Robert Griffen

Griff is the eldest of three siblings. He has a severe case of Eldest Son Syndrome, making him personally responsible for things over which he has no power (World Peace, Global Warming, the Decline of the Roman Empire...). While he does not walk on water, he does swim well and periodically performs minor miracles (not enough to qualify for Sainthood). Griff has eclectic tastes in food, music and friends; and has an appreciation for new and different things and ideas. He has a low tolerance for intolerance and deliberate ignorance. He cannot abide a bully and has been known to wade into some dicey situations. He has an odd sense of humor (just nod and smile when he tells a joke), enjoys the outdoors (who doesn't?!), and is a skilled photographer (just ask him).

Griffen was born and raised in Portland, OR. He graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland and received his BA in Sociology from Columbia University in New York. He is the only White student to receive a Master of Divinity from Johnson C. Smith Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center of Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. He was ordained to the ministry in 1977 by the Presbytery of the Cascades (Western Oregon) in the United Presbyterian Church, USA.

What motivated you to become an independently published author?

I did not believe I would ever get published by a traditional publishing house. My religious stories (The Gospel According to Griffen) and the attitude that underpins them would be unpopular with most people who read religious literature. They will probably become controversial in ecclesiastical circles, if they become widely known, which might actually help sales. (I recall that books which were "Banned in Boston" got a leg up in sales.) But who would want to gamble thousands of dollars in printing and publicizing an unknown, unproven author of Bible Stories? While the subtitle "These Ain't Yo' Mama's Bible Stories" might encourage some readers, I believe they would be too risky an investment.

My other work includes "How Not to Screw Up Your Own Wedding," based upon over thirty years as a wedding photographer and officiant. The rest tend to be of the Dime Novel, shoot-em-up variety. Again, once widely circulated, they could become popular. But I believe it would be more of a gamble than a traditional publisher would like.

What is your greatest Joy?

The greatest joy? Probably having people whose opinions I respect read something I wrote and become genuinely excited about it.

I experience joy whenever I complete a section of a story and it comes together better than I had hoped.

I experience joy (and relief) when I finally stop tweaking and picking at words and call a story "finished."

I experience a new level of joy when I see it that finished piece appear on a retail shelf or a website where people can find it. That makes the book Real.

The best is good feedback.

Bad feedback?

I just have a good cry and go back to work.

What are you working on next?

I have a few things in the works.

"Geezer" is about a 65 year-old semi-retired hitman. He worked for the New York City Police and U.S. Black Operations when he was an idealistic college student. (It covered his tuition and fees and let him go out to dinner once in a while.) He gets drawn back in when he interrupts an assassination attempt. "Old age and Treachery will win out over Youth and Enthusiasm every time."

"The Evangelists - The Three Furies" is the second book in a series about con-men who become televangelists. This volume is about their mothers, who escape from a dangerous back-woods Mormon splinter group to form an alliance of their own.

"The Towne Sanction" is about Liesel Towne and Tracy Rose - modern "warrior princesses" who fight with The American Free Army against the religious fanatics and their Prophet who run the U.S. Government in the not-too-distant future.

"How Not to Screw Up Your Own Wedding" is a light-hearted presentation of Street-Wise Wedding Advice - learned the hard way during more than thirty years in the wedding business.

All will appear soon on Amazon.

Who are your favorite authors?

Dude, Man!! Stephen King! He has rarely disappointed me (though I have liked some of his books better than others.)

Growing up, I read from a broad spectrum of literature: Stevenson ("Kidnapped' and "Treasure Island"), Forester (the Hornblower series), Burrows (ALL the Tarzan books) and Mark Twain ("Connecticut Yankee..." a few of the Tom Sawyer adventures and of course "Huck Finn."). As soon as I was allowed into the Adult Section of the Public Library, I was reading all the science fiction and fantasy I could get my hands on: Isaac Asimov, Arthur Clarke, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Ray Bradbury and their ilk. ("Tom Swift" and "The Mushroom Planet" never held much interest for me.) Non-fiction about the second world war caught my interest when I was about thirteen, as did books by African American authors like W.E.B DuBois, Eldridge Cleaver, James Baldwin.

What inspires you to get out of bed each day?

My Day Job! I still have one. Time for writing comes when I can squeeze it in around what I do to survive financially... for now.