Chronicles of the End Times
Occasionally, people say, are we really in the last days? How do we know? Does it matter one way or another? We will try to answer these questions and many others in this study. But the most important question may be, how can we reach others with hope in these changing times? One part of prophecy is often emphasized over another, causing us to lose perspective and miss the blessing and beauty of prophecy in scripture. I have taken the information in this study from many authors and teachers who have their lives studying God's word. I have added some insight that the Holy Spirit taught me. With God's help, I have endeavored to keep the whole counsel of the word of God in full view to give us an accurate picture of Christ and His great love for a lost world. I pray that this will challenge you and cause you to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, as it has me preparing it. Let's begin!
Chronicles of the End Times
Part 1 Authors Unscripted: Writing with Faith in a Faithless World
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Four talented Christian authors gather around the microphone to share the deeply personal stories behind their writing journeys and creative processes. This fascinating conversation peels back the curtain on what it means to write from a place of faith in today's complex world.
The storytelling begins with Beth, who transitioned from news writing and teaching to fiction after a divine inspiration. With multiple series under her belt, she offers practical wisdom: "If you write one page a day, at the end of the year you'll have a 365-page book." Dan reveals how personal tragedy sparked his writing career, with the death of his father leading to profound questions about eternity that evolved into a ten-book series exploring suffering and redemption. Meanwhile, poet Doug shares how social media unexpectedly launched his publishing career, leading to six collections that capture life's most meaningful moments in verse.
As the conversation deepens, the authors confront the unique challenges Christian writers face in a secular media landscape. They discuss the difficulty of finding both venues for their work and audiences hungry for faith-based content. Yet they also note encouraging signs—emerging Christian content on streaming platforms and a spiritual awakening among young people seeking truth beyond the shallow offerings of popular culture. This renaissance of faith-centered storytelling may well be fulfilling biblical prophecy about the last days.
The most powerful moments come when discussing how personal struggles inform their writing. Doug vulnerably shares his battle with depression, challenging the false notion that Christians shouldn't experience such darkness. The authors affirm that God's presence remains steadfast through our darkest hours—a truth they all weave into their storytelling. Whether through character development that bridges readers into emotional experiences or testifying about God's faithfulness during trials, these writers demonstrate how literature can illuminate the path to hope. Listen to part two for more insights from these inspiring Christian authors.
Episode Introduction
Speaker 1Wonder why things are strange in all ways. I've seen Never thinking that we might all be living on the green. Live our lives the way we want.
Speaker 2We'll sing on stand and all this time we were keeping sound in the face of Superman.
Writing Journeys and Inspiration
Speaker 1Welcome everyone. This is Russ Scalzo. Chronicles of the End Times. Thank you for being with me today. Today I have in the studio three author friends of mine who have written many books and we're going to talk about some of those today. But also we're going to be talking about writing how did you get into writing? And we're going to look at the world around us and get some of their opinions of what they think is going on in the world today. The first question I get quite a bit is how did you get started writing? You know what made you decide to write a book, become an author, and for most it's a pretty daunting task and I dare say that most people that start out writing a book never finish it because it is quite a task. So, beth, let's start with you. What made you decide to become an author? That decision to start writing a book?
Speaker 3Well, I think you know you got left brain, right brain, some people have left their brain, but basically I'm the side of the brain that's the writer side, math and stuff. Forget it, it ain't going to happen. But I was always an English gazirkinsnert, whatever you want to, and I started out by writing as a news director for a radio station a long time ago and then I took a job for 12 years in Philadelphia writing commercials and voicing them and stuff like that. I taught writing skills to graduate students for 16 years at Rowan University, at night, an adjunct faculty member. But you know, I've been writing, writing, writing, writing all my life in one form or another.
Speaker 3But I never wrote a lick of fiction until about 20 years ago and I had this idea for a novel based on a prophecy that I'd heard. So I sat down and wrote it and it got ridiculous because it ended up 280,000 words long and I said this isn't going to work because the average book is 120,000. And so I took 50,000 words out of that and I took another 15,000 words out of that, and I took another 15,000 words out of that and I reduced it down to a book you're very familiar with right now called Child of Emptiness it had another title back then, but that's how it started and then been writing ever since. But I love writing and I love shooting my mouth off, obviously, and so I'll kowtow to my buddies here. You know who's next here Dan.
