Ray Sutherland is a Kentucky native who grew up on a farm
outside of Bowling Green. He served in the Army, spent two years in Germany,
received his B.A. in religion from Western Kentucky University, and his PhD in
the Bible from Vanderbilt University.
Ray has served of Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of
North Carolina-Pembroke for over thirty years, pastored a small church for nine
years, and is retired from the Army Reserve. He and his wife Regina live in
North Carolina and have two sons and four grandchildren.
Website: raysutherland.com
Interview:
Tell us
about your book! What is it about and what inspired you to write it?
If
angels are God’s secret agents then you know there are some really good secret
agent stories they could tell, and my first novel Secret Agent Angel tells some
of them in first person as told by one of the angels. Samuel is an angel who
often comes to earth in human flesh and blood form to be God’s secret agent.
Samuel specializes in persuasion and encouragement of people in a crisis,
refers to God as “the Boss,” enjoys the unpredictability of humans, has a weird
sense of humor, and is a junk food junkie. By design, he often is as unaware of
the Boss’s real purpose as are the humans he comes to help and as a result has
some significant misadventures along the way and even some failures. But he
persists in the certainty that God will put it all to good use, even if
humanity and even Samuel himself don’t see how.
The immediate influence on
the novel was my decision to write it in a style reminiscent of the
first-person mystery novels of the 40’s -60’s. I always admired the writings of
Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, and Donald Hamilton, all
of whom often had their protagonist narrate their own adventures. I started by
imitating their style, but quickly discovered my own voice and style. I still
claim their work as inspiration.
Tell us
about your publishing process. What was it like? Did you go indie or the
traditional way?
I selected Black Opal Press, which I think would be called a
small traditional press. I liked the availability of the publishing staff and
the community of authors on-line that write for Black Opal. The best part of
publishing with Black Opal is the personal contact with the staff there.
How did
you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you
started writing it, or did it come later?
The basic idea of the book, the title, and the general plot
all came together about the same time. A lot of details still had to be worked
out but the general plan was in place before I got very far into the project.
Tell us
about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book
cover would be like?
The cover idea came about at nearly the same time as the
other things. The idea of a stereotypical secret agent in a trench coat and a
fedora but with angel wings and a halo was the first concept and remained
fairly constant throughout the process.
Who is
your cover designer and how did you find him?
The cover designer is Black Opal’s in-house cover artist,
Jack, who was great to work with. I had the option of using an outside artist
at my own expense but I was very happy with Jack’s work.
How was
your experience working with the designer?
Jack was very helpful, answering my questions and taking my
rough amateurish concept idea and making it a polished, professional cover. I
would gladly work with him again.
What
has been the readers’ response to your cover?
The reactions have all been positive. The general response
is that the cover is very indicative of the concept of the book. It’s fairly
obvious that the figure is a secret agent and the wings and halo are clear
signs of his heavenly, angelic nature.
What
tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?
The publisher gave me the names of several artists who would
do the cover for a fee, or I could utilize the in-house artist for free. Since
I had my own general idea about the cover design I went with the in-house
artist and was very happy with the process and the result. Jack thought the
idea I had was fine and made my rough idea into a professional cover.
Anything
else you’d like to say about your book?
I hope that you will enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed
writing it.
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