Interview with Robert Staniford author of The Star War Factor:
Robert Staniford is an author and friend from
just outside Ascot, Windsor U.K. Some may recognize Ascot for its famous
horse racing history. Robert has five children and six grandchildren. His
lifelong involvement in the arts through music, photography, and writing
evolved into his book The Star War Factor.
It is a novel written reflecting on events
during the apocalypse. The surprising sense of man’s own resources used perhaps
by a divine hand threads a viable perspective on man’s own arrogance coming
against him or fulfilling prophecy.
Robert refers to himself as a real prodigal
son. I think that is a story Robert should reveal in his own way.
Glenda: Robert, you have referred to yourself as a
prodigal son. Gilbert, the main character of your book, The Star War Factor,
has a troubled past. How much did you draw on your own experiences to develop
Gilbert?
Robert: I was a product of the sixties and
embraced much of what was going on with great zeal. There's something of
that in Gilbert but the character is by no means autobiographical. Like
any writer, I've drawn on experience and observation and Gilbert is something
of a composite born out of this.
Glenda: How did you come to the realization that you
wanted, or felt called, to devote your ministry to the gospel and write an epic
novel reflecting on an apocalypse?
Robert: The novel was written in embryonic form
during the Reagan era, long before I became a Christian. I shelved it at
the time but stumbled upon the manuscript a couple of years ago and decided I
could rework it and do something with it. It isn't written as a Christian
book. I think there are already too many good ones that aim at a
Christian market. I didn't want to preach to the choir but rather write
something that I hope has secular appeal and might provoke some of the right
questions.
I've had a heart for evangelism since I first
came to a real understanding of the Gospel message and the fate of those who
refuse it. My daughter, Ruth, suggested that I should apply my knowledge
of scripture to teaching. I haven't really taken that step as such but
have started posting articles on a Christian site - with a focus on how God is
working to fulfill prophesy in this troubled age.
Glenda: I know that I’d like to read those articles
and other’s will as well. Would you post the web address below to that
Christian site?
Glenda: There are so many apocalyptic stories out
there since 1999 with the new millennium. Somehow the genre has become popular
horror, thriller and adventure mesh from monsters to devils and codes. What
makes your book and characters different?
Robert: The Star War Factor really crosses a
few genres. There's a sc-fi element as well as an element that appeals to
the conspiracy theory crowd. In addition it touches on real human failing
and recovery as well as a romantic element, with some political observation
thrown in for good measure. A writer whom I respect greatly compared the
writing to that of John Wyndham, which I find very flattering.
Glenda: Why did you choose Star Wars developed during
the Reagan era as a major event contributing to the apocalypse?
Robert:
Like most of us
who lived during the cold war era, I felt the threat of nuclear holocaust as a
very real and imminent thing. When Reagan announced the plan to put
missiles in space I felt the whole thing was going crazy and the original
premise of the book was formed around that time. I don't believe the
threat has by any means gone away and I've no doubt that black projects, which
gamble with our future, are continuing. The situation in the Middle East
could blow out of proportion at any time, and that's another issue in the book.
It's sad that people no longer have the awareness they did in the sixties
and seventies. It's as if they think the danger has gone away, or they
don't want to think about the fact it's still there.
There's a verse in Zechariah, Chapter 14, that
describes the plague which comes upon all the nations who seek to destroy
Israel at the time of the Lord's second coming. The description is very
like that of a nuclear holocaust:
"And this shall be the plague with which
the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem:
Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on
their feet,
Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets,
And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths."
- Zechariah 14:12. It's worth taking time to read the whole of that
chapter to put it in perspective.
Glenda: If you could pick one quote from you
book to emphasize Gilbert’s personality, what would it be?
Robert: "It's what I do, it isn't who I
am."
I’ve found it refreshing to interview Robert
for several reasons. For one, he is very genuine in his purpose for writing
which brings that heart to the story that commercial authors miss in their
attempt to sell the trend. This interview helped me see into the passion
of the man Robert Staniford. Finally, Robert has found that factor in his life
that renewed him and that factor is a belief in Biblical teachings we share.
For you the reader, I hope you will read this
very significant story The Star War Factor and read it for whatever
reason you find it as interesting from both a political, world view, and
possibly even Christian standpoint. You can find The Star War Factor at:
Thank you, Robett Staniford for agreeing to
this interview, and insight into who you are. I find my readers enjoy knowing
the author behind the book. So this is to our readers, yours and mine. I hope
you who are reading this will refer a friend to also read the interview and get
to know the man behind The Star War Factor.