Speaker 1Yeah, let's turn to Dan and see how he got into this author business. And, by the way, biff, you turned into a great fiction writer. So what do you say, dan?
Speaker 2Yeah, actually I think it was more or less an accident. I kind of stumbled into it. I think we've talked about this on a past podcast or two. The first thing I wrote started after my father passed away, which was 37 years ago I guess, and I remember driving home from New York I was working in the city at the time and when something like that happens in your life, you begin to think about eternity. At least that's the way my mind went at the time. And I'm driving along and I see airplanes coming into Newark Airport and they look like the lights in the sky. You could see them for miles. They were lined up the airplanes, you know it's on their descent and it looked like they were just hanging in midair, not moving at all. And I was driving along the turnpike there and the airplane was landing right next to me and it looked like the airplane was like hanging. You know it looked like it wasn't moving.
Speaker 2It just struck me and the story began to evolve in my mind.
Speaker 2It was, you know, angel standing on the radar tower and watching this and it evolved into the End Times story, the Without Time. The story was and I tinkered with that, you know, on and off for really 20 years. So it wasn't until 2015 when I finally, you know, got to finishing that and put it on into a book and you actually helped me, you know, get it up on Amazon, I think at the time and got started from there and that one story evolved into I think I'm up to 10 now where the story just keeps growing and evolving, but the theme of it at the time it was cathartic, right, it was about suffering. It was understanding why bad things happen to good people, very profound questions, that kind of work through and in this story it was almost like God was helping me understand you know the whole thing. You know the storyline kind of reveals where you know the main character goes through this terrible suffering and God brings him through it and makes him into this tremendous force, you know, for good in the world.
Speaker 1So, Doug, let's get you in on this conversation. Doug Dial, just sitting here to the left of me, is an amazing poet, author and now a podcaster. You need to check him out. Five Minutes of Hope it's really a blessing. I really lift you up every single day. So, Doug, how did you get to that place where you felt God was leading you to put your thoughts in a book?
Speaker 4I love writing poetry. I've been writing poetry since high school and when the social media world began to blow up, I started posting them on social media and a gal from our church said hey, doug, you should write a book. And I thought to myself nah, there's no way, impossible. I'm just a hick from Maine. I don't even know how to get started, but, sure enough, wrote our first book of poetry in 2009. I've written six since that time and I absolutely love writing. I have a short attention span, so I don't know that I'll ever write a novel, but I do write short poetry and short poems.
Speaker 1Yeah, and good stuff, and there's a lot of real life in there too, right? It's always got a real story behind you know, real truths wrapped up in there. Yes, almost like a little Proverbs thing going on.
Christianity's Influence on Writing
Speaker 1Sometimes, yes, sometimes A little story in each one. Yes, yep, that's very cool. You know we're living in this crazy world that we all know about and a lot of my listeners around the world thank you for those who are listening Picked up some new listeners in Nigeria and Singapore, a couple of new ones in Qatar, so whoever you folks are out there, I encourage you to keep following Jesus, and thanks for listening in and spread the word. Because we're Christian writers, it's difficult to sometimes get our work out where it needs to go. As a Christian writer, how do you approach your books and is it different really different from like a secular writer, and how do you go about?
Speaker 3it. When I began writing, I wanted to keep everything clean. I wanted anybody to be able to read what I wrote and there's so much tasteless stuff in the world and this and that and the other thing. It's hard to wade through it. If you watch any streaming now, the offenses come at you right and left at a million miles an hour, with these languages and these scenes and everything. And that's what the world's become.
