awesome.
And how about how can someonemaybe either, get in touch with you,
learn more about yourservices, purchase the Eternal Chronicles
series.
Tell us how that can happen.
Yeah.
So hopefully by the end ofthis next week, my website, ZacharyHagenRights.com
(27:15):
will be completely updated andmore information will be available.
On there.
Everything is available on Amazon.
So all of my books, myworkbooks, my novels, my short story
that's sort of a lead magnetfor the series are all available
(27:36):
on Amazon through my author page.
So if you just search ZacharyHagen, one of my books should be
the first thing that pops upand you can get to my author page
through there.
I'm also on Instagram andTikTok acrehagenwrites and the Eternal
(27:57):
Chronicles series for thatseries specifically on Instagram
as well and on Facebook withZachary Hagenrites as well.
So what we will do is we willput all this stuff in the show, notes
and links and things that,that to help people to get to those,
to those spots to be able toconnect with you.
(28:19):
And I just want to say thankyou for being on the show.
This has been, this has beenwonderful to have this conversation
with you and, and I lookforward to other conversations that
we could potentially have inthe future.
So I, I'm definitely going tobe inviting you back when you get
some of these other thingsdone and we talk more about this
because I, I find this subjectjust awesome.
(28:40):
I mean, it's just fascinating.
Like I said, I'm, I just, I'mwaiting for it to be a movie.
So I get my big old bowl ofpopcorn and man, I'm gonna binge
watch.
I'll wait till all five moviesout so I just watch them all at once.
I can't.
From your mouth to God's ears.
Exactly.
Amen.
So.
Well, I just say, folks, thankyou for turning tuning in to today's
(29:01):
show into our episode here.
And we appreciate you spendingtime with us and being a part of
the Kingdom Crossroads community.
If you enjoyed what you heardand we kindly ask you again to hit
that subscribe that followbutton, give us a like your support
always allows us to keepproducing this content and sharing
these experiences with you,ensuring that we can continue to
(29:21):
grow and bring you even moreenriching content in the future.
On behalf of myself andZachary, I say so long.
This is T.S.
wright, and until next time,go forth in total surrender to the
one who owns and reigns overall creation.
And I tell you this, andyou'll hear me say this a lot.
Let the great harvest begin.
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