Blink of an Eye (46 page)

2.
Blink
was a very successful novel and many of your fans consider it to be their favorite. What motivated you to go back and make these changes?

In many ways my overall attitude toward the Middle East has changed since 9/11 and that change is reflected in this re-write. I think love is the order of the day, more so than some of the antagonism that slipped into the first version. The changes in this regard have more to do with subtleties that affect tone than with thematic or character changes.

Jesus left us with the second greatest command, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and this extends not only to Samaritans but to Muslims, regardless of what we may or may not think about their practices, and they of ours. Nearly everything we believe is tied into those familiar words, “For God so loved the world . . .” Jesus was above all the prophet of love and none of us can argue the ageless truth that love does indeed change everything.

My parents took a message of hope and love to cannibals in the jungles of Indonesia. My prayer is that
Blink
provides a message of hope and love for not only the Mid East, but those of us who preach love as well.

3. Our culture has certainly been in flux since the events of September 11, 2001, and the ensuing war in the Middle East. Do you think it has changed how Americans view other cultures?

Undoubtedly. I'm constantly amazed at how antagonistic many American Christians are toward those who live in the Middle East. Regardless of a person's conviction regarding the war itself, our attitude to those caught in the crossfire should be drenched in empathy and love. We say we love Muslims, but we don't, not if our actions are any judge.

I'm afraid that far too many Christians have forgotten the reason Christ died in a war of his own 2,000 years ago. His was fought against the principalities of the air and the religious leaders of his day, and his weapon was love. Perhaps we who claim his namesake should fight the same way.

4. What do you most hope readers get from reading
Blink of an Eye
?

Again, one word: Love. Love Changes Everything.

We have here a story about a Muslim woman who we learn to love along with Seth. If the reader takes nothing away from the novel but this one lingering impression, I will be a happy man. There's a wonderful bridge between Muslims and Christians in Jesus, who is deeply revered by both religions. But too many followers of both religions disregard the teachings of this Master whom we honor with our lips. We both can make a mockery of his life and death by refusing to follow his example of love.

5. The title was changed to
Blink of an Eye
largely so it would mirror the title of the upcoming movie. How similar will the screenplay be to this revised novel?

The screenplay mirrors the theme of love set forth in
Blink of an Eye
, but the plot takes some liberties in the latter half. The movie medium forces all artists to make some creative choices for several reasons, chief among them length. Translating the entire novel to the screen would give us a five hour movie and break the bank, not to mention our minds. Something has to go, and when something goes, other things have to change to accommodate the vacancy. Some scenes are collapsed into each other or skipped entirely; new ones are added to bridge gaps. It's a unique art form for a broader audience.

6. Two other novels you wrote or co-wrote—
Three
and
House
—have already been made into movies. How will
Blink of an Eye
vary from those two? Will they appeal to the same audiences?

We have three totally different kinds of movies here.
Thr3e
is a thriller that primarily appeals to a younger market.
House
is a horror movie that appeals to a huge audience, mostly under thirty.

Blink of an Eye
can be classified as a romantic thriller with healthy doses of both thrills and romance. I think it will appeal to the broadest audience of the three.

7. How would you describe what it's like to have one of your novels made into a film? Exciting, of course, but are there challenges that you never imagined?

They say that writing a novel is like rowing a bathtub across the Atlantic, something I've been known to repeat. Making a movie is trying to fly a paper airplane to the moon.

Put another way, both are like giving birth. I'm a man, how would I know, you ask? I've birthed sixteen novels and I doubt many woman could put up with the kind of pain endured with each delivery.

Part of the pain in translating a novel to the big screen is watching as not only another writer, but a director, then an actor, then an editor each put their spin on what was once your vision. In the end it's all good (hope-fully) but the process isn't a Sunday stroll.

But then nothing worthwhile ever is.

8. Your novels seem to fall into three distinct categories. Explain what those three categories are and which one
Blink of an Eye
falls into. If someone loves
Blink of an Eye
, what other novels might they be interested in?

Although all of my stories are written in my distinct voice and plumb themes that connect with like-minded readers, I've explored these themes in what can be seen as three genres: Mystery, Thrillers, and Fantasy.

My first six novels might be best understood as Mysteries that explore the greatest mystery of all, our faith. These would include
Heaven's Wager,
When Heaven Weeps, Thunder of Heaven, Blessed Child, A Man Called
Blessed
, and now
Blink of an Eye
.

Having said that, many of my readers don't draw such distinctions and tend to read my Thrillers (like
Thr3e
and
Skin
) and my novels in the Fantasy category as well (
Black, Red
, and
White
, for example).