Speaker 3What bothers me is, if you go back years, a lot of big-name stars you could pick Bob Hope and Bing Crosby and so forth would go on Johnny Carson and nobody ever knew their politics. They kept them to themselves and there was some funny stuff and there were situation things, but when we watched them we wanted them to be Bing Crosby and Bob Hope and Jimmy Stewart and what have you. Obviously I'm dating myself, but what came across was clean and nice and family oriented for the most part, and that's the way the world is not now and it is a frustration because there is so much stuff that's unacceptable. I mean, even kids are not safe from anything anymore because the way they put their stuff on television it's awful. I'm sorry about that, but I'm not going to start writing to try to make somebody happy who's maybe a little left of where I am. Christianity is what it is and we are allegiance to one guy, right.
Speaker 1Your faith affects how you write. Yeah, and that's pretty awesome. So it's more than just saying you're a Christian.
Speaker 2But those precepts influence you and inspire you how about you Dan yeah well, I think, as you were talking, I was thinking of that verse in Ephesians where it says the time will come when they won't endure sound doctrine. People will be heaping up teachers having itching ears and just trying to come up with their own definition of right and wrong, and that's such a description of today's world. I think, as a Christian writer, one of the challenges is, you know, just around getting recognized, marketing, that sort of thing. I heard a quote somebody said recently the only people who make money writing are the promoters. The authors don't make any money doing the writing.
Speaker 2It is really difficult to find a genre for a Christian audience and it's difficult, as a Christian reader, even to find you know a good venue where you can go to find you know good Christian material.
Speaker 2You know, I'll allow your point that you're making about you know what you see on television and everything nowadays. I think that that's a little bit. It's changing a little bit. I mean, I think there have been some good series coming out and, like you know, prime had the house of david series which was excellent. There's, you know, the chosen, which has been on netflix and a couple other places, and so it's beginning to and actually I think that's it's an indication of a revival that really is happening now among young people in the world, and especially young men. Interestingly enough are, you know, turning more conservative and finding Christ, and so that's really encouraging. But I think that's also a sign of the times, you know where God says you pour out his spirit. You know, and your sons and daughters will prophesy. You know, it's kind of all part and parcel of the same thing.
Speaker 1Yeah, those that are looking for truth will find it. The Lord promises that. Knock the door will be open. Ask it will be given to you.
Speaker 1I see that a lot myself just locally in ministry that we're doing. Young people are saying it's enough, something doesn't feel right. We want to know the truth and, like you say, there's a lot of filming. There's a lot of people, a lot of producers and directors that are Christians, that are making their way now, lord willing, it's a fight uphill, but I think you know it is happening. Like Doug, you just finished up a book with a lot of people contributed to.
The Challenges of Christian Media
Speaker 4It's a challenge trying to get more followers. We all want more people to hear our message. It's human nature to want more. The one with a million followers wants two million. The one with 200 followers wants 400. That's just the way it is, and I believe all of us in this room know that we have a message that is very important jesus loves you and jesus saves you. And um, I recently wrote a book called the Victorious Few.
Speaker 423 of my friends told their life story such as it is not the entire story, but a bit of it on how they have been through trials and tragedies, triumphs, hard times, good times. Through trials and tragedies, triumphs, hard times, good times. And with social media again, back in the day, when we used to hear you've got mail, it was so exciting because email was such a new way to communicate. Now, with LinkedIn, whatsapp, facebook, twitter, x and all the different forms of social media, there are so many ways to share the message. So the hope is that we just keep on sharing, keep on telling people. We never know who will hear about the hope of Jesus, because we share it on a daily basis.
Speaker 1Absolutely. We need to keep throwing the seed out there and Jesus will water it and there'll be those who will accept it, those that won't. But that's up to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Our job is to occupy until he comes and keep spreading that seed of the Word of God out there, word of God out there. So, biff, let's turn to you for a minute here. You've written three different series. You have the Stonebreaker series, which is an amazing series and really takes you through a lot of what's going on today in the world with the border and all other kind of things. Then you have the futuristic series, child Eventiness. That's a two-part series. It was really intriguing. And then, of course, the children's series, tales of Forever. I want to ask you, like in that series, tales of Forever, what gave you that inspiration to write that?
Speaker 3Oh, the kids' series. Yeah, my oldest grandson was 10 years old and we were working out in the yard on a flower bed and he said are you gonna write something, a story for my sister's Delaney's birthday? She's gonna be seven. And I said, well, I hadn't thought about it. He said, well, last year he wrote stories for all our birthdays and then we'd come and visit when you'd read that story for one of us they were short stories I said, well, yeah, we based those on Star Wars and this and that and the other nonsense. So I said, well, okay, I'll go in. And when I started a story and I got about 160 pages of it done and I lost 90 pages or no, about half of that anyway. I lost it in a computer accident and I walked around for months in a funk. I thought, man, you know I can't, that just destroyed me.
Speaker 3And one day I got mad enough at myself and said you know I can finish this. I'll just pick it up, take that first number of pages and write the rest of it. That became a book called the Forest at the End of the World, and they were 10, 8, 7, and 6. And the heroes and heroine are my three grandsons and my granddaughter and they travel through heaven, although you don't know it's heaven. The book's designed in a certain way that it's not Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, but it's my take on just the wonders of the heavenly realm.
Speaker 3Well, that wasn't good enough, because I met this guy named Russ Galzo and some other people in my life.
Speaker 3And you know, another book came out called the Ocean at the Edge of Forever, because that's where they stopped in book one, so now they're two years older. And then I got that done and then I thought wait a minute, where am I going to go? Because I had to have a trilogy. So I go almost 100 years in the future and I write the Mountain of the King, and the last of the children, who's 102 years old and living in an assisted living facility in New York State, jumps out of a tree not deliberately, but he finds himself. He gets his wings, His name is Jacob and Jacob is, you know, traveling the route that he did in the first two stories and he meets his cousins and his you know, his older brother again, and they travel together for a while and there's all these islands and so forth. He visits them and he finally ends up at the Mountain of the King and they go up and at the very end of the book he has his confrontation with the Lord, god Almighty.
Exploring Different Book Series
Speaker 3It is so powerful that a friend of mine read it and he says and now I know what heaven looks like and you're very familiar with these books. Yeah, it's great stuff. Child of Emptiness, which was written earlier, is a story of a Roman Catholic priest from the main line of Philadelphia who goes to Roman studies for biblical languages and an old man comes in and gives him a prophecy, which is how the book started he will be born in the sixth year and on the sixth day, in the sixth month, he will be empty and he will be filled. And what it is? It predicts the birth of the most uncomfortable person we won't be confronted with the Antichrist and it goes through 30 years and ends up just right before the events unfold in the end times. And what have you? The Stonebreaker Trilogy is now four books, because you just published the fourth book last year and I'll shut up now because that's.
Speaker 3And I have a book of poetry. I'm glad there's a fellow poet over there. I've been writing poetry since a long time ago when a friend of mine died in an accident, a boating accident on a river. I was 14 years old when that was. It was terrible poetry, but they read it at his funeral, which is the first time anybody ever read anything I wrote aloud. I'm glad they didn't put my name on it, said a friend of his, wrote it I'm sitting in the next room crying my eyes out because my buddy's gone.
Speaker 3But, um, you know I've written a lot of that, for we would want to get into that right now. But I'm always writing, writing, writing, writing. And people say to me all the time, well, I should write a book. And I, and I say, why don't you? And they say, well, I say you're worried about grammar or syntax, blah, blah, blah, all the rest of the participles. And I said, no, just write the story, and then you can be corrected later on.
Speaker 3But write the story down, because if you write one page a day, at the end of the year you'll have a 365-page book. And so if you want to write a book, write a book. Who cares whether or not anybody ever reads it? You know, you just write it for yourself, or what have you. So writing is expressing all kinds of things for the four of us in this room. Russ has written a lot of books and published a lot of books and God bless him. We met years ago through a mutual friend and I think we did, you know, because he's been so involved in my work and, you know, helped me through a lot of stuff. So God bless you guys. That's all I can say.
Speaker 1Yeah, absolute honor to be working with Brothers in the Lord to reach people for Christ, danny. Your books are really doing well. Reach People for Christ, danny. Your books are really doing well. Great story Within or Without Time that series alone is close to my heart, but you have others. Characters are important. People need to know that. I believe your characters are vital to your story and really add so much to your story. What do you think about characters? What would you tell people? Somebody's going to write a book? What advice would you?