If you enjoyed
Blink of an Eye
, I would point you toward
Blessed Child
or
Heaven's Wager
as a good next novel. But then again, I feel like I'm betraying
Showdown
and
Saint
and
Skin
and
Thr3e
and the Circle Trilogy.

I have a better idea: Ask your friends. They know you better.

AN EXCERPT FROM

TED DEKKER'S NEXT NOVEL . . .

COMING SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

CHAPTER ZERO

MARSUVEES BLACK reread the words penned on the yellow sheet of paper, intrigued by the knowledge contained in them. He felt exposed, almost naked against this sheet of pulp that had come his way.

August 21, 2033

Dear Johnny –

If you're reading this letter, then my attempt to help you has failed
and I've gone to meet my Maker. I don't have much time so I will
be brief. None of what's happened to you has been by accident,
Johnny—I've always known this, but never with as much clarity
as now, after being approached by a woman named Karas who
spoke of the Books of Histories with more understanding than I
can express here.

Where to start . . .

The world is rushing to the brink of an abyss destined to swallow
it whole. Conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran is
escalating at a frightening pace. Europe's repressing our economy.
Famine is over-running Russia, China's rattling its sabers, South
America is battling the clobbering disease—all terrible issues, and
I could go on.

But these challenges pale in comparison to the damage that
pervasive agnosticism will cause us. The disparaging of ultimate
truth is a disease worse by far than the Raison Strain.

Listen to me carefully, Johnny. I now believe that all of this
was foreseen. That the Books of Histories came into our world for
this day.

As you know, the world changed thirteen years ago when Project
Showdown was shut down. Myself and a dozen trusted priests
sequestered thirty-six orphans in the monastery in an attempt to raise
children who were pure in heart, worthy of the ancient books hidden
in the dungeons beneath the monastery. The Books of Histories,
which came to us from another reality, contained the power to make
words flesh. Whatever was written on their blank pages became flesh.
If the world only knew what was happening!

Billy used the books to write raw evil into existence in the form
of Marsuvees Black. A living, breathing man who now walks this
earth, personifying Lucifer himself. He (and I cringe at calling
Black anything so humane as a “he”) was defeated once, but he
hasn't rested since that day. There are others like him, you know
that by now. At least four maybe many more, written by Black himself
from several pages he managed to escape with. I believe he's
used up the pages but he's set into motion something that he
believes will undo his defeat. Something far more ominous than
killers who come to steal and destroy in the dead of night. An insidious
evil that walks by day, shaking our hands and offering a comforting
smile before ripping our hearts out.

Billy may have repented, but his childish indiscretions will
plague the world yet, as much as Adam's indiscretion has plagued
the world since the garden.

Yet all of this was foreseen! In fact, I am convinced that all of
these events may have been allowed as part of a larger plan. The
Books of Histories may have spawned raw evil in the form of
Black, but those same books also brought forward truth. And with
that truth, your gifting. Your power!

And Billy's power. And Darcy's power. (Though they may not
know yet)

Do you hear me, son? The West may be overrun with a populace
that teeters on the brink of disbelief while at the very same time
being infested with the very object of their disbelief. With incarnate
evil! Black and the other walking dead.

But there are three who stand in the way. Johnny, Billy, Darcy.

Black is determined to obtain the books again. If he does, God
help us all. Even if he fails, he escaped Paradise with a few pages
and can wreak enough havoc to plunge the world into darkness. I
am convinced that only the three of you stand in his way.

Find Billy. Find Darcy. Stop Black.

And pray, Johnny. Pray for your own soul. Pray for the soul
of our world.

David Abraham

Marsuvees frowned.
Yes, pray, Johnny. Pray, for your pathetic, wretched
soul
.

He crushed the letter in his gloved hand, shoved it into the bucket of gasoline by his side, and ignited the thing on fire using a lighter he'd withdrawn from his pocket after the first reading. Flames whooshed high, enveloping his hand along with the paper.

He could have lit the fire another way, of course, but he'd learned a number of things from his experimentation these last years. How to blend in. Be human. Humans didn't start fires by snapping their fingers.

He'd learned that subtlety could be a far more effective weapon than some of the more blatant methods they tried.

Black dropped the flaming page to the earth and flipped his wrist to extinguish the flame roaring about his hand. He ground the smoldering ash into the dirt with a black, silver-tipped boot and inhaled long through his nostrils.

So, the old man had known a thing or two before dying, enough to unnerve a less informed man than Black. He already knew Johnny and company were the only living souls who stood a chance of slowing him down.

But he was taking care of that. Had taken care of that.

Marsuvees spit into the black ash at his feet. Johnny's receipt of this letter would have changed nothing. It was too late for change now.

And in the end there was faith, hope and love.