Speaker 1give them what would you tell people Somebody's going to write a book, right?
Character Development in Fiction
Speaker 2What advice would you give them? Well, yeah, I know a lot of people approach it, you know, in different ways. Some authors outline everything up front. They don't have the whole story laid out and they know all the characters and some of the software is like intimidating because it's you know, they want a whole expose on every character. You know where do they live, what do expose on every character. You know where do they live, what do they look like.
Speaker 2I don't do any of that, I just kind of write and then all of a sudden a character appears. It's like it seems miraculous to me actually, to be honest with you, um, and the characters take on a personality and then they kind of evolve over time. And I think if you've written, if you've written fiction, you probably have experienced that where, um, you, that where one experience leads to another and the character's personality begins to develop and then the characters play off of each other and the story kind of evolves out of that. And I think characters you make the point that characters are essential. I think they're central really to the story, that you can't have a story without somebody experiencing what's happening, right, and the whole idea of writing good fiction is drawing the reader into the experience. You want the reader to be part of the experience, not just hearing about it. It's not just, you know, narration, you want them engulfed in what's going on.
Speaker 2And I think that that happens when the characters are experiencing something that the reader is kind of relating to and seeing and you know the kind of understanding, the impact that that experience is having on the character. And so you know that's where I think that's the magic of it, that's the fun part. And so you know that's where I think that's the magic of it, that's the fun part. And there's sometimes, you know, in the first book, especially of Within and Without Time, because it was such a book that was almost therapeutic for me I remember sitting on the train, you know, going to New York City and writing some scenes in that book where there were just tears coming down my face and it was because I was experiencing kind of what was happening with these characters. People would be looking at me kind of crazy. You know it was really powerful and it helped me a lot.
Speaker 1You know points in my life. Well, I agree 100% and if you've read those books, you know, and I suggest that you go out and get them You'll love them and the characters are strong and the story is amazing. Now, doug, you've been toying with the idea of writing a novel about your own experiences, which I think would be a dynamite book.
Writing Through Personal Struggles
Speaker 4It's tough to beat life experiences. When you go through hardships, you can talk about hardships. When you go through trials, you can talk about trials. I still am scared to death. I'm trying to finish a novel about myself. God brought me through a very, very terrible season of depression just recently and I'm trying to write about it, but with a short attention span. I don't normally write very long poems. I'm not sure how to go about it. These guys that I'm sitting with today are humbling me because they're writing giants to me. I'm just a little kid around the block here, but we're going to try and talk about God's delivering power and how he can help somebody in the midst of the darkest night, in the midst of the worst possible panic attacks, anxiety attacks, being filled with fear, knowing God and yet still facing the devil face to face, as it were and how God's power of deliverance is so real. So you pray for us as we try to write these books that will help people see.
Speaker 1Jesus. I tell you what, doug. I believe God has got that book in his hand. He wants you to write that book and I believe he's going to bless it. Why? Because you know, sometimes people think, well, we're Christians, you know, we shouldn't have any bad feelings, we shouldn't be depressed, we shouldn't go through a bad time. You know and there's a lot of that going on there there's a gospel out there like that. It's not the truth, it's not the real gospel. God uses those things in our lives. It's not pleasant. We've all had those moments and some of them last longer than we want. And I believe there's real truth in your testimony what God did for you that so many Christians need to hear, that. So many people that are struggling and feeling like you know maybe God left them or they lost their blessing, or they lost their way or whatever, because there's so much error out there in some Bible teaching. But they need to know that God is with them and God is leading them and he never leaves them. So I'm praying right now in Jesus name that God just bless you and enables you to write that book.
Speaker 1Thank you for listening to part one. Part two is available now, so I hope that you'll go on and listen to it. We get into a lot of different issues but I think you'll be interested in. This is Russ Scalzo for Chronicles of the End Times. God bless, keep looking up. The King is coming you